Enrico came up with a list of five names, but I only recognised one of them—Dr Ken Gerard, Joy’s husband, who was known as Sally Pox—yet another of the horse names given to us by Martha Barry. The name led me to wonder whether Gerard had bi-sexual tendencies; either this or he simply liked using a female username. The other four people were unknown to me, but they were all doctors who were onboard. It no longer mattered whether the usernames they utilised were linked to horses or not, what mattered now was that we could warn them, and at the same time entice the killer to go after Enrico.
We started to discuss the plan with Enrico and were joined by the captain, Mark Evans, and Mike Yuen.
“Mia,” the captain said upon entering the security office, “Jerry told us about the plan, plus the fact we have another five members onboard that the killer might go for.”
“Yes, Captain,” I replied. “Aside from Enrico, there are five other doctors who belong to the club. We’re going to focus on Enrico while we try to flush out the killer; but we need to warn the others.”
“Mark and Mike will handle the other doctors. Plus a few of the crew working under Mark have volunteered to keep these people under surveillance while you and your group work with Enrico.”
I gave the captain a look of gratitude. “That’s great, thank you.” I then turned to Mark and Mike. “This is excellent news, guys. We need all the help we can get.”
Dobbs and Smythe nodded their thanks, too. “Great to have you join the team,” Smythe said.
I noticed Enrico pout while the others talked in general about our surveillance plan. “Don’t worry, Enrico,” I whispered in his ear, “you also have our special thanks.”
Enrico didn’t look too happy about not being recognised by the group, but he would have to live with it for having withheld information earlier.
“We’ll brief you in a while on the other five members,” Garcia was saying to Mark and Mike. “First, we need to finish up here.”
The captain and his officers withdrew and we turned back to Enrico.
“Now,” Smythe spoke, “your job is to boast to members of the convention about your experience with Erotic Heart. Just don’t go over the top, but drop as many hints as you can.”
Enrico nodded, looking none too happy.
“We’re going to keep you under twenty-four hour surveillance in case the killer comes after you,” Garcia informed him.
This sparked off a reaction of indignation from Enrico. “What; even when I sleep?”
Garcia nodded. “Even when you sleep. This is why we’re moving you to a stateroom, so your surveillance team can stay in the lounge room and give you privacy while you sleep.”
“Can I have company?” Enrico had the nerve to ask.
I glared at him. “Keep your dick in your pants for once, Enrico. This is a serious matter. The last thing we need is to babysit two of you while you’re going at it!”
Enrico seemed to shrink at my threatening manner and said nothing. I felt like hitting him over his ungrateful head.
“Okay,” Garcia continued with a look of amusement my way. “I’ll take Enrico so we can relocate him to the new room. Then, I’ll meet you with Mark and Mike to discuss surveillance for the other five doctors.”
Garcia motioned Enrico out of the office and Dobbs exploded when the door shut behind them. “We should let the killer get to that little mincing poof after all! He deserves it for being such an asshole!” Dobbs’s American accent never failed to become more pronounced when he was angry, and I couldn’t help laughing.
“Now, you don’t mean that, Dobbs. Our business is to save lives,” I teased.
“Hey, Ferrari, you were ready to clobber him over the head just now,” he protested, looking agitated.
“Yes, but I wouldn’t have killed him off. We need him too much.”
“I’m off to grab a coffee,” Dobbs announced grumpily. “I’ll see you guys in a while.”
Smythe laughed after Dobbs exited the room. “You two are so funny. Is this how you work at the hotel when you come up against a big drama?”
“It’s usually me who loses her temper and Dobbs who calms me down. But I say in this instance, Dobbs has had enough. This killing spree’s been too much for all of us. I think Rourke and Teppler owe us a real holiday after this is over.”
“You can say that again,” Smythe agreed. “In the meantime, I came up with my own way to calm you down.”
His mouth took mine in a kiss that melted my limbs and left me clinging to him. Even so, I managed to break away and throw him a stern look.
Before I could speak, he said, “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.”
