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I let them lead me into a quiet area that looks like some sort of art gallery, and they stop in front of the door.
“I’m sorry,” I say again softly. “This isn’t like me.”
“Just wait here for Diego. He’ll be up shortly.”
None of the men speak as we wait for their boss to appear. After several minutes, the sound of footsteps headed in our direction draws my attention. He’s walking with purpose, rushing toward us with an air of determination.
“Let him go,” he says firmly, waving the men away. The man pulls a tool from his pocket and releases my hands from their zip-tie handcuffs within seconds. In front of me, Diego sighs. He looks as exhausted as I feel. “Mr. Barlowe, you aren’t going to make me arrest you, are you?”
“I apologized to them already,” I say quickly. “I really am sorry. The man from the video, the man with Mae, he was in the bar. I was chasing him when one of your guards stopped me. I was so panicked I wasn’t thinking straight. I just knew I needed to not let him get away.” My shoulders slump as I realize it may have been my one chance to find him. Now he knows I’m looking for him. “He was in the casino. You can check the cameras. See which way he went.”
“Yes, and if you’d let me know that instead of taking matters into your own hands, I might be talking to him instead of you right now.”
“Can you blame me? She’s my wife. And God knows what she’s going through while we stand here chatting.”
He runs his bottom teeth over his top lip, looking away.
“I didn’t think. I just acted,” I add, calmer now.
Crossing his arms, he nods. “I do understand. But you need to let us do our jobs, Mr. Barlowe. Simple as that.”
“Then do them! Why didn’t you have someone down here on the lookout?”
Quickly, he folds his arms across his chest. “And how do you know I didn’t? How do you know I wasn’t planning to get him as soon as he used his card, so I had a name?”
My stomach sinks. “Oh.”
“Yes.Oh.And now, because of you, we have put him on alert. Now, because of you, he may not leave his cabin. He may not use his card. If, God help us, he has done something to your wife, you’ve just tipped him off that we’re onto him.” He runs a hand over his face in frustration. “Mr. Barlowe, I know you are upset. You have every right to be. But I’ve been doing this job—doing it well—for more than twenty years. I know what I’m doing, and this will all go a lot smoother if you’ll just let me work.”
“I’m trying. I just feel like I need to be doing something. I can’t just sit here and remain helpless.”
He puts a hand on my shoulder, a softness forming in his dark-brown eyes. “We are doingeverythingwe can. I promise you. Just sit tight, okay? As hard as it is.”
“It’s not hard. It’s impossible. What am I supposed to do? Go sit on the deck and soak up the sun while I hope for the best? Attend a comedy show? Book a shore excursion at the next stop? What exactly is the best way tosit tight?” My voice is louder than I mean it to be. It echoes in the open, quiet space.
Diego inhales deeply, then waves the men away. “Go on. I’ve got this.” Once they’ve left, he lowers his voice. “We’ve updated the Coast Guard with the time we now know your wife was last seen on the ship. They’d been looking in the wrong place all morning because of the timing issue. As we discovered earlier, she was still on the ship for another hour and a half, at least, so they’ve moved to a new search location.”
“Have they found anything?”
“There are no updates yet.” He eyes me. “Are you positive your wife never gave you any indication she wanted to leave you? To leave the ship?”
“Am I not being clear about this?” I demand. “No! She didn’t want to leave me. We were happy.Shewas happy.”
He looks down, then back up, studying my face as if looking for a sign I’m lying. He shrugs.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he says. “I just had to ask.”
“Again.”
“Again,” he confirms.
“Why?”
“It is my job, Mr. Barlowe. To find out what happened to her. To protect her from strangers…and from husbands.”
My blood seems to turn to gel. Everything has frozen, moving slowly. “You think I hurt her?” I should’ve known I’d be a suspect, but up until this moment, it hadn’t occurred to me.
