Friends Reunited

[Red Ranger 1]

This one's been bubbling in my head for a while and I might now have time to write it! I hope you enjoy.

Story Title: Friends Reunited
Type of story: Short/Medium fic
Main Characters: Ryder, Bella
BTTB rating: T/A
Genre: Friendship/Romance/Mystery
Does story include spoilers: No
Any warnings: Mild violence and sexual content if any.No bad language.
Summary: Two old friends reconnect on a cruise and shenanigans ensue.

CHAPTER ONE

Ryder did his best to keep a smile on his face as he mixed a cocktail for the latest set of idle rich customers.“One Summer Bay Roller!”he declared with a cheeriness he didn’t feel, not even able to muster up the enthusiasm to mention that he’d invented it.He waited until they’d charged it to their room and were safely out of the way before allowing himself to sag.

  To be fair, it wasn’t the customers’ fault.Mostly.As a rule, they were pleasant enough and probably hard-working people when they wren’t on holiday.It was just that he’d been on board the ship for two years now, worked over a dozen different tours, and couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he was pretty much doing the job he’d left behind in Summer Bay, but with a less stable floor and fewer surfers.His plan to move around the ship doing different jobs hadn’t been a complete failure but it still felt like he wasn’t quite living the life he’d dreamed off when he started there.

  He turned to the other barman, Chase.“Reckon it’s going to be a quiet one?”

  Chase shrugged.“At least we’re not going to get a sudden influx of new customers in the middle of the ocean.”He nodded behind Ryder.“Look out.”

  Ryder looked round and saw Archibald coming towards them. Archibald, who had firmly resisted Ryder’s attempts to call him Archie, was the staff manager, as well as the floor manager of the casino. “Ryder, we’re one short in the casino tonight,”he explained,“Clive’s down with food poisoning.”

  “Did he have the risotto?”Chase asked cautiously.

  “Tuna sandwich.”Archibald turned back to Ryder.“How do you feel about filling in on the blackjack table?”

  “How do I..?”Ryder did his best to contain his enthusiasm.“I would be prepared to do that, sir.”

  “I put my name down for a shift in the casino too,”Chase pointed out.

  “Sorry, Ryder’s name came up first,”Archibald replied before turning back to Ryder,“There’s something else as well.We’ve got a speedboat bringing someone aboard and for some reason there’s been a special request for you to be there to meet them.”

  “A speedboat?”Ryder’s mind raced through the possibility.“It could be a VIP.A famous rock star.”A sobering thought occurred to him.“It’s not my mum, is it?”

  “You know as much as I do.Just be up on deck in twenty minutes.”

***

Ryder bounced from foot to foot as the speedboat approached, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of who was on board.“Can you see them?”he asked Archibald.

  “No,”Archibald replied simply.

  The ship’s captain, a man with the unassuming name Smith, joined them up on deck.He glanced over at Ryder.“Ryder Jackson?Yes, our new staffmember requested you here.”

  “New staffmember?”Ryder checked, having more visions of Quinn turning up.

  “Well, of a kind.A contractor.The head office decided some photos of a voyage would be useful for promotional material so they’ve hired a professional photographer to join the trip and take pictures of us all.”

  Ryder did a quick mental check of what professional photographers he knew.It couldn’t be…

  Before he could complete the thought, the speedboat had come up alongside them and a crewmember was helping Bella up the ladder onto the deck.Captain Smith approached her in a formal manner. “Welcome aboard, Miss Nixon.”

  “Wow, I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that before.Keep it up.”Bella looked over those present until her gaze fell on Ryder.Smiling, she approached him.

  “Miss Nixon,”he greeted her wih a twinkle.

  Bella pouted slightly.“Aww, is that what you say to an old friend?”

  Ryder pulled her into a tighter hug than he would have given his mother, before releasing her and giving her a smile to match her own.“It is really good to see you.”

