"Yeah, I did give her the wine." Splinter said after the shock fell from his face, "But I didn't poison it? Why would I want to kill her? I still like her!"
Maybe you sub-consciously wanted to apologize to me, so you gave me my soulmate back. Camden wrote, which got nasty looks from everyone. He quickly erased the note with the back of his sleeve, Jk. I don't want her dead to be with me. That's sick. It was a bad joke, people.
"Either way," Bailey huffed, "Where did you get the wine, Splinter? Are you loaded or something, because that stuff is real good stuff." She said.
Splinter moaned, and shook his head. "My father's wine closet the last time we docked in Florida." He said.
"That was a while ago." Sophie frowned, "Almost…three months ago. No one was dead then." She added, which made the two ghosts present mutter.
"I know, I wanted to show her that our one time thing wasn't just that to me." He said, "But in all the…whatever you want to call it, I forgot I had it for her. And I thought that after all this stress, you know, wine would be a good thing to give to her to try to mend bridges." He said.
"Did anyone know you planned to give this to her?" Godrick asked, taking notes rapidly.
"Probably like a whole class of girls." Splinter winced, "I asked her Home-Ec class what she enjoyed when she was sick. Lots of people all agreed she liked a really nice red wine. I think it went without saying I would someone give that to her." He said.
"Home-Ec has like thirty girls in it." Sophie shook her head, "But we can be sure from the clothing to this sabotage that it's a girl. Did the seal look as though it was broken when you gave it to her?" Sophie asked.
"No. Looked perfect."
"She's crafty then." Godrick got up.
"I have some more questions to ask Reina about this. I'll be back, guys." He said, nodding.
Zack muttered angrily under his breath, the first time he'd spoken.
"Who invited him into our circle?" He asked sourly.
"He kind of just barged in." Sophie amended.
He's a big help, though. He can see us, and he's right to the point.
Camden wrote his letters out and held it above his head, and Splinter spoke in agreement. Zack huffed, and Bailey frowned at him. What was his problem?
When Godrick reappeared, he was not alone.
"So, guess who I found?" He asked, slurring, and Kennedy was behind him. At the sight of Splinter, her eyes raged with fire and she flew forward and began hitting his chest repeatedly.
"What. The. Fucking. Fuck!" She screamed at him, "First you kill your roommate, then you kill me?" She cried, "Why?"
Uh, hi. Kennedy. Splinter didn't kill me, and he didn't kill you either. Camden nudged the board in front of her face, and she turned pale, if that was possible for a dead ghost. She looked between her two lovers, and shook her head hard, "Whatever. Why was I killed, then?"
"The killer is tying up lose ends." Zack said, snapping his fingers.
"What?" Kennedy asked, twirling her hair and raising an eyebrow.
"Well, you said you were the start of this whole thing. I heard you say it today."
"I said it to a group, you creepy-eavesdropper!" She snapped.
"Hey, I wasn't trying to listen in. If I could hear it, anyone could have." He defended himself.
"Like so what then?" She snapped bubble-gum and continued chewing, "I was the one who took the stupid picture, and I sent it Gemma but I thought it was only going to be like something between girls, I didn't mean to get it published."
"You took that?" Splinter gaped at her, "Against the rules?"
"Rules, whatever." She shrugged, "It was pretty priceless." Splinter contorted his face.
"Less attracted to you now." He decided.
I still think you're hot.
"Camden shut up." Bailey smacked the board out of his hand, "So, she was the start. But the whole wine thing makes me wonder. I've been running through scenarios in my mind."
"Exactly! Me too." Sophie agreed, "I'm not sure what the killer wanted to happen. Did she only want Kennedy to drink it?" She asked, "Or Reina too?"
"Did she want Reina to live to tell everyone it was Splinter's fault, or was the fact that Splinter gave it to her just a convenient way to slip poison to someone?"
"Am I supposed to be framed?" Splinter added, "I like to think not, buuuuuut…" He stretched out the word.
"There's so many different ways that could have gone. Did Splinter give you the wine tonight?" Bailey asked.
"No. But who would drink wine all alone? Boring. I mean, either the killer thought I'd drink it with my roommate or other people, duh. If she wanted just me to drink it, then clearly she's never had fun with wine and girls." Kennedy decided.
"I don't know at this point." Sophie shook her head hard, "Reina was our main suspect. Would the killer really want to kill off the one person that was keeping us from suspecting her? I mean, because I'm pretty sure we can cross of Reina as the killer now." Sophie decided.
"Unless she is." Zack reminded.
"She was almost killed tonight." Bailey reminded him.
"Unless she had an antidote!" Zack threw a finger in the air, "What about that? We don't take her off the list until we know for sure!"
"That's my best friend you're talking about!" Kennedy put her hands on her hips, "So excuse me!"
"But Zack's right." Splinter winced in anticipating for her glare, "I saw we go by guilty until proven innocent."
"Is dying innocent enough?" Kennedy demanded.
"No. Zack's right. We don't know this poison, we don't know why or when, we just know that you were killed and it was for sure meant for you." Splinter said, and Kennedy's face fell a bit.
"Oh yeah. Remind me again I'm now dead, why don't you?" She asked.
It's not so bad. We can still have sex, babe.
Zack blushed hard. "Do you know that from experience, huh?" He asked angrily, and Bailey shared a look with Camden. Did Zack think the two of them had-
"Ew!" She cried and Camden laughed silently, "No way, Zack!"
