| |
“There’s Emily,” Scott said, raising his arm to wave.
Claudia grabbed his elbow and held his arm down. “Don’t you dare call her over here!”
He gave her an incredulous look. “You can’t spend the rest of the cruise ignoring her.”
“Oh yeah? Watch me.”
Scott rolled his eyes. “And what about when we go home? Prairie Crocus is a small town. You’re going to run into Emily everywhere you go - it’s inevitable. I mean, she lives right down the road from you. And she shops at the same grocery store, banks at the same bank, goes to the same community events...you get the point. Are you going to pretend she doesn’t exist every time you two cross paths?”
“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”
Scott stood up.
“You’re not going over there, are you?” Claudia demanded.
He gave her an irritated look. “So what if I am?”
“You’re supposed to be on my side,” Claudia grumbled.
“I’m not taking sides in an argument I know nothing about,” Scott replied. “Personally, I think both of you are probably overreacting. For your information, I got up to go to the washroom. But if I happen to say hello to Emily in passing, then so be it. You two aren’t dragging me into your silly disagreement.”
It was a good thing Scott walked away, because Claudia probably would have said something rude to him had he stuck around. She didn’t appreciate him being so dismissive of her falling out with Emily. And, even though she knew it was dumb, she did want him to take her side. It stung that he wouldn’t.
Lucy hurried past, looking flustered.
When she saw Claudia, she stopped. “Have you seen a gold tennis bracelet lying around?” she asked hopefully. “It has little diamonds all over it and it’s engraved on the back.”
“No. Where do you think you lost it?”
“Maybe by the pool?” Lucy guessed. “I remember wearing it when I went to tan. I took it off because I didn’t want to get a tan line on my wrist. I think I put it back on afterward, but sometimes the clasp doesn’t quite catch. I’m thinking it may have fallen off?”
“I’ll help you look,” Claudia offered, climbing to her feet. “Where were you sitting?”
“Over there,” Lucy said, pointing. “But I made a few trips to the tiki bar,” she added. “So really, my bracelet could have fallen off anywhere between the lounge chair and the drink hut. Do you think it might still be on the ground somewhere?” she asked hopefully. “I need to find it. It’s expensive.”
Claudia spotted Fatima across the way. Now she was busy cleaning windows. Claudia marched over to her. It was true that Fatima had come to her rescue moments earlier when she was trapped in a never ending conversation with Stan. But Claudia was becoming increasingly convinced that Fatima was the thief who was stealing vacationers’ valuables.
“Have you seen a gold tennis bracelet?” she asked.
“No,” Fatima replied, barely even glancing at her.
“Are you sure?” Claudia pressed. “You were out here mopping. You didn’t come across a bracelet on the ground? No one would fault you if you picked it up and forgot to turn it in at the Lost and Found kiosk,” she added, trying to give Fatima an out. “I know you’re very busy.”
“I haven’t seen a bracelet,” Fatima snapped.
“Are you sure?” Lucy pressed, wringing her hands anxiously. “I need it back.”
Fatima scowled at her. “If it’s so important, then you should have left it at home!” With an angry huff, the cruise ship worker turned on her heel and stormed off, leaving her cleaning supplies behind.
“What’s her problem?” Lucy wondered.
“I have no idea.,” Claudia replied. “So aside from the missing bracelet, how are things?”
“I met someone,” Lucy said as the two women searched for the gold tennis bracelet. “We kind of hooked up,” she added with a sheepish giggle. “Don’t tell anyone, though. I don’t want word getting back to Chad’s family that I’ve already moved on.”
“I imagine it would be quite the shock for them.”
“Yeah, especially since they didn’t know I was planning to break up with Chad.”
“You were what?” a voice asked from behind them.
Ashton stepped into view and gave Lucy a curious look. “You were planning to dump my brother?” he asked, clearly having overheard the conversation. “Seriously? Were you going to break up with him on the cruise?”
“No,” Lucy replied, her eyes downcast. “After.”
