While the boy’s eyes were on the Euros, Edward added a third one-hundred-Euro bill. Then he waved them under the boy’s nose.
The boy cracked. “Fine, I’ll tell you. Alan has never been nice to me. What do I care?” He grabbed at the bills.
Edward pulled his hand away. “Only after you answer the questions.”
“Okay, okay.” The boy stood still with his eyes glued to the money. “Alan said there was a new man on his ship that was treacherous. He said that he needed to find a way to disappear before that man recognized him from the old times.” He snatched at the bills.
Edward pulled them back just out of reach. “Don’t try that again. I’m better at this game than you are.”
“But I answered your question!” he whined.
“There were two. Where is Alan going?”
“He’s going back to the ship. He said he would have to pay a fine, but he needed to pick something up from his cabin.”
“Do you know what it was?”
“That’s three questions! No fair!”
“Life’s not fair.” He waggled the Euros again. “Do you know what it was?”
The boy hung his head down in dejection. “No, I don’t. If I did, I would make you pay.”
Edward slipped the bills in his hand. “Now, that’s the truth. Thanks.”
The boy darted away like a fish and returned to the ongoing game. He soon blended in with the other boys and they ignored Edward and Savannah with the insolence of all-knowing youth.
Savannah tapped Edward on the arm. “I think we’d better get back to the ship. With any luck, we can intercept Alan and find out who is after him. I’ll call James to meet us at the fountain in ten minutes.”
They made their way through the twisty cobblestone streets with only one wrong turn. As promised, James was waiting for them and gave them a return wild ride back to the cruise port and stopped with a squeal of brakes. Edward paid the fare and they looked for a café to wait for Alan to appear.
In less than five minutes, they were joined by the Rosenberg twins. Rachel and Faith sat at the outdoor table with lowered heads and shoulders slumped. “We’re failures,” said Rachel.
“Absolute failures,” repeated Faith. “We had such high hopes of gathering some important detail—”
“—maybe even a vital clue in the investigation—”
“—that would solve everything for you.”
“But, nothing.”
Edward glanced at Savannah. “I think what you ladies need is an afternoon pick-me-up Italian style. They have a marvelous drink here called Limoncello.” He waved his hand at their waiter and ordered four Limoncellos along with an assorted plate of pastries.
When the waiter left, Rachel straightened up in the café chair. “We did see something unexpected.” She turned to Faith.
“Yes, yes,” Faith continued. “We saw your glassblower boss.”
Savannah frowned. “Eric?”
“Yes,” said Rachel. “He was in the kitchen talking to one of the restaurant’s chefs.”
“We only got a glimpse of him from the back, but it definitely appeared to be him. He was big and tall with thick black hair.”
“By the time I got up and pretended that I was looking for the restroom, he was gone.” Rachel folded her arms in front of her chest. “I used to be such a fast walker.”
Faith reached over and patted Rachel’s arm. “Those days are long gone. Let’s be grateful that we can tackle this cobbled city without walkers.”
“Funny,” said Savannah. “Eric didn’t mention going that far into town. He said he would be camped out at an Internet café. Why would he bother to lie? I barely know him.”
“Maybe he’s doing something against company policy,” said Rachel.
“This could be completely innocent,” added Faith.
Edward piped in, “Or he could be defending himself against a new glassblower who has an incredible curiosity about everything and everyone.”
Savannah rolled her eyes. “That’s true. I can be obnoxious.”
Edward raised his eyebrows.
Rachel and Faith finished their Limoncellos and most of the pastries, then made their way up to the ship.
After the twins left, Savannah languished over a cup of cappuccino, thinking she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep for the remainder of the cruise.
“Do you think it’s odd that the Rosenbergs think they saw Eric?” asked Savannah.
“I think it’s odd that he hasn’t been more upset by the disappearance of Alan. So far, he has been much more relaxed about that than he was when the wearable microphones didn’t work.”
“You’re right. Maybe we should pay more attention to our gut feelings. I could ask Amanda to do some background searches on Eric. I don’t think that lead has been fully explored.”
“Why not?”
“Indeed, why not? I’ll text her now while we’re still waiting for Alan.” She pulled out her phone.
After that, they ordered sparkling water with a slice of lime. “No more coffee,” said Savannah. “Even though the sun and this lovely breeze are threatening to send me on an unplanned nap.”
Savannah’s phone rang. It was Rachel.
“We’ve been back in our suite for at least an hour now and we haven’t been able to raise Albert at all. We think maybe he’s onto our investigation.”
“Let me put you on speaker so Edward can hear.”
Savannah punched the speaker icon and placed the phone on the café table. They heard the twins at a distance.
“No, I think this is the one.”
“That’s the call icon.”
“You shouldn’t have gotten a new phone right before the cruise.”
“Our old ones weren’t in warranty anymore. They were ancient.”
“But they worked.”
“Oh, here’s the button.”
“Savannah. Edward. Are you there?” said Rachel.
“Yes, ladies. We’re here. What’s the news?” asked Savannah.
“We can’t find Albert anywhere. It is highly suspicious. We thought Savannah could call down to the security and ensure that he was on board,” said Rachel.
