by Debby Mayne
“Okay, then, I’d better get going. I don’t want to miss bingo in the casino.” She took a couple of steps toward the door. “Oh, sorry, where on earth are my manners? Would you like to join me?” She looked me up and down. “If you want to, you’ll have to change into something a little nicer.”
“I appreciate the offer, but no thank you. I’ll stick around here tonight.”
“Maybe you can play Bunko with a group of us tomorrow night. Judith will probably be there, but I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you.”
“Thanks.” I saw her to the door, closed it after she left, and locked it behind her. This has been one of the strangest nights of my life, and my conversation with Betty was the oddest one of them all. I had no intention of playing Bunko or doing anything with her tomorrow night, but I didn’t feel like telling her. Besides, if everything went the way I wanted it to, I’d be on a flight heading back to Nashville by then.
I waited a little while before calling the information desk to find someone to talk to about leaving the ship. It was a frustrating experience because no one of any authority was available to speak to me, unless it was an emergency. I decided to wait until first thing in the morning to try to chat with the captain.
When I booked my cruise, I had imagined myself having fun laughing with other passengers, playing charades on the Lido Deck, and doing the bunny hop around the ship. Instead, I was here, hovering in my room, scared for my life, and wishing I’d gone to Destin or Myrtle Beach instead.
As I sat there trying to figure out what to do with my time, I finally figured it would be worth whatever it cost in roaming charges to talk to Summer. She was the smartest person I knew, and she had experience with all kinds of people and situations I’d never been exposed to.
It took me a while to make the connection, but I finally got Summer on the line. “I can’t believe you’re actually calling me,” she said. “You’re supposed to be partying the night away. Aren’t there any cute guys to hang out with?”
“I wouldn’t know.” Then I jumped right into what had been happening since I’d been on the ship.
“Oh wow. Trouble sure did find you fast, didn’t it?” Summer chuckled. “That’s what always happens to me. Must run in the family.”
“Yeah, so I’m planning to catch a flight home tomorrow after we reach the port.”
“Come on, Autumn. Don’t tell me you’re going to wig out on finding out who did it.”
“I’m not you.”
“I know that, but we still share some of the same DNA. Aren’t you the least bit curious?”
“Well … yes.”
“Then pay close attention, and you might wind up helping them solve this case.”
“I wouldn’t even know where to start,” I admitted. “Remember I’ve never been in law enforcement, so the only thing I can actually see myself getting into is a bunch of trouble.”
“Since I assume you’re calling for advice, I’ll be happy to give it to you.”
She was right, but now I wondered what I’d been thinking deep down. Subconsciously, I was probably hoping she’d tell me to get off the ship as fast as I could.
For the next ten minutes, she asked questions and gave me a list of things to do. “However,” she added, “if you leave the ship tomorrow, don’t do any of that because it’ll come back and bite you in the backside later. Just come on home. But trust me, if you’re anything like me, it’ll drive you crazy later.”
“Why would it drive me crazy to get out of this insanity that clearly isn’t a safe place to be?”
“You’ll wonder what happened, who did it, and if you could have helped solve the crime.” She paused. “And maybe even save a life or two.”
“Why did you have to put it that way?”
“Because it’s true.”
“I wish you were here,” I admitted.
“Ya know, so do I. You really should have called me. I could have used a cruise.”
“Would you have dropped everything and come with me?”
“Probably. I’m starting to think I should never have left law enforcement, and a cruise might have been just the thing to help clear my mind. The longer I’m away, the more I miss it.”
“Mama says you’re working temp jobs and loving it.”
“Yes, I’m working temp jobs,” she said. “But loving it? Not so much. Most of them bore me to tears.”
We talked for a few more minutes, and she told me several things to do. I jotted everything on the back of an envelope I found in my handbag.
After I got off the phone, I knew my bill would be groaning with the roaming charges. It cost a fortune to make calls at sea, but I was still glad I did it.
Summer had told me that I needed to try to see the woman who was poisoned as soon as possible. It seemed dangerous to go to the infirmary, but she said that it wasn’t any more dangerous than any place else on the ship since we had no idea who did it.
I had no reason to believe that Aileen had left the infirmary, so I exited my cabin and made my way in that direction. When I spotted someone coming toward me, I tried to duck out of sight, but that quickly became impossible because the corridor was so narrow. If I kept that up, the other passengers would think I was doing something shady.
The infirmary was on the lower deck, and I had a pretty good idea where it was. Once I got in the general vicinity, I asked a couple of the other passengers, and they pointed the way.
To my surprise, Doc Healey was sitting there flipping through a magazine when I walked in. Since it didn’t look like he heard me at first, I shuffled my feet and cleared my throat. He glanced up and smiled.
“What can I do for you?” He put down the magazine and stood, gesturing toward the seat to offer it to me. “Are you not feeling well, or are you hurt?”
“No, I’m feeling fine.”
“Good.” He flashed a genuine smile. “So what are you here for?”
