TWENTY-TWO

 

The dining room the next morning was abuzz with speculation. Apparently, the helicopter had awakened half the ship last night. The other half, including Mama and Lenore, hadn’t turned in at that point and were still partying at the Senior Soiree. “At first we thought it would crash into us, the way those bright lights headed straight toward the ship,” said Mama. “I was terrified.”

“We all ran screaming from the lounge,” added Lenore. “When we didn’t hear a crash after a few minutes but continued hearing the whipping noise of the rotors, we walked out onto the promenade. The chopper had landed on the uppermost deck.”

“Could you make out what was going on?” asked Zack.

She shook her head. “Not really. The lights blinded us. After a few minutes it took off.”

“Ensign McGuire probably knows,” I whispered to Zack.

“Maybe not, unless she was on duty at the time. I can reach out to her and ask.”

“I’ll see if Lily knows anything.”

“What are you two whispering about?” asked Mama. “Do you know something you’re not telling us?”

“No, Mama. We’re as much in the dark as you are.”

She eyed me in that way she does when she’s trying to discern if I’m lying to her. In this case, I wasn’t, and she finally gave up. Shaking her head, she lowered her eyes to study the breakfast menu.

According to the daily GemEvents, Lily had scheduled a repeat of my first class for ten o’clock and my second class for three-thirty. After breakfast I went directly to her office for the additional patterns and instruction sheets she had promised to run off for me.

“Everything okay today?” I asked after she ushered me into her office.

She offered me a huge smile. “A thousand percent better.”

“Does your brightened mood have anything to do with the helicopter that landed on the ship last night?”

She waved her hand toward the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Once I settled into the chair, she eyed me suspiciously for a moment. “You really have no idea?”

“None.”

“Hmm…I thought perhaps you had something to do with this. If not, I don’t know how the authorities found out, and maybe I don’t want to know, but the captain is gone.”

“Gone?”

“The doctor, too. They were escorted off the ship and onto the helicopter late last night.”

“Are they under arrest?”

“At least according to the ship’s rumor mill, but that may or may not be true. I wasn’t there, and I haven’t spoken with anyone who can give me a firsthand account. All I know for sure is that they were both relieved of duty. The cruise line flew in a replacement captain to take over for the remainder of the voyage. He’s scheduled a staff meeting for later this morning. Maybe I’ll find out more at that point. We also have a new doctor.”

“What about the three bodies in the morgue?”

“From what I understand, they were loaded onto the helicopter.”

“This is good news, Lily. You can’t be implicated in a coverup.”

“That’s what the agent said. I feel like a two-ton weight has been lifted off me.”

“Wait. What agent?”

“Along with the new captain and doctor, the helicopter brought a team of FBI agents. I’ve already been questioned. I’m sure they’re going to want to talk to you and your fiancé, as well, given his father was one of the murder victims.”

Tino had come through in spades. “No doubt. Did you tell the agent about the surveillance video?”

Shock spread over her face. “No, of course not.”

“Why on earth not, Lily?”

“You know why not.”

“Do you realize you’re withholding material evidence in a murder investigation?” 

“No, I’m not. I deleted the video.”

“You’ve destroyed evidence.”

“No, the person who erased the video destroyed the evidence. I simply deleted a text message on my phone.”

A text message that contained critical information the authorities would want to see. I gave up trying to make Lily understand the severity of the crime she’d committed. If the Feds decided to charge her, she’d have to hope she could afford a crackerjack defense attorney because she was certainly going to need one.

All I could do at this point was hope Ensign McGuire had kept a copy of the video and turned it over to the authorities. However, since the ensign was either Hogan’s killer or covering for the killer, I wasn’t optimistic.

I stood. “Thanks for the heads-up about the FBI agent. I’d better start gathering the supplies for my ten o’clock class.”

Lily bit down on her lower lip. Worry settled over her face as she absentmindedly fidgeted with a pen on her desk. “You’re not going to rat on me, are you?”

“I’m not going to lie to the FBI, Lily, not for you or anyone. That’s a crime. I’ll answer all their questions truthfully.”

