Pirate; The Seavey Pendant

17. A Suspect

Cinnia struggled with her pant legs as her mind and heart raced simultaneously.  Adorno's words kept repeating themselves in her head.

     The Captain is dead.

She was sure Derane was behind it.  This was part of the plan, and Cinnia felt that the chaos was far from over.  Derane had had a few days to mull over what to do and when to do it.  He must have been well prepared enough if he had managed to murder the Captain!  This terrified Cinnia to no end.  He planned a murder within days.

Kieran sat on his bed, across from her, waiting for Cinnia to finish getting dressed.  She believed that him waiting for her was only an excuse for him not being prepared to face the truth.

     What if it's just a mistake? Cinnia thought to herself desperately.

Once she had finally gotten her pants on, she grabbed a hold of Kieran's hand.  He lifted his head to look at Cinnia, his eyes red-rimmed but his cheeks were void of tears.  "Everything will be alright," Cinnia said, trying to convince both herself and Kieran that it would.  Kieran didn't say anything, nor acknowledge what she had said.

Hand-in-hand, they hurried around the nearly-empty beds.  As they made their way up the stairs, she squeezed Kieran's hand and he squeezed back, albeit weakly.  Cinnia's heart was in her throat as the view of the deck came into view.  A crowd of pirates covered the entrance to the Captain's quarters.  The two of them nearly ran the short distance left that separated them from the . . . crime scene?  The moon hung in the sky above them, aiding them with much-needed light.  Had it been any other night, Cinnia might have appreciated its beauty, but now it only seemed to mock them with its serenity.

Cinnia elbowed her way through the tight gathering of men.  Most didn't seem to mind.  They were either too distracted with staring into the poorly-lit room, or stressfully discussing the death of their beloved Captain.  Cinnia could make out the shape of Doc, Derane and . . . the body of Gambara.  He laid sprawled out on the floor, a bottle of rum a few inches from his curled fingers.  What troubled Cinnia most about the still body was Gambara's face, which had the ghost of pain plastered into it.  Kieran took a sharp intake of breath at the sight of his father.  He dropped his hold of Cinnia's hand.

Though it seemed Doc and Derane wanted some space to observe Gambara, Cinnia pushed through the door and into the room.  Derane stood above the body, gently leaning forward to look at Doc work.  Doc was crouched down, moving Gambara's head from side to side, opening his mouth, and examining his eyes.  They both looked up as Cinnia and Kieran entered.

Derane glared at Cinnia, but said nothing.  "Do you know what happened, Doc?" Cinnia asked, nervously glancing from Doc to Derane and back again.

     Doc shook his head slightly, "Not entirely sure yet.  There are no external signs of death.  There is a possibility that he drank too much, but not even the drunk Gambara would be tha' stupid, especially not after getting a hold o' the ring there," He pointed at the ring which still sat around Gambara's finger, "And then there's t' possibility that he was poisoned." Doc said darkly, reaching for the bottle.

He stood up and walked over to Gambara's table, pouring out the remainder of the rum into a clear glass.  He then raised the bottle slightly and brought it down hard on the hard-wood table, causing the bottom to shatter.  Gently, he picked up several of the glass shards, placing them on the table, next to the glass of rum.  He turned to those who actively watched him and he said, "I will need t' examine these.  Derane, will ye please light the candles and oil lamps?  The rest of ye, I need ye t' clear out."

The pirates that had been closest to the door opening had slowly started to pile in, staring at both Gambara and Doc with panic in their eyes.  With a little more ushering from Doc, they were finally forced out.  Kieran and Cinnia still stood in the room, staring at Gambara.  Cinnia's eyesight blurred as tears threatened to spill.  Gambara had been among the few that had been willing to give her a chance.  Though he had been unsure about her, he had trusted her.