"I think we should disband for tonight." Splinter announced, rolling his eyes.
"After this, it's going to be tough to meet. Everyone's going to be under lock and key. We'd be sent home if we weren't in the middle of the ocean." Bailey pointed out.
"We'll use you three to communicate then." Godrick decided.
Kennedy shot him a nasty look. "Excuse me, I'm not messenger bird!"
"Do you want to find out who killed you, or not?" Sopie snapped back. Kennedy stayed silent.
"Reina can see her. We should introduce her to the group tomorrow, so she doesn't freak out." Godrick also decided, and Bailey's face turned sour.
The group thereafter quietly got up and left to go to various places. Zack was out of there like a bullet, and Bailey followed him back to his room.
"What the hell is up with you, Zack? You hardly said a word in between sending me looks." She asked with frustration.
"How about the fact you ignored me the whole day today?" He asked. Baiely stopped in step, and looked at him hard.
"I was getting used to being dead. And besides, I thought it would be hard for you with me floating around you constantly." She said.
"But maybe I want you to." He murmured softly, "Do you regret this?" He motioned to himself, then back at Cody.
Bailey took in a long breath, but sighed, "No. I mean, sometimes I think I do when I see Cody moping around, but it's a different sort of hurt. Not regret." She said.
"Good." Zack said, and took one of her hands, idly running his fingers over her skin, "Good."
He went and sat on his bed, and Bailey followed. He noted that she had a devilish smirk on her face. She grinned slyly, and Zack raised an eyebrow in question.
"So…do you remember riiiight at the start of the games?" She asked.
"When we still hated each other?" Zack recalled.
"Yeah. And we made a little bet…and since I died, horribly yeah, but I guess that means you win."
Zack's voice gave a pre-teen squeak, "Really?"
"Mhh…" Bailey hummed in agreement, "But before it begins, curiously, what were you going to do originally. I think you upset Maya and Cody pretty badly with your tone of voice."
"I just wanted to see Cody squirm." Zack shrugged, "I didn't mean to hurt Maya then. To be honest, it would have been totally innocent, like I don't know, make you…eat…grass?" He finished lamely, making Bailey realize he never had any idea of what he'd do. He was just talk.
"And now?" She prompted.
"Now…now my plans have changed." He amended, his voice growing low.
"Good." She said, reciting his amendment earlier, and settled herself lying down. Zack did not need to be invited twice.
"Should we see if what Kennedy was told by Camden is correct?" She asked, running a finger down his chest. Zack saw stars behind his eyes even before it began, and his vigorous nod was the end of words for the whole night.
At daybreak, Bailey lazily turned over, and found herself in the arms of someone. Blond hair- Cody? For a moment, she feared what Mosby would do if she found her in a boy's room, and wondered if perhaps she'd been drunk last night. She blinked, and her eyes adjusted.
Zack?
Oh yeah…Zack.
She blushed remembering the previous night's adventures, but then her mood dropped when she recalled she wasn't really here, she was just a ghost free-loading on his ability to make her feel whole.
She got up quickly, feeling overwhelmed, and sighed.
She wasn't a 'run and go' type so she patiently sat there in his desk chair waiting for Zack to awake. How did he treat girls after nights like that? Was he sweet? Sexy? Insulting? She balked a little, not sure if she wanted to face this.
What's more, how she could continue to face this
The boat would stop to give her body to her parents in three days time. She had until then to figure out her affections for Zack. If she so decided to stay away from him, and hell there had to be a ton of attractive but tragically killed boys in America, he would never see her again.
If she stuck around, she would be whole, but she couldn't be what she once was. She couldn't go out and get a job without Zack around her all the time, she couldn't get married, she couldn't have kids. It was a half-life in itself. And still, when Zack died after a long and good life, would he be revived as a ghost too, or would she be tragically bound to this life, wandering forever.
Or, if they caught the killer, would she be freed from this limbo?
She realized her affections for Zack were the least important thing at the moment. It was more pertinent to find the person who killed her and three others, and the attempted murder of one more. There could have been five bodies floating around this ship had Reina not been lucky.
The more feminine side of her had a flash of irrational jealousy in which she wondered if Cody had paid a visit to Reina in the hospital wing since last night? Probably not, of course. Godrick wasn't even supposed to be in there the last time, and hardly twelve hours had elapsed between the time of disbanding and falling into Zack's room.
And did she care?
It hurt to imagine that perhaps while they were still something, he had been looking at Reina. But in the same way, she'd been looking at Zack. She didn't even allow him to kiss her until she was dead, of course, which she figured broke any immature relationships she'd ever had with anyone, and if it had happened in the living world in which their relationship had moved quickly, she would have had the decency to break up with Cody and insist Zack wait a week or two before moving in.
She couldn't even phantom Cody's reaction if he found out about her and Zack. And that made her feel like a terrible person.
Yet they'd been falling for months. It was more comfort and all, they both stayed together because it was easy. And it was expected of them, the two smartest kids in the school. But they hardly talked and joked the way the once had, they didn't gush or tickle noses in between classes, and all the hypothetical talk of futures had abruptly ceased. It was the end, but she refused to believe it.
Zack stirred in his sleep, and wearily opened his eyes. He sat up suddenly, and whipped his head around, as if he had expected her to really leave. They softened when they touched her face, but it was short-lived as someone breezed into the room.
"Zack! It's nearly noon!" Maya gasped, "Are you still sleeping?"
