Chương 9
Maya nodded slowly.
“And Vanessa?”
“She remains a charter guest.”
“So nothing happens to her until we dock.”
“Not nothing.”
“What happens?”
“Her access to crew spaces is restricted. Grant will escort her if she needs to move through operational areas. The jewelry is secured. The footage is secured. She has been told not to contact you.”
Maya looked at him.
“What if I want to contact her?”
Daniel exhaled.
“Tessa told me.”
“Of course she did.”
“I’m very good at my job,” Tessa said.
Maya glared at her.
Daniel almost smiled.
Then he became serious again.
“If you want to speak with Mrs. Sterling, I will not forbid it as long as it is voluntary and we are present.”
“Will she do it?”
“I don’t know.”
“I want to ask.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at Tessa.
Tessa shook her head.
Maya said, “Don’t vote.”
“No one is voting,” Daniel said.
He took off his glasses and wiped them on a cloth.
“One more thing.”
Maya waited.
“Mrs. Sterling’s assistant has confirmed the brooch from the hotel incident was later found in Mrs. Sterling’s home.”
“I know.”
“And that Mrs. Sterling knew.”
Maya’s jaw tightened.
Daniel put the glasses back on.
“This is no longer simply a misunderstanding over a missing necklace.”
“It never was.”
“No.”
Maya looked at him.
“Then I want to hear her say why.”
Vanessa agreed to the conversation for reasons none of them understood until she entered the observation lounge again.
She had changed nothing except her lipstick.
The midnight-blue gown remained perfect. Her hair remained swept back. The diamond earrings were still in place.
But she carried no clutch.
Avery was already there with Noah.
Paige stood near the bar, looking as if she would rather be anywhere else on earth.
Grant remained beside the wall-mounted security screen. Daniel stood near the center of the room. Tessa stayed close to Maya without hovering.
The lounge still held traces of the accusation.
A tiny smear of Maya’s hand lotion had remained on the teak where the bottle landed. One mint was still under the sofa.
Nobody had noticed it.
Maya did.
Vanessa stopped six feet away.
“This is absurd.”
Maya almost smiled.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was exactly what she expected Vanessa to say.
Daniel spoke first.
“This conversation is voluntary. No one is required to answer anything. It is being documented in my incident notes, but we are not making an audio recording.”
Vanessa looked at Grant.
“Convenient.”
Grant said nothing.
Maya had imagined asking Why?
Now that Vanessa stood in front of her, the question seemed too generous.
So she asked something else.
“When did you decide?”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed.
“Decide what?”
“To put the necklace in my bag.”
Tessa shifted slightly.
Vanessa looked toward Daniel.
“You said this wasn’t an interrogation.”
“It isn’t.”
“Then why am I being questioned?”
Maya said, “Because you accused me in front of forty people.”
Vanessa turned back.
“You want an apology?”
“I didn’t ask for one.”
“What do you want?”
“The answer.”
Vanessa’s shoulders rose and fell once.
“I recognized you when Paige sent the crew materials.”
“So you requested me.”
“I requested someone I had concerns about.”
“You asked for me to serve your party.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To observe you.”
Maya stared.
“While I worked.”
“Yes.”
“And what did I do?”
Vanessa’s lips tightened.
“You watched my jewelry.”
Avery made a disbelieving sound.
Maya said, “I was serving champagne.”
“You looked at the necklace repeatedly.”
“You opened a box full of diamonds in the middle of the lounge.”
“You were interested.”
“So was everybody.”
“You came near my cabin corridor twice.”
“Because your daughter asked for a sewing kit and then a phone charger.”
Avery said, “She did.”
Vanessa ignored her.
Maya felt her pulse behind her eyes.
“Did I take anything?”
“You didn’t have the opportunity.”
“So you made one.”
Vanessa’s face changed.
Very slightly.
Maya saw it.
There.
“You didn’t put the necklace in my bag to see what I would do,” she said. “You put it there because I hadn’t done anything.”
Vanessa looked away.
Maya stepped closer.
Not aggressively.
Enough that Vanessa had to decide whether to retreat.
She did not.
“You waited,” Maya said. “You watched me all night, and I didn’t steal from you. That should have proved you were wrong.”
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
“But you needed to be right.”
Avery whispered, “Mom.”
Vanessa snapped, “You were not there four years ago.”
Maya stopped.
“No,” Avery said. “But Paige was.”
Vanessa turned.
Paige looked down.
The color drained from Vanessa’s face.
Avery continued.
“She told us the brooch was found.”
Vanessa’s eyes fixed on Paige.
“You had no right.”
Paige flinched.
Avery said, “You knew it was found.”
Vanessa looked at her daughter.
“This has nothing to do with tonight.”
“It has everything to do with tonight.”
“No, it does not.”
“You accused a hotel employee. You were wrong. Maya contradicted you. You found the brooch in your own house, and instead of admitting it, you remembered Maya for four years.”
Vanessa’s voice became cold.
“Be careful.”
Avery stared at her.
Maya saw the moment the warning stopped working.
It was almost invisible.
Avery’s shoulders lowered.
“I have been careful around you my entire life.”
Noah looked down.
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
Avery gave a sad little laugh.
“Do you know how tired I am?”
“This is not about you.”
“It became about me when you did this at my engagement party.”
“I was protecting you.”
“From the stewardess?”
“From people who take advantage of us.”
Maya felt anger flare.
Avery beat her to it.
“She was folding napkins.”
“You’re being childish.”
“No. You put your mother’s necklace in someone’s bag and called her a thief.”
Vanessa’s control fractured.
“My mother died with jewelry missing from her room.”
The words came louder than everything before them.
The room went still.
Vanessa’s eyes shone.
Not tears exactly.
May you like
Pressure.
“Women came in and out of that house every day. Nurses. Aides. Cleaners. People I had never met. My mother could barely remember what she ate for breakfast, but things disappeared. A bracelet. Earrings. Cash from a drawer. Her watch.”