I took a couple of steps back to put some distance between us. “You promised we’d be friends, Smythe. Friends don’t kiss each other like this.” Then, I added with an impish look as I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, “Besides, that kiss did nothing to calm me down. If anything, it had the opposite effect.”
He beamed at the latter part of my admonishment, but then said, “I know. I know. I lost my head.”
He looked forlorn when he apologised, and I wanted to take him into my arms and soothe him. But someone had to harden their heart—and it was going to be me. Thank God women were stronger and more practical than men.
~~~
Before the meeting with Mark Evans and his men, I ran down to check on Chris.
“Nothing as yet,” he reported after I told him Enrico didn’t remember anything about Erotic Heart. “But don’t worry, I’ll keep trying.”
“I hope you can find something soon. It’ll make it so much easier than trying to flush out the killer.”
Chris glanced up from the laptop screen. “Yeah, but Mia, even if I do get an ID on Erotic Heart, it won’t tell us who the spouse is unless the account is under joint names or just in his name.”
I shrugged. “True. In any case, it would help to know.”
Chris turned back to the computer. “I’m on it.”
I left him to it and made my way back to the security office where the meeting was already in progress. Just as I walked in, Garcia was writing shift times on a whiteboard for both our surveillance group and the one Mark Evans would be heading.
“The first shift commences today at 3.00pm for both groups,” Garcia informed us. “Enrico’s going to start dropping hints at lunchtime. The convention members have a group lunch after their morning seminar; so we hope the killer will be among them. I’ll take the first shift with one of my guys; then Phil, Guy, and Mia can do the graveyard shift in Enrico’s stateroom from 11.00pm. You’ll be relieved by two of my guys at 7.00am the following morning.”
While Garcia discussed the shifts for Mark’s people, I turned to Dobbs, who was sitting next to me, and whispered, “I guess we’ll have to stock up on huge amounts of coffee to stay awake all night.”
Dobbs beamed at me. “I just thank God we don’t have to listen to Enrico humping away with one of his fairy friends.”
I grinned and almost laughed aloud. The image that flashed into my mind of Enrico and a male lover was simply too much to bear—the situation in which we found ourselves, too surreal to contemplate. I was quite broadminded when it came to gay men, but I drew the line at having to listen to them going at it.
After the meeting, Dobbs and Smythe went off with Garcia to be assigned their weapons. I was left out of this macho bonding session but didn’t care for once. I had no real desire to carry a weapon, let alone use one. So I decided to have a light lunch in my room and then catch up on my sleep in preparation for the graveyard shift.
An hour later, while I was drifting off to sleep, I vaguely heard Dobbs and Smythe going into their respective cabins, possibly to do the same thing. Tonight was going to be boring unless we got some action from the killer. Somehow, I doubted it. I couldn’t see the guy coming up to Enrico’s stateroom to knock on the door. It was already suspicious enough that Enrico had been allocated a new room. I only hoped the killer believed the explanation Enrico would be spinning about this—namely that his bathroom flooded in his old cabin and he was upgraded to a stateroom to compensate for the inconvenience.
~~~
I slept until after seven and then showered and dressed, ready to meet with Dobbs, Smythe and Chris for dinner before we got ready for our first shift. I wore comfortable khaki cargo pants and a black T-shirt, and I felt like some kind of a commando.
We met at the buffet restaurant and I noticed Dobbs and Smythe were similarly attired. Chris was in his usual shorts and T-shirt.
“I think we look a bit conspicuous, don’t you?” I remarked to Dobbs.
Dobbs, who was already tucking into a full plate of lasagna, replied, “We can’t very well turn up in our PJs now, can we?”
I laughed. “I guess not, even though you’d look so cute in a pair of horsey jammies.”
His frown was enough to tell me he was not looking forward to babysitting Enrico; therefore, I should stop the teasing.
As it turned out, our shift wasn’t quite so bad. Dobbs and Smythe played cards most of the night, just as they did at their usual poker night back home. I watched a movie and later read a book. We ordered room service twice: coffee and burgers at around two in the morning and a big breakfast at six. By seven, when we were relieved by Garcia’s men, we were exhausted.
