Hector smiled nervously. I can do this. "Allow me to introduce myself properly."

There was not a head around that table that did not look at him then, their attention riveted.

He peered around at the gathering. "My real name is Hector Martinez, and I'm a Constable with the New South Wales Police. I've been working the Devi Dhungel since it landed on my desk," he spouted like he'd seen many cops in shows say, purposely leaving out the 'I work out of Mystery Cove beat,' bit, afraid it would give away the fact that Devi was still alive, just for a bit longer.

Butts in chairs shifted at his declaration. Gasps floated from the three females. Even the waitress paused a moment as she cleared the table.

Hector enjoyed the various shades of pallor on the guests.

"You're a cop?" Vinay sat up straight for once, no longer slouching like a rich knob. "I knew there was something fishy about you the moment I saw you."

"No, you didn't." Bhawani twirled her flute from the base on the table, hardly looking up.

If Hector didn't know any better, that spelled guilt loud and clear.

"Yeah, I did."

"No."

"Anyhow!" He interrupted. "I've gathered you all here tonight because you are all persons of interest—"

"In what?" Don Nguyen finally broke his vow of silence since the night before and leaned forward. "It's a simple missing person's case."

Heads turned from Hector to Don, to Hector again. Eyes blinked. Brows scrunched. And some comprehension dawned.

"Wait? You think we had something to do with her going missing?" Marvin Garcia stood, offended, to say the least.

Ryan Pecker scoffed, thinking out loud, "This is a joke, right?"

Vinay Garcia shifted in his seat as if there were ants in his pants and he was pretending otherwise, looking uncomfortable as hell. "This is absurd!" He glanced at his mother, who seemed jittery as can be. In fact, she gulped the whole drink as if parched, perhaps because tonight she needed liquid courage.

Unati, the former assistant, chewed her lips. "Unbelievable. She's screwing us even after she's dead."

Miles the old barman, nodded. "She was a bitch in life so ..."

"Actually," Hector interrupted. "It is no longer a case of a missing person."

Silence fell in the dining hall then. A good long silence before Don asked the pertinent question. "Then what is it?"

Hector took a good measure of the faces at the table, all peering up at him with various degrees of curiosity. "It's now attempted murder."

"Attempted murder?" Vinay shot to his feet. "That's bullshit. It was an acc—"

Bhawani cut him off with a hand on his arm, pulling him back down to his seat.

Interesting. Hector noted.

Others also looked positively miffed if not terrified.

"It wasn't me!" Unati cried.

"Absurd!" Don stated.

"Why would we kill her?" Marvin pitched in.

Ryan Pecker looked at his new squeeze and said. "Don't look at me. I was planning to marry the woman."

"Is that why I'm here?" Chef Toby blinked, confused. "I'm a suspect?"

Miles snorted, leaning back easily against his chair, confident no one could pin this on him. "That's exactly what he's saying. We're all suspects."

"Wait a minute." Vinay turned from his ma for a minute. "You said attempted murder ... so she's alive?"

"Didi is alive?!" Was Bhawani's first utterance since Hector started addressing them.

If Hector wasn't wrong, there was a note of genuine relief in her voice and a release of tension from her shoulders.

"Is she in this Mystery Cove place everyone keeps talking about?" Ryan's squeeze practically jumped out of her seat as if she was at a trivia night and had the correct answer.

She did. Not that Hector was going to confirm or deny that claim.

In fact, he ignored that question with a parroted response, "I'm sorry, I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation."

"She's alive." Miles scratched his scruffy beard. "If it's an attempted murder, genius, it means she's alive."

Hector sensed a debate looming and quickly took the reins of the conversation again. "You were all present on this yacht at the time of the incident."

"Doesn't mean we attacked her." Vinay folded his arms. "So much for being family."

"No, doesn't mean everyone here is the culprit." Though you could be, he thought back to the plot of Murder on the Orient Express. "But there's one person here who tried to kill Devi Dhungel that night. One person. Yet, you all seem to have had motives."

"What motives?" Vinay had his heckles up again.

Marvin threw his napkin on the table, "All right that's it. This is getting ridiculous!"

