“Dying?”
The man hoisted himself from the pool.
“How can you tell?”
Hades arched a brow.
“Right. I keep forgetting.”
He scratched his beard. “I’ve never been approached by them on the surface.”
“Them?”
“Those close to death. It’s not my job to send them to the Underworld.”
“Then whose is it?”
The corners of his jaw tightened. “Thanatos.”
Sara begged me to go snorkeling despite my known fear of underwater life. Specifically, the kind with pointy, sharp teeth. Hades said he’d put in a good word with his brother and promised I wouldn’t get eaten by a shark, so I eventually agreed to go. Far too caught up in his brooding, Hades had no desire to come, so it was the perfect opportunity for some girl time.
“At least you didn’t try and get me to go scuba diving,” I mumbled, twirling the snorkel mask around my finger by its strap.
“I knew I didn’t stand a chance with that one,” Sara said with a snicker.
“Beautiful day for a swim, ain’t it?” Rupert asked.
I put a hand over my eyes to block the sun. Rupert and Michelle walked up, snorkel masks in their hands.
Sara rolled her eyes. “Great.”
“Rupert saw you two walk past with your masks and thought it sounded fun. I’m just glad to do something other than drinking like a fish at the bar, frankly,” Michelle said, giggling.
“How convenient,” I responded with Rupert’s words from yesterday, narrowing my eyes.
Several other people arrived in spurts. The resort host was the last to arrive, standing at the front of the group.
“A few ground rules before we embark. First, we are to stay as a group. There are things in the water that could harm you, and if you stray from the group, it’s harder for us to help you. Second, if you see a shark, we’ll use the universal symbol,” he put a hand over his head like a fin, “to let everyone know there’s been one spotted. At this time of day, I’ve only ever seen one while doing these snorkeling excursions, and I’ve been doing this for years. Don’t worry.”
I made a ‘pfft’ sound, haughtily crossing my arms over my chest.
“The most important rule is everyone has fun and enjoys peering down into the mysteries of the sea. Make sure the mask is tight and secure over your eyes, so no water seeps in and keep that tube above the surface. Unless you have a set of gills, human lungs aren’t a big fan of water.”
He smiled, and a couple of people chuckled at his corny joke.
“If any should get in, simply blow out.” He winked and slipped the mask over his face. “Let’s go!” He shoved the tube into his mouth and hopped off the dock.
I barely had my flippers on when everyone jumped in. Sara and Michelle hopped off the dock. I was about to follow when Rupert’s hand gripped my arm.
I squinted behind my mask. “What are you doing?”
“What does Hades really do for a living? We both know he’s not a bloody funeral director,” he said, his grip tightening on my bicep.
“I have no idea what you’re getting at.”
His nostrils flared. The skin under his right eye twitched. “Bloody level with me here. Is he in the mafia? Some kind of organized crime unit?”
“You’re hurting me,” I growled.
His chest heaved, and he let go, running the back of his hand under his nose. “I’ll figure it out.” He slipped the mask over his head, the flippers making flapping sounds as he walked past me and jumped in.
I rubbed my arm, staring down at him in the water as he swam to catch Michelle. After jumping in and swimming so fast it made my arms and legs burn from the strain, I clung to Sara’s side. Sharks were nothing compared to the dark, killer instinct that reflected in Rupert’s eyes. I’d seen that look far too many times through my career.
Sara yanked the tube from her mouth. “What’s wrong with you?”
I swam in circles. “Rupert.” It sounded more like roo-purr from the tube still in place.
“What’d he do?”
I plucked the tube from my mouth, sputtering saltwater. “He asked me the strangest questions about Hades, had this crazed look in his eye, and gripped my arm so tight it’ll probably leave a bruise.”
“He did what?” She’d raised her voice, the familiar flames igniting in her gaze when she was about to release the inner tigress.
I grabbed her shoulders, my head dipping underwater several times due to my frantic brain forgetting to tread water. “Don’t say anything. Not right now. Let me talk to Hades first.”
“What’s he going to do that I can’t?”
Oh, if she only knew. “There’s no reason to potentially ruin our vacation with things getting blown out of proportion.”
She stared at me. The corners of her jaw popped. “Fine. But don’t get caught alone with Rupert. I knew he was going to be trouble the moment I laid eyes on him.”
“Trust me. He’s the last person I want to be alone with.”
The rest of the excursion went off without a hitch. We saw fish of all shapes and colors and a couple of sea turtles. Even a dolphin stopped by to swim through our group. I wondered how much of the experience was due to Hades putting in his supposed word with his brother. Was Poseidon possibly one of the people in our group? Or was he a person at all? Maybe he was the dolphin. It all made my head ache.
Sara helped me out of the water, glaring daggers at Rupert from across the way. “Come on, Steph. Let’s get a head start, so he doesn’t have an excuse.”
Rupert pulled himself onto the deck, wincing and holding his side. When Michelle reached out to help him, he slapped her hands away. I picked up my pace.
“Aside from creepy Rupert, that was pretty fun,” I said, smiling at Sara.
“Good. Figured we needed to see a little more of this gorgeous island, you know?”
“I can’t believe I never thought about coming here. Not that I inherited much of the Greek part of my genes.” I referenced my body with a chuckle.
“Face it, Steph, you’ve been slacking on going anywhere or doing anything other than working.”
The word “slacking” gave me pause, and I grabbed Sara’s arm. “Slack. File slack. Oh my—Sara, I never thought about checking the file slack.”
Her eyes shifted. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“The hard drive. There could be residual data from anything deleted in the file slack.” I grinned and jumped up and down.
“Great. You’ll have a lead when we get back. See? Vacation worked.”
“Oh, no. I can’t wait until we get back. Are you crazy?”
She pointed a finger in my face. “Stephanie. You promised. The case has waited all these years; it can wait a little longer for us to get back.”
I pouted. “Please?”
She raised a brow.
With a groan, I kicked an imaginary pebble on the ground. “Fine. I’ll wait until we get back.”
“Good. Let’s get back to our room. I say today, we order room service and enjoy that veranda we’ve been neglecting. There’s even a TV out there.” She draped an arm over my shoulders with a wide grin.