Darkest Journey (28 page)

“Have fun,” Jimmy said cheerfully, heading for the catering tent.

Charlie came out of the dressing room, transformed into a modern young professional in her office attire. Brad, Mike, Luke—hauling his microphones, headphones and other equipment—and Jennie—makeup box in hand—walked with her over to the spot where Brad had chosen to shoot. Everyone but Charlie was completely unaware that they'd been joined by Captain Ellsworth Derue.

From his vantage point a short distance from the church, Ethan could see both the filming and Jonathan standing near the church and speaking to a crowd.

He noticed that Jennie frequently looked over in Jonathan's direction.

The filming went off without a hitch. There was nothing for Charlie to see as she got up from the ground where she'd fallen, but Brad painted the picture with words as she looked around her. She was terrified when she first saw the ghosts, but then she realized they were there to protect her, that they would save her from the evil
living
men who were chasing her. Once they'd captured a satisfactory take, Brad had Luke set up a new scene marker and called for silence on the set. Charlie had been set up with a mic, and now she thanked the ghosts who were supposedly surrounding her, though once again she was on her own, talking to the air. When the scene was completed to Brad's satisfaction, he called “Cut!” and went over and kissed Charlie on the cheek, and told her she was brilliant.

While Charlie was busy talking with Brad, Ethan strolled over to where Jennie was standing.

“Not only did you know Corley and Hickory,” he said softly and without preamble, “you knew them pretty well.”

She flushed and looked at him. “Not really. We were all involved in an organization called Sane Energy. They wanted to try to talk to some oil-company bigwig about changing an oil pipeline, and I thought it was a good idea.”

“You claimed you barely knew them.”

She sighed and looked at him. “Okay, I knew them a little more than ‘barely,' but it's not like we were buddies or something. And I didn't want to get involved, because what if that made me a target? I don't know who killed them or why, I swear.”

“Okay, let's leave that for now and talk about the fact that you talked to Albion Corley on the
Journey
the day of the reenactment, and then you rushed to talk with Jonathan Moreau. Why did you need to talk to Jonathan if not to tell him what you must have known, that Albion and Farrell wanted his help with their plan?”

Jennie shook her head. “Yes, that's why I wanted to talk to him, but I didn't get the chance to tell him anything. Someone was talking to him, asking him questions. People are always asking him questions. He left to set up his next lecture before I got a chance to talk to him.”

Ethan had to be satisfied with that, because Brad and Charlie had stopped talking and were heading his way.

“Done for the day,” Brad said happily. “We should all head to the café.”

Ethan looked at his watch, surprised to see that it was already midafternoon, and they'd promised Derue a visit to the church. “Can't. Charlie has a show at five thirty,” he said.

“Well, that sucks,” Brad said.

“How about breakfast tomorrow?” Mike asked, walking up to join them. “The
Journey
stays in port until midmorning. We could do an early breakfast, say eightish? Maybe eight thirty.”

“Sounds good,” Ethan said.

“Sure,” Charlie agreed.

“Still wish you could come with us now,” Brad said.

“Me, too, but we'll see you in the morning,” Charlie promised.

“Okay, then,” Brad said. “Come on, Jennie. Let's go.”

Jennie looked toward the church again, and Ethan followed her gaze. Jonathan and his group were gone. Damn. He'd wanted to observe the man more closely while they were so near where Hickory's body had been buried.

Ethan and Charlie waited until the others were trekking back to their cars. Then he turned to Captain Derue, who had been waiting quietly, and said, “Let's head over to the church.”

“So many lives...” Derue said quietly, looking off toward the graveyard.

Ethan took Charlie's hand. He squeezed it as they followed Derue toward the church.

They were almost there when they saw Anson. He materialized right in front of them, but he didn't even seem to notice Ethan and Charlie, only the ghost who was with them.

“Ells,” he said in shock.

“Anson.”

The two ghosts embraced warmly, and then they walked away and sat on an aboveground tomb, where they rested and talked.

Ethan knew he had to get Charlie back to the
Journey
, but there was no reason not to leave the two cousins there to catch up. Derue had plenty of time to find his own way back.

“Charlie and I are going to head back to the ship!” he called.

Anson McKee looked toward them for a moment, then lifted a hand and waved goodbye. Ellsworth smiled and did the same.

Ethan and Charlie turned and headed toward their rental car.

“That was beautiful,” Charlie said.