"You can't pin this on us." Miles pushed back his chair, getting ready to leave. "I hated her, but not enough to ruin my life. If I'd known that was her gig, I wouldn't have taken the job last minute."

"It's true." Chef Toby nodded. "Our usual guy suddenly quit last minute and recommended his friend, Miles."

"See!" Miles sneered. "I was at the wrong place, wrong time, with the wrong woman."

"I shouldn't have come." Unati fretted with the corner of her napkin. "I had a bad feeling about this trip. I knew it ..."

"Sit down!" Hector's voice rose above it all when more chairs shifted back. Bums paused in mid-air, heads turned again, and quietly, they all sat back down again. "I'm not done yet." This time, his voice was stern and authoritative. "As I was saying, each one of you had a motive."

Then came the moment he had been waiting for, to address them individually. He turned to the first person on his right.

"Chef Tobias 'Toby' Fletcher," he started, and Toby went ramrod straight and red in the face, not used to having so much attention on him for the wrong reasons. "Ever since Devi dismissed you of your regular gig as her high-paid personal chef, you've nose-dived into a gambling debt you can't get out of and you blame Devi for it. If she hadn't fired you, you wouldn't have money issues. For the past couple of years, you've been struggling to hold on to a steady job ..."

"That doesn't mean I'd try to kill her ... I'm not a criminal," he mumbled, nervously tapping a finger on the table.

Hector knew that, but the others didn't. "From the moment the assault took place on Devi's sister"—he pointedly looked at Marvin to say he knew about it and watched the man clear his throat and reach for his water—"to Devi going missing from the deck, you were in your galley, firstly preparing the five-course dinner, and then, being asked to babysit a drunk guest. Your alibi is solid, so I have to take you off the potential suspect list."

"Oh, thank god." Toby slouched on his chair. Hector didn't blame him.

Then he turned to the person opposite himself. "Ms Unati Slater, former assistant. You were hoping Devi would take your manuscript to her agent and help you start your own writing career. You were angry Devi hadn't even read your manuscript, let alone be ready to help you climb that ladder to success. So you too had a motive."

"No. I didn't." Unati shifted in her seat, shaking her head. Agitated wouldn't even describe how she looked.

Hector turned to the person next to her. "Miles the barman, real name Adrian Woodrow, former-former assistant of Devi's."

This was news to everyone around the table, and all stared at Miles the barman then.

"I knew you looked familiar," Marvin said from up the table. "You just didn't have the beard or the tatts back then, or this emo look."

"It's grunge." Miles sneered.

Hector cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. "Miles, you were also angry at Devi but for a different reason. A decade ago, you actually brought a manuscript to Devi, hoping, much the same as Unati, that she'd read it and help you start your writing career. Your manuscript even made it all the way to Devi's editor because it showed promise. If only you hadn't plagiarised the entire thing off a friend from uni. A published author it turned out. You got blacklisted since then and have struggled to get another work out there without questions. You thought Devi owed you a lost career and all the money you would have made."

Miles scoffed. "It's the least she could do after killing my chances."

"Ryan Pecker!" Hector turned to the next man on the other side of the table. "You were hoping to marry Devi for her money, and when you found out she had no intention of marrying you or giving you money, you felt like she used you. Ironic, seeing how you were the one using her. What was your plan after you got married? Stay married, or something else?" Hector's blood was boiling, thinking of Pecker using Devi for kicks.

"It wasn't me. I wasn't even here when the fight broke out or Devi fell off the boat." Pecker shifted in his seat. "I admit I was angry and frustrated that she didn't even let me get through my proposal. Do you know how hard it is to pretend you love someone for so long, only to have them reject you? I should have rejected her, not the other way around. I gave her a year of my life and then some, so I was upset. I went for a walk around the deck to clear my head or plan what was next. By the time I came back, they were all screaming Devi's name into the ocean."

Hector nodded. "You're lucky the Captain saw you at the front of the yacht that whole time, holding onto a rail for dear life like an idiot, from the bridge. As much as I like you for it, the jilted lover"—that word tasted funky in his mouth—"you're also not my guy."

