Doesn’t anybody believe me?” Ivy screamed.
As one, the Oklahoma Readers and Writers group yelled, “No!”
At the Reilly-Meehan table, the three couples exchanged worried glances.
“I’ve been to a lot of murder mystery weekends,” Nora said, “but no one ever sounded as convincing as Ivy. I don’t think this is an act.”
“She definitely believes she saw something,” Regan agreed.
Dudley was sitting nearby. He jumped up and ran to Ivy. “Miss Pickering, I know you’re trying to have some fun on this cruise but . . .”
Ignoring Dudley, Ivy ran to Alvirah’s table. “They all think I’m joking. I’m not. I saw Left Hook Louie in tartan plaid boxer shorts in the chapel. He was warming up for a fight. Like this . . .” She started jumping up and down and stretching her arms.
With a regretful glance at her as yet untouched crème brulée, Alvirah hoisted herself out of the chair. “Let’s go take a look,” she said.
“We’ll all go with you, Miss Pickering,” Jack said decisively.
“Thank you. Call me Ivy.”
Not wanting to wait for an elevator, they took the companionway up to the Boat Deck. Nora tucked a reassuring hand under Ivy’s elbow as they started down the corridor to the Chapel of Repose. She’s trembling, Nora realized. She’s really scared.
“I just wanted to take a peek at the chapel because I’m sending an e-mail to my mother . . . I don’t care how good it is for you, I hate salad. Besides, they didn’t serve the salad on time. I thought I’d take a few minutes to check out the chapel while everyone was chomping on their rabbit food. Maybe even say a prayer for my mother. She’s eighty-five, but still going strong. Sharp as a tack. She took up yoga. It’s been wonderful for her. She goes to church every day. That’s why I knew she’d be interested in what the chapel here was like. . . .”
“The chapel is very special to the Commodore,” Dudley said quickly. “He was hoping someone would decide to get married on this cruise. The chapel is perfect for any special occasion. . . .”
Jack pulled open the ornate chapel door. The sanctuary was in darkness except for the faint glow of the outside lights filtering through the stained-glass windows. “Ivy, was the light on when you got here?”
“No. I pulled open the door and saw the switch right away. It has a glow. I flicked it on and . . . ohhhhhhhhh. But I did not turn it off when I left!” she added positively.
“We plan to encourage our guests to turn out lights whenever possible. It’s so wasteful to leave on your cabin lights when you go to dinner. The Commodore is very concerned about global warming,” Dudley explained, then realized that no one was paying attention to him.
Jack reached over and flicked the switch. The overhead and side lights went on, illuminating the chapel. Ivy pointed to the side of the altar. “That’s where he was jumping and stretching. Left Hook Louie! I know it sounds crazy, but he was here. Or at least his ghost was here.”
“Ivy, did he say anything to you?” Alvirah asked. “I’m sure he wouldn’t have wanted to scare you like this. After all, you’re honoring him on this trip.”
“No. He just stared at me. The boxes with a special classic edition of his first book, Planter’s Punch, never made it on board. Maybe that upset him.”
“Planter’s Punch?” Regan asked.
“Yes. Left Hook Louie’s boxer-turned-detective was named Pug Planter. That first book was a huge bestseller. But as I said, the classic edition we were supposed to sell on board never made it to the ship on time.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “I know all about books not arriving where I have an appearance scheduled.”
“The books didn’t arrive, but Left Hook Louie certainly made an appearance!” Ivy insisted. “I know it has to have been a ghost. But I always thought you could see through a ghost. And he was making a lot of noise when he was jumping up and down.”
“You say he was next to the altar?” Jack asked as he walked up the aisle.
“Yes. He was right there.” Ivy pointed, following Jack.
Regan noticed that the heavy damask cloth covering the altar was askew. She picked up one corner and looked underneath it. There was nothing there.
Alvirah glanced under it, too, and, always the cleaning woman, smoothed and straightened the altar cloth.
“I know what you’re all thinking,” Ivy said. “That I imagined this whole thing. But I’m telling you I saw a man in boxer shorts. If it wasn’t Left Hook Louie, it was his twin.”
“Ivy, did anyone in your Readers and Writers group know you were coming up here?” Regan asked.
“No. I didn’t know I was coming myself.”
“It doesn’t look as though Louie left anything behind,” Jack observed.
Ivy cast a quick suspicious glance at Jack to see if he was being sarcastic.
“Someone might have been planning a practical joke,” Jack theorized. “Perhaps you caught him practicing up here. Do you know everyone in your group?”
“Some I know better than others. A couple of the husbands I’ve only met a few times. But none of them look like Left Hook Louie.”
“You have posters of Louie all over the ship. Maybe someone on board is planning to surprise your group at one of your seminars,” Alvirah suggested. “Naturally you were so frightened when you saw him that you only had the quickest of glances, then turned and ran.”
“I know what I saw,” Ivy insisted. “I saw someone who was a dead ringer for Left Hook Louie.”
Luke had been standing by the last pew. Something on the floor just inside the pew caught his eye. He leaned over and picked up a small metallic ball with slits and a smaller solid ball on the inside.
“What have you got there?” Nora inquired.
“Got where?” Alvirah asked, her ears always capable of hearing a whispered conversation three rooms away.
Luke walked forward and held out his hand. “It’s probably nothing. Unless Left Hook Louie had this sewn to his boxer shorts.”
Alvirah took the tiny ball and shook it. It made a tinkling noise. “They use these all over for Christmas decorations.” She smiled. “We’ll keep it as evidence.”
Dudley’s heart nearly stopped. He knew that that little bell had come off one of the Santa Claus caps. Could it have been from one of the stolen caps?
With a last look around, Regan turned to Ivy. “You look as though you need to relax. Would you like to have a nightcap with us?”
“I’d love to!” Ivy replied enthusiastically. “Maybe the Readers and Writers group isn’t on my side, but you all are, and I couldn’t be happier.”
“We’ll figure out what’s happening on this ship,” Alvirah promised heartily.
Dudley wanted to cry. The only reason for this cruise was to generate good publicity for the Royal Mermaid. To let the world know what a wonderful ship it was and how perfect cruising on the Mermaid would be, to encourage people to open their wallets and hop on board. Now with these busybodies the whole thing could turn into a public relations nightmare. The first commercial sailing of the Royal Mermaid would resemble a ghost ship.
Dudley couldn’t let that happen.
He just couldn’t.