by Diana X Dunn
Luke nodded and then typed a few things into his M-ped. “I’m not recording this, but I hope you don’t mind if I take a few notes.”
“Not as long as they’re securely locked down so that no one knows the horrible things I’ve said about them.”
Luke chuckled. “So far you are being much more polite about them than they’ve been about you.”
Suzy looked affronted. “Who’s been saying nasty things about me?” she demanded.
Luke shook his head and grinned at her. “You know I can’t tell you that.”
Suzy grinned back at him as she thought for a moment. She only had to lean forward a short distance to touch him. She was pretty sure that in a few kisses she could have him telling her everything she wanted to know. She licked her lips and then sighed. A picture of Alex Knight had flashed into her head unbidden and made her stop to think again. Damn that man anyway. It was bad enough he haunted her dreams, now he was messing up her work.
She sighed again. “I suppose none of them would be disappointed if I were the murderer,” she said.
“I know the murderer would love to see you get tagged for it,” Luke replied.
Suzy chuckled. “We haven’t discussed our silent ship’s captain.”
“I don’t know what to think about him,” Luke admitted. “He says very little, but I don’t think he misses anything that happens on this ship.”
“Of course he has access to the security system,” Suzy said. “He can watch everyone’s comings and goings.”
Luke nodded. “He seems to have been rather fond of Chrystal. He’s the only one on the ship who seems to be genuinely upset about her death.”
“I’m not sure about ‘fond’,” Suzy replied. “I think he may have been a little bit obsessed with her. There was no way she was going to pick him over Max, and he had to know that, though.”
“He has hours of video footage of her on the player in his room,” Luke confided in her. “I would accuse him of stalking her under other circumstances.”
Suzy wasn’t surprised. “He had a weird way of looking at her,” she replied, “as if he was trying to memorize her features. I found it creepy. But I can’t imagine him killing her.”
“Maybe he decided that if he couldn’t have her, no one could?”
“I don’t think they’d gotten to that point yet,” Suzy answered. “She was still flirting with him and she wasn’t sleeping with Max, at least not as far as I know. She was trying hard to get Max into bed, but she hadn’t gotten there yet.”
“Why not?” Luke looked confused. “You weren’t sleeping with Max, she wasn’t sleeping with Max, Randy was upset because he and Max weren’t getting along. What was going on here?”
Suzy shrugged. “For all the media coverage that Max gets about his wild and extravagant bi-sexual lifestyle, I’ve really only ever known him to sleep with one person at a time. He’s been with Randy for a while now. Every once in a while he gets restless and has a short fling with someone else, but those affairs are usually over in days, and then he goes back to Randy. In this case, I think Chrystal was trying to tempt and tease him into something more than a simple affair and I think she might well have been close to accomplishing it. As far as I know, she hadn’t gotten there yet.”
“Which gives Randy the best motive,” Luke suggested.
“Which gives Randy a motive,” Suzy clarified. She yawned. It was getting late and she was getting tired. She had been trained from birth to be an earlier riser and she couldn’t break herself of that habit, even when her days often didn’t end until well past midnight. Her internal clock still had her up at five each morning for exercise.
“I should let you go,” Luke stood up. “You look tired.”
“I am tired,” Suzy admitted, “but we have a lot more to talk about. You haven’t even mentioned Marta.”
“We can talk tomorrow,” Luke told her. “There isn’t really anything to say about Marta. I really can’t see her murdering anyone, although officially she’s still a suspect. Meanwhile, I’ve got men stationed all over the ship to keep track of everyone, so you can sleep soundly. Maybe we can talk again after breakfast.”
“That sounds great,” Suzy said, letting the exhaustion she felt slip into her voice. Luke followed her the short distance to the door where she turned and smiled at him. After a moment’s hesitation she leaned forward and kissed him very gently on the lips.