"I'm a little upset." He admitted, "Did you hear about Kennedy and Reina?" He asked. Bailey could tell he was genuinely sorrowful about it; it was horrible when anyone died, even if you didn't know them well. Bailey was pretty sure she'd never even had a conversation with Kennedy, yet she knew that the girl was from Texas and loved the color orange. She knew that Kennedy was good in math and Ecology, but bad in every other class and had planned to go into the study of agriculture and how it could help the world. She wasn't the brightest girl, but she had wanted to make a change, which is more than most kids she knew could say.
Maya's lip quivered, and she just collapsed on the bed. "I was coming to ask you. They were some of my best friends, I can't even…" She said, "I was supposed to go over there last night to join them! Zack, I could have been killed." She breathed in one large exalted breath, sinking hard into the mattress. Bailey shifted farther into the room. Even though she was solid, she was pretty sure people couldn't see her if they didn't see other ghosts. Still, it felt like she was invading something too private. Maya had known them better.
"This person…they've killed four people." Zack breathed out loud, and Maya just continued to cry. Bailey winced; for everything Zack was good at, comforting crying girls was not his strong suit. Why would you remind an upset girl the very thing she was upset about?
He patted her back, and rested his chin on her shoulder. His eyes glanced toward Bailey, a sort of apology, but she silently shook her head. She understood, and although there was a little air of arrogance that wanted to push him away from Maya, she let it go. She felt bad for Maya, even.
"They won't get away with this." Zack said defiantly, and Maya paused her blubbering to look up, wiping her eyes.
"How can you be so sure?" She asked, her nose running as she tried to wipe, but found her own hand so wet from tears it was nearly impossible. Then, her lip quivered again, "Zack, tell me you're not doing something stupid."
The hesitation was all she needed. "No."
"You're going after him." She accused, sucking in a hard breath. Her hands shook.
"Her," He corrected, "We know it's a her."
"My god Zack, you don't get it, do you?" She suddenly leapt up, hands waving all around, "This person- girl or boy- is killing people. They're fucking killing kids."
"I know. They've killed people we both care about." Zack confirmed, which Bailey wouldn't say was all that true. He didn't know Camden, flirted with Gemma only in passing, once hit on Kennedy, and liked Bailey in secret. Maya seemed not to notice, or agreed, but she continued, grabbing his shoulders.
"This isn't a video game or a friendly match of Clue!" She cried, "What the hell are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking they need to be stopped before we go home. I stand for justice, Maya. Don't you? With you wanting to go to Chad and everything and fix things?" He asked.
"I want to solve world hunger, not track down a dangerous humming being." She huffed, "You're going to get yourself killed and I'll have two dead friends and a dead boyfriend!" She said, shaking so hard that Bailey would have thought it was snowing in the room.
Zack just gave her a hard look. "I'm worried for you," He whispered in a soft voice, "Really. This person- they don't kill in a pattern. It really seems random. They could kill you next, if we don't stop them now." He said. Maya gave a little sob, but shook her head.
"Zack, they have no reason to kill me." She said, "What did I ever do to them?"
"What did Kennedy do? Or Bailey? Or anyone?" Zack asked, and he pulled her into a tight hug. He kissed her forehead in a more friendly than loving way, and sighed, "I can't bear to lose someone else or anyone for that matter." He corrected himself before he let something slide he wasn't supposed to. Bailey also was sure he meant that. It was like she had thought before; she didn't like Cody and was done with that part of her life, but she couldn't imagine him dead, tied to this fate like she was. No one should have died, but what was done couldn't be helped.
"Zack, as long as you're insisting on chasing this dangerous person…I can't…" She shook her head, "Please. For me. Stop this nonsense! I don't want to find you bleeding on the floor or hanging somewhere!" She cried.
Zack winced. "Does it really upset you so much?" He asked.
"Really." She confirmed.
"Then…I suppose…" He looked helplessly at Bailey who nodded. She knew what he was going to say, and she would talk to him after, "I won't continue."
Maya put a hand over her mouth, and she cried, but in happiness. "Thank you, Zack. Really, Mr. Mosby's hiring a real detective, and he'll find this 'girl' if you insist. But please, leave it to someone who does this all the time." She said, "I'm going to go down and sit with Reina. I know you weren't friends, but will you come with?" She asked.
"Of course." Zack dipped his head, "Let me change and shower though, I'll meet you down there." Maya nodded mutely, and stood on her toes to kiss Zack chastely before she exited. Bailey could have sworn as she turned around, her eyes had a spark of recognition as if she could see her, but Maya didn't pause or start if she could see her.
It wasn't that surprising. Maybe others had died in her life, which possessed her with the ability. Or maybe she was imagining it. She had been pretty sure Mosby had seen her as well as Cody, but when she went up to both, they walked right through her.
Zack was licking his lips nervously.
"I agree." Bailey said, "With Maya."
"What?" Zack said, tipping his head as if he didn't hear her the first time.
"She's right, Zack. This girl is dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt." She said, whimpering.
"Then I'd be with you." Zack said softly, and it broke her heart.
"Don't say that again, Zack. I don't wish that for anyone." She said firmly, "And you have a whole life."
"But you had a better one." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Then make it better Zack. Model it how I would have. I'll give you pointers." She rolled her eyes in a sudden burst of frustration toward him.
"Bailey, I'm not going to. I worry about my brother. London. Woody. Addison. Maya. Reina, especially if she was supposed to die the first time." He said, "In other times, I couldn't do anything because I wasn't smart enough. Now, I can help people. Do something." He stressed.