Edited October 14 by QUIET ACHIEVER

[Red Ranger 1]

On 12/06/2024 at 17:19, pembie said:

Be honest have you watched Titanic recently? Lol

I'm not sure you need to have watched it...

Thank you for the comments, pembie and Zig!

CHAPTER TWO

Ryder had led Bella to the bar, guessing he was still meant to be off duty, and got them a table and a couple of drinks.“So, seriously,”he persisted,“of all the ships in all the world, how did you end up on this one?”

  “Right place right time,”Bella suggested,“Someone at the company knew Emmett and rang him up asking if he knew any photographers who’d do a good job on their promotional pics.”

  “And he couldn’t think of any?”Ryder asked teasingly.

  Bella gave him a mock glare.“Ha ha.So the job got passed onto me and I jumped at it.”

  “Especially when it meant you got to work alongside your favourite person in the world?”Ryder asked.

  “Oh, is Dean here?”Bella asked airily.She gave him a genuine smile.“I admit it’s not exactly a minus.”

  Ryder nodded before deciding he needed to venture into awkward territory.“Have you heard from Nikau?”

  “Last I know he was working at some luxury swimming pool complex.One advantage New York has over Summer Bay is that it’s big enough to avoid people in.”

  “I really thought if anyone had a chance of making it, it was you two.I mean, you kept on finding your way back to each other whatever happened.”

  “I guess maybe we should have thought more about why we kept breaking up instead of why we kept getting back together.Suddenly we were stuck out there on our own with no buffer and all the problems we had just got magnified.I guess that’s what comes from basing your whole life around one person.”She took a deep breath.“Anyway, what about you?Any girls been daft enough to fall for that dorky charm of yours?”

  Ryder gave an embarrassed laugh.“No, nothing.At all.I guess I’ve been too busy working.Plus, they take a dim view of us dating the guests and most of the staff kind of look on me in a maternal light.”

  “I’m sure it’s not maternal.They probably just see you as an idiot kid brother.”Bella smiled fondly and patted him on the hand.“Don’t worry, Ryder, I’m sure people will see the grown-up inside of you eventually.”

  Chase came over.“Hey, Ryder, are you working?”

  “Not at the moment?”Ryder guessed.He looked at his watch.“I’m due to start at the casino in an hour so I think I’m on break.”

  “You’re working in the casino this evening?”Bella asked,“That’s great!”

  Ryder smiled, pleased.“Thanks.”

  “It’s perfect:The casino is exactly where I’ll need to be to get the best shots and now I’ve got a model that I know!”She noticed Ryder’s disappointed look and gave him a placating smile.“Isn’t it great how what’s good for your career is good for mine?”

***

“How long do I have to hold this?”asked Ryder, who felt as though he’d been posing with a big grin on his face holding a card in mid-deal for at least five minutes.

  “Just another second and…there!”Bella took a shot.“I almost make you look sophisticated.”She showed him the photos she’d taken.

  Ryder flicked through them.“Can you delete the one where I’m cross-eyed?”

  “I might keep it.Gives you character.”Bella took the camera back.“I think that’ll do for now.I’ll take some action shots during the night.”

  An olive-skinned man with a shaved head, a few years older than them, appeared.Like Ryder, he was dressed in casino uniform.“You starting early, Ryder?”

  “More like she is,”Ryder replied before remembering that the pair hadn’t met,“Bella, this is Denzel, he works here.Denzel, this is Bella, an old friend of mine who’s just been hired to photograph us.”

  Denzel nodded politely at Bella.“I’m running the craps table tonight.”

  “I’m sure it’s not that bad,”Bella said placatingly.

  Ryder shot her a look.“Craps is a dice game.”Bella glared at him.“You knew that, right?”She continued glaring.

  Denzel looked at his watch.“We’d better start setting up.”

  Bella grinned.“Don’t mind me.Just act as if I’m not here.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thank you for the comments, Zig and pembie!

