Chapter 4 - Nassau
The ship reached Nassau beneath a perfect blue sky.
Passengers gathered along the rails taking photographs.
Music played by the pool.
Children screamed happily near the waterslides.
From Ashlynn's secured cabin, the world looked offensively normal.
At 7:40 a.m., Chief Ruiz arrived.
“We have good news.”
Ashlynn stood.
“Diane?”
“Found.”
Ashlynn's knees nearly weakened.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“A motel outside Jacksonville.”
Relief came so sharply it hurt.
“What happened?”
“According to the preliminary report, Robert forced her into his SUV after the phone call. She escaped when he stopped for fuel.”
Ashlynn covered her mouth.
“She ran into a convenience store and asked the clerk to call police.”
“Is she hurt?”
“Minor head injury. Bruising.”
“Robert?”
“Missing.”
Ashlynn immediately thought of the reservation.
“He's coming here.”
“Authorities know.”
The cruise line had already canceled Robert's boarding credentials.
Bahamian police were waiting at the terminal.
United States federal investigators were coordinating.
Malcolm remained detained aboard pending transfer.
Gregory was under constant watch.
For the first time since the cabin door locked, Ashlynn thought the nightmare might finally be narrowing.
Then Ruiz said:
“There's something else.”
There always was.
“What?”
“Diane gave police the documents.”
The forged beneficiary forms were real.
Gregory had changed Ashlynn's life insurance beneficiary to himself using falsified electronic signatures.
He also attempted to modify a transfer-on-death designation tied to her employer equity.
Most changes had not been fully processed.
But the intent was impossible to ignore.
“And my company acquisition?”
Ruiz handed her a secure phone.
“Your CEO wants to speak with you.”
Ashlynn answered.
“Ashlynn?”
It was Martin Carlisle.
CEO of Raleigh Strategic Systems.
“Sir.”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“I just spoke with federal investigators.”
Ashlynn looked out at Nassau.
“Is the company being sold?”
Silence.
“That information was confidential.”
“So yes.”
“Yes.”
“How much are my shares worth?”
“Potentially eleven to fourteen million depending on final terms.”
Ashlynn almost laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because Gregory had murdered their marriage for money she didn't even know she had.
“How did Robert Hartman find out?”
“We're investigating.”
“Someone inside?”
“Almost certainly.”
Martin paused.
“Ashlynn, one of our board advisers is connected to Hartman's investment partnership.”
“Who?”
“Samuel Keene.”
She knew the name.
Quiet.
Older.
Always friendly with Gregory at company events.
“How long has he been leaking information?”
“We don't know.”
The conspiracy widened again.
Ashlynn sat.
Martin continued.
“There's more.”
“Of course there is.”
“A week before your wedding, Gregory contacted our outside benefits administrator.”
“Why?”
“He claimed you were hospitalized and asked how beneficiary distributions worked if an employee died overseas.”
Ashlynn shut her eyes.
Premeditation.
There was no other word.
“Can you preserve everything?”
“Already done.”
“Thank you.”
“Ashlynn.”
“Yes?”
“I am sorry.”
She looked down at her wedding ring.
“So am I.”
She removed it.
Placed it on the desk.
At 10:15 a.m., authorities boarded.
Gregory was informed he would be questioned regarding alleged domestic assault, document fraud and potential conspiracy.
His first response was not concern for Ashlynn.
It was:
“Where's my father?”
Ruiz answered carefully.
“We don't know.”
Gregory's face changed.
“Is my mother with him?”
“You tell us.”
“I don't know.”
Ruiz studied him.
“Your father texted that your mother made a mistake.”
Gregory looked toward the floor.
“What did you think that meant?”
No answer.
“Gregory?”
“He gets angry.”
“With whom?”
“My mother.”
“What happens when he gets angry?”
Gregory closed his eyes.
Ashlynn watched remotely.
For one fleeting second, he looked like a scared boy.
Then the Hartman mask returned.
“I want a lawyer.”
Questioning stopped.
At noon, Malcolm was escorted off the vessel.
He refused to speak.
Robert had still not been found.
The ship's departure was delayed.
Passengers were told only that authorities were handling an operational matter.
Ashlynn was finally allowed onto a restricted deck for fresh air.
Ruiz accompanied her.
“You don't have to continue the cruise,” she said.
“I don't intend to.”
“We can arrange transport once authorities clear you.”
Ashlynn gripped the railing.
Below, turquoise water sparkled.
The same ocean Gregory expected to use as scenery for her fear.