She bobbed her head up and down, the worry draining from her eyes. “Okay, that’s good. They won’t ask about the video because they don’t know it exists.”

I wasn’t about to tell her that the agents would quickly determine someone had deleted part of the surveillance recordings.

~*~

When I arrived back at the suite after my class, I found Zack speaking with a stranger. The two men cut off their conversation and stood when I entered the room. From his closely cropped military style haircut, dark suit, white shirt, and conservative tie, I immediately pegged the stranger as one of the FBI agents. He stood out on a cruise ship like a pallbearer in a mosh pit.

Zack made the introductions. “Sweetheart, this is Agent Aloysius Ledbetter. He’s with the FBI. Agent Ledbetter, my fiancée Anastasia Pollack.”

Agent Ledbetter tipped his head toward me as he whipped out his identification. “Mrs. Pollack.”

I nodded back. “Agent. I heard the FBI landed last night. I take it you’re here about the murders?”

“I am. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”

“Not at all.” I motioned toward the chair he’d occupied when I entered the suite. “Please, take a seat.”

As I settled onto the sectional, Zack said, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“I’d rather you stayed.”

Zack glanced over at Ledbetter. “Okay with you?”

Agent Ledbetter pulled out a notebook and pen. “Not a problem.”

I studied both men, wondering if this was interagency courtesy, but I bit down firmly on my tongue. Neither the time nor the place, Anastasia.

“Before you ask me your questions, Agent Ledbetter, would you mind answering a few of mine?”

“If I can.”

“Do you know who paid off members of the parole board to get Emerson Dawes released from prison?”

“I do. We’ve been investigating the circumstances around his release since it happened.”

“Lawrence Tuttnauer?”

“Yes, I understand you suspected Tuttnauer from the beginning.”

“I did. What I want to know now is what are you doing about him?”

“He’s being transferred to another prison.”

“Supermax?”

“No, but one nearly as restrictive.”

I slammed my fists on the cushions on either side of my body. “Not good enough!” I felt the tears threatening behind my eyes. “Lawrence was already in maximum security. It didn’t stop him from trying to orchestrate my fiancé’s murder, did it?”

Zack reached over and captured my hands in both of his. I knew the gesture was meant to calm me, but it had the opposite effect. Anger consumed me. I turned to face him. “The only reason you’re alive is because someone got to Emerson before he got to you.”

“Lawrence won’t have that opportunity again,” said Zack.

“How do you know that? Whoever killed Emerson probably did so because he wanted to collect the full bounty on your head, not share it with Emerson and...”

I caught myself before blurting out the wrong name. I wasn’t supposed to know Brown’s true identity. “…and Colton Brown. Someone killed Orson Gilbert, I suspect because he thought he was a member of our family. Emerson’s dead. Colton Brown is missing and most likely dead. Three murders, three suspects, and one unknown killer still somewhere on this ship.”

Agent Ledbetter cleared his throat. “Which is why my colleagues and I are here, Mrs. Pollack.”

I eyed him skeptically. “Do you have any leads?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

I threw my arms up in the air. “Of course not.” I failed miserably in keeping the sarcasm from my voice, but I really hated that standard law enforcement phrase. Realizing any further questioning on my part would be futile, I gave up and forced out a huge sigh. “What was it you wanted to ask me, Agent?”

“I understand you’ve seen a surveillance video of the possible suspect in Victor Hogan’s murder.”

I wasn’t surprised Zack had already mentioned the video to Agent Ledbetter. I would have been surprised if he hadn’t. “Are you juggling multiple cases, Agent, or do you believe there’s a connection between Hogan’s murder and the others?”

“We’re exploring all possible leads.”

“I don’t see how there could be a connection. Hogan’s killer is a woman, most likely one of the crew he sexually harassed or assaulted.”

“Did someone confess to you, Mrs. Pollack?”

I shook my head. “That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? I take it Zack has already informed you I was told the surveillance footage was erased?” When Ledbetter nodded, I continued. “I’m afraid the video I saw also no longer exists.”

His eyebrows shot up to his receding hairline. “How do you know that?”

