Chapter 15

Tonight's the night I have to do away with George. I need to hurry, before we're out at sea again. Anchored here outside Kusadasi we're close enough to the shore for my plan to work.

I'm worried sick. If by chance they find the envelope taped under table nine, I'm sure George will remember he saw me crawling under there for my ring and put two and two together. He will most likely guess that I put it there. Then I'll be arrested not only for stealing the necklace, but also for the murder of Barsha.

The Inspector and that couple from table nine with the goofy names, Kit and Kat – that sounds like they should be in some kind of a puppet show – will put their heads together. Then for sure I'll be dragged off to prison. I'm taking no chances that that will happen. They all seem pretty smart, so it won't take them long to figure it out.

So before that happens, if it ever does, and just to make sure there'll be no slip-ups, I've got to lure George down to my cabin and give him a glass of wine with the knock-out drug. That's one good thing about traveling to these foreign countries; you can just about purchase anything you may need. I bought the drug on a lark in Istanbul, but now I'll use it on George . . . How clever of me.

The only thing is, I'll only have twenty minutes for him to drink the wine and then get him up to the top deck. This time I want his body to be found, so I'll just throw him over the side.

Since he'll be awake it'll be easier. No need to take him up in a dinner cart like I did with Barsha. And then when the drug takes over . . . over he goes. I need someone to hear the splash. I might even call out "Man overboard" myself, just to be certain. Everyone will think it was a suicide and that George is the thief and killer. But first I have to find him and bring him here under some false pretense. I must come up with a great idea, one that he won't be able to refuse.

I know he's free tonight, so I'll go out and look for him. He hangs out in the staff game room a lot. I'll look there first. I have to approach him with no one else seeing me, and get him to follow me before he tells anyone he's coming to my room.

Someone called to me, asking if he could talk to me. Turning around, to my surprise I saw it was George. I suggested we go to my room where we could relax and talk over a glass of wine.

Well, luck's with me tonight. There he was, saying he wants to talk to me. It can't get any better than this. It's late, about one a.m. Another good fortune. And the hallways will be empty. This is going to be easy.

"Have a seat, George, and I'll pour us a glass of wine. What do you want to talk about?"

"I was wondering about the other night. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered why you'd go looking for your ring at night with no flashlight."

"I had just noticed it was missing and went right to the dining room to look for it."

"Then you know nothing about the envelope taped under the table? I think you do. You didn't lose your ring. It was still warm from where you'd been wearing it. I want a share of the money you'll receive when you sell the necklace. Three million dollars is a lot of green backs. I'll take three hundred thousand. That's just ten percent to keep me quiet."

"Okay, George, that sounds reasonable. Can we talk about this outside? Come up to the top deck with me and I'll show you where the necklace is now, so that you can see that our investment is hidden safely."

It's been ten minutes since George drank his wine. He believed my story of the necklace being hidden on the top deck, so he can't have looked under the table again. He should be going woozy any moment now. I put enough of the stuff in his drink. Too much. I've got to get him up on the top deck before the drug kicks in. I've got to keep calm and let him think I'll go along with his blackmail scheme.

"I don't want any trouble, George. So I'll pay you your ten percent. Let's go up on the top deck. Okay?"

When we got off the elevator, George said, "I feel so dizzy. Did you put something in that glass of wine? Where is the necklace hidden?"

"I made that up, just like I agreed to give you three hundred thousand dollars. Look around, George, there's no one else here. Just you and me . . . and soon it will be just me."

"What are you . . . going to do?"

"Do you swim, George? Not that it matters. By the time you hit the water, you'll be out cold. It won't take long for you to drown."

"What are you . . . talking about? I think I'm . . . going to . . . pass out"

"Here, George, put your arms around me?"

He's gasping for breath. I think he's dying in my arms. I must have given too much of the drug. Never mind.

Suddenly he stops breathing altogether. Well, at least he won't be calling out for help. One push and that's all it takes. No sound comes from him. The only sound I hear is when he hits the water . . . SPLASH. The smile on my face has just got bigger.

And now the words I've been hoping to hear. It seems to take longer than I expected, but here they are.

"Man overboard! Man overboard!"

That's much easier than I expected it to be. Why was I so worried? If we'd been sailing later tonight they never would have recovered George's body, and probably wouldn't have heard him fall in the water. Now it's an obvious suicide. All the money from the necklace will be mine. From now on it will be free sailing.

"Goodbye, George."