Red Ranger 1 Posted July 5 Author Report Share Posted July 5 Thank you for the comments, John, Zig and pembie! CHAPTER FIVE Bella slowly woke up.She took in her surroundings and realised they were in Ryder’s cabin.Ryder was sleeping next to her.She glanced under the covers and saw she was in her underwear.It could have been worse.Memories, disturbingly evocative memories, of the previous night came back to her. She considered sneaking out of there but somehow that didn’t seem like something a friend would do. Instead, she nudged her bed companion in the side.“Ryder.Ryder.” Ryder blinked awake and stared at her.She could see the same memories were coming back to him. “Bella.Hi.” Even though they both knew what had happened, Bella still felt the need to verbalise it.“We did more than sleep, didn’t we?” “Yeeeaaahhh.”Ryder seemed determined to draw the syllable out as long as possible. “We should probably get up,”Bella decided, trying to avoid any further conversation.She began to get out of the bed, then stopped awkwardly.“Do you know where my dress is?” Ryder gestured towards the far corner on her side of the bed.“I think we threw it over there..?” Bella quickly located it and pulled it on.Ryder was on his feet as well by now.“Meet in fifteen minutes for breakfast?”she suggested. “Yeah, I’ll see you in the galley,”Ryder agreed. Unsure of the polite thing to do, Bella gave him the briefest hug possible, putting her arms round him and resting her head on his shoulder for what seemed like a fraction of a second.“See you there.” *** Ryder made it down on time and found Bella sat at a table, nursing a cup of coffee.He sat down opposite her, not making any attempt to get anything for himself.She looked up at him.“So, I guess this is what they call the morning after.” “Guess so,”Ryder agreed,“I’m not quite sure what happened there.I mean, we’ve always been just friends.” “Right, yeah.”Bella hesitated.“Except…” “Except what?”Ryder prompted. Bella rolled her eyes.“Do I need to spell it out?I had noticed before last night that you’re a boy and that you’re kind of cute in a dorky way.” Ryder blinked in surprise.“You never said anything.” “Because I didn’t want to be Raffy!”Bella sighed.“Do you not remember the two of us going to the movies with Willow, right after you dumped Raffy?We came back and she’s there yelling at us, accusing you of moving on and saying you always end up dating girls you’re friends with.Everyone I spoke to said you and her were good friends once but you could barely manage to be in the same room after you broke up.Same with Coco, you were meant to have dated once but you never looked that close.And I saw you with Chloe and I couldn’t even tell if you liked each other while you were dating half the time, let alone after.” She took a deep breath.“So, no, I didn’t want to be another girl that dated you and ended up hating you.I liked having you as a friend too much for that.” Ryder nodded slowly.“I remember Dean telling me once that girlfriends come and go but your mates are always there.And he was talking about Raffy, ironically.Maybe I should have remembered that.” “We’re taking life lessons from Dean now?” “If it works, use it.” Bella fixed him with a piercing gaze.“So come on then, your turn.Did you always find me utterly hideous so you were happy to have me in the friend zone?” “No, I guess I always thought you were pretty…in a scary kind of way.”Ryder thought for a moment.“I guess when we first met, you’d spent all your life living in a cave…” “It was a log cabin!” “…and you seemed younger than you were, like you weren’t ready for dating.And then, by the time you started getting all flustered over Nikau, I guess I’d realised that you had enough people in your life that wanted something from you, that wanted you to be what they wanted you to be.Your dad and that Tommy guy and even Colby and Irene.Maybe even Dean and Willow.So I figured I’d just be your friend and enjoy having you as mine.” Bella nodded slowly.“You know, in a way, you’ve always meant more to be than just about anyone.” “Same here,”Ryder agreed,“And I always thought the fact that we were so uncomplicated was a big part of that.” Bella reached across the table and took his hand…which felt like a bit of a mixed message but he went with it.“So, put last night down to experience and just be uncomplicated friends?” Ryder smiled.“Sounds good to me.” *** Despite their resolve, Ryder and Bella ended up heading to the bar together for Ryder’s shift.Ryder was surprised to see Denzel sat at one of the tables, nursing a drink.From the look of him, it wasn’t the first one he’d had.Ryder went over, while Bella hung back.“Hey, Denzel, what gives?I thought you’d be resting up before your next shift.” Denzel gave a shrug.“Not much point.I’ve got no shift tonight.I’ll probably never have one again if Archie has his way.” Ryder wasn’t any less confused.“What?Why not?” “I’m suspended until further notice.Guess I’m lucky I’m allowed out of my cabin.”He glanced past Ryder for a moment, noticing Bella.“I hear your friend got you off the hook.Congratulations. Shame I don’t have a friend.” Ryder was trying to piece this together.