“I-I came to see if Aileen Graves was still here.” It seemed strange since I didn’t know her, but I figured Summer would only give me good advice.
“Are you a friend of Ms. Graves?”
I shook my head. “No, but I wanted to stop by and visit her. I’ve heard that she’s not doing well, and I thought she might be lonely.”
Doc Healey frowned as he pondered what to do. He finally blew out a breath as he nodded. “I guess it’s okay, but let me check with her first. What did you say your name is?”
“Autumn Spencer.” I hoped that wouldn’t get my name on some sort of suspect list, but it was too late now.
“Okay, stay here. I’ll be right back.”
He opened the door in the back of the waiting area, glanced over his shoulder at me as if making sure I didn’t go anywhere, and then disappeared. I took a look at the magazine he’d been reading and saw that it was for golfers. It made me smile as I thought about the irony of a ship doctor not having an opportunity to play much golf since he was stuck onboard for weeklong cruises.
I looked around at the rest of the reception area. There were several posters similar to what I’d seen in my doctor’s office—labeled images of the human body, warnings about the consequences of not being vaccinated, and tips on how to prevent heart disease. And there were other posters of exotic beaches designed to tempt passengers to book their next cruise.
When he came back, he held the door open. “She says she doesn’t know who you are, but she’ll talk to you for a few minutes. I think you were right about her being lonely.”
I followed him to another room. The infirmary wasn’t huge, but it was bigger than I’d expected.
As soon as I saw the woman half sitting up on the cot, my nerves got the best of me. I had no idea what to say, and her skin was so pale I could tell she hadn’t fully recovered from whatever she’d ingested.
She frowned as she looked into my eyes. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
Chapter 9
Now that she’d asked me point blank, I couldn’t answer
her. It didn’t seem right to ask her how she was feeling or if she knew what substance was used in her attempted murder since she didn’t know me. So I cleared my throat a few times. “I thought you might be lonely.”
She rolled her eyes. “Loneliness I can handle. Cyanide, I can’t. So if you’re here to finish killing me, go right ahead. It couldn’t be any worse than what I’ve already been through.”
“Are you sure it was cyanide? What else did you eat recently”
Her eyes narrowed to slits, and she tilted her head. “Are you a cop?”
“No, why?”
She waved her hand around. “The way you asked me, you sounded like you were here to question me.”
I thought about that for a moment before gesturing toward the chair. Apparently, a few minutes on the phone with Summer had rubbed off on me. “Mind if I sit down?”
She made a face. “Go ahead, I can’t stop you.”
Her attitude didn’t make me want to stay, but I was more curious than I was eager to leave. “Regardless of what it was, it’s terrible.”
“You don’t have to tell me, young lady. Remember, I’m the one who ate the poison.” She tilted her head and gave me a look from beneath her heavily made-up eyebrows. “I’m the one who got sick as a dog. It was poison.”
“Do you have any idea who might have done that?”
“Oh, I’m sure plenty of people would like to get rid of me, but I don’t know of anyone who’d be willing to spend time in jail for it.” She contorted her mouth. “Of course, that means someone would have to be competent enough to catch the murderer, and that’s not likely to happen around here.”
Good point, but I didn’t tell her that. “I hear you take a lot of cruises.”
Her head snapped around. “Who told you that?”
Since I didn’t want to mention anyone’s name, I shrugged. “A lot of people here are worried about you, and I picked up on the fact that you’re well known on the ship.”
A hint of a smile played on her lips, surprising me but alerting me to the fact that she enjoyed attention. “Yes, I suppose I am rather famous on the sea.”
I hadn’t used the word famous, but I knew better than to correct her since she obviously liked the idea of being famous. “Where are you from?”
Again, suspicion clouded her eyes. “Why do you want to know?” Before I had a chance to answer, she added, “If you’re not a cop, why would you care?”
“I don’t like to hear about anyone being poisoned.”
She smirked. “Especially since you’re on the same ship, and you can’t run away from someone trying to murder you.”
I had a bunch more questions rattling around in my mind, but after her responses, I decided not to ask them. So I stood to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I get the feeling you don’t want me here.”
She made another face, only this one was somewhat comical. “Why would you say that? I never told you I didn’t want you here.”
This woman was truly clueless about a lot of things, including her antagonistic behavior. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s obvious.”
She flopped back on the cot. “Suit yourself. Everyone is always in a hurry to go somewhere, even when they don’t know where they’re going.”
“True.” I paused and pondered what to do. “You’re right. I don’t have anywhere to go, but I don’t want to stick around if my being here makes you feel worse, and that’s the impression I’m getting.”
Aileen lifted an arm over her head and groaned. “I doubt it’s possible to feel any worse than I’ve felt since I came to.” Then she wrapped her arms around her midsection. “Whatever I ate gave me the worst stomach ache I’ve ever had in my life.” She made a face. “Not only that, it made me dizzy, confused, and overall just not myself.”
“Maybe you should rest, then.”
“You really are in a hurry to leave, aren’t you?”