“So you came on the cruise knowing you were going to end things with him?” Ashton pressed. “You let my brother pay for your trip even though you had no intention of staying in a relationship with him?”
“It’s not like that,” Lucy protested, her face reddening. “I can explain.”
“Don’t bother,” Ashton said, cackling with delight. “Oh, it’s a shame you never got the chance to dump him. That would have taken him down a notch or two. I’m pretty sure he thought he was God’s gift to women. Seeing the expression on his face when you kicked him to the curb would have been amazing.”
“Jeez,” Lucy replied. “I knew you didn’t like Chad, but that’s harsh. He died, Ashton.”
“Yeah, I know. Says the woman who’s already hooking up with other guys.”
“Only one guy,” Lucy clarified, as though that somehow made it better. “You’re not going to tell your family, are you?
“Who would I tell?” Ashton shrugged. “My dad is the only one who would care, and he’s not even here. Kyle isn’t going to be bothered by it. He wasn’t my brother’s biggest fan. Go ahead and live it up. Who’s gonna stop you?”
Lucy stared at him, momentarily dumbfounded. “I’m going to go see if my bracelet got turned in to the Lost and Found kiosk,” she suddenly announced.
“She lost a bracelet?” Ashton asked as Lucy hurried away.
Claudia nodded. “A gold tennis bracelet with diamonds.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure Chad gave her that. I’m not sure why she would care about losing it. Ah, she probably wants to sell it,” Ashton guessed. “I still can’t believe she was planning to dump my brother,” he added gleefully.
Claudia stared at him in disbelief.
“What? My brother was a jerk. He bullied me my entire life. Now that he’s dead, am I suddenly supposed to pretend none of that happened and act like he was the best person ever? I don’t think so,” Ashton said with conviction. “I’m not going to lie.”
“I saw you pacing,” Claudia told him. “You seemed upset.”
“Huh? Sometimes I pace,” Ashton shrugged. “It helps me think.”
“Your hand looks sore,” Claudia noted as Ashton favored it. “It’s all bruised.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“I saw you punch the wall.”
Ashton took a deep breath and began to chew his nails. “I’ve been anxious,” he admitted.
“About what?” Claudia pressed, hoping he would cave and admit he had killed Chad.
“I mean, like, what’s the future going to be like now that my brother is dead?” Ashton wondered. “My relationship with my father was bad enough when Chad was alive. I was constantly compared to him. I never measured up, of course.”
“Your father really favored Chad, huh?”
Ashton nodded. “I was my mother’s favorite,” he informed her. “So it evened out, I guess. But then after she passed away....well, I was always the odd one out. It was difficult. I guess maybe that’s why I became so withdrawn. Spending time online was easier than being around those two.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“It wasn’t so bad. I mean, look where it got me,” Ashton said. “I’ve made a killing buying and selling cryptocurrency. Who would have ever thought the nerdy awkward brother would be the more successful one?” he boasted.
“Did that bother Chad?”
“When he first found out I was dabbling in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, he made fun of me. He said I was wasting my time and money. He called me an idiot. Then, when he saw how my investments were paying off, he changed his tune. He felt entitled to my wealth,” Ashton sneered. “He was such a jerk.”
“You eventually did lend him some money, right? That’s what I heard, anyway.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?” Claudia asked. “If your brother was so terrible, why lend him a penny?”
Ashton stared at his feet. “It’s embarrassing,” he mumbled.
Claudia waited, staring at him expectantly. Eventually, he broke his silence.
“My father wanted me to lend Chad the money,” Ashton finally explained. “I was opposed to the idea, but I thought...I thought maybe if I went along with it, my relationship with my dad would improve. I thought it would make him respect me or be proud of me. I don’t know. It’s dumb.”
“That’s not dumb,” Claudia assured him. “It makes a lot of sense. Then what happened?”
“Chad kept refusing to pay me back. I mentioned it to Dad, but he made excuses for his favorite child, as usual,” Ashton said with disgust. “It quickly became clear to me that I was never going to see that money.”