“I thought I knew him.”
Ruiz said nothing.
“He remembered my coffee order.”
Ashlynn laughed bitterly.
“He bought my favorite flowers. Called my mother every Sunday. Flew across the country when I had food poisoning.”
Ruiz looked toward her.
“People can perform care.”
“I know.”
“I mean for years.”
Ashlynn nodded.
“That's what scares me.”
Her phone buzzed.
Claire.
Ashlynn answered.
“Hey.”
“Diane called me.”
“What?”
“She asked for you.”
“Why didn't she call me directly?”
“She said police took her phone.”
Claire hesitated.
“Ash, Diane remembers something else.”
Ashlynn's stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Gregory was married before.”
Ashlynn froze.
“No.”
“Apparently not legally.”
“What does that mean?”
“A private ceremony.”
Claire continued.
“Her name was Lauren Meyers.”
Ashlynn searched her memory.
Nothing.
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“What happened?”
“Diane said Robert hated her.”
“Why?”
“She refused to sign a financial agreement.”
Ashlynn's mouth went dry.
“Where is Lauren now?”
“Nobody knows.”
That sentence felt too familiar.
Ashlynn called Ruiz immediately.
They searched public records.
Lauren Meyers had existed.
Former event planner.
Atlanta.
Her social media accounts stopped updating six years earlier.
Banking activity vanished months later.
Family members had filed a missing-person report.
The case remained unsolved.
Last known significant travel booking:
A Caribbean cruise.
Not this ship.
Same cruise company.
Ashlynn stared at the screen.
“Gregory took her on a cruise?”
Ruiz nodded grimly.
“Looks that way.”
“Was Malcolm employed then?”
“Yes.”
Ashlynn felt the room tilt.
Ruiz made several calls.
Two hours later, investigators located an archived ship report.
Lauren had supposedly disembarked alone in St. Thomas after “relationship difficulties.”
Gregory returned to Florida by himself.
Malcolm Vane had signed the passenger-separation documentation.
Again.
Ashlynn whispered:
“He's done this before.”
Ruiz did not answer immediately.
“We don't know that.”
Ashlynn looked at her.
“Yes, we do.”
That afternoon, investigators confronted Gregory with Lauren's name.
According to security footage, he stopped breathing for several seconds.
Then:
“I haven't seen Lauren in years.”
Nobody had told him they believed otherwise.
The lawyer beside him turned.
Gregory realized the mistake.
“Why would you ask that?”
The investigator leaned forward.
“Because her luggage never left the ship.”
Gregory's face went pale.
“That's impossible.”
Again.
Too much knowledge.
The investigator continued.
“We found a storage manifest Malcolm Vane altered six years ago.”
Gregory stared.
“A suitcase belonging to Lauren Meyers was transferred into long-term company storage after the cruise.”
“That's not my problem.”
“Her passport was inside.”
Gregory's lawyer whispered something.
Gregory said nothing else.
Outside the interview room, Ashlynn stood beside Ruiz.
“What happened to her?”
“We're reopening everything.”
“Do you think Gregory killed her?”
“I don't know.”
“But you think he knows.”
“Yes.”
A security officer approached.
“Chief.”
“What?”
“We found Robert.”
Ashlynn turned.
“Where?”
“Here.”
Ruiz stared.
“What do you mean here?”
The officer swallowed.
“He boarded before the manifest lock.”
“How?”
“Crew service entrance.”
Ruiz's face hardened.
“Who authorized him?”
The officer looked toward the detention records.
“Malcolm.”
Robert Hartman had been aboard for nearly three hours.
And nobody knew where he was.
Then Ashlynn's phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Silence.
Then Robert's voice.
“You've caused enough trouble.”
Ashlynn looked toward Ruiz.
Ruiz immediately signaled security.
“Where are you?”
Robert ignored the question.
“My son made one mistake.”
“One?”
“He underestimated you.”
Ashlynn's voice remained calm.
“What did you do to Lauren?”
Long silence.
Then Robert laughed.
“You really are different.”
“Where are you?”
“You want answers?”
“Yes.”
“Then come find me.”
The call ended.
A text arrived.
One photograph.
A maintenance room.
A frightened woman sitting against the wall.
Gray hair.
Bruised face.
Diane.
Ashlynn's heart stopped.
Ruiz stared at the screen.
Diane had never been safe in Jacksonville.
May you like
The woman police had rescued there had been part of something larger.
And somehow, Diane Hartman was now aboard the ship.
