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

by Ann Mullen

  “What did the police have to say?”

  “What could they say? The man who killed my husband and the one who planned it were already dead. There was no one to go after.” She looked around at all of us and said, “Please don’t think badly of my father. He was a good Christian. I’m sure it ate him up, but when it comes down to protecting your child, a person can only tolerate so much.”

  “I agree,” I said. “My sister’s ex-husband, who was not abusive at all, pushed her and she fell down the stairs. She had a miscarriage. I wanted him dead, too.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t go out and kill him,” Lara replied.

  “I wanted to. I even had visions of him being eaten by a bear. We live in the mountains, and that wouldn’t be unheard of.”

  “My father asked for my forgiveness, and I told him if that’s what he wanted, I would forgive him, but he didn’t need my forgiveness. I thanked him for saving my life. I’m just glad that I had the gumption to tell him about Robert. Right or wrong, what my father did, he did to save me. Where do you draw the line when it comes to your own flesh and blood?”

  I had been listening to Lara tell her sad story, and didn’t realize how much it was affecting me until I started feeling angry… then sad… then that grey feeling took over… and then I felt sick to my stomach. Here was a woman who had been through a nightmare, and just the thought of how her life must have been with an abusive husband blew me away. I had to change what I was feeling, so I raised my wine glass and said, “Here’s to gumption! I hope we all have plenty of it!”

  Everyone raised their glasses to my toast and sipped their Bacon Hollow wine.

  When we lowered our glasses, Bella stood up, raised her glass again and said, “Here’s to courage!” She looked over at Lara, and then back to the rest of us. “You only need a little bit to do what you have to do.”

  We all stood and joined in her toast. “Amen!” we said, and then sat back down.

  I couldn’t help but feel as if I should give comfort to Lara. I excused my rudeness to Malcolm and leaned across him to put my hand on hers. “Your father did what he had to do to protect you,” I said. “It’s time to put the past behind you and move on with your life. You did nothing wrong. I’m sure your father is in heaven right now smiling down on you, and hoping you will start your life anew. Do it for you, and do it for him. Don’t carry this around for the rest of your life.”

  “That was so touching, Jesse,” Savannah said. “I think I’m going to cry.” She looked at Lara. “Jesse’s right. Listen to her.”

  The cell phone in my small clutch bag went off, playing the tune from Magnum, P.I.

  Everyone smiled… even Lara.

  “It’s Billy,” I said. “Something must be up.”

  “You don’t have to get up from the table. We all want to know what’s going on. Please… sit and answer it!” Bella said with urgency. “It might be important.”

  Everyone at the table started whispering to each other as I reached in my purse, pulled out the cell phone, and flipped it open. Before I had a chance to say hello, Billy jumped right in. “Utah Hawks showed up at the hospital and was taken to police headquarters for questioning.”

  My jaw dropped. I knew Utah Hawks was a bad person, and now he had proved it. He went to the hospital to silence Kody and got caught. Hurrah! The threat to Loukas was finally over. I couldn’t wait to hear what Utah had to say for himself. How would he explain his way out of this one?

  “My… my. What a tangled web we weave when we set out to deceive… or however the line goes. See! I was right on the mark, wasn’t I?”

  “Is that Billy?” Bella whispered across the table.

  I put my finger to my lips to shush her, and then nodded my head in agreement.

  “He’s not our man,” Billy said.

  “How can you say that? They…”

  “Don’t say anything else. Just listen, okay `ge ya?”

  “Okay,” I replied. I knew from the tone in is voice that there was more to come, and it was for my ears only, so I sat there quietly and listened to what he had to say.

  Everyone at our table stopped talking and waited for the news.

  “The police are going to keep him overnight. They’re not about to let a suspect loose on their beautiful, tourist-filled island. I like that part. The part I don’t like is that I don’t think Utah’s guilty. He kept telling the police that everyone suspected him. He knew he was going to get the blame, so he wanted to question the kid—find out who paid the kid to do it. He was sincere about his innocence. I have a tendency to believe him, but that’s only because I know he begged the captain to go with him. The captain refused to get involved. He won’t leave the ship.”

  “How do you…”

  “The police and I have developed an understanding. I watched the interrogation on the computer from Loukas’ PSR… as he calls it—his private snoop room.”

  “What…”

  “Just listen, Jesse, and don’t say anything until I tell you what to say.”

  I sat mum as Billy continued.

