Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 03 - Secrets at Sea (29 page)

When we got back onto the ship, we took the elevator to the fourth floor. Dorian got out, nodded to us and the door closed.

I glanced at Carmelita. “Rod is staying with you instead of Dorian?”

“Yes. He’ll stay with me until we dock in Long Beach.” She turned to him and smiled. “Maybe even longer.”

He blushed, which was quite a feat for a mammoth of a man with no neck and bright blue Hawaiian flowers adorning his shirt.

We got off the elevator and went to our room.

“I’m getting in the shower, Liza. I want to wash the salt water off.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll call Jack and Emily’s room and see if they’re there.”

“Good, ask them to come down so we can talk.”

I dialed their room but no one answered. We hadn’t talked about what excursion they planned for today, so they could be anywhere. I sure hoped they were all right.

After I unpacked my beach bag, I took the photo over to the couch and sat down. Both of my parents were smiling. They looked so happy. Was there even a chance they were still alive? I just couldn’t fathom their being alive and ignoring me. That would be worse than their deaths had been.

Tom came out of the bathroom. “Did you get a hold of them?”

“No, they didn’t answer.”

“What time do we leave Cabo?”

“The Cruiser Notes say the last tender is at three and we sail at three-thirty.”

He glanced at the clock. “It’s two-forty-five. I think I’ll call the purser desk and have Jack paged. They’re probably back by now.” Tom picked up the phone and spoke to someone.

“What?” he said.

“When?”

“Okay, thanks.” He hung up.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Jack and Emily both got sick in Mazatlan. They didn’t get back on the ship.”

“Oh, no,” I groaned. “Not more dead people!”

Chapter 33

Tom sat by me. “We don’t know they’re dead.”

“They both got sick, just like Adam and Melvin.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. I’ll give my friend at the FBI a call and see if he can track them.”

“Thanks. I’d feel better if I knew they were okay.”

Tom dialed his phone and spoke to his friend. He explained about Jack and Emily. He thanked the man and turned to me, “He’ll call Mazatlan and find them.”

I nodded. “Let’s go up and watch the ship pull away from the port.”

“Trying to keep yourself busy, so you won’t think about Emily and Jack?”

“Yes.”

On the Lido deck, Tom and I stood next to the railing and watched the ship turn and pull away from the Cabo coastline. Behind us the same brightly dressed ensemble played upbeat and thunderous Mexican fiesta music. It was our last day in Mexico and people were smiling and toasting each other with strawberry margaritas, today’s drink special.

I was surrounded by happiness and I felt awful. There were so many dead people, with no closure for their families and no justice for them.

As I leaned against the railing and stared at the horizon, Tom wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I leaned against his chest and put my arms on his. We stayed there for a long time.

“Are you okay, Liza?”

I sighed and shook my head.

“Thinking about your parents?”

“I’m thinking about everything. I’ve never felt so useless.”

“Useless?” Tom asked.

“Yes, with my investigations into Jessie’s kidnapping and Danielle’s death, I always felt like I was moving forward, asking questions and getting the answers needed to unravel the mysteries surrounding their tragedies. This time, I feel like all I do is accumulate questions and never resolve anything. All I get is more people dying around me.”

“None of that’s your fault.”

“I know, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Let’s skip the formal dinner tonight and just have something brought to our room.”

“No, I’ll go crazy if I have to sit around the room and think.” I took out the Cruiser Notes. “At four, the casino opens and we can go in and lose some money. At five, we’ll have sushi and go and exercise. That should keep us busy until six. Then we’ll change for dinner and get our picture taken at every picture station. I saw an ‘old-time photo’ station last night; we’ll go and do that. Karaoke starts at seven. You’ll sing until it’s time to eat. Next it’s the show and midnight buffet. By then I should be exhausted and can sleep.”

“Is that it?”

I handed him the Cruiser Notes. “Unless you can find something more.”

“No, that’s enough.”

“Then let’s go.” I took his hand and dragged him to the casino. We followed my itinerary the rest of the evening. The casino cost us each twenty-five dollars; sushi was a little fishy, but I ate it anyway. In the gym, I set the bike level to 4 and pumped away, reading the closed captioning on a news station.

On the way back to the room, Tom said, “I got a call from John.”