“I always figured ghosts could find each other if they wanted to, but apparently I was wrong. I guess we'll never know all the answers, even if we do have the ‘sight.' Not until we die ourselves, anyway.”

“In that case, I hope I stay ignorant for a long time,” Charlie said with a smile.

At the car, Ethan glanced at his watch. He was barely going to get Charlie back in time for her first performance.

“Don't forget I still have to change,” she said, checking the time herself.

“I'll get you there.”

He drove to the dock, aware of the time the whole way. When he reached the dock and the spot where he was supposed to leave the car, Charlie asked, “Do you really think a ninety-pound woman could be our killer?”

“What?”

“Jennie. I saw you talking to her, and from the look on her face, you weren't making casual conversation. You were questioning her, weren't you?”

“I was asking her about Sane Energy.”

“Oh?”

“She admitted she knew Albion and Farrell better than she'd admitted before, said she was a member of Sane Energy, too. She did know that they wanted to set up a meeting with Gideon Oil.”

That was the end of the conversation, because they had to produce their ship ID cards so they could board. Charlie was ready to run ahead without him, but he insisted on going with her.

“I'm going to check on the others, but I'll be back over to walk you up to the dining room.”

“Just hurry, 'cause I'm running late.”

“Okay, okay, just be sure to lock the door.”

“Locking!” she called.

Ethan walked the two steps to Jude and Alexi's cabin, though he suspected they'd already gone up to the Eagle View. He had just raised his fist to knock on their door when he heard a startled scream from his own cabin.

Charlie!

15

C
harlie stood still, staring in horror at the mirror above the sink.

You're next.

The words seemed to drip down the glass, and they looked like they were written in blood, but they couldn't have been. Could they?

Charlie backed away from the mirror.

She didn't even realize she had screamed until Ethan burst into the cabin and raced up behind her.

It was lipstick, just lipstick,
she thought, and tried to reassure herself that this was a sick prank.

She felt Ethan's hands on her shoulders, firm and reassuring.

“Lipstick,” he said. “Don't touch it. I'll get hold of Randy and have him send a forensics team. We may find something, fingerprints or...something.”

“Is this...a joke? The printing looks like a kid's, and the message...it's like something from half the cheesy horror movies out there. But...how did someone get into our cabin?”

“We'll worry about that later,” Ethan said. “Maybe someone ‘borrowed' a master key from one of the maids. But joke or not, people are dead, and this isn't funny. Find your things, and we'll get you into one of the other cabins. You can change there while I wait for forensics to show up. The
Journey
doesn't leave St. Francisville until tomorrow morning, so we have plenty of time to get a handle on this.”

“Okay,” Charlie said. She turned and hurried to the closet, collecting her dress, shoes, corset and petticoat. She felt cold, and as if she was moving like a robot. But she was calm. No, she realized, she was
too
calm. She was almost numb.

Paradoxically, she was also angry. How dare some sicko sneak into her cabin and try to scare her this way?

She didn't think she would be able to sleep in here again. Yet where could she go? She was pretty sure the ship was at capacity.

Once she was ready to leave, she noticed that Ethan was just hanging up the phone, and when he took her arm and led her out, Jude was already out in the hallway and waiting for them next door.

Alexi was peeking out the doorway as Ethan tersely explained the situation to Jude.

“Might suggest we've been wrong and someone on the ship is our killer,” Jude said.

“It might, but the ship has been at the dock in St. Francisville all day, too,” Ethan said. “Someone could have sneaked aboard.”

“I'll step out so you can go in and change,” Jude said to Charlie, nodding toward the pile of clothing in her arms.

“Thanks,” she said.

As soon as she closed the door, Alexi looked at Charlie questioningly.

“There was a message on the mirror, written in lipstick,” Charlie explained. “It said ‘You're next.'”

Alexi shook her head. “Something similar happened on the
Destiny
. My guess is it means someone thinks you're getting close.”

“Why would they think
I'm
getting close?” Charlie asked.

Alexi looked at her grimly. “Because even though you don't realize it yet, you must know the killer,” she said quietly. “And that scares him. Or her,” she added.

“You think a woman could have done this? Wielded an Enfield with a bayonet attached?” Charlie said, slipping out of her clothes and into her costume. She turned so Alexi could tighten the corset. “Jennie McPherson's name keeps coming up, but she's about the size of a mouse.”

