then, surprising myself, “But I’m hoping to cover her maternity leave while she’s off. It’s partly why I got this trip, I think. They wanted to test the waters. See how I did.”
Although if this was a test, I was well on my way to failing it. Accusing my hosts of covering up a death was definitely not what Velocity had had in mind.
Tina drew on her cigarette again, and then spat out a thread of tobacco and looked at me appraisingly.
“Lot of responsibility, that role. But it’s good that you want a step up. And what will you do when she gets back?”
I opened my mouth to reply—and then stopped. What would I do? Go back to my old job? I was just wondering how to answer when she spoke.
“Give me a call sometime, when we’re back in the office. I’m always on the lookout for freelancers, particularly savvy little things with a bit of ambition.”
“I’m on a staff contract,” I said regretfully. I appreciated it was a compliment, and I didn’t want to throw it back at her, but I was pretty sure my noncompete clause wouldn’t let me moonlight.
“Suit yourself,” Tina said with a shrug. The boat lurched as she spoke, and she staggered against the metal rail. “Blast, my ciggie’s gone out. You don’t have a light, do you, sweetie? I left mine in the lounge.”
“I don’t smoke,” I said.
“Damn it.” She flicked the end over the rail and we both watched as it was snatched by the wind and whisked out of sight, gone before it even hit the churning water. I really should have given her my card, or at the very least started subtly pumping her about the Vernean’s plans for future issues and how far she’d got in buttering up Lord Bullmer. It was what Rowan would have done. Ben would probably have scored a freelance contract by now, and sod the noncompete stuff.
But right at this moment—with Nilsson probably even now shooting holes in my story to the captain—my career didn’t seem as important. If anything, I should be quizzing her, working out her whereabouts last night. After all, Ben had been playing poker with Lars, Archer, and Bullmer, which left a comparatively small pool of people who could have been in the cabin next to mine. Was Tina strong enough to push a woman overboard? I eyed her covertly as she began to hobble across the salt-sprayed deck toward the door, her narrow heels skidding slightly on the painted metal deck. She was greyhound thin, more sinew than muscle, but I could imagine there would be a wiry strength in her arms, and the picture Rowan had painted was of a woman whose ruthlessness more than compensated for her physical size.
“So how about you?” I said as I followed her towards the door. “Did you have a good time last night?”
She stopped abruptly at that, the heavy door held in one hand, her fingers clenched on the metal, the tendons on the back of her hand standing out like iron cables. She turned to stare at me.
“What did you say?” Her neck was thrust forward like a velociraptor’s, her eyes boring into me.
“I—” I stopped, taken aback by the ferocity of her response. “I didn’t—I was just wondering . . .”
“Well, I suggest you stop wondering, and keep your insinuations to yourself. A clever girl like you knows better than to make enemies in this business.”
Then she let go of the door and let it slam shut behind her.
I stood on deck, staring blankly after her retreating back through the salt-misted door, and wondering what on earth had just happened.
I shook my head and pulled myself together. There was no point in trying to figure it out now. I should be back in the cabin, preserving the one bit of evidence I had left.
I had locked the door before I left with Nilsson but I realized, as I made my way carefully down the stairs to the cabin deck and saw the cleaners pulling their vacuums after them, their trolleys piled with towels and linens, that I had forgotten to put out the DO NOT DISTURB sign.
Inside, the suite had been valeted to within an inch of its life. The sink had been polished. The windows cleaned of salt spray. Even my dirty clothes had magically disappeared. The torn evening dress was also gone.
But I wasn’t interested in any of it. Instead, I went straight to the bathroom, to the