by Amber Crewes
Meghan cuddled closer to him and placed his arm around her shoulder. “I think she would be surprised,” she told him playfully. “But I also think she would be proud. I don’t think young Meghan ever expected to have such a handsome husband.”
Jack took Meghan’s face in his hands and kissed her hard on the lips. She sighed, leaning into him. “I love you,” she murmured, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne. “Do you know that?”
“I do,” he whispered, tucking a stray lock of Meghan’s dark hair behind her ear and leaning in to kiss her cheek. “More than anything.”
There was a sudden knock on the door, and they pulled apart. “Hugo?” Meghan called out. “Hugo, come on in. We’re hanging out in the bedroom.”
It wasn’t Hugo who entered, but two uniformed security officers. “Can I help you?” Meghan asked in confusion.
“What are you doing here?” Jack asked angrily. “You can’t just barge into our suite, let alone our bedroom.”
The officers’ faces were blank. “We need to speak with you,” the tall female officer on the left told them. “We have some questions about the murder of Oliver Winterburn, and we think you two have the answers.”
8
Meghan’s jaw dropped. “What? So it was a murder?”
The officers nodded in unison. “Yes.”
“Why do you think we have anything to do with it?” Jack demanded, his voice angry.
“We’re honeymooners,” Meghan insisted. “We didn’t have anything to do with a murder.”
The short male officer frowned. “You were seen attending Winterburn’s afternoon workshop on tiramisu,” he explained briskly. “And later that evening, you attended the bake-off, where you were overheard saying rude things about Winterburn.”
Jack crossed his muscular arms over his chest. “Saying rude things about someone doesn’t make you a murder suspect,” he laughed. “You need to rethink your logic on that one.”
The male officer glowered. “Excuse me?”
“This is ridiculous,” Jack complained. “Get out of our room. You have no right to be here. Do you even have a warrant? A complaint?”
The female officer narrowed her blue eyes at him. “You need to come with us,” she ordered. “Or else.”
“Or else what?”
The male officer grabbed Jack’s arm and forced him off of the bed. “Or else,” he warned.
Jack pulled away from the officer. “Don’t touch me,” he commanded. “Or you’ll be sorry.”
“So you’re threatening us now?” the female officer asked. “That doesn’t seem like a great move, Mr. Irvin.”
Meghan jumped off of the bed and approached the officers. “Please,” she asked earnestly. “This seems like a big misunderstanding; my husband and I are enjoying our honeymoon, and we don’t want to cause a scene. We didn’t have anything to do with Oliver Winterburn’s murder, I promise.”
“I promise,” the female officer said, mocking Meghan in a high-pitched voice. “You hear that? These suspects are making promises. How adorable.”
Jack moved in front of Meghan. “Don’t you dare make fun of my wife.”
“Calm down, buddy,” the male officer hissed. “Look at this meathead; that Winterburn guy was asphyxiated, and Mr. Irvin here sure looks like he has the strength to do that.”
Jack grinned. “You want to see strength?”
He pushed the officers toward the door. “Get out of my room.” Jack shoved them out of the double doors, and before they could protest, he locked the suite. “And stay out. Come back with a warrant, or don’t come back at all.”
He took Meghan by the wrist and led her back into the bedroom. “That was annoying,” he said casually.
“That was out of character,” she shot back. “Jack, what were you thinking? You can’t put hands on someone in a moment of anger. That’s so unprofessional and unnecessary. What on Earth…?”
He frowned. “I was just trying to keep us safe, Babe,” he explained. “They didn’t seem like legitimate officers. What if they were imposters or something?”
“On a cruise ship?” she replied incredulously. “Jack, you sound incredibly paranoid. I’m so shocked by what I just saw.”
Jack sat down on the bed and glared at Meghan. “Why are you mad at me? Those two were total buffoons; they were so unprofessional, and they even gave away information about Winterburn’s death! We didn’t know for sure it was a murder, and now we do. And they told us he was asphyxiated. They gave away so much information. They should really be ashamed of themselves. I might go down to the ship’s security station and file a complaint…”
Meghan shook her head. “Babe, they might come back up here with a warrant; you shoved them out the door, and if they want to arrest you, I’m afraid they could…”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Let’s just stop talking about this, okay?”
“No,” she said calmly, though inside, she was furious with her husband. It wasn’t her preference to ever make a scene, and she was shocked by how rude he had been. Sure, Meghan hadn’t been overjoyed to have two security officers at her door, let alone be considered suspects in a murder, but she wasn’t concerned; she knew she and Jack were innocent, and she had nothing to hide.
“Babe?” Jack asked her. “Can we just pretend like this didn’t happen? I know you are mad, and I guess I overreacted. I just don’t want this to be a big thing. I don’t want to ruin our honeymoon. I’m sorry I acted the way I did. Truly, babe. I’m sorry.”
