Untitled (28 page)

    "I hate that movie. It's stupid. Who'd believe that plot?" And Ida is snoring again.

    Evvie jumps up and down. "
I
believe that plot! That's what these guys did. There was no hired killer. They exchanged wives. Strangers on a Ship!"

    I'm right with her. "That's what the key cards were really for. That's how they picked their target!"

    "We solved it!"

    "Not yet. There's a piece missing. I have to call Amy."

    I get up and head for the phone.

    "You can't." Evvie puts her hand on my arm. "It's the middle of the night."

    I stop in my tracks. What was I thinking? "You're right. I'll ask her tomorrow morning. She doesn't know it, but she holds the key to the motives of those evil boy toys."

    I'll never be able to fall asleep now. But who cares?

    I smile. Gladdy Gold is back on track.

T
he ship is fairly deserted by now. Everyone's

    gone sightseeing in St. Thomas, though the sky outside seems to be threatening rain. We're practically alone in the dining room. The Sicilianos. Amy Larkin. Me and my girls. Only Sophie and Bella are scarfing down goodies from the wonderful spread in front of us. Ida still eats carefully. Evvie nibbles. But Angelina, Amy, and Elio aren't interested in food; they only want to know why I called them together so early this morning. None of them look like they slept much last night, either.

    I'm drinking too much coffee, trying to keep myself alert after my own sleepless night.

    "When should we go to the captain?" Elio asks.

    "Maybe after this," I say.

    I've already filled them in on what Evvie and I discussed last night. Ida is still incredulous that we actually figured it out by watching
Strangers on a
Train.

    "Bob Martinson," Amy murmurs. "Now it comes back to me. It was his voice I heard behind me before I fell. He pushed me."

    Angelina and Elio are stunned. Jo's husband is on this ship!

    Elio says angrily, "If he's here, I'll find him."

    Evvie says, "I already checked the entire passenger list. He isn't on it."

    "Maybe he's a waiter," Bella says, looking furtively at the staff now setting up for the first lunch seating.

    "I doubt it," says Ida. "He wouldn't take a chance on being spotted by Amy. And if he knew Angelina and Elio were on board, he'd be twice as cautious."

    "A sailor," Ida suggests. "No, forget it, that's too complicated. He couldn't just get on board whatever ship he wanted."

    I say it. "An entertainer. Using a stage name."

    "The MC?" Ida asks. "He was one of the last guys on board."

    Angelina says in a strangled voice, "Jo's husband, Bob, taught Latin dancing."

    "You mean like the cha-cha?" Bella says timidly.

    Now it hits. "Roberto?" moans Sophie. "Our gorgeous Roberto?"

    Sophie and Bella look at one another in despair.

    "How dumb we didn't get it right away," Evvie says, smacking at her head. "We were so impressed with his helpfulness, we never paid attention to the fact that
he
was the last man back at the ship."

    "And he didn't want to go on the search with us, but Sophie and Bella forced his hand." Ida sips at her now-cold coffee.

    "But he must have figured that way he could make sure Amy was dead. I'll bet when he saw that she was still alive, he panicked. No wonder he volunteered to run for help. He wanted to get away. He didn't want Amy to see him," I say.

    Elio is on his feet. "Where is that slimeball's classroom? Let me at him."

    "Wait," I tell him. "We can't do anything until we talk to the captain. He's dangerous. We don't want anyone hurt." I look at Amy.

    "You had a question?" Amy tears up little bits of her blueberry muffin. She's picking at her food but not eating.

    "I do. Something must have happened before you went on that trip or during. Something that you've forgotten?"

    "I can't imagine what."

    "Think, Amy," Evvie prods her.

    The waiter comes by carrying coffeepots. Elio waves him away.

    "The only thing that comes to mind is that I almost didn't go on the first cruise at all. But that can't mean anything."

    "Why not?" Sophie can't stand the suspense. She wants to move this along.

    "My dog died. My beloved Poopsie."

    "Poopsie?" says Bella, laughing.

Sophie nudges her, laughing along with her.

    "I loved that dog! She was my angel. I had her for fifteen years. Nobody loved me more than that doggie did!"

    Bella and Sophie quickly wipe the smiles off their faces.

    "Harry had no sympathy at all. He, who worked with animals, said I was being a sentimental fool. Besides, he was a cheapskate. With my money. We'd already paid for the cruise so we should go. I was so angry at him."

    Sophie and Bella now murmur sympathetic sounds.

    "That's all I could think of. What could I do to honor Poopsie's special memory? So I decided to leave the majority of my money to the SPCA, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I made up my mind to change my will."

    She sobs quietly into her napkin. "Poopsie . . . Poopsie . . ."

    "Oh, my God," I say. Slowly some of the others are getting it, too. "You didn't happen to take that will along with you on the ship, by any chance?"

    "Of course I did. I needed to write it all up the right way . . ." She breaks off. "Oh, no."

    "Harry found it," I say.

    Evvie is right with me. "And told the other guys."

    "No, it can't be . . ." Her eyes are wide with fright.