Now I was. Her attitude was angering me, and it took a lot to make me mad. Besides, I reminded myself once again that I came on the cruise to rest and relax, not get into a verbal battle with a cranky woman who’d upset someone enough to try to murder her.
Without another word, I left her room and walked up toward the reception area where I spotted the doctor back in the chair, flipping pages in the magazine. He glanced up at me and started to stand.
“You don’t have to get up. I’m leaving.”
“You don’t look happy.” He grinned as he repositioned himself in the chair.
“She’s a handful.”
He made a face. “To put it mildly.”
I looked around the room and then let my gaze meet his again. “Are you sure she ingested cyanide?”
“Pretty sure but not 100 percent.”
“Why would anyone want to do away with her?”
He shrugged. “Why do people want to do anything? Usually murder involves jealousy or greed. Since she spent every extra penny on cruises, and as far as I can tell, she doesn’t have much to spare, that leaves us with jealousy.”
I pondered what he said for a moment before I nodded. “Interesting.”
He shut the magazine and stood. “By the way, I spoke to the captain while you were with Mrs. Graves. He wants us to keep mum about what happened to her.”
“Is it hurting business that much?”
“Of course it is. But that’s not why. The authorities have said that the less information we let out the easier it will be to catch whoever is poisoning people. Apparently, the deaths we had onboard in the past are now under investigation as well.” He grimaced as soon as he said that. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”
“So it wasn’t a supergerm?”
He gave me a closed-mouth smile as his eyes gave me the answer. Finally, he shook his head. “I didn’t say that. All I’m saying is this needs to be kept under wraps.”
“There are others who know about what happened,” I countered.
“That’s true, but they’ve already been spoken to.”
I couldn’t see how they could keep the information contained, now that some of the biggest mouths on the ship had enough information to run with it, but I wasn’t in the position of arguing. “I won’t say a word to anyone.”
He nodded. “I never doubted you’d cooperate. You seem like an agreeable type.”
That was part of my problem. I was too agreeable … always. And that was one of the main reasons I needed to get away. As soon as someone said they needed me, I jumped. At school, when the principal couldn’t find another teacher to serve on the PTA board, she turned to me. Of course I did it, just as she knew I would. When one of my family members got sick, I showed up at their door with a casserole. When the church needed someone to organize an event, they turned to me. When Mama or Daddy needed help with something, I didn’t hesitate to come through.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” the doctor asked.
I realized I’d been standing in the same spot, staring at the wall. I shook my head. “No, but thanks. I need to leave so you can do your job.”
He laughed as he held up the magazine. “As if I have all that much to do.” His expression changed back to a more serious one. “Would you be interested in joining me for dinner tonight? Normally we frown on staff and passengers socializing, but I asked the captain, and he said it would be okay … that is, if you’re interested.”
For the first time I saw him as a man outside of being the ship’s doctor. He wasn’t the best looking guy I’d ever met, but he was somewhat pleasant looking. And I liked his demeanor—laid back and nice. No doubt he was smart, or he wouldn’t have been able to become a doctor.
“If you’re sure the captain doesn’t mind, and you won’t get in trouble—”
“I won’t get in trouble.”
We made plans to meet outside the infirmary at 6:00 PM because he needed to eat early. “You’ll need to dress up, though.” He gave me an apologetic look. “Staff is expected to—”
I interrupted him. “That’s fine. I like dressing up.”
“Good. See you tonight.”
After I left, I went to my cabin to freshen up and to process all I’d discovered. As I turned the last corner on the way, I literally bumped into Jerome Pratt, the ship’s purser. I had to place my hand on the wall to steady myself.
“Sorry.” He blinked momentarily and then kept going, which I thought was odd. Most of the crewmembers were extremely polite, and his reaction bordered on rudeness.
I made my way to my room, still somewhat dazed by being jostled, when I heard my name being called from a couple of doors down. I glanced up and saw Betty motioning for me to get closer. In spite of the fact that I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her, I did as she wanted.
“You haven’t told anyone about Aileen, have you?”
“Haven’t told anyone what about Aileen?” I lifted my fingers to my lips and made a zipping motion.
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Of course I did. “I haven’t brought her up to anyone, if that’s what you’re talking about.”
“No one needs to know she survived.” She tipped her head forward and gave me one of her annoying warning looks. “Everyone but just a few of us think she died.”
That wasn’t what I expected. “Why would everyone think that?”
“Because that’s what happens when people eat poison.”
I hated being talked to like I was a child. “I know that, but I don’t think anyone is supposed to know she was poisoned.”
“Oh, trust me, a lot of folks on the ship knows someone was poisoned. A bunch of them have been asking for a refund.”
“How do you know this?”
She bobbed her head. “I have ways of finding out stuff … and I have ears.”
“Whatever the case, I’m not planning to tell anyone anything. It’s not mine to tell.”
“So how do you like Doc Healey?” She folded her arms and gave me a sly smile. “He’s quite a catch, don’t you think?”
“Catch?”
“Yes, don’t you have a date with him tonight?”