"Oh, thank fuck!" Pecker comfortably tucked into his pint of beer while others left their drinks untouched.

"Don, you were hoping Devi wouldn't remove you from the power of attorney clause in her last will to dispense of her assets as you see fit, but on that trip, Devi asked you to make changes that removed your power and named only one person as the beneficiary of all her estates. You got greedy. With Devi out of the way, her last will and testimony would have stayed."

"It must have been you!" Vinay stood, pointing a finger at the man.

"I'd be careful what you say to me if I were you." Don's stoic brows creased. "You wouldn't want to lose that posh apartment on a defamation case."

"Don was my favourite for the who-dun-it, of course." Hector smiled. "Too bad he remained out of the foray and retired to his room straight after the Marvin-Bhawani incident. His room was on the bottom deck, at the other end of the yacht. In such severe weather, it would have taken him longer than the five minutes the CCTV cameras were short-circuited by the storm, to reach Devi, attack her, throw her in the sea, and rush back. No, it had to be people with easier access to her that night. People who were on the same deck as her, or the one person who could go in and out of the room unhindered ... the maid!"

Hector looked to Chaya then, as if they hadn't planned this. "Ms Harden, would you mind playing the role of the maid tonight? I'd like to try an exercise."

Chaya nodded, as advised.

Around the table sighs released as if they finally knew who the culprit was. Her.

"Of course, typical. It has to be the maid ..." Relieved, Vinay finally grabbed his drink and sculled thirstily. "By the way, where is she tonight? How come she's not here?"

"Ah, she's the one person I couldn't locate on time, but don't worry, my colleagues are looking into her as we speak, among other things," Hector said rather confidently, knowing very well he had both Brady and the Chief looking into her whereabouts and background over the holidays. One of them was bound to come up with something.

"There! She's your guy." Ryan Pecker tapped the table. "She was always shifty around Devi, barely looking her in the eyes, always hovering by her door like a creep."

The statement made the fake Ms Holly Harden look a little worried.

"Not necessarily. She is the one with a weak motive." Hector shook his head. He pointed at Chaya with a flourish as if he was in a stage play. "She was a stranger to Devi, with nothing to gain or lose, the only one with no shared history with our victim."

"Yeah, but Devi was an asshole to everyone," Miles chimed in. "Sometimes, I'd catch the girl hiding out, practically muttering to herself, angry."

Chaya shifted as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't considering Hector's cover story for her. Perhaps she was regretting her demand to stay out of the discussion. Luckily for her, Hector beat her to it.

"That doesn't peg her as the one, I'm afraid."

"Then who is it?" Don asked. "You obviously have a suspect in mind."

"I do." Hector nodded.

"Well then, who is it?" Pecker's girl asked, too eager for the juice.

"In time." Hector smiled. "But first, let's set the scene. Ryan, the boyfriend, was out on the bow trying not to get flung into the sea. Chef Toby was in the galley cleaning up when Miles brought down a drunk and aggressive guest who needed cooling off. Marvin. Miles stayed for a bit, catching up Toby on the happenings up on deck before he snuck away for a ciggy break, who then returned to the dining and resumed serving drinks to the guests still lingering."

"So we're in the clear?" Ryan asked, looking around at the men mentioned.

"As I said earlier, he can't peg this on me," Miles sounded like he was gloating.

Marvin and Toby looked relieved as hell, though Marvin actually looked like he was about to cry.

"I knew I couldn't have done such a thing ... hurt her ... but half that night is black for me ..." he cleared his throat and waved the waitress over. "Can I get the rest of that bottle of whiskey?"

Vinay sat up straight, eyeing the rest of the gathering. "So the rest of us are all suspects?"

"Not me," Don spoke, calmly stirring sugar in his black tea. "As the Constable already established, I couldn't have done it in the five-minute window it all happened."

Unati's brow furrowed, troubled. "But I didn't do anything ..."

"You're the only one who could have entered Thulo Mummy's room easily. You're her assistant."

"I was."

"You still were that night!" Vinay leaned forward over the table, pointing at her. "It was her! It has to be."