“Everything okay?” asked one of the security guards.
Smythe nodded. “Uneventful night. Enrico’s still asleep. Anything to report from Garcia’s shift?”
The security guard shook his head. “No. All’s been quiet, including the surveillance of the other five doctors. Officer Garcia will be holding a debrief at 10.00am in the security office.”
“Will do,” Smythe replied.
We left Enrico’s stateroom and made our way to the Promenade Deck to get a breath of fresh air.
“Man, that was a long night,” I commented, stretching my arms over my head.
“That’s what you get for insisting on being part of this team,” Smythe admonished.
I knew he still wasn’t happy I’d tagged along. “Well, too bad, Smythe. You’re stuck with me.”
Dobbs frowned at us. “Hey, you two, save the arguments for later. I thought you finally learned to work together.”
I hid a smile. “It takes time, Dobbs.”
Smythe winked at me when Dobbs turned away, then said, “So what now?”
“I’m off to get some shuteye,” Dobbs answered. “Someone knock on my door at nine-thirty so I don’t miss the debrief.” With a wave of his hand, he left us alone.
“He’s really cranky these days,” Smythe observed.
“He must miss Eileen,” I remarked. “And wait until she sees how much weight he’s put back on. She’ll positively kill him!”
Smythe grinned. “Let the poor man enjoy the holiday as much as he can, Mia—even if it means putting on a few pounds.”
“I know. Dobbs can never resist good food, and he gets really irritated when hungry.”
We stood for a while in silence, both of us gazing at the horizon. The sky was a light cerulean blue today while the ocean was its usual deep indigo.
After a few moments, I yawned. “I think I’ll get some shuteye as well. What about you?”
His eyes danced with wickedness. “Is that an invitation?”
The look I gave him said it all.
“Okay, okay. I was only kidding,” he placated me. “Want me to knock on your door for the debrief?”
“Yes, thanks. And if you don’t mind, please check on Chris when you can. I want to know if he’s made any progress.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave me a suggestive look, which said a thousand things, but he managed to control himself.
~~~
“Today, I’ll get you guys to do the three to eleven shift,” Garcia informed Dobbs, Smythe and me at the debrief. “I’ll take the graveyard.”
“Any news?” Smythe enquired.
“Nothing. But I don’t expect such quick results. For all we know, the killer may not yet have heard about Enrico’s exploits,” Garcia answered. “Today might be different, though.”
“Well, I hope so,” I interjected, “because we have another day and night at sea after this one, and then we reach Honolulu.”
We looked at one another in silence, all of us knowing that when we reached Honolulu the killer would certainly make his escape. For one, I didn’t believe he was going to get to all the others on the ship. If anything, he’d probably get to them on land when we all went home. This made me remark, “You know, you have to wonder why the killer waited this long to get to everybody. Why now; why on the ship?”
Smythe answered, “Who’s to say he waited? He may have left a trail of dead bodies back home that we haven’t heard about yet.”
The thought was sobering.
Garcia went on to cover a few other issues, and within thirty minutes we were out of the room.
“Let’s meet for a late lunch and then go on shift,” Dobbs suggested.
I nodded and turned to Smythe. “Anything from Chris yet?”
“He said something about finally having found the server he was after. Now, he’s trying to break into it.”
This raised my spirits a little. “Excellent. I’m off to snooze some more. I’ll see you guys at lunch.”
I didn’t know whether Dobbs and Smythe needed to grab more sleep or not, but the moment my head hit the pillow, I was gone. It was amazing how working a graveyard shift mucked up one’s biological clock.
I slept right through until a knock on my door woke me and Smythe’s voice called out, “Mia, lunchtime!”
We had lunch at the Deck Grill with Chris, who was bubbling with excitement.
“I’m getting really close now. I finally found the right server, so it’s a matter of cross-referencing the log-in times and dates and I should be able to ID her.”
“That’s great, Chris,” Smythe praised him.
“Yeah, you should get a medal for this,” I agreed. “If it weren’t for your work, we’d never have come this far.”
“I concur,” Dobbs added with cheeseburger in hand.