“He’s never missed welcoming us back to the suite. Something is seriously wrong,” said Faith.
Savannah leaned over the phone. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll talk to Chief Dalessio just as soon as we get back.”
They waited patiently until the crew began pulling apart the temporary tent that covered the gangway.
“He’s not going to show,” said Savannah. “That’s worrying. I don’t think we missed him.”
“Neither do I, but we need to get on board.”
They made their way up the gangway. Office Gaffney was on duty scanning in the returning passengers.
“Welcome aboard, Miss Webb and Mr. Morris.” Officer Gaffney scanned their keycards. “Could you wait here in the entryway for a few minutes? I have a situation.”
“Sure,” said Savannah. She was curious. Officer Gaffney had been antagonistic toward her from their first meeting.
Officer Gaffney left the sign-in booth to stand beside a cloth-covered table staffed with two spa attendants passing out facial cleansing samples. He told the spa attendants to clear away their goodies.
Everyone watched as the remaining few passengers made a desperate sprint down the dock to avoid being left behind. Gaffney took one last look down the dock, then keyed his walkie-talkie. “That’s all the passengers. We’re clear.”
The crew had obviously been waiting for that cue as the door was fastened closed and the lines were cast off. Officer Gaffney unplugged the scanning podium, covered it with a sturdy beige cover, and used some straps to secure it to the side of the ship.
Savannah and Edward stepped forward to speak to him, but turned around to alarmed cries from the spa ladies that were dismantling their display table. Savannah caught a glimpse of a pair of legs under the table.
“Step aside,” sa
id Officer Gaffney. “Let me look.”
After dropping down on his haunches, he looked under the table. He poked the man. “Sir, sir. Do you need help?” When he pulled the man over to face upward, Officer Gaffney overbalanced and tried to windmill his arms to compensate. He landed on his rump with a howl and pressed both hands to his mouth.
One of the spa girls looked at the man’s face and screamed, “He’s dead!”
Edward and Savannah saw the face. It was Alan Viteri.
There was a deep crimson stain below the pocket of his ewhite polo shirt.
Chapter 21
Saturday, at sea
“We need your cooperation more than ever now that there’s a confirmed victim,” said Chief Dalessio. “I’m also concerned about your safety, Mr. Morris.”
Edward and Savannah had been called down to security after they had identified Alan as the dead man. “The killer has to be on board, doesn’t he?” said Savannah. “Alan was killed right under everyone’s nose in that small hallway.”
“That does bring up an interesting scenario.” Officer Gaffney drew himself up as tall as he could. “Is it possible that Ian was hiding from you, Mr. Morris? It is possible that Alan was your enemy as well?”
Edward pulled himself to his maximum height. “Are you still accusing me?”
“Let’s not go down that road again.” Savannah inserted herself between the two. Her strong arms pushed on the chests of both and they broke apart. Her strength shocked Officer Gaffney. He wrinkled his brow in distress.
“How could that killing have been missed by everyone, Officer Gaffney? I thought you staffed an officer to monitor things twenty-four-seven.”
“Unfortunately, with all the extra searches for Ian, we cut the number of security personnel at the check-in booth.” Chief Dalessio pressed her lips into a thin line and looked daggers at Officer Gaffney.
Officer Gaffney shrugged his shoulders. “I’m doing the best I can.”
Chief Dalessio continued. “The camera shows an unexplained ruffling of the table covering at the time a large and noisy family group came on board. They were completely inebriated and took the attention of everyone away from Alan’s entrance. The recording shows that Officer Gaffney and even the spa attendants were completely distracted by trying to deal with the boisterous family.”
“I saw some blood on Alan’s shirt front but not loads.” Savannah shuddered at the memory of the dark red stain. “How was he killed?”
Chief Dalessio made a tsk-tsk sound. “It was a deep, slim puncture like a stiletto or something with the shape of a stiletto—a traditional family execution.”
“So, it relates back to Ian’s and Edward’s shared past.” Savannah looked directly at Edward and reached out for his hand. “I think we need to do something to protect you.”
“I strongly disagree.” Edward narrowed his eyes and squeezed her hand.
Chief Dalessio held up her keycard and waved it by her face. “I say we go ahead and put him in the holding cell again. This time for protection, not suspicion, since neither of you were even on board when Mr. Viteri was killed.”
Edward folded his arms in front of his chest. “No. That’s not happening. I’m going to stick with our little group like glue until we’ve caught the killer.”
Savannah closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with both hands. “You’re driving me absolutely crazy.” She dropped her hands to her sides. “But, I understand how you wouldn’t want to be in the holding cell while we’re trying to find both Ian and the murderer.”
Savannah turned to Chief Dalessio. “I know you’ve been searching the ship for Ian, but we’re going to try again. With our innocent-looking crew of searchers—especially the two sets of elderly twins, Ian won’t know to be wary of them. We’ll do that after tonight’s glassblowing demonstration.”
Chief Dalessio nodded. “You may be right about our uniformed searches. You might be more effective. It certainly won’t hurt to try. Give me a call when you’re going to start and don’t let Edward go anywhere alone.”