“They think you did it?Why?” “Because I was the last one out!I told them again and again that the safe was locked when I left but it makes no difference.They need someone to pin it on and they’ve decided that’s me.” *** Bella found Ryder standing by the side of the boat outside the bar, staring out to sea.She had gone to take some shots of table tennis games, arranging to meet Ryder at his break.He seemed in a pensive mood and she suspected she knew why.“You feel sorry for him, don’t you?”Ryder looked at her quizzically. “Denzel.” Ryder nodded.“I just can’t help thinking that if I didn’t have you here to back me up, that could be me. And he hasn’t got anybody like that.” “Do you really think he didn’t do it?” Ryder shrugged.“I dunno.I don’t know him that well but he seems like a decent guy.” Bella thought for a moment before coming to a decision.“Well, there’s only one way to help him, isn’t there?” “What’s that?” “We find the culprit ourselves!” Ryder looked at her sceptically.“You and me as some sort of detective duo solving crimes?” “Why not?After all, how hard can it be?” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pembie Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 Uncomplicated friends become a Sherlock and Watson duo yeaaaaaaaaaah I’m sure that will be fine Watch out for anyone blowing up a dingy or carrying duffel bags Stay away from anchors though that would be my advice Also I don’t think Ryder and Bella have time to sleep together again while on this case In my experience I have had girlfriends with there underwear on that’s strange enough So laying next to friend who I have slept with I’m not sure that exists the nakeness kind of burns itself inside my mind forever I think so yeaaaaah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ranger 1 Posted July 12 Author Report Share Posted July 12 Thanks, pembie! CHAPTER SIX Ryder and Bella had retired to a corner of the deck with a laptop.They were unlikely to be disturbed so they had plenty of time to come up with notes on their investigation.Unfortunately, at that moment, their page was blank.“Why is this so difficult?”Bella moaned. Ryder thought for a moment.“Well…I guess one first step would be to write a list of suspects.” “Great idea!”Bella agreed, before her enthusiasm disappeared slightly,“So…who is there?” “I guess everyone who was working in the casino that night and knew about the takings?” Bella paused over the keyboard.“Names?” “Apart from me and Denzel, there’s, um, Frank, Ewan, Tracey, Glenda, Mike, Travis and, um, Brad.” Bella dutifully wrote the names down.“What about the cocktail waitresses?That Wendy?” “Yeah, she was there,”Ryder agreed,“And a couple of others.Er, Liz and Hannah.” “Anyone else?” “Archibald,”Ryder realised,“Hates it if we call him Archie.He’s in charge of the casino, he must know everything.” “What about the captain and the other officers?” Ryder shook his head.“I doubt it.They don’t tend to get involved in the entertainment side much.” “I’ll put them down anyway.”Bella did so, then looked at the rather long list.“Okay, now we’ve got this, what do we do with them?” “Interview them all?”Ryder suggested. Bella thought about this, then shook her head.“No, you can talk to people if you want but I’ve got a better idea.”She closed up the laptop and tucked it under her arm.“See you later!” *** Bella waited until she’d got back to her cabin and checked she’d got a phone signal before dialling a number.“Emmett?Hi, I need some help.”She opened up her laptop and found the list of suspects.“I need you to run background checks on all these people for me.” Emmett’s confused voice came over her phone.“Sorry, what?” “It’s something Ryder and I are looking into.” “You know I’m not the police, right?” “Yeah but you know people at the cruise company.You can ask around.” She heard Emmett give a resigned sigh.“All right, I’ll see what I can do,”he offered. Bella smiled.“Great!Okay, these are the names…” *** Ryder had headed down to the bar, confident Denzel would still be there.Sure enough, he was sat at a table, nursing a drink.Ryder sat down opposite him.“Hey there,”he greeted him awkwardly. Denzel lifted his eyes momentarily to look at him.“I wasn’t looking for company.” “Shouldn’t have left your cabin then.” Denzel seemed to concede the point.“You’d better be careful.They might think you’re my accomplice.” Ryder looked round nervously.“Why do they think it’s you?” “I don’t know if they do.Just want someone to blame.” Ryder lowered his voice conspiratorially.“If there’s a way to clear your name, I’ll find it.” Denzel actually looked amused as he met his gaze.“Well, that’s all right then.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zig Posted July 13 Report Share Posted July 13 Caught up on the last two chapters, loving this and that Emmett was included, him and Bella were friendship goals to me. Both Ryder and Emmett would also be better ships for Bella them Nikau. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pembie Posted July 14 Report Share Posted July 14 Haha a Sherlock Holmes mystery I don’t know it might be Spoiler Archibald because of his interesting name and you want him to stand out or it’s someone on the captain side and like you say they don’t really do the entertainment side so it could be someone there Found it funny that Emmett is playing unwittingly detective too Enjoy the England game later it will probably go too pently shoot out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ranger 1 Posted July 14 Author Report Share Posted July 14 On 13/07/2024 at 11:12, Zig said: loving this and that Emmett was included, him and Bella were friendship goals to me. Both Ryder and Emmett would also be better ships for Bella them Nikau. 