Luke looked surprised for a moment and then Suzy watched his eyes flicker and change as he fought a battle in head against pulling her close and kissing her thoroughly. She took a step back to discourage him and he pulled himself together. He said nothing as he swung the door open and looked up and down the corridor.
Spotting a pair of policemen at the end of the hall, he motioned to them and instructed one to see Suzy safely back to her cabin. Suzy whispered a quick good night to him as she followed the young officer down the hallway.
Back in her cabin she felt restless and wide-awake until she finally took a sleep aid. It wasn’t like her to take something two nights in a row, but this assignment was turning out to be one unexpected thing after another and she needed to be as well rested as possible. She was up at five as normal and did the toughest workout she could find on the exercise machine in the gym. After her shower she headed to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. She wasn't surprised to find Luke in the room when she arrived.
"Good morning," she smiled at him.
He smiled back. "Good morning. I'm glad I caught you before I left."
"Left?" Suzy didn't like the sound of that. "Max hasn't gotten you fired, has he?"
Luke shook his head and stepped closer to her. He spoke into her ear in a very soft voice. "He's much too clever for that," he told her. “Apparently, he’s been so impressed with my work that he's asked the police commissioner to reassign me so that I can handle all of the security for tomorrow night's party.”
Suzy shook her head. “Very clever,” she acknowledged in a whisper. “You can't really argue when the reassignment is wrapped up as a compliment, but he still gets rid of you.”
“Exactly,” Luke said bitterly.
Suzy sighed. She should have seen this coming. Max was a master of getting what he wanted and manipulating people. While he could have just used his money and power to get rid of Luke, this was a much smarter solution. Luke would be kept busy and out of the way and the murder investigation would be forgotten, at least temporarily. Of course the police would still officially be investigating, but with their best detective busy elsewhere, nothing would actually be done until after the party. Knowing Max, he had no intention of remaining on SunInc after that.
“He’s going to want to leave once the party is over,” Suzy warned Luke, still keeping her voice low.
“I know,” Luke replied, “and I can’t really see a way to stop him. I’m pretty sure the commissioner will give his okay.”
Suzy made a face. She wasn’t looking forward to going back to sailing with a murderer onboard. It was more likely, though, that Max would send all of his guests packing once the party was over. Randy might just manage to hang in there, but Max had a history of getting rid of friends and business associates whenever things got complicated.
Luke left right after breakfast, having made sure that a number of police officers remained on board as security. Suzy thought she faced another boring day on the ship. Max had another surprise for her, though. Not only did he turn up for lunch in the dining room, but he also insisted that everyone join him. The food was delicious as always, but the conversation was stilted as everyone wondered why Max had called them together. Max ignored the uncomfortable atmosphere, chatting idly with Randy and then Genifer, making random small talk and pretending that everything was absolutely normal.
As dessert was served he cleared his throat. “Thank you all for joining me for lunch for a change. I didn’t want to wait until dinner time for this, because I wasn’t sure it would give everyone enough time to sort things out.�
�
Nervous glances were exchanged at that. What could Max possibly want them to sort out?
Max continued. “You know I’m having a party tomorrow night, of course. You’re all invited, obviously, but I think we have all been spending way too much time together and I’m getting bored with you all.” Max laughed as he said it and a chorus of nervous laughs went slowly around the table.
“So we need to liven things up a bit,” Max announced. “I want everyone to invite at least half a dozen other super fun and exciting people, and I would rather you invited ten or twenty!”
Suzy held back a sigh. Max was inviting a whole bunch of people to join them in the middle of a murder investigation. Poor Luke.
“Obviously they can’t all stay on The Mirage, but I’ve arranged with the SunSet Paradise Resort to rent out an entire wing for all of our friends. That’s where the party is being held, too, and I’ve booked rooms for all of us as well so that we don’t have to worry about coming back to the ship after a long night at a fabulous party.”
