by Ann Mullen
A salesgirl approached me as I was admiring a lovely red formal gown and asked, “It’s divine, isn’t it? You’d look fantastic in it. Why don’t you try it on?”
I reached over, took the price tag in my hand, and almost choked. Nine hundred dollars… a bit out of my price range. I showed the tag to Billy. He didn’t flinch. “Try it on,” he said. “I think you will look stunning in it.”
“It is the right size,” I said, thinking it over. Normally, I would never consider paying that much money for a dress, but considering the fact that we had just received a small fortune from Bella and Loukas, nine hundred dollars didn’t seem so extravagant. It’s funny how your mind works when it comes to getting something you want. I smiled at Billy, and when I turned to follow the salesgirl, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the three ladies from Georgia briskly walking up to him. Poor guy, I thought. He has to tolerate another boring round of the bickering sisters from Georgia.
The stunned look I saw on Billy’s face when I walked out of the dressing room wearing a beautiful, perfectly fitting, red evening gown had nothing to do with me.
The girls from Georgia had put a bug in his ear. Billy’s mind seemed to be somewhere other than with me, because he was deep in concentration. I’ve seen that look many times. I stood there waiting for him to come out of his trance and notice my dress, but after a few minutes, I figured I was going to have to crack him over the head with an umbrella. Finally, he focused his attention on me and said, “That dress was made for you, `ge ya. You must buy it. I will give you money.”
I snapped my fingers and said, “Get with the program! What’s the matter with you? You’re talking funny again, and you have that distant look in your eyes. What did those women say to you?”
“This is the way I talk.”
“When you’re wigging out on me. You talk that way when you have serious business on your mind like investigating a case.”
“I don’t want to burden you with such trivial gossip.”
“Gossip! I want gossip! Remember… no secrets!”
“There usually is a little truth in every rumor. Bertie said the guy was taken off the ship because he was dead, and we know that to be true, and then she said he was involved in the plan to kill the owner of the ship.”
“Where did she come up with that tidbit? Where’s her evidence?”
“I don’t know, but it didn’t take her long to find out about us. She knows we’re private investigators, and that we’ve been hired by Loukas Constance to smoke out his enemy.”
“We only met those women a little over twenty minutes ago.”
“They’re just busybodies. Forget about them. Buy the dress.” He looked at the salesgirl when she walked up and said, “She’ll need a pair of shoes to go with the dress. Can you help us with that, or do we have to go to another shop?”
“I can help you there,” she replied. “I’ll be right back.”
“She’s so nice,” I said after she walked away. “We’ll have to get her name, so we can tell Bella and Loukas what a terrific salesgirl she is. When I made a comment to her about the price of the gown, she said she could show me something else just as nice for less, and she didn’t mean it in an ugly way. This is a designer gown. That’s why it’s so expensive.”
“It looks great on you,” the salesgirl replied, walking up to us holding a great looking pair of silver stilettos.
I looked at the shoes and said, “I don’t think I can wear those. The tallest pair of heels I’ve ever worn were on my boots. They’re not for me.”
“You might be surprised at how comfortable they are,” she said. “Here’s a new pair of knee-high stockings. We do ask our customers to wear them when they try on shoes. Give the shoes a try. What can it hurt?”
“His wallet,” I said as I took the shoes and walked over to the full-length mirror.
Billy just smiled and didn’t say anything.
I sat down in the chair, took off my tennis shoes, and slipped on the knee-highs. Then I slipped on the strapped stilettos, stood up, and walked around. The shoes felt very comfortable.
“I love them,” I said, looking at Billy and back to the salesgirl. “By the way, what’s your name?”
“I’m Jen. I think I might have told you earlier, but you only had eyes for your husband and that dress.”
“We’ll take it,” Billy announced. “And the shoes. Doesn’t she need a small dinner purse?”
“I’ll be right back.” She turned and disappeared.
“Mr. Big Spender! These shoes are three hundred dollars. I can just imagine what the price of the purse will cost.”
“You should have what you want.”
“I do, Billy. I have you.”
He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips. He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out his wallet. He looked through the wallet, pulled out his Visa Card, and then handed it to me.
I leaned close to him and whispered, “I would never, ever pay this much for clothes if we didn’t have that cash back in the safe. I want you to know that.”
“I do, `ge ya.”
Jen returned with a silver clutch purse.
“I don’t even want to know what the purse costs. We’ll take it all,” I said, handing her the credit card. “Let me go take off this dress and these shoes. I’ll be right back.” When I returned and handed her the merchandise, the transaction had been completed. Billy had already signed on the dotted line.
“I’ll have these boxed up in a second,” Jen said.
Five minutes later, we were leaving the store with a mighty expensive dinner outfit.
“I still can’t believe we paid so much for that dress.”
“Wait until you find out what the purse cost.”
“Oh, I never even looked. How much was it?”
“Let’s just say that we could’ve bought a good used car for what’s in that shopping bag.” I started to open the bag to have a look at the prices, but Billy stopped me.
“Look later. I don’t want you to worry about the money.”
“I’ve never been this frivolous.”