  “There’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes. Right now, all I want you to do is tell everyone that Utah has been detained by the police. Nothing else. You don’t know the details, but you do know he’ll be spending the night there. Tell everyone to enjoy their meals, and then after you finish dinner, hopefully in the next thirty minutes, I want you to get your bodyguard to escort you back to our room. Once you’re out of Bella’s sight, get Savannah to come to our room with you. Keep your eyes open for any suspicious activity. We have work to do, `ge ya.”

  I didn’t question him about Savannah and why I was to bring her with me. All I said was, “Okay, Billy. I’ll tell them.”

  I closed up the cell phone and said, “I don’t have all the details, but I do know that Utah Hawks was taken in for questioning after he showed up at the hospital.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Bella asked in disgust. She shook her head. “I always knew he was a criminal. He’s the one behind the plot to kill my husband.” Her anger was surfacing. “He’s going to pay! You can bet on that! He’ll regret the day he ever crossed me!”

  And pay… he would. Bella Constance would see to it.

  We tried to avoid any reference to Utah Hawks as we finished our dinner, but it wasn’t easy. Everyone had an opinion, but no one had an answer. Another lively chat session at the captain’s table was about to come to an end, until Lara stirred the pot by saying, “I know it’s none of my business, but I overheard Utah Hawks arguing with Bertie Callahan in the hallway just before I got on the elevator to come here. It might not be important, but I thought I should say something… since your announcement that Mr. Hawks is in jail. I know everyone’s looking for the person who’s trying to kill Mr. Constance, and I thought I should speak up. Pieces of a puzzle can sometimes come together with the help of something that might seem so insignificant.”

  She had gotten my attention with her news.

  “Bertie!” Bella said. “She’s as harmless as a fly. She was probably giving him a raking over the coals. Maybe she thinks he’s guilty, too.”

  “I saw them arguing at the beach,” I added. “Lara might have something here.” I looked at Lara and asked, “Did you hear what they were saying?”

  “Not really. All I heard was something about Utah being a bad man.”

  “See! I told you so!” Bella jumped in. “Bertie is beyond reproach. She saved my child’s life. She’s a good friend.”

  The conversation died down from there, but Lara’s tidbit about the pieces of the puzzle coming together by a simple clue, had stuck with me. I wasn’t the only one who had noticed a conflict between Bertie Callahan and Utah Hawks. I couldn’t wait to tell Billy.

  “I guess that settles it,” I said, trying to get this dinner moving toward a speedy end. “I say we do like Billy said, and enjoy our dinner—and then do what we want to as long as we have our bodyguards.” I chuckled slightly just to emphasize
the fact that we could have a good time even with our bodyguards surrounding us and listening to everything we say. There are just some things women like to talk about without men hearing us.

  Eventually, the dinner was over and we all agreed that it was time to do our own thing. I told them that I was going to my room—I was so tired. That’s all it took to get the ball rolling. Everyone else agreed with me. They’d had enough for one day. We left the dining room to go our separate ways, but just before we reached the elevator, I noticed that there were two bodyguards standing on each side of the Med Center door. No one said anything. Perhaps they were too wrapped up in their own personal thoughts. Maybe they just didn’t notice. But I noticed. What was going on in there?

  Think happy thoughts, I told myself. Everything is fine, and if nothing happens, tomorrow we would spend our last day here on the beach soaking up the glory of Bermuda. Then a cloud appeared on my sunny thoughts—another day dodging bullets. There goes my positive thinking right down the tube.

  “This isn’t over, yet,” I said to Bella just before we parted in the hallway to our staterooms. “Keep your bodyguards close.” She smiled and waved as she waited for Tex to open the door. The minute she was inside, I looked at Savannah and whispered, “Come with me to our room.”

  She knew something was up, so Savannah politely dismissed her bodyguard at my door.

  “I’m going with Jesse. We’ll be fine.”

  Before I could slip the keycard in the slot, Billy opened the door. He stuck his head out of the room and looked around.

  “Come in,” he said, motioning as if he was in a hurry. “Did you see anything suspicious?”

  “Only the two bodyguards posted at the Med Center door. Have any idea what that’s about?”

  Billy closed the door, turned around and said, “Some bad things are going on. We have much to talk about.”

  Savannah’s fear showed when she looked at Billy and asked, “Where’s McCoy?” She looked around the room. “Is he here with you? Is he all right?”

  “McCoy’s fine, Savannah. He left the ship to follow Nell, Jena, and Ruby. He’ll be back shortly. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Why would three sisters leave the ship without their bodyguards? Bella and Loukas always have pretty tight security especially when it comes to their girls. They really beefed it up on this cruise because of the threat on Loukas’ life. They know the threat isn’t over, and they want their girls protected.”

  “Protected from whom?” I asked. “Utah Hawks is in jail!”

