Masked to Death (A Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery Book 5) Page 3

  We all watched with bated breath. Ronnie held her legs straight out, turning herself into a letter L, and hand over hand she climbed back up. The woman had some incredible muscles. When Ronnie’s hand touched the top of the rail, William pulled her over.

  Ruth clapped her hands. A large diamond on her left ring finger sparkled. “Marvelous. Didn’t I tell you the shows on the Serenade were breathtaking?”

  “Will you be performing in other aerial acts?” Glenda asked. “You’re amazing.”

  “Not on this sailing. I’m here as a guest for a wedding.” Ronnie’s face glowed with happiness and exertion. She unlooped the scarf from the rail and secured it back around her waist, the knotted ends nestled against her belly button. “I told you it was no problem.”

  “You’re about to have one.” The annoyed guard’s gaze shifted away from Ronnie and toward the wall where a phone was located.

  “If you tattle, the cruise will be delayed.” Ronnie said. “No one wants to miss a port because a performer did an impromptu performance. No harm came to anyone.”

  The other cruisers voiced their agreement with Ronnie.

  “I’m sure you don’t want to explain to the captain why you allowed me to do it.”

  “I told you to stop.”

  Ronnie grinned at him. “I didn’t hear you say it. Did anyone else?”

  I let out a syllable then shut my mouth, not wanting to make enemies of the rest of my muster station group. Everyone else was willing to forget what he said.

  “Let’s finish the drill. We keep the life jackets at the station rather than requiring passengers to return to the cabin if there’s an emergency.” He showed us where the life jackets were kept before demonstrating how to put them on. “Are there any questions?”

  The group shook their head in unison.

  A loud buzz echoed through the air. “Good afternoon,” the captain said through the speakers. “The muster drill is now over. We’ll be pulling away soon. Everyone please join us by the pool for the sail away party to start off our Mardi Gras celebration.” The captain continued speaking, but I couldn’t hear him over the dull roar of my station buddies leaving.

  William held out his arm to Ruth. She rested her hand in the crock of his arm and walked away, chatting away about some jewelry pieces on her buying list. “I told my friends you were just the man to help them. Paul wants to find a unique piece for his wife. Their fiftieth anniversary is coming up.”

  “Gemology is only a hobby of mine. I’m not an expert.”

  “Glenda loves the pieces you picked out for me, and that’s what matters.”

  Gems were a hobby. I filed away the information.

  Ronnie unlinked my tiara from her bra strap and placed it on my head. “I’ll see you at the wedding. I must have a chat with my brother.” She tilted her head in William’s direction.

  Her earlier words about being alone buzzed around in my head, annoying me so much I had to release them. “I thought you didn’t know anyone on this sailing.”

  “My brother being here is a surprise.”

  From the expression on her face and her icy tone, I knew this surprise fell into the same category as finding your spouse in bed with someone else or your husband killing someone and blaming you.

  THREE

  John was spying on us—me—from behind a column halfway down the eighth deck. He motioned for me. I hesitated. His gestures became a little more frantic. Instead of going back to my stateroom and freshening up for the ceremony, I headed toward John. He pivoted away, strolling toward the end of the deck and away from me. What was that about?

  I glanced over my shoulder. Bob and Garrison, debonair in their matching white tuxedos, were walking toward the stern of the ship where the wedding was taking place. I hurried and caught up with John, making sure the couple didn’t witness my dash.

  “There’s a problem.” John placed a hand on the small of my back and directed me toward some deck chairs situated behind a group on a family reunion. He released me and pointed at the chair.

  I dropped into it. “Besides the grooms almost spotting you?”

  John sat in the lounger beside me. “Yes. The captain sent word that he knows Bob is a private investigator and Ted’s a homicide detective. He wants me to ask them to help.”

  “What did you say?”

  “The captain is occupied at the moment, so I haven’t spoken with him. I’m going to let him know I have acquired assistance that’s adequate for this job.”

