Death on the Bella Constance (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 6) (21 page)

I had to laugh out loud at the look on his face.

“You guys are so predictable!” I joked. “I love you, Billy.
If you have a plan, I don’t care what it is, I’m with you. I can handle a
girl’s night out with a bunch of muscular, toned, handsome bodyguards for
company.”

“Not so fast, `ge ya,” Billy said. “Just remember who you’re
married to. If some guy tries to move in on my woman, I’ll have to scalp him.”

“I got you.”

“So, you’re okay with tonight?”

The humbled look on his face won me over as usual. I stopped
joking with him.

“Whatever goes on,” I said in all sincerity. “Come back to
me… alive.”

“Trust me, `ge ya,” Billy said. “I will always come back to
you.”

I chose the emerald green gown with matching accessories. I
dressed for the occasion, admiring myself in the full-length mirror as I did
so. I also watched Billy as he strapped his snub-nosed .38 to his ankle and
then slid into his shoulder holster holding a 9 MM. He slipped his cell phone
into the inside pocket of his windbreaker, and then handed my cell phone to me.

“Carry it in your purse and keep it close to you at all
times. If anything happens, I will call you immediately.”

When the bodyguard who was to be my escort for the evening
arrived, I took his arm and joined the other ladies in the hallway. Billy and
McCoy met up in the hallway, and left together right behind us to attend their
poker game. The evening was just beginning. All of us were prepared for the
worst, knowing that something was about to happen. We put smiles on our faces,
and started our adventure.

For a brief moment,
Savannah
,
Bella, and I shared a knowing look that indicated the subject of Kody wasn’t to
be brought up. It was a secret that needed to be kept for now. This meant to me
that even the bodyguards didn’t know he was dead.

“You look beautiful in that gown!”
Savannah
said to me. “I love that color on
you.”

“Bella chose it for me,” I said as I looked
Savannah
up and down. “You look pretty nice
yourself, but you always look good in anything you wear. You’re so stylish!”

“Thank you, Jesse. You say the nicest things.”
Savannah
looked at Bella and then back at me.
“This gown was also a gift from Bella. I love the color raspberry.” She looked
back at Bella and said, “You have exquisite taste, Bella.”

“Is it just the three of us tonight?” I asked Bella.

“The girls will also be joining us.”

“The sisters from
Georgia
?”

Please say it isn’t so was my next thought.

“No, my dear. I don’t think I could put up with Bertie
tonight. My nerves are on edge enough as it is. I was talking about my girls.”

“And their husbands?”

“I assume the six of them will dine with us. I won’t know
until they all show up. Oh, the girls will come, but as far as their husbands
go, it’ll be a toss-up.
Utah
, for one, is so unpredictable. Nell
said he’s been drinking steadily since they got back on board. If he does come,
he’s probably going to be his usual rude self. Steven and Jeff are irritated
that they weren’t invited to the poker game. Those two have their moments. And…
FYI… Nell hasn’t had a drink all day. I’m so proud of her. I’m sure it isn’t
easy being married to a man like
Utah
.
I’d probably drink, too.”

“I’m so glad to hear it,” I said as we, along with our
bodyguards, took a leisurely stroll along the outer walkway up to the top deck.
No elevators for us tonight.

“Where’s Allison?” I asked Bella. “I thought she was your
personal bodyguard.”

“I left her with the men. She’s going to make sure they have
plenty to eat, and as little to drink as possible. I told her to make strong
drinks the first time around, and then water down the rest. She can handle the
job. Besides, I want to be escorted by a man, not a woman. I can’t dance with a
woman. What would the passengers think?”

“Heaven forbid!”
Savannah
gasped in jest. “They might think you’re a lesbian!”

“They all know better, silly goose. They know who my man is.”

“Then you have nothing to be concerned about.” I snickered.
“You could dance with Allison. Heck, I’d even dance with you. How about you,
Savannah
?”

“I’d dance with you, Bella.”

“Now, you’re both being silly. Come on,
Tex.
Let’s show these ladies how to have a good time.”

“Yes, ma’am,”
Tex
replied.

