Death on the Bella Constance (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 6)

by Ann Mullen

  “Don’t let her hear you call her old,” Teresa joked, obviously trying to come to terms with what had transpired. “She might just stab you with a fork.” She coughed again, and then took another sip of water. “That wasn’t funny. Where’s Peter? Is… he… dead?”

  Dr. Whitley and I looked at each other.

  “What is it?” Teresa asked, her voice cracking. “Oh, no… she killed him. Now, if this ain’t a fine mess. He spends the last eight months driving me nuts, and now my mother’s going to jail for trying to protect me. He should be the one in prison, not her. I know this isn’t nice, but I’m glad he’s dead! He’s made my life a living nightmare.”

  “He isn’t dead,” I said, looking over at the curtain that separated the two of them.

  “Say it isn’t so!” The fear in her voice was evident. She was terrified of the man she had once cared about. “Are you telling me that creep is right next to me?” She tried to climb down off the gurney, and would’ve made it if her leg hadn’t given way. “Ouch!” she cried out in pain as she clutched her right knee. “I have to get out of here.” She tried to stand again, but fell instead.

  The doctor and I helped her to her feet and back up on the gurney.

  She let out a sigh of relief and said, “Thank you for your help. That feels much better. You’ve both been very nice to me, but I really have to go find my mother. Do you have any crutches? I don’t mind hobbling…”

  “Your leg muscles were in a cramped, fixed position for so long that it will take them a little while to wake up,” the doctor said. “That’s the best way I can explain it. You’ll need to rest for a little while. Not sleep, mind you, but rest. One of my assistants will help you exercise your legs.” He motioned to his helper. “I will see to it that you get what you need. Joy Lynn will be glad to work with you, won’t you, Joy Lynn?”

  “Anything you say, Dr. Whitley,” the woman replied with a smile.

  I couldn’t tell if she was sincere or being sarcastic. I guess she could be a candidate for the ever growing list, also.

  “As far as Peter Dawson is concerned, we’ll take care of him,” Dr. Whitley went on. “He’ll be detained in our ship’s holding room until we dock. After that, he’ll have to face the authorities.”

  “Teresa,” I said, getting her attention. “I have people waiting for me, but as soon as my meeting is over, I’ll personally check on your mother. For now, listen to your doctor. You’re in good hands. I’ll come back to see you as soon as I can. And don’t worry about Peter causing trouble. He’s highly sedated and will be out of it for a while.” With that said, I walked back over to the counter, took a tongue depressor from the jar, and used it to slide the bottle of pills back into the plastic bag. I stuffed the bag into my jacket pocket, looked up at Dr. Whitley, and said, “I’ll see to it that these get put in the right hands.”

  “Are those my mother’s pills?”

  “Yes, they are. I’ll make sure she gets the right ones back as soon as possible, but for now they need to be held in evidence.”

  “We’ll transfer Peter shortly and bring Maggie Anderson in here for observation,” Dr. Whitley said. “She needs medical attention. Get back with me as soon as you can.”

  “I will,” I said. I walked over to the door, opened it, and waved as I left the Med Center.

  Tsk… tsk… so much chaos in one place. What else could possibly happen? I had asked myself that same question before, and every time I did, something else happened. Maybe I should stop asking. I pushed the thought aside as I walked down the hall to the dreaded elevator. As the elevator door opened, three people walked out. A look of recognition caught the attention of one of the women. She whispered something to the other woman and man, and then all three descended upon me.

  “Mrs. Blackhawk,” the younger one said. “We need your help. I’m Maura Rodrigus, and this is my father and mother, Fernando and Maria Cruz.”

  “How do you do?” I asked, greeting them.

  “Mi esposo de la cartera ha sido robado. No tenemos dinero. Usted nos debe ayudar. Por favor, ¿puede usted encontrar su billetera? No sé qué vamos a hacer sin dinero.”

  I looked at Maria, and then back to Maura. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand what she’s saying.”

