Grave Seas: A Maddie Graves and Rowan Gray Mystery

by Lily Harper Hart

  “You’ve told me that before. Next time you’re in touch, I want my wife to be with you.”

  “We both want that, Mr. Masterson. Right now, there’s nothing I want more.”

  Seven

  Quinn headed straight for Rowan once he was finished with Ben. The conversation had been a waste of time, as far as he was concerned. The man was either a good actor or legitimately torn up about the disappearance of his wife. Quinn honestly couldn’t decide which was more likely.

  “I’m over here,” Rowan called out from her place in the shade when she saw him arrive on the deck. She had a glass of iced tea in front of her and was scanning her photos through the window on the back of the camera.

  “Hey.” Absently, Quinn gave her a quick kiss. “You found my women?”

  “And here I thought I was your woman.”

  “You’re my only woman.” He poked her side. “That came out wrong. I apologize.”

  “You don’t have to apologize. I was just teasing you. It’s more that they found me than I found them, by the way. They almost spilled a drink on me.”

  Quinn’s expression darkened as he took the open seat across from Rowan. He wasn’t in the best of moods, which was obvious when Rowan took a moment to study him.

  “What happened?” she asked softly.

  “Nothing much,” he replied. “I took Maddie and Nick with me when I questioned Ben.”

  “You did?” That was a legitimate surprise to Rowan. “You don’t usually take outsiders with you during an interrogation.”

  “This was an information question-and-answer session,” he clarified. “They know him, though, and I thought having two friendly faces with me might help him relax.”

  “Did it?”

  “Not so much.” Quinn’s expression was rueful, causing Rowan to grin. “He’s very upset. Part of me wants to believe he’s genuinely shocked and potentially grieving.”

  “And the other part can’t help being suspicious,” Rowan surmised. “I get that. He’s the natural suspect because of his relationship with the victim.”

  “If we even have a victim.”

  Rowan shifted on her seat and handed him her iced tea so he could take a drink. “What do you mean?”

  “We don’t know she didn’t go back to a room with someone and hook up,” Quinn pointed out. “I’ve been over the footage outside the bar ten different times. I can’t find her anywhere on it.”

  “But you did see her returning to the bar after she walked to the tiki bar with Ben, right?”

  “Yes,” he bobbed his head. “I’ve found her on that footage. It’s just the two of them and you can see they’re having a conversation. Honestly, they seem to be getting along fine. I don’t know that he was lying about the fight being over as soon as it started.”

  Rowan tilted her head to the side, considering. “Well ... we’ve had quick spats before. When we fight, it doesn’t tend to last long.”

  “True. That’s why this one is difficult. I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. Ben is visible leaving the bar right around midnight, too. He didn’t lie as far as I can tell ... although technically he omitted the fact that they returned to the tiki bar for forty-five minutes.”

  “He honestly might not have remembered,” Rowan volunteered. “If he was drunk ... it might’ve only been after the fact that it came up.”

  “That’s a good point.” Quinn leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out, crossing them at the ankles. “I don’t know what to think. I’ve gone over the footage backward and forward.”

  “So ... how did she get out of the bar without being picked up by any of the cameras?”

  “If I knew that this one would already be solved.”

  Rowan shot him a speculative look. “Okay. There’s no reason to be snippy.”

  He heaved out a sigh and collected her hand. “I don’t mean to be snippy. I’m just ... frustrated. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Have you notified the Coast Guard that we have a possible woman overboard?”

  “I’ve asked them to be on the lookout in our wake, but I can’t confirm she went overboard. Even if I could, we don’t have a time. The odds of us finding her are astronomically slim ... if she went overboard. In that scenario, she’s most likely dead.”

  “Except the omen hasn’t shown up on her photographs,” Rowan noted. “I know we can’t base all of our actions on my supernatural gift, but according to the photos, she’s still alive.”

  “Has the omen ever not shown up on a photograph for someone you know has died?”

  “I ... don’t ... know.” Rowan searched her memory. She was genuinely unsure how to respond. “Not that I can think of. I don’t know that we can use that as proof, though,” she hedged. “I mean ... it hasn’t been an issue that I can remember. I usually see the omen and then try to stop a death from happening. I’ve never tried to stop – or start, for that matter – an omen from showing up after the fact.”

  “Good point.” Slowly, Quinn tracked his gaze toward the cavorting women. They were laughing so hard their faces were red and they already had drinks clutched in their hands. “I don’t like to be the one who ruins everyone’s fun but ... they bother me. What have they been doing since you found them?”

  “Drinking and laughing,” Rowan replied. “They might be irritating everybody around them, but they’re certainly having a good time.”

  “Technically we shouldn’t begrudge them that.”

  “No, but they’re idiots so I can’t help but dislike them. Besides, they hit on my man.”

  He cast her a sidelong look and grinned. “For some reason it turns me on when you say things like that.”

  “Then I’ll say them when we move into our new room later. By the way, we still have a small pile of stuff in the old room. We’re supposed to be cleared out by noon and that’s thirty minutes from now.”

