Death on the Bella Constance (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 6) (20 page)

“How did it go?” Bella asked as she hurried over to her
husband.

I knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever he was about
to say would be the tell-all. If there was a guilty party in this room, I would
see it on someone’s face. I watched everyone as closely as I could,
concentrating on Bertie and
Utah
the most.

“They caught a suspect!” Loukas blurted out. “They have him
in custody. The police will get to the bottom of this quickly.”

Bertie’s expression showed both surprise and fear. When
Utah
glanced over at her with that guilty look on his
face, I knew we had those two dead-to-right. They were the ones who tried to
kill Loukas! I was sure of it. I scanned the room looking for more guilty
faces, but found none… except Billy’s. I saw something on his face that didn’t
sit right. Either Loukas was telling a lie so as to trick someone into doing or
saying something incriminating, or they actually had the guy in custody, and
Loukas knew who he was… and so did Billy and McCoy. They were playing a cat and
mouse game—a game I had become very good at playing.

“That’s wonderful!” I said. “We can all relax a little. Who’s
the guy?”

“As much as I hate to say this, he’s one of the crew members
on the
Bella Constance
. Kody Franklin.”

I looked around the room. The anticipation of what was to
come next showed on Bertie and
Utah
’s faces. They were definitely the
guilty ones! I couldn’t wait to talk with Billy about those two.

“I remember him,” I said. “He was the guy who served us
drinks and appetizers by the pool.” I looked at Billy. “Remember him?”

“Yes, I do. Seemed like a nice kid.”

“So, what happened? How did they catch him?”

“The security detail caught him. They were on dune buggies.
Everybody rides them on the beach, and on the road they ride scooters. Kody
chose a dune buggy for his getaway. It seems that as Kody was running, he
turned, and then fired on the detail. Fortunately, he missed. The team went
into action. They chased him down, and as they got close—Kody was already
fleeing in his dune buggy—he hit something on the beach, flipped the buggy, and
it came crashing down on him. An ambulance was called to the scene, and Kody
was rushed to the hospital. He’s reported to be suffering from head trauma, but
they think he might make it. The next twenty-four hours will tell.”

“If he does survive, what’s going to happen to him?”

“He’s on British soil. He’s in their hands for the time
being.”

“Is he conscious? Can they question him?”

“I’m not sure, but if he is, they’ll get the truth out of
him. He’ll be heavily guarded, but Constable Daily told me I could go to the
hospital if I wanted to.”

“Are you going?”

“I have nothing to say to Kody,” Loukas said. “I’ll wait to
hear from the constable or Jamison, the head of the security team. Jamison will
be the one who gets to the truth. I have confidence in him. He has his ways.”

“Are we free to go?” Bella asked. “
Savannah
looks as if she needs to get out of
here, and Jacob has a date.”

“I knew you’d be all right,” Loukas said as he turned to look
at Jacob. “You saved my life. I knew I could count on you.” Loukas shook
Jacob’s hand—the one that didn’t have a gunshot wound to the bicep.

“I was doing my job, sir,” Jacob replied. “And I was mighty
proud to do it. I’d take a bullet for you any day. Oh, that’s right, I did.”

“We’d better hurry,” Loukas said with a smile. “We wouldn’t
want Jacob to miss out on his date. He deserves some time off.”

Dr. Welsh returned and said, “Unlike
Savannah
’s injury, Jacob’s will result in
substantial scarring.”

“I’ll see to it he’s taken care of,” Loukas responded. “If he
needs surgery to fix the scars, we’ll see to it that he gets it.”

Dr. Welsh motioned for Loukas to follow him. They had a
private discussion for a few minutes, and then the doctor bid us farewell.

“I don’t hope to see any of you back here again for a while.”

The cops were gone, none of the rest of us were questioned,
and we were free to leave. We all turned and walked away, filing out of the
clinic as quickly as possible. Ollie and his tour bus were waiting for us.

“Would you like to go anywhere else?” he asked Bella and
Loukas.

“I think we’re finished for the day,” Loukas replied.

Ollie took us back to the ship where we all gladly got off
the bus, waving to him as we did. Billy made it a point to slip him a twenty
and thank him for his services. Loukas pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and
gave that to him also. McCoy, Steven, and Jeff followed suit. The rest of the
tightwads offered nothing.

