Page 80 of Fire and Ice Cruise

“She’s feisty!” Celeste floats closer. “I like her. Can we keep her?”

Marina gasps. “There it is again!”

“Did you kill him?” I demand, ignoring Celeste’s commentary for now.

Marina closes her eyes. When she opens them, they’re wet with tears that haven’t fallen yet.

But she doesn’t say a word.

“Marina, as much as I love justice, I swear to you I will not out you to Ransom or Wes or even to Bess and Nettie. I will do whatever it takes to get you the help you need. Believe me, I know how men can do and say things to drive a woman to do just about anything. I’ve wanted to kill my ex a time or two.”

“No.” Her voice cracks. “I didn’t kill him.”

“She’s telling the truth,” Celeste announces with glee. “Besides, whether or not I know who the killer is, I can always tell when someone’s lying. It’s a gift.”

Marina’s head whips around. “Okay, I definitely heard that.” She wrinkles her nose at me. “Please tell me you can hear the disembodied voice, too.”

I sigh. “You really didn’t kill him?”

Marina shakes her head. “Believe me, there are other men a little higher up on my kill list that I would happily do some hard time for. But no, I didn’t do it. And that’s the truth. Now please tell me if you heard that woman’s voice. Because if not, I might need to take you up on that help you offered.”

I look at Celeste, who seems to be examining the ballroom for a handsome man to snack on.

“I heard her,” I grunt. “And you’re right. She is disembodied. In fact, she’s dead. She’s…well, she’s a ghost.”

Marina blinks. “Pardon?”

The word comes out so flat, so utterly bewildered, that I almost laugh.

Instead, I word-vomit the entire explanation. “I’m supersensual. That falls under the Transmundane umbrella, where people can have abilities like mind reading, seeing into tomorrow, and an entire host of things most of us consider curses. My specialty? I can see and hear the dead. But just the ones who come back to help me solve cases.”

I hide my face for a moment because I sound insane. I know I sound insane.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I spilled that at your feet. Bess and Nettie know. Ransom and Wes know, too, but that’s it on the ship. My kids don’t even know.” I peek at her through my fingers. “I sort of gained the misfortune a little over a year ago, after Nettie bonked me on the head with a vodka bottle.”

Marina blows out a breath. “Remind me to steer clear of Nettie when she’s wielding a bottle of liquor.”

We both give a nervous laugh, a slightly hysterical laugh that feels good after all the tension.

“So you believe me?” I ask.

Marina shrugs and gives my hand a squeeze. “Do you believe me when I say I didn’t kill Gideon Vale?”

“Of course she didn’t kill Gideon,” Celeste announces, floating closer. “She’s got killer instincts, sure, but she didn’t use them on my man.”

Both Marina and I turn to look in her direction.

Marina’s eyes go wide. “Wow, she really comes in clear.”

“Yeah, she does that, as long as you’re touching me,” I say as I look at Celeste. “If Marina didn’t kill him, then who did?”

Celeste gives me a look that says you might die tonight yourself if you keep pushing me.

Then she turns and looks out at the crowd. Her expression shifts, something sad crossing her translucent features. She nods toward the champagne fountain where Holland Rowen stands talking to guests, her gold silk dress catching the light.

“If you’re so good at what you do, Trixie Troublefield Baxter,” Celeste says quietly, “why don’t you speak to that woman. I have a frisky waiter to play with, and I have a feeling I’ll be departing this planet once again far too soon.”

She zips off in a shower of sparkles, leaving Marina and me staring at each other.