4 hours ago, pembie said: Found it funny that Emmett is playing unwittingly detective too Yeah, I had to include Emmett in there. I prefer him and Bella to remain friends (although he'd probably be better for her than Nikau) but I like the idea that they're still in contact being photography geeks together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pembie Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 On 13/07/2024 at 11:12, Zig said: Caught up on the last two chapters, loving this and that Emmett was included, him and Bella were friendship goals to me. Both Ryder and Emmett would also be better ships for Bella them Nikau. Ryder was the type of guy who would be. friend zoned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ranger 1 Posted July 19 Author Report Share Posted July 19 Thank you for the comments, Zig and pembie! CHAPTER SEVEN Bella stood outside the door to Ryder’s cabin, shifting from foot to foot in an irritable manner and checking her watch.She finally banged on it.“Ryder!Are you in there?”She paused a few seconds before knocking again.“Ryder!” Ryder finally opened the door, bleary-eyed but at least fully-clothed.“Bella?Did we have a breakfast appointment?” Bella grabbed his hand and pulled him down the corridor, barely giving him a chance to close the door. “No time.We have people to talk to.You don't have anything else to do, do you?” “Um, I’m not due on shift for another two hours but…” Bella suddenly stopped and grabbed him by the arms.“I have spoken to Emmett and have all the crew’s secrets.Trust me, you do not want to miss this.” *** Ryder tried his hardest to keep up with Bella as she barrelled into the cocktail bar where Wendy was working.The place wasn’t open yet, any more than the casino, so the staff were involved with setting it up.Bella spoke to Ryder quietly.“Follow my lead.”Then she stepped forward with a broad smile on her face.“Wendy, hi!We were just talking about Denzel.” It took Ryder a moment to realise that was meant to be his cue.“Right, yeah.I spoke to him last night. Poor guy.” “It must be so hard to be accused of something like that and he’s so adamant that he’s innocent.” Wendy had the air of someone who wasn’t quite sure why she was having the conversation.“Well, hopefully the truth wiill come out in time.” Bella’s face suddenly hardened.“Well, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” That comment seemed to throw Wendy.“What do you mean?” “Your last job.Where was it, Melbourne?You were working in a bar and you were accused of stealing. You were given a suspended sentence.” Wendy glared at her.“Fine, so you’ve Googled me.I was stupid and I lost nearly everything.If you think that means I’d do it again, you’re wrong.”She stalked away. Ryder cautiously came up next to Bella.“Was that the whole of your plan?Accuse someone and see how they react?” Bella turned to him, unrepentant.“Right, and it’s a good plan.So good that I’m going to do it again.” Ryder sagged.“I’m not going to like this, am I?” *** “Mr.Beck!”Bella called out. It took Ryder a second to realise she was talking to Archibald.He’d largely forgotten that was his name, given that he had a hard enough time calling him Archibald.He also had a sinking feeling about where this was going. Archibald looked round.“Miss Taylor.” “You know I’ve just been thinking about how isolated we are around here.It’s like we’re cut off from the rest of the world.” “Not entirely,”Archibald argued,“We do have telephone and radio, even internet.” “Yeah but no-one’s going to come here in person.” “Your own addition to the manifest aside, I suppose you’ve got a point.” “We’re not going to see anyone here from, say, Carter and Westman.” Archibald froze at the comment.Ryder did too, even though he didn’t understand it.“I’m sorry?” Archibald asked after a pause. “Carter and Westman.They’re a law firm.They’re currently acting on behalf of the building firm that you hired to do extension work on your house and then decided not to pay.” “They didn’t complete the work to my satisfaction…”Archibald caught himself.“I’m not sure how this is any of your business or how you got this information…” “I’m a photographer, I have my sources.” “…but if you’re attempting to imply something…” “Only that it’s probably useful for you to be out in the middle of an ocean right now.And you could use all the money you can get at the moment.” Archibald met her gaze for a moment, then walked away.Ryder came up to Bella’s side.“So are you done annoying suspects now?” Bella sighed.“You’re right.This has done no good.”Her face lit up.“What we need is evidence!” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pembie Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 So Archibald was having building work done could he afford to pay the money? Wendy got sacked for stealing she’s bit obvious though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zig Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 Love all the twists and turns that this chapter had. Can't wait for more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.