They sat on the open stools at the end of the counter, waiting as Tonya brought drinks to another passenger. She took their room number and then made her way to Rex and Viv.
"What can I get for you two?" She looked right at Rex, ignoring Viv.
"Nothing for me," Viv answered, eyeing the woman up and down.
"Some answers and a latte for me," Rex said.
"Give me a minute." Tonya returned with a mug for Rex and a water for Viv. "I need to make it look like you're sitting here for a reason, so I brought water." She paused to add, "Would you like a wedge of lemon for that?" She pointed to Viv's glass.
"Oh no, I'm fine." Viv sensed that something was off with Tonya. She's acting deliberately distant, at least with me. I wonder what went on with those two…
Tonya watched as Rex took a sip of his latte. "I've been waiting for this,” she said. “You asking me questions. I guess I always figured you'd realize that I was involved."
Viv glanced at Rex from the corner of her eye. Involved in what exactly?
"I am a mentalist," he replied. "I can read people's minds."
Viv did her best not to look startled. For their entire acquaintance, or friendship, he'd insisted he didn't read minds. Now he was telling Tonya that he did. What's he up to?
"That's why you knew." Tonya sighed.
Viv took a sip of water as Rex and Tonya stared at each other across the bar. I'm no mind reader, but they don't seem closely connected to me.
Viv cleared her throat. "Knew what exactly? Will someone tell me what's going on?" She made her voice sound just a bit helpless, as if playing the role of an innocent bystander. And then she nearly giggled, remembering another role. One she'd played years ago. Decades actually. A musical called Guys and Dolls. She was in high school.
Given the part of Miss Adelaide, the school paper called her performance wooden and inauthentic. It had hurt at the time, when her potential career as an actress tanked before she'd turned sixteen. But now Viv thought she was doing an admirable job playing the clueless girlfriend.
She hid her amusement by dabbing her lips with the paper napkin. This isn't a role I'm playing now, she reminded herself. I really have no idea what these two are talking about.
"Jon Jon and I were in a relationship," Tonya began. "Until he died."
Viv made every effort to suppress her surprise. She blurted out, "Who was Jon Jon?" Why two names? I assume he's an adult…
"The previous mentalist," Tonya said quietly. "You knew, right?" She blinked at Rex.
"What do you mean, died?" Rex sounded genuinely shocked. "I was told he didn't show up for work and that's why they hired me in an emergency."
"He showed up for work," Tonya said. "But he lost his balance or something and hit his head on an elliptical. They took him away."
"I knew it!" Viv couldn't contain her excitement. She tugged Rex's sleeve. "That's the guy. Finally someone admits what I saw!"
Rex frowned. "But that makes no sense. Jon Jon was staff. He'd work out in the staff gym. He wouldn't be allowed to use the lido machinery." Rex looked behind him at the expanse of machines near the glass.
"Oh, he did a lot of odd things," Tonya said. "He liked to come up here just as the passengers came on board. The management didn't have the capacity to reprimand him because they were so busy.
"He liked to think he could get away with things. You know, it made him feel powerful. Not like the rest of us—underpaid and in fear of being fired.
"I warned him to stop, but he only laughed at me. Then I figured his in-your-face behavior was part of his mentalist persona. You're the second mentalist I've met, so it’s not like I had experience." She looked imploringly into Rex's eyes as if for confirmation.
Viv watched the red creep up Rex's neck. Interesting. Tonya may be on to something there.
"I've been known to be—what can I say?—a bit pompous and opportunistic,” he admitted.
And a ladies’ man, Viv thought. Did Rex and Jon Jon also have that in common?
Rex glanced over Tonya's head toward the lineup of coffee mugs and tumblers behind the bar. “That's why you had the crystal ball. You said it was Jon Jon’s, right?"
"I kept it," she sniffed. "He told me to hide it in plain sight during the day. It was part of his playfulness, letting me hold on to the ball. I'd sneak it to him right before each show and then he'd give it back. Usually when we met later."
Viv's eyes lit up. "I bet there's a recording device in the crystal ball. Is that why he wanted you to keep it? This is such a public location, you'd be able to overhear lots of conversations and help him out with his act."
Tonya frowned. “No, I never helped him. He knew everything himself.”
Rex turned to Viv. "Jon Jon must have put a recording device in the hollow bottom of the globe so he could get people’s information himself. How did I miss that? I looked the globe over but never unscrewed the bottom half."
Tonya interjected. "Do you mean he wasn't psychic? I thought all mentalists were…"
"He could have been psychic," Rex admitted. "But he most likely used other ways to assure himself he'd have the information necessary when he got on stage."
Similar to Rex, Viv thought.
“How long were you two, you know, together?" Rex turned the topic back around to Tonya.
"We'd get together on every cruise to Hawaii. Once we figured out we were, you know, a couple, we lined up our itineraries. It's encouraged by Aloha Cruise Lines. They like couples traveling together. And when we link up, it keeps employees from getting bored and almost guarantees they’ll stay longer with the company."
"Not in the old days," Rex muttered. "They used to have stricter policies."
"Maybe things changed," Viv said in an agreeable tone.
