Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 03 - Secrets at Sea

by Peggy Dulle

  “And he’s dead, too.”

  “That just leaves me, Carmelita and her truly obnoxious escort, Carl.”

  I pointed to young thing attached to his arm. “And her.”

  Dorian smiled. “Oh yes, lovely Desiree.”

  “I’m surprised you remember her name; that was four years ago.”

  “I never forget a beautiful woman’s name or desires, Liza.” He smiled. “Besides, you know her, too.”

  I took the picture and looked at it again. “No, I don’t.”

  “That’s Emily.”

  “What do you mean, that’s Emily? I thought her name was Desiree.”

  “Emily, like your mother, obviously likes to change her hair color and style too. Although your mother never made us call her by a different name. It’s Emily before she was married to Jack, of course.”

  “No, this woman is much younger than Emily.”

  Dorian shook his head. “No, it’s her.”

  “What do you remember about her?”

  “She was very physical, quite exhausting, although a bit of a screamer.”

  I hit him on the arm. “No, not that. She never mentioned she’d met my parents.”

  “Maybe she’s keeping that quiet. She is after all, on this cruise with her husband.”

  “She hasn’t said anything to you? After all, you two…”

  Dorian frowned. “No, and a gentleman doesn’t remind a woman about a past affair if she doesn’t bring it up first.”

  Then I remembered her comment about riding a stallion when she was talking about Dorian. Maybe she had brought it up and I just hadn’t understood her.

  “What are you smiling about, Liza?” Dorian asked.

  “Just thinking about my parents and how much they loved cruising with these people.”

  “It was a wonderful group, although a little bizarre at times.”

  “Bizarre?”

  “They were always plotting to take their revenge on somebody.”

  “The companies who pollute the earth?”

  “Yes, they’d sit in the bar and plan out their little scenarios, down to every last detail.”

  “Carmelita told me about it. She said you liked to participate, too.”

  “It was entertaining and the companies certainly deserved the group’s loathing.”

  “And what you could you contribute to the plan?” I asked.

  “I’d finance them, of course. But I always told them not to do the jobs themselves. There are many people out there you can pay to do it.”

  “Like Rod?”

  “Yes, and he did come in handy today.”

  “How many bodyguards know how to diffuse a bomb?”

  “One that’s an ex-Navy Seal. I only hire the best, Liza.”

  “I’m surprised you were able to find a bodyguard so quickly.”

  “Rod is a friend. All I did was pick up the phone and he came.”

  “Where’d you acquire him as a friend?”

  “Because of my financial situation, I’m able to do things just for the sheer pleasure and satisfaction. I actually went through the Seal training, and spent five years in the unit. But I got bored and moved on.”

  “You were a Navy Seal?”

  He stood and took my hand. “Congratulations on your engagement, Liza.” He frowned.

  “What?”

  “It’s just sad you’ve become unavailable. Is there any chance you might give the ring back?”

  “No.”

  “I think I’ll go check on Carmelita.”

  And he left.

  I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get anymore of Dorian’s lovely attention. Tom would be happy, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. And I now knew why Dorian wasn’t afraid of Tom. No self-respecting ex-Navy Seal would be!

  A few minutes later, Tom came up the stairs, soaked, smiling and carrying a camera.

  “You took pictures?” I asked.

  “Dorian had an underwater digital camera, so I borrowed it. I got some great shots. We can download them onto your laptop and then I’ll give him the camera back.”

  “That’s nice,” I said, still thinking about the photo and Emily.

  He dried off with a towel and sat on the lounge next to me. “I’m glad we decided to go with Dorian. This has been a great trip.” The two seemed to have bonded while snorkeling.

  I glared at him. “Except for the bomb, right?”

  “It didn’t go off, did it?” he said, smiling.

  “Okay, I’ll give you that.”

  I held up the picture. “I found that duplicate picture stuck in my book.”

  “It’s the one with all the people in it,” Tom observed.

  “Yes, Dorian says that’s Brian in the back, along with two crewmen who were going to escort them on to the ship.”

  “That explains the three unknowns.”

  “He also says the woman with him is Emily.”

  “Emily and Jack, Emily?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let me see the picture.”

  I handed it to him and he studied it. “It could be.”

  “No, Dorian says it is. He never forgets a beautiful woman’s name.” I left out the rest.

  “We need to let her know. She may be in danger.”

  “How do we tell her when we don’t know why the rest were killed?”

  “We don’t have to know why to tell her to be careful. Jack’s in the security business, so he’ll know how to keep her safe.”

  “I’d want to know why,” I told him.

  “Yes, you would, but other people don’t ask as many questions or need as many answers as you, Liza. Some people don’t need to know who or why.”

  “Well, that’s stupid!”

  “No, that’s most people in the world.” He reached over and lifted my left hand. “You put the ring back on.”

  “I forgot I’d put it in my beach bag. Dorian said it was very nice.”

  Tom frowned. “I’m sure he told you it wasn’t big enough for someone as beautiful as you.”

  I smiled and leaned my head back. It was nice that things were getting back to normal between Tom and Dorian. A natural animosity, I thought, between two territorial males.

  The catamaran started moving with a sudden jerk. We must be headed to the dock to get back on the ship. In some ways I was glad this cruise was coming to a close since the stress from the warnings, threats, bombs, and deaths had my last nerve raw and frayed. On the other hand, it had been nice to spend time with Tom and have unlimited food at my disposal. In that way I wished this cruise would go on forever.

  Twenty minutes later we pulled to the dock and I sat up.

  Tom was asleep in the lounge chair next to me. When I touched him on the shoulder, he jumped. “What?”

  “Easy, Tom. It’s time to get off one boat and onto another.” I gathered up our things and put them into my beach bag.

  We walked down the stairs where Dorian was talking to the captain. He handed her an envelope, leaned in, whispered something, and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed.

  Carmelita and Rod came out of the cabin. She was straightening her top and he was pulling at his pants. I guessed she’d found a replacement for Brian.

  Everything seemed back to normal.

  We walked off the boat together.

  “Thanks for a great day, Dorian,” I said.

  “You’re welcome, Liza.” He nodded.

  “Yeah, thanks, Dorian. I’ll get your camera back to you as soon as I get the pictures off it,” Tom asked.

  “It actually belongs to Samantha, so keep it.”

  “Who’s Samantha?” I asked.

  “Captain Reynolds. And I more than adequately compensated her for the camera.”

  “Okay,” Tom said. “Thanks again.” He took my arm and led me down the dock to the waiting tender.

  I glanced back. Carmelita and Rod were huddled together and talking. Dorian walked alone. It had to be the saddest thing I’d ever seen because no m
atter how much money, good looks, and sexual magnetism that oozed from Dorian, at the end of the day, he was still alone.

  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.