“You are on vacation, your majesty. You deserve the best and I’m going to give it to you as long as I can.”
“That won’t be long, if we keep this up. I say we go find a new tux for you.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I must be handsomely dressed, too, or I will embarrass you.”
“That will never happen!”
We turned, started walking, and immediately noticed a men’s shop right next door. Of course, not to be left out, the shop was named, Loukas’ Shop for Men.
“I should’ve known,” I said, chuckling.
We spent fifteen minutes in the clothing store. Billy picked out a fine-looking tux. It fit perfectly, and the pants didn’t even have to be hemmed. It was as if the tux had been hanging there, waiting for him to come along, and I told him so. That was all he needed. He already had a pair of shoes he could wear, and he didn’t need a purse, so we were in and out faster than one can try on an evening gown. Men shop quicker than women do. We agreed to take our packages back to our stateroom and then maybe go for a dip in the pool before dinner, but once we got back to the room that was put on hold temporarily. Someone had entered our room while we were gone and had set up a folding divider, normally used for dressing and undressing, in front of the desk with all the electronic equipment.
“That was a good idea,” Billy said as he closed the door and then put his package on the bed. “That way nobody can see our little spy operation in case we have a visitor.”
“I’m uncomfortable with people coming and going in our room. I want my privacy. This has to stop. Why couldn’t they wait until we had returned?”
“I will call Loukas.”
“No.” I held up my hand. “Don’t do that. I don’t want to offend them. I might bring it up in private when I see Bella. I don’t want to make a big deal of it.” I sat my packages on the bed, and walked over to the dre
ssing screen.
An hour later, after watching Nell on the computer, and listening to her and her husband bicker about money and his position in the company, and Ruby and Jeff going through their packages after an apparent shopping excursion, we were bored and ready for some fun. The other sister and her husband weren’t in their room.
“They’ll be back soon, I’m sure,” I said. “The day is growing short, and they’ll have to get ready for dinner some time soon.”
“Forget about them,” Billy said. “Let’s go for a swim.”
“I’ll get in the pool, but you know I can’t swim.”
“Yes, I do, `ge ya, and I think it’s about time you learned. I will teach you. Now, go put on that skimpy little bikini you brought with you.”
Both of us changed out of clothes and put on our beachwear, or maybe in this case—pool wear—and were ready for a frolicking time in the water. Clad in proper attire, with sunscreen and all the necessities for lounging by the pool, Billy and I headed for deck seven.
The stroll was enjoyable. The cool breeze kept the late afternoon sun from being so hot, and the salt air was refreshing. It was exactly what I expected. The mountains have the best air, but when I’m on the water, I want it to smell like the beach… and I wouldn’t mind getting a little tan without burning to a crisp.
The pool area was filled with lounge chairs, tables with umbrellas and chairs, people sipping drinks, and kids jumping in the water, splashing around with their parents. Fortunately, there was also a life guard on duty.
“Hmm,” I whispered. “I was hoping for a little privacy.”
“You’re on a cruise ship with several hundred other people,” Billy said. “The only real privacy we’re going to get is in our room.” Billy, being the optimist that he is, can find the good in any situation, so he took my hand and said, “Follow me.”
He led me to a nice, secluded area off to the left of the pool in the corner where it seemed to be less crowded. We had full sun and solitude. It was a perfect place to relax.
I picked up one of the towels provided, spread it on the chaise, and sat down with my back to Billy. I put my pool bag on the floor beside me, reached in, and took out the sunscreen.
“Would you mind?” I asked, turning my head in his direction.
“I’d be delighted to.”
Billy sat down in his chaise facing my back, and gently rubbed on the lotion, his hands making circular strokes. His touch was stimulating.
I stretched out on the chaise on my front side, so he could rub down my back and legs, while I lay there basking in the warm glow of the sun. When I turned over, I looked around and noticed several people staring. “I think that’s enough,” I said, softly. “We have an audience. Maybe I should handle the front side.”
Billy glanced around and smiled that charming smile of his.
Smiles flashed back at him.
When I looked up again, I saw that all those smiles were coming from women—women of all shapes, sizes, and in an age bracket beyond ours… and none of them were with a man.
“I didn’t realize this was also a ship for senior singles, too.”
“You will see all kinds of people, `ge ya.”
“They look as if they’re on the prowl.”
Billy laughed and replied, “If they are, it’s because they’re lonely. I bet their husbands are on the ship somewhere else, doing their thing. Those women just want to meet people and socialize.”
I scanned the pool area again and saw a group of older men congregating on the other size.
“If you look across the pool you’ll see a bunch of men about the same age as those ladies. Perhaps they are their husbands.”
Our chitchat ended when Billy said, “Okay, It’s time for your swimming lesson.”
“Do we have to? All these people will see us. Besides, I just put on sunscreen.”
“They’ll be jealous because you’re so beautiful, and you look hot in that bikini. Black becomes you.”
“Enough,” I said. “You win. Teach me how to swim.”
Billy dove into the pool while I chose to walk down the steps and slowly submerge myself. When he popped up out of the water, he was right in front of me with his arms extended.
