Murder for the Halibut (17 page)

Goose shook his head. “We think it was one of the stewards.”

“I would think that would be a hard one to prove since they all have master keys,
right?” Michael asked.

“Yes,” Goose answered. “But there was one steward who stood out among all the other
people entering the room—one who didn’t belong on that floor.”

“Stood out how?” Victor pressed.

Goose cleared his throat. “We were able to identify everyone else but him. He or she
made it a point to keep his shirt collar up and his back to the camera, as if he knew
exactly where they were. All we know is that he was about six feet tall and had dark
hair.”

“You could be describing half the crew. Tall, dark, and handsome, if I might add,”
Victor blurted before Michael shot him a look. “I’m just saying that finding someone
to fit that description on a boat loaded with foreign men might be difficult.” He
patted his partner’s hand, but Michael was still shooting daggers his way.

“That’s true, Victor. That’s why Ray and I are planning to question all the stewards,
one by one, starting tomorrow, to try to get to the heart of the matter.”

Lola turned to Ray. “Tomorrow?” When he nodded, she continued. “We only dock for ten
hours at Philipsburg. You’ll miss everything.” She turned her attention to Goose.
“Can’t you and your men handle this on your own?”

Again, a silent conversation between Ray and Goose played out before Ray turned to
her. “I’m directly involved, darling. I’m being paid to help on this one.”

“What do you mean? Why would you have anything to do with it?”

Ray took a minute before responding. “Because it was Beau and his wife who were robbed
last night.”

The mariachi band chose that precise moment to surround the table and play a lively
rendition of a “Guantanamera,” cutting off any further conversation.

When they finished, Goose held up his hand before they could begin another. “As much
as we love listening to you, we need to settle up here and get back to the ship.”

He reached for his wallet, took out a twenty, and passed it to the leader of the band.
That brought a big smile to the man’s face, and he nudged the others away from the
table.

When they were gone, Lola questioned Ray again about why it was necessary for him
to help Goose with the robbery investigation. “Did Beau or his wife get hurt?”

Ray shook his head. “No. Apparently, they slept through
the whole thing after those two bottles of make up champagne they drank.”

“What all did the thieves get?” Michael asked.

“Thief. We think it was only one person. And he got that diamond and emerald necklace
Charlese had on last night in the theater,” Ray responded. “I tried to talk them into
letting me put all their valuables in the ship’s safe, but they wouldn’t have anything
to do with that. Beau said he felt safer with him and his wife wearing the stuff.
He wouldn’t even put it in the cabin safe.”

“Guess he didn’t figure on someone sneaking into his room and taking it right out
from under his nose,” Rosie said before grinning. “His semi-comatose drunken nose,
that is.”

Jordan shook her head, still too shocked to respond. She couldn’t help wondering if
Rosie had been onto something earlier when she suggested the cruise might be cursed.

Ray patted Lola’s hand affectionately. “I’m sorry for bailing on tomorrow’s fun in
Philipsburg. I promise to make it up to you, honey. We’ll do something special in
Saint Kitts. But since I am getting paid to be Beau’s personal security, any crime
against him is my concern.”

“I’ll make sure we wrap it up quickly tomorrow,” Goose said to no one in particular.
“But don’t worry. I’ve arranged for a driver to pick you up at the dock in the morning
and take you to the marketplace for souvenirs. Afterward, he’ll drive you wherever
you want to go. I’d suggest you check out the excursions on tomorrow’s activity sheet
to see if any of them interest you. I’ve instructed him to work it out with the locals
to give you a significant discount on any of the adventures.”

“All I plan to do tomorrow is soak up some rays—after the shopping,” Jordan said,
finally pushing last night’s robbery out of her mind. Chances were pretty good the
jewelry was heavily insured, and Beau would get a nice chunk of change.

“Booze cruise for me,” Victor exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table so hard he
nearly knocked over the empty margarita pitcher. Leaning forward, he pointed a finger
at his partner. “You promised, Michael. Remember?”

Michael laughed. “Oh, yeah, and you know what? After everything that’s happened on
the cruise so far, you won’t get an argument out of me. I so need to relax and forget
about things I have no control over. Let my boss get the ulcer instead of me.” He
looked around the table. “So, who’s in?”

Only Victor raised his hand. Lola, Rosie, and Jordan all agreed that shopping and
then hitting the beach sounded better to them. Jordan looked to see what Emily’s response
would be and was surprised to see the New Yorker deep in thought, totally oblivious
to the conversation.

“Emily, will you be able to join us tomorrow for a girls’ day out?”

Jarred from her thoughts, Emily looked up and shook her head. “Unfortunately, I have
to spend the entire day on the phone taking care of company business back in New York.”
She tsked. “I swear I’m going to find someone competent enough to run the agency in
my absence without calling me every hour on the hour. I’d pay a fortune for someone
like that.” She finally smiled. “You all have a great time, though. It’s probably
a good thing I’m not going. My back’s still red from all that sun I got yesterday
by the pool.”

“We’ll miss you,” Jordan said, noticing Victor biting his lower lip to keep from snickering.

She didn’t know why he felt threatened by her friendship with Emily. He had to know
she wasn’t the type to dump old friends when new ones came along. Although Jordan
loved them all, she felt closest to Victor. That feeling went back to the very first
day when she’d arrived at the apartment building he co-owned with Michael, carrying
only a few suitcases and her goldfish, everything she’d owned at the time.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m bushed. I’m going to head back to the ship and try
to sneak in a nap before dinner,” Rosie said, covering her mouth to hide a yawn.

“Me, too,” Victor chimed in. “I’m thinking about going to the casino tonight and playing
a little blackjack. Wanna come, Jordan?”

