Damian moved quickly down the bright carpeted hallway toward the primary guest suites located on the middle deck of the yacht. The quiet hum of the powerful marine engine vibrated through the floorboards under his shoes as he reached his mother's room. He knocked on the heavy wooden door three times, leaning his ear against the panel to listen for any sound from inside.
Damian: Mom? It is Damian. Are you feeling okay in there?
No answer came from inside the quiet room. Damian grabbed the silver handle and turned it, but the lock was engaged tight from the outside keyway. He pulled the extra master card from his blazer pocket and swiped it through the electronic lock slot above the handle. The light flashed green, and the heavy door swung open slowly into the cool air-conditioned bedroom.
The room was completely empty. The bed covers were stretched smooth and flat, without a single wrinkle in the white sheets. Evelyn's silk purse sat on the small nightstand next to her reading glasses, but her comfortable deck shoes were nowhere to be seen near the closet door.
Damian: Mom?
Victoria stepped into the doorway behind him, crossing her arms tightly across her green designer dress. Her soft face looked cold now, all traces of her friendly hostess persona completely gone.
Victoria: See? I told you she was probably walking around the lower deck trying to get some fresh air away from the noise.
Damian: Her glasses are right here on the table, Victoria. My mother cannot read or walk down stairwells safely without her glasses.
Victoria: Maybe she forgot them. You know how forgetful she has been getting over the past few months.
Damian: Do not start with that lie again. Her memory is fine, and you know it better than anyone.
Damian pushed past Victoria and stepped back into the central hallway, heading toward the rear stairs that led down to the mechanical spaces. Victoria grabbed his arm tightly, her long nails digging through the fabric of his white suit jacket.
Victoria: You have no reason to go down there! The lower deck is dirty and noisy, and there is nothing for you to check.
Damian: Get your hands off me right now!
Damian pulled his arm free with a sharp move and started down the steep metal staircase that led into the heart of the vessel. The air grew warmer and carried the smell of fuel oil and heated metal as he reached the bottom platform. The lower passage was quiet except for the deep rumble of the twin engines driving the boat through the ocean currents.
At the end of the narrow walkway stood the heavy steel door that led into the main engine room. Damian noticed a solid steel bar had been dropped across the outer latch bracket, locking the heavy hatch firmly from the hallway side. Nobody inside could ever open that thick door without someone lifting the bar from the outside first.
Damian: Why is the emergency engine room latch locked from the outside?
Victoria stood at the top of the stairs, her shadow stretching long over the metal steps under the bright lights overhead. She did not answer his question, but her hand rested near the wall switch panel that controlled the lock system for the entire lower deck section.