Until depths do us part, p.24
Until Depths Do Us Part, page 24
Maybe I simply didn’t want to know my life was a lie. Willful obtuseness.
Speaking of oblivious, Susan shifted in her seat next to Dale. Her beaded peach silk dress screamed mother of the bride, but her sedated grief-stricken face told the tale of a woman drowning under the weight of significant loss.
Susan didn’t even glance at Dale or Frank despite the exchange.
“What do you mean there was a raid at the warehouse?” Clyde asked Dale. “You didn’t think that was something worth bringing up to your son-in-law, the corporate attorney?”
“I’ve got plenty of attorneys,” Frank interjected. “In my business, you need sharks. You’re a minnow.”
Clyde pushed his chair back and stood. “I don’t need to take this. I’m not even technically part of this family anymore.”
He marched out of the dining room.
“Daddy, is the business in trouble?” Lily asked.
Dale sighed. “I don’t know, Lilibet. It’s not good. Seems your uncle Frank here has been allowing shenanigans on the property. I haven’t had a chance to discuss our legal exposure with the lawyers, but I’m guessing when the US government shows up, it’s never a good sign.”
Frank made a dismissive gesture. “It’ll all work out.”
“You could go to jail. Hell, we both could go to jail.”
“Jail?” Lily’s lip quivered.
Dale turned to Frank. “What the hell’s a pangolin, anyway?”
“Do you mean penguin?” Nikki asked.
“I wish it were a penguin.” Dale said.
“I know what it is,” Serena offered. “A pangolin is like an anteater. Some people say they look like mini dinosaurs. We learned about them during our science lesson about threatened species.”
Sawyer scrunched his brows together. “You were keeping exotic pets in the storage lockers, Uncle Frank?”
Dale scowled. “It’s worse than that. Apparently, they found boots made from pangolin and skin cream made from protected sea turtle shells. As for the live pangolins, let’s just say they weren’t smuggling them to be pets.”
His words hung in the air.
Serena burst into tears. “You monster!” she shouted at Frank and ran out of the room.
Rhonda, who hadn’t said a word all evening, peered around the table like she’d just awoken from a deep slumber. “I don’t want to be here anymore. Char, tell Andy I said good night.”
She clumsily got out of the chair and slowly walked across the room and through the doorway.
“They’re dropping like flies,” Frank said and then shrugged. “More turkey for me.”
“Oh, Uncle Frank.” Lily groaned. She got up and left the room as well.
Neal, recognizing an opportunity to get back into his wife’s good graces, followed her.
The remaining diners—Frank, Dale, Sawyer, Nikki, Vance, Duncan, and I—looked at each other, unsure what to do next. Except for Susan, of course, whose focus was on the condensation dripping down her water glass.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Sawyer muttered.
*
After dinner I went back to the medical center to check on Jane. Dr. Fraser was gone, but a woman was sitting in the reception area.
“How is she?”
“You must be Charlotte.” The woman smiled. I guessed her to be in her forties, but only because of a few gray hairs at her temples and crow’s feet around her brown eyes that appeared when she smiled. “I’m Becca Fraser. I’m the resident nurse and Ian’s wife. He asked me to stay with her tonight. She’s resting. Her vitals are all good. I think she’s going to be just fine.”
“That’s a huge relief. Can I see her?”
“Of course, but just peek your head in. He wants her to get as much rest as possible. When we land in Victoria Saturday morning, he’d like a former colleague of his who specializes in head injuries to come onboard and examine her.”
“That would be great.”
I opened the door as quietly as I could. Jane was snoring. I took that as a good sign. I gently closed the door.
“Did she remember anything about who attacked her?” I asked Becca.
Becca shook her head. “Not that I’m aware.”
“Shoot. I was hoping she could shed light on who’s behind all this. Let me know if anything changes. I’m in room 701.”
Becca smiled. “Will do. Have a great night. Try not to stress about her.”
