Read Overboard for Free Online

broken as if
there had been a struggle. We have to report this!”
    Orman shook his head. “Listen to me... This bracelet
could hurt us. We have to get rid of it,” he said calmly. He let
Brenna go and stood closer to the railing, looking over the edge at
the ship’s wake. “The deck must have been slippery. She could have
easily fallen, hit her head and went over the rail. That would
explain the blood. Understand?”
    Sobbing, Brenna nodded.
    “We know nothing. We will search the ship for her,
but if she is gone, no one is to blame,” he said before he tossed
the bracelet into the ocean.
    Wiping her tears, Brenna stood silent, watching the
symbol of her life long friendship slip underneath the waves.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Brenna went to her room, standing before the sliding
glass doors and looking out into the horizon in a state of shock.
She didn’t remember the journey there, but when she reached her
destination, she quickly came to her senses.
    She had so many questions... Orman said he would
answer them all once he staged a search for Marissa and called the
Coast Guard. Yet, Brenna had no concept of the time that had
passed, and every minute that passed dragged on like an
eternity.
    She was shaking.
    Surely, there would be an investigation, and everyone
on board would be deemed a suspect. Yet, Orman’s plan made sense.
It was totally plausible that Marissa could have slipped and hit
her head, causing her to lose consciousness which then led to her
falling overboard. Such an idea, once implanted into the mind,
seemed quite believable. However, Brenna couldn’t stop the nagging
feeling which was gnawing away at her...
    “Did you see Marissa?”
    Brenna jumped and spun around. She breathed a sigh of
relief when she laid eyes on Chelsea. Confused, Brenna glanced at
her suite door and saw it ajar. “How did you get in? I thought I
had locked it...”
    “Did you really think a cheap lock could keep me
away?” Chelsea asked with a dry laugh. “Did you see Marissa when
you went to her suite?”
    Brenna shook her head violently. “No,” she said
nervously.
    “No?” Chelsea questioned, appearing confused.
    “No,” Brenna confirmed. Feeling suddenly
uncomfortable, she asked, “Why did you come here?”
    Chelsea smiled broadly. “I was thinking... You know
how you assumed Marissa was the cause of all of your problems?”
    Brenna looked upon her skeptically, wondering what
she was going to say next. “Vaguely.”
    “Well, it may not have been her,” she announced,
talking casual steps closer to Brenna. “I was thinking... It was
Hallie that made you fight with Dylan last night. It was Hallie he
was with by the pool this morning, showing him those mysterious
papers. Could they have been evidence of something? Love letters or
something like that...”
    Brenna contemplated her words.
    “I think we should find out what is in that
file.”
    “And how do you suppose we do that?” Brenna
inquired.
    Chelsea smiled deviously. “You go to her room and
look through it.”
    “And what about you?”
    “Brenna, don’t worry about me... I will be your
lookout.”
    Brenna shook her head. “Orman wants me to wait right
here for him.”
    “Orman is searching the ship with everyone else,” she
said with a wink. “He’ll never have to know.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    While the others searched the boat for Marissa,
Brenna seized the opportunity to enter Hallie’s suite. She searched
all the normal places that she suspected Hallie would hide
something valuable. She looked through a chest of drawers, but
there was nothing to be found except some neatly folded
clothes.
    Brenna opened Hallie’s suitcase. Upon finding it
empty, she unzipped and searched every pocket thoroughly before
concluding there was nothing in the bag.
    She decided that Hallie wouldn’t put this file just
anywhere. She had to turn over everything in the entire suite if
she wished to find what she was looking for.
    Brenna felt under the sofa and chairs.