“The person who showed it to me yesterday told me earlier this morning that she deleted it from her phone.”

“And that person would be?”

“Lily Moreau, the cruise director. She mentioned she’d been questioned this morning. When I asked her if she’d informed the agent of the video and turned it over, she said she hadn’t because she’d deleted it.”

Ledbetter scratched out some notes in his notebook, then raised his head and asked, “Why do you think she did that?”

I glanced over at Zack before I answered. “I think you already know why, don’t you Agent Ledbetter?”

“Humor me, if you would, Mrs. Pollack.”

“From what I’ve heard, most of the female crewmembers were victimized by Victor Hogan. Lily and the person who erased the tape and sent her a copy both believe Hogan was killed by one of the crew. They’re protecting their own because their complaints about Hogan were repeatedly ignored, both by the captain and the cruise line executives. So, unless the person who erased the tape kept a copy, it’s gone.”

“Do you know who erased the surveillance tape, Mrs. Pollack?”

“No, I was never told.”

“But you have your suspicions?”

“I would think the person monitoring the surveillance cameras at the time would be a logical candidate.”

Agent Ledbetter closed his notebook and rose. He reached into his pocket, removed a business card, and handed it to me. “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Pollack. If you think of anything else that might help in the investigation, you can reach me on my cell.” He turned to Zack. “I’ll keep you informed.”

Zack receives an I’ll keep you informed, but I get the standard I’m not at liberty to say? I studied both men as Zack stood and began to walk the agent to the door. Looks like I could add another checkmark in the Zack is a Spy column.

“There is one more thing,” I said.

Agent Ledbetter turned around. “Yes?”

“If the killer didn’t target Orson Gilbert because he thought Gilbert was a member of our party, there’s another possibility.”

Ledbetter strode back across the room and resumed his seat. Withdrawing his notepad and pen, he flipped to a blank page, ready to take notes. “Go ahead, Mrs. Pollack.”

As the agent scribbled furiously, I told him of the conversation I’d overheard between Birdy and Bunny. “Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it appeared Bunny knew more than she was letting on about Orson’s death, and she and her husband did make up that story about Orson suffering from dementia.”

He finished writing and closed his notebook. “Thank you, Mrs. Pollack. This could be pertinent information.” He then rose to leave.

As soon the door closed behind Agent Ledbetter, I asked Zack, “Anything you want to tell me?”

“A full two-hours was erased from the tape. It’s possible the woman you saw enter Hogan’s room didn’t kill him. Someone else may have entered after she left.”

“Ledbetter told this to you but not me?”

Zack offered me a wink and a grin. “Male bonding?”

“Really? You’re going with instantaneous bromance, expecting me to believe an FBI agent you’ve never met suddenly decides to divulge information about his investigation?”

Zack sighed. “Actually, Ledbetter and I have known each other for years.”

Years? I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded him skeptically. “You do realize this doesn’t look good for all those denials concerning working for an alphabet agency?”

“He’s Patricia’s cousin.”

“You’re ex-wife? That’s some coincidence.”

He held his arms out, palms up and raised his shoulders. “It happens.”

I suppose I had no choice but to believe him. “He thinks the unknown third party killed Hogan?”

“It’s one theory.”

“But why would Emerson’s killer murder Hogan? And why would he kill Hogan in a way that made it look like a woman had killed him?”

“You mean stabbing him in the heart?”

“Isn’t that more indicative of a passion or revenge killing? Either by one of his victims or a woman scorned? It’s also much messier.” I scrunched up my face. “All that blood. Why not garrote him the way he killed Emerson?”

“Perhaps to toss a monkey wrench in the investigation. Our unknown killer may have paid the woman to bring the champagne to Hogan, then swooped in as she left.”

“If that’s the case, why would Ensign McGuire erase the surveillance tape?”

“She didn’t.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“Ensign McGuire wasn’t on duty last night.”

“Then who sent Lily the video?”

“Only Lily can answer that. However, the killer may have the computer skills to make it look like the video came from Ensign McGuire.”

A person could get whiplash from all the theories being bandied back and forth. “The plot thickens.”