Cruise to Murder (Z & C Mysteries, #2) (12 page)

“
Yes, ma’am. May I ask if you are relatives of Lewis Kipperman, ma’am?”

“No. Mr. Kipperman is a
lso an antique car buff, of which I had acquired a couple, and he bought. We became friends, as we have other antique interests in common. He has been a great help to me in that area.”

“He is a good man,
ma’am.”

“I discern that you are
, too, Rod,” Claire responded.

“Call the desk if you need anything. You need only lift the phone. Your food orders will be up in about twenty minutes.”
He smiled as the elevator doors closed.

“Wow, Mom. It’s good to have friends in high places. I feel totally safe here.”

Once in their suite, Zo called out, “Five minute showers each and Detective Bennard will have to interview us in plush hotel robes and slippers. I will send to have our clothing cleaned.”

Soon both ladies were showered and looking
slick with damp hair, wearing comfy pink robes and slippers. “That was quite an experience, Mom. There wasn’t one direction that didn’t have a shower head blasting with nice steamy sprays.”

“Yeah, I’m glad that we got to use one turn-on
knob for all those. Can you imagine if we had to regulate each shower head for the right temperature?”

The doorbell chimed. “That must be the detective.” Claire went to the door and pushed an intercom button. “Who is it?”

“Detectives Bennard and Smith.”

She unlatched the door.

About that time the elevator opened to the foyer with a service cart of lobster dinner for four.

“Just in time, detectives.
I ordered dinner for four… Kind of a bet that you’d bring someone with you.”

“We were just saying how hungry we are
,” said Smith with a huge smile.

The waiter set everything up very
nicely at a glass table. As they ate, Smith took notes between big bites. Pretty soon the note pad was filled and everyone continued talking about the Koona Caves where it was revealed the police and FBI knew something was going on, but they couldn’t get the connection. The fact that there was a well tunnel was a big find.

After dinner
some lemon sherbet dessert had also arrived with almond cookies to be enjoyed. Claire nibbled as she borrowed a laptop Smith brought. She wanted to show the detectives the cameo pin. Since Butch had pocketed it, she had to get into her email to show a picture. Fortunately, Claire had messaged herself earlier the photos she took at Mr. Belmont’s from her phone. After entering her password, she opened the link, and with great excitement showed the two men.

“This is amazing.” Bennard scooted the screen to see from his angle. “What are these documents there, you took pictures of?”

“We don’t know. I am not very good with math or chemistry. Just English,” Claire admitted. “I’m an editor.”

“I recognize some of it.” Smith raised his eyebrows and his face paled. “These diagrams show formulas for nuclear warfare—those are the abbreviations for Plutonium and Uranium, right there.”

“I knew I brought
you
for a reason,” Bennard said. “Hurry, slide through the other pictures. What else do you see?”

“It looks like some sort of secret code, here. I don’t know. Go the second…”

“Mile?” Claire offered.

“No, no.” He studied it a moment longer. “Each of these phrases has a similar pattern.” He grabbed his notebook and started sketching possibilities. “No, no,” he muttered to himself. He sketched some more. “Yes, Nuke! Nuke is the word. This is more than enough evidence that there is a dirty bomb on the island!” he said to his companion.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“I didn’t say anything,” Bennard responded with wide eyes, “because it was only a suspicion and we couldn’t prove it. But there has been Internet chatter that there is a bomb on this island somewhere.”

He made a quick call to headquarters.
“Get a hold of the Feds and all the people having to do with nuclear crime. IMMEDIATELY! Get ten people on this. Get Thoms, Billings and his people, and… and Roberts! Make sure Roberts calls me A.S.A.P! Okay!”

His phone
soon rang. He answered and said “Uh huh” a lot, hung up and looked at Zo and Claire with a serious face. “Good news and bad news.”

“Let’s have it.” Claire braced herself.

“We got the tribe you guys call
zombies
at the cavern. They are in jail. But there was no chief. I think you guys are safe staying here. I’m going to go back to the office now, so I can detail work from there. Keep in touch always, even hourly if anything out of the ordinary occurs. What is important is that you keep me posted. You are also my eyes and ears.”

“We will do that, believe me,” Claire assured.

“What is your plan of procedure, detective?” Zo asked.

“We will interview all the prisoners. And, look further through those caves to see if we find more. We have to find whatever would point to a nuclear bomb
, which would transcend into thousands of deaths—not just a few murders. Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

“Ohhhh,” Zo took a breath and said with a rather mundane attitude, “
we’re used to it.”

Claire blurted out a giggle in a hi
gh-pitch tone, influenced by nerves. “Sorry.”

The next day, breakfast was great and their clothes had been cleaned and returned. The bunny had investigated the entire suite and used the cat box, like Zo expected. The bunny also chewed through a lamp cord, that fortunately only had electricity if it was turned on at the wall.

R
oom service brought up a surprise basket of goodies for the girls. As they received the gift graciously, the doors to the elevator across from them were still open. The service man got in and pushed the button to go down. As the door had just inches left to close, the bunny shot out the suite for a ride down.

“Mom! The bunny got out into the elevator!
” she called.

“Let’s go get him, then.” Zo headed in a trot.

As Zo and Claire reached the bottom floor and the elevator door opened to the lobby, they spotted the little furball take yet another elevator. “That bunny!” Zo blurted in frustration.