I chuckled. “I’ll try.”
The doors to the elevator were halfway closed, but I managed to push the button just in time. I was surprised to see Macy in the car. Her wide-open mouth and eyes said she was equally surprised to see me.
“Oh, hey, Charlotte.”
“Hi, Macy.” I stepped inside and pressed the keypad for seven as the doors closed. No other buttons were lit. “Are you going back to your room?”
She furrowed her brows. “Huh?”
I indicated the keypad.
“Oh.” She pressed six. “Shoot, I was spaced out. Forgot to press it.”
“Where were you coming from?”
She rubbed two fingers at the hollow of her throat. “I went down to the casino on four. I played the slots for a bit.”
The doors opened on six. I stood with my back to them to keep them from shutting. “Any luck?”
She stepped forward. “Not even a little.”
“Bummer. Well, I’m glad I saved you from having to ride the elevators up and down.”
She gave a forced laugh and stepped out of the car. “Yeah, thanks. I need to get my head out of the clouds.” She slapped her palm to her forehead a couple times. “Good night.”
I said, “Good night,” and let the doors shut.
A few moments later, the elevator opened to the seventh floor.
Once again, I was surprised to see someone on the other side. This time, it was Serena.
“Oh, Charlotte.” She touched her fingers to her chest and inhaled. “You startled me.”
I noticed her wrist was still bare. “No luck finding your bracelet?”
“Oh, it’s not lost. I just took it off because it was irritating my wrist.”
I’d held the doors open long enough that they’d started screaming at me. “Ah. I have sensitive skin, too. Was that a gift from Andy? He has one that is quite similar.”
“Actually, I gave it to him for his birthday last year.”
“How nice. I’m curious. What were you doing on this floor?”
Her cheeks reddened. “I was hoping maybe Andy would be in your room. I figured with everything that’s happened, Mr. Mesnier would know he couldn’t have killed Phoebe and released him.”
“You’d think, but no.”
She stepped into the elevator. “We should probably let this thing close before we wake up the whole floor.”
“Where are you headed now?”
“I think I’ll go up to Azure Lounge and grab myself a drink.”
“Okay, well, have fun. If I see him, I’ll let Andy know you came by.”
“Thanks,” she said as the doors closed.
I was nearly back to my stateroom when I got a text from an unknown number.
“Hi Char, it’s Elaine. I was wondering if we could meet later to talk about what happened today at Braithwaite Storage. I’m freaking out and I don’t know who else to speak to about it.”
Elaine chose me of all people? But I understood why everyone else might be too close to the situation. It was 7:45 P.M.
“Of course, Elaine. Would you like to come by my room at eight to chat?”
The reply came lightning fast.
“Let’s do 8:30. I have something I’ve got to do first. And can we meet on the ninth level on the observation deck? Afterward we can grab a drink.”
“Perfect, I’ll see you then.”
Inside my suite, I headed for the bedroom. I kicked off my heels, pulled off my dress, and grabbed a pair of jeans, a sweater, and some tennis shoes from the closet. I could switch the shoes out for my steel-toed boots for warmth, but I ultimately stuck with the sneakers. They had an extra-cushy insert that made it like walking on a cloud, while my boots were heavy and tended to give me blisters on my baby toes.
Within ten minutes, I was ready for action. I grabbed Xavier’s business card from the counter and my coat from the hall closet on my way out the door. As I walked to the elevator, I texted Xavier.
“If you don’t hear from me by 8:45, come looking for me on the observation deck.”
His response came as I got into the elevator and pressed nine.
“Who is this?”
“Charlotte McLaughlin”
“What are you doing?”
I decided not to answer his question, for fear he might stop me. Things had started to come together in my mind. It had taken me longer than it should have, but I was pretty certain I knew who had killed Phoebe and Ivy and who had attacked Jane.
My phone buzzed once more in my pocket as the elevator doors opened, but I ignored it. If I didn’t read his message, I wasn’t bound by its content, likely a cease-and-desist order.