"She said professionals are coming. You think a group of kids can outsmart them?" Bailey asked in all seriousness.
"They don't have ghosts," Zack reminded, "That counts for something."
Bailey walked with Zack down to the infirmary. Once, when they were in a corridor alone together, he let his hand brush hers. "By the way, you were great." He murmured. The blush flared across her face, and she gave a little laugh-chuckle. It felt good to be assured.
"You're probably an expert." She amended. Zack shrugged.
"I'm not as well-experienced as you think. You only my number three." He assured.
"One was Maya…and?" She asked, "If you don't mind."
"To be honest, I don't even really know her name. It was my first, and it was right before we left for Seven Seas High."
"Zack!" Bailey chastised, hitting him on the shoulder, and he winced.
"Hey, I mean, it was a little good-bye present. We both knew it was a one time thing, obviously." He said, missing the point of her shock.
They had to cut their conversation off when they turned the corner, because there was people all the way to the infirmary. Reina had been a popular person, or she really hadn't, but people wanted to be there for an almost victim. Only Maya was let through though, and by that allowance, Zack too. Bailey floated through without any problems, as she let herself stay back a couple feet behind Zack.
In the room, she was surprised to find Kennedy was missing. Reina's eyes focused in on Bailey as soon as she entered, and she gave a little nod to acknowledge her existence. There was an apology somewhere in her chocolate brown orbs as well, which Bailey nodded back to.
Then she looked at Zack, and a little light of understanding flickered on, and she gave Bailey a grim smile. She was forced to avert her attention back to Maya, who had been rummaging in her bag for something for her friend.
"Reina…" Maya sighed, "How are you?"
"Tired. Sad." Reina replied with a low noise of sorrow, "Why didn't I die too?" She asked.
"Because you are lucky. Blessed." Maya took her friend's hand, running her fingers of the knuckles. Reina didn't looked convinced. Zack sat almost awkwardly, sitting far enough from Maya as so their thighs were not touching, but close enough that it wasn't obvious he was trying not to sit close to her.
A third person burst into the room, and walked right through Bailey. Reina winced almost missed by a normal glance, and at first Bailey thought it was sympathy for being waltzed through like air. And then she saw who it was, and she felt a violent stab through her chest. Cody.
The once love of her life had literally walked all over her. And then, Bailey had to question once again, was he here because there was something? Reina was not looking at her, and hiding any hints that could help her very well, and it was too much for Bailey. She was going to go and find Kennedy anyway.
She touched Zack's shoulder, and he stiffened, but could not make any movement toward her, and slipped through the slightly ajar door from when Cody had entered.
She found Kennedy where it seemed most ghost could be found; in Splinter's room. It was only Camden, Kennedy, and Godrick now. Sophie and Splinter were nowhere to be found.
"Hi, Godrick." Bailey greeted, making her presence known. Godrick glanced up sharply, and nodded a quick greeting to her. He was sitting across from Kennedy, writing things down.
"And then what?" He asked.
"I don't know," Kennedy looked like she was in pain, "I can't remember."
Godrick gave an aggravated sigh. "It's not like I'm asking you to remember what you did exactly a year to this day ago, I'm asking you about yesterday."
Kennnedy sputtered, "Really? Can you tell me exactly what you ate for breakfast yesterday?" She challenged. Godrick's eyes widened.
"Yes! Most people could!" He threw up his hands.
"Well, something traumatic happened yesterday. Maybe I'm trying to block it out?" She replied sassily.
"No shit." Godrick agreed, "But this could be really important."
"Or it could do nothing." Kennnedy pointed out.
"Please, if you ever want to get revenge on this person, just help me out a little here." Bailey looked at Camden, who was watching the exchange with an amused look on his face, legs drawn up to his chest as he sat on the bed. His bed. She sat next to him.
This is better than T.V.
He wrote to Bailey. Bailey chuckled to herself, and lowered her voice down to a whisper.
"Where did she get stuck?" She asked.
What she did right after breakfast.
Bailey shook her head, but now Kennedy seemed to genuinely try to recall the day, whom she talked to, and what she told them. Bailey tried to listen fully, but found she dancing in and out of focus and only caught snippets of 'A Day in the Life of Kennedy Cinno'.
"Well after lunch, I went back to my room to change for the second half of the day, you know? Like some people wear things the whole day, but that's just a waste of clothes that you have that you could be wearing. It's what I'm wearing now. Really. If I would have known I was going to die, I would have picked out something more comfortable."
"Get back to the point," Godrick growled with irritation, biting the tip of his pen.
"Oh, okay. I went and invited Maya to the party thing, along with a couple others like Valisa and Nettie. Only Reina could come, because she NEVER misses a girls night and all." Kennedy spoke a lot with her fingers, pointing and making motions.
"Who knew about the wine?" He asked.
"No one. It was going to be a surprise treat. I mean, I had just gotten it delivered that morning." Kennedy said as if it was obvious.
"Who delivered it?"
"Who knows. It was in my room when I returned from breakfast with a note from Splinter." She paused, her eyes growing heavy as she looked around the room, "It wasn't him. He didn't try to kill me."
"We know, hun." Bailey finally spoke up, "We all think he's innocent."
