Page 60 of The Situation Ship
“Calliope put up a fight. I’m surprised she could even muster the strength to make it to the stage. She had scratches on herarms and neck. She didn’t go down easy, and there was a bloody smudge on her back that didn’t match her injuries. The killer might have grabbed her and transferred some of their blood onto her. There were also some hair fibres between her fingers, which might be from the killer. Again, I’ve taken samples, and I’ll send them out once we dock,” Dr Rancliff said.
Finally, some good news.Blood and hair samples felt like hitting the jackpot.
“What colour was the hair?” Isaiah asked. “Long, short?”
“Dark,” Dr Rancliff said, reading off a list. “Long.”
Isaiah concealed his relief. Poppy couldn’t have done it.
“With the blood and hair, we should be able to put a name and face to this monster,” Davide said. “There’s a nasty storm approaching, and we’ll use it as an excuse to dock longer in Amalfi, where we can send all the samples to the local lab for testing. We’ve already called ahead for them to be picked up.”
“The storm is a great excuse to stop the guests panicking. When will we dock? Do the other guests know?” Isaiah asked, liking that the captain already had a plan to get the evidence tested.
“No, we’re waiting until this evening to make the announcement, since the sea will be a little rough and it’ll help sell the urgency. We should dock in the early morning. The storm will pass over us and the Amalfi Coast while we search the ship, get the evidence tested, and then we can continue to Greece without alarming the guests,” Davide said. “We also don’t want the killer to know what we’re up to.”
“Good idea,” Isaiah said, trying not to reveal how excited he was to have his feet on solid ground.
“What if the killer gets off and doesn’t get back on again?” Dr Rancliff asked. “Not that I want a killer to stay onboard.”
“I believe their target is Poppy. Each of the victims has been connected to her. I think the killer is playing a game ofcat and mouse, and the ship is the perfect playground. Even if disembarking in Amalfi saves them from getting caught for the murders they’ve already committed, they won’t be able to give up their game when they’re so close,” Isaiah said.Maybe I should get Poppy off the ship and run.But he knew deep in his gut that would only cause the killer to chase them.
“How is Ms Roe?” Davide asked, sounding guilty. “She was quite distraught last night, and we were sorry to have to put her through additional emotional turmoil. Once we dock, we’ll be able to give her real answers.”
“I’m not going to speak for her. Your priority is the ship, and mine is Poppy. Now that we’re working together, we can protect both,” Isaiah said, not wanting to make him feel better about how they had gaslit a traumatised woman.
“Fair enough,” Davide said, not pressing further.
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Isaiah asked the doctor.
“This is all the information I have for now,” Dr Rancliff said, covering up Joshua’s body and sliding it back into the wall.
“Now you know what we know. How do you wish to proceed?” Davide asked.
Isaiah wanted to get back to Poppy, but he also didn’t want to waste the opportunity, since the first mate was feeling so compliant. “I want to see the security footage. Don’t bother trying to lie about updates or glitches, because I know you use Eagle Eye software. I want to see whatever you refused to show Poppy last night.”
Davide hesitated, but then shrugged. “You’ll need to come with me to the surveillance room on the engineering level.”
Isaiah thanked the doctor for his time, and they left.
To his astonishment, Poppy was in the surveillance room with Captain Hamill.
“What are you doing here?!” Isaiah demanded.
Davide immediately went to the captain’s side, while the security guards who had escorted them waited outside.
“How nice of you both to join us. Ms Roe is here with me because she was found searching the lounge deck, despite the area being cordoned off to guests,” Captain Hamill informed him while Poppy stared at the floor.
“Sorry for causing trouble, but I lost a charm from my charm bracelet last night, and I wanted to look for it,” she told them, holding up her wrist to show the captain, who didn’t look amused. “I found it and was about to leave the area when your charming head of security, Colter, decided to drag me here.”
“I have enough to deal with without guests going where they shouldn’t,” Colter said, looking away from the surveillance screens as Poppy mentioned him. Isaiah glared at him, hoping for his sake that when Poppy said ‘dragged’, it wasn’t meant in the literal sense.
“Are you alright? Did he put his hands on you?” he asked her. The thought of anyone touching her made him grind his teeth.
“I’m fine. He didn’t touch me,” Poppy assured him, waving her hands frantically like she was afraid Isaiah would lose his temper.
“Ms Roe wouldn’t have been dragged anywhere if she had followed the rules and not crossed the caution tape,” Captain Hamill said impatiently, dismissing Colter from the surveillance room.
“I waited to ask a security guard to see if they would look for the charm for me, but there was no one around. I figured since your security team told me I’d made up last night’s incident, there should be no reason why I couldn’t look around the jacuzzis,” Poppy said. “And it only took me a moment to find it.”