Chris blushed. “Thank you, but it wasn’t just me. Mia was the one who figured out the way to the cheaters’ site. If she hadn’t done that, we’d still be chasing our tails.”
The other two did not deny it, and Smythe threw me a secret smile. Then, he glanced at his watch. “Almost two-thirty,” he announced. “Let’s get ready to relieve the morning team.”
We left Chris to finish his lunch and while Dobbs and Smythe went to retrieve their weapons from the security office, I changed into my cargo pants and T-shirt. Later, we met up with Enrico by the pool. The morning team left us and we hung around, sitting at different tables and having a cool drink or pretending to read while we kept an eye on Enrico, who was sunbathing. No one approached him, nor did we see anything suspicious.
After this, we were forced to hang around the stateroom while Enrico took a shower and a nap. Dobbs and Smythe played poker while I flicked through a glossy magazine, bored to tears.
Later, we dined at the buffet restaurant while Enrico and a ‘friend’ sat at a couple of tables away from us chatting and laughing every few seconds.
“If someone doesn’t kill him soon, I will,” Dobbs said through clenched teeth. “Who does he think he is; a pop diva? That we should have to hang around while he sunbathes or has dinner with one of his lovers. This is unacceptable!”
Smythe and I exchanged a glance before I said, “Hang in there, Dobbs. Only one more day and night and we reach Honolulu.”
He sighed with frustration, but said nothing.
After dinner, Enrico and his boyfriend went for a stroll on Deck 13, which looked rather dark and deserted. Dobbs, Smythe and I held back at a fair distance in order not to look too obvious.
Dobbs complained again. “Great! He picks the darkest place, knowing the killer could shoot him from a distance.”
Smythe and I remained silent. No good feeding Dobbs’s frustration. Meanwhile, I turned to look down on Deck 12 through the stairwell rail. A movie was playing on a giant plasma screen, located high above the swimming pool. This was pretty much the only light we had, which filtered up to Deck 13.
We sat on the top steps of the stairwell leading to Deck 13 for ages, hoping Enrico would hurry up and stop making out with his boyfriend. I could just see the two figures engaged in a tight embrace and two heads coming together. I looked away. Then, I tensed.
My thigh happened to be touching Smythe’s as we sat on the same step and he felt it go tense, along with the rest of me. “What is it?” he whispered.
“I think we’ve got company,” I said in a low voice, enough for Dobbs and Smythe to hear. I pointed toward the stairwell on the other side of the deck, which also led up to Deck 13 from the deck below. A figure was climbing the stairs slowly in the dark.
Smythe patted my shoulder. “You stay here, Mia. And don’t move.”
I nodded.
“Ready?” Smythe said to Dobbs.
They drew out their Glocks and carefully began to move along Deck 13 and toward the figure, keeping low and out of sight.
The figure was definitely that of a male, similar in build to the killer’s. This could be him. I took a peek over the steps and observed the person walking toward Enrico and his friend. I suddenly felt like screaming out a warning to him, but this would alert the man who was now rapidly making his way in Enrico’s direction with something bulky in his hand.
With my heart in my mouth, I watched as the figure advanced. Then, when he was around twenty feet away from the embracing pair, I saw Dobbs and Smythe appear a few feet behind the figure.
“Stop right there!” Smythe suddenly called out, both his and Dobbs’s guns pointed at him.
In that same instant, the movie ended and the credits scrolled on the screen in black letters against a white background; and with the light emitted from the screen, Deck 13 became clearly visible to everyone.
Dobbs and Smythe quickly put their guns down as Enrico broke away from his lover’s embrace and ran toward the figure, which turned out to be that of a young crewmember holding a bottle of champagne in one hand and three glasses in the other.
“Darling Zane! We thought you’d never make it!” Enrico called out before he hugged the young man. Then, he turned to Smythe. “It’s okay, he’s one of us.”
Luckily, no one on Deck 12 saw the commotion; and Dobbs and Smythe drew away quietly. As they came closer to me, I noticed the expression on their faces and thought, if only looks could kill.