    "Lot of booze, drugs," I continue. "The guys were worried. More than worried. Suddenly this was a warning. A threat to their security. And they decided if one wife didn't keep to her part of the bargain, would the other men be safe? What whim might cause any of
their
wives to change their wills?"

    This time Ida picks up the ball. "They weren't going to take any more chances. They were going to collect all their money now."

    "And there's your motive," Elio announces.

    Everyone stares at Amy. She leaps up, overturning her chair. Her eyes are wild and frenzied. "I didn't mean . . . I wasn't thinking . . ."

    She starts to back away. "I didn't think how Harry . . . I was in mourning, for God's sakes!"

    She's running now. "I killed them! They all died because of me!"

    She races out of the room. Everyone is speechless.

    Except for Bella. Mulling over the meaning of it all. "It's all Poopsie's doing. Getting revenge for that stupid name."

W
e race after Amy down the hallway. But there

      is no consoling her. We all try. She is in a state of hysteria, flailing her arms, hitting her body against the wall. She is taking the blame and holding it tightly to her being.

    It's heartbreaking to see her this way. I feel my own sense of guilt for having brought her to this state.

    Finally Angelina suggests we take her to the infirmary. There she is given a sedative.

    We leave her under a nurse's care with the warning that no one is allowed in except us.

    I'm at the door when, in a quivering voice, Amy calls my name.

    I turn and look at her. Her face is pale. Her hands are shaking.

On the way back to our stateroom I pick up a wall phone. I call the captain and tell him I must see him at once. It's a matter of life and death.

    "Yes, well, that's not possible right now," he says. "Don't you feel the ship rocking? We have a storm situation brewing, Mrs. Gold."

    "You have to batten down the hatches and all that stuff," I say.

    "Precisely. All that stuff."

    He's about to hang up. "But when?" I demand to know.

    "All right. Come up at five. The conference room, upper deck. By then we'll be well out to sea. If I have to change our appointment I will call you."

    Before he can hang up again, I tell him, "I'm bringing seven people, maybe eight, so be prepared."

    "Seven? Why not twenty-five? Shall I serve cocktails?"

    Boy, does he know how to do sarcasm. I thought a captain needed people skills. "That won't be necessary, sir."

    "Why am I not surprised at anything you say or do, Mrs. Gold?" is his droll retort. "Is it all right if I hang up now so I can save the ship from sinking?"

    "Yes, sir," I say smartly.

We stay in our stateroom all day, trying to keep a low profile until we can meet with the captain. We play cards, rest a little, and try not to worry about Amy.

    Now I look at Bella and Sophie. "What is 'Roberto' teaching today after everyone gets back from touring?" I ask the totally demoralized duo.

    "Salsa," they answer in tandem.

    "And we have a lesson at four," says Bella, "which, of course, we're not keeping."

    "Maybe you should," I say. "Look, you'll have just enough time before we're due at the captain's. It's better than just waiting and pacing."

    Sophie and Bella cling to one another.

    "No, you can't make me go." Bella is actually stamping her foot.

    "I'd faint. I'd stutter. I couldn't look him in the eye." Sophie is equally adamant.

    Evvie gets into it. "You have to. Robert already knows the two of you. He'll believe you if you tell him that all Amy remembers is that she tripped and fell."

    "I'm too scared. I'll start to cry," Bella adds.

    "If you don't show up for that lesson, he'll get suspicious," I say. "Listen, I'm not sure we're right to do this. Either way is a risk."

    Ida, who is sprawled across all three of our mattresses, eating macadamia nuts, now scrambles into a sitting position. "What a pair of wusses! I'll go. I can look that viper right in the eye and lie through my teeth."

    "You're hired," I say.

    Bella is curious. "Ida, you know how to dance?"

    "I got feet, don't I? So I'll dance."

    "I'd go," says Evvie, "but I don't want to leave Amy alone for too long."

    "What are we, chopped liver?" Sophie says, annoyed. "Can't we watch her?"

    "We'll all three stay with her in the infirmary, together," says Evvie.

    "All right," Sophie answers, only slightly mollified.

    We'd left Angelina and Elio in their stateroom. I'm sure they needed to be alone after our shattering meeting. What a terrible shock for her to know her cousin had been murdered. By her own husband, trading her off to be killed by another man. Elio, to my surprise, is turning out to be some
mensch,
gentle with Angelina and very grateful to us.

    Even though I'd seen Bob Martinson's photo at Gossip, and seen him at the Boca funeral, I didn't recognize him on the dock. The sombrero was distracting. Maybe on purpose. But then again, at that time I wasn't looking for Bob. I only saw "Roberto."

    "But Angelina said Bob Martinson is blond with green eyes," says Bella, confused. "Roberto has black hair and brown eyes."

    Sophie looks at her balefully. "Haven't you ever heard of hair dye?" She pats down her Wild Strawberry Blonde coif. "And what about contact lenses?"

    Meanwhile we are noshing on whatever goodies we have stashed in our room, since some of us hardly ate breakfast and we all missed lunch. I watch the clock. The dance class will start in about twenty minutes.

    What a day so far! I desperately need a nap, but I'm too revved up to sleep. I guess I'm going out dancing.