Page 27 of Terminal Voyage

Possibilities swirled.

What if Sophia came back to the room and caught them? In a fit of rage, maybeshestrangled Kate. To cover it up, the two of them conspired to rid themselves of the evidence. The body would never be found. Perhaps it was the perfect murder.

My mind raced.

The more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself something terrible had happened.

But I didn’t hear a splash from the body.

Then again, how could I with my windows shut and the raging sea?

That sick feeling twisted in my stomach. They were going to get away with it unless I did something. But what the hell could I do?

12

"Let me get this straight," the captain said when I approached him on the bridge. "You think you heard someone being assaulted in the cabin next door?"

"I don'tthink.I know."

"And you checked the neighboring cabin and didn't find anything?"

"Yes, but they could have easily thrown her overboard.”

Captain Curran stifled an eye-roll.

He was in his mid-50s with a swarthy tan, curly dark hair and a little bit of stubble at this hour. His coffee-brown eyes narrowed with doubt. In his pressed white uniform, he looked sharp.

The ship’s head of security had joined us. The seams on his royal blue polo shirt were about to burst. At 6’3”, 220 lbs, Silas was packed with muscle. In his mid-30s, he had shortdark hair, dark eyes, and a trimmed beard. He didn’t say much.

I hadn’t really paid attention to him when I first boarded. I thought he was just a deckhand, lingering around, trying to anticipate guests’ needs. But he never handled any of the mundane tasks. He never hovered, but was always in the shadows. If he wasn’t around, another big guy was. It made sense that a guy like Declan would have a security staff. Especially with guests like Luciano on board.

"There needs to be a full investigation," I said.

"Who exactly do you think was murdered?" Curran asked.

"Kate.”

"Kate who?”

I shrugged. “I don't know. She didn't tell me her last name.”

"And you say you saw thisKatego into Luciano’s room with him?”

I nodded.

"What time was that?"

I bit my bottom lip. "I'm not really sure. It was late. 12:30. 1:00 AM.”

Captain Curran muttered to his first officer. "Check the passenger manifest for anyone named Kate or Catherine."

The first officer nodded and scurried away.

"Could you have been mistaken?" Curran asked me.

I shook my head. “No.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way you could have heard anything in the next cabin.”