CHAPTER THREE

Ryder sagged as he sat down behind his table in the near-empty casino.“That was intense.”

  Bella was enthusiastically flicking through the photos on her camera.“I got some great shots though. These should really impress your bosses.And anyone who fancies coming here for a flutter.”

  Denzel looked over from his own now closed table.“Yeah, it was a good night.”

  A tall blonde woman wearing a variation of Ryder and Denzel’s uniform with a skirt came over to Bella. “Did you get any good ones of me?”

  Bella flicked through the shots.“Er, maybe?Which table were you working at?”

  “All of them.I’m the cocktail waitress.Keep everyone well supplied at their tables.”

  Bella found a shot.“Ah, I think that’s you there.Serving that guy at Ryder’s table.”

  The woman looked at it.“I’m not in focus.”

  “Well, yeah, I was concentrating on the game…what’s your name?”

  “Wendy,”the woman replied tersely.

  “Right.I’m Bella.Um, I’ll be shooting photos all over the place during the visit so…maybe I’ll get some better shots of you another day.”

  From the stiff way that Wendy left, she didn’t seem mollified by the comment.Ryder grinned at Bella. “Still learning how to make friends?”

  “I made you, didn’t I?You’re enough.You want an after-work drink or something?”

  “Well, I would but you just scared off our waitress.”Ryder couldn’t help smiling at how crestfallen Bella looked.“I guess we could see if Chase is still there.”He looked over at Denzel.“You want to join us?”

  Denzel shook his head.“I’ll finish off here then I think I’ll try and get to bed at a decent hour for once. See you around.”

***

“Smile!”Bella announced.Ryder and Chase indulgently posed as she took a shot of Chase handing Ryder a drink.She checked the photo and then nodded approvingly.

  “Can you make that the last one?”Ryder asked,“I don’t fancy being photographed all night.”

  Bella considered the matter before nodding.“Don’t want to use up the memory card on the first night. You’ll have plenty more opportunities to model for me!”

  “Is she all right?”Chase quietly asked Ryder.

  “She’s not used to drinking much,”Ryder admitted,“Neither am I, actually.When we do, it tends to end in disaster.”

  “Good to know.So how long have you two known each other?”

  “Ages.We used to live in the same town.”

  Chase nodded.“So were you two ever, you know..?”

  “No,”Bella said quickly,“No, no, no, no, no.”

  Ryder nodded in agreement.“No, she’s like my…”

  “Do not say kid sister,”Bella warned him.

  “Like my…best mate?”Ryder offered.

  Bella looked appreciative.“Aww, you too.”

  “Maybe you should get her back to her cabin?”Chase suggested.

  Ryder nodded.“Good idea.”He put an arm round Bella.“Come on, best mate, time to turn in.”

***

Ryder had followed Bella into her cabin and the two of them had ended up sitting up on her bed, their backs against the wall.Ryder flicked through the pictures on Bella’s camera.“These are really good?”

  “Is that a note of surprise?”Bella asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

  “No way,”Ryder promised her,“I’ve always known you were talented.Just giving you some encouragement.”

  Bella seemed to accept this and snuggled up to him, resting her head against his shoulder.“I’m really glad I’ve got my best mate back,”she said, sounding on the verge of falling asleep.

  Ryder knew he should get back to his own cabin but it had been a long day and he was feeling tired.And actually, he was pretty comfy where he was.He leaned so his head was resting on the top of hers.“Me too.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thanks for the comments, Zig and pembie!

CHAPTER FOUR

Bella stirred slightly, finding herself lying alongside Ryder with sunlight streaming through a porthole.The sunlight had obviously woken Ryder too, since she saw him blinking into wakefulness.“Where are we?” she asked.

  Ryder took a moment to register the surroundings.“Your cabin, I think,”he said at last.

  “How did we end up here?”

  “We went back here to look over the photos you took.Guess we must have fallen asleep.”Ryder decided not to mention the fact that he’d stayed with her because she’d been drinking.Old habits.