“I’m not paying him a dime!” Bertie hissed as she walked with
her sisters toward the ship. “Getting shot at was not part of the deal!”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Mabel said. “He was just driving the
bus. He had nothing to do with what happened.” Their chatter continued until they
were no longer in sight.

I was glad they were gone. I liked Mabel, and since Dorothy
took her spill and had been injured, she was tolerable. I guess she was in pain
and didn’t feel like going at it with Bertie, which made life better for
everyone around. But Bertie was another story. When I first met her I thought
she was just one of those people who complained about everything, but basically
had a good heart. Now, I know better. She’s not only a grouchy, old hag, she’s
dangerous. She hides her dark side well, but not from me. I see right through
her. I couldn’t wait to tell Billy. On this excursion, I saw things he didn’t,
and maybe, he saw things I didn’t. Once we had a chance to talk, we would put
the pieces of this puzzle together. We would find the culprit, and I had a
feeling Bertie’s name would be at the top of the list!

As we made our way on board, I looked around and saw the
beauty of
Bermuda
, not what had happened today. The
sun was low in the sky, making the colorful landscape a sight to behold. The
pastel-colored buildings were something new to me, and so was the pink tint of
the smooth, sandy beaches. It was truly a vacationer’s heaven. Of course, one
would need to bring plenty of money to spend.
Bermuda
isn’t a cheap place to visit, but then again, I guess none
of the best vacation spots are.

Bella had explained to me earlier that since the ship was
running behind schedule because of the storm, we wouldn’t be cruising to
another port. So, we would be docked at St. George for two full days before
departing for
Norfolk
. That meant we had one more day to
enjoy the islands. I wanted to spend some of that day on the beach. Isn’t that
what coming to
Bermuda
is all about? Relaxing on the beach,
and being served a drink with an umbrella in it by a tanned, handsome,
well-built male server? Not that I’d be interested in the part about the
server—my man has all those qualities, and more—but at least I could say I had
been served by one of them if anyone asked. And you know someone will ask.

I turned to Bella as we strolled along the outer walkway
heading to our rooms and asked, “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow, commander?”
I looked back at Billy, who was walking with Loukas and McCoy, and gave him a
wink. He smiled back at me.

“I’m so glad someone understands my rank,” she replied with a
huge grin on her face. “I hate it when I have to tell them who the boss is.
It’s kind of like being a Christian. A true Christian doesn’t have to tell
people they’re one. Their actions should speak for them.”

“You’ve been talking to my mother!”

“I confess. She called this morning, and the call was put
through to me by mistake. We had a lovely conversation. She sends her regards.
I told her I would have you call her later. I’m so sorry I forgot to mention it
to you. I was so excited when we left to go on our tour that it slipped my
mind.”

“Oh, Lord. What did you tell her? Bella, you don’t know my
mother. She’s not the kind of person you can joke with when it comes to her
family’s safety. She’ll be on the next flight to the
Bermuda
International
Airport
, dragging my children, the nanny,
the dogs, the cat, and the rest of the Blackhawk clan with her. And let me tell
you, you and I don’t want that.”

“Give me some credit, dear. I told her we were having a
marvelous time, and that I was sure you’d have plenty to tell her when you
returned.”

“What did she have to say about that?”

“She said she was sure you would.”

“Knowing my mother, I bet she’s called my room five times by
now. I love my mother, but once she gets me on the phone, she’ll pry everything
out of me. Then she’ll worry. Then she’ll call again… and again.”

“We didn’t just talk about you,” Bella added. “She was
telling me about having her income taxes done. She said she forgot and waited
to the last minute, but her friend,
Florence
took care of her.”

“Who’s
Florence
? I don’t think I’ve heard my mother
speak of her.”

“Sure you have,”
Savannah
said. “Flo’s Bookkeeping on Rt. 33 in Ruckersville. You pass by her building
every time you visit your mother.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember now. Mom pointed to her place when we
drove by. Mom likes to tell me when she makes new friends. They hang out
sometimes when she’s not with us.”

“She said your dogs, Thor and Athena, have been sleeping by
the door for the last two days, and that the cat has made a home on your bed. I
guess they really miss you. The children are marvelous as usual, and she’s
really enjoyed being with them… without you hovering over her.”