“No problem. I plan to stick him in the suite with Ian’s parents.”
Edward grinned. “So much better than the holding cell?”
They hadn’t walked ten feet when Edward’s cell pinged. He looked at the screen. “A text from Nicole.” He scrolled through the message quickly.
“How’s the pub?”
“She says that they found a company that is kind of like the ghostbusters for flood damage. They arrived yesterday with some giant industrial fans to dry out the furniture and the floors. The drywall installers are expected sometime today, and the new dishwasher has been installed. She’s promoting a flood party with drink specials and a Noah’s Ark theme.”
“She’s amazing. You’re lucky.”
“What have you heard from Amanda and Jacob?” asked Edward.
“Nothing horrible at all, but keep your fingers crossed. I still think that broken teapot is responsible for the bad luck at Webb’s Glass Shop. The new cash point program has been repaired and now Amanda is taking a tutorial from the new service company. She has found an apparent genius, however, whom she describes as performing miracles to get it up and running. She’s also getting us a quote on a maintenance program.”
“Wow, I’m glad I had already upgraded my accounting system. I think that if she had to deal with the same problems that Amanda has endured, it might have caused Nicole to take a hike and never come back.” Edward raised one eyebrow. “What does Amanda say about Rooney and Snowy?”
“Apparently, they are taking full advantage of Amanda’s soft heart. Snowy has taken all the high spots on the furniture as ambush platforms. She pounces onto Rooney’s back when he comes up to sniff her. Then she rides him like a screaming jockey until he lays down to let her off.”
“That’s all a trick to get more treats out of Amanda,” said Edward. “We’ll have to put them both on a diet when we get back.”
“We will all have to go on a diet.” Savannah patted her tummy. “That’s the normal thing after a cruise.”
“Which brings me back to your plan.”
“Right, we’re basically down to two suspects. It’s got to be either Eric or Albert. Surveillance showed they were both on board when Alan returned to the ship.”
“They’ve both been behaving strangely,” said Edward.
Savannah ran a hand through her curls. “Now that I’m thinking about the two of them together, have you noticed how much they look alike?”
Edward nodded slowly. “Now that you’ve said it. They’re both tall with thick black hair.”
“They are neither slim nor bulky. Could the Rosenbergs have mistaken Albert for Eric?”
“Let’s ask them at dinner. I’m starved. This endless parade of incredible food is making me crave more and more and more.”
“Great, I’ll change and meet up with you in the main dining room.”
Chapter 22
Saturday, at sea
Savannah and Edward were in the main dining room sharing a table with the Rosenberg sisters, the VanGilden brothers, and Ian’s parents. They had ordered, their drinks were delivered, and they were waiting for the appetizer course to arrive.
“Rachel.” Savannah waved her hand to catch her attention. “When you and Faith were in the café near the Trevi Fountain, how sure are you that you saw Eric?”
Faith looked over to Rachel. “She’s thinking along the same track as we are.”
“What makes you say that?” Rachel turned to look at Savannah.
“I was struck by the resemblance of Albert and Eric today. I don’t know why, but when you described Eric to us standing in the kitchen of the café, the image of Albert flashed through my mind first.”
Faith cleared her throat. “We’ve discussed this.”
“It could have been Albert instead of Eric. We’ve only seen Albert in his butler livery.”
“In casual slacks and a golf shirt, he would have looked even more like Eric,” s
aid Rachel.
Edward drummed his fingers on the table. “There’s one important difference here. Eric is on board and preparing for the demonstration.”
“And Albert is missing,” said Savannah. “I think Albert is the one who killed Alan and is searching for Ian.”
“Albert’s only been on board for a couple of weeks,” said Richard.
Savannah tilted her head. “How do you know that?”
Edward shushed them to silence while the server placed their appetizers in front of them.
After the server left, Rickard said, “We’ve been cruising on this lovely ship for almost six months now. We noticed Albert only a few weeks ago.”
“You’ve been on the ship for how long?” asked Savannah of the twin she thought of as Richy Rich even though she knew his name was Richard VanGilden.
Richard affirmed his twin’s announcement. “We’ve been cruising for more than six months now.”
Savannah’s mouth dropped open. She recovered with a quick bite of her favorite appetizer, the garlic-laden escargot. She wiped her mouth. “How on earth does that work?”
Richard spoke first. “It’s absolutely fantastic and a perfect fit for us. We used to have an old Queen Ann house in Upper Manhattan that our folks had left to us, but the upkeep was too much.”
“We’re the only children of our generation. They were in publishing and they had put back quite a tidy savings for us as well.”
“We sold the house,” said Rickard, “and turned the proceeds back over to the same financial adviser who had been managing our parents’ money for their twilight years.”
“Not one of those flash-in-the-pan get-a-quick-return kind of agencies. He really is looking out for us in a long-term way,” said Richard. “We have also hired an online administrative assistant to manage all the booking and travel details.”
“She’s a living doll,” said Rickard. “We chat on that live video thingy on the computer several times a week.”
“But here’s where this is going to help us,” said Rachel. “These two know this ship inside and out.”
“They also know most of the staff,” added Faith.
Shattered at Sea Page 18