“Ah, ha!” I said, recognizing
Tex.
“I knew you guys looked familiar, but you weren’t the same bodyguards who were
with us today. You work in the observation room on the captain’s deck.”

“That’s us,” one of them replied. “I’m your escort for the
evening. Remember me?”

“Aren’t you Malcolm?”

“That’s right. Good memory.”

I looked at the third man who was escorting
Savannah
and said, “Your name is Roland,
right?”

“Very good. Your memory is excellent.”

“That’s my job.”

The dining room was full of well-dressed passengers, and, as
usual, the room fell silent when
Savannah
entered. She flashed her charming smile, and the crowd went wild. They clapped,
cheered, and then a few tried to approach her. Roland stepped forward, politely
shielding her and said, “Mrs. Kelley…”

“That’s okay, Roland. I love to chat with my readers.” And so
she did for several minutes before excusing herself.

We were led to the captain’s table where
Jena
, Nell, Ruby, and the captain were seated when we
arrived. They stood when Bella approached, and waited for her to sit down
first. What respect! It must be nice to get that kind of treatment.

As expected,
Utah
, Steven, and Jeff weren’t present.
Nell said that
Utah
was so drunk that he passed out on
the bed, and would probably be in the same spot when she returned.
Jena
and Ruby confirmed Bella’s suspicions that their
husbands were so irked about not being invited to Loukas’ poker game, they
wouldn’t leave their room.

“Then I guess we will, in fact, have a girl’s night out,”
Bella said. “We’re going to have fun.”

The bodyguards took their place beside each of the women they
were assigned to protect, making it a little difficult for us to chitchat, but
that was to be expected.
Jena
, Nell, and Ruby sat next to each
other, sans bodyguards. I wondered why Bella hadn’t arranged for her own
daughters to have protection until she looked at me and said, “I know what
you’re thinking, but don’t worry, Jesse. Those men you see walking about are
always watching after my girls.” She looked around the room, did a little head
shake to indicate who she was talking about, as
Savannah
and I watched.

“I should have known.”

The seats where the sisters from
Georgia
had sat during our last dinner at
the captain’s table were empty. Thank goodness!

Shortly after I had sat down at the captain’s table, my
stomach started doing its thing. I felt as if it was already out on the dance
floor, and had left the rest of my body behind, sitting in the chair. I
couldn’t shake the bad feeling that had come over me ever since Billy said that
we would be separated tonight. I know he can handle himself, but it’s the other
crazies out there who concern me. What would happen if… Stop! I told myself.
Billy knows what he’s doing. He’d never send me out with a bunch of ladies
without strong backup and a good plan. I knew that whatever was going to happen
would take place tonight, but I prayed that it wouldn’t. When things went down,
I wanted to be by Billy’s side.

Bella leaned over and spoke with the captain, who immediately
got up and walked over to a table where a woman was sitting by herself.

“I hope you all don’t mind,” she said. “Earlier, I invited
that woman to join us, but she’s sitting over there alone. Perhaps she forgot.
She’s got a lot on her mind, so I sent the captain to escort her to our table.
She’s all alone on this cruise, and she’s sad. Her father, her only living
relative, just passed away. She literally is all alone in this world.”

“Bella, you have a kind heart,” I said. “Bring her on over!”

The captain escorted the woman over to our table and seated
her on the other side of Bella.

“I thought you had forgotten my invitation,” Bella said.

“No, I didn’t,” the lady said. “I didn’t want to intrude on
your family gathering.”

“Nonsense, my dear,” Bella said as she motioned for her to
sit down. “Please have a seat.”

The woman scanned the faces at the table, and then said, “I’m
Lara Sweeney. I’m pleased to be dining with you all.”

Bella took over and did the introductions. After she had
finished, she added that Lara was from
Williamsburg
,
Virginia
.