“She might not have done the killing herself. There could be two or even more people involved,” Alexi told her. “Women are willing to do strange things for the men they love—and vice versa, of course.”

“Including kill?”

“Maybe,” Alexi murmured.

There was a tap at the door, and after checking through the peephole, Alexi opened it to let Clara in.

The most effusive of their group, she threw her arms around Charlie. “You okay?” she asked.

Charlie nodded. “Oddly enough, though I admit I'm scared, I'm angry, too.”

“Good. Angry is good,” Clara said firmly. “Anyway, you guys ready to go? Jude is going to walk us to the dining room and stay with us. Ethan and Thor are going to wait for the forensics team and talk to Laurent when he gets here.”

“It's a plan,” Charlie murmured.

They headed out to the hall, where the three Krewe agents waited.

“Showtime,” Alexi said.

“You going to be okay?” Ethan asked Charlie. “Alexi and Clara could go on without you.”

“Don't be silly. I'm fine. And hopefully Captain Derue will be back, and his men are there. One of them might even have seen something. Besides, I'm not afraid of lipstick on a mirror.”

Ethan smiled at her, a smile that was grim but admiring. She wished she deserved his admiration, but she really hadn't done anything other than not fall apart completely.

“I'll have a new cabin settled by the time you're finished with the second show,” he promised.

As they walked down the hall, Charlie looked at her companions. “How hard would it have been for someone to have gotten on the ship?” she asked. “I mean, someone who isn't supposed to be here?”

“Well, security's not as tight as when you're traveling internationally,” Jude said from where he was walking a few feet behind them.

“Tight?” Clara gave what sounded almost like an unladylike snort. “They allow prospective cruisers on during the day. They supposedly scan IDs, but the procedure is pretty casual. I was down on the Promenade Deck the other day with Thor, and we could see how easy it was to come aboard. Of course, there's supposed to be a count at the end of the day. It makes sure everyone who got on is off, but...”

Charlie lowered her voice. “So it's conceivable someone from St. Francisville got on the
Journey
sometime during the day and went to my cabin to write that message?”

“Just about anything is conceivable,” Alexi said.

“In this case, I'd say it goes beyond conceivable to quite possible,” Clara added. “And it's not like they had to smuggle a weapon on. We're talking about a lipstick. No one would look twice.” She slipped her arm around Charlie's shoulders. “But you've got nothing to worry about. You have us.”

“All of us,” Alexi added.

Charlie smiled, thinking about the friends who'd just vowed to protect her. A piano-bar hostess and a soprano with the voice of an angel. Not exactly a couple of Navy SEALs.

But she knew both of them had survived terrible ordeals to be where they were now, and even if they weren't gun-toting bodyguards themselves, they came with a pair of them. And then there was Ethan, of course. Her skin flushed at the thought of him.

“I'm tired of everything pointing at my father, who would certainly never hurt me. Or anyone else, for that matter. I'm angry, and I want to shake someone to get to the truth,” Charlie said as they reached the dining room.

As soon as they entered, she saw that Captain Derue and his men were there. Every single one of them, from those who could stand to those who were too weak to rise from their sickbeds, saluted the four of them.

For a moment, they all stood dead still.

This was worth it. Whatever happened to her here aboard the
Journey
, this was worth it.

They saluted in return, then headed to the small stage to warm up.

Soon the diners began to file in. Charlie watched for Ethan and Thor, but they didn't appear.

Neither did her father.

Captain Derue was in front of the stage as they ended, watching as if mesmerized, applauding enthusiastically. As the diners headed out to allow the room to be set up for the second seating, he approached Charlie, looking clearly concerned.

“You're all right?” he inquired anxiously.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Some of my men say they saw some of the same people on board today who were here the day of the reenactment. The petite woman was one.”

“Jennie? Jennie McPherson, the makeup artist you saw on set today?”

“Early, very early,” the captain said. “The others...a bit later. There were three of them, and they went in different directions.”

Charlie nodded, glancing around. A robust woman in a long blue gown had cornered Alexi and Clara. Jude was on his phone.

She looked down as she spoke, trying to make sure—if she was being observed—that it didn't look like she was talking to herself.

“Captain, someone wrote a threat on the mirror in my cabin. They used lipstick so it would look like blood.”

He looked at her gravely. “We're afraid for you. Me, my men—and Anson, too. He believes the killer may think you found the body of Farrell Hickory because you'd seen something that indicated where to look, perhaps that you've even seen the murderer himself.”