  His smile turned mischievous. “Do you know what I like most about you?” He barreled forward before she could answer. “You’re kind of a worrier. You’re one of those people who obsesses about being fifteen minutes late. It’s cute.”

  “They told us to be out by noon,” Rowan protested.

  “I know but ... they’re not giving out that room to anybody new until the next cruise. Everyone is already settled for this cruise and the room needs to be cleaned. We have time.”

  “But they said—”

  He held up a hand to quiet her. “I’m not going to argue with you. If you want to move the stuff, you can. I need to talk to the women first. I can help after.”

  “It’s only three bags,” Rowan noted. I can grab one of the rolling carts from the porters and do it myself. It won’t take long.”

  “Are you sure?” He arched a speculative eyebrow. “I thought you wanted me to be with you when you said goodbye to the room.”

  “You’re going to be with me when we say hello to the new room. That’s the important part.”

  “Yes, well ... .” He squeezed her hand. “I really do need to talk to these idiots and I’m not looking forward to it. Do you have any idea where the third one is?”

  “Violet,” Rowan volunteered. “That’s her name.”

  “I don’t really care about committing their names to memory.”

  “You should be nice when you talk to them,” Rowan chided. “Although … not too nice. If they hit on you, make sure you tell them your girlfriend is tough and will beat them up.”

  He leaned close and pressed his forehead to hers, not caring in the least that they probably looked like the schmaltz twins. “My fiancée,” he whispered.

  “Oh, I can’t even be pretend-angry when you say things like that.”

  “Why would you be angry with me?”

  “For flirting with other women.”

  “Ah,” he smirked. “You are both hilarious and beautiful. Is it any wonder I’m head-over-heels for you?”

  “No wonder at all. In fact ... .” A loud screeching noise cut off
what Rowan was about to say and when she shifted her attention to the spot over Quinn’s left shoulder, she found a familiar face joining the fray. “I think the third member of the giggling trio is about to make her appearance.”

  Quinn casually flicked his eyes in that direction, frowning when he caught sight of the woman in question. She looked disheveled, her makeup smeared all over her face. Her hair stood on end and, while he couldn’t be certain because he didn’t pay a lot of attention to her the previous day, he was almost positive she was wearing the same outfit. “Are those the same clothes?”

  Rowan chewed on her lower lip and nodded as she glanced around, conflicted. “She doesn’t look so good, does she?”

  Violet picked that moment to make a screeching noise again, just as she caught up with her friends.

  “No, she doesn’t,” Quinn agreed.

  “How could you leave me like that?” Violet snapped, ignoring the odd looks from the other passengers as she glared at Connie and Lana. “How could you just abandon me like that?”

  “We didn’t abandon you,” Connie countered. She was still trying to pretend she was sober ... and not doing a great job of it. “We lost sight of you. We thought you took off with that guy.”

  “That guy was married ... and here with his wife,” Violet shot back. The dark smudges under her eyes left by the makeup she wore looked like bruises to Quinn and almost made him feel sorry for her. Almost. “All the good-looking guys on this ship are married ... or almost married. That’s neither here nor there, though. You left me alone and we made a pact not to do that.”

  “But ... you were having fun,” Connie protested.

  “Well, I ended up getting attacked and that wasn’t so fun.”

  Quinn was instantly on his feet and cutting through the crowd so he could intercept the woman. “What do you mean you were attacked?” he asked as he approached.

  Violet obviously wasn’t expecting him to be in such close proximity to her because she jolted at the sound of his voice and took an inadvertent step back. It was obvious she was leery about his presence.

  “I’m sorry.” Quinn held his hands up in capitulation. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. We met yesterday. I’m head of security.”

  “I remember you.” Violet licked her lips. “You’re just the man I need to talk to. I was attacked last night and I want you to do something about it.”

  “Absolutely.” Quinn didn’t miss a beat. “We should head down to my office and talk. You can bring your friends if you’re nervous.”

  Violet made a face. “I don’t want to bring them. They’re the reason this happened to me in the first place.”

  “Oh, don’t be like that, Violet,” Lana whined. “We thought we were doing you a favor. I ... where did my drink go?”

  “It’s in your hand,” Rowan offered helpfully.

  Lana laughed. “Oh, so it is.”

  Violet’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “I don’t want them with me. Although ... I’m not keen on it being just the two of us either.” She looked pained to admit it, especially since she’d been throwing herself at him less than twenty-four hours before.

  “It’s fine.” Quinn’s flat smile never wavered. “Rowan can come with us. She’s the chief photographer and she can sit with you while you tell me your story.”

  “I guess we can do that.” Violet didn’t look keen at the prospect. “I thought I would be safe here.”

  Quinn felt caught. “We’re going to handle this. I’ll make sure you are safe from here on out even if I have to assign guards. I promise.”

  IT ONLY TOOK THEM TEN MINUTES to travel to Quinn’s office. Violet had turned into a jumpy and fluttery mess by the time they arrived. Even though Rowan found the woman annoying, her heart went out to her. It was obvious something had occurred … and whatever it was, wasn’t good.

  “I need you to tell me what happened,” Quinn prodded gently when she hadn’t spoken for a full three minutes.

  “I’m not sure what happened,” she admitted. “I was a little ... tipsy.”