  I had a feeling I was the adequate assistant. “What if the captain disagrees with your help’s qualifications?”

  “I’ll remind him I was a FBI agent for almost four decades and am now a consultant for them, and I agreed to do this for free, so he shouldn’t ask either of my sons to investigate the matter.”

  “Why don’t you want your sons helping?”

  John heaved out a sigh and looked heavenward. The mannerism reminded me so much of Ted. “Bob and Garrison are on their honeymoon.”

  That was a good reason. If I was on my honeymoon, I wouldn’t want Ted solving a crime during it. Not that Ted and I were anywhere close to planning a wedding. “Why not Ted? He’s not honeymooning.” Since John asked me to get involved, the man wasn’t worried about interfering in Ted’s romantic vacation.

  “I don’t want to take him away from Claire. She misses her dad.”

  Heat skittered along my cheeks. I wasn’t the only one on the ship this week who’d like some of Ted’s attention. I was sure his little girl was looking forward to enjoying a vacation with her daddy.

  The family standing by the railings leaned over halfway as they waved and cheered.

  John moved his chair closer and whispered something. All I heard was mumbling.

  The boisterous family made it hard for me to hear anything. I scooted to the edge of the seat. The flirty fabric of the dress didn’t give my limbs much protection from the metal rim pressing into the back of my thighs. I hoped it didn’t a leave mark.

  “Here’s the gist of the case. Wealthy elderly ladies come onto the ship with expensive diamonds and go home with high-quality fakes. In looking at the manifests, William Hastings not only cruises a lot, but his companions of choice are wealthy women over the age of seventy-five. Last year, he sailed on over thirty-five cruises and is already on his fifth for this year.”

  My grandmothers flashed into my mind. They were my world, and I’d hurt anyone who harmed them. Did Ronnie know her brother preyed on elderly women? “He’s taking advantage of those women.”

  “Or he has a lot of widowed grandmas who take him on trips.” John leaned forward. “Lately, his favorite companion is Ruth Ballard, a disabled widow. They booked this cruise at the last minute. His official job title is home health aide and he’s listed as coming to care for the person he’s cruising with. He has a strong interest in gems. He’s taken quite a few classes on the subject.”

  “It’s a hobby.”

  John raised his eyebrows.

  “He said that to Ruth when she asked him to help a friend of hers pick out an anniversary gift for his wife.”

  Interest sparked in John’s eyes. “Names?”

  “Paul and Glenda. I don’t know their last names.”

  “It’ll be easy for me to find out.”

  “I’m curious why your suspect list is so short? I haven’t been on this cruise long, and I already have more people on mine. The costume designer Quinn. Ronnie.”

  “Because Quinn doesn’t have it in him to mastermind anything.”

  “He designs the costumes and accessories.” I tapped the tiara on my head. “He made these.”

  “Quinn is a gossip. It’s his true passion. There’s no way he could stay quiet about it. His one deficiency in fashion is gem recognition. He can’t tell a diamond from a clear crystal. It’s the reason the only designing job he could find was on a cruise ship. They don’t mind having someone double-check his work. Odessa orders all the gems supplies, real and fake, and Qu
inn’s assistant sorts them out.”

  “Why not just hire the assistant for the job?”

  “Because Ronnie can’t even sew a hem.”

  “Why isn’t she a suspect?”

  “There’s a reason for that,” John said.

  “I want to know what it is.”

  “The last place I want to be is on this cruise. I know how it’ll look when my kids see me here, but it’s the best time for me to investigate. With the wedding taking place, I can discreetly talk to Odessa’s coworkers without tipping her off.”

  “That doesn’t explain it. Why do you think your ex-wife is involved instead of Ronnie?” He had no rationalization for tying Odessa’s name to the case.

  “Since Odessa was promoted to managing the stage shows, the number of decorative gems orders has increased.”

  “Because everyone knows buying crystals makes one a jewel thief.” I didn’t even attempt to stop the sarcastic tone from oozing out.

