Cast into Doubt by Patricia MacDonald Read Free Book Online

FBI agent and the ship’s captain resumed their seats. Captain Fredericks fiddled with the brim of his hat.
    Shelby looked at Agent DeWitt, a beefy man with a beard, wearing a jacket and tie. ‘Why is the FBI here?’ she said in a small, frightened voice.
    DeWitt leaned forward in his chair. ‘It’s standard procedure, Mrs Sloan. St Thomas, being a US possession, is in our jurisdiction. Captain Fredericks contacted Chief Giroux when it became clear that your daughter was no longer on board the ship. Chief Giroux contacted the Bureau, as well as the Coast Guard, for help.’
    Shelby stared at him. Her lips were so dry that they felt like they were made of paper. She could barely raise her voice above a whisper. ‘I don’t understand. Was there . . . a crime?’
    ‘We don’t know that,’ said Agent DeWitt. ‘It was, most likely, an accident.’
    ‘You talk as if she was . . . as if Chloe . . .’ She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
    ‘The search is ongoing,’ Chief Giroux said kindly. Shelby grasped at the word ‘search’ as at a life preserver. ‘Yes, the search . . .’
    She looked hopefully at Captain Fredericks, a tanned, wiry, white-haired man dressed in a white uniform. He started when she met his gaze. Then he cleared his throat. ‘The Coast Guard,’ the captain explained, ‘sent an HU-25 Falcon jet to the scene as well as a Dolphin helicopter, and two Coast Guard cutters. They have been looking for her ever since I alerted them to your daughter’s disappearance.’
    ‘In addition,’ said Chief Giroux, ‘we have many local fishermen and boaters who have volunteered to aid in the search.’
    ‘How long has it been?’ Shelby whispered.
    Agent DeWitt frowned, and looked at the captain. ‘Well, we received notification at about five thirty this morning.’
    ‘That’s when my son-in-law called me,’ said Shelby.
    ‘But we surmise, from the evidence now available, that she fell overboard somewhere between eleven and twelve midnight,’ said Agent DeWitt.
    Shelby gasped as if they had punched her. The men exchanged grim glances.
    Warren DeWitt cleared his throat. ‘According to your son-in-law, he got back to the room around midnight. When he realized that your daughter wasn’t there, he went looking for her. He then asked a steward for help, and, when they both couldn’t find her, they went to the captain. Captain Fredericks ordered a search of the boat.’
    ‘You went back the way you came, looking for her?’ Shelby said hopefully to the captain.
    The ship’s captain nodded. ‘When the search was completed, yes, we turned around and headed back,’ said Fredericks.
    It took a moment for the import of his words to dawn on Shelby. ‘When the search was completed? How long did that take?’
    The captain tapped anxiously on the crown of his hat. ‘It took approximately three hours to search the ship.’
    Shelby covered her mouth with her hands and stared at him. Finally, she said, ‘You left my daughter in the ocean and kept going? For three hours?’
    The captain did not flinch. ‘We don’t stop the ship and turn back when a passenger is reported missing, unless someone actually saw the person going overboard. We couldn’t. We’d never be able to adhere to our schedule. These ships are enormous, and people are often reported missing when they are actually somewhere else on board. This is an official policy of the company.’
    The hopelessness of it all suddenly struck Shelby like a sack of concrete. Chloe had been missing now since last night. Even in these warm waters, to be alone, in the vast ocean. Her next thought made her feel sick to her stomach. ‘Are there sharks . . . ?’
    Fredericks’ gaze flickered. ‘The Coast Guard is still searching. It’s possible they will find her. I’m terribly sorry . . .’
    ‘Sorry?’ Shelby cried. ‘That’s not enough.’
    FBI agent DeWitt interrupted. ‘Mrs Sloan, Chief Giroux has very kindly set me