  “That doesn’t matter.” Rowan was earnest as she caught the other woman’s gaze. “It doesn’t matter if you were drunk. We’re not going to judge you for that. We just need to know what happened.”

  “I’m not even sure. We were at the Neon Mermaid.”

  Quinn shifted on his chair. The movement was subtle, but Rowan didn’t miss it. That was the same bar Lindsey had been in when she disappeared the previous evening. Could the two incidents be connected? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t like the odds. “How long were you there?”

  “I ... don’t ... know. It was a few hours. We danced a lot. I was sweaty.”

  “You were with your friends,” he prodded.

  “Some friends,” she said grimly before recovering. “We were together ... kind of. I mean, we went there together. We didn’t always stay together throughout the entire evening, though.”

  Rowan could read between the lines so she decided to make things easier on the woman. “You were probably dancing and then taking regular breaks to refresh your drinks and get fresh air.”

  Violet nodded. “That’s basically it. I met a guy I thought was cool. We were talking. He was over the dancing and said he wanted to leave. I thought it was an invitation, but it turns out it wasn’t. He was married and his wife was there with him.”

  A possibility niggled at the back of Quinn’s brain. “Was his name Ben?”

  Violet’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?”

  “It was just a hunch.” Quinn ran his tongue over his lips as he debated how to proceed. This was a sticky situation. “Did you leave with him?”

  “No. I just told you he was married. We were talking a good thirty minutes outside – normal conversation stuff about how cool the ship was and everything – before he owned up to that. He said he wasn’t flirting with me, just talking, but I know better. Once he mentioned his wife I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough.”

  “Is he the one who attacked you?” Rowan queried.

  Violet shook her head. “No. He left. He tried to get his wife to leave, but she was having too much fun. She basically told him to get lost, so he did. I started looking for Lana and Connie because I wasn’t sure where I misplaced them when ... well ... it happened.”

  Quinn was calm. “Take your time and tell us what happened.”

  “Connie and Lana weren’t in the bar. At least I couldn’t find them in there. I looked all over, but it was really hot and stuffy despite the air-conditioning, so I went back outside. I could smell smoke and even though you’re not supposed to smoke on the ship I figured someone was breaking the rules. I thought maybe I could bum a smoke so I followed the smell ... and it led behind the bar.”

  Rowan tried to picture the area. “There’s an employee hallway back there. It cuts between businesses. It’s outside but feels closed in.”

  Violet’s lower lip trembled. “Yeah. That’s where he was. Between the two buildings. It was a narrow space, but I honestly figured he went down there to smoke because there was less chance of him getting caught.”

  “Did you recognize him?” Quinn queried.

  “I ... no. It was really dark in there. I could kind of see a profile.”

  “What happened?”

  “I asked if I could have a drag from his smoke. He handed it to me. We talked for a few minutes. He was pretty boring. I was just about to leave and start looking for Connie and Lana again when he distracted me. He said to be quiet because he heard keys jangling, like the ones that belong to the workers. He stubbed out the cigarette and shoved me against the wall while telling me to be quiet.”

  Rowan’s heart skipped a beat. She had a feeling she knew where this conversation was going ... and she didn’t like it.

  “What happened then?” Quinn asked on a quiet sigh.

  “He hit the back of my head.” Tears spilled over and cascaded down Violet’s cheeks. “He hit me like three times. Then he shoved me to the ground
. It was really hard for me to understand what was happening.

  “When I was on the ground he ripped down my underwear and ... he ... .”

  Quinn nodded in understanding. “It’s okay. You don’t have to go into that part right now. We’ll have a female psychologist sit down with you if there’s a need to go over the details.”

  Violet almost looked relieved. “Oh, well ... .”

  “Do you think you could recognize the man if you saw him again?” Quinn queried. “You said it was dark but there must’ve been something about him that you remember.”

  “It was dark. He smelled like cheap cologne. I don’t know which one. I don’t even know if he had blond or dark hair. I couldn’t see his eyes. All I know is that I scratched him. Here.” She demonstrated on her own neck, causing Rowan to bolt forward in her chair, her eyes wild.

  Quinn didn’t miss the change that overcame her. “What? Do you know something?”

  “Do you remember when I told you about the guy I talked to yesterday, the one who kind of droned on and on?”

  Quinn nodded. “Yeah. The most boring man alive.”

  “Well, I saw him his morning ... right before I saw Lana and Connie and texted you. He was on the deck and when he moved his shirt collar, I saw what looked to be scratches on his neck. He said it was a reaction to the sun, but I didn’t believe him. I got distracted, though, and forgot.”

  “Do you know his name?”

  “Just his first name. Dylan.”

  “That’s enough to track him down.” Quinn stood with determination. “Violet, I know you’ve been through a lot, but we need you to go to the hospital wing and get checked out. There will be doctors and psychologists there. I’ll have more questions, too. Rowan can take you while I look for this Dylan guy.”

  “Do you think he’s the one?” Violet asked tremulously. “Do you really think it’s him?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. I’m also sending men to check that alley for Lindsey. At least we’re finally getting somewhere.”

  Eight