"I just need to say this, though." Kennedy studied her nail art, "I didn't ever love him, or really like him. I thought he was a little sexy and attractive, and I know I've been a bitch to him. And I think he still thinks I blame him, but won't listen to me. And I feel terrible. I know he didn't kill me. He's really strong and good at fighting, but he's not a killer." She said in one long breath, and then looked at Godrick. There was a silence between everyone, and Camden started to clap, but Bailey quickly stopped him.
Godrick looked down at his paper. "Let's just keep going, shall we? I'm sure he knows deep down that you don't think that he killed you." Kennedy frowned, as if this was not the response that was looked for, but nonetheless, the pair continued the list.
Back down at the infirmary, Cody and Zack left when Reina began to feel tired, but Maya stayed, saying that she felt like she should sit with her friend awhile longer. Zack wouldn't have wanted to walk with his brother, but their rooms being across the hall from each other was inconvenient.
His brother started sniffling half-way there. By the time they reached their rooms Cody was holding back tears, and Zack didn't have to ask why. Bailey. He felt a little angry by his brother's reaction. First, he could not show such irrational emotions, even if he had wanted to, because there would be some serious questions about a girl he hated not even three months ago. Secondly, he wasn't a wimp and would only cry in the sanctity of his own room or at her funeral.
He was happy to go their separate ways, until Cody spoke. "Zack, I know you never liked her, but she liked you. Well, not like that. She didn't hate you thought." He said.
"Really?" Zack's interest was piqued. Yes, of course now he knew she didn't hate him, but back when she was dating Cody, he wasn't so sure.
"Yeah." Cody was clearly going to be done with this conversation, and opened the door to his room. Zack welcomed himself in.
"How can you be so sure?" He pressed, and Cody shrugged.
"Look, I could just tell. She wanted to be friends. That was the way Bailey was. I know if she could hear you know, she'd hear your apology." He comforted him, and Zack only gave his brother sad eyes. Once, the two shared everything. But now, Zack couldn't even tell him his ex was still around, trying to reach him, without saying some things he wasn't ready to say.
Zack didn't reply, but stared down at his interlocked fingers. Cody may have taken this as a signal of his guilt, because he sat next to him. "Hey, it will be okay," Cody said uneasily. Usually it was the reversal of personalities.
"I know. It will be okay when I find this killer." Zack said in a stronger voice, and Cody frowned, "You're not going to yell at me as well, are you?"
"Maya's most likely worried. He's dangerous. But this horrible man killed Bailey, so I want to help." He said.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Zack backtracked, but Cody shook his head.
"You don't understand. I hate this guy more than I've ever hated before. And whomever Mosby hires won't understand everything that kids do. This is a student killing a student." He said.
There was more silence, but this time Zack was really contemplating giving Cody some of the things that Bailey had been working on before all this. Which Sophie now had. Not that Sophie wasn't smart; she was above average, but in an English sort of way, not a mathematical. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to have another look.
"Sophie has a lot of the stuff that Bailey was working on before she died. A lot of it seems like gibberish, but maybe you'd understand it." Zack finally relented. Cody suddenly seemed as though someone had struck him.
"Bailey was trying to find him before she was killed?" He asked. He didn't seem angry, just upset.
"Yeah. After Gemma died." Zack confirmed. Cody paced a couple times, his fists clenching and closing before he walked over to his bathroom. From the overhead cabinet, he pulled out a perfume bottle. He spritzed it a bit, and Zack's head shot right up.
"Cody." He said quickly. Cody looked out, miffed.
"My God." He rolled his eyes, "If you say anything about me having male perfume, stuff it. It's Bailey's favorite scent, and I smell it when I want to feel close to her."
It was almost too sad the way he acted on, as if she had died when they were the happiest they ever were, and the fact that she didn't love him like that anymore.
But he didn't focus on that, he was standing in a flash. "Where did you get that? I…I…" How much could he say without saying too much? "It's familiar to me."
"No shit." Cody said, a hard edge in his voice, "Bailey brought her favorite perfume on the ship when we first started. I spent a whole day tracking it down when we docked in the port she bought it, because she said she was almost running out, before we were dating. I had it all nice and gift wrapped and then you come along and take it to give it to your date. I seriously had to wait a whole other year to find this stuff again but then she…"
Died.
"Who was the girl I gave it to?" Zack asked. He remembered taking the perfume to woo someone, yes, but he knew it had sat in his closet for a while. And to be honest, it seemed like one day it was there, the next it wasn't. There was alcohol probably involved.
"Like I know?" Cody shrugged, "You stole it before you were dating Maya, but it's not like I went and smelled every girl to see who you gifted it to." Cody did have a point.
But even come to think of it, Zack recalled smelling Bailey with that scent on as well. It could have been Bailey or this girl he gifted it to in Gemma's room. It could have been the killer, or maybe Bailey was in there for some other reason that day that she never got around to saying, because it wasn't important.
"You wanted to help, and you just did." Zack said in a hasty exit as he slammed the door. He could hear Cody protesting a bit, and he called to him to seek out Sophie, and then he made a bee-line for Splinter's.
It was just the ghosts in Splinter's room, at that moment. Godrick and Splinter had left to go and get food- seeing as the ghosts didn't need such sustenance, none wanted to wander outside.
Are you guys going to go to your own funerals? Splinter wrote on his board, and held it up. Bailey shrugged, as she hadn't quite thought about it. Kennedy made a little scared noise, and then shook her head.
"Once, when I was alive, I wondered who would show up if I were to die. Now, I don't want to know." She said softly, "You?"
