Ciara Duggan - A Fragile Woman

Awakened

Of the Night, a poem in the Exquisite Poison Anthology

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2023 by Ciara Duggan

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Phantom House Press.

No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

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Hardcover ISBN 979-8-9876331-9-9

Paperback ISBN 978-0-578-97324-1

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Look like the innocent flower, but be

the serpent under it.

- William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Its about time I start telling the truth, I said. But I need you to believe me.

Two detectives sat across from me in the cold interrogation room. Detective DeMarco was a large man but seemed gentle in nature. His eyebrows furrowed in sympathy as I spoke. Detective Farina was small but sturdy. She didnt let any emotion play on her face.

Ive spent far too many years burdened by secrets, lies, and endless manipulation. Ive tried telling people about him beforewhat he did to me. They were people close to me. People I could trust. And even they didnt truly believe me. They may have feigned shock and concern, but I could see the doubt in their eyes. Did they think I was exaggerating? They couldnt fathom that he could possibly be capable of such things.

I flattened my palms against the cold, steel table. But Im telling you now. I am not exaggerating.

T he Nova was my way out. You would think that a girl applying to be Third Stewardess on a luxury yacht would be in awe of its grandeur and modern beautyglistening with perfection at every turn. But I had grown used to that life. Riches. Expensive furniture. Endless champagne. Designer clothes. But the price was far too high. I learned that quickly.

So, I see youve worked on a super yacht before? Captain Ronnie Bates had sandy blond hair that bluntly stopped at her shoulders. I couldnt pinpoint where in America she was from, but she had the posture of someone who may have been in the military. She had a confident presence and forced a hard exterior. I wasnt sure yet if she was actually that rigid, or if it was a faade she had to construct as a female captain.

Yes. I was on the Luxe in the South of France. This technically wasnt a lie. I had been on a yacht called the Luxe in Marseille with him. It was one of the first trips he ever took me on, but I certainly wasnt cleaning cabins on that trip. We were the ones mussing them up.

You were a Third Stew there as well, I see. No desire to move up in the ranks? You're twenty-seven. Clarice King, the Chief Stewardess, sat across from me, inordinately close to the captain. Her Australian accent was charming, but her blatant judgement of my age was nothing less than bitchy. I wondered what an acceptable age would have been for such a position. Twenty-one? Twenty-three?

Uh, no, not at all. I like the work. Keeping my head down. Making things nice for the guests. I was pleased that neither Captain Ronnie nor Clarice was from England. I found that my accent went a long way with non-English people. It reminded them of Mary Poppins, Mary Berry, and the entire lovable cast of Harry Potter. A proper, high-moral English girl such as I would never lie on a CV. And typically, I wouldnt. But I was desperate. I needed to be far away and to keep moving. Where better to do that than working on a ship? A nobody in the Mediterranean, inaccessible at sea, docking somewhere new every couple of nights. And no one ever took notice of the help.

Thats good, Clarice said, crossing her arms and leaning forward. I need a Third Stew who will just get the job done. No questions asked. Code for, dont threaten my authority, I was sure.

I nodded my head as attentively as possible. As Captain Ronnie and Clarice exchanged glances, silently deliberating with each other, I looked outside the bridge window at the enchanting Mediterranean Sea. We were docked in the Amalfi Harbour Marina Coppola in Salerno, Italy. For someone who had been through something so ugly, it was difficult for me to grasp how I ended up somewhere so beautiful. Perhaps my escape had worked.

"Well, we won't lie to you," Captain Ronnie said, her hands decisively folded. "Our first charter starts tomorrow and we desperately need a Third Stew."

"Your experience is a little light," Clarice chimed in, making sure this interview wasn't too smooth sailing for me. "But you'll have to do for now."

"I got the job?" I heard genuine excitement in my voicelike a child learning they're going to Disneyland for the first time. This wasn't just a gig for me. This was my sanctuary. They both stood to shake my hand and I joined them on my feet so quickly that I nearly stumbled over. "I won't let you down."

"Better not," Clarice mumbled under her breath behind a clenched smile.

"The rest of the crew will be arriving later this afternoon." Captain Ronnie led me to the bridge door. "In the meantime, why don't you go fetch your things and Clarice will give you a rundown of the ship."

"Oh, uh, I don't really have any things." Captain Ronnie stared at me as if my words weren't making sense. I looked between her and Clarice and it became evident that they were waiting for me to explain. I felt a lump form in my throat, but I fought through it, my voice breaking a little. "My luggage got lost at the airport. And I didn't want to be late for this interview." Another lie. I guess I was getting good at it. Hopefully, the lying could all stop soon. Once I was settled and knew I was safe.

"Oh. Well, there are some shops in town where you can pick up some clothes, a toothbrush, and whatnot." Captain Ronnie nodded as if excusing me from the meeting.

Clarice folded her arms and glared at me through her plastered smile. "Would you like to go shopping before or after I explain your duties?"

"Whichever works best for you." I was eager to please. I didn't want to spoil any chance of my staying aboard.

"Come on, then." Clarice led the way out of the bridge, but Captain Ronnie stopped me before I exited.

"One more thing. Aboard The Nova, we want to give the charter guests an experience they will never forget. So, I always make sure to tell my crew that the guests are always right, and we will do our best to give them whatever they want. Understood?"

I nodded agreeably. While some might say I had been living a life of luxury for the last few years, I was a waitress before I met him. I worked in a gastropub called The Old Coach in London to help pay my way through graduate school. There, as well, the customer was always rightor at least that's what the bar manager drilled into our brains. That was where I met my husband. That was where I started to fall in love with him. That was where he saved my life.

"Great," Captain Ronnie said. "Then welcome aboard, Pippa."