They ran over, but the doors closed on them. They watched some numbers light up, until it paused and stayed on the number three. “He’s on the third floor!” said Claire.
They pushed the button and soon the doors opened. They pushed “three” and waited to be brought to the third level. When they got off and looked down the hallway, they were just in time to see the bunny enter a room.

Claire was about to go knock on the door and ask for the bunny back
, but Zo restrained her. “Wait. Not so fast. I don’t think that the bunny was acting randomly. Let’s wait and see what happens—a stakeout so to speak.”

They decided to wait around a
corner, where an ice machine was, and watch until the door would open. It wasn’t long, actually, until someone was coming out. They stepped back, allowing themselves to just peek. Since the man did not look their direction, but went immediately to the elevators, there was no need to pretend they needed ice.

After he left, they cautiously walked down to the
room. “Well, this is where the bunny is.”

“Yep
,” answered Claire. “Would we be so fortunate to find the room open?” She tried the door. “Nope.”

“But look who is coming down this way.”

The maid was taking dirty towels out from rooms and leaving new towels.

“
Do you have a piece of gum, Claire?”

“
Yes, but why?”

“Quick, chew up all pieces you have and give it to me. We have to wait, back at the corner.”

“Okay.” She put four sticks into her mouth and worked to chew them up really good. “Who would have thought that this was hard work when you’re in a hurry? Sort of like running through water.”

Finally, the maid got to the bunny
’s room, unlocked the door and went in. The door was left ajar.

“Give me the gum.”
Zo held out her hand.

After she had
the pink mass, she ran down the way and peeked into the room, pushing the gum into the door catch, and then ran back. Just as she got around the corner, the maid came back out placing the dirty laundry into a plastic bag and went on her way to the next room.

When the maid disappeared
, Zo and Claire made a dash. Zo pushed at the door. It opened. When they got inside and shut the door, they found the bunny laying on the bed. His ears perked and eyes opened to see the two, but he did not move.

“Okay, this is our chance
, sweetie. Mind your Es and threes.”

“
I will. You watch your Ps and Qs.”

They started looking around
, opening drawers.

“
Not too much here.” Claire picked up a book that was tucked into a nightstand drawer. “I guess they don’t do Bibles anymore. This is a book on hypnotism. What is the world coming to?!”

“Yeah
,” Zo answered. “You can’t trust who you are talking to these days, because they are probably hypnotizing you.”

“Puts a new spin on the reason
for so many divorces these days. People eventually
come to
.”

“
That makes absolute sense,” Zo said as she slid open a closet door. “Oh, oh. Would you look at this?!”

S
he pulled down a thirty gallon plastic bag with feathers sticking out. She pulled out a gold mask, a black wig with red beaded ornaments, and a gold cloth wrap. “Have you got chills yet?”

“
Put it all back exactly as you can, Mom, so we don’t alert whomever it is that owns that stuff. Then we can get the police up here.”

“Are you putting two and two together yet, Claire? The bunny…? The bunny at the well…
The bunny in the cavern at the platform?”

“O
hmygosh! Larry the Great is a fiend!”

“
Yes! That is the wildest but truest answer.”

“Ladies!”

Throughout their search and find, they had not been paying attention to the hallway and door. They were totally taken by surprise.

“This is terribly unfortunate, girls. I can’t let you leave here, now can I?
” Larry smiled. “Oh, by the way… gum? You two are really clever and yet so dumb.”

He
started to reach inside his beige, silk coat for what Claire knew to be a gun. Then, another surprise!

Butch
entered the room. “The door was open and… Zo and Claire? What are you two doing here?”

“They are room invasion artists.
” Larry finished pulling out his gun.

“Butch, you are a constant disappointment. At first I thought you just a coward. But I never figured you for a mass murderer
,” said Zo.

“Mass murder
er?” Larry said. “Oh, you must mean the nuke. Wow, I really underestimated you two. Your boyfriend is getting paid well for his loyalty.”

Butch was standing next to Larry, smiling. “That I am.”

Larry motioned with his weapon for the two ladies to sit down on the bed. “I’m not going to shoot you. I have a better idea.”

Zo and Claire sat down and noticed Butch disappeared again.

Larry tied the two back to back and around a bedpost.

“I knew there was a screw loose, ever since Claire told me you didn’t give her a real kiss,” Zo said.

“The first night on the cruise Claire was a lovely part of my card trick. Later, I had to invite you two to my after-party and get cozy, so I could see just how much you knew.” He cinched the cords tighter. “My followers were informing me that you two had the pin. Luckily, while I was having a meeting with my associates at The Pirate’s Galley, I saw the broach and knew the rumors were true. I went over to your table to perform a magic trick, so I could distract you two while Mike could snatch the pin.”

“You just added another reason to my list for how guys have used me,” Claire remarked.

“What about all the voodoo dolls following me around?” Zo inserted.

“Voodoo dolls?” He smiled. “Those are just part of the traditions I exploited to get close with the Koonas. They thought of that on their own. I just wanted them to retrieve the pin, and then out you.”

“They just listened to you?” Claire remarked, astounded.

“Yes, they accepted me as their leader. It was quite easy.” He pointed to the book on hypnotism. “I just say the words, and they follow my every command.”

“What a ‘charmer’ you turned out to be. What are you going to do now that you have me and my daughter tied up?”

He grabbed his bag from the closet and a briefcase. “See the clock on the nightstand?”

They looked. “Yes.”

“When it says 9:34, you two are dead.” The clock showed 9:33.