Chapter 4
“I didn’t realize your in-laws were coming with us,” Tammy whispered to Savannah as they jostled along in the seemingly endless queue inside Seattle’s Pier 91, awaiting their turn to pass through the security check.
“I didn’t either.” Savannah shifted her heavy tote to her other arm and silently cursed herself for feeling the need to bring those extra boxes of Godiva truffles. She had chided Dirk for trying to hide a twelve-pack of his favorite beer in his suitcase. But at the last moment the thought of going Godiva free for nine days had sent her into a full-blown anxiety attack.
She’d felt a bit like an addict hiding those chocolate boxes between layers of her lingerie. She was hoping the particular security agent who examined her would have qualms about rifling through a lady’s unmentionables.
Glancing ahead in line at her husband, who was being a dutiful son, carrying an enormous shopping bag for his mother, Savannah felt a momentary flash of annoyance. But she did her best to quell it. Dirk had spent precious little time with his biological parents, having only recently been reunited with them. He was overjoyed to have them aboard.
Savannah told herself she should be happy for him.
She was. Sort of.
Though she hoped they would understand this was a working trip for the rest of the group, and the Moonlight Magnolia gang might not be free to socialize day and night.
“When did you find out they were coming?” Tammy asked, as the line moved forward an inch.
“Just last evening, when we spent the night with them. Apparently, Richard was able to nab cheap last minute tickets.”
“Cheap. Dora’s favorite kind,” Tammy whispered back, snickering. “What’s in that big bag of hers, the one Dirk’s carrying?”
“Groceries.”
Tammy’s mouth dropped. “Seriously? Doesn’t she know that on a cruise ship there’s food everywhere, and it’s all free?”
“I told her, but she didn’t believe me.”
“What did she bring? Tuna sandwiches?”
“Peanut butter and jelly. Tuna’s too expensive.”
“She actually said that?”
“She did.”
“Oh, dear. I’m surprised she’d buy cruise tickets, even cheap ones.”
Savannah watched as her father-in-law gently guided his dithering wife up to the security check, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders.
It warmed Savannah’s heart to see how kindly and lovingly Richard treated his wife—his wife whose company many other people avoided whenever possible. She couldn’t help loving her father-in-law. He embodied the very best of Dirk’s fine qualities, all rolled into one. Minus the curmudgeon factor.
“Richard bought the tickets before he told her,” Savannah told Tammy. “Her birthday is Tuesday. We’ll be celebrating aboard.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Yes. He is.”
“And she saved my life.”
Savannah nodded, remembering that dark, horrible night, when Dora’s nursing skills and calm, professional ministrations had saved Savannah’s best friend. “Yes, she sure did. I’ll be forever grateful to her.”
That brief walk down Unpleasant Memory Lane was enough to shake Savannah out of her pouty mood. By the time they had cleared security, which turned out to be much faster and more efficient than an airline checkpoint, she was excited and looking forward to boarding the luxury liner that was to be their home for the next week.
With Dirk and his parents leading the way, Granny and Waycross behind Savannah and Tammy, and Ryan and John bringing up the rear, the Moonlight Magnolia gang in all its glory exited the gigantic terminal and stepped into the golden Seattle sunlight. Although the morning had been cloudy with occasional drizzle, it seemed as though the weather itself was wishing them a “bon voyage.”
As they walked along the balcony, they could see their ship, a glistening white beauty called the Arctic Queen, just across the gangway. She was eight decks high, with the sapphire blue logo of the Star of the North Cruise Line wrapped around her middle—a line of eight-point compass stars, with their tips joined east to west.
The ship was being loaded, which was a study in organized pandemonium. Not only were tons of luggage being stowed on her lower decks, but enough supplies to feed and accommodate over a thousand guests in luxury for seven days and nights.
The Moonlight entourage made their way from the balcony and onto the gangway.
“I never thought I’d get to do this,” Granny said as they took a couple of turns, back and forth along the metal walkway, then approached the vessel’s main port side entrance. The large double doors opened into the atrium lobby.
“I’ve been dreaming of it since I was a girl, and here I am!” Gran said, her voice trembling with excitement.
Everyone in the group stepped aside to allow her to be the first to enter. As Savannah watched her grandmother step onto the ship, her face glowing with the joy of long-held dreams fulfilled, Savannah silently thanked Natasha Van Cleef for making this moment possible.
“Lordy, lordy,” Gran breathed, taking in the magnificence of the atrium. “Have you ever seen such a sight!”
Tammy and Waycross followed. Tammy’s eyes widened, as Waycross said in a deep, Georgia drawl, “Whoa, howdy! Get a load o’ this!”
Savannah could hardly blame them for being so impressed. Far grander than any hotel Savannah had ever visited, the Arctic Queen’s atrium lobby certainly knew how to impress her visitors.
Soaring four decks high, the massive room was breathtaking. From its stained glass ceiling, depicting a night sky filled with stars and swirling with the colors of the aurora borealis, to the balconies of each floor with their gilded, filigree railings, to the twin, sweeping staircases that descended to a sparkling water feature in the center of the room, the ship warmly welcomed her passengers, while giving them a taste of luxurious adventures to come.
Savannah felt Dirk’s big, warm hand close around hers as they strolled toward the center of the room. “This is great, babe,” he said. He pointed to his parents and Granny, who had paused by the fountain to enjoy the beauty of the blue and green lights playing on the water. “It’s really nice to have my folks along for the ride. Thanks for being a good sport about it.”
“No problem,” she said. “I seem to recall you tossing quite a handful of cash into that cookie jar for Granny. Turnabout’s fair play.”
