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A popular coffee kiosk had closed for the evening. The small round bistro tables in front of it were all empty. Claudia led Lucy over to one and the two women took a seat. Scott hung back, pausing to flip through some travel brochures that were sitting out on a nearby table.
“How are you holding up?” Claudia asked Lucy.
“What do you think?” Lucy shot back. She made a face. “Chad is dead and I’m stuck on a cruise ship in a foreign country with his family. I feel like I’m stuck in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.”
Her choice of words set off alarm bells for Claudia. “What do you mean by that? What is Chad’s family like?” she asked, wondering for the ten billionth time what kind of people Emily’s in-laws were and whether her friend had gotten in over her head.
Lucy shrugged. “Ashton is a huge geek. I’ve known him for years but I feel like he’s still pretty much a stranger. He doesn’t talk much and when he does, it’s all about computers and cryptocurrencies and hackers. He may as well be speaking another language.”
“So Ashton doesn’t have much in common with the rest of the family, huh?” Claudia surmised. “He’s kind of the odd one out?”
“The black sheep,” Lucy nodded.
“What about the rest of them?” Claudia pressed. “I thought you were friendly with Kyle?”
“We were friends before I started dating Chad, back when we worked at the restaurant together,” Lucy replied. “After Chad and I got together, not so much. Things changed.”
“Why?”
Lucy hesitated. “Chad was always jealous,” she finally admitted. “Kyle and I were never anything more than friends. I kept telling Chad that, but he still didn’t want me hanging out with Kyle. He could be irrational like that sometimes. Pigheaded, too.”
“He thought you would cheat on him with Kyle?”
“I guess. He always thought I was going to cheat on him with, well, everyone. I mean, I’m a fun-loving person. I like to party and sometimes I get flirty,” Lucy admitted. “But it’s all harmless, you know? Chad knew that. Or at least he should have. I’m not the one who couldn’t be trusted.”
“What do you mean?”
Lucy went quiet.
“Lucy,” Claudia pressed. “Are you saying Chad couldn’t be trusted?”
“He had a couple, uh...indiscretions over the years,” Lucy admitted. “He cheated on me with two diferent women the first year we were dating, mmkay? He swore they were one night stands that didn’t mean anything so, like an idiot, I took him back.”
“I had no idea.”
“No one knows. I mean, what does it say about me? Was I such a lousy girlfriend that he had to go looking outside our relationship? Because I like to think I was an awesome girlfriend,” Lucy declared, anger flashing in her eyes. “I’m a catch! He took me for granted.”
“Why did you stay with him?”
Lucy sighed. “We had a nice life together. When I was with Chad, we went on vacation half a dozen times a year. We went out to eat nearly every night of the week. There was never any shortage of champagne or new shoes...”
“So Chad spent a lot of money on you,” Claudia summarized.
“When you put it like that, it makes me sound awful,” Lucy complained. “I’m not a golddigger,” she insisted. “There was a time when I truly loved Chad. I thought he was the person I would spend the rest of my life with. I thought we would eventually settle down and have a family.”
“You’re speaking in the past tense,” Claudia noted. “I’m guessing your feelings changed?”
“Shortly before we came on the cruise, I found out Chad was cheating again,” Lucy confided. “I had fooled myself into believing he had learned his lesson. I had convinced myself he was being faithful. But I was wrong.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, me too - sorry that I wasted so much time with that lying sleazeball! I decided I was going to end things with Chad. But the cruise was already booked and...I’ll be honest. I decided if our relationship was over, I may as well get a nice vacation out of it,” Lucy admitted.
“So you came on this trip knowing you were going to break up with Chad.”
“Yes. I was planning to dump him as soon as we got home.”
“But then he died.”
Lucy clasped her hands in her lap and lowered her head. “Now I don’t know how to act,” she confessed. She met Claudia’s gaze. “Emotionally, I had already checked out. So when Chad wound up dead...I mean, yes, it’s terrible...but it’s so awkward that his family expects me to be grief stricken. I’m not.”
“What a strange position to be in.”
“Yes.”
“What can you tell me about the night Chad died?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when did you last see Chad alive?”
“Right after the guys got kicked out of the steakhouse. I happened to be walking past on my way to the hot tub. I heard the commotion and I saw Chad and Kyle fighting. I wanted no part in it,” Lucy declared. “So I pretended I didn’t know them and went out to the hot tub.”
“And that was the very last time you saw Chad?” Claudia pressed, just to be sure.
Tilting her head to the side, Lucy pondered the question. Then she jumped to her feet. “I’m gonna be sick again,” she mumbled before stumbling to the nearest garbage can.
And just like that, the conversation ended.
