Nick ran his fingers down the strings and hummed a tune. Yeah, he’d just sit here for a bit and then turn in. He sure as hell wasn’t going to stay up all night making a complete ass of himself staring at another boat. That was for damned sure!
“Nick?”
Nick looked up from his guitar. Pete was standing on the dock.
“Hey, Pete! What’s up?”
“Have you seen Jo?”
Nick set down the guitar and stood up. “Jo? No, not since dinner. Why?”
“She’s not on the boat.”
Nick furrowed his brow. He looked at Pete. Pete seemed concerned but not scared or angry.
“Maybe she went for a walk,” suggested Nick.
“Maybe,” said Pete, looking around him. “I just thought that maybe she came here…when she wasn’t on the boat, I thought maybe she came here.”
“Nope,” said Nick, “I haven’t seen her. Do you want me to come with you…to look for her?”
“No,” said Pete, “that’s okay. You’re right. She’s probably just gone for a walk. I’ll head back. She’s probably already there.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, yeah, sorry to bother you.” Pete turned away.
Nick stood for a moment watching the other man depart. He looked around him at the other boats. Then he picked up his guitar and went below.
Nick carefully placed the guitar in the case and snapped it shut. He laid the case gently on the sofa. Then he straightened up.
“Okay, Jo,” he said, “you can come out now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The door to the second bedroom slid open. Jordana walked slowly up the hallway, stopping just at the edge of the living room.
“Close the curtains,” she whispered, “in case he comes back.”
“I never close the curtains,” replied Nick. “That would look suspicious if I did it now. Jordana, what’s going on?”
Jo backed into the shadows of the hall. “Did you get my message? In the garbage?”
“Yes, I did. You said that he’s trying to kill you. I’m guessing by that you mean Pete.”
“Of course, I mean Pete,” snapped Jo. “Who else would I mean?” Her voice softened. “I’m sorry, Nick, I’m just so scared.”
“Well, if you’re so scared, why don’t you leave? Why don’t you just say that you want to go home?”
“I did, but he won’t let me.”
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t he let you go home? Why do you think he’s trying to kill you? How’s he trying to kill you?” Nick’s frustration was making his face red. He sat down in the leather chair closest to the hall.
In answer, Jordana reached her hand up to her head and pulled on her hair. She extended her hand to Nick and opened it. Nick stared at the strands of hair.
“What the…?”
“He tried to poison me,” said Jordana, matter-of-factly.
“Poison you? What? How?”
“The herbal tea,” said Jo. “He kept making it for me. He said it would make me feel better. But it didn’t. It made me sicker. And now this…” She nodded at the hair in her hand. Then she sank to the floor with her back against the wall.
Nick tried to think of some calming words, some way to get through to her, to get her over her delusions.
“But,” he began, “might that just be a side effect of…you know…?”
“A side effect of what?” asked Jo.
“Your…illness,” said Nick.
“Of course, it’s a side effect,” said Jo, tartly. “I’m not going to die because my hair fell out. I’m going to die because…”
“Go ahead,” said Nick, gently, “say it. Don’t you think it’s a better idea to talk about it than to try and keep it a secret?”
“I am trying to talk about it,” said Jo, her eyes widening in exasperation.
“It’s okay,” said Nick, encouragingly, “I know the background.”
Jo’s face lost what little color it had. “What background?”
“Pete told me all about it…all about you…”
Jo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Nick,” she said, as if she were talking to a five-year-old, “what did Pete tell you about me?”
Nick sighed. He really didn’t want to do this. “Your illness. He told me about your illness.”
“What illness?” Jo’s teeth were clenched. “I don’t have an illness.”
“C’mon, Jo, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It happens to lots of people.”
“Listen to me, Nick. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have any illness. What did he tell you?”
“Where were you the last couple of months?” asked Nick, suddenly changing tactics.
“I told you. I was in Europe. Nick, what did he say?”
“Where in Europe?”
Jo raised her voice. “I told you…France, mostly. Nick, what did he say??!!”
Nick tried desperately to think of a question that would trip her up and force her to admit the truth, but he couldn’t, so he said, “He said you weren’t in Europe. He said you were in rehab.”
It was not what Jo was expecting. She looked confused. “Rehab?! Like…drugs?”
“No, not drugs,” said Nick. “Food.”
“Food? Food rehab? What is that?”
Nick looked at Jo’s face. Either she was the greatest actress in the world, or she was in such complete denial that she’d never climb out.
Or maybe she was telling the truth.
“He said you have an eating disorder. He said you were in a clinic in upstate New York. He said you have never been out of the country.”
Jo looked horrified. “And you believed him?!”
“Well,” said Nick, suddenly defensive. “There was a lot of evidence…like you were throwing up all the time…and you weren’t eating…and you were…um…you were…getting skinnier, and you kept changing what was wrong with you…you know…you said ‘jet lag’ and ‘seasick’ and ‘the flu’…no, no, you didn’t say that one, Pete did, but you said it was your period…”
“I did not!” said Jordana, hotly.
“Well, you said ‘hormones’” retorted Nick. “I thought that’s what you meant.”
They stared at each other. Neither knew what to say next. Jordana was trying to picture Nick’s image of her. She didn’t like what she saw.
“Okay,” she said finally. “So Pete told you I have an eating disorder to cover up the fact that he was poisoning me. And now that I won’t eat or drink anything he gives me, he’ll have to find some other way to do me in…but he has to get rid of the fly in the ointment first.”
“What’s that?” asked Nick.
“You,” said Jo. “He has to get rid of you. And, omigod, he’s done that, hasn’t he? You’re heading out on the ocean tomorrow. You’ll get miles ahead of us. He won’t have to worry about running into you anymore. Then he can kill me and get rid of my body, and no one will even know I was on the boat." Jordana was trembling now, and her voice was rising hysterically.
“But why, Jo? You still haven’t told me why. Why do you think he wants to kill you?" Nick still couldn’t see her logic.
Tears began to trickle down Jo’s face. “Because,” she said sadly, “because he killed Mickey.”
