“Thanks, Marty,” she told him. “I guess I am calling it a night. Good night, Jay.”
“Good night, Vanessa,” Jay said. “I’ll hang out here with Marty a bit, I guess.” He was silent, looking at her. “Good night,” he said again, and then, his back to Marty, he mouthed, “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
She smiled and nodded. “See you in the morning.”
In the master’s cabin, she started. Bartholomew was next to the bed, one ghostly buckle-shoe foot upon it as he stood in a Captain Morgan stance. He gave her a start, and she thought again that she was having trouble with reality and fiction or imagination.
He was a ghost, he was real. As real as a ghost could be. Others saw him.
He was glaring at her.
“What?” she murmured.
He shook his head, and then wagged a finger at her.
“I followed you today,” he said.
“You did? Well, that was…nice of you? Or nosy of you?” she asked.
He sighed, set his foot on the floor and walked to her. It was odd. She could feel him. At first, she had thought that he was cold. A cold breeze.
But now she thought that he offered a strange warmth. She saw his eyes, and he was concerned. Bartholomew liked her. She was glad.
She would have liked him.
“Vanessa, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you have to tell Sean the truth,” Bartholomew said. “What truth?”
“That Carlos Roca was in the park, following you. At least, I think that’s who it is. And he was in Key West, too, at the pirate festivities. He’s been watching you—and following you,” Bartholomew said.
Vanessa gasped. She sank down on the bed in the cabin, and Bartholomew sank down beside her.
“He’s real,” she whispered.
“Yes,” Bartholomew said.
“Real—and alive?” Vanessa asked.
“The man was no ghost. Trust me, sadly, I know,” Bartholomew said. He sighed. “Obviously, I can tell Sean and David, because they have a right to know. But I really don’t like telling tales when it’s someone else’s business. But people were killed. They might have been killed by Carlos Roca. The man might be stalking you. You might be his next intended victim. Vanessa, this is scary. Terrifying. And I think you’ve suspected that he’s out there. Why haven’t you told Sean?”
She was about to answer when she heard Jay’s voice, whispering to her from just beyond the door. “Vanessa? Is something wrong? Are you all right?”
“Fine, Jay!” she replied in a loud whisper. “Fine—I was singing, that’s all. Sorry!”
He laughed. “Now you’re singing! Night, sweetie.”
“Night!”
Vanessa waited until she heard him move away and then she whispered to Bartholomew. “I just can’t believe it. I really can’t. What if Carlos is trying to reach me because he is innocent, because he needs my help, because he suspects or knows what really happened?” she asked.
“You still need to tell Sean. Look, there are other lives at stake here,” he reminded her.
He touched her cheek with a ghostly hand. She thought that she could feel the warmth and tenderness. “I’m going topside, help old Marty keep watch,” he said.
She nodded. He stood and looked at her.
“I’ll tell him,” she said.
He nodded, and disappeared through the door.
Sean was surprised and glad when he arrived back on the boat to find that Vanessa was awake. She stirred when he quietly entered the cabin and stripped down to join her in bed.
“Hey,” he said softly.
She smiled in the dim light that filtered through from the dock.
“You aren’t on guard duty,” she said.
“Ted is taking a turn,” he told her. “Had to get Marty to get some sleep,” he added dryly. “Did you have a nice night? What did you do?”
She studied him carefully. “We went to a park. Jay took some footage. Let’s see, Bill and Barry went barhopping, but Zoe, Jay, Jake, Katie and I went to a park. Jay had an idea for a scene, and he’s all excited. He thinks you’re going to like it.”
“I probably will. He’s good.”
She was still searching out his eyes. He smiled and kissed her lips. She drew the covers more tightly around her and she frowned, trying to understand her sudden reticence with him.
She let out a deep, pent-up breath. “Sean, I saw Carlos Roca.”
“What?” He sat up, staring at her, trying to fathom her eyes in the shadows.
“Actually, I had just thought that I’d seen Carlos, but…Bartholomew was with us, following us, and he said that it was Carlos Roca.”
“So the man has been hiding in Miami,” Sean said, “hiding in plain sight.” He started to rise.
“Sean, wait. Where are you going?” she asked.
“To notify the authorities,” he said.
“But what if he’s in hiding—because he’s innocent?” Vanessa asked.
“Vanessa, if he’s innocent, he’ll be able to prove it.”
“How? We both know that he looks guilty as hell, and that innocent men do go to prison,” she argued.