Chapter 5 - The Boat That Wouldn't Sink
Lila refused to sleep in her own bedroom.
She had a beautiful room with pale blue walls, a window seat full of picture books, and a painted wooden moon hanging above the bed.
Before Saturday, she had loved it.
Now she cried whenever anyone tried to carry her upstairs.
Adrian made a bed for her on the sofa in his mother's guest room.
He moved a small lamp beside it.
Then he sat on the carpet, still wearing yesterday's jeans.
"Want me to read the bunny book?"
Lila shook her head.
"The one with the bear?"
Another shake.
Adrian considered her.
"What about the one where the little penguin steals everyone's fish?"
Her mouth twitched.
"He naughty."
"Extremely naughty."
"Like Daddy."
He put a hand over his heart.
"Excuse me?"
"You ate my pancake."
"That was evidence. I had to check whether it was safe."
Lila gave a tiny laugh.
It lasted less than a second.
Then her eyes drifted toward the window.
"Boat gone."
Adrian's smile disappeared.
"I know, sweetheart."
"Mommy boat."
"I know."
He had searched the yacht twice.
The wooden sailboat hadn't been on the forward deck when Nina photographed the scene.
Nobody remembered moving it.
Maybe it had slid under a lounger.
Maybe someone had stepped on it.
Maybe it had fallen into the water during the rescue.
He hated how much he cared about finding a toy when his daughter had nearly been killed.
And he hated himself for thinking of it as merely a toy.
Eleanor had made it during the last summer they spent together.
She'd painted the little white star with the tip of a toothpick, complaining that her hands weren't steady enough.
Lila had been a baby, sprawled on a blanket beside the kitchen table.
Adrian could still hear Eleanor's voice.
"One day she'll be captain of this thing."
"Of the kitchen table?"
"Of her own little universe, Adrian. Try to keep up."
He looked down at Lila.
She was rubbing the edge of her blanket between two fingers.
"Hey," he said. "What if we find another boat?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Okay."
"That one Mommy."
His throat tightened.
"Yeah, bug. That one was Mommy's."
At two that afternoon, Detective Donnelly interviewed Captain Jonas Pike.
Nina attended separately.
The captain, fifty-four and uncomfortable in his uniform without the authority of his bridge, sat across from Donnelly with his hands folded.
"Did you know the forward barrier had been removed?" she asked.
"Not until the accident."
"Who should've notified you?"
"Anyone changing the deck's safety status."
"Would you have allowed a three-year-old on that deck?"
"Absolutely not."
"Would you have allowed passengers to sit there?"
"No."
Donnelly looked at the work order.
"Your electronic system shows approval from the owner."
Jonas sighed.
"I see that."
"Does that normally replace your safety judgment?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then why was nobody checking?"
His face reddened.
"We'd completed the morning departure checklist. I believed the temporary barrier was still installed."
"Who completed the exterior check?"
He looked down.
"Our deck supervisor. He signed off."
"Name?"
"Ethan Brooks."
Donnelly made a note.
"Where is Mr. Brooks?"
Jonas hesitated.
"He called in sick this morning."
"Has anyone reached him?"
"Not since eight."
Donnelly leaned back.
"Do you think he's actually sick?"
The captain rubbed the back of his neck.
"I think he's scared."
Across town, Corinne sat in a private office above a waterfront restaurant.
The blinds were closed.
Martin Keene, the chief financial officer of Vale Maritime Holdings, stood beside the desk holding a cup of coffee he hadn't touched.
Martin was fifty-one, precise, balding, and perpetually annoyed by people who treated business deadlines as suggestions.
He looked at Corinne's phone.
"Have you given that to anyone?"
"No."
"Has Adrian looked through it?"
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Martin, I didn't drive here to play twenty questions."
He set down his cup.
"Then tell me what happened."
Corinne crossed her arms.
"Lila had an accident."
"That's not what I'm asking."
"It's what I'm telling you."
Martin looked at her for a long moment.
Then he pulled out a chair.
"Sit."
Corinne stayed standing.
"Don't talk to me like an employee."
"Then stop behaving like a problem I have to manage."
She stared at him.
Martin lowered his voice.
"You're aware that the West Pier sale requires Adrian's approval before the end of the month?"
"Obviously."
"And you're aware that if he starts investigating internal accounts, he may find the consulting agreements."
"That's your department."
"Those payments were made to a company you introduced."
"A legitimate company."
"Corinne."
She looked away.
Martin sighed.
"Whatever happened on that boat, keep it separate from our transaction."
She laughed.
It was a brittle sound.
"You think I planned for a three-year-old to fall off a yacht?"
Martin didn't answer.
Corinne's face changed.
"You don't get to look at me like that."
"I'm trying to understand whether you're frightened because of an accident or because something else happened."
For the first time, she seemed genuinely unsure what to say.
Martin stepped closer.
"If Adrian finds those invoices before we close, there won't be a sale. There may be an investigation."
Corinne picked up her handbag.
"Then you'd better make sure he doesn't find them."
That evening, Nina called Adrian.
"I'm sending someone over."
"Who?"
"One of our deckhands. Ethan came to the marina this afternoon."
"Is he okay?"
"He's terrified. But he brought something."
Adrian looked toward the sofa, where Lila was sleeping.
"What?"
Nina hesitated.
"A little wooden boat. Red on one side, blue on the other."
Adrian sat upright.
"He found it?"
"Under the forward lounger."
"Thank God."
"Adrian, there's a reason he didn't turn it over yesterday."
"What reason?"
"Because he found something else with it."
Adrian listened without moving.
May you like
Nina's voice lowered.
"A piece of the removed safety barrier was shoved beneath the same lounger. And Ethan says he knows who put it there."
