AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Nineteen
Cammie passed out thinking about Ben’s words and woke up thinking about them too. She absolutely needed to get herself into the freezer. What better place to hide a body than there? And according to her quick research, the freezer on board a cruise ship like this was deep and had many places that would work to keep a body hidden, especially if no one was looking for one.
Her main problem was Ben, who had said that he’d be acting as her personal bodyguard outside her door while she slept. Now that she had, she was back to one hundred percent, her head clear, body strong, no more aches and pains. Even the nurse, who’d just been in to check her vitals, had confirmed that she was good to go. The nurse likely meant good to go to the Sky Deck, or to the restaurant, not good to go hunt down a dead man.
But, whatever… Hunting down a dead body was what Cammie needed to do. And she needed to do it now, before Zane came to talk her out of it.
She picked up her cabin phone and, sure enough, Ben answered before it could even ring. “Miss Sheppard, what can I do for you?”
She could hear him on the other side of the door. “Cammie, and please, come in.”
Seconds later, Ben popped his head into her cabin, all bright eyed and beaming. “It’s so good to see you up. You look so much better, Cammie!”
“Thank you, Ben. I feel so much better. But I’m hungry! Famished!”
Ben entered the room fully. “What can I get you?” He tapped his earpiece. “I can order you anything you like and have it brought up in no time.”
“That’s really amazing of you.” Cammie winced. “But I was hoping you’d personally supervise my food…you know…because of what happened.”
Ben’s eyes widened. “Gosh, of course, Cammie, of course! Duh! I’ll oversee every step of your food preparation, and I’ll deliver it myself.”
Cammie smiled. “That’s so thoughtful of you.”
“What are you hungry for? Soup? Something light?” Ben motioned to the side table. “There’s a menu—”
“Soup sounds wonderful.” Cammie sighed. “Better to start with something light.”
“I’ll bring you some fresh bread too, with whipped butter. I love that stuff. I could eat it by the bucketful.” Ben was already at the door. “I can get that straight from the galley, so it won’t take long to get it ready—maybe enough time for a shower if you feel like it.”
Crap!She needed Ben to be busy for long enough for her to get to the freezer without him discovering her gone, and she needed Ben to not be in the galley, which was the only way to get to the freezer. “Actually, now that you mention bread, I think I’d like some ribs from the Smokin’ Joe’s Bistro, with some of their amazing potato wedges.” She rubbed her belly. “And maybe some wings too.”
“Okay!” Ben grinned. “That sounds delicious. Do you feel up to dessert? Cake?”
“Yes, cake sounds wonderful. There’s a bakery next to the bistro, right?” Cammie flipped the covers back. “I’d love one of their chocolate pastries. And I think I will take a shower while you’re gone.”
“I’ll make sure every bit of your food is safe, Cammie.” Ben opened her cabin door. “If you need anything while I’m gone, just pick up the phone. It goes directly to my earpiece.”
“Will do. Thanks, Ben!” Cammie waited for the door to close before she jumped out of bed. She was still wearing the infirmary gown, so she quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants and a sweater, knowing that the freezer would be super cold. She wasn’t entirely sure how she’d get into the freezer without being seen, but she’d figure it out. The main thing was getting down there quickly so she could use every second of her stolen time.
She did feel slightly guilty for sending Ben on a fool’s errand, but she’d give him a very generous tip when this was all said and done so, hopefully, he’d forgive her.
* * * *
It was actually ridiculously easy to get into the fridge where the freezer was located.
Cammie was a firm believer of the ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ philosophy, a tried-and-true method of convincing everyone around you that you belonged, were capable and best of all, in charge. She’d sought out and had found a discarded clipboard on her way down to the galley, had slid a menu under the clip, grabbed a pen, then had walked right into the galley like she had business there. It had taken her a few seconds to process where the entrance to the fridge was, but as soon as she did, she beelined right for it and no one had stopped her. No one, as far as she could tell, had even glanced at her, even when she’d slipped on a, much too big, parka that had been hanging with others next to the fridge door.
Step one, get into the ‘so cold her nipples had icicles’ fridge—check!
Step two, figure out where in the cavernous space, a freezer would be and also where a dead body could be hidden. Luckily, the fridge lights turned on with sensors, so as she moved through the space, she wasn’t heading into darkness. Of course, that meant that as she left space behind her, the maw of darkness closed in. Very creepy! She figured as long as she didn’t look over her shoulder, she’d be fine.
The fridge had to be the size of a quarter of the ship. There were metal shelves with crates and boxes of food. There was even a forklift parked to the side. And while there were many nooks and crannies, nothing jumped out at Cammie as being an entrance to a deep freeze.
The farther she went, the colder it seemed. Her breath gusted out in great big plumbs of frosty mist and her face was numb, along with her fingers and she hadn’t even gotten to the coldest part yet! The coat she’d grabbed was way too big for her, so even zipping it up left too much open at the collar and base. Cold hair filtered up and down, making her shiver, despite her sweater underneath.
She finally saw another door that looked like it could be a freezer. And, although every nerve in her body was pinging her to go the other way, she headed straight for it. The door itself was heavy, but once she got it moving, it swung easily and revealed a room full of meat—huge, hanging slabs of meat. There were also huge empty hooks that would be perfect for hanging a dead guy’s body on…if she were living in some mafia crime novel. Such morbid thoughts. Ick. No way she was going to step foot in there. It was too ripe for murder, and she was so not the kind of girl to pull a too-stupid-to-live-move. She closed the door, for once heeding her gut, which was screaming at this point to run the other way, warm up then fetch Zane and have someone, at the very least, know what she was up to.
“Cammie, what are you doing down here?” Ben’s voice came out of the darkness and startled Cammie so hard that she screamed.