Plausible deniability.
Chapter Thirty
The dining room was still in full swing for dinner service, and the Azure Lounge was ablaze with flashing lights, live music, and the din of conversation. I zipped my coat and braced myself for the cold as I walked through the double glass doors and out to the observation terrace.
Once the doors shut behind me, the noise became muted. The ship was anchored in place, so the engines were at rest. Waves lapped against the hull, and I could hear seagulls squawking overhead, even though I couldn’t see them.
There was one couple on the observation deck huddled together, looking up into the clear night sky. A pale band of green signaled the coming light show of the aurora borealis. The woman was shivering. I suspected she wasn’t enjoying the experience but didn’t want her companion to know it. They lasted only a few more minutes before returning to the warmth of Azure Lounge.
Even with my thick coat, my bones ached from the cold. It was below freezing by at least a few degrees. Also, I’d forgotten how useless jeans were in frigid temperatures. Thankfully, the wind was minimal.
Elaine was nowhere to be seen. I checked my phone. 8:07. I wasn’t due to meet her for another twenty-three minutes. I ignored the notification of the three texts from Xavier.
There were very few lights on the Kalispera level above me. Every once in a while, though, I saw a flash of light bounce off the darkness above.
Someone was up there.
I crept over to the outer stairs. They were metal with teeth for traction, narrower than the interior stairs, probably used mostly by crew members. It wouldn’t be good to slip and fall to the deck below. It did not look like a forgiving surface.
I put one toe on the first step. Thankfully, it made no sound. I mentally patted myself on the back for choosing to wear the tennis shoes with soft rubber soles rather than my boots.
I took another step, but this time the metal creaked below my foot. I froze in place. I was still in the shadows of the eaves, so when the light from above shone down, I felt confident I was hidden.
I held my breath and waited for the light to disappear. I couldn’t hear footsteps on the deck above me, but I could see by the way the light flickered, the person behind it had moved away from the railing.
I took a tentative step and then another. Soon, I was able to peek over the edge to get a glimpse of the Kalispera deck.
A hooded figure dressed all in black was hunched over near the bar area where I’d tripped over Ivy’s corpse. They seemed to be rooting around, using the flashlight on their phone to cast light on the ground. They scraped one of the lounge chairs across the deck and lifted one side to scour underneath it.
What was my next move? I couldn’t text anyone; the glow from my phone would alert them that I was there. I didn’t think I could climb much farther without making my presence known, and I didn’t feel great about holding my own in a physical altercation. I hadn’t worked out since Gabe’s funeral, and even before that, I hadn’t been in the best shape.
They had their back to me, so I climbed a couple more steps and shimmied onto the deck, doing my best to stay low.
I duck-walked a few feet and crouched behind a lounge chair. After about thirty seconds, my knees and hips were screaming for mercy, so I schlumped into a position Andy liked to call crisscross applesauce. I was pretty sure it was technically called the lotus in yoga, but my form definitely wasn’t textbook. Also, not the greatest position for readiness to defend myself.
The dark form stumbled. fell to its knees, and emitted a grunt. They crawled around for a few moments, and then suddenly, they stopped. As their flashlight moved, I caught a glimpse of something shiny.
I knew without a doubt it was the missing piece of jewelry.
I thought the person muttered, “Oh, thank God,” although the wind had begun to pick up and it made it difficult to make out the words.
The engines began to rumble below me. The ship’s anchor clanged as it was pulled from the bottom of Glacier Bay.
The figure got to their feet and shoved the item in their coat pocket, swaying a bit with the ship’s movement. They pulled out their phone and glanced at the screen before tucking it into their pocket.
I still couldn’t see their face, although I was pretty sure I knew who was hidden under that hood. I suspected she was checking the time to make sure she wouldn’t be late for our meeting.