"Actually, Ms Slater left the dining hall only after the commotion died. She was seen on the CCTV later, on the opposite side of the yacht, crying," Hector informed.

"She still could have done it and that's why she was crying!" Vinay was far more passionate about pegging the young woman for the crime.

"I didn't do it!" Unati began crying. "Why would I kill her? She still owed me my salary, and I needed the money ..."

"See!" Vinay rose from his chair. "It was her. She killed my aunt for money."

"Don't be so hasty with your conclusions, Mr Garcia. As far as I can tell, your desired your Aunt's money more. Several guests around this table have said they've heard you frequently claim everything of Devi's as yours, anyway. Once you knew of your Aunt's intention of cutting you out of her Will, I'm sure you were angrier than Ms Slater."

Vinay opened his mouth like a fish and closed it. "I ... I ... wouldn't ... why would I? She gave everything to Mum, who would eventually give it to me ..."

At that Bhawani Dhungel-Garcia's attention snapped to her son. She stared at his face, shocked. "Vinay!"

"What? It's true. I'm your only child. Who else would you give it to?"

"Perhaps you were impatient and thought to speed up the process?" Hector asked squarely.

"What?" The kid looked alarmed. He shook his head profusely, saying, "No. No. I was ... I was here. I swear. I was here when I heard all the screaming ..."

"So you're saying you didn't go with your mum to your Aunt's room to make sure she and your mother were safe after what your dad tried to do to your mum?"

Marvin squirmed in his seat. "I wouldn't have hurt her."

"Ah, but you did, Mr Garcia." Hector turned. "It's called assault in our books, and if Mrs Garcia chooses to, she can officially lodge a complaint with me. I already have video proof of the incident and wouldn't be that hard to build a domestic violence case on you."

That shut Marvin up.

Hector turned to the son again. "You mind telling me exactly what you were doing on the upper deck that night? You were the first to arrive on the scene as per the CCTV footage when it came back online. You could have easily attacked your Aunty then done a runner down the deck, waiting for your mum's reaction before you 'rushed back to her aid'."

"Are you saying I'm your suspect?" Vinay looked terrified.

"You're my second favourite for it, yes. You had a powerful motive and you hated your aunt."

"What about her?" He pointed at Unati.

Hector shook his head. "Miles bumped into her on his way back to the dining after his ciggy break, where the two hit it off. He brought her back to the bar and made her a drink to calm her down. They've been seeing each other since, haven't you?" He eyed the couple obviously trying not to look guilty as charged.

Vinay opened his mouth and closed it like a fish again. That's when Hector used his biggest card.

"From all the evidence and the accounts of the event, it seems there are only three likely people who could have done what they did and disposed of Devi's body—or at least tried to."

"Who?" Vinay sounded winded.

Bhawani was close to tears behind him.

Unati seemed relieved to know she wasn't the one getting arrested tonight.

Chaya shifted in her seat, very much interested in where Hector was going with it all.

But there was one more person who was on the edge of her seat, sort of speaking. Someone who was loitering in the Butler's pantry next to the dining, having snuck in there about an hour ago, using the crew passage from the galley, just as desserts were being served. She had snuck in there despite Captain Parry's mighty efforts to keep her occupied.

Devi.

She stood in her disguise, crutches tucked under her arms, leaning her ears to the glass she placed on the door to hear well, muttering, "I bet it was Vinay," to herself, and almost went toppling backward, to the floor, when a wait-staff entered the room to put dirty dishes in the dumbwaiter.

"Miss ..."

"Shush. They don't know I'm here," Devi whispered, slapping a hand over the girl's mouth. "They are talking about who tried to kill me, and I want to know, you know?"

The young woman nodded and she let go.

Outside in the dining, Hector, unaware that his audience had grown, continued to set his scene. 

(...Continued in part C...)

A/N: This chapter was longer than anticipated, so there is a part C to it. But I promise it will bring some interesting reveals (if I can pull it off!). In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this build-up.

Question: Who do you think did it after all of this? There are three remaining suspects.

Vinay | Bhawani | The Maid

Cast your vote!