Yeah. One last time to grope crying girls and all. He joked, winking at both girls who just made a sound in the back of their throat, then his expression turned serious. I left some friends, and I had two siblings and a good family. I don't want to stick around, haunting their house, but I do want to see them one last time.
"Maybe, we'll all go to each others." Bailey offered, to which Kennedy smiled a little, and Camden grinned, "And Gemma too."
"Must be lonely." Kennedy gave a long sigh.
Being dead?
"Being dead and having no one to talk to." Kennedy explained, "I feel like she has some major things to talk about." She raised an eyebrow.
"You wouldn't think finding a ghost on a vehicle that one person could not exit, even as a ghost, would be that difficult." Bailey agreed with a little groan of frustration, "But we've seen her three times."
"I think she's hiding something." Kennedy decided.
No shit. Camden rolled his eyes, Also, what are you all doing after the funerals?
"Not home, you're right." Kennedy said.
"I don't know. What does a ghost do if we never get our white light?" She asked, tilting her head. Camden was writing quickly on his board, to the point where it was nearly illegible.
There has to be thousands of us in the same situation, stuck around. Places like New York probably have as many ghosts as living, and I'm sure there's some system underground there or something. The three- or four if we can talk to Gemma- should go there together.
Together. The word thumped in her chest, and she almost touched the place of her heart, because she felt it coming out of her chest. But that was just an illusion, a remembrance of a once passion returning. Did she want to stay with Zack after all this? She surly didn't want to tie him down, make him miss other girls and the chance of a wife and children one day. Would it make her happy to stick around, though? To watch his children grow up while she was trapped?
Kennedy and Camden must have noticed tears leaking out from underneath her lids, because Camden took her hand, and Kennedy wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
"Bailey, hun." The girl's southern accent thickened with sympathy, "I don't know what you're going to do."
"No way I look at it is a good option." Bailey admitted, wiping the tears away with her free hand.
Camden scrappily wrote with his non-dominate hand: There's hot ghosts out there, I'm sure. Guys just like Zack.
"I know, I know…" Bailey closed her eyes, "But-,"
"But what? You're going to hideaway in his house and never get a job, but be his every night but never age? Yes, we feel alive around those that can see us, but that is the cruelest trick of all. Without him always by you, you would literally be nothing."
Zack chose that exact moment to slam the door open, and Camden leapt away, although Kennedy stayed close. Zack came and sat on her opposite side, taking the hand that was pervious occupied, and kissed her temple.
"Bale, what's wrong?" He asked. Bailey refused to tell him about her silly emotions, and they were rather insignificant in the line of everything anyhow, so she simply shook her head.
"Ghost stuff. It's fine." She lied.
Splinter and Godrick returned with a pizza, laughing and arguing about something that was clearly all in good fun.
"So, I just bumped into your brother looking for Sophie." Splinter said as he lounged across his bed, picking up a slice, "Why?"
"Nothing to concern us right now." Zack said, and then he recalled why he was here in the first place, "I have a new discovery."
The whole room had his attention. First he turned to Bailey, and attempted to keep his face impartial.
"Bailey, did you at all ever visit Sophie and Gemma's room on the day of her killing?" He asked.
"No." Bailey said, scrutinizing him.
"Are you sure?"
"Why would I lie to you?" She asked, her expression reflecting a moment of hurt. She was surprised to find his grin grow broader instead of sink when she confirmed such facts.
"Then I think we have a new lead for sure." He said, drawing everyone into a tight-packed circle. He retold his findings, including that he had promised his brother he'd let him help which drew groans from Splinter and Bailey, but he ignored them. When he finished his hunch, everyone was smiling with accomplishment. Godrick pulled out a notebook from the back of his pants, and a pen from his hair.
"I need you to list to me every girl you've dated on this ship." He said.
"You're going to be here awhile." Bailey rolled her eyes, and Zack blushed.
"It's a long list." He agreed. Godrick did not seem put off.
"Well, start now."
After about an hour of brainstorming, and the help of the rest of the crew, Zack felt they had successfully listed every girl he'd gone out with at any time in his couple years here. It was whopping 27 girls. He looked at Bailey, expecting the worst of expressions. Maya would have reacted very badly to this, even though he was clearly dating her now (she was number 27). Bailey just seemed completely amused by Zack's previous prowess on the ship.
"Well, that is a lot." Godrick agreed, and began to circle and number certain girls.
"What are you going to do with this?" Splinter asked, leaning over his shoulder.
"Figure out which one had the perfume." He said.
"Duh." Kennedy rolled her eyes, "He's asking how, idiot."
"Oh." Godrick rubbed his fingers, and gave a sly smile, "I'm going to say that I'm doing poll and study about giving perfume to girls. I'll ask if they've ever been given a bottle of perfume, and if they say yes, I'll ask them to list the guy that gave it to them and how long they were together. Pretend that it indicates love or something stupid like that. From that list, we may not know exactly who it is, but have you ever given perfume to any girl except the bottle you took from Cody?" He asked.
Zack scoffed. "Even cheap perfume is really expensive. If they say I gave them perfume, it's gotta be them." He said, nodding.
Thank God Zack is too cheap to buy girls perfume. Camden laughed at himself, and this elicited a couple chuckles from the group.
"I can't believe you stole my perfume! Of all things!" Bailey threw up her hands, but it was half-joking.
"I didn't know it was yours at the time. Okay, I did. Who else would my brother be giving that stuff to?" Zack said.