Max sounded giddy with excitement. This was exactly the sort of thing that Max often did, of course, but his timing for this was badly wrong. Luke would be furious when he discovered that everyone had relocated to a resort on SunInc. And he would be even angrier when he found out that dozens of new people would be joining them.
“Anyway, after lunch you all need to get on your M-peds and call everyone you know and get this party started.” Max waved his arms and did a little dance. Peter clapped and jumped up.
“What a great idea,” he declared. “I’ll start making calls now and I should be able to get my whole marketing department here by tomorrow morning.”
Max frowned. “That isn’t exactly what I meant,” he told the other man. “I want friends and people who like to party, not business associates.”
Now Peter frowned. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “I’ll get right on calling my friends, then.”
Suzy was pretty sure that Peter would be calling his marketing department anyway, and instructing them to pose as his friends. It would be too tempting for him to use this opportunity to fill the party with people who might help advance his aims.
Henry muttered something about getting busy as he left the table looking glum. Suzy wondered if he actually had any friends who would be willing to drop everything and come to a party. He seemed more likely to have friends who would see any party as a huge waste of time, even if it were being thrown by Maximilian Hart.
Genifer bounced up. “Hurray,” she said. “I can’t wait to see who can make it.” She left the room quickly, reciting a long list of names under her breath as she went. “Must invite Bunny, but then I can’t invite Rock, although if I invite Shona, then maybe Slate will come and he can bring Romeo and Chunks….”
Suzy sighed. Now she had to make a bunch of calls and get some of her friends here as well. Unfortunately, she had to invite a bunch of people who knew her as Suzy Barr, rather than inviting Michael or someone else from the agency who might actually be useful. That gave her an idea. She turned it over in her mind a few times and then smiled. It might just be the creative solution to at least some of her problems.
Suzy had returned the borrowed M-ped, so now Marta helped her set up a new one. The police still had the old one, that was, as far as she knew, irredeemably broken anyway. Once the new device was operational, Marta helped her find the necessary contact details for a bunch of people that Suzy knew would drop everything to get to a Maximilian Hart party. A few of them she’d actually met through Max and the rest were acquaintances that she’d come across while working on building this particular identity. She decided to invite ten people and expected that at least eight of them would make the effort to get there by the following evening.
As she worked through her list, using Marta’s connections to get through the layers of secretaries and assistants that the super rich all seemed to rely on, she discovered that she was right about how everyone would feel about the invitation. In spite of the fact that someone had just been murdered in his company, no one wanted to turn down an invitation to party with Max Hart. Of course, it was possible that people didn’t even know about the murder, but within the rarified circle of the super rich, very little escaped notice.
About halfway through her calls she made the call that mattered the most to her. Marta was able to find a direct number for him and that made it easier for Suzy. Trying to explain things through a secretary would have complicated the call. The last thing Suzy wanted was for anyone to see anything suspicious or unusual about this particular contact.
“Hello?”
Suzy caught her breath as the man came into focus. He was more handsome than she had remembered.
“Hi,” she said, smiling at him, for a moment forgetting that he wouldn’t have any idea who Suzanna Barr was and shouldn’t be able to recognize her. If he had any suspicions, however, it was vital that he not call her by any other name.
“I know you don’t know me,” she spoke quickly, preempting anything he might be thinking of saying, “but we have a mutual friend and she said you were always ready for a party.”
Alex Knight shook his head and looked confused. “Me?”
Suzy laughed throatily, the sexy sound taking him by surprise. “I’m Suzanna Barr,” she introduced herself. “I’m currently enjoying the good life with Maximilian Hart and his friends.”
Alex drew a breath. Suzy knew that he had to know who Maximilian Hart was, and probably a little bit about the exclusive group of people who were welcome in his world. If he’d recognized her laugh, and she was hoping that he had, he was probably wondering why she was traveling with Max.
“And?” Alex gave another single word answer.
Suzy laughed again. “I guess you must write better than you make conversation,” she teased. “Max is having a party tomorrow night and he wants all of us to invite lots of friends. I remember Julia telling me how much fun she had with you, and I thought it might be interesting to invite you.”
