He holds deadly still. The look on his face terrifies her.
Through clenched teeth, he says, “Let go of me, Arrabella.”
“Sir,” Maxine cuts in, “your luggage is already loaded. Lines are casting off. Port authorities won’t allow us to delay any longer, but I can arrange for your departure from our next port of call. Souda. Tomorrow morning earliest.”
“I’ll charter a chopper, then. Maxine, can you get me a helicopter? Now.”
“Patrick,” Arrabella says quietly as she takes his arm again. “Please just come over here.” She tries to draw her fiancé away from Maxine and Roshaan and into a quieter corner.
“People are starting to stare,” she whispers. She knows he hates making any kind of a scene that could attract media interest. “Please, love, can we just go up to the suite and talk about it?”
He glowers at her, a raw energy thrumming under his skin. Where moments ago his eyes were soft and he was talking about a spring wedding, his gaze now burns with something akin to hatred. And the sudden depth of it shocks her.
She might have gotten him onto the ship—she might have won that battle. But has it cost her the war?
Because if she loses Patrick, she loses everything.
It’s Criminal:
The Mystery of theBlack Orchid
A Trinity Scott & Gio Rossi True Crime Production
EXT. Port Of Piraeus—Sunset—Archival Drone Footage
The majestic MSBlack Orchid, sleek, gleaming white with her windows reflecting the late golden sun, finally eases away from the quay.
A motley escort of tugboats and fireboats bobs at her side and follows in her wake. Water cannons shoot arcing plumes skyward in celebration of her maiden outing, and seabirds wheel and glide and dive in theOrchid’s air currents as she moves from the safety of the bustling harbor and sets out to sea.
On the dock a marching band blares farewell. An acrobat juggles. Aboard the ship passengers line the decks and wave, shouting, leaning over the rails, raising toasts. And far in the distance, over the Greek mainland, hangs a smoky orange haze caused bywildfires. Guests feel the first stirrings of a cool sea breeze as they begin to ply south toward Crete.
VO—Trinity Scott
“As Homer might have said in theOdyssey, ‘They went aboard their ship and put out to sail on the wine-dark sea.’ And like an Odyssean adventure, no one aboard theOrchidknew on that exhilarating departure day just how—years later—the words that Dr. Gideon Marsh, retired FBI profiler, wrote in his last book would resonate.
“‘The murders were savage, seemingly random at first. Capricious and cruel pranks of the Fates. Until we dig deeper and begin to understand the psychology driving both the villain and his victims. And yes, some of his victims became villains, too. But when we delve deeper into their psyches, it all makes perfect sense.’
“Looking back, the clues were there.”
It’s Criminal:
The Mystery of theBlack Orchid
A Trinity Scott & Gio Rossi True Crime Production
Evidence Log: Exhibit Rtxt 19—Recovered Burner Phone Text
Burner:
It’s time.
Anonymous:
So soon?
Burner:
Yes. Feed her the bait. Let’s see how quickly she hooks herself.
