Twice Bitten, Once Shy: Confessions of a Fake Psychic Detective #5

Chapter 18

C8H7N3O2

"The danger in becoming a good fraud is that eventually you fool yourself."

~ Zandra, to herself, several years prior

Zandra closes the door to Aaron's cabin with the quiet care of putting a sleeping baby into a crib. She double-checks for the lawnmower knife, once again sheathed up her sleeve.

I hope I won't need this again, but hope is in short supply right now. I need time to find some missing pieces before the police get here. That means finding a spot to work from, somewhere out of the way.

Zandra creeps down the hallway, choosing the quickest of two routes to the stairs. She picks up the pace when she hears two people in conversation, but she can't tell from what direction they're coming. The volume remains the same even as she turns a corner.

It's coming from above me. Everyone is at the demos in the conference rooms.

A new set of voices, however, isn't from the level above Zandra. They're from the stairs, only a hallway turn away, and they ring clearer and louder with each second.

"...make sure that door is locked," Zandra hears Captain Mel say.

Oh, shit.

Zandra reaches for the handle on the nearest cabin. She gives it a twist. It doesn't budge.

"She's sick, so we want to make sure she stays in there," Captain Mel says, this time even louder.

He must be talking to a crew member. Ivy told everyone I was sick.

Zandra tries another door. It's also locked.

I'm not going to get lucky, am I?

There's no point in trying to hide in the hallway. In her purple gown, she's as obvious as the eau-de-bait-shop smell that lingers throughout the Curd Queen.

Zandra braces for the inevitable by sliding down the hallway wall into a crouch. She closes her eyes and pretends to be asleep.

Not sure how I'll spin this, but it's a place to start.

The inevitable, however, isn't quite that. Captain Mel's voice carries into a turn away from Zandra. There's more than one way to get from the stairs to Cabin 27, and the captain took the long one.

Makes sense. He's the captain. He wants eyes on as much as possible.

Fuck me, though. I can barely breathe.

Zandra slides back up the wall, pushing herself with her good ankle. Captain Mel won't be suspicious if he knocks on Cabin 27 and receives no reply, but he also won't be long since the door remains locked.

I've got to hurry, but I can't look like I'm in a hurry. Don't want to look like I'm creeping around if one of those dipshit attendees spots me.

Breaking the sound barrier isn't an issue for Zandra, given her bad ankle. She reaches the stairs and hobbles up to the main level of the Curd Queen.

That puts her at the edge of the lounge. Two crew members clean up the breakfast service. They're within easy sight of Zandra at the stairs, but they're also occupied with bussing dishes and wiping tables.

Fuck. Can't go into the lounge.

Zandra glances at the stairs behind her.

Can't go back down there, either.

Captain Mel's voice re-emerges from cabins.

Fuck.

A cool breeze drifts in through a window near the stairs.