“Julia?” Alex frowned.
“Julia Randall,” Suzy replied. “She’s an old friend of mine from way back.” Suzy could only hope that no one in Max’s security team or the SunInc police would waste time trying to verify that. Julia Randall didn’t really exist and her path had never crossed with Suzy Barr’s because they were the same person.
“I see,” Alex said, looking confused.
“Anyway,” Suzy smiled and winked. “I was hoping maybe you could make it to the party tomorrow?”
“Where?” Another one-word question.
“SunInc, at the SunSet Paradise Resort. If you’re in New York, Max has arranged a shuttle from there at midnight tonight. I can put your name on the guest list.”
Alex frowned and then the screen went blank.
“Hello?” Suzy wondered what Alex was thinking and why he’d put his M-ped down.
“Sorry. I was just mentally running through my appointments for the next couple of days. There’s nothing critical there, so sure, why not?”
Suzy blew out a sigh of relief. Not only did she really want to see Alex, he was one of very few people outside of her agency who knew enough about her to be genuinely helpful. Blake Bowman had been another option, but he was a police detective and inviting a cop to a party would look suspicious. She had very briefly considered calling Ryan Whitman, but she didn’t trust him as much as she trusted Alex. She didn’t bother to try to analyze the logic of that, there simply wasn’t any. It was just how she felt.
She gave Alex exact instructions on where to go for the shuttle and then hung up almost happily. Things were definitely looking up.
Nine
Suzy was on the deck of The Mirage the next morning when the shuttle from the airport arrived at the dock. Max had invited all of the new arrivals to the ship for lunch before they’d be taken to the resort to check in. Everyone on the ship had been told to pack up all of his or her things. They would be moving to the resort as well, at least t
emporarily. Suzy suspected that few, if any, of the guests would actually be welcomed back on The Mirage after the party. Genifer was the obvious exception, but she was family, and no matter how angry she made Max, he was stuck with her.
It was interesting, watching the shuttle disgorge its occupants. As little groups of guests formed on the dock, Suzy could easily tell exactly who had invited whom. The loud and excitable collection of expensively dressed twenty-somethings were clearly Genifer’s friends. Most of them were dressed for the weather, in tiny shorts and T-shirts or bikini tops covered in the latest designer labels. It was obvious that they had already started drinking and celebrating on the journey and many of them were already struggling to remain upright as they squinted in the bright sunlight. A few of Suzy’s guests seemed to be in a similar state, which didn’t surprise Suzy in the slightest. She’d made a point of inviting people who would want to party.
A handful of older men in stiff suits had to be Henry’s guests. They were mostly watching Genifer’s friends with disgusted looks on their faces. A few confused-looking men and women in carefully casual clothes gathered together looking nervous. Suzy guessed that Peter had invited them. Presumably they were his marketing team. It was clear that they had no idea how to behave or what to expect. She smiled at their obvious discomfort. Max was going to find them annoying.
She caught her breath as Alex emerged from the shuttle. He was casually dressed in tailored shorts and a T-shirt advertising a modern beer company that specialized in the sort of old-fashioned recipes that had fallen out of favor in recent years. He managed to look comfortable within the diverse group, giving off a sophisticated vibe that Suzy could pick up, even from her distance away. She wasn’t the only one who had noticed and she frowned as one of Genifer’s drunken friends stumbled over and literally threw herself into Alex’s arms.
Alex laughed and neatly handed the woman back to one of her friends, as he surveyed the ship in front of him. While Alex wasn’t in the same league as Max Hart in terms of wealth, his writing was very successful and Suzy reckoned that if he’d wanted to spend money on extravagances, he could probably just about afford a boat about half this size. He looked up at the ship, his eyes scanning the decks. They stopped when they reached Suzy. She raised a hand in greeting, and smiled at him as he returned the gesture.