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Chapter Fourteen
“You two left the party early last night!” Sherri was all sunshine and effervescence which, as far as Zane was concerned, was an absolute crime at nine in the morning. “You missed the best part!”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure we didn’t.” Zane mustered up a wink for Sherri’s benefit. He was nursing a coffee, while Cammie was loading up her plate at the buffet.
“Sherri!” Cammie did a good job matching Sherri’s tone and demeanor, especially since he knew that, like him, she was working on only a handful of hours of sleep. “We really enjoyed the Whips and Chains Party last night.” Cammie set her plate down, along with one for him, both heaped with so much food that Zane could kiss her.
“I was just saying to Zane that you two left early and missed all the fun stuff.” Sherri pouted. “I saw you body surfing, though! Very brave of you!”
“Oh, well, yeah, I can honestly say I’ve never done that before.” Cammie laughed. “I was so impressed with the party. Did you plan it all yourself?”
“Yes, it was all me.” Sherri’s eyes lit up. “I’m honored by the compliment. A little birdy told me that you work for Sabine Cowan.” Her hand fluttered to her chest. “She is my absolute hero.”
“I do! And yes, your party—among other things on this cruise—have been totally up to Sabine’s standards.” Cammie leaned forward. “And adding Ben to your roster as a Queen was a fantastic idea as well. He looked amazing!”
“Ben is a Godsend!” Sherri gushed. “He jumped at the chance to fill in a hole I had in my roster and totally went above and beyond.”
“Ben was telling us that Frankie bailed on you. So unprofessional.” Cammie tsked as she shook her head.
“Yes, it was.” Sherri’s smile faltered for a millisecond before she covered it up. “But things happen, and I’m always prepared to pivot.” Sherri sounded like she was giving an interview, and Zane found himself ping-ponging between her and Cammie, wondering who was more a master of deception. “I hope you two have plans to sign up for some of the amazing events we have happening today!”
“Oh, we definitely do.” Cammie speared some eggs from her plate. “Just curious… Do you have to pivot frequently? Do your plans go sideways when it comes to crew bailing? I only ask because Sabine has been toying with the idea of chartering a cruise for her high rollers and—”
“Oh my God! She has? Could you put a word in for me? I’d be so thrilled to help her plan.” Sherri seemed to catch herself and quickly reeled back her enthusiasm. “To answer your question, no, we don’t often have staff or crew missing shifts, not unless they get sick, which is rare. Frankie isn’t unreliable normally, but he’s been distracted recently. I think he might have lost his love of cruise life.” Sherri winced. “It happens sometimes. But not to worry, if Sabine charters a fetish cruise with Dark Matter, I’ll make sure there are no wayward staff on board.”
“Wonderful to hear.” Cammie kept her eyes on Sherri, even though her fork was hovering close to her mouth. “And yes, I absolutely will pass your name along to Sabine if she decides to go ahead with her plan.”
“Thank you! I should let you eat your food before it gets cold. I’ll catch up with you two later!” Sherri spun then beelined for her next targets.
“Thoughts?” Cammie said before finally eating her eggs.
“She’s driven.” Zane had already consumed half of his plate in the time that Sherri and Cammie had been talking. “Not sure if she’d be driven to murder, though.”
“Yeah, she’s hardcore into her job, but I seriously don’t think she would purposely sabotage her events’ success by handicapping herself with a missing crew member. I also don’t think she knows where Frankie is.” Cammie set her fork down. “And we know he’s not in the infirmary or in his own cabin.”
“I think it’s safe to surmise that he’s your dead man.” Zane picked up some toast.
“We need to find the body.” Cammie sipped her coffee.
Zane sucked back the food in his mouth in a half gasp, half WTF? He started coughing, his eyes leaking as he hacked up the piece of toast that had gone down the wrong way.
Cammie whopped him a few times on the back before handing him his orange juice. “Okay?”
He got himself under control, aware of the fact that most eyes were on him and a server was hovering close, looking ready to deliver some kind of life-saving procedure in case he decided to almost drop dead.
“I’m okay,” he wheezed, his hand up to wave the server away. He dropped the toast that was still in his hand then pushed his plate away. He waited until everyone seemed to go back to their own business.
Cammie leaned closer. “Without a body, we won’t—”
“We’re not hunting for a body,” he whisper-growled. “I need to talk to Jasper Haversmith.”
“You think Jasper has something to do with this case?” Cammie’s whispered words were full of surprise or maybe intrigue. It was hard to tell because she wasn’t looking at him and instead was sweeping the crowd of guests seated close to them.
“I think he knows things, and I need to find out what they are.” He leveled her with a hard look as she swung her eyes back to him finally. “Promise me you won’t go looking for Frankie’s body.”
Cammie shifted her gaze away for half a second before looking at him again. “I can’t prove anything without a body.” She rubbed her forehead like he was giving her a headache. “No one even believes that Frankie’s body was on the floor of my room—no one except you.”
“I know, but the more you bring attention to us, the harder it will be for me to find evidence for my case. I’m supposed to be undercover.” He reached for Cammie’s hand and she let him touch her, but only for a moment before pushing her chair back.
“The easiest way for you to get to Jasper is to go through Bill.” She smiled at the server who came to get their empty plates. “Thank you.” She got up, looking down at Zane in a classic power move. “I can help you do that.”
Zane had to admit that she was right. He had no plan, other than to somehow track Jasper down and weasel his way into a conversation again. “You’re willing to help me snag Jasper?” He sensed strings attached.
“I’ll get you in with Bill and his son, but you have to agree to help me find Frankie’s body.” She nailed him with her own version of a hardened stare.
The Dom in him perked up and took notice.