  Bella nodded.Some of that was coming back to her.“So what are your plans for the morning then?”

  “Er, I have a shift in the bar.”Ryder checked his watch.“Which I should be getting to.”

  “I’ll come with you,”Bella decided.

  “What?But I need to get back to my cabin and get changed.”

  “Great!In that case, you do that and I’ll meet you out here.”

  There were times, Ryder knew, when it was best to just agree with Bella.“Okay, but ten minutes at the most, right?”Bella nodded with the air of someone who knew he’d wait either way.“See you in a bit.”

***

When they arrived at the bar, Chase was there to greet them anxiously.“Where have you been? Archibald’s been looking for you.”

  Ryder checked his watch.“I’m on time, right?”

  “No, it’s not about that, it’s because…”

  “Ryder!”Archibald interrupted before Chase could continue,“I need you in the casino now.”

  Ryder was confused.“You want me to work another shift?But it’s not open for hours!”

  “Staff meeting,”Archibald said succinctly,“Come on, everyone’s waiting.”

  Ryder made to follow him and Bella fell into step behind him.Archibald noticed her.“We don’t need you.”

  “But there might be something for me to take photos of,”Bella argued, brandishing her camera,“And your head office did tell me I had full access.”

  Ryder had no idea if she was telling the truth.He suspected Archibald didn’t know either and didn’t seem to care.“All right, fine, you come too.You might even be useful.”

***

When they got there, they found everyone who had been working at the casino the previous night waiting for them…along with Captain Smith.Ryder went to stand with the other staffmembers, Bella still following him.Archibald went to stand by the captain.

  “Some time during the night, the casino safe was emptied,”Smith told them,“An estimated $30,000 was stolen.No-one’s left the ship, so chances are the thief’s still here and so’s the money.”

  “The police have been called,”Archibald added,“They’re going to send someone out here to carry out an investigation within the next few days.”

  “It would be helpful if we could tell them exactly what happened,”the captain continued,“So if anyone knows anything, they’d best speak up.”

  Wendy spoke up.“Are we suspects?”

  “It may have been one of the guests,”the captain observed,“But it’s more likely to be someone with knowledge of the casino workings.A member of staff.So if any of you have information that could eliminate you from our enquiries, now’s a good time to speak up.”

  “Ryder couldn’t have done it, he was with me!”Bella blurted out.

  Ryder shot her an awkward look before embellishing.“We left the casino together after it closed.We went to the bar, Chase served us there.We left there about 11.15 and went back to Bella’s cabin to look at the photos she’d taken, then we…fell asleep.”

  Smith accepted the explanation without comment.“Thank you, we’ll make a note of that.Anyone else?”

***

Ryder had had to head back to the bar to do his shift after the meeting.Bella had said a quick goodbye and then slipped away without explanation where she was going.He didn’t see her again until that evening, when he saw her standing by the side of the boat, taking photos of the sun setting over the water. He came up alongside her.“What have you been doing?”

  She glanced around and smiled.“Turns out my assignment means I can sit by the pool on a lounger, occasionally take a photo of something and call it working.”

  “Really?I think I’m in the wrong job.”Ryder laughed slightly before looking at her seriously.“Thanks for helping me out with the captain.”

  “Only fair.So, what was with you being so quick to fill in the details?Are you really that keen for everyone to go on thinking we’re just friends?”

  Ryder laughed.“Well, I didn’t want to ruin your reputation.”

  “Oh, you think I’ve got one of those, do you?”Bella sobered up slightly.“Anyway, if I did, it’d be worth risking it to help you.Do you remember pretty much the only proper falling out we ever had?”Ryder looked at her in confusion.“When I believed Jade’s stories about you.I really should have trusted you.Not sure if I ever apologised for that.”

  “There was no need.I know it brought up a lot of stuff for you.”

