Page 26 of The Situation Ship
“That won’t be necessary. We’ll follow your orders,” Isaiah assured her, and Mina nodded.
“Ms Roe?” Captain Hamill prompted, resting her elbows on the desk.
Frustration boiled under Poppy’s skin, but Isaiah’s hold on her shoulder warned her not to argue. His job was to protect her, and she understood that the captain was trying to protect everyone else on board.
“Sorry for being so rude. It must be the shock from the accident,” she said, softening her tone.
“There’s no need to apologise; I’m just relieved we’re all on the same page. We’ve arranged new rooms for you on the third floor. The rooms are smaller, but closer to our security room,” Captain Hamill informed them.
“Thank you. The rooms don’t matter so long as we’re safe and together,” Poppy said, not going to complain about space when she had seen a dead body only a few hours ago. Also, she’d spent the last year on tour buses, so she would feel right at home. It was good to know she could get to Isaiah and Mina faster if something went wrong.
“Before you go and get settled, I need to confirm the whereabouts of all three of you last night to build a timeline of the incident,” Captain Hamill said; clearly, she was more suspicious than she had let on. Would she investigate secretly, or would their statements be used against them later if the ‘slip and fall’ theory didn’t hold?
“And to rule us out as suspects?” Isaiah added.
“Nothing like a few cocktails before slaughtering a maid and then calling security on ourselves.” Poppy pressed her lips together; she hadn’t meant for the comment to slip out.
“There’s no need for that, Ms Roe. Please answer my questions so we can get through this as painlessly as possible,” Captain Hamill said.
“You can check everything on our watches, the cameras—” Poppy reached for her wrist. “Right! My watch –I lost it in the bar last night. I was drinking, and I must have taken it off. Security said Patrice had it last night when shefell.You might be able to figure out her movements before the accident if you can trace it.” She wanted to know if she had lost it or if it had been nicked so that Patrice could get into her room when she wasn’t there.
“I’ll call the security office. They should be able to tell us where it is and when it was last used.” The captain picked up the phone on her desk and dialled. “I need a trace on a wristband.Empress suite. Poppy Roe.”
There was a pause.
“When was the last time you remember having it?” Captain Hamill asked Poppy.
“I used it to buy drinks at the Pearl Bar at around eleven, but then I don’t think I used it again,” Poppy said.
“We can confirm you purchased a bottle of Cristal,” the captain informed them.
“I went back to my room to change into my swimsuit at about midnight,” Poppy said, “but I can’t remember if the door was open. Or if I used my watch.”
“You didn’t. I just remembered I used mine to let you in to change, and I went to bed,” Mina said, filling in the blanks. “But when I tried to get into your room later during the drill, it wouldn’t let me.”
The captain repeated the information on the phone.
“We can confirm that Mina’s watch was used to open the door at midnight. There’s no activity on Ms Roe’s watch until about 3:30am.” Captain Hamill finished. “It went offline roughly thirty minutes after entering the room.”
“Poppy wasn’t in her room at that time. When the alarm sounded, Mina and I checked her door, but she wasn’t inside,” Isaiah said.
Poppy jumped in, not liking being talked about as if she weren’t there. “I went to the pool in the tranquillity spa for some peace. You can check; I’m sure they have cameras.”
Another dramatic pause as the captain repeated her alibi.
“Our cameras have confirmed her whereabouts when she entered the spa,” Captain Hamill said at last. “You were also marked absent on the muster drill.”
Poppy’s shoulders sagged, feeling vindicated. “The spa staff didn’t want me to go, since I was drunk. They thought it was safer if I stayed with them.”
“I found her just after four,” Isaiah added, building the timeline.
“Are you saying there was a body in the bathtub when we went to check on her during the drill?” Mina went a warm shade of green.
“Most likely. The culprit could’ve been in there with her,” Isaiah said.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Mina said, and Poppy leaned away just in case. She had already stepped in blood today. Being thrown up on was too much.
Captain Hamill handed Mina a bin from beneath her desk. “Where were you while they were at the spa?”