Godrick checked his watch. "If I start now, I can catch probably a couple of these girls down at the smoothie bar. And let me go alone- too many will seems suspicious." Godrick said, picking up his jacket and notebooks.
"Fine by me." Splinter shrugged, "I'm keeping the pizza here."
"I'm where ever pizza is." Zack agreed. There weren't really much protests from the ghosts either, because no one really wanted to watch Godrick investigate.
Half an hour before the lights out on the ship, Godrick had managed to catch eight girls on Zack's list, but it seemed no one so far had been given perfume by him. Maybe they were out-of-luck and Zack's theory wouldn't hold up because he gave it to some girl just on vacation, passing through. He was about to head back up, when he saw another girl on the list. No problem in continuing to try.
"Hey! Uhh, Tiffany!" He called the leggy blonde over by him, and she stood over him with a hard look to her, "Do you mind if I ask you some things for a study I'm doing?" He asked.
"You're a sophomore, right?" Tiffany asked, the answer already in her voice.
"I'll buy you a smoothie." Godrick said smoothly, taking out his student card. Tiffany considered it, then sat and crossed her legs delicately.
"Fine." She turned to the manager of the bar, "The usual, please."
"Great!" Godrick said enthusiastically, "So I'm comparing-," He began, but Tiffany waved a hand.
"I already know. The first girl you interviewed told our dinner table about it. I think it's interesting, you know?" She asked.
"Oh, very much so." Godrick said absently, staring down at his sheet, "Then you already know the questions I'm going to ask you."
There were very few people on the sky-deck at this time of night, even with more than a quarter of the hour left before they had to be in their rooms, which surprised Godrick. They were in warm weather, and usually there were teenagers in the hot tub until the very last moment, running with wet soles of their feet over the deck before Mosby turned the corner. But as he looked around, only a few passengers enjoyed the deck, but word had gotten out, and no one really much wanted to be anywhere but off the ship.
"Yes. I have been given perfume before." She said, leaning in.
"By anyone on this ship?" he asked, his heart rate beating. He felt like she was the one.
"Mh-hmm." She said, sipping her smoothie and giving an achingly long pause. It must have been totally non-problematic to her to take a sip, but Godrick felt his fingers tap the page in anticipation.
"And?" He prompted.
"By Tyson Lann." She said, "We dated for six months." She seemed overly proud of herself, and for sake of the ruse, he wrote it down. He waited, but she said no more.
"Are you sure that no one else gave you perfume like Aiden or Ned or Zack or George?" He asked, listing off a few boys innocently. Tiffany's lips parted to an 'o' shape, and she giggled.
"Godrick, did you keep tabs of boys I've dated, and you're sure that this isn't just some huge ploy to ask me out?" She questioned, and Godrick jerkily shook his head.
"Oh, well, if you say so." She tilted her head, but clearly she didn't believe it, "And besides. Zack and Ned were just flings."
"Can't flings give gifts?" He asked, and she stood. He felt he may have taken it too far, but she seemed to think he had a crush on her, so he wasn't concerned. She downed her smoothie, licking her lips.
"I may say yes." She said, and Godrick jolted.
"To…what?" He asked. She patted his shoulder and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"You're cute." She said and she left the sky deck, leaving Godrick to be an anomaly. He pursed his lips and sighed. Never had he even noticed her, but now she thought he had a crush on her? Ah, well, she was quite pretty, speaking honestly. There were worst girls to assume such things, he told himself.
Alec was already asleep, or at least turned in his bed, when he entered the room. Alec didn't question where his sometimes friend and roommate had been, because to say Godrick was eccentric was a bit of an understatement. He didn't question his lately outings, nor his behavior and let his roommate slip into his own bed and turn out the lights.
Godrick was pleased to find himself getting somewhere, even if nothing had been discovered yet.
He woke suddenly in the middle of the night with the acute feeling of something wrapping around his neck; like hands. His first instinct was to cry out, but found another hand was pressing hard down against his lips. Fear overtook him suddenly, and he thrashed.
"Shh…wouldn't want to wake our friend, eh?" The voice sounded strangled and rough, as if someone was purposely straining his or her voice to make it unrecognizable. He immediately stopped, not because he was particularly keen on obeying people threatening him, but because somewhere in the back of his mind, Godrick knew that he had heard that voice before. It was there, underneath the grinding of the vocal chords, there was something undeniably familiar about it.
The hand on his neck tightened, and he let out a short gasp for breath, which never came. His hands clawed at his throat, and he waited for the person to speak again.
"You're playing a dangerous game." The person, who now he could most certainly say was a female, murmured.
"Killing people is not a game." Godrick hissed under his breath, refusing to be so easily beaten by this girl.
"Isn't that what assassin is all about?" The person asked, and Godrick kicked up. He knew that general area may not hurt as much if it was a male, but it was sure to still do some damage. The person hissed in slight pain, much less than they should of, "You yell and I kill your friend." They said, and Godrick rethought his plan on screaming as soon as she was most occupied. She must have seen the way his lips slightly parted, gauged the way he drew in a slight breath, and saw his eyes flicker toward the open port hole. Wow; she was almost a match for him and his deductive skills.
"What do you want then?" he asked.
"You need to stop investigating. Things are better left where they lie."
"I won't." Godrick said and raised his eyes to try to see the girl's in the total darkness, "And if you kill my friend, I'll have all the more reason to never stop." His heart was beating faster than it ever had before and he could almost taste the danger off her words, and the fear that leaked out of every pore. Godrick had never been more terrified in his life, but he'd be dammed if he let her know that.
