The knock on Heather's door came at 8:02 p.m. Three men, each decked out in a tuxedo, waited in the hallway. Her smile betrayed the pleasure that welled up within her to have her fiancé, father, and Steve show up together on what promised to be a perfect night of food, wine, and solving a murder that had vexed her throughout this Christmas season.
Her father spoke first. "You look lovely."
"I'll second that," said Jack as he tucked her hand under his arm.
"I can vouch for how good you smell," said Steve. He turned toward the elevator. "Let's get where we're going before everyone backs out."
The quartet boarded the elevator and descended. In the main dining room, the maître d’ bid them welcome, and they walked the same path to the room where they'd celebrated the rehearsal dinner.
"It's about time,” exclaimed Ingrid, who sat near the end of the table on the Webber side.
The ship's head of security came in and shut the door behind him. He gave his name so fast, Heather doubted if anyone caught it. "The captain sends his regrets and requested I take his place. The last night of a sailing is always busy, but he wanted to convey his warmest regards and hopes you'll sail with us again. Also, a special word of thanks goes to Mr. McBlythe for hosting this meal to continue the wedding celebration for the family and friends. He worked with our head chef to choose the perfect wines to accompany our meal, based on the survey each of you filled out."
Heather’s father sat at the head of the table with Steve, taking the place of the bride and groom. Heather and Jack sat nearest Steve. Everyone else could sit wherever they desired. She noted the families held ranks with no defectors, except Shayla Daniels-Green. She chose to join the Webbers on the port side of the table while the other Greens sat on the starboard side. Carol Green was conspicuous by her absence.
The missing member of the Green family didn't get past Ingrid's sharp eye. "Are we waiting on Carol to sober up and make a grand appearance, or is she already passed out in her cabin?"
Adam answered his grandmother. "She fell asleep at the resort hotel and missed the boat in Cozumel."
"Drunk again, no doubt."
No one disputed Ingrid's assessment.
Howard spoke next. "The only reason I'm here is for the wine." He looked across the table and glared at his soon-to-be ex-wife. "Otherwise, I'd walk out and leave you losers to pick each other apart."
"Shut up, ingrate," said Sid.
Heather's father stood. "If I may, I'd like to thank everyone for accepting my invitation. This cruise means a lot to me and I hope you find the evening enlightening as well as pleasurable."
Howard added, "We had little choice after the captain said attendance was mandatory."
"I apologize for any offense given, but I know you’ve all been anxious to hear news regarding your wife’s murder." said Mr. McBlythe. “I’ll turn this over to Heather.”
“Steve and I received word from the Houston Police Department that they’ll be dockside to arrest the killer of Lucy Green tomorrow morning."
"Who is it?" asked Tim and Tammy Green at the same time.
"I bet it’s someone in this room," said Shayla as she glared at Howard.
"I agree," said Ingrid. "Follow the money and you'll find a wife killer."
Henry Drake narrowed menacing eyebrows as his gaze locked on Ingrid. He looked to be on high alert. Heather wondered how he would react when Steve named the killer.
Howard responded with, "I've said all along that the killer lives next door. Tonight, she's sitting across the table from me."
Steve stood. "I don’t mean to interrupt the pleasant conversation, but am I the only person who had to eat salad for lunch because I’ve gained five pounds in four days? Heather and I will explain all, but not until I've had my last real meal for a week or two."
Grumbling murmurs came from several, expressing their views of who the culprit might be.
"I'll give you a hint if you promise a truce until after the meal." Steve paused. "Is it a deal, Howard?"
"Whatever. As I said, I’m here for the wine. The one wine I'm dying to taste won’t come until the meat course. Do whatever it takes to move this farce along.”
"What about you, Ingrid?" asked Steve.
“Webbers are known everywhere for our patience."
"That's close enough to a yes for me," said Heather. She signaled to the server. "Bring out the first course."
Except for Howard giving Shayla occasional hard glares, the meal progressed in peace, helped along with quality wine. Small conversations broke out toward the end of the salad course and carried through to the cheeses.
Howard played the role of a sommelier, waxing eloquent on the merits of the wine pairings. He took extra time at the meat course to describe his selection. He drank two glasses as he savored the rare prime rib.
By some miracle, the meal ended with dessert and coffee instead of a brawl. Heather then stood. "Thank you for your patience. We can all say the quality of the meal was superb. Our compliments to the chefs, and our thanks to my father."
Applause from all added to the air of bonhomie.
Heather's voice took on a different tone. "Now, however, we must address the tragedy that brought each of us here tonight. I'll sit down while Steve brings our investigation into the death of Lucy Green and the shooting of Howard Green to its conclusion."
Steve pushed his chair back, placed his hands on the edge of the table and stood. He waited several seconds before he said, "These two cases were difficult. In fact, this will go down as the most difficult case Heather and I have faced. It took the combined efforts of Bella Brumley, Heather, me, and the detectives of the Houston Police Department to solve it.
"There were several obstacles that hindered our investigation from the outset. The existence of a longstanding feud meant everyone in the Webber household was a suspect.” He pulled on his cummerbund. “Except for Sid, the amount of cooperation from the Green family left much to be desired. It seemed no one was really interested in justice for Lucy."
Steve held up his hands at the first sound of disagreement. "This will go faster if you don’t interrupt me.
"Under Ingrid's leadership, the Webbers closed ranks and didn't cooperate either. This left many of you on our list of suspects longer than necessary. We had to do something, and I don't mind telling you, we hope we never have to do it again. Bella volunteered to pose as a maid in the Webber home while feeding us information about the home's occupants."
Ingrid gave a loud snort. "Maid? Don't you mean a spy?"
"And what a beautiful spy she is," said Adam.
Bella dipped her head but followed the temporary embarrassment by taking his hand and mouthing, "Thank you."
"Did she find out anything of value?" asked Sid.
Heather answered as Steve reached for his glass of water. "Not as much as we hoped, but we eliminated some suspects, and we uncovered something we didn't expect. One reason the Greens outmaneuvered the Webbers in the last twenty-plus years is because another spy fed inside information to them."
“Nonsense,” said Ingrid with emphasis. "The only person responsible for our loss of fortune is my spineless, incompetent husband."
Steve sighed. "You're not even close, Ingrid. You fed the spy information for years and never had a clue what you were doing. In fact, you two only spoke in German."
Karl was the first to catch on. "It wasn't me, so that only leaves one other person… the cook."
Ingrid shook her head. "Impossible. She's like a sister to me."
Karl pointed. "No wonder Howard outmaneuvered me in every deal. It was your big mouth that cost the family almost everything."
"I don't believe it," said Ingrid.
Steve shrugged. "Let's ask Howard."
Howard's malevolent grin froze Ingrid in her chair. "Be careful throwing around accusations. I've never spoken with their cook in my life."
"That's probably true," said Steve. "But that doesn't mean someone you trust didn't find the informant for you."
Steve asked, "What about it, Mr. Drake? You’re happy to do the dirty work for Howard. It only makes sense that you traded his money for information on the Webbers."
"So what if I did? Tell me you've never paid for information. And that goes double for you, Ms. McBlythe. I can't tell you how many lawyers have paid me over the years for information that would give them an edge in a trial."
"You have a valid point," said Steve. "Discovering that the Webbers’ cook worked both sides of the fence was a bonus in our investigation, but not what we looked for. We still hadn’t found our answer to who killed Lucy Green. To discover the truth, we needed to go next door, to the Greens’ home."