NINETEEN

 

I stared flap-jawed at the bartender, but Zack remained as cool as James Bond would under similar circumstances. Playing dumb, he asked, “Someone died on the ship?”

“Uh, yeah. Guess you hadn’t heard, huh?” 

Zack quirked an eyebrow. “Guess not. When was this?”

“Yesterday.” Stefan twisted the bar apron tucked into his waistband. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I drizzled a small amount of vinaigrette onto my salad and stepped into the role of associate spy. “Given the number of elderly passengers on these cruises, I’m sure you must have passengers passing away all the time.”

Stefan nodded a bit too vigorously. “Yeah, that’s right. An older guy passed away in his bed.”

Zack ratcheted up his questioning. “Why would you think he was the mutual acquaintance I spoke of?”

“Uhm, you said ‘had’, not ‘have’? I took that to mean the guy is no longer alive.”

“He’s not,” said Zack. “Does it matter?”

Stefan stared at a spot on the wall over our heads. He appeared to be debating with himself. Finally, he answered, “Mr. Brown was here having a beer shortly before we set sail. We got to talking because he was the only guy in the Amethyst at the time. We’re so out of the way that most passengers don’t find their way here until they’ve been on the ship for several days. Anyway, an older guy came in all angry like and demanded Mr. Brown leave with him.”

“I see.” Zack pulled up Emerson’s passport photo and showed it to Stefan. “Was this the older man?”

The bartender scratched the back of his neck as he squinted at the image on Zack’s screen, then raised his head to answer Zack. “I can’t say for sure. Might’ve been. He was only in here for maybe a minute at the most.”

“Look again,” said Zack. “It’s important.”

Stefan looked down at the photo of Emerson once more and scowled. “Maybe.”

“But you’re not sure?”

He shrugged. “Hey man, you have any idea how many old guys are on this ship? They kind of blend into the woodwork, know what I mean? I only remember him because he was the only other person besides Mr. Brown in the lounge at the time, and he sort of made a scene.”

“Did he threaten Mr. Brown?” asked Zack.

“No, nothing like that. He was just very demanding. Like Mr. Brown worked for him and wasn’t supposed to be sitting having a beer. I stepped away from the bar when they started talking. I didn’t want to look like I was listening in.” He waved an arm to encompass the lounge. “Besides, look around. It’s not like we’ve got great lighting in here.”

“I understand,” said Zack. “Did you see Mr. Brown or the older man after that?”

Stefan shook his head again. “Only that one time.”

Another group wandered into the lounge. Relief washed over Stefan as he acknowledged them. “I’ll be right with you, folks. Take any table.” He turned back to us. “Look, I’d like to help you, but that’s all I know.”

Not quite. It was obvious Stefan knew Emerson hadn’t simply passed away in his bed last night but had been murdered in Colton Brown’s cabin. I smiled up at him. “Thank you, Stefan. You’ve been very helpful.”

“Do you think he knows more than he’s saying?” asked Shane as the bartender spun around and rushed off.

“Aside from what we already know?” asked Zack. “I don’t think so.”

Puzzlement settled over Shane’s face. “Then why was he acting so nervous?”

I speared a forkful of lettuce and hardboiled egg, pausing before I slipped the fork into my mouth. “Considering what Zack discovered on the Internet about cruise lines covering up suspicious onboard deaths, I suspect crewmembers have been threatened with dismissal if they discuss such things with passengers.”

~*~

Stefan kept his distance from our table for the next half hour until he returned to present our check. “This one’s on me,” said Shane. He handed over his cruise card.

Zack placed a twenty on the table. “I’ve got the tip.”

Stefan’s eyes grew wide as he stared down at the table. He quickly scooped up the overly generous tip, as if he feared Zack had grabbed the wrong bill from his wallet and would notice his error should the twenty linger for another moment. But Zack simply nodded.

We stepped out of the Amethyst Lounge, and I squinted as my pupils contracted from the sudden onslaught of bright sunlight. As we walked toward the entrance that would take us to the bank of elevators, I shaded my eyes with one hand while my other hand remained clasped in Zack’s.

Once in front of the elevators, Shane pressed the Down button, and we waited until an elevator arrived. “I’m heading to the Diamond Lounge to take in the upcoming Victor Hogan drama. Anyone want to join me?”

“I’ll pass,” said Shane. “I don’t want you guys starting to think of me as a third wheel.”

“Never,” I assured him. However, I did wish he’d widen his circle of friends beyond Zack and me. I realized he’d only moved from out west a little more than six months ago, but we appeared to be his only friends. If nothing else, the guy needed to find himself a girlfriend. I was seriously tempted to play Yente the Matchmaker and find the perfect woman for him.

“Thanks for that,” he said, “but I thought I’d check out the singles mixer that starts in half an hour.”

Aha! Perhaps some cosmic genie had read my mind. “Have fun!”

I turned to Zack. “What about you?”

“Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

I cocked my head and looked up at him. “You promise not to kill Victor Hogan?”

He winked. “As long as he keeps his hands off my woman. Otherwise all bets are off.”

When the elevator came to a stop and the doors swooshed open, our ears were assaulted by the reverberating sounds of anger and chaos. As we made our way toward the Diamond Lounge, the noise increased to an uproar.

