Page 20 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

“Did my father send you to arrest me?” I asked, leaning against the wall as I lit a cigarette. The smoke curled into the warm afternoon air.

Even if they wanted to arrest me, they couldn’t.

My father was the main investor in the tourist board. Half of this town owed him something, including the police station and the hospital.

“No,” one of them said. “We have a couple of questions about Gianni De Luca.”

“Is he in trouble?” I asked.

The best way to avoid answering a question was with one of your own.

“We received information that he was on the boat with you last night,” the other officer said. “Your father reported one of his yachts missing, and Gianni was caught on surveillance with two other perpetrators.”

“You think Gianni stole a yacht?” I frowned, then let out a short chuckle. “Don’t get me wrong, officer, but Gianni De Luca has known my family for a long time. He’d never do something like that.”

“His family isn’t in the best financial situation,” he replied. “And evidence doesn’t lie.”

“How do you know it was him?”

“We found evidence on the yacht that we can’t discuss right now.”

“So you found the yacht?” I tilted my head. “What evidence?”

“At this stage, all we can say is that he’s our main suspect, and he’s missing.”

I swallowed, the taste of wine and cigarette smoke clinging to the back of my throat.

“What did you find?” I asked. I stepped closer and gripped the front of his blue uniform shirt between my fingers.

“My father probably paid for that uniform. You have to tell me.”

The other officer shoved me back.

“That's an assault on an officer, Mr. Sinclair. If you don’t step back, we will arrest you.”

“Fine.” I lifted my hands and took a step back. “Just let me know if you find anything else.”

One of them pulled out a notebook and scribbled down a few notes. Then they turned and walked back to their white police car.

I stayed where I was, leaning against the wall, watching it disappear down the road.

And I was left with only one question.

What did you do, Gianni?

1. yes, he's that dumb.

2. You’re an asshole

6

BLUE

The door to the apartment was open when I arrived. Inside, on the last step of the staircase, my mother stood with a cigarette between her fingers, still wearing her maid’s uniform. Her black hair, streaked with gray, was twisted into a bun, and her blue eyes swept over me the moment I walked in.

The shorts I was wearing had a dirt stain across the back, and as I stepped inside, I tried to brush it away. She had always lectured me about how dirty I was. I remembered how Gianni and I had practically grown up eating dirt outside while she complained we never knew how to keep our clothes clean. We were just kids doing what kids did.

That small part of me had never left, so even now, when I shouldn’t have cared what she thought, I found myself hiding the stain, afraid she’d start lecturing me again.