By now Tonya warmed to her topic. "At first Jon Jon and I just ran into each other a couple times of year. But lately we've signed up on back-to-back tours. Until he had that accident." Tonya's eyes brimmed with tears.
Viv had heard enough. If we spend too much more time with her, we'll have no choice but to pack and get going. And then Robert Redford will get his way.
"Was Jon Jon single?" Rex asked.
"Yes, as far as I know." Tonya dabbed at her eyes with a napkin.
"Any close family?" Viv continued.
"He made a big point of saying he was unattached." Tonya looked perplexed before turning to Viv. "I felt guilty not admitting to you what I knew, but I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. No fraternization with passengers, you know.”
“Yes, I remember.” Viv turned to Rex. She figured by their line of questioning they were on the same page. "So there won't be a wife or sister or cousin to meet him on the dock when we get to Honolulu?”
Rex picked up on her point. "So no one would miss him if he were to be thrown…"
Viv sent Rex a sharp glare, hoping he'd get her drift and end the conversation; she did not want to finish Rex's sentence.
If Tonya figured out that Jon Jon may have been shoved overboard, she might burst into tears and then they'd need to comfort her. Crunch. The window of opportunity would close as the passengers debarked, sniffing their welcome leis, rushing to get in line for the hotel transports.
To her relief, another passenger arrived at the coffee bar. Tonya went to take his order. "Let's go," she told Rex.
He followed her across the room to a corner table, where they sat down.
"So the previous mentalist…" he began.
"Was named Jon Jon," Viv finished.
"And he must be the guy you saw fall off the elliptical," Rex concluded.
"If he was, then he may also be the guy you saw pushed off the promenade deck," Viv added.
"And without a wife and close family, no one would ask about his whereabouts." Rex frowned.
"So Aloha may have been betting that Jon Jon might not be missed right away, if ever," Viv said.
"They started their false narrative by telling me he just didn't show up." Rex sounded terse. "I don't like being lied to."
"But that's my problem with this explanation. They knew he wasn't going to be their mentalist before I saw him fall off the elliptical. The timing is off. Unless of course they planned to injure him…"
Rex didn't answer but looked over when he heard a voice coming from the coffee bar. "Hello, Miss Bertha," came Tonya's voice.
Bertha Alcott rested her cane against the bar and leaned over to speak.
"I'll get that right away," Tonya said.
When Bertha turned around, she locked eyes with Viv.
Viv smiled at the older woman and gestured to an empty chair. She spoke in a low voice to Rex. "I think the Old Lady of the Sea is coming our way. Would you grab that empty chair so she can sit down? And watch out for that cane. It gets in the way. I nearly took a fall just the other day."
Rex stood and pulled out a chair just as Bertha arrived at their table. "You two finally found each other," she said. "I just wanted to say hello, but I don't have time to stay for a chat. Have to get to the memorial on deck three." She hobbled back to the bar as Tonya handed her a to-go cup.
Bertha didn't take the cup. Instead she directed, "Would you have a steward deliver the drink to the chapel? I'll need fortification for the service. Memorials are always so sentimental." She leaned heavily on her cane, making her way toward the exit.
Viv needed no other reminder. "Let's wait for Bertha to go first. Then we'd better follow. I want to be there for that memorial."
Rex waited for Viv to be seated before he took the chair on the aisle. He'd explained to Viv, "I want to be close to the food. Maybe Cricket will be there."
Viv estimated some sixty people were in attendance, seated in folding chairs arranged so an aisle was left in the middle. She wondered, Why would people take their vacation time and attend a memorial?
They most likely didn't know Sandi's father. She shook her head. I bet it's because people are kinda bored before we disembark, and they dropped in to see the ashes tossed into the sea. Take a few selfies with the captain, and off they go.
And then on cue, a man held up his camera to take a photo of his wife standing in front of the table where Daddy's wooden box had been placed. #SayingGoodbye, Viv thought.
She looked for Sandi and found her sitting in the front row. Separated from Daddy, she looked forlorn. How hard is that, not having other family to support you at a memorial for your father? Viv felt a heaviness over her heart until the Old Lady of the Sea made her way down the aisle. Heading to the front, she raised her hand in the air, offering a queenly wave to people already seated.
After turning in the aisle to bestow a smile on all of the mourners, Bertha sat down in the front row.
Sandi has company at least. And who better than Bertha Alcott.
Rex leaned closer to whisper, "I want to have a word with Cricket. She's setting up the table with the food. I intend to interrogate her about locking you in the morgue."
"I found that body bag stuffed with clothing in a morgue," Viv said. "I also find it kind of hard to believe that there would be a morgue on a cruise ship."
"Fernando confirmed it was the ship's morgue," Rex argued.
"And when did he tell you that?" Viv said.
"Right before I saw you. Last night. We had a long talk." His eyes narrowed.
Viv lifted her chin. "Get back to Fernando. What did you tell him?"
Rex shook his head. "Not now. We can talk later about him. And from what he said, I'm now certain that the cold locker was behind that other door."
"So off you go. Have a chat with Cricket. See what her story is and then hurry back. I think the captain just arrived. It's time to bid Daddy a final farewell."