“He’s your friend at the FBI?”

“Yes. He said Emily and Jack weren’t seen in any hospital or clinic in Mazatlan and no unidentified bodies have been found.”

“So they just vanished?”

“He’s going to keep checking. Maybe they just took a plane home?”

I shrugged.

When we got into our room, I slid the black slinky dress on.

“You’re wearing that again,” Tom said as he buttoned the sleeves on his tux shirt.

“This will look better in the pictures than my old dresses. Plus it makes me feel better!” I scowled.

Tom stepped back away from me. “Okay, Liza. Anything you want.”

We had pictures taken twice at every station. The ‘old time photo’ station was quite fun. I forgot about what my mind was turning over and over and actually got into it. Tom dressed as a sheriff and I was a bank robber. Then he was a gambler and I was a floozy. By the time we finished, I was laughing and so was Tom. It felt good to just enjoy myself and not think.

Tom did a wonderful job singing. He even sang “Can’t Get Next To You” and sang all four parts. The crowd cheered and so did I. Justine, the woman in charge, called him a multi-talented man. She didn’t know the half of it!

Dinner was prime rib and lobster. It tasted fabulous, even though my heart just wasn’t into enjoying it. I kept glancing over at Emily’s and Jack’s empty chairs. Kenneth brought me my chocolate melting cake for dessert and I just picked at it.

After dinner we saw the show. It was called “Music Through the Ages.” They started with songs from the ragtime and jazz of the 1920’s all the way to the current rap craze. The dancers were really good, but Tom complained about the lead singers. They sounded okay to me, but he said they were off-key several times. Tom’s a music snob? Just another thing I didn’t know about the man.

We walked back to the dining room to check out the food sculptures and ice carvings at the midnight Grand Gala Buffet. A huge ice dragon hovered over fruits and vegetables carved into flowers, birds, fish, and other sculptures. Even Tom was impressed with the display. I nibbled at a few things, but was neither hungry nor in the mood. Tom, on the other hand, filled his entire plate.

“Hungry?” I asked.

“Not really, but I couldn’t decide which things to take, so I took a little of each.”

I smiled. “I think I’m starting to rub off on you.”

He laughed and put a piece of fruit into his mouth.

Afterwards we went back to our room. As we passed Emily and Jack’s room, I stopped and knocked. No answer.

Tom and I went into our room and went to bed. I snuggled in next to him and closed my eyes.

“You’ve been very quiet tonight, Liza,” Tom whispered into my ear.

“I know,” I said.

“Too much thinking?”

I nodded.

He pulled me closer.

“Is this what it’s really like being a cop?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Wanting to find the answers, but not being able to?”

“I do solve a few cases.”

“I know. But the ones you don’t. How do you live with them?”

“It depends. If I can’t find the kid who drew graffiti on the school wall, I just forget about it. But if it’s something serious, it stays with me a long time.”

“Do you ever stop thinking about it?”

“Yes, it fades with time, like everything.”

“But sometimes it doesn’t, does it?”

“No.”

“I remember how you felt ten years after you hadn’t found Jessie. You were still angry and frustrated.”

He nodded and kissed me on the neck. “But you found her.”

There had to be something about these deaths I was missing. Some clue I’d overlooked. Could it be because I was half on vacation and half trying to solve a case? Was my focus divided?

It took me a long time to fall asleep and even when I did, I tossed and turned.

When I woke up, Tom was already in the shower. I tucked the covers around me and just lay there, running all the information about the warnings I’d received, all the deaths, and my parents’ role in a possible eco-terrorist group. I couldn’t make sense of any of it. Let alone figure out who might be out there killing everyone in my parents’ cruising group.

Tom came out bare-chested with a towel wrapped around his waist. Usually that would get my heart thumping, but this morning I felt more depressed than when my parents had died. At least then I’d known why I was so unhappy.

Tom face lit up with a big smile, “Good morning, honey.”

I mumbled, “Good morning,” and walked passed him and showered.

We walked in silence to the dining room to have breakfast. I was surprised how few people we saw in the corridors and elevators. They probably all stayed up partying and enjoying themselves last night since they wouldn’t tonight. Everyone had to be off the ship early tomorrow morning.

