Swamped

"Kind of surprising he's having a party right now, honestly," you muse. "That's a lot of people who could be helping us out. We just had to deal with a storm and some sea beasts, after all. There's plenty to clean up. What, did they all have a free shift?"

"I wondered about that, too. But it turns out the second mate's at the party and signed off on a bunch of shift changes to accommodate it."

The second mate? An officer that high up is involved in this? Not to mention he's hardly anyone's idea of a party animal.

"I'm surprised. I can't imagine him at a party."

"Neither can I, do be honest," Colleen agrees. "He's probably just there to make sure nothing gets out of hand. Can't imagine why else he'd be there..."

Once again, she sounds like she knows more than she's letting on. But she did let something big slip.

Whatever's going on in there must be real serious if an officer is involved, and it's clearly not just a party if Colleen's being this evasive. But it's proving hard to get any more information out of her.

What should you ask about next?