“Are you kidding me? I’m terrible at that game. Why would I want to throw away my
hard-earned cash? When I spend my money, I want to have something to show for it.
Besides, that woman I met at the distillery told me you can get a gorgeous shell purse
in Saint Martin for about twenty-five bucks. That’s where my money’s going.”

“What woman?” Lola asked.

“You know—that delightful British woman from the other cruise ship who gave us her
drink coupons at the distillery.”

“Seriously, Jordan, you’re really not going on the booze cruise with us?” Michael
asked. “That’s all you and Victor have been talking about since he mentioned it in
Miami.”

“That was before I drank mojitos and margaritas all day long,” she responded with
a chuckle. “I have a feeling
I’m going to pay a price in the morning, and ibuprofen will become my best friend.”
She paused long enough to finish off her drink. “No sense wasting any since I’ve already
done the damage,” she said with a wink. “Anyway, I know I don’t have to tell you this,
but y’all have a great time tomorrow. We’ll meet up later and compare stories.”

The waiter appeared with the check, and everyone reached for their money to divide
the bill like always.

Emily handed him her credit card. “This one is on me,” she announced. “Trust me when
I tell you it was worth every penny to spend time with you all and not have to think
about my problems for a while. And don’t even get me started on what’s happened on
the cruise ship.”

For a moment Jordan thought she saw tears forming in the corners of Emily’s eyes,
but if there were any, she quickly blinked them away.

“I’m not looking forward to spending all day tomorrow listening to Beau go on and
on about how he should be compensated. The man has more money than the state of Texas.”
Emily laughed, but it came off as fake. Something seemed to be bothering her.

“Anyway, I may never drink again, either,” she added, lifting her empty glass for
emphasis.

After the bill was paid, the gang made their way to the door. Jordan took one final
look across the room, curious to see if the inebriated guy who had hit on Emily earlier
was still there. She spotted him staring so intensely at Emily as she walked through
the crowded room, he didn’t even seem to care that his wife—at least, Jordan assumed
it was his wife—was watching his every move with a look that could kill.

Unbelievable!
Having witnessed all the grief Emily took because of her beauty, Jordan said a silent
thank-you that she had more ordinary features and didn’t have to put up with obnoxious
jerks like that.

“Jerry Goosman! You said you’d call when you docked today. I waited all morning.”

Jordan was still concentrating on the drunken guy across the room and nearly bumped
into Rosie when everyone ahead of her stopped suddenly. A petite Hispanic woman dressed
in a tight-fitting tank top and shorts that left nothing to the imagination sprang
up from the table near the front door.

Before Goose could respond, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body into
his in a move designed to get his attention. Goose’s response left no doubt it had
worked, before a slight reddish glow crept up his face. He looked as if he’d like
to find a big hole and crawl in it.

Judging by the way the woman’s hands were all over him, she was more than a casual
friend. Jordan stole a glance Rosie’s way, noticing the disapproval in her friend’s
eyes and hoping she didn’t go off on Goose right then and there. Rosie could get very
vocal with her opinion of men who cheated, and from the looks of it, that shoe probably
fit Jerry Goosman.

The security officer used both hands to unlock himself from the woman’s embrace. “Lara,
I was tied up all day on board the ship with a security matter. We still need to talk
about that business deal we discussed, but unfortunately, it will have to wait until
next week or the week after.”

Free of her hold, Goose bolted for the door, as if he couldn’t get out of there fast
enough, leaving the young
woman with a surprised look on her face. She was probably wondering what business
deal he’d been talking about.

The minute Jordan stepped outside the dimly lit bar, the bright Puerto Rican sun caused
her to squint.

Before they crossed the street and headed toward the ship, Goose announced he was
not going with them. “You all go ahead. I just remembered I was supposed to have a
meeting with one of the business owners down the street. We’re trying to set up an
arrangement where he and several others will offer significant discounts on their
inventory to the
Carnation Queen
passengers. If that works out, it will be another terrific benefit for the tourists.”

He paused before adding, “I’ve already run the idea past the cruise director, and
he agreed it would be a coup to get a deal like this worked out. I’ll see you tonight
at dinner or at the bar later on.” He turned and walked off down the street before
any of them could respond.

The rest of the gang started across the street, all chattering at once. Right before
they went into the building that would lead them directly to the ship, Jordan turned
for one last look at Puerto Rico. She knew that given her limited budget, this would
likely be her only visit to the wonderful island.

That’s when she saw Goose. He’d apparently doubled back and was walking toward the
bar. She waved, thinking he’d changed his mind and would be returning to the ship
with them. But he had his head down and didn’t even see her. She opened her mouth
to holler his name, then quickly slammed it shut when she saw him stop in front of
Señor Frog’s. Hesitating only briefly, he opened the door and disappeared inside.

So much for Saint Jerry and his dedication to his wife back in Miami at the Alzheimer’s
facility
.

It was nine
thirty by the time Jordan and Rosie awakened from their so-called short nap. They
had slept like they’d been drugged—which, in fact, was exactly what had happened.
Inhaling deeply to clear her head, Jordan decided margaritas doubled as a good sleeping
pill. She was pretty sure if someone had wanted to come into their cabin and rob them
like they had Beau, it would have been like taking the proverbial candy from a baby.
They would have slept right through it, just as the confections millionaire and his
wife had.

Not that either she or Rosie had anything worth stealing. That is, unless you counted
the Dallas Cowboys watch her brother Danny had given her before he moved back to Amarillo.
Guess he thought that living rent free in her apartment for over a month deserved
some kind of compensation, and he couldn’t have made a better choice. Even though
Jordan knew the watch had been inexpensive—Danny was as big a cheapskate as Victor—it
was one of her most prized possessions.