When we got to the dining room, Tom leaned over and spoke quietly to the crewman seating everyone. He glanced at me, nodded, and sat us in a small booth by a window. The sun was shinning and reflecting off the smooth blue ocean water. It was beautiful but didn’t lift my spirits.

The waiter came over and handed us each a menu. I handed my to Tom and said, “Just order my usual, will you?”

Tom nodded.

I went back to staring at the water and didn’t hear one word that was exchanged between Tom and the waiter.

The food arrived. I took a few bites of my Eggs Benedict, but spent most of my time just moving the food from one part of the plate to another.

“I think these are better than the ones we had last time,” Tom suggested.

“Are they?” I shrugged.

He reached over and touched my face. “Come on, Liza. Let it go. It’s your last day on the cruise, try to enjoy it.”

“How can I? There’s still a killer out there and I’m no closer to finding him than the day I stepped on this ship. And then there’s the fact that four more people are dead.”

“We don’t know Emily and Jack are dead.”

“Fine, they’re just missing. I don’t think that’s a better scenario.”

He glanced at his watch. “I’m supposed to go at eleven and practice for the karaoke show.”

I forced a smile. “That’s right, you’ll be great in it. I can’t wait to see it.”

“I hope so. I’ve never sung in front of that large an audience. But I don’t want to leave you. Maybe I’ll tell them I can’t do it.”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“I’d feel better if you had someone watching you over you while I’m gone. I wish you could just come and watch the practice, but it’s against the show’s rules.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll ask Carmelita and Rod to join me on the deck. That way we’ll all be together and protected. I can ask Dorian, too.”

“Okay, but I’m not leaving you until I know that all those people are going to surround you.”

“Even Dorian?”

“The more people, the less likely any of you are going to be in danger.”

He was letting Dorian watch over me. He must think the threat is real. That was not an encouraging thought.

After breakfast we went back to our room and I called Carmelita.

“Oh, that’s great, Liza. We can have a ‘leaving the cruise’ party. Let’s meet in the bow of the boat, in the adults’ only pool section. I’m tired of all the kids.”

“Sure.”

“What time?”

“Around eleven?”

“Perfect.” She giggled. “That will give me and Rod time to shower and get dressed.”

“How is Rod?”

“Perfect, absolutely perfect!” She hung up the phone with another giggle.

“They’ll meet me on the deck at eleven.”

“Great,” he said, then glanced at his watch again. “It’s a little after ten. I think I’m too nervous to sit still. Can we take a walk?”

“Sure.” I grabbed my beach bag and we went up onto the top deck. The sun felt warm on my shoulders and the boat seemed to be moving faster than usual, but it was still a very smooth ride.

We strolled around the deck, until ten-fifty, then Tom walked me to the deck to meet Carmelita and Rod.

Carmelita had already commandeered several lounge chairs with her stuff and Rod was staring down people who tried to sit in them. They made quite a couple. Her pink bikini was clearly visible through the mesh white cover-up with gold buttons. Rod had on another Hawaiian print shirt, this one with surfboards.

I waved at them and kissed Tom on the cheek. “Good luck, love.”

“Thanks.” He smiled nervously, then handed me his cell phone. “Keep this handy, just in case.”

I threw the cell phone into my beach bag and pushed him away. “Now go!”

“How’s it going?” I said as I joined my friends.

“Great,” Rod said. “Pick a seat.”

I took the one on the outside, so they could sit together. Rod took the other outside chair and Carmelita sat in the middle.

“Where’s Tom going?” she asked.

I told her about the show and that Tom was going to sing as Frank Sinatra.

“That’s great.” She smiled. “The show is always fun to watch. A few of the crew members are in it and even the dancers participate. And some of the people on board have wonderful voices.”

“Tom does a great job singing, but he is nervous.”

“Oh honey, just get him on that stage and he’ll love it.”

“I hope so.”

The waiter came over and Carmelita ordered champagne. Rod ordered a Coke and I had a Diet Coke.

“Not having champagne, Rod?” I asked.

Carmelita patted him on the arm. “Poor baby is working, so no drinking.”

“Well, I appreciate your watching over us, Rod.”

“It’s my job,” he said.

“Is that what you do for a living?”

“No, I program computers for a consulting firm.”