“I hope she hasn’t been letting them eat a bunch of garbage.”

“I’m sure your mother is smarter than that,” Bella said. “She
was happy with what I said to her. Don’t worry.”

“Jesse cherishes her mother,”
Savannah
said. “And she’s the one person, other than Billy, that
Jesse can’t lie to. And if she does, it eats away at her until she spills the
beans.”

“How did you know that?”

“Your mother told me about your getting shot when you and
Billy first got together, and the little white lie you told her to cover up the
truth. She’s uncanny. Not much gets by her. She has something else going for
her. She says there are no secrets in her family for long. The truth always
comes out in the end. Her daughters can’t help telling each other everything.”
Savannah
chuckled. “If you’re not good at
lying, or should I say, telling little white lies, than maybe you shouldn’t.
It’s a waste of time.”

“Lying and covering up stuff is part of my job!” I boasted,
and then recanted somewhat. “But not when it comes to my mother.”

“Call her today,” Bella insisted. “You’ll feel better if you
do.”

Low and behold, I never did get around to making that call.

We discussed our plans for tomorrow. I told Bella that I’d
love to spend the day at the beach as long as I had plenty of sunscreen.

“Billy told me you wanted to, and he suggested that a little
while ago. I think it’s a great idea. What do you say,
Savannah
? Are you and McCoy up for an
exciting day at the beach?”

“I’d love to spend the day on the beach,” she replied. “I
guess snorkeling is out for me.” She held up her bandaged hand.

Snorkeling… I don’t think so. I could barely swim! “You
snorkel?” I asked. “I don’t think that’s for me.”

“You have to try it first before you rule it out,” Bella
added.

“Do you snorkel, too?”

“Of course, I do.” She looked back at Loukas, saw the
discouraging look on his face, and then said, “But not this time, I guess. It
probably wouldn’t be a good idea under the circumstances.”

I thought about the dangers that could lurk under the
water—the two-legged kind—and understood her meaning. “Maybe next time,” I
said.

“So, there will be a next time?” Bella asked me.

“You bet. We have our own room on this ship thanks to you and
Loukas, and I plan to take advantage of it whenever possible.”

“Good!” Bella stated. She locked arms with
Savannah
and me, and then added, “Let’s go
have a drink, ladies. I need one.”

Loukas and Bella’s group of bodyguards were to stand guard in
rotating shifts of two at a time tonight, starting with Raphael and Sanchez.
The others were released until their shift came up. Security would be tight.

Utah
and Nell left the group to go wherever, as did Jeff and Ruby,
Jena
and Steven. The rest of us followed Bella and Loukas
to their stateroom for a much needed timeout.

Allison made drinks for everyone, and then disappeared into
another room. Jacob went to his room to rest up before his big date. The six of
us were left to enjoy ourselves. I really wanted to get Billy alone, but that
wasn’t going to happen for a while. So, we spent an hour drinking and
discussing our day.

“I thought for sure the cops were going to haul us to the police
station for questioning,” McCoy said, looking at Bella,
Savannah
, and me. “But Loukas had them eating
out of his hands before I knew what was happening. He’s amazing.”

“He does know how to handle sticky situations,” Bella
remarked. “People respect him. They know we’re good people, and we’ve put a lot
of money into this island.”

“I imagine you have,” I said. “You’re both very generous, but
I’ve said that before.”

“What good is it to have money if you don’t put it to good
use?”

After a calming visit, Billy and I decided it was time to go.
When we went to take our leave, Bella came up to me and asked, “Will you join
me at the captain’s table tonight? Loukas has his infamous poker game planned
as usual. He puts up five hundred thousand dollars prize money, which we write
off on our taxes.” She giggled. “But that’s all right, because we get to donate
to a good cause and are rewarded for our efforts. Capitalism! I love it!
Anyway, Loukas doesn’t play. He oversees the game. Players play for a
pre-selected charity, and the winner of the game wins for his charity. No one
but the charity selected profits from the game.”

“It sounds like a good deal all around. The guys get to play
poker and have fun while they play for a good cause. Good clean fun. I like
it.”

“So, you’ll join me for dinner? I’d hate to dine alone.”

“Oh, I doubt you’d be dining alone ever, but sure, I’d love
to.” I looked at Billy. “Another dinner with the captain. This should be
interesting.”

