Prologue
Now
She could see everything that was happening.
She could hear every little bit of noise around her.
She could smell day-old food, the chemicals in the air-conditioning and almost taste every little nuance in the air.
She could even feel the floor beneath her.
Her senses were vibrantly alive.
What she couldn’t do wasmove.
She didn’t know if she did or didn’t blink; she could only feel the heaviness of her own body, as if she was frozen in space and time.
But she knew everything that was going on, she could see the horror of what was happening around her.
Her only option was to watch.
Watch and wait.
Because now, the horror that had claimed others, the terror that haunted those on the ship, would eventually come to her.
All she could do was hope, pray and believe that she and Wesley had followed the right steps...
And that there just might be a miracle.
Step by step. Her mind was active; she had to think back, back to the very beginning and determine just how she had gotten to be where she was...
And how the hell was she going to get out of the situation.
She couldn’t even open her mouth to scream...
Or could she?
One
“From every angle, we’re extremely concerned. But we’re hoping that what we have is a lead. Something is going on, and we believe that your investigation on this ship can fathom what it is and perhaps, even more importantly,why.Dead people. Suicide. Murder and suicide. Ridiculous and extreme coincidences? No. Two cars at an intersection at the same time may be a coincidence. But things happening like this? No. It’s gone too far. So, what is happening? Simple greed, and a perpetrator with a personal agenda? Or something far worse? We don’t know. And we’re hoping to God that the two of you can sneak in and find out. All we do know is that every victim of this rash of suicides and murder-suicides has been associated with computers and IT in a big way.”
Chloe McMurray stood quietly, listening as Assistant Director Alonzo spoke.
She wasn’t sure what she was doing there since Alonzo was federal and she was an agent withstatelaw enforcement—and she’d received the message to pack for a cruise ship.
A cruise ship?
On the surface, it didn’t sound like a bad gig!
But she was savvy when it came to cruise ships out of the Port of Miami; they usually sailed to other countries, ports in the Caribbean, perhaps Mexico and perhaps even South America. Maybe they were just heading a wee bit to the north and east, for the Bahamas, Bermuda—still foreign countries—or maybe Puerto Rico, an American territory?
So, why was she, an agent of the state, involved? And why had she been asked to subtly change her appearance, cut her chestnut hair and dye it black?
She was going undercover, of course. And she had so much more to learn about the case. Chloe was just beginning to understand how much was known and suspected—and just how much wasn’t known. What about pictures? Everyone posted everything these days and she might be recognized by someone on social media, even at a distance, if she didn’t shake up her looks a little.
Well,shemight be local, but apparently, she was being joined by a federal agent who was with Central and South American bureau “legat” offices. He had a strangelyappropriatename for his vocation in law enforcement—that being WesleyLaw.
He wasn’t any kind of gigantic bruiser, but decent and probably very well trained. The man was tall enough—six-two or three, she estimated—and yes, with what appeared to be a lean, wiry strength.
