“Oh,” said Savannah. “You can help us search the secret, quiet, out-of-the way seldom used parts of the ship for Ian. It makes the most sense that he would be lurking in places where there aren’t many guests.”
“Bingo!” said all the twins, who looked shocked that they all thought so much alike.
“This is excellent news,” said Savannah. “We need to start right after my show in the Hot Shop.” She looked at her watch. “Let’s see, it’s six thirty now. He said seven o’clock sharp—one hour for practice—our demonstration for this evening starts at eight thirty—then I need to help Eric clean up. It will take longer with only the two of us—we need to meet back at the suite at ten o’clock tonight. Agreed?”
Everyone around the table agreed and they enjoyed their main courses of lobster and prime rib followed by the molten chocolate cake.
* * *
Eric was frustrated and irritated. Savannah thought that perhaps Alan’s death was preying on his mind, and on top of that the porcelain overlay on his other front tooth had fallen out. He tried to hide it, but that triggered even more attention to his discolored teeth. His glassblowing practice suffered immensely for his lack of focus.
“Why didn’t you get it repaired in Rome?” Savannah asked sympathetically.
“With my dental phobias? No way. It takes all my courage to go to my trusted family dentist.” He sighed deeply. “I’ll just have to manage.”
As his third attempt at the complicated goblet crashed to the floor, he stood looking down at the shards. “Ready or not, Savannah. You’re going to have to make our Best of Show piece. I can’t do it.”
“But I don’t have one.”
“What about that Day of the Dead Skull you sent in as part of your application?”
Savannah folded her arms. “You saw my application?”
“Yes, it was a courtesy, but yes.” Eric began sweeping up the glass. “I liked the freshness of your approach. Can you do one?”
Savannah stood for a moment, mentally reviewing the steps involved. “I need to make a few pieces ahead and store them in our heating oven. Otherwise, it would take so long to create each flower individually that we would overrun our performance timeline.”
“Fine. Get started with the flowers. You don’t need me for that, do you?”
“Nope. They’re small and don’t need transfers. I’m actually more comfortable doing them by myself.”
“Good. I’m going to my cabin for a nap. I need to get my head on straight before the performance.”
Savannah waved him good-bye and began making the flowers she would need to decorate the skull. It took more than an hour and by the time she had them safely in the warming oven, it was time to get ready for the demonstration.
Eric entered the Hot Shop with a serious look on his face. He obviously hadn’t slept. “Thanks for agreeing to do the Best of Show piece. I appreciate it. I think we’ll make that at the end of the show, so I’d like for you to start the program with a fluted vase. Then I’ll follow with a simple but flashy fish and then your skull. How’s that work for you?”
“Just fine. Let’s do this!” Savannah finally felt confident of her glassblowing skills and knew that should Eric make a misstep, she would be able to carry on with the program.
The vase and fish creations were completed with little fuss and no emotional problems from Eric—or herself, either. She approached the white skull with self-assurance. She imagined this final piece as bringing the highest value at the auction on the last evening of the cruise.
She created the skull by gathering a large amount of molten glass from the furnace and then used five separate layers of white frit to give the piece a white cast. After pulling the globe into a skull shape, she began adding the color elements that would make it look like a true Day of the Dead Skull.
When she held up the skull on her blowpipe for the audience to see, they reacted with thunderous applause. She really felt their admiration in her chest. The last step was to break off the skull into Eric’s waiting gloves.
She scored the skull at the base, dripped water in the crease, and tapped the blowpipe. It fell into Eric’s glove safe as a newborn babe. She released her held breath once it was safely in the annealing oven.
Eric announced that the pieces would be available for sale at the auction and thanked everyone for their attendance. He also reminded everyone that the Charity Walk was tonight and would everyone who had entered remember to check in with the cruise director on the top deck prior to the start. The walk would begin at the stroke of midnight with the blowing of the ship’s horn.
Savannah had been hearing about the walk since boarding, and she and Edward had bought T-shirts after the Rosenberg twins signed everyone up for the event.
“How is your investigation progressing?”
“Investigation?” echoed Savannah.
“Don’t be coy. I heard through the crew grapevine that you have been seen in the company of Chief Dalessio and Officer Gaffney. You’ve been called down there more than once. Why haven’t you said anything about it? What’s up?”
He must be suspicious. How can I deflect this?
“I didn’t want to add any more stress to your current situation. It was hard enough to work without Alan. So basically, I tried to keep my investigation activities quiet. Does that bother you?”
“Well, I think I should have been informed. But we know how erratic compliance to procedures is with the security office. Have you found out anything about Alan?”
Savannah thought about the best way to use this conversation to close in on either Eric or Albert as the suspect. If she could safely plant a seed here—it might grow into a resolution.
She saw the Rosenberg twins at the guardrail and willed them to look over at her. They did. She waved a big come over here to them and she saw them start their steady pace across the deck.
“I am finally ready to identify the culprit. It seems that everything is connected to the neighborhood around the Trevi Fountain and what happened to the family members that didn’t want to be in the family business or the family members that got kicked out of the family business.”