Something inside my head clicked. Lara Sweeney from
Williamsburg
—didn’t I hear or read something in
the paper about a woman whose husband was murdered in the Farm Fresh parking
lot about ten years ago? I don’t know why that memory flashed into my mind, but
as soon as it did, I recognized her face from the newspaper article. It was
definitely her. I thought about it for a minute. It seems that her poor husband
had driven her father to the grocery store, and the minute the father stepped
out of the truck and walked toward the back, someone came up on his side and
shot him in the head. Killed him instantly. Her husband was murdered, and now
her father had died. How sad.

I glanced over at Bella. The look that passed between us was
that of knowledge. I knew she knew that I knew. Neither of us said anything. We
didn’t have to. I would not bring it up, unless Lara said something first.
Bella knew she could count on my silence.

Pleasant conversation flowed, good food was served, and
everyone was enjoying themselves, or so I thought, until
Jena
, Ruby, and Nell excused themselves abruptly. I looked
over at Bella and said, “I hope they weren’t offended by anything I said.”

My statement was meant to be a joke because I hadn’t said
anything bad... for a change.

The behavior of Bella’s three daughters gave me pause,
especially
Jena
’s. She never showed anger toward her
mother. Were they somehow involved in the plot, too? Families don’t always get
along, and sometimes deeply-buried animosity can rise to the surface. Was this
one of those times?

Bella smiled and replied, “They’re jealous that I’m spending
so much time with you and
Savannah
. They’ll get over it. Tonight, they
seemed bored, or maybe they were preoccupied with their husbands. Who knows?
I’m not going to let their whiney ways keep me from enjoying myself. Besides…”
Again, Bella smiled that incorrigible smile of hers, looked at
Savannah
and continued, “I have a surprise
for you, my dear.” She looked at the crew member who had just walked over to
Savannah
with a bottle of wine wrapped in a
white linen cloth. “I know you’re not much of a drinker, but I also know that
you have a fondness for one particular
Virginia
wine.”

Surprised,
Savannah
looked at Bella and said, “No, you
didn’t!”

The crew member held out the bottle of wine and said, “Stone
Mountain Vineyards—Bacon Hollow Revenuers’ Select—Virginia Table Wine. A fine
choice if I do say so myself.”

Savannah
looked at Bella, shook her head and said, “You’re the best, girl. Only you
would come up with something like this!”

“Bacon Hollow?” I questioned
Savannah
. “Is that the same Bacon Hollow that’s in
Greene
County
?”

“Yes, it’s the same. They have a terrific winery there. I
can’t believe you’ve never been to it. You just have to go there sometime.”

“That’s a new one on me. I didn’t know there was a winery in
Bacon Hollow. I’m still not going there… winery or not… I know all about Bacon
Hollow. You go in there and you don’t come out.”

“Oh, Jesse,”
Savannah
said, chuckling. “You listen to too
much small town gossip.”

I looked at Bella and said, “I bet it’s expensive.”

“No, not at all,”
Savannah
replied. “Wine doesn’t have to be expensive to taste good. I had a glass of it
at a party once, and I actually enjoyed it. That doesn’t happen very often.
Alcohol in any form is usually not my cup of tea. But this wine is the best.”

“You should do a commercial for them.”

“I don’t think so. I like the wine, but wouldn’t want to
encourage the use of alcohol.”

The waiter/crew member opened the bottle of wine and poured a
glass for
Savannah
. She took a sip and gushed, “Like
heaven to my palette.” A few seconds later, two crew members appeared with more
of
Savannah
’s favorite wine, and began filling
glasses for the rest of us.

I looked over at Bella and said, “You treat your friends
well.”

“I try.”

A security team member walked over, bent down, and whispered
something into the captain’s ear. The captain, startled, looked up, and said,
“You’ll have to excuse me, folks. Duty calls.” He got up and left the table in
a hurry.

“My... my,” I said, looking at
Savannah
and then Bella as he walked away. “What do you make of
that?”

The three of us stared at each other. We’d been waiting for
someone to show up at the hospital where Kody was, and now the captain had been
called away. A coincidence? None of us thought that. Yet, I was probably the
only one who had my suspicions about the reason the three daughters left so
quickly… and now the captain shortly thereafter.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Bella whispered.