  “The captain is concerned because the new crystals ordered resemble authentic gems. After an heir received his mother’s jewelry, he and his wife had it appraised. The most expensive pieces were high-quality fakes. She’d been on one of the cruises before she died.”

  “Maybe they were never real.”

  John shook his head. “They had the original appraisal from when his mom bought the pieces.”

  “How did Odessa and William happen to hook up for this jewel heist project?”

  “There’s the one leak in my boat. That’s my main goal of this trip, finding the piece to plug it up.”

  “She could be innocent.”

  “Or not. The captain knows his crew better than me, and if she’s top on the list, I have to go with it.”

  How convenient for him.

  The reunion crew started singing a loud and drunken rendition of “Copacabana.”

  “I’m taking all your questions to mean you’re on the case,” John said.

  I nodded even as a part of my brain screamed no. Why was John focusing on Odessa? Ronnie was a performer. She’d have access to the costumes and William was her brother. Why discount her involvement so easily? Ronnie had been very insistent about retrieving the tiara. She and her brother might need the large clear crystal on it to replace the diamond in Ruth’s ring.

  “Good. Now I just have one more favor to ask.” Nervousness flashed in John’s eyes for a second.

  I squirmed.

  “Tell Ted I’m here.”

  “I thought—”

  “My sons are going to find out I’m on the ship. I can’t assume none of the crew members will mention seeing my name on the manifest or the diner seating chart, so the boys should be told. You can tell Ted, and he’ll inform Bob.”

  “Why don’t you?” I didn’t like the idea of being the one to jump up and shout “surprise!” on this secret. If anyone should suffer the consequences for him being on this cruise, it should be John.

  “I don’t want you having to keep me being here from Ted. He’ll find out, and I don’t want to be the cause of any disharmony between you two.”

  “But you don’t want me to tell him about the diamonds and what you suspect about Odessa.”

  “Correct. If he finds out, Ted might throw me overboard. Bob actually would.”

  And that would definitely put a damper on Bob’s honeymoon.

  I paced back and forth in front of the elevators on the ninth deck, waiting for Ted. I wished I could’ve gone to his room, but he had forgotten to give me the number. I checked the ship directory, hoping the Presidential and other suites were listed on it by name, but everything was listed as cabin number with no indication if it was a balcony or suite room.

  Why the heck was I going along with John’s plan? It allowed me to tell Ted part of the truth. Eventually, I’d have to fess up to all of it. Right before his brother’s wedding wasn’t the proper time to mention that his father was trying to prove his mother was a jewel thief.

  The elevator doors opened. A man and two little girls wearing bathing suits stepped out.

  “Going down?”

  The man held his arm out, stopping the door from closing as the two girls waited patiently by his side.

  “I’m waiting for someone. Thanks.”

  The man smiled and went on his way. The doors leading to the outside slid open. The little girls squealed, huddling against their father’s legs as the cold air greeted them.

  “I don’t think it’s a good time for a swim.”

  “Daddy, you promised,” one wailed while the other nodded her head in agreement.

  “We’ll go check out the hot tub. Until then, I’ll keep my girls warm.” The man lifted them up, one in each arm, and cuddled them close. His daughters giggled.

  A pang of longing mixed with jealousy washed through me. My parents died in a crash when I was an infant, so I never knew life with them. On occasion the bitterness rose up in me. When I was a child, it was something I felt and hid from my grandparents. I didn’t want them to think I wasn’t happy with them. I just wished I had both: parents and grandparents.

  The elevator pinged. Ted stepped out, one arm around his daughter and the other resting comfortably on his ex-wife’s shoulders. They were smiling and laughing, portraying very much the cute family on vacation. When Ted spotted me, his smile froze and his arm quickly slipped from his ex-wife’s shoulder, causing her long blonde hair to ripple for a moment before it fell back into place. The woman was stunning.

  His ex-wife’s brow furrowed as she gazed up at Ted. Her bright blue eyes looked at him and then shifted to me. She peered over at Ted again, rolled her eyes, then smiled and walked over to me. “Hi, I’m Elizabeth, and this is Claire. I’m guessing you’re Faith.”