Meghan took a long breath. “Promise you won’t act like that again?”
“I promise, my love,” he swore, and Meghan hoped he was telling the truth.
“Okay,” she agreed. “You’re right; let’s not let this ruin our honeymoon.”
Jack smiled at her. “I have a surprise for you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What kind of surprise, Babe?”
He pulled out his phone. “I haven’t checked my email all day, and I just got a special notification…”
“About?”
“It’s something you’ve been dying for.”
“Jack, just tell me,” she insisted. “I can’t handle a surprise right now.”
He beamed. “Our official wedding photos are in,” he said with a smile. “The photographer sent a link to me. Do you want to see them?”
“Do I ever!! Babe! This is amazing; she got them edited and fixed up so quickly. I’m so excited.” Meghan gushed.
“I thought you would be happy,” he told her. “Let’s see what she sent over.”
Jack retrieved his laptop out of his backpack and opened it, clicking on the email the photographer had sent. “Let’s see what we have here,” he muttered as the page opened.
Meghan gasped as the online gallery came into view. “Oh, babe,” she moaned in delight. “Look at these photos. We look so good. Look at my parents’ house. It looks like a dream. Can you believe it?”
Jack gave Meghan a wolfish smile. “My wife looked hot in that wedding dress,” he complimented her. “You were such a babe, Meghan.”
She blushed. “Look at these nice pictures of my parents,” she showed him. “The editing is so good; I thought the lighting at the ceremony wasn’t great, and the photographer really managed to fix these pictures up nicely.”
“That’s why we paid them the big bucks,” Jack explained. “Photographers can do magic these days.”
Meghan reached over and touched his arm. “Do you think a photographer could do magic on the photos of me we’ve been taking on this trip?” she asked. “I’m feeling a little... fluffy.”
Jack tore his gaze from the photos and looked at his wife. “Fluffy?”
“Fat.”
“Babe,” Jack murmured. “You are so beautiful. I wish you could see that.”
Before she could respond, she heard a knock on the door. “Hugo?” she whispered. “I hope those two aren’t back here.”
“I’ll go see who it is,” Jack told her. “Don’t you w
orry about it. And yes, if they come back, I’ll be polite this time.”
Jack left the bedroom. “Who is it?” Meghan heard him ask as he answered the door. She walked out into the entryway and gasped as the door opened. Twenty or so officers were standing outside, and they quickly pushed into the suite.
“Jack Irvin?” one of the officers asked.
“That’s me,” he replied. “Can I help you?”
“You need to come with us,” he ordered Jack. “Right away, Mr. Irvin.”
“Wait!” Meghan cried. “What’s this about?”
The officer glanced at her drawn face. “Mrs. Irvin, please don’t make this difficult. We need your husband to come with us immediately.”
“But why?”
“He’s being questioned about the murder of Oliver Winterburn, and we are taking him to get his statements right now, whether he likes it or not.”
9
“Please,” Meghan begged as an officer put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and guided him out of the suite. “Please don’t take him away. It’s our honeymoon. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
The officer turned to Meghan, but Jack spoke first. “Babe, he began. “Don’t worry. I’ll go with these folks and answer their questions. It isn’t a big deal. I should’ve been more accommodating from the beginning.”
Meghan started crying. “Go do something fun,” Jack urged her. “Go get a massage, or go have a nice meal. Don’t spend your day fretting over me.”
She watched silently as Jack was directed down the hallway. Her heart pounded; why was Jack being questioned about a murder? Jack was a detective; his character was strong, and he was brimming with honesty and integrity. Meghan felt so confused as she walked back inside of their suite, and she didn’t know what to do next.
Jack’s words came back to her. “Go do something fun. Don’t spend your day fretting over me.” Could she relax when her husband was being questioned for murder? She didn’t know, but she did not want to spend all day stuck inside of their honeymoon suite; it made her miss Jack too much.
“I’ll go to the pool,” she decided as she glanced at her olive green one piece bathing suit draped over the peach armchair in the corner of the bedroom. “Maybe the water will calm me down.”
She changed into the bathing suit, pleasantly surprised as she looked at her reflection in the mirror of the luxurious bathroom. The outfit fit her perfectly, and the green complemented her dark skin tone. The waist was cinched in by a stretchy white belt, and Meghan’s curves looked feminine and sensual beneath the flattering material.
“Maybe I don’t look bad after all,” she thought as she struck a pose in the mirror. “I need to have more confidence; curves aren’t a bad thing.”
She fastened a loose white linen dress over her swimsuit and put on a pair of strappy white sandals. Grabbing a straw beach hat and her matching purse, she felt beautiful and put together as she strolled out of her suite. It was only when she caught sight of herself in the large hallway mirror that her confidence decreased; had her stomach looked that pudgy when she looked at herself back in the suite? Were her arms really that loose? Meghan bit her lip, but not wanting to waste the day, she proceeded to the indoor pool on the lower deck.
