“I do.”
“She woke me, grabbed a few of her things, and the three of us rushed up to the deck.
“We pounded on the doors we passed, but by then the boat was already listing pretty good. We barely had enough time to get topside and launch a lifeboat.” She stared down at her coffee. “Maybe we should have tried harder.”
“If you had, you would have died there,” Stone said. “I almost didn’t make it, and my cabin was a lot closer to the outside deck than yours.”
“I suppose.”
“At any point, did you see Mr. Sidney?” Choi asked.
“No. We didn’t see anyone else. Not even you, Mr. Barrington. If we had, we would have pulled you into the lifeboat.”
“I know,” he said.
“Just so I’m clear, you were asleep when the yacht started to sink?” Choi said.
Stella nodded. “Yes.”
“Did Miss Lyne or Mr. Villarosa mention hearing or feeling anything unusual when the boat started going down?”
“You haven’t talked to them yet?”
“We’ve tried, but we haven’t been able to connect with them.”
“They’re dodging you because of the lawsuit, aren’t they?”
“We don’t know that for a fact,” Stone said. “But that would be my guess.”
Stella shook her head in disappointment. “Deidre said something about hearing a pop or a clunk. I can’t remember exactly. She didn’t think anything of it at first, but soon after the boat began to shift.”
That likely was the water shoving the cut piece of the hull out of the way, Stone thought.
“Was there anything else that happened or that your friends told you that seemed unusual?” the commander asked.
“Other than the fact the boat was sinking?” Stella asked, the hint of an ironic grin touching her lips.
“Yes, other than that.”
“I can’t think of anything.”
Choi nodded. “How well did you know the rest of the crew?”
“Some I’d worked with before on other yachts. And others, I was working with for the first time. TheAmanda Jaewas new, and we’d been hired not long before Mr. Sidney took possession.”
“All of you?” Stone asked.
“I don’t know, but I assume so.” She cocked her head. “I think I heard that someone got hurt and had to be replaced at the last minute.”
“Do you know who?” Choi asked.
After several silent seconds, Stella shook her head. “No. Sorry.”
“What about what part of the crew they were on?” Stone asked.
She shook her head.
Choi set her pen down. “I think that’s all I have for now.” She glanced at Stone. “Unless there’s something you think I missed.”