  “My father’s wallet has been stolen,” Maura said. “My husband is out looking for it, but he hasn’t found it, yet. We’ve been looking for you or Mr. Blackhawk. We need someone to find my father’s wallet.”

  “Usted nos debe ayudar, por favor,” Fernando added.

  “Have you reported this to the captain?” I asked Maura.

  “Yes, we’ve been to the captain, but with no luck.”

  “You might want to check with him again,” I said, trying to reassure her. “We’ve discovered a pickpocket on board, and several wallets have been recovered. Your father’s wallet might be one of them. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can do.”

  Maura turned to her parents and said, “El capitan podria tener el monedero. Hay un carterista a bordo.” She looked back at me. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Blackhawk. I hope you’re right.”

  “Gracias!” Fernando and Maria both said. “Gracias!” The three of them smiled as they walked away chatting in Spanish.

  Another case solved… hopefully.

  The minute I stepped into the elevator, the first thing that came to mind was: I wonder if Steven King ever wrote a book about killer elevators. Perhaps he should take a cruise on the Bella Constance. What a great place to just let your mind run off in its own direction. Then I had visions of some of the things I had read in his books, and a shiver shook my body… or was that from this freaky elevator. By the time the death box came to a halt and the door opened, I was on the verge of hyperventilating. Where was my paper bag when I needed it?

  I ran to Bella’s door, and knocked loudly. My fear was rampant, and if I didn’t see Billy—my safety net—I was going to explode.

  The door opened, and I brushed passed Jacob before he could invite me in. “Sorry, Jacob,” I said as I walked by. “I don’t mean to be so rude, but I’m in a… Billy!” I waved and caught his attention.

  Jacob closed the door and politely ignored my rudeness. He smiled as if this was an every day occurrence in Loukas and Bella’s life. I guess it was. I’m sure they’ve met their share of rude people.

  Savannah rushed over to me before I could get to Billy and said, “You must come and try some of this food. It’s delicious. I know you must be hungry, taking into account that you didn’t have a chance to finish lunch.”

  I looked at Billy, smiled, and then walked over to the table with Savannah. I picked up a plate and started helping myself. I wasn’t really paying attention to the food as I shoveled it into my mouth. My intention was to fill my empty stomach as quickly as possible, and then find out what I had missed. While I ate, I scanned the room to see who was present. Other than the hosts and their entourage, the captain, Billy, Savannah and McCoy, the only other faces in the crowd were two of Bella’s daughters, Jena and Nell, and Jena’s husband Steven. Not only was Utah not present, but missing also were Ruby and Jeff. I asked Savannah about them.

  “Utah is still in one of his moods according to Nell, and Ruby and Jeff rarely leave their room. I guess they’re hermits. Bella says they’re computer fanatics. They can’t break themselves away. I guess everyone has their own thing. I think they’re socially inept, and I don’t mean that in an ugly way. Some people just don’t like crowds. They feel uncomfortable.”

  “I can understand that,” I replied. “I’m not real big on being in a room with a lot of people either. I feel suffocated.”

  “Like me and my elevator phobia.”

  “Exactly, except in my case, I feel as if everyone is watching me.”

  “They probably are. They find you fascinating.”

  “I doubt that. They might think my job is fascinating.”

  “That may well be. The heck with what they think!” Savannah smiled. “I like you, and I fin
d you and Billy very interesting.”

  “Thank you, Savannah, but to be honest, you’re the one who has the interesting life. How does it feel to have so many people adore you everywhere you go?”

  “Truthfully, it wears me out. Sometimes, I just run out of things to say. When people ask me about my books, I feel as if I’m bragging. That’s not me. I don’t have a big ego.”

  “You have a following. People want to get to know you. No one thinks you’re bragging. I know I don’t.”

  Bella walked over and asked me how I was doing. “I know this storm has gotten to you, and I’m so sorry that your first cruise turned out like this. But don’t fret. We’ve almost bypassed it, and we should be docking in the morning. Our first stop will be Port St. George. Usually, this isn’t where we dock, but under the circumstances, we probably won’t have much choice. You’ll like St. George. I’ve suggested to Loukas that we dine at one of their restaurants tomorrow night instead of the ship’s dining room. Tonight, everyone is invited to dine here with us. We’ll have cocktails at seven, and dinner at eight. What do you think? Are you up for it?”