“So, you think you’re getting close.”
She turned to greet the Rosenberg twins and looked back over her shoulder. “Yes, I’ve concluded that our prime suspect is Albert. I think he saw Ian Morris’s name on the passenger list. Ian was the only witness to a long-ago murder that could identify him now. Ian could expose his carefully crafted new identity. Albert is the only one with a clear motive for murder.”
Edward had walked up in time to hear Savannah’s last sentence. He said, “Albert knows that I didn’t see him back then, but as Ian is my cousin, he needs to eliminate me as well.”
“The only trick is to prove it,” said Savannah.
I really need to come up with a plan.
Chapter 23
Saturday, at sea
When Savannah went to her cabin to shower and change after the performance, she saw that she had received an e-mail from Jacob. He didn’t communicate easily in either written or spoken words without a good reason. She clicked the mail icon.
Hello Miss Savannah, Amanda told me about Edward’s cousin hiding on the cruise ship. I can help. On the cruise ship’s website are detailed images of each deck. Also, Amanda found some detailed drawings on the Internet that were used to build the ship.
By analyzing them, I have identified a list of possible hiding places for Ian. The list is ordered by the probability of most likely to least likely.
I hope this is helpful to you in your current investigation. I like to help.
Jacob
P.S. Suzy misses you.
Savannah’s heart swelled with pride when she read the e-mail. Her little investigative posse was right on target even across the seas. She copied down the list of places, tucked it in her pocket, and hurried up to the top deck to meet everyone.
To save time, she had called Edward and the Rosenbergs’ suite
to ask them to join the Charity Walk and meet her near the start of the race at 11:45.
Edward arrived a few minutes after Savannah stepped from the elevator. There were dozens of cruisers outfitted in their charity T-shirts ready to walk laps as a pledge to the United Way, Make-A-Wish of America, and City Year organizations.
Savannah announced, “It’s important that we get Albert in custody before we even think about finding Ian. That’s the only way he would be willing to come out of hiding.”
“How are you going to find Albert?” asked Edward.
“Well, sweetie, I’m shamelessly using you as bait.” She lifted one eyebrow. “If I could come up with something else I would, but if he wants to hide in this ship, it will be impossible to catch him. After all, Ian is still hidden and he started from scratch. Albert knows this ship exceedingly well.”
The two sets of twins approached Edward and Savannah followed by Aunt Kate and Uncle Howard. Savannah smiled at their outfits. They had all somehow managed to find white slacks and shoes that would not be out of place at any cricket match in England.
“Aunt Kate, Uncle Howard,” said Edward. “Are you sure you want in on this?”
“We’re just as fit as your friends. Younger, in fact.” Uncle Howard gave Aunt Kate a broad smile and a side hug.
“We’re ready to do whatever you need, Savannah,” said Rachel.
“Us as well,” said Richard.
Savannah did a double take. The twins had switched partners. Concentrate, she reminded herself.
“Why this race?” asked Faith.
“Well, Albert has basically been in the room for every visit that Edward and I have made to the suite.”
“That is, until he disappeared after Alan was murdered,” said Uncle Howard.
“True, but let me finish,” said Savannah.
“He’s right, Savannah,” added Rachel.
“You’re going to set a trap to lure him out,” said Faith.
“Yes, is that the plan?” asked Aunt Kate.
Savannah’s brow crinkled and she looked at Edward, then Ian’s mother. “Yes, I have a plan to lure him out, but it depends on everyone playing their part without question.” She looked at each of them in turn. “Without question. Agreed?”
Everyone either nodded or mumbled agreement.
Savannah took a deep breath. “Albert knows Edward is going to be in this event and there’s one short stretch of the track at the stern of the ship that would make the perfect ambush. There’s a hidden crew door where Albert could attack Edward, then get away. I used it to get Sally out of the crew area.”
Edward scratched the back of his neck. “That does sound perfect. How do you plan to keep me from being killed?”
Savannah looked into his apple green eyes. “There’s a blind spot that’s out of view from the crew door. We’re going to make sure that you have plenty of companions for the first five laps. Then for the sixth and final lap, we’ll send you in alone. When Albert opens the door to attack, Chief Dalessio will be there to capture him.”
“Does Chief Dalessio know about this?”
Savannah grinned. “Oh, yes, I wasn’t about to suggest this until I was sure that she could support it. It’s unconventional, but she agrees that it’s the best idea anyone has to catch Albert before the next port stop.”
“Why the first five laps with companions?”
“Simple. He needs to get frustrated, desperate, and then careless. This will be his best chance before we pull into our final port the day after tomorrow. With the cruise ship relatively empty and sniffer dogs available from the local police, they’ll find Albert. He has to act now.”
Edward gave Savannah a huge hug. “You’re usually right.”
“That doesn’t mean that you should be careless. Be on your guard.” Savannah kissed him full on the lips. They all moved over to the starting line and waited for the cruise director to start the race.
“Everyone get ready, now. The signal is the ship’s horn.”
