The reception area on Deck 4 was dimly lit. No one was on duty at the counters for the purser’s office and the ship’s information office. Glenn walked to an unmarked door, punched a keypad, held the door for me. The minute we stepped through, the character of our surroundings changed. There was no trace of the opulence surrounding the Clio’s passengers. The cream walls might have been in any modern office building. He led the way to the fourth door on the right, held the door for me.
Naval maps were posted on one wall. Three metal file cabinets sat to the right of a gray metal desk. The desk was clear except for an old-fashioned walnut clock and a leather trifold picture frame of a smiling woman with brown curls, a teenage boy, and a younger girl. A computer screen glowed green. He gestured toward a straight chair, took his place behind the desk in a leather swivel chair.
Glenn picked up a telephone, dialed. He spoke quickly so the call must have been answered on the first ring. “Sir, we possibly have a missing passenger, Sophia Montgomery Lennox, American, last seen in Suite 6088 at—” He glanced toward me.
I reconfirmed the time. “A quarter after ten.”
“—at twenty-two fifteen by passenger Henrietta Collins. Mrs. Collins raised an alarm at twenty-three forty-one. I met Mrs. Collins at Suite 6088. It is empty. A search of the public areas is under way.” A pause. “Yes, sir. I will keep you informed.” He hung up, lifted a pen and pad from the desk drawer, looked at me, his dark eyes intent. “All right, Mrs. Collins. Why did you call for me?” His tone was uninflected, neither hostile nor supportive. Despite the hour and his unshaven cheeks, he looked alert and decisive.
I welcomed his no-nonsense demeanor. I doubted he often dealt with serious crime aboard the luxurious cruise ship, but in today’s world, terrorist attacks are possible anywhere at any time. The Clio’s staff captain as second-in-command oversaw security. Glenn had demonstrated he knew how to handle the unexpected and could be counted on to proceed with intelligence.
Most important was the search for Sophia. I wished I believed she would be found. I remembered the open doors to Sophia’s balcony and the undulation of the drapes.
I put it baldly, knowing I would have much to explain. “I was getting ready for bed when I suddenly realized that Sophia might well be in danger tonight because her husband plans to disembark in the morning in Helsinki.”
His brows drew down in a tight frown. “What’s the connection?” His cool eyes studied me intently.
“Last night Mrs. Lennox included her husband among the suspects in her fall at the Hermitage. Clearly, you believed he could have pushed her.”
Not a muscle moved in his alert face.
“If Mrs. Lennox were murdered tonight, he would be a prime suspect. If, however, he left the Clio in Helsinki and flew to London, there would be no convenient scapegoat. The only persons with a motive for her death would be the members of the Riordan family. Unfortunately, I told one of the Riordans—Kent—that Jimmy planned to leave the ship in the morning.” I looked at the walnut clock on Glenn’s desk. Already a quarter past midnight. “This morning. As I was getting ready for bed, I remembered that conversation. I thought it very likely Kent told the others. That meant tonight was the last opportunity to kill Sophia and hope Jimmy would be blamed. I called her cabin. There was no answer. I called Mr. Lennox, thinking she might be with him. I did not reach him. I called for you.”
“You interest me.” His eyes narrowed. “Why did you think Mrs. Lennox might be with her husband?”
“She hoped for a reconciliation.” Poor Sophia. Too hasty in her judgments, unable to understand hearts and feelings, seeking a love that wasn’t possible. “I spoke with Mrs. Lennox tonight in her cabin.” That sounded calm and reasoned, yet both of us had struggled with emotion. “I wanted her to have some materials her husband sent me before the cruise. They prove his fear for her safety was justified. I felt certain that she would agree after she read his letter. I’m glad to say that she did agree. She realized she had been distraught at the Hermitage and that she must have been pushed by a member of the Riordan family. She planned to contact Jimmy—Mr. Lennox—and tell him she was sorry.”
He wrote quickly, flicked me an inquiring glance. “Did she do so?” His tone was neutral, his eyes suspicious.
“I don’t know. I left her cabin then.” Had Sophia called Jimmy? Had she had time to call? What happened after I left? She must have answered a knock at the door, admitted someone. The list was short: Evelyn, Alex, Madge, Kent, Rosie, Val.
I looked at the ornate face of the clock on Glenn’s desk. I could picture the clock in a Victorian drawing room and wondered to whom it had belonged and what it meant to Glenn that he brought it to travel the seas with him. The time was 12:18. Did time matter now to Sophia?
I leaned forward. “We have to find Mr. Lennox. He must be told.”
Glenn ignored my plea. “When did you last see Mr. Lennox?”
I felt a terrible impatience to reach Jimmy. He had to know that Sophia was missing. “Thursday night. What difference does it make?”
“You didn’t see him Friday? How did you know he planned to leave the Clio in Helsinki?”
“He left me a message Friday afternoon, but I already knew he was going to make reservations. We talked about it Thursday night. I told Kent Riordan Friday morning.”
Static crackled. Glenn turned to a radio set.
“Officer Watkins, sir.” She sounded stiff and formal. “Passenger Lennox is here. He demands to know why I am in the hallway. He knocked on the door.” Her voice gave no hint of the swift search that was under way or the circumstances that brought her to Sophia’s door. “He wants me to open the door.”