“Give me your hands, stretch out your legs, and just try to float.”
An hour later, my skin had turned into a prune, but I was swimming from one end of the pool to the other. Billy did it! He taught me how to swim! Let’s just hope I don’t have to put my newly acquired ability to the test on the open sea. I would have reservations about my survival.
“I’ve had enough,” I said as I wiped the water from my face. “Can we take a break?”
“I thought you were having fun.”
“I am, Billy.” I bobbed over closer. “Thank you so much. What you taught me here today might some day save my life. Let’s just hope I don’t fall overboard.”
“I would save you, `ge ya.”
Instead of trying to crawl out of the pool on the side, which always looks awkward, we walked up the steps, Billy holding my hand the whole time. I felt loved, and happy that everyone could see that Billy was my man. Childish, I know, but it sure did make me feel good.
By the time we reached our table, a server came up, introduced himself as Kody, and asked if he could get us anything. We ordered iced tea—without the alcohol—and a plate of appetizers. We hadn’t eaten in a while and I needed something in my stomach if I was going to make it through the day until dinner.
Before the young man could return with our order, a woman in her late twenties walked up to one of the tables and spoke with one of the women. She held a photo in her hand, and from the look on her face, it was either a bad photo of herself she just had taken on the ship, or it was a picture of the devil. She looked our way and then said something to the woman. The woman craned her neck to get a look at us.
“What do you think that’s all about?” I asked Billy as we sat down at the table next to our chaise loungers, and waited to see what was going to happen next. I could feel it, and I’m sure Billy could, too. Another adventure was headed our way—like it or not.
The two women huddled together, making their way over to us.
“Here it comes,” I whispered.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt your afternoon, but we have a serious problem,” the older woman said. “My name is Maggie Anderson, and this is my daughter, Teresa.”
We exchanged greetings with a handshake.
“And since you’re the ship’s private eye,” she continued, “I was hoping you’d take this matter seriously and realize there’s a real threat here.”
The word had gotten out, and now everyone would want our help.
Chapter 5
The last thing I wanted was to be involved in another case. This was our vacation! I wanted my privacy... and so did Billy.
“I think there has been some sort of mistake,” he said. “We’re on vacation.”
“Then you’re not a private eye?” Teresa asked.
“Yes, I am,” Billy answered. “But…”
“Then you can help me, can’t you?”
“You see,” Maggie said, jumping in, “there’s this guy, Peter Dawson.” She held out a picture for us to see. “He’s been stalking my daughter for months now. The police caught him in the act and arrested him. But the jerk made bail. We got a restraining order out on him, but that’s not going to stop him from hurting her. He’s already threatened to kill her, and he doesn’t go to court on the stalking charge until three weeks from now. He could do anything in three weeks.”
“Please help us,” Teresa begged. “Peter Dawson is on this ship. I saw him! He’s followed us!”
I looked over at Billy and could tell that he was giving in. I could see it in his smile.
“Let me have a look at the photo,” I said. “I’m a pretty good private eye, too. If you don’t believe me just ask my private eye husband.”
The mouth on both women fell agape.
“You’re a private investigator, too?” Teresa asked, surprised. “And you work with your husband. That’s interesting. I’m sure you both have a few tales to tell.”
Billy and I looked at each other and chuckled. I handed him the photo, and then looked back at Maggie and Teresa Anderson and said, “More than just a few, I can assure you of that.”
Billy looked up from the photograph and asked, “Have you told the captain of your suspicions?”
“No,” Maggie responded. “Bertie from Georgia told me that you were the ship’s private detective, and that you were staying in room 610, so we followed you. The only problem we had was that Teresa forgot to bring the photo and had to go back and get it before we could approach you. We have a restraining order. He’s not supposed to come within five-hundred feet of her. If you could catch him, he would have to leave the ship.”
“Bertie from Georgia, huh?” I mimicked. “Why am I not surprised?”
“She’s a very nice person, but she argues with her sisters all the time,” Maggie said. “She was starting to get on my nerves, but I did get something valuable from her. She told me about Mr. Blackhawk. I didn’t know that you were a private eye, too. That means both of you can work on the case. Money is no object.”
“The first thing I want you to do is go to the captain and tell him everything you told me. Show him the photo. Do you have another one?”
“Yes,” Teresa replied. “I have several, but they’re back in our room. When I saw him on board, I told Mom, and she went with me to the Computer Café. I downloaded a picture of him I have on my cell phone and had a few copies made.” She started to cry. “All I wanted was to get away from him for a while. I wanted to be able to stop worrying whether or not he was hiding behind every bush or sitting in a car somewhere watching me. He does that all the time.”
Her mother reached over, tried to soothe her daughter, and then looked back at us. “If we go to the captain, will you help us then?”
“We are on our vacation,” Billy said. “But I promise that we will keep an eye out for him. If we see him, we’ll have a chat with him.”
“I need for you to do more than that,” Maggie Anderson pleaded, almost demanding. “I need your services, and I’m willing to pay you whatever you want. I’m a widow. My husband and I ran a very successful dry cleaning business for many years. I’ve since sold the business and have plenty of money. How much do you want?”