Tomorrow, we would spend a nice day on the beach.

As soon as we reached our stateroom, I pounced on Billy with
my newly discovered evidence. “Bertie and
Utah
are in on this together! I saw them arguing on the beach when they thought no
one was looking. That was just before we were shot at. You should’ve seen the
looks on their faces when Loukas said they had someone in custody! We need to
go talk to Kody. I know you can get him to tell us who paid him. We can nip
this in the bud right now. Let’s slip off the boat and go interrogate him.”

Billy walked around the room, looked in the closet, and then
checked the bathroom. He walked behind the folding screen, and then back to
where I was standing.

“Kody is dead. He died before he even got to the hospital.”

“What? Why didn’t you… oh… I see. As long as everyone thinks
he’s still alive, whoever is behind this will try to silence him. They’ll go to
the hospital! Why didn’t you tell me before now?”

“We decided not to discuss this with our wives until we could
be completely alone with them. This is hush-hush, `ge ya. The police know it’s
not over, and they want to catch the guy. They’re hoping this ruse will bring
him out.”

Billy walked over to the dresser and searched the drawer
where we kept our guns.

“They’re still here,” he said. “Kody used a snub-nosed .38,
which he probably stole from one of the passengers. I just wanted to make sure
it wasn’t us.”

“Everybody has guns! This was supposed to be a gun-free
cruise. At least, that’s what I thought.”

Billy shook his head and smiled. “I guess not.”

“If Kody used a snub-nosed .38, he must’ve been mighty close
to the road, maybe hiding behind a bush. The wise way to do it would be to use
a rifle at a safe getaway distance.”

“Yeah, I don’t think his getaway was planned out very well.”

“Perhaps he wasn’t supposed to get away. Maybe the one behind
this knew he’d be killed, or hoped he would be. Idiot. These young kids today!
They don’t think things through. Someone waves money in their face, and they’ll
do almost anything.”

“You’re right on all counts.”

“What else am I right about?” I glared at him. “You’ve been
keeping secrets from me, Billy Blackhawk! I’m your wife and partner! I want to
know everything.”

“You do, `ge ya! You know everything I do, and probably more.
I should’ve noticed the argument between
Utah
and Bertie, but I didn’t. I had my mind on something else.”

“Like what?”

“Like you, `ge ya. I kept thinking about how you must feel.
We planned a second honeymoon—and don’t think I forgot about our first one,
snuggled together in that cozy little cabin under a couple feet of snow—and now
on this one all you got was chaos and mayhem.”

I reached up, touched Billy’s face and said, “I’m having a
great time. If I wasn’t you know you’d be hearing about it. Don’t let me cloud
your mind. It could get you killed. If that happened, they might as well kill
me, too. I wouldn’t be very happy without you.”

Billy smiled. “It’s okay, `ge ya. I didn’t think about it too
long.” He leaned down and kissed me. “Shall we… no… never mind. We do have a
job to do.”

“We could.” I looked over at the bed, and then batted my
eyelashes at him. “We have the time. Dinner’s not until eight.”

Once again, Billy showed me how it felt to be made love to by
a man who wanted to please a woman… his woman.

“I don’t know about you,” I said as I crawled out of bed and headed
to the bathroom, “But even with all the craziness that’s been going on, I’m
still having a good time. I didn’t like what happened today, but at least
nobody was killed… except Kody. That’s kind of sad.” I turned on the shower and
then peeked back out at Billy. “Care to join me?”

Billy jumped out of bed and was stepping into the shower
seconds later. “Yes, it is. It’s sad that one so young was enticed into doing
something that cost him his life,” he replied as he grabbed a washcloth,
lathered it up, and began washing my back in a most sensuous way.

“That feels so good.” I just stood there and let him do his
thing until he had washed my entire body. And then he shampooed my hair! Who
wouldn’t have loved this kind of treatment? I offered to return the favor, and
Billy gladly accepted. I grabbed a washcloth and tried to make his shower as
pleasant as he had made mine. Washing his hair was a challenge considering he’s
a foot taller than me, but I gave it my best try. He got a kick out of that.

“I’ll do it, `ge ya.” He grinned. “I don’t want you to hurt
yourself trying to wash my hair. What would they say?”