She began to walk toward me with her head down. I hadn’t thought about the fact I was smack dab in the way of the exit. She was about twenty feet away when the aurora thrust a bright ribbon of lime green across the sky.
She gasped at the colorful display.
Being right didn’t feel as good as I thought it would. All I felt was sad. Sad for what had happened, for the lives that had been lost for no good reason, sad for the Braithwaites and what this would mean for them, and sad for what was to come. It was all so tragic and unnecessary.
The face, swathed in a glowing green, was that of Macy Keeling.
Her youth was on full display under the northern lights. I imagined nine-year-old Macy longing for beauty in her life amid the ugly she experienced every day.
None of her personal struggles justified her actions, but I felt empathy for the deprivation she’d endured that led to the desperation I believed had fueled them.
Unfortunately, in the same way the aurora had cast a glow on Macy’s face, it also illuminated mine. She turned to leave and caught sight of me. She stood rooted to the spot and stared at me for a moment, calculating her options.
There was no way for me to escape. She was younger, more fit, and nimble. By the time I could clamber to my feet, she’d be there.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I didn’t dare pull it out. Hopefully, it was getting close to eight thirty. I said a quick prayer that Xavier would know where to come looking for me when I wasn’t on the observation deck and didn’t respond to any of his texts.
“You’re early for our meeting.” Macy’s voice was monotone.
“Yes.” I slowly slid my legs to the side like a mermaid perched on a rock.
“Did you know it wasn’t Elaine texting you?”
“I suspected as much.”
“How?”
“The spelling and grammar were too good. Plus, I remembered Elaine mentioned she always used a ton of emoji in every text. Yours had none.”
She pursed her lips. “Ah. I didn’t know that. Oh well.”
“Was that text actually from her phone number?”
“Of course. It had to be in case anyone checked later. I grabbed it from her purse when she followed me to the bathroom after spilling her drink on me. Easy. So, how did you know I’d be up here? We were supposed to meet downstairs.”
“I didn’t know. I saw the light from your phone. That’s when I realized there must have been something left behind during the assault on Ivy.” I pointed at her jacket. “I take it you found your locket.”
She pulled it out and held it up so that the silver shimmered under the light of the aurora. “I didn’t notice Ivy had pulled it off in our struggle. The chain broke. By the time I realized it was gone, the area was cordoned off.” She shoved it back into her pocket.
“I can’t understand why you hurt Ivy.”
“I didn’t want to hurt her, not initially, at least. I wanted to be sisters. I texted her that morning, asked if she wanted to go to lunch together. I didn’t hear back, so I went to talk to her at her room. Clyde said she was at the spa with you and Jane. I told him I was hoping to take her to lunch, and she must have missed my text. He laughed and told me she got my message.” Her face hardened.
“That must not have felt very good.”
“She ignored me. She didn’t even respond. So rude. It’s not okay to treat people like that.”
“Macy, if you didn’t intend to kill her, why did you lock me in the sauna?”
“Look, I didn’t plan to kill her, but I also knew if my back was against the wall and I had no other choice, I’d do what I had to do—like with Phoebe—and I didn’t need you sticking your nose into it.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She blew hair out of her face. “I came down to the spa. No one was at the check-in desk, so I peeked in the book to see where Ivy was scheduled to be. I saw you go into the sauna, and I decided I would keep you there. I know how you like to be in everyone’s business.”
“How’d you get her out of the spa and up here?”
“I signed into a texting app with Sawyer’s account and asked her to meet me up here ASAP.”
“What did she do when she saw it was you instead of Sawyer?”
“She was pissed. I told her I just needed to know why she ignored my texts. She said I was a psycho, and she didn’t know what Sawyer saw in me. She told me I was too clingy, first with Phoebe and then with Mom. I lost it. I can’t even really tell you what happened next because I kind of blacked out. When I realized what had happened, Ivy was lying on the ground with a head wound, not moving. There was blood on the pole next to me like I conked her head against it. I don’t remember.” She shrugged.