“I don’t think so. I’m going to call Billy.” I said in a
hushed tone. I pulled out my cell phone and excused myself. I walked over to
the exit and into the hallway, hitting the number to speed-dial Billy.

“Hello,” Billy said after two rings. “What’s going on, `ge
ya?”

“Bella’s three daughters left all of a sudden, and then the
captain conveniently got called away. None of them surprised me with their
exit, except
Jena
. I’ve never seen this side of her.
Bella claims they’ve let the green-eyed monster get the best of them. She says
they’ll get over it, but I don’t know. They just got up and left the table
without an explanation or anything. I wanted you to know.”

“I know,” he said. “We’ve been watching you on the computer
monitor. Jesse, go back to the table and enjoy the evening. We have everything
under control on this end.”

“Okay,” I responded. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. We’re on top of it.”

I closed up the cell phone, walked back over to the table,
and sat down. “Please excuse my manners,” I said, looking over at Lara, and
then the rest of the group. “I wanted to make sure my husband wasn’t losing our
vast fortune.” And then I laughed out loud.

“The players aren’t putting up their own money,” Bella said.

“I was just kidding, Bella. I wanted to make sure he hadn’t
found a beautiful woman, and…”

“Hogwash,”
Savannah
said. “You’re hiding a secret.”

“I have many secrets, darling.”

After a few glasses of wine and several dances with our
bodyguards everyone seemed to let go of their tensions. Lara Sweeney suddenly
opened up about her father’s death. “I recently found out that my father had my
husband killed. He told me this on his deathbed.”

“What?” I asked, stunned by her announcement. “Are you
serious?”

Bella looked aside, knowing what was to come.

Savannah
,
being the wife of a lawyer, said, “Maybe you shouldn’t be telling us this.”

“It’s all right. Everything is out in the open now.” Lara
seemed to have a need to tell someone about the death of her husband, so we
listened. “Ten years ago, I married a man who made me feel like a queen. He
lavished me with affection, flowers, gifts, and after two weeks, he told me he
loved me. That’s what I needed, and he knew it. He asked me to move in with
him, but I said no because my father wouldn’t approve. A couple of weeks later
he had talked me into giving up my apartment, dumping most of my furniture, and
becoming his fiancée. He bought me the most beautiful ring. We were going to
get married, so my father looked the other way about our living arrangements.
And then one day he stopped by unannounced and caught my husband in the middle
of one of his outbursts of anger.”

“If he had anger problems, why did you move in with him?”
Savannah
asked.

“He wasn’t like that until after I moved in. Once I moved in,
he changed.”

“Classic abuser,” I said. “They win you over with the
attention you need, get what they want, and then try to control you. They wear
you down until they have complete control over every aspect of your life. They
separate you from your family and friends.”

“You sound as if you’ve been there.”

“Not me, but a friend of mine was in an abusive relationship.
Fortunately, her abuser was killed in a car accident. I say fortunately because
I believe he would have eventually beaten her to death.”

“After we got married, things got worse. He turned violent,
and one day he slapped me. The violence escalated, so I finally broke down and
told my father. I was so ashamed. My dad told me to leave him, but I was
convinced I could help him. During my dad’s deathbed confession he told me he
already knew about the violence and was determined to put a stop to it… and he
had.”

“How did he…”

“He came to dinner one night, and I had forgotten to buy
parmesan cheese for the spaghetti. He offered to go to the store, and then my
husband jumped up and offered to drive him. My dad knew he would. He did things
like that. Nice to everyone, but me. I knew I’d catch it later. I dreaded the
moment dinner would be over and my father would leave.”

A sad smile came to Lara’s face. “When they got to Farm
Fresh, my father got out of the truck and started walking toward the store when
the shot rang out. A man had come up to Robert’s side of the truck and shot him
dead. Dad told me he put on the act of his life. He yelled out my husband’s
name and then ran back to the truck. There were several people in the parking
lot who saw him walking away, and then turning around after the gunshot, so he
had witnesses that it wasn’t him. He yelled out my husband’s name again, and
then ran back to the truck. No one saw the man who killed Robert, and he was
never caught.”