  After today, I was game for almost anything that was going to be fun. Unfortunately, I would soon discover that fun was not going to find its way onto the agenda.

  Chapter 14

  To be honest, all I really wanted to do was go back to our room and lock the door. I know I had said that I was game for anything, but I’d had enough excitement and intrigue for one day. I wanted to relax and enjoy myself. But I ignored my feelings of anxiety and said, “That sounds like fun. Did you ask Billy? Should we just move in?”

  “You could move in if you’d like, but I know you’re kidding. I think I know you pretty well by now, my dear.”

  “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

  “And yes, I did ask Billy about cocktails, dining with us tonight, and dining in St. George. He’s all for it.” She leaned in closer to me and whispered, “Would you like to take off your windbreaker, or do you still have a gun in your pocket? It’s okay if you do. The captain won’t say anything.”

  I looked over at the group of men huddled together—Captain O’Riley, Billy, Loukas, McCoy and Steven. Apparently, they were talking about baseball because I heard one of them laugh and say something about last season’s grand slam walk-off in the final inning of the game.

  “I left my gun back in my room,” I said as I removed my jacket.

  Allison immediately walked over, took it, and said, “I’ll be glad to hang this up for you.”

  “Thank you, but I can…”

  “Nonsense,” she replied. “You’re a guest. Let me do it.” She graciously took the jacket and walked into another room.

  I looked over at Billy in time to see him excuse himself and then walk toward me. He crossed the room, came up to me, and said, “Shall we slip into another room and have a talk?”

  I set my plate down on the table and said, “Show me the way.”

  Billy and I politely excused ourselves. He took me by the arm and led me to a room, and then closed the door. I looked around, seeing that we were in someone’s office, and wondered how many other rooms Bella and Loukas must have. I brought that to Billy’s attention.

  “They have seven rooms, some just about the same size of our stateroom. Nice digs, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Yes.” I got right to the point. “Maggie Anderson’s medication was tampered with. Dr. Whitley says he’s not surprised she acted the way she did. He says she’s lucky the combination of pills didn’t kill her. And, I was wrong about Teresa and Peter. I thought they were trying to drive Maggie insane, or maybe something worse, so they could be together. But the truth is Peter was threatening Teresa. He followed her here and has been tormenting her ever since. No wonder Maggie wanted him out of her daughter’s life. Teresa is going to be fine, and Peter is so doped up, he’ll be out for hours. Now, it’s your turn. What have you found out? Any leads on who might be trying to kill Loukas?”

  “So far, I’ve discovered that Jimmy Carlson, the guy who died yesterday, was the one who called Loukas on his cell phone in the limo to warn him about his life being in danger. That’s been confirmed. And your dream was right on the mark, `ge ya. I just found out from one of my contacts in the lab in Atlanta that the insides of the glasses were coated with a substance called Tetrahydrozoline—the ingredient found in common, everyday eye drops.”

  “I read an article about that stuff. It started out as a prank—a few drops in a drink—and boom! The victim winds up with a severe case of diarrhea, and everybody gets a good laugh. I didn’t like that part one bit. That’s just plain cruel. Then the article said that eye drops taken internally could be fatal. The respiratory system can shut down. Heart failure. All kinds of bad stuff can happen. If you don’t die, you’ll be so sick you’ll wish you would.”

  “Whoever is behind this most likely was hoping the champagne incident would cause a stir on the ship. It surely would have caused a big commotion. Imagine how many of us could have gotten ill, maybe died. Passengers would hear about it, and you know that gossip always runs rampant, especially if it’s bad news. People would’ve panicked. And, in the midst of all this, the bad guy does his deed. Given the scenario, who would have expected Loukas to get bumped off so soon?”