She smiled and squeezed his fingers. She was glad she had chosen to be generous. Goodness certainly had its rewards, like having your husband give you a look that said he thought you were the best woman on earth.
John and Ryan left Tammy and Waycross to enjoy the fountain with the others and walked over to Savannah and Dirk. They had wide, satisfied grins on their faces.
“This is very nice, indeed,” said John, nodding enthusiastically. Turning to Ryan, he added, “We’ve cruised on larger ships than this, but none so lovely.”
“That’s for sure,” Ryan replied. “I predict this is going to be a very pleasant trip for all of us.”
For some reason that she couldn’t explain, Savannah felt a shiver run through her, as though someone had just opened a large porthole nearby and let in a cold draft.
Yes, if we can keep our client alive, she thought.
No sooner had the sentence made its chilling transit through her brain than Savannah decided to shift gears into a more serious frame of mind. With the grandeur of the ship enveloping her senses, it would be easy for her and her team to forget why they were here, and that simply wouldn’t do.
With the feel of the plush, azure blue carpet underfoot, the sparkling crystal chandeliers overhead, and the aroma of fresh-baked pastries and gourmet coffees wafting through the atrium, it was hard to imagine something as horrible and base as murder could be on any of their fellow passengers’ minds.
But that threatening note was real. Someone with very bad intentions had written it. Even if their purpose had been merely to frighten Natasha Van Cleef, they had succeeded all too well, and that in itself was an act of cruelty.
Added to the unpleasantness was the icy feeling that was crawling around, deep in Savannah’s gut. A sense that all was not well and was about to get even worse.
She’d had that feeling many times, and because it never failed to be accurate, she trusted it. The few times she had ignored it, things had turned out badly, indeed.
Things aren’t going to turn out badly. Not this time. Not on my watch, she told herself.
“Let’s find out if Natasha and her people are aboard yet,” Savannah said, leading the men past the grand Steinway and over to the reception desk.
After conferring with a purser and receiving a sealed envelope from him, she returned to Dirk, Ryan, and John. “Ms. Van Cleef left us a letter.”
Savannah scanned the note, handwritten on elegant linen paper with the scrolled monogram NVC at the top. Turning to Dirk, she said, “She wants you and me to meet her in her room soon after the ship sails. She’s in the penthouse suite.”
“Of course she is,” Dirk replied with a sniff. “You wouldn’t expect her to bunk with the pigs and chickens down below.”
“How about her entourage?” Ryan asked, suddenly all business. “Where are they?”
She didn’t like the suddenly serious look in his green eyes. It occurred to Savannah that perhaps he, too, was sensing something less than festive in the air.
“Natasha’s husband and personal assistant are in the suite with her. Her editor is aboard, too. She has a regular stateroom, like ours, one deck below Natasha’s and close to ours.”
“Those three people,” Dirk said, “they’re the only ones aboard with any connection to Natasha?”
“Presumably,” Savannah told him. “We certainly hope so. But just to make certain, we have to get our hands on the ship’s passenger manifest. Mrs. Van Cleef needs to look it over and see if she recognizes any other names.”
John looked doubtful. “There was a time, back in the early days of cruising, when passengers were given copies of the manifest and knew who their fellow passengers were. But the world is a far less open and trusting place these days.”
“With good reason.” From the inside of his jacket, Dirk took a small notebook and pen and began to scribble in it. “You wait and see. I’ll get a copy of that . . . whatever you called it. I’ll wave my shield under their nose, and they won’t dare say no.”
With a grin Savannah said, “Be sure to ask nicely and say, ‘pretty please.’”
He snorted. “Oh, yeah. I’m famous for my ‘pretty pleasing.’”
Savannah glanced over to the center of the room and saw that Granny was walking toward them, having left Richard and Dora to listen to the pianist, and Tammy and Waycross to gaze into the fountain.
She sidled up to her granddaughter, slipped her arm through Savannah’s, and said, “Okay. Enough of this dillydallying. We’re here to work, and I aim to earn my keep. What’s first on the agenda? You want me to search Ms. Van Cleef’s room, make sure everything’s all safe and sound? I’ll check under the bed and in the closets. Can’t be too careful when it’s a matter o’ life and death.”
Savannah chuckled to herself, enjoying her grandmother’s enthusiasm and work ethic. “That’s okay, Gran,” she told her. “For the time being anyway, the rest of you guys are off duty.”
“Not me,” Dirk grumbled. “I’ve gotta wring something called a ‘manifest’ out of somebody before I can relax and kick back.”
John pulled a gold pocket watch from his linen trousers, flipped it open, and said, “We’ll be setting sail in less than an hour. Would you like Ryan and me to take the others somewhere to get a pleasant beverage? Then we’ll find us all a spot on an upper deck with a nice view of the city for our bon voyage drink.”
“That would be great,” Savannah told him. “I’ll go with Dirk, just in case he needs a bit of Southern charm to ‘sweeten the pot,’ so to speak. If we get finished in time, we’ll join you.”
As Savannah and Dirk watched Ryan and John corral the group and head for the rear of the ship, Dirk slipped his arm around her waist.
“Since when are you the ‘sweet’ half of this crime-fighting duo?” he asked. “I thought when we used to play good cop–bad cop you were the mean one.”
She giggled and shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve mellowed over the years.”
Laughing, he said, “Darlin’, ‘mellow’ is not a word I would ever use to describe you. More like a wonderful mix of piss and vinegar.... That’s my girl.” He kissed the top of her head. “I wouldn’t have her any other way.”