She lowered herself onto a mint green chaise, relieved to find empty chairs next to her. She wasn’t in a good mood, and she did not feel like socializing with the other guests. Meghan reached into her bag and pulled out the latest copy of Cake, the trendy magazine for young bakers and restaurateurs.
“Hi there,” a voice interrupted her reading. Meghan looked up to see an overweight woman with curly blonde hair settling into the chair beside her.
“Hey,” Meghan answered curtly.
“It’s a nice day for a swim, isn’t it?” the woman commented. “I can’t wait to get into the water. This indoor pool looks lovely.”
“It does,” Meghan agreed, her eyes still on her magazine.
“Are you having a good time?” the woman asked cheerfully as she stripped off her cover-up to reveal a purple one-piece bathing suit. “This has been the time of my life.”
“That’s nice.”
“Are you single? Cruise ships are great places to be single, and with that cute swimsuit, I bet any guy who comes over here will chat with you.”
“I’m actually married,” Meghan told her. “But thanks for the compliment. I do like this swimsuit.”
“You don’t seem thrilled to be here,” the woman stated. “Are you okay?”
“It is fun, but I think I could be ready to go home,” Meghan admitted off-handedly.
The woman raised an eyebrow. “Home? Already? But there is so much to do. What activities have you done on the ship?”
Meghan groaned inwardly; she was irritated at being interrupted, and she had no interest in making small talk, especially with Jack in trouble.
“I’ve done some workshops,” she explained, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt. “What about you?”
“I’ve been trying to get into Oliver Winterburn’s workshops and speeches, but the rest of them were canceled,” she said sadly. “I don’t know why. I just love him so much; cheering on my baby for years has been such a joy, and now that he’s become so famous, I’m just so proud of him. He’s really a wonderful man; the time we’ve spent together has been so precious, and I can’t imagine loving someone more.”
Meghan stared at the woman in disbelief. Was she joking? Oliver had a wife, and from the way the woman at the salon described Mrs. Winterburn, this woman certainly wasn’t her. Was this a girlfriend? Was Oliver having an affair? Meghan thought it was pretty bold for him to bring his wife and girlfriend aboard the same cruise ship.
“What about you?” the woman asked. “Are you an Oliver enthusiast as well? Well, how could anyone not love him?”
“I’m married,” Meghan repeated. “Happily married.”
“The old I’m married trick,” the woman giggled, winking at Meghan. “Classic. I love it. I used to do that one when I wanted to visit him backstage during his residency show in Prague. I pretended my husband was a member of the crew, and they almost always let me backstage.”
“Wait a second,” Meghan paused. “What are you talking about? And didn’t you hear about Oliver?” Meghan asked cautiously. “About what happened to him?”
“What happened to him? What do you mean?” the woman blinked in confusion. “Did something happen to my love? Do you know him as well?”
“How do you know Oliver?” Meghan asked carefully. “Have you been... together... a long time?”
“Together? Oh, that’s rich. I wish we were together. In my dreams, we are together. But alas, in reality, I’m just his biggest fan.”
“You are his fan?”
The woman nodded. She stood up and unfolded her beach towel, showing it off to Meghan. “I had it custom made,” she announced proudly, and Meghan realized the towel had Oliver’s face on it.
“Wow,” she replied weakly. “That’s... great.”
“And check this out,” the woman said. “I had these made too.”
She pulled a t-shirt and shorts out of her pocket, and Meghan saw Oliver’s smiling face was emblazoned on the set. “Aren’t these cute?”
Meghan raised an eyebrow. “You really, really like him, don’t you?”
“You could say I’m his biggest fan,” the woman grinned. “I’ve followed his career from day one, and now, I follow him around the world. I’ve been at every single Oliver Winterburn cruise, retreat, and live show for the last three years, and I know that one day, he’s going to realize that I’m the one for him. Sometimes, I hide out in the bushes in front of his flat in Chelsea, and if I stand on my tiptoes, I can see inside his parlor. I wish he knew as much about me as I know about him, but I know that one day, he’ll fall in love with me.”
Meghan stood up. This woman was a stalker, not a girlfriend. “I have to go,” she offered flatly as the woman smiled eerily at her. “It was... interesting meetin
g you.”
“Likewise,” the woman replied. “A pleasure!”
Meghan walked away quickly, feeling very puzzled by the interaction with Oliver’s stalker, and she hoped the woman wasn’t dangerous.
“She seemed to be out of her mind,” Meghan thought to herself as she wandered upstairs to the outdoor pool. “I wonder if she knows anything about Oliver’s murder...”
She rounded a corner and stepped outside. It was a sunny day, and though it was a bit chilly, Meghan was happy to be outdoors in the fresh air. “I should’ve come to this pool to begin with,” she thought as she arranged her things and sat down. “I could’ve avoided Mrs. Crazy had I done that!”