“But your father knew.”

“He planned the whole thing. If Robert hadn’t been killed in
the grocery store parking lot, it would’ve happened somewhere else. Dad had
gotten his old friend, Jonas, to do it. You see, Mom and Dad were good friends
with Jonas and his wife, Shelly. Mom died before I even met Robert, and then
Shelly died, so Jonas and Dad kind of took care of each other. They were good
friends. Jonas died a couple years back, so the only person alive who knew who
killed Robert was my father. I went to the police and told them the whole
story. I had to. It was a cold case and eventually someone would come around
asking questions again. Once I found out the truth, I felt obligated to settle
it once and for all.”

“What did the police have to say?”

“What could they say? The man who killed my husband and the
one who planned it were already dead. There was no one to go after.” She looked
around at all of us and said, “Please don’t think badly of my father. He was a
good Christian. I’m sure it ate him up, but when it comes down to protecting
your child, a person can only tolerate so much.”

“I agree,” I said. “My sister’s ex-husband, who was not
abusive at all, pushed her and she fell down the stairs. She had a miscarriage.
I wanted him dead, too.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t go out and kill him,” Lara replied.

“I wanted to. I even had visions of him being eaten by a
bear. We live in the mountains, and that wouldn’t be unheard of.”

“My father asked for my forgiveness, and I told him if that’s
what he wanted, I would forgive him, but he didn’t need my forgiveness. I
thanked him for saving my life. I’m just glad that I had the gumption to tell
him about Robert. Right or wrong, what my father did, he did to save me. Where
do you draw the line when it comes to your own flesh and blood?”

I had been listening to Lara tell her sad story, and didn’t
realize how much it was affecting me until I started feeling angry… then sad…
then that grey feeling took over… and then I felt sick to my stomach. Here was
a woman who had been through a nightmare, and just the thought of how her life
must have been with an abusive husband blew me away. I had to change what I was
feeling, so I raised my wine glass and said, “Here’s to gumption! I hope we all
have plenty of it!”

Everyone raised their glasses to my toast and sipped their
Bacon Hollow wine.

When we lowered our glasses, Bella stood up, raised her glass
again and said, “Here’s to courage!” She looked over at Lara, and then back to
the rest of us. “You only need a little bit to do what you have to do.”

We all stood and joined in her toast. “Amen!” we said, and
then sat back down.

I couldn’t help but feel as if I should give comfort to Lara.
I excused my rudeness to Malcolm and leaned across him to put my hand on hers.
“Your father did what he had to do to protect you,” I said. “It’s time to put
the past behind you and move on with your life. You did nothing wrong. I’m sure
your father is in heaven right now smiling down on you, and hoping you will
start your life anew. Do it for you, and do it for him. Don’t carry this around
for the rest of your life.”

“That was so touching, Jesse,”
Savannah
said. “I think I’m going to cry.” She looked at Lara.
“Jesse’s right. Listen to her.”

The cell phone in my small clutch bag went off, playing the
tune from
Magnum, P.I
.

Everyone smiled… even Lara.

“It’s Billy,” I said. “Something must be up.”

“You don’t have to get up from the table. We all want to know
what’s going on. Please… sit and answer it!” Bella said with urgency. “It might
be important.”

Everyone at the table started whispering to each other as I
reached in my purse, pulled out the cell phone, and flipped it open. Before I
had a chance to say hello, Billy jumped right in. “Utah Hawks showed up at the
hospital and was taken to police headquarters for questioning.”

My jaw dropped. I knew Utah Hawks was a bad person, and now
he had proved it. He went to the hospital to silence Kody and got caught.
Hurrah! The threat to Loukas was finally over. I couldn’t wait to hear what
Utah
had to say for himself. How would he explain his way
out of this one?

“My… my. What a tangled web we weave when we set out to
deceive… or however the line goes. See! I was right on the mark, wasn’t I?”

“Is that Billy?” Bella whispered across the table.

I put my finger to my lips to shush her, and then nodded my
head in agreement.

“He’s not our man,” Billy said.

“How can you say that? They…”