Before the cruise director could finish that sentence, an ear-deafening blast split the air. The race began with some of the younger contestants sprinting out ahead.
Waiting until most of the passengers had started, Edward’s team started the race by surrounding him into a virtually impregnable box. His protective team race-walked and soon everyone had finished the first lap. The next two laps went by quickly, but by lap four Aunt Kate had to drop out to save her knee.
“I’m so sorry,” she told Savannah. “My knee replacement was more than three months ago. My physical therapist said I was ready for long walks, but I think I’ve overreached my capability.”
Uncle Howard pulled up after lap four and began to limp. “Sorry, Savannah. I’m just not in good enough shape.”
The fifth pass around the isolated part of the track was stressful. Everyone tried not to look at the crew door, but almost everyone did. It seemed to take forever to reach that same stretch of deck on the last lap.
“Okay, everyone,” whispered Savannah before the vital turn. “Hang back here and let Chief Dalessio catch Albert. Good luck, the sixth lap is the lucky one, Edward.”
Everyone hung back just before the turn to let Edward enter that section of the track alone. Savannah joined Chief Dalessio and Officer Gaffney just behind the crew door’s line of sight. Savannah was expecting that Albert would open the door after Edward passed by and attack him from the rear. It turned out that this would be another lap of no action. There were several other runners just ahead and behind Edward. Savannah relaxed.
Instead, before she could react, the crew door opened to hit Edward on the shoulder and down he went to the deck holding his arm and howling.
One of the cruise runners jumped out of the way back into the pack that was following Edward. The pileup added another level of screaming and shouts to the chaos.
Albert plunged out of the doorway with a small stiletto, reaching out to stab Edward.
“Stop!” yelled Savannah as she grabbed Albert’s wrist and could feel the bones of his wrist snap in her grip. “Stop!”
She forced her entire body weight forward and pushed him to the deck. Before she could shout again, he was being manhandled by Officer Gaffney and she sat up.
“Well, that didn’t go to plan,” said Edward, sitting up and rubbing his bruised arm.
“We caught him.” Savannah returned Edward’s half hug and then buried her head in his shoulder.
The rest of their group surrounded Officer Gaffney and Chief Dalessio and chattered questions to them in their excitement.
“Shush! We have him!” Chief Dalessio appeared to relish hauling Albert up by the scruff of his shirt to stand swaying with his hands handcuffed behind him.
Savannah shook her head slowly and began to laugh. “I can’t wait to tell Detective Parker back home.”
“What’s so funny?” asked Edward.
“Don’t you get it?” She bent over holding her sides, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “It’s the ultimate cliché. The butler did it.”
Chapter 24
Sunday, at sea
Savannah exited the elevator to meet both sets of twins, Ian’s parents, and Edward. “Good news!” she told them. “Jacob has analyzed the ship’s construction drawings and he determined where Ian might be hiding, accompanied by an estimated order of probability no less. In the kerfuffle with Albert, I forgot to tell you.”
The elevator door opened again. Sally and Ruth walked out and stood just in front of the closing door. “We’re here to help,” said Sally.
“We overheard all the twins say they were going to search for Ian and we thought we should be part of the search.” Ruth hung her head. “I feel horrible about the way I’ve treated Ian.” She quickly gave her sister a side hug. “I’m especially ashamed of the way I treated Sally. I promised her I would help.”
Savannah splayed her hands out. “Is that good with everyone?”
All agreed.
“Who is Jacob?
” asked Richard.
Faith patted his hand. “Never you mind. He’s a clever lad. We’re going to do exactly what he says.”
“Of course,” Rachel agreed. “Jacob would have done an analysis for us on the first day if he had been along.”
“Shush!” Savannah was looking down at her handwritten list. “Let’s do the public area ones first. If we don’t find him, then we’ll get help from Chief Dalessio to search the crew-only locations. I’d like to avoid dealing with her if I can. I don’t think she can be trusted.”
Edward bowed slightly. “Agreed. Where first?”
“Let’s start with the highest probability location, the Eclipse Theatre. It’s on decks 4 and 5 and would be deserted in between performances and rehearsals. It’s a large space.” She looked at the others. “If we all go, it shouldn’t take long.”
Savannah was right. It didn’t take long to determine that Ian wasn’t hiding there. She looked at the list again.
“Jacob says the spa showers should be deserted during the evening after the staff leaves. It’s possible that is where Ian is holed up. Let’s split up and check both the ladies’ and men’s showers at the same time.”
When they arrived, an attendant was putting the brochures and posters away from the lobby. “Do you mind if we have a look at the showers?” Savannah wasn’t sure if the trim dark-haired girl understood them, but she nodded yes and they split up to search.
They met back in the spa lobby in a few minutes.
“Any luck, guys?” Savannah shook her head. “We didn’t find anything.”
“One of the shower stalls had been recently used. There was water on the walls,” said Edward. “Let’s check to see when the last male customer had an appointment.”
“Early this afternoon,” said the attendant. “That was the last gentleman guest to get a massage followed by a shower.”
“Do you clean the showers after each client?”
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