“But I
didn't
see anything. I
couldn't
have seen anything. The evidence shows he was killed the night before I found him,” Charlie said.

“Perhaps the killer thinks you know something else, then. It doesn't matter. You must be careful. Please, be very careful.”

Charlie nodded solemnly. “I will be. Thank you.”

He had faded away before she finished speaking, leaving her talking to the air.

“Charlie?”

She turned to see Alexi looking at her worriedly and walked over to lean on the piano so she could tell her about the captain's warning and what the men had seen.

“Wasn't Jennie on set today?” Alexi asked her.

“She was, but he said it was very early, so it could have been before she had to be on set. Do you think she wrote on my mirror? Ethan and I did go up top for breakfast,” Charlie said. “I just can't see her having the strength to kill the men the way they were killed.”

“Maybe she didn't kill them but did write on your mirror,” Alexi suggested.

Clara moved over to the piano to join them. Jude was still on the phone, but he was watching them as he talked.

“I'm thinking about spending the night at my dad's house in St. Francisville,” Charlie said, after they'd brought Clara up to speed. “I don't want to be in that cabin again. I don't know why, because I'm not actually afraid when I'm with Ethan, but I just feel it has been touched by something dirty, something evil. Silly, huh?”

“We can switch cabins,” Alexi offered.

“That's too much trouble just because I'm being ridiculous. It's only about ten minutes from the ship to my house, and the
Journey
doesn't leave port until ten thirty. I don't think Ethan will mind if we stay at the house tonight.”

“He won't mind doing anything that makes you feel safe.”

Jude walked over to the piano, pocketing his phone. “Ethan and Thor have gone down to the station with Randy Laurent. They're going to enhance some of the ship's video surveillance footage and try to find out who might have been on the ship. I'm not sure when they'll be back.”

“Charlie doesn't want to sleep in her cabin tonight,” Alexi told him.

“Charlie and Ethan can have our cabin,” Jude said.

“I already offered, but Charlie doesn't want to put us out,” Alexi said.

“I kind of want to get off the ship tonight,” Charlie said.

“Do we know how long Ethan and Thor are going to be?” Clara asked. “We could all go to Charlie's house and wait for them, even all spend the night there. Ethan and Thor could just meet us there whenever they finished.”

“After your second set, we'll figure out what to do,” Jude said.

“Have you seen my dad?” Charlie asked him.

“No, he hasn't come in here,” Jude said.

“Would you see if you can find him?” Charlie asked. “I'm worried about him. He's always here for our shows.”

“I'll send someone,” Jude assured her.

“You could just run down to his cabin,” Charlie said.

“Not on your life. No way am I leaving the three of you,” Jude told her firmly. “I'm sure your dad is okay, but I
will
send someone. Meanwhile, I think your next set of people are coming in.”

Jude smiled and walked over to the table where he planned to sit for the second show. Several diners approached the Belles before sitting down to ask them to reprise one song or another from a previous night.

Finally everyone was seated, and the trio launched into their opening medley, after which Charlie began the story of the
Journey
and how she'd changed hands several times between North and South.

“And now she's an Irish-American ship,” Clara piped in, which got a laugh.

Once everyone settled down, Alexi began to play softly as Charlie talked. As she neared the end, she saw the ghosts of the men who had been on the
Journey
the day it changed hands for the final time.

As the show went on, Charlie kept looking over to where Jude was sitting. Several times he got up and moved to the doorway at the back of the room to speak on the phone.

Her father had yet to appear, and she found herself growing more and more restless.

When their last song was over, she dodged the fans approaching the stage to congratulate them and hurried over to Jude.

“My dad—”

“Your dad is fine. He's in his cabin, with the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, but I asked the steward to disturb him anyway, just to ask if he needed anything. He answered and said he was fine.”

Charlie looked at Jude and shook her head. “He's not fine. I know my dad. He would have been here tonight if he were fine. Jude, please, we have to go to his cabin.”

“Okay. Get Clara and Alexi. We'll go now,” Jude told her.

The four of them hurried toward the exit. It wasn't an easy escape. People kept stopping them to ask questions or just pass on a compliment. The whole time, Charlie's fear for her father was growing. Maybe it was just as irrational as not wanting to sleep in her cabin, but rational or not, it was eating away at her insides.