  “Mmm.Well, now that we’ve sorted out that bit of ancient history…would it really be that bad for people to think we spent the night in the same cabin and did more than sleep?”

  Ryder tried to think of a safe answer for this.“Well, if it was something we both wanted, and we weren’t hurting anyone else, and no-one was taking advantage of anyone, and no-one’s reputation was getting ruined, then yeah, I guess I’d be fine with people thinking that if you were.”

  “Well, thank you for such a flattering response.”She grinned at him.

  “My pleasure.”He grinned back.And somehow the grin got frozen in place.He looked her in the eye and had the oddest feeling that somehow, just bringing up the possibility had placed a thought in both their minds.

  Slowly, they leaned in and kissed, wrapping their arms around each other.

[Red Ranger 1]

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?”

[Red Ranger 1]

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.”

[Red Ranger 1]

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!”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thanks for the comments, pembie and Zig!

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ryder once again found himself following Bella down a corridor with an uncomfortable feeling that he was being dragged along on something he was better off staying out of.“Where exactly are we going?”he asked as they headed towards the staff quarters.

  “What do we know?”Bella replied challengingly.

   Ryder thought hard about this.“Not a lot?”he offered at last.

  “We know that the thief and the money are almost certainly still on board,”Bella answered,“Which means the thief must have hidden the money somewhere.Which probably means their cabin!”She held up a key.

  Ryder asked the question even though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.“Where did you get a master key from?”

  “Maid cart.And I got a list of the quarters as well.So I know Wendy’s is right here.”She paused, unlocked a door and went inside.

  Ryder somewhat reluctantly followed her.“What makes you think Wendy’s the thief?”

  “Well, she and Archibald were the only ones I found who had anything suspicious in their history, so it’s probably one of them.Have a look around!”

  Seeing Bella opening up the wardrobe on the other side of the room, Ryder dutifully looked under the bed before checking in some drawers.“I guess we’re talking a lot of money here.It wouldn’t be that hard to find it.”

  “Exactly!”Bella was checking through a number of bags.“You can’t exactly put it in your pocket.If it was in here, we’d find it pretty much straightaway!”She looked round, before checking the cabinet on the other side of the bed, then sighed.“I don’t think it’s here.”

  Ryder nodded slowly.“So we’re checking Archibald’s cabin now?”

  The disappointed look on Bella’s face turned into a grin.“Now you’re getting it!”

***

A few minutes later, they were in Archibald’s cabin, carrying out a search that was proving equally fruitless.“Nothing in here,”Ryder announced as he closed the drawers.He opened up a cupboard door set into the wall and stared in shock.“Woah!”

  Bella turned round at the exclamation and came to his side.They both stared at what opening the cupboard had revealed:a sturdy-looking door, with a keypad set into it.“Is that a safe?”she asked.

  “Looks like it,”Ryder confirmed,“Do you know how to open it?”

  Bella shot him an exasperated look.“How would I know that?”

  “You used to hang out with River Boys.”

  “They’re not exactly well known for cracking safes!”

  Ryder heard a noise out in the corridor and quickly slammed the cupboard shut.He and Bella spun round as the door opened and Archibald stepped in.He stopped at the sight of them, his expression suspicious. “What are you two doing in here?”

  Ryder tried to think of an excuse.“We, er, we were just…”

  “We were going to have sex!”Bella blurted out.Ryder stared at her but she just carried on.“We’ve done it in his bed but it’s really cramped in there…”

  “…and her cabin has all these really weird…teddies,”Ryder attempted,“Puts me right off.”

  “So, we figured, well, someone as important as you must have one of the best beds on the ship!”Bella grabbed Ryder’s hand and dragged him into sitting down with her.“Wow, that is really comfortable.”

  Archibald’s expression hadn’t changed.“How did you get in here?”

  Bella held out the key.“I kind of borrowed this.”