“Your dad was okay with that?” Claudia asked in surprise.
“My dad always had blinders on when it came to Chad. My brother could do no wrong. The mental gymnastics my dad did to explain away Chad’s bad behavior could be astounding sometimes.”
“He must be taking Chad’s death pretty hard, huh?”
Ashton nodded. “I don’t know how to help him,” he said, his voice cracking.
“I’m so sorry. Ashton, what happened the night Chad died? There was a fight, right?”
“There was. It was Chad being Chad. He kept making little jabs at me, like he always did. I lost patience and brought up the money he owed me. We had all been drinking and things escalated more than usual. Normally I wouldn’t be so confrontational with my brother, but I suppose I felt emboldened having Kyle there. I knew he had my back.”
“Did Kyle and Chad get along?”
“Kyle tolerated Chad. You know the polite way a person treats a relative they don’t really care for? That’s how Kyle always acted toward Chad. I don’t think he felt all warm and fuzzy about my brother, but he was cordial.”
“So there was an argument. And then it turned violent?”
“Yeah. It’s all kind of a blur,” Ashton said, running a hand through his wild hair. He shifted from foot to foot. “I had never been kicked out of a restaurant before. I guess there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there? We were asked to leave. We made a big scene, so no wonder they gave us the boot.”
“And the fight continued outside the steakhouse?”
“Only briefly. Security came along and said to knock it off.”
“Then what?”
“Chad went storming off toward the bar. I didn’t see where Kyle went.”
“And what about you? Where did you go?”
“I dunno, I kind of walked aimlessly. You know, meandered. I tried to avoid crowds as much as possible. I wanted to clear my head and I didn’t want to have to dodge swarms of people while I was thinking. Like I said before, when I’m anxious, I pace.”
“Did you interact with anyone?” Claudia asked hopefully.
“Why are you asking so many questions?”
Claudia paused, considering how to answer the question. She decided honesty was the best policy. It wasn’t the time to be tactful. It was time to be blunt. “To tell you the truth,” she said, “I’ve been wondering if maybe you had something to do with Chad’s death.”
“Me? Seriously?”
“You didn’t get along with your brother. You were angry with him. In fact, it’s probably fair to say you had a lifetime of built up anger toward him. And you two were seen fighting shortly before Chad died.”
Ashton frowned. “When you put it that way, it does sound pretty bad,” he admitted. “But I didn’t do it. How do I prove that? I mean, if the investigators start trying to pin the murder on me, what do I do?”
“If you’re telling me the truth, then proving your innocence shouldn’t be too hard. When you were pacing after the fight, there had to have been a few other people around, right? I mean, it’s a cruise ship. There are people everywhere.”
Ashton nodded.
“Great. So all we need to do is find some witnesses who saw you.”
Ashton scrunched up his nose. “How? I probably did walk past a person or two, but I honestly don’t remember. How am I supposed to find those people? It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. And even if I do miraculously manage to find them, how likely is it that they’ll remember walking past me?”
“Hmmm, good point. Maybe it makes more sense to figure out where Chad went.”
“Talk to the people who were working at the bars,” Ashton suggested helpfully.
Claudia was beginning to question her theory that Ashton had murdered his brother. He was merely a socially awkward, nerdy young man who desperately craved his father’s love and acceptance. He had a motive to kill his brother, but that didn’t mean he was guilty.
Would Ashton have murdered his brother knowing that his father would be devastated? It seemed unlikely. The more they spoke, the more it seemed like he was incapable of hurting anyone. If anything, Ashton seemed fragile and highly sensitive.
Claudia offered him a sympathetic smile. “Thank you for speaking with me, and for the great suggestion you gave to talk to the bartenders. I’m going to do exactly that. I hope your hand feels better soon.”
“It will be fine. It just needs time.”
“You’ll be fine, too,” she told him earnestly. “I know you’re going through a really tough time right now and you’re hurting. You won’t always hurt like this...it will get easier, I promise. Like your injured hand, you just need time.”