“I knew there was something I loved about this cruise,” I
said as I grabbed a towel and then stepped out of the shower.

“What is that?” Billy asked as he lathered up his long, dark
hair, and then stood directly under the shower head, rinsing out the shampoo.

“The few brief moments we share together are more important
than seven days of lying around, relaxing, and doing nothing. To be honest,
when we decided to take this cruise, I wondered if I could handle hanging
around for that long without a list of things to do. Ha! That didn’t happen.
Which is good. I like the spontaneity of life aboard a cruise ship. It’s seven
days of something totally different. Now, if all ends well, it will have been
totally worth it.”

I dried off my body and then my hair with the same towel.
Billy always thought that was silly. My thoughts, as I explained to him many
times, is why dirty up two towels? My body is clean, so why can’t I use the
same towel to dry my hair? Besides, most of the time, I was the one who did the
laundry. He just went along with my pet peeve. I grabbed the complimentary
bathrobe off the hanger on the back of the door, slipped it on, and then walked
out of the bathroom.

A few seconds later, Billy walked out of the bathroom with
nothing on but a smile on his face. I knew something was up.

“What is it?” I asked. “When you look at me like that, you
usually tell me something I’m not going to like. So, give, Tonto! What is it?”

“I do have something to tell you,” he said as he wrapped the
towel around himself. “I think you’ll agree that it’s a pretty good plan.”

“I’m listening,” I said as I walked over to the closet and
opened the door. “What should I wear tonight? I was thinking of this gorgeous
emerald green one that Bella sent over… or maybe the
midnight
blue. I love them both, almost as much as I do the red one
you bought me. I like the two I brought, but they can’t hold a candle to the
ones from Bella’s Boutique. Hmm… what to wear?

“You’ll look terrific in any of them.”

“Thank you, dear, but I must choose one of Bella’s. It would
hurt her feelings if I didn’t.”

“Come over here and sit down, `ge ya,” Billy said, fearfully,
as if he was afraid I’d go off when he said what he had to say. “I hope you’ll
understand the significance behind this plan.”

“Stop! Just tell me what you have to say.” I rolled my eyes.
Men! They have to beat around the bush. Why can’t they just spit it out? Being
the evil demon seed that I am, I let him grovel.

“We have a plan. The women will dine with the captain, while
Loukas hosts his poker game. It’s something he does when he’s on the ship, so
no one will think anything about it. I’ve agreed to be at that poker game
tonight… so did McCoy. Also attending will be U.S. Marshall Wagner, Constable
Daily, Gerald Fraser—a big shot from the mental health center—and Terrance
Wallington—liaison for the Welsh Clinic. The person behind this will think we
think the danger is over, that we’re content, and we won’t be paying attention.
Kody, the sniper has been captured. Crime solved. But we know better. We know
Kody was just a flunky—sorry, but that’s the way it is—so to maintain an
appearance of resolve, we’re going to act as if everything is back to normal.
We want the ring leader to think that we are free from the fear that Loukas is
going to be killed.”

“And then the bad guy goes after Kody to silence him.”

“Precisely. The one behind this will have to do something to
take care of his problem. Either he will go to the hospital and eliminate Kody,
or he’ll get someone else to do it. He knows people will be watching, so he’ll
be sneaky. The police are also anticipating this. They have their ducks in a
row. They want to find the main man just as much as we do. It’s the only way to
draw out the rat that put this into play.”

“What happens if no one shows up at the hospital?”

“Oh, someone will show up, but if he doesn’t, we’ll have to
change our strategy. But right now, that’s all we can do. If this doesn’t drag the
criminal out in the open, we’ll have to come up with another plan.”

“While I’m out dining and dancing with young, available men,
you’ll be sitting around a poker table. I don’t know. That sounds like a raw
deal. I’ll be having all the fun.”

“Actually, I’ll be with Loukas, but sitting around a poker
table is not on the agenda. The truth is we’ll be monitoring everyone’s moments
on the ship via the computer in Loukas’ office. Well, McCoy and I will. Loukas
will be overseeing the game.”

“I don’t know, Billy,” I said. “I was hoping we could spend
more time together.” I paced back and forth pretending to be contemplating his
startling news. I turned and looked at him with the best impression of distress
I could muster and asked, “Who will I dance with tonight?”