Chapter 19

Next on the list were Cody and Nancy, Berta's friends. The three of them arrived together. After Berta introduced us to them, she said she had told them about her receiving Christ.

Nancy said she was already a Christian and had invited Berta many times to the early Sunday morning services. She said she'd been praying for her for a long time, and when Berta told her what she had done, she hugged her and started praising the Lord for her salvation.

Cody looked embarrassed, and informed us that he wasn't interested and that his life was just fine. Immediately, his name went on our prayer list of those who needed salvation!

All three of them said yes to a diet cola, and while Kat got up to get them I asked the question, "Did either of you tell anyone else about the jewelry after Berta mentioned it to you?"

"No," Nancy said, "I didn't tell anyone."

"Me neither," Cody broke in. "Berta told Nancy and me at the same time. We were in the game room playing cards . . . just the three of us. Neither one of us had a chance to tell anyone."

Nancy interrupted, "Right after Berta told us, we were informed that there was a robbery and we were to report to our work stations."

Berta joined in. "We didn't know what the thief had taken, and the three of us even joked that maybe someone had stolen the necklace and become an instant millionaire! We had no idea that it really was the necklace that had been stolen."

"Yeah," Cody said, "I headed back to housekeeping and none of us were allowed to leave. I was there for about an hour before we and our rooms were searched by our superiors. Only then were we excused to go to our duty stations."

Nancy said, "I went back to the kitchen. I was on duty to help clean up. Before any of us could begin, we were also searched. About an hour and a half later, over the loudspeaker we heard that housekeeping and the kitchen crew were free to resume their normal activities. We all burst out shouting and applauding. We're a very close group and were happy that none of us were being held as a suspect."

Kat said, "Thanks. The two of you are free to go. Because you didn't tell anyone, you helped to make our jobs a little easier."

I asked Berta to stay just a few minutes longer. Before I asked her my question about any suspects, I asked her how she was doing now that she had become a believer.

"Oh, Kat, you can't imagine the joy and peace I've found. I feel absolutely great, and most of my fears have vanished. And when I do become afraid, I just send up a prayer asking for His peace and comfort. It's amazing how it works.

"When I told Nancy what I'd done, she jumped up and down and just kept hugging me and saying, 'Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,' over and over. She was so excited, and said she had been praying for me for over three months. I think we're going to be very good friends. I mean, why not? We both know Jesus. Thank you again for taking the time to share Christ with me and showing me how to invite Him into my life. I'll never forget the two of you as long as I'm on this earth."

Kat said, "The thanks all go to God. It was He and the Holy Spirit that prepared you to receive His Son. Kit and I were just the tools, the instruments He used to bring you to Jesus."

"Well then, thank you for being those tools."

"Let's pray for a moment."

With Kat's suggestion, the three of us stood up and held hands, and Kat led us in prayer thanking our Lord again for this new soul.

When Kat was through, immediately Berta started to pray. "Lord, I'm new at this, but thank You for dying for me and loving me. Please help my new friends solve this case and find the murderer of my best friend . . . and also please bless them . . . Amen."

With tears in her eyes, Berta said, "That's the first time I've prayed out loud with other people around. I hope it was okay."

I said, "Not only okay, but it was wonderful. Thank you for your prayer, Berta. But before you leave, I'd like to ask you one more question."

Instead of asking her if she had any suspects in mind, I asked, "Berta, what are your honest feelings and thoughts about James and Alex?"

"Well I don't know James too well. The other night actually was the first time I worked with him at table nine. He seems like a nice person, but we've never had a conversation together for any length of time. Alex, I know a little better. We came on the ship about the same time, and we worked for a little while together in housekeeping. Alex moved up very quickly to be a server. I know he's married, and I believe he has three kids. And like most of us, he sends his earnings home to his family.

"He always says he's broke, but at every port we dock at, and if it's his free day, he gathers his clubs and heads off to play golf. I've heard it's very expensive. Not that I begrudge him his fun time. But every time I see him leaving, I wonder how he can afford it, since he sometimes complains that he has no extra money for himself.

"I'm sorry. Am I talking about Alex too much? Now that I'm a Christian maybe I should just try and say good things about other people."

She started to cry, and reached in her uniform pocket for a tissue. Kat put her pad and pencil down, walked over to her and put her arm around her. "Yes, Berta, saying good things about people is a great habit to get into. That's something we Christians should practice more often. We should be encouraging to one another.

"But in this case we're looking for a thief and a murderer – probably one and the same person. You were answering Kit's question in an honest way. It's okay, don't worry about it. You're just a baby in the Lord, and the Lord will reveal many things to you through the years to come. Always be honest and be not afraid, for He will always be with you."

Kat smiled at Berta. "Those are not my words but the words of Jesus. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, 'I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"

When Berta got up to leave, we assured her it was all right and she hadn't said anything that would hurt her relationship with the Lord. We told her we would see her tonight at table nine.

We still didn't have any great clues about the robbery or the murder. We were hoping that our next interview might change that.

That interview was going to be with Alex and his roommate Mike. It was to take place shortly after lunch, before we reached Mykonos. We also asked Alex to bring Ken Andrews with him, the person Mike had told about the necklace.