Tracking down those two women was nearly impossible. My plan of just roaming the ship randomly wasn't cutting it. I had to be a bit more strategic in my approach.

Anya seemed like more of a party girl, so she was probably at one of the bars drinking with friends right now. I grabbed a ship directory and jotted down all the bar locations, then started my search.

After striking out at two lounges, I walked into the third and there was Beatrix, sitting by herself in a corner booth. A wine glass sat in front of her, about a quarter full, while she held a book in one hand. On her wrist was a bracelet that caught my attention. As I watched her from across the room, I noticed something subtle. Her hand holding the book was trembling slightly.

“Oh, wow, is that the new book by Cyrus Patel? Would you believe I met him in person?” I said, now standing outside of her booth.

Beatrix's head turned slowly in my direction. Her trembling hand went still, and she stared at me with a blank expression. Her eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my skin crawl. She seemed to be sizing me up, like a predator watching prey. I was about to turn and leave when she finally spoke. "I always figured he was an asshole from what I've seen in the interviews." She marked her place in the book and closed it, setting it flat on the table before continuing.

“How about this? I’ll buy your next glass, and you can tell me all about him.” I said, putting my laptop on the table. “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Tom.” I extended my hand out for a handshake.

Beatrix looked me in the eye for a few seconds and then nodded. “That would be fine, for only a little. I’m Beatrix.” She extended her hand and shook mine. With a smile, I grabbed her glass, taking it to the bar.

Returning to the table, I placed her full wineglass in front of her, and I placed my ginger ale next to my laptop. “What’s the first thing you want to know about Cyrus?” I asked, sliding into the booth. Even though the booth was U-shaped, we were sitting directly across from each other. Beatrix sat at the edge of one booth, and I sat at the other.

“How’d you meet him?” Beatrix said, her gaze lowered down to the book in front of her. Her face was mostly expressionless as she used her thumb to flick the paperback cover and pages up and down rhythmically.

"It was purely a coincidence. I'd been on a work trip across several states, exhausted and needing to stop at the first hotel near the highway. There wasn't much conversation between us once I realized he was an asshole. It got worse when we discovered his brother had killed an innocent girl for her liver."

Beatrix's hand went still, and her head jerked up, eyes wide and startled. “You witnessed a murder?” she said. Beatrix sat incredibly still; her gaze almost felt like it was piercing through my very soul.

“Uh no, I heard a murder. I was on the floor above all the action, and by the time I got there, she’d already passed. Cyrus’s brother ripped out the girl's liver to pay off some gambling debts.”

“Hmm, did he try to write a book about it” Beatrix visibly relaxed after hearing my explanation. She raised her eyes from the book to mine, her stare no longer cold and piercing. Taking a sip of her wine, she went on, “Given all the information and interviews I’ve seen about him, he seems like a very morbid guy.”

"Actually yes, or at least that was his original plan," I said with a slight laugh. "I heard the screams while I was sleeping and rushed downstairs in just my boxers. There was also this interesting front desk clerk. She's studying to be a doctor, but she's pretty terrible at her current job. She's going to help me investigate. It's a classic detective partnership. She's the Sherlock, I'm the Watson."

“An incompetent med student detective solving murders with their partial-nudist assistant; that would be quite the read.” Beatrix said with a small chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m excited about my big debut. I hope on the book cover I have some crazy design on my boxers,” I said laughing. I told her more about my time at that hotel of death, and even how I could solve it.

"Clever thinking. The security cameras gave you the answers you needed." Beatrix looked over to the side and stared blankly.

Before I could say anything, there was a voice over the loudspeaker. “Good afternoon, everyone, this is your captain speaking. We are continuing the search for our lost guest. I wanted to let you know the Coast Guard will be on the ship within the hour, and then we’ll proceed back to port. Thank you all for your patience, and we deeply apologize for this inconvenience.” The intercom chimed, indicating the captain finished.

I glanced back at Beatrix. Her expression stayed empty, eyes unfocused and distant. She resumed fidgeting with her book, now using her bracelet hand. The silver jewelry made soft clicking sounds as she traced the book's edges. She was back to acting like she had before I sat down.

“Did you hear about that guy? They say he fell overboard last night,” I asked, taking a sip of my ginger ale.

“Of course I did; everyone on the boat heard about him.”

"Yeah, they're estimating around 1 AM. I was in a deep sleep by then. Staying up past midnight is impossible for me now." I chuckled softly and rubbed the back of my head. Beatrix remained exactly the same when checked again. She was still expressionless and fidgeting with her book. "Where were you when it happened?"

“I…I was at the spa,” Beatrix said, her hand stopped. She looked up and met my gaze. “I just got to an interesting part in my book, and I’d like to be alone now so I can get back to reading. If we run into each other again, I can pay you back for this drink.”

“Looking forward to it,” I said. Grabbing my laptop, I placed the half drunken ginger ale glass on the bar counter.

One suspect down; one to go. I found Beatrix by looking for Anya, so maybe I’ll find Anya the same way. Beatrix seems to be a bookworm, so I’ll check common places people like to read.

I found Anya lying on a lounge chair by the main pool. She had a book resting on her chest, though she wasn't really reading it. Instead, she stared up at the clouds drifting slowly overhead. As I got closer, I noticed her puffy, red-rimmed eyes. She didn't see me until my shadow fell across her face. "Having a rough day? Mind if a stranger keeps you company?" I said.

Anya blinked some tears away, startled that some random person would approach her as she gave her tear ducts a workout. She quickly wiped her tear-stained cheeks before offering a guarded, uncertain smile. “Sure, I’m Anya.” She sat up on the chair and sat pretzel-style at one end of the plastic lounge chair.

“Tom," I said, pointing to myself. Sitting down on the other side of the lounge chair, I continued, "What’s got you so down?”

Anya pulled the bookmark out of the book and placed it at a random spot in the book. “Yeah, I knew the guy that fell overboard.”

“That’s tough… I mean, I’m sorry to hear that.” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder for comfort. I guess we're getting right into it. Pulling my hand away, I continued. “How did you know him?”

“I didn’t know him all that well; we were just hooking up here and there while we were on the boat. I was thinking of asking him to be my plus one to a wedding that I am going to at the end of the year.” Anya said, wiping a tear from her eye. “I just can’t believe that he would do something like this.”

“It's crazy how you never know what people are going through deep down.” I said, “Where were you when it happened?”

“I’d been partying with my girls all night, and I lost my phone, so I was looking for it all night. I couldn’t find it, so I spent the rest of my night crying in one of my friend’s rooms.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “This is turning out to be the worst trip ever!” As she wiped the fresh batch of tears from her eyes, I saw her bracelet.

Anya full on ugly cried, so I leaned in and held her as she soaked my shirt with tears and snot. Everyone around us started slowly to walk away. I was now stranded with all the lounge chairs now empty.

This is the second time a woman who isn't my girlfriend full on ugly cried on me. I can't let this happen again, or Syd is going to get suspicious.

We sat like that for another ten minutes until her sobs died down to quiet whimpers. Finally, I pulled away from Anya. A large wet spot covered the middle of my shirt where her tears had soaked through.

"I'm sorry. I can wash that for you or get you a new one," Anya said between heavy breaths and small hiccups.

"No, it's fine. I was going to do laundry anyway, so don't worry about it." Her eyes started welling up again, and I could see tears forming at the corners. Oh no, round two is about to start up again.

I quickly stood up, patted her on the head, and said, "Take care of yourself." I hurried toward the exit as Anya's second wave of crying erupted behind me.

Once I was a safe distance from the emotional meltdown, I pulled out my phone and checked the schedule again.

I’ve caught you.