Page 74 of Dead in the Water

“I can’t believe it,” Joyce went on in her shrill, manic tone. “I lied to his face. What’s happened to me?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Kerry said. “Let’s just get out of here and put this miserable time behind us.”

“But I lied,” Joyce said, an air of disbelief in her tone. “Do you think he knew I was lying?”

“Let’s put it this way,” Vic said. “I don’t think you should get any ideas about a career in acting.”

“Kerry’s right,” Keith said. “We should get out of here. We’ll all feel better when we’re away from this place.”

“I’ll put my luggage away,” Russell said. “Then we’ll set off.”

Panicking, Lily began walking backwards. If they were about to set sail, she really needed to get off the boat, but she couldn’t bring herself to give up on her investigations when she felt so close to a breakthrough.

“Why don’t you put your things in Joseph’s cabin?” Kerry said, just as Lily slipped into the nearest cabin – Joseph’s.

Leaving the door slightly ajar, Lily glanced around the bare room while her brain tried to come up with a plan to get her out of this situation.

When nothing came to mind, it seemed her only option was to face them. She could still claim she’d been looking for them, even if it was entirely unbelievable. It didn’t really matter what they thought as long as she got herself off the boat.

Surely they wouldn’t call the police on her. Especially not with Joyce so distraught about just having lied to the police.

What had she lied about? Lily needed more time to figure it out.

She was out of time, though, and psyching herself up to reveal herself when Joyce’s distressed voice reached her ears.

“Please don’t,” she said desperately, while a bustle of footsteps increased in volume. “Not so soon. It feels all wrong to take his room.”

They were heading right for Lily. Her heart felt as though it might burst from her chest.

“But it’s the biggest room,” Kerry grumbled. “Russell is our skipper now. You don’t seriously expect him to stay in that tiny box of a cabin when the captain’s room is free.”

“It seems disrespectful,” Joyce said.

“Maybe you could just hold off for a few days,” Keith put in. “When things aren’t so raw.”

“It’s also not fair for Russell to get the biggest room.” Joyce’s voice was quieter now. “There’s only one of him.”

“You already have a double cabin,” Kerry retorted, the shape of her visible through the crack in the door.

“A very small double cabin!”

“Please don’t start this again,” Kerry said. “You’ve been gunning for that room since Lisa died. You’re very selfish sometimes. Also, why do you want all the hassle of moving rooms? Keith likes your room as it is, don’t you, Keith?”

“It’s fine,” Keith mumbled. “Joyce would really like the bigger room, though.”

“She’s made that very clear,” Kerry said. “But it’s disrespectful to Russell. You realise we wouldn’t be able to keep the boat if it weren’t for him?”

“I actually don’t care,” Russell said dully. “If Joyce and Keith take the bigger room, I can have theirs.”

“Nonsense.” Kerry’s tone was firm. “You’re the captain, you get the bigger cabin, that’s all there is to it. Wouldn’t that be better for you anyway, Joyce? You can kick Keith out into the single room when he’s snoring.”

“The snoring isn’t so bad,” Joyce said.

“Anyway,” Kerry went on, talking over her. “Let’s put the luggage away and set sail. All hands on deck in ten minutes. How about that?”

As the door began to open, Lily panicked and took a step back into the empty wardrobe. If they were sailing in ten minutes, that gave her ten more minutes before she needed to be off the boat. She’d figure out how to go about that when the time came.

Thankfully, the sliding door of the wardrobe didn’t creak when she pulled it to conceal herself.

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