I wished I were there to catch Jimmy’s hands, help him. I heard his voice in the background, sharp and worried: “Where’s Sophia? Where’s Mrs. Lennox? She left a message for me. Dammit, where is she?”
Glenn’s face furrowed. “Let me speak to him.”
The young woman’s voice was polite. “Mr. Lennox, Staff Captain Glenn wishes to speak to you.”
Jimmy’s voice boomed into Glenn’s office. “What’s going on? Where’s Sophia?”
Glenn frowned. “Mr. Lennox, I am sorry to report that Mrs. Lennox’s whereabouts are currently unknown. Come to the reception area, please.” The staff captain’s tone was curt.
“Unknown…” Jimmy drew in a harsh breath. “She’s not in the suite? Have you looked? Maybe she’s sick. For God’s sake, have this woman open the door.”
“We have checked the suite, Mr. Lennox. It is empty. Officer Watkins will bring you to my office. Please give her the walkie-talkie.”
There was a fumbling sound. Officer Watkins spoke. “Sir?”
“Bring Mr. Lennox to my office.”
“Yes, sir.” There was a click.
A crackle of static sounded. Glenn turned toward a shortwave radio, bent his head to listen. “Officer O’Reilly, sir. All public areas have been checked, including lavatories. No trace of Mrs. Lennox has been found. A search is now under way in restricted areas.”
Glenn’s face tightened. “Very well.” His voice was grim. The likelihood that Sophia was in an area restricted to ship personnel was remote. Glenn picked up the phone, dialed. “Sir, the search parties found no trace of Mrs. Lennox in the public areas. Staff areas are now being searched.” He listened. “Yes, sir. Immediately.”
He hung up, turned to a public-address system, pushed several buttons, spoke with calm authority: “Attention all passengers. This is Staff Captain Glenn. I regret to interrupt your rest but a passenger is being sought urgently. Passenger Sophia Lennox is requested to report immediately to Staff Captain Glenn. Anyone with information about Sophia Lennox’s whereabouts should contact Staff Captain Glenn. Passenger Lennox was last seen at shortly after twenty-two hundred in her cabin. She is in her fifties, American, blond, petite, slightly built. When last seen, she was wearing a pale blue linen jacket and skirt. Anyone sighting Mrs. Lennox after twenty-two hundred is asked to contact Staff Captain Glenn immediately.” After a pause to let disoriented passengers shocked to wakefulness hear and understand, he repeated the announcement twice, concluding, “Thank you for your assistance.”
I thought of the balcony to Sophia’s suite. In daylight it offered a magnificent view of dark blue water and the white froth from the Clio’s wake. Below the surface, the propellers churned, massive and inexorable, creating suction that pulled down and down and down.
When Glenn clicked off the PA speaker, I pointed aft. “Could Sophia survive if she went over the railing of her balcony?”
His eyes met mine and I read Sophia’s death sentence there. “We don’t know what happened. If Mrs. Lennox is not aboard, we have to assume she went overboard. We don’t know where or how that might have occurred.”
He didn’t refute my conclusion. If Sophia fell or was pushed or jumped from her balcony, Sophia was dead.
Glenn’s door opened. Jimmy pushed past Officer Watkins. “I heard the announcement.” His steps were unsteady as much from shock as from the wallowing movement of the floor as the ship plowed through big waves. “Have you looked everywhere?” Jimmy’s hair was tousled, his face pale. He looked rumpled in a navy sweatshirt and worn jeans.
“We have checked the public areas, Mr. Lennox. We are now searching restricted areas. Sit down, please.” Glenn was courteous, but his look at Jimmy was brooding and thoughtful.
“She has to be somewhere. Maybe she fainted. Maybe…” The ship rose and fell. Jimmy struggled to keep his balance. I gripped the edge of the desk.
A tinny voice sounded from the radio. “The search has been concluded. Mrs. Lennox was not found in staff areas. Unless she is in a passenger cabin, she is not on board.”
“Break out a larger search party. Recheck the entire ship.”
I pictured crewmen moving swiftly through the night, looking one more time.
Jimmy’s eyes were blank. “Sophia…”
I stood and reached for his hand. It felt cold in mine. Jimmy never looked at me. His face was anguished.
Glenn ignored both of us, once again speaking into the telephone. “Sir, no trace of Mrs. Lennox. Staff areas have been searched as well.” He bent his head forward, listened intently.
Jimmy jerked free of me, took a step forward. “I’ve got to go look. I’ve—”
Glenn held up his hand.
Jimmy broke off, waited. He clenched and unclenched his hands, impatient and desperate.
Finally Glenn said, “Very well, sir. I will proceed.”
Jimmy moved toward the desk, slammed his hands upon it. “She has to be on the ship.” His voice shook. “She must be on the ship. Somewhere.”
Glenn slowly shook his head, his face grim. “The entire ship has been searched, Mr. Lennox.”
Glenn’s grim face made his conclusion clear. Sophia was not on board. He gazed at Jimmy. “Where were you this evening, Mr. Lennox?”