  “Yes.” Additional words fled my brain as Claire evil-eyed me. Claire had her mother’s eyes, and her hair was a beautiful strawberry blond, a mix between her mother’s wheat color and her father’s red.

  I had hoped we’d get along, but it appeared I had work to do, as the little girl seemed intent on disliking me. I usually didn’t bring out that kind of emotion on a first meeting—except with homicide detectives.

  Ted stood a few feet behind his ex-wife, doing a really good impression of a statue, and blocked the elevator. An older woman almost rammed into him with her walker as she tried to exit.

  I hated giving Claire another reason to dislike me, but I needed Ted alone. I didn’t want to say anything about her grandfather in front of her. “We need to talk. In private.”

  “We do.” Ted finally came to life and moved away from the traffic area of the elevator.

  “Daddy, we promised Uncle Bob and Uncle Garrison we’d arrive early.” Claire tugged at her father’s arm. “Talk to her later.”

  Her didn’t sound very complimentary coming from Claire.

  “I’ll be there in a minute.” Ted’s voice was loving yet firm.

  “You’ll be late. Uncle Bob will be sad.” Claire’s lower lip quivered.

  Ted released a pained sigh and sent a pleading look to his ex-wife. If I didn’t know any better, Ted was about to cave.

  “It won’t take long. It’s important.” I had planned on working my way up to the information rather than just dumping it on him. Instead I’d have to blurt it out.

  “So’s Uncle Bob. This cruise is for him and Uncle Garrison. It’s not for you.” Claire wrinkled her nose.

  My dreams of having some alone time with Ted faded away.

  “Claire, there’s no need for rudeness,” Ted said.

  “I’m not being rude, Daddy. She is. She’s trying to make us late.” Tears welled in Claire’s eyes.

  “I’m sure Faith won’t make him late. She’s in the wedding also.” Elizabeth readjusted the little girl’s tiara on her head. “She has one just like you.”

  “Grandma told me mine was special. It’s not like hers. At all. My stones are green to match my eyes.”

  “It does look more sparkly than mine.” I hoped I said the right thing fo
r a truce. Though I wasn’t sure what started the battle between me and an eleven-year-old.

  Claire stomped out the door. Elizabeth offered me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. Claire is normally a polite and friendly child. I’ll go have a chat with her right now.”

  Ted scrubbed his fingers through his red hair, messing up the plastered-down hairdo. “I don’t know what’s gotten into my daughter.”

  “She’s a girl. We have our snippy moments.” I had hoped for a better introduction moment with Claire, but it was over. We had seven, okay, more like six and a half, days to get to know each other. I’d grow on her. I’d brought a travel journal for Claire, along with some coloring books and artist coloring pencils. I knew the tween loved to draw and paint, and I planned on bonding with her over crafts.

  “I appreciate you being understanding,” Ted said.

  What was up with Ted? Why so formal? No hello hug or kiss. Cruises were romantic. I’d have thought I’d have gotten some reaction from my dress. Stop, I thought. Now wasn’t the time to fret over not wowing Ted. I had a more important mission. “I need—”

  “I need—”

  Ted and I started the same sentence.

  “You go first.”

  “Your dad is on the cruise.” I blurted out the information, not playing the usual “No, you first” game.

  Ted’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. “What?”

  “Your father is on the cruise. I ran into him at the muster drill.”

  “How?” Ted frowned. I could feel his annoyance, and I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or his wedding-crashing father.

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Give me the Cliff’s notes.”

  I twisted the story to hint at what his father was up to. “An elderly woman lost her diamond bracelet. We miraculously found it right where a guy named William had looked. My tiara fell onto a lifeboat. Ronnie rescued it. John and I talked.”

  “Ronnie?”

  “Garrison’s best friend. Blonde. An entertainer.” He still appeared confused. “Works on this ship with your mom. An aerialist.”