"Is that so?" She asked, but Godrick never got the chance to answer.
In the morning light, Alec stood and stretched and looked over to his companion's bed. Godrick had the covers pulled all over his head so he was just a little ball under the covers, and his whole body was shaking.
"Dude, are you okay?" He went, and his fingers gently touched the comforter, but Godrick let out a loud cough.
"I'm just feeling really sick. Go down to breakfast." Godrick's voice was filled with the rawness of an ill person.
"Do you want anything?" Alec asked as he cautiously rounded the bed to grab his clothes, and saw that no part of his friend was showing.
"Just go." His friend's voice shook, but Alec thought not much of it, and left promising to leave him alone the day to let him feel better, and advised him to get lots of sleep.
But Godrick couldn't even close his eyes without opening them in terror. Since waking, he had not a wink of sleep since.
By one, Splinter noticed that Godrick wasn't anywhere to be found, and of course everyone expected the worse right off the bat. They pounded on the door of his room, but were all relieved to hear his voice- albeit different- come from the other side.
Zack had to do some nifty trick with the handle to open the lock, but soon Zack, Splinter, Sophie, Reina (recently released and wanting to get to the bottom of it and stay close to Kennedy) and the three ghosts trailed in. Honestly, the ghosts knew they could have simply gone in without the lock picking, but it was common courtesy.
Godrick was still in the same spot his roommate had left him that morning. But when his friends entered, Godrick peeked out meekly.
"Hey, anything new? Did you find anything out?" Zack asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"I can't continue." Godrick said in a quiet voice.
"What?" Splinter asked, leaning down.
"I…I can't continue with you guys trying to figure this out." He said is a very small voice.
"What?" Splinter repeated, then shook his head, "But you were…and…what happened?"
"Did something have to happen? I just decided I have better things to do." He said hotly, suddenly turning bitter.
"Like we're going to believe nothing happened when you sit underneath the covers doing nothing. Is sleeping your better thing to do?" Zack asked a little harshly, to which Bailey shushed him and moved him and Splinter from the bed.
"He's shaking." She said tenderly, reaching out, to which Godrick flinched away, then cussed at himself. Bailey, concerned, reached to grab the blanket. Godrick was in mid-protest when she yanked it off. It fell to the floor with silence.
"Nothing happened?" Kennedy echoed, her voice shaking.
"Fine." Godrick swung his legs over the bed, wincing hard at the movement, "Something happened."
Bailey looked over him. His neck, arms, and legs were bruised already. His left eye was swelling and his lip was split apart. There was dry blood dribbling down his chest, which were covered in tiny gashes. The worst was his foot, which seemed mangled and was wrapped tightly in an old shirt, but there was already blood on it.
"What happened?" Reina burst out, and Godrick looked at himself in shame.
"I was threatened last night to stop doing this." He motioned to them, "And at first she threatened Alec- my roommate. I mean, it wasn't my life. And I thought I was being noble and brave about it and that I could hold up and put my life out there the same, but when it came down to all of this…I can't. I'm so afraid, and I can't die. I'm…suh…sorry." He burst out crying, and suddenly it was if everyone in the room recalled his actual young age. Kennedy and Bailey flanked him, and Bailey stood to get a wet washcloth. She began to gently wash off the blood as he sat there crying.
"We can't blame you." Splinter said uneasily, looking at Godrick. He looked at Camden, but the exchange that passed between them needed no words. Camden shook his head; it was not the same method as the person who had killed him, therefore not the same attacker.
"Godrick, I know this is traumatic, but do you know who it was?" Splinter had to ask, and he was pretty sure it was what everyone was thinking.
"Yeah. I figured it out, the voice." He said, and looked around as if he expected the person to jump out, "but I don't think it was the killer. The person, now that I think about it, sounded scared out of her wits. She even let it slip that she was supposed to kill me, but she felt a warning would suffice. This person couldn't bring herself to kill me." He rubbed his neck, as if it settled in that he should have been dead this morning. Reina sighed, recalling her own traumatic experience, and nodded in understanding.
"Yes, but who was it?" Splinter pressed.
"It was Gemma."
Sophie broke from the group in an instant.
"No!" She said firmly, "No."
"It don't think she wanted to-," Godrick tried to explain, wincing as Bailey put medicine on a partially nasty cut, but Sophie backed out.
"I'm going to find her and prove it wasn't her! She's not capable of that!" She pointed to Godrick's body, and he just stared at her. His eyes were not bright like yesterday, but dull and tired.
"I'm good at these things. I know it was her. And I forgive her." He said. Sophie didn't listen to him, and she backtracked out of the room. She hit the back wall and ran the other way. She didn't know where she would find Gemma, but she had to.
And on the way she ran into Cody, who looked way to pleased to see her, until he saw the tears on her face.
"Did you ever know Gemma?" Sophie asked, wiping the tears, her hands shaking.
"Not personally." Cody answered slowly, unsure on what exactly was happening.
"Do you believe in ghosts?" She asked. Cody looked at her strangely.
"Why?" He didn't say yes or no, she noticed. She bit her lip.
"What if I told you that Camden, Gemma, Bailey, and Kennedy are now ghosts on this ship waiting for someone to avenge their death?" She asked in a moment of weakness. Yes, they had agreed not to tell Cody about the supernatural part, but she needed someone to find Gemma with her now. Cody just shook his head.
"I would tell you that's too good to be true."