When Shy returned to his table in the restaurant, Carmen was shaking her head. “I know what it’s like losing your old man,” she said.
Shy wanted to tell Carmen about Addie’s dad’s shady business on the island. They had to be in some deep shit for people to have guns and bags of needles, for doctors to end up dead on a boat. There was no way it was just insurance fraud. But it didn’t seem like the right time or place to get into all that now, so he just nodded and turned back to the people saying what they were thankful for.
“I’m thankful to the men who are taking us home,” an older woman said. “It’s because of them that, God willing, I might get to see my grandchildren again.”
More applause. Some people raised bottles of water and gave cheers.
Bill stood up next and pointed a finger at Shy. “You see that young man sitting over there?”
Everyone turned to Shy. He instinctively sank down in his chair a little, afraid of what the guy was going to say. Carmen was staring at him, too.
“His name is Shy,” Bill said. “And he saved my life on the ship.”
People clapped for Shy, but Bill wasn’t done. “My leg was trapped under a chandelier in one of the dining rooms. He and another young man lifted it off, helped me through the burning room and got me onto a lifeboat. If it wasn’t for Shy’s bravery, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
More cheering. This time it went on for several seconds. Carmen pointed at Shy over the table and mouthed, You’re my hero.
Shy shrugged uncomfortably and looked at Bill. He felt uneasy with all the attention. Truth was, he’d trade Bill’s life for Kevin’s in a second. It’s not like Shy could just forget everything else that happened on the ship—how the guy had followed him all over and messed up his and Rodney’s room and threatened him in the Luxury Lounge.
Others stood and announced who and what they were thankful for, but Shy was no longer listening. He was staring into space, thinking about the conversations he and Addie had had on the lifeboat about her old man and his company. Back then it didn’t seem to matter as much. His sole focus was on surviving. But now he was sneaking looks at Bill, wondering what the guy’s deal was. And what about LasoTech? And then a different thought crossed his mind: Bill must’ve had something to do with the dead doctors Shy found. And if that was true, it meant Addie’s dad had had something to do with the murders, too. Even if it was indirect.
45
The Penthouse
Shy and Carmen labored up the stairs, toward the penthouse on the twelfth floor. He’d spent the last two hours at the restaurant with everyone, doing nothing more than eating and resting and thinking, but it hadn’t seemed to give him a whole lot more strength. He was already out of breath and there were still seven flights to go. He made himself a promise: the second he got on the research ship he’d find himself a bed, or a cot, or even just a spot on the floor, and he’d let himself sleep for twelve straight hours.
“So someone’s actually guarding the doors?” he asked Carmen.
She nodded. “A few of the guys take shifts. But don’t get all nervous, they’re only passengers. And a few people who worked at the hotel.”
Shy didn’t see what the big deal was. Especially if he and Addie were supposedly protected by their shot of vitamins. And someone had to make sure the sick people knew the plan, right? They were leaving in two hours. And how were they going to get down to the water? He wasn’t so sure he trusted anyone right now.
Mostly, though, Shy just wanted an excuse to visit Rodney.
As they passed the eighth floor, Carmen said: “So, what are the chances we’ll find our neighborhoods still standing?”
“No idea,” Shy said. “I don’t wanna jinx it.”
“Hearing them talk about it at lunch,” Carmen said, “I don’t know. It made me feel better and everything, but I got the feeling they were holding something back. I mean, you saw the footage in the theater. It was bad.”
“I was thinking the exact same thing.” Shy started assisting his tired legs by using the handrail. “Wanna hear something else?” he asked. “That guy at lunch who said I saved him, he was the dude who was following me all over the ship.”
“Stop it,” Carmen said. “Really?”
“I promise. Me and Kev were doing our sweep, and I heard someone calling for help. I didn’t even think about it at the time.”
“He seemed really appreciative about you helping him out.”
Shy shrugged. “He still creeps me out. I don’t trust the guy.”
As they passed the tenth floor, Shy switched subjects. “So, what’d you and Addie talk about?”
“I just gave her a little nutritional advice,” Carmen said.
“I’m being serious,” Shy said.
“Me too. That girl’s too skinny. She needs protein.”
Shy shook his head. “So, you were checking her out?”
Carmen grinned. “I peeped her out a little. So what?” She climbed a few more steps and said: “Don’t start having some big deserted-island fantasy, okay? We just talked. She told me how you blasted a shark with an oar. And how some injured guy threw himself overboard when you two were sleeping.”
Shy felt the ring in his pocket as they climbed the final flight of stairs. He decided he needed to tell Carmen about Addie’s dad. The picture Addie had found in his room. How he was partners with the guy Shy saw jump off the ship on his first voyage and how there was something seriously sketchy happening on the island.
But just then they reached the top of the stairs and peeked around the corner. Two men were sitting on metal folding chairs outside the double doors of the penthouse. “What now?” he whispered to Carmen.
“Best way to deal with shit like this,” she said, “is to act like you know what you’re doing.” She popped out from behind the wall and started walking directly toward the men.
Shy followed.
Both men stood up at the same time. The heavier, balding one moved in front of the door. The other guy, who was rocking a military flattop, held his hands up and said: “Sorry guys, nobody’s allowed in there right now. Doctor’s orders.”
“Christian’s the one who sent us,” Shy said.
Carmen slowed and put her hand on the guy’s elbow. “We’re supposed to go in there and run them through the launch details.”
“Sorry,” the flattop guy said. “Nobody’s allowed inside. Not even us.”
“It’s for our own protection,” the heavier guy by the doors added. “Plus Larry was just up here talking to them. Christian must have made a mistake.”
Shy and Carmen glanced at each other. There was no way Shy was gonna climb all those stairs without seeing Rodney. “Okay,” he said, turning back to the two men. “I guess it was a misunderstanding, then. We’ll just go back downstairs and tell Christian—”
Shy suddenly shoved his way past both men and pushed through the doors.
“Hey!” they shouted from behind him.
Shy spun around, saw that one of the men had fallen to the floor. Carmen was hurrying past them, too, and they both ran through the hall, into the main living area, where an awful smell hit Shy.
And then he saw.
Fifteen or twenty people were lying on their backs on temporary cots. Their arms and legs tied down. Some of them looked up when they heard Shy and Carmen come into the room. Others didn’t move.
Carmen covered her mouth with her hand.
The two men who had been guarding the door hurried into the room after them, shouting: “You can’t be in here! We’ll all get sick!”