Zack and I stopped at the upper entrance to the lounge, taking in the sight of hundreds of women and some men, all shouting. Some waved their fists in the air. Others held makeshift signs that made it clear this was no Victor Hogan lovefest. The man was about to step out to confront an extremely hostile audience.

Or was he?

The massive lounge encompassed the entire bow of the ship. Stadium seating that included low cocktail tables surrounded by plush armchairs wrapped around three sides. All were occupied. Below, Lily stood in front of a wall of tinted windows that allowed for an impressive view of the water while blocking out the sun’s glare. She looked close to tears as she tried to quiet the enraged passengers directing their anger toward her.

I stepped over to a group of women seated in front of us. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“According to the cruise director,” said one of the women, “Hogan has been taken ill.” She illustrated her last two words with air quotes.

“Ill with Coward’s Flu,” said one of her companions. “He’s probably cowering under his bed with a bottle of Scotch.”

“I’ll bet she warned him,” said a third woman, jutting her chin in Lily’s direction.

“I doubt that,” I said. When all three contorted their faces into masks of skepticism, I added, “Lily is no fan of Victor Hogan.”

“If that’s the case,” said the first woman, “why did she schedule him to speak?”

I waved an arm to encompass the crowd. “Perhaps she was hoping to embarrass him with a turnout like this.”

The three women grew thoughtful. One picked up her Bloody Mary and nibbled on the stalk of celery. Another sipped from a champagne glass. The third stood. “If so, it didn’t work since he’s a no-show.” She addressed her friends. “I see no point in staying here.”

The other two women agreed, stood, and marched out of the lounge behind their friend. Others began following them. Not wanting to be caught in a mass exodus, Zack and I ducked out as quickly as possible.

Since we had spent all morning indoors, Zack and I decided to find a quiet spot in a shaded area of the deck to enjoy some fresh air and the gentle warm breeze drifting over the ship as it sailed slowly from nowhere to nowhere. After strolling halfway around the ship, we found two unoccupied deck chairs under an overhang near an outdoor bar and claimed them.

The moment we made ourselves comfortable, a crewmember in a starched white uniform with a nametag identifying him as Mario from Italy appeared. He held a tray of frothy cocktails layered in alternating pastel shades of yellow, pink, orange, and turquoise. A plastic skewer of mango, pineapple, and strawberry perched atop each glass. “Would madam or the gentleman care for a Coconut Rainbow Delight?”

Madam eyed the glass of pleasure, easily five-hundred calories. Dare I? I gazed longingly at the confection before I came to my sense. “I’ll pass, thank you, but I’ll take an iced cappuccino if the bar has a coffee service.”

“No problem, madam. I’ll have someone bring you that.” He turned his head slightly toward Zack. “And for you, sir?”

“Same.”

After the waiter walked off, Zack said, “You really wanted that Coconut Rainbow Delight, didn’t you?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Only to me and Mario. Why didn’t you take one?”

“Because I need to make sure my pants still zip at the end of the cruise.”

Not wanting to talk about my weight, I changed the subject. “I really feel sorry for Lily. It’s bad enough she has to put up with Hogan’s harassment, but from what I could make out from all the shouting, it sounded like many of the passengers in the Diamond Lounge blamed her for his actions.”

Zack’s lips tightened into a thin line, the corners of his mouth dipped downward, and he shook his head. “I know, but mob mentality is often illogical. It only takes one overly loud person to spout an accusation, whether true or not, before others immediately latch onto it. Next thing you know, a conspiracy theory is born.”

“After we have our coffee, I’m going to head over to her office to see if she’s okay.”

“Want me to tag along?”

“Thanks, but I think the situation calls for a girls-only bonding session.”

~*~

Twenty minutes later Zack and I parted with me off to Lily’s office and Zack opting for a workout in the gym. I arrived to find no one manning the Guest Services desk. A sign on the counter read Be Back Shortly. Previously, I’d had to present my cruise card and state the name of the person I’d come to see. Then I’d have to wait while the crewmember on duty called Lily and got the okay to allow me entry into an area of the ship normally off-limits to passengers.

Perhaps nature had called, and the crewmember on duty had quickly rushed off to the little girls’ or little boys’ room. With no one to stop me and ask questions, I slipped behind the counter and through the doorway that opened into the corridor of offices. Unlike my earlier forays into the inner sanctum, the hallway was completely empty, although far from quiet. An angry male baritone with a slight Scandinavian accent boomed from the direction of Lily’s office.

I rushed down the hall, and around the corner, stopping a few feet from the office door, and plastered myself against the wall. Lily’s door was slightly ajar. I hadn’t intended to spy, but I didn’t think making my presence known was the best idea at the moment. I held my breath and listened.

“I don’t care how you do it, but you’d better contain this mess.”

“Me? How exactly do you expect me to do that?”

“Figure something out.”

“You can’t be serious. I wasn’t the only crewmember who entered his room. For all I know one of the other two has already said something. You know how word travels around here.”

“Make sure they keep their mouths shut. I don’t want any passengers finding out about this.”

“Isn’t that your job, sir? Covering up murder is above my pay grade.”