  “I guess the guy planned to strike fast and hard. When people start getting sick on a boat, everyone gets scared. When they die, people really go nuts. It creeps me out to think that danger lies everywhere you go on this ship. Nobody knows when or where he’ll strike again.”

  “If it is a him,” Billy said. “It very well could be a woman.”

  I thought for a minute, but couldn’t come up with a suspect. “What female on board would have a reason to hate Loukas enough to kill him, or be capable of pulling it off? I just don’t see that happening. No, I suspect Utah.”

  “Here’s another one for you. Jimmy Carlson worked for Constance Enterprises directly under Utah Hawks.”

  “Utah Hawks! I knew he was the one behind the plot the first time I met him. He’s a mean bully of a man. He’s greedy, and I don’t think he’d let anything stand in the way of getting what he wants. Bella and Loukas said Utah and our quiet boy Jeff were adamantly opposed to selling the cruise line.” I smirked. “This is stuff of which bad movies are made. They always get caught in the end. Don’t they know that? Jimmy Carlson found out about Utah’s plan, and Utah found out that Jimmy knew, or Carlson just plain chickened out at the last minute. Then he tried to do the right thing by warning Loukas, and the poor guy paid for his efforts with his life. That’s a drag.”

  “I’m not convinced Utah is our man.”

  “How can you say that? All avenues point to him. Who else could be more angry, powerful, and rotten enough to have the guts to pull off this undertaking? Loukas is guarded all day, every day.”

  An idea popped into my head the second after I asked Billy that question. Who, indeed? A vision of Allison and Jacob materialized. Other than Bella, who could get close enough to Loukas without raising suspicion? Why… Allison or Jacob could!

  “What about Allison or Jacob? How much closer can you get? They’re with Loukas and Bella all the time.”

  Except when Bella met up with Savannah and me this morning. She was alone. She had ditched them.

  “I mentioned them as possible suspects, but Bella and Loukas balked at the idea. They trust those two implicitly.”

  “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Isn’t that what you would say?”

  “Yes, I would. Keep in mind that I never rule anything out—or anyone.”

  “Okay. Back to the champagne. How did it get on board? Someone knows something.”

  “The box was left with instructions. No one knows how it got there. It just mysteriously appeared. The captain has questioned his entire crew, and no one knows anything. He even had someone go through the delivery invoices and nothing. That’s a dead end for now.”

  “But that’s the key to this w
hole investigation. Trace the box back to the source, and it will lead you to the killer… or killer-to-be.”

  “Regrettably, we will not get our answers from that source.”

  “Putting that one aside, where do we go from here?”

  “Unless he or she has a backup plan, Loukas is safe for now. The panic over what could’ve happened if the champagne poisonings had been successful didn’t occur, but I’m sure another plan will be put into action soon. We have to keep our guard up.”

  The ship bell rang.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It’s probably just a warning. When the weather gets so bad that the visibility is non-existent, ships do that to alert other ships in the area of their presence.”

  “I wouldn’t mind getting off this boat for a breather.”

  “Ship… my dear,” Bella said as she tapped lightly on the door and then let herself in.

  I was afraid that our voices had carried, so I asked, “Could you hear us through the door?”

  “Only if I had stuck my ear to it.” She smiled. “I listened in for just a second. I didn’t want to walk in on something private.” She smiled an even broader smile than before. “You two took this cruise to have some time alone, and now we’ve gone and inserted ourselves into your time. I thought Billy was bringing you in here to be amorous.”

  “You’re silly, Bella. You know I don’t buy that. You just want to know what we’re talking about. Come clean.”

  “I must tell the truth. I had my ear glued to the door. I’m sorry. I can’t help myself. I know you have to keep secrets, but I’m really terrified that someone is going to get away with killing my husband. I can’t live without Loukas.” She began to sniffle. “I love my children, but they have their own lives. Loukas is my life.”

  I wrapped my arms around her shoulder and said, “Don’t cry, Bella. You’re going to make me cry. We have not kept any secrets from you except the ones you don’t need to know.”