  Archibald took it from her.“I’ll be putting an official warning in your file, Ryder.And you”-he looked at Bella-“you don’t exactly work here but I’ll be telling the captain about this.Go on, get off with you.”

***

As soon as they were in her cabin, Bella sat down heavily on her bed, looking despondent.“You were right.”

  Ryder wasn’t sure if he’d ever been less happy to hear those words.“I was?”

  “This whole thing was stupid.I mean, who was I kidding?I’m not a detective, I’m not going to solve a crime.It’s probably not either Wendy or Archibald, and even if it is, they’ve probably hidden the money somewhere I’m not going to find it.What was I thinking?”

  Ryder had been keen for Bella to drop the whole thing.But now, seeing how upset she was, he was realising he didn’t want that.“Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way,”he suggested.

  Bella looked up at him, suddenly interested.“What do you mean?”

  “Well, maybe we don’t need to find the money.Maybe we need to trick the thief into finding it for us.” He took a deep breath.“I think I’ve got a crazy idea of my own.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thank you for the comments, Zig and pembie!

CHAPTER NINE

Ryder led Bella down the corridor and pointed to a box on the wall…marked Fire Alarm.“There.”

  Bella examined it and nodded.“And it’s only connected to the staff quarters?”

  “Right.There’s fire doors that are meant to stop any fire in this part of the ship spreading.And for the next”-he checked his watch-“half an hour, no-one’s on shift so they should all still be in their quarters from last night.”

  Bella nodded slowly, taking this in.“Are you sure this is going to work?”

  “If you had $30,000, would you leave it to get burnt?”

  “Guess not.”

  “Okay.Give me five minutes to get to the assembly point, then set it off and join me up there.”

  “Right.”Bella paused for a moment before noting,“Ryder?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You were right.This is a crazy idea.”

***

Ryder made his way up to the deck.The section he was in was mainly avoided by passengers, since it was marked as the staff emergency assembly area.There wasn’t really anyone else around but it shouldn’t look too suspicious if anyone saw him there.

  He checked his watch and hoped Bella would play her part.

***

A few decks below him, Bella also checked her watch.She had severe reservations about this plan but Ryder was right that it stood a good chance of succeeding.It also felt like the sort of idea she’d come up with.She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  She took a deep breath and hit the fire alarm.

***

The alarm was muted up where Ryder was, in order to avoid alarming passengers.He knew it would be ringing below decks though and sure enough, soon the first members of the crew and staff started emerging up onto deck.

  Ryder moved around as inconspicuously as possible, keeping an eye on everyone that came up.The plan was based on one assumption:That no-one would steal $30,000 and then leave it to potentially be burned in a fire.They had to have the money with them.

  Ryder saw Archibald directing staff into moving into neat lines for roll call and watched the staff manager as closely as possible but saw nothing.And he couldn’t exactly go up and search him.He looked around, picking out Wendy without seeing anything special.He examined every figure he saw without seeing anything.

  And then he did.Chase.He was clutching some sort of holdall to his chest.As if it was something very special…Ryder’s mind raced back to that night.He and Bella had seen Chase at the bar, but then they’d left him alone.Plenty of time for Chase to sneak down to the casino after Denzel left…

  Without really having a clue where he was going with this, Ryder stormed up to his colleague and shoved him.“What’s in the bag, Chase?”

  Chase had a panicked look in his eyes which confirmed Ryder’s suspicions.“What?”

  “What’s in the bag?”Ryder wasn’t really good at this physical stuff but he grabbed the bag, pulling at it. Chase continued to hold on to it for dear life.They both pulled at the bag until Ryder took a large tug which had the effect of causing him to fall over backwards and drag Chase down with him.The loss of footing was enough to make them both let go and the bag spun across the floor.

  Bella must have only just made it up there but she had quickly taken in the situation.The bag ended up at her feet and she quickly scooped it up and poured out the contents:Hundreds of bank notes.“You want to explain this?”

