“I’m sorry for not being straight with you,” she says. “And thank you for hearing me out. Thank you for staying.”
“I’m not making promises. I’ll consider it, that’s all.”
“It’s more than I can ask.” She hesitates, clearly still worried about something. “I’m goingto freshen up. Then we find something to eat—maybe go up to Deck 14, see if Lillith is there?”
He exhales, nods, features tight.
She disappears into the bathroom. Patrick rakes his hands over his hair, making it stand up in pale-blond spikes. He sits for a moment, then rises, moves to the bar, mixes another drink, stirs. Then walks back toward the chair by the window, drink in hand. But as he passes the bed, he stops.
He glances at the bathroom door, sets his drink down, reaches for Arrabella’s purse. He extracts her cell phone, quickly types in a password. His hands go still as he stares at the screen. A frown creases into his brow.
Patrick casts another glance at the bathroom door. It begins to open. He hurriedly slips the mobile back into the purse. His features are very tight now.
Arrabella emerges in a black, maxi-length sheath dress with thigh-high slits. Her red hair has been gathered up into a casual yet artistically elegant bun. Her blunt-cut fringe has been combed smooth. Fresh red lipstick accentuates the creamy whiteness of her skin.
“Just made myself another,” Patrick says, grabbing his drink. “Want one—something different?”
“Actually, a Pimm’s Cup would be rather refreshing.”
“Coming up.” He returns to the bar, searches the shelves for Pimm’s No. 1, finds the bottle, then glances over his shoulder. He watches as his fiancée retrieves her mobile from her purse. She takesit to a chair by the window and sits with her back to Patrick. She begins texting.
He fills a tumbler with ice, continually checking on her as he finishes mixing her drink. He carries it over.
“Work again?” he asks as he sets the cocktail on the table beside her.
“Ah—yeah.” She clicks off her phone and places it face down on the table. She reaches for her drink.
“Cheers, love.”
He raises his Negroni. “To us.” His gaze lingers on hers.
She frowns slightly. “To us.”
CONT. Reenactment—Theo Pappas—Crew Cabin
An alert pings on Theo’s monitor, showing there is movement again in the Elysium Sky Villa.
Theo hesitates, clearly unwilling to leave Lady Arrabella and Patrick, but he makes a decision and quickly switches to the Elysium feed.
Elysium Sky Villa Interior—Retrieved Footage
Poppy Buchanan has reentered the suite and is moving slowly, cautiously, toward the woman on the bed. Lillith’s eyes are covered with a black sleeping mask. Her chest rises and falls as though she’s in deep slumber.
Poppy bends over her boss, studies the old woman, then turns to a pill container beside the bed.She examines the label, glances back at Lillith, then sets the container down. Her movements grow more sure, as though she’s ascertained from the medication label that her boss is soundly out for the count.
There’s a small box beside the pills. Poppy picks it up.
Theo zooms the camera in.
Poppy removes a satiny ribbon from the box and opens the lid. She lifts out a necklace and dangles it to the light. It’s a gold chain with a small serpent-shaped pendant on the end. Poppy examines it closely. She replaces it in the box and picks up a card.
She reads the card, frowns, glances at Lillith again. She replaces the card, positioning it exactly the way she found it. Poppy reaches for a book on the nightstand.
The title is visible to the camera.
Exit Strategy: A Guide to the Gentle Art of Dying Well.
Poppy flips the book over and reads the back cover copy. She flicks through a few pages, stopping briefly to read one, then another. She frowns, then stares again at the sleeping woman. Gently, almost softly now, she replaces the book on the nightstand.