  Captain Smith came over, saw the triumphant looks on Ryder and Bella’s faces and the horrified one on Chase’s, and quickly reached the obvious conclusion.He looked hard at Chase.“I’d say you definitely have some explaining to do.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thanks, Zig.

CHAPTER TEN

Ryder and Bella had found themselves in the captain’s office.It was a place Ryder had never been before and he’d hoped that when it did finally happen he’d be feeling less nervous than he did now.

  Captain Smith looked them over.“So, let me see if I understand correctly.You have broken into staff members’ cabins in order to search them for money, which you followed by setting off a fire alarm without proper cause and putting staff in danger.”

  Ryder winced.“Well, when you put it like that…”

  “That was all my idea!”Bella attempted,“Ryder didn’t know anything about it!”

  “No, that’s not right,”Ryder replied,“I went along with all of it and the fire alarm thing was my idea.”

  “Well, your loyalty is commendable,”Captain Smith noted,“I suppose we might not have got as far as we did if not for the two of you being good friends.”

  Ryder and Bella exchanged looks, not quite sure if they’d been complimented or not.“Thanks, I think?” Ryder offered.

  “In the circumstances, I’ve told Mr.Beck that your existing punishment should suffice,”the captain concluded.It took Ryder a moment to remember that was Archibald.“I suppose in the circumstances we should be thanking you…whilst warning you not to do it again.”

  “Oh, we won’t,”Ryder assured him.

  “You know, unless there’s a thousands of dollars theft again,”Bella felt the need to add.

  “I think we’ll leave it at that for now,”the captain decided.

  Ryder paused.“Um, what’s going to happen to Chase?”

  “The police boat will be arriving tomorrow, they’ll take him back to face charges.Until then, he’s confined to his cabin.Which you two aren’t, so get going.”

***

Ryder and Bella headed to the bar with a distinct feeling of relief.“I felt sure he was going to make us walk the plank,”Ryder noted.

  “Do they do that?”Bella wondered.

  “Not sure.I’d have to check the disciplinary procedures.But whatever they do, I thought they were going to do it to us.”

  Bella linked arms with him.“Don’t worry.You heard what the captain said:We’re heroes!”

  “I’m not sure that’s exactly what he said…”

  “Ryder!Bella!My heroes!”Denzel came bounding over and threw his arms round both of them.“Don’t worry, I’m a happy drunk this time.And you know why I’m happy?Because thanks to you I have my job and my liberty!I don’t know where I’d be without you!Come on, have a drink on me.”

  He led them to the bar where Wendy was serving.She nodded towards Denzel.“He’s been like this for the last hour.I should remind him he’s back at work tomorrow but I don’t have the heart.”

  “I didn’t know you worked in here,”Bella noted.

  “Usually I don’t but they’re suddenly a staffmember short.”

  Ryder winced slightly.“Oh yeah.Chase.Guess our good deed wasn’t good for everyone.”

  “Well, more shifts isn’t exactly a bad thing.It’s not like I can go for a walk in the country.And not all of us are lucky enough to have a best friend to hang out with.”

  Bella gripped Ryder’s arm tightly.“She’s right.We are lucky.”

***

It was getting late.Ryder had made his way out onto deck and was staring out at the darkness, listening to the sound of waves.Bella came up to join him.“You sick of the attention?”

  “Something like that,”Ryder admitted,“Guess I just wanted a moment to myself.”He realised how that sounded.“Not you!I still want you here.”

  “Thanks for the clarification.”Bella smiled.“Just for the record, I would be totally lost out here without you.And you are not to repeat that to anyone!”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone know what a softie you really are.”He hugged her, letting her bury her head in his shoulder for a moment…and then suddenly they were kissing again, softly but intensely.Ryder hadn’t been expecting it but somehow he didn’t want to stop.“Isn’t this the thing we weren’t meant to be doing again?”he offered at last.

  “Mm-hmm, this is the one,”Bella agreed,“I think the phrase is your place or mine?”