  “He hasn’t been charged.”

  “But he will!”

  “I don’t think so,” Billy said. “I think someone’s trying to frame him.” Not one to mince words, Billy added, “Dorothy Berdinski has been severely injured. That’s why there were guards posted at the door to the Med Center.”

  Savannah and I gasped at the same time.

  “According to Bertie they were headed out to leave the ship when someone came up from behind her and gave her a hard shove. She accidentally bumped into Dorothy, sending her tumbling down the stairway. Dorothy has a few broken bones, but the doctor’s main concern is her internal injuries.”

  “Oh, my. How awful,” I said, sadly. “This is bad news. Did anyone see the person who did this? I mean, there’re cameras all over this ship.”

  “You can’t tell anything from the video. The corner to the stairs was dark because a light was out. By the time the crew got wind of the outage, it was already too late for Dorothy Berdinski. She was lying at the foot of the stairs by then.”

  “Is she going to live?” Savannah asked.

  Billy hesitated for a second, and then said, “The prognosis…”

  “What you’re saying is that she’s probably going to die,” I butted in. “Tell us the truth, Billy.”

  “She probably will die from her injuries. They’re pretty serious. She was taken to the Welsh Clinic. It’s closer than King Edward Hospital.”

  “Is the clinic capable of handling her injuries?”

  “It might be called a clinic, but they are a state-of-the-art facility.”

  “Kind of like the Mayo Clinic,” Savannah said, comparing the two. “It’s called a clinic, but it’s more than that. It’s a fine facility capable of doing great things.”

  The phone rang and startled us. Billy went to answer it as Savannah and I exchanged our views on the situation. I was sure the police had the right man in custody, but Savannah wasn’t convinced.

  “I have to agree with Billy,” she said. “Utah Hawks is probably not guilty even though he is the most likely suspect. He’s rude, has harsh feelings toward his wife’s family, and he doesn’t seem to be at all happy with his life. I’ve discovered from writing books that the least likely person one might suspect usually turns out to be the guilty one. Sounds like the making of a good mystery novel.”

  “In that case,” I added. “Jena is the killer.”

  “What? Are you serious, Jesse?”

  “No,” I replied. “Jena isn’t behind this. The idea is ludicrous. She adores her parents. I was just kidding. Billy and I talked about the same thing earlier, and that’s what I told him. To be honest, I think Utah, Bertie, and the captain are in cahoots. That’s my take on it.”

  “What gives you cause to suspect those three?”

  “Oh, just some of the things I’ve heard and seen.”

  “Like what?”

  Before I could reply, Billy walked back over and said, “Bella is beside herself about Dorothy. She went to the Med Center to see her, but Dorothy had already been transferred to the clinic. I tried to talk Loukas out of letting her go to the clinic, but he says there’s no stopping her when she makes up her mind. So, Loukas, Bella, and their entourage are on their way to Welsh Clinic.”

  “Will they…”

  “They’ll be safe,” Billy said before I could finish. “They have enough bodyguards with them to start a small army.”

  “I’m starting to worry about McCoy,” Savannah said. “Does he have a bodyguard with him? How long has he been gone?”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, there was a knock at the door. Billy walked over and opened the door to see McCoy standing there, safe and sound. “Join the crowd,” he said, smiling as he closed the door. “We were just talking about you.”

  “I know,” McCoy said, chuckling as he walked over to Savannah and gave her a hug. “My ears were burning.”

  “I was beginning to worry about you,” she said in earnest. “Dorothy Berdinski has been hurt.”

  “Yeah, I know,” McCoy replied sadly. “I heard about it as soon as I got back on the ship. I passed Loukas and Bella on their way out. They were headed to Welsh Clinic. I sure hope Dorothy is going to be all right. She’s a nice person… a little weird… but nice.”

  Unfortunately, no matter how good a person is—it won’t save them from death.

  Chapter 22

  Death was surely coming to get Dorothy Berdinski. I felt it in my soul, and the feeling wasn’t good. I decided not to share my thoughts with anyone. It was just too depressing.

  “What about the girls?” Billy asked.

  “Oh, them… I don’t know what the deal is with those three,” McCoy said. “They left the ship and went to a local coffee shop. They stayed about an hour, chitchatting and laughing the whole time, and then got up and left. When they got back to the ship they missed seeing Bella and Loukas by a minute.”

  “Sounds to me like they wanted an alibi for that time,” I suggested. I looked at Billy and asked, “What time did Dorothy fall?”

  “Around nine. Right after they had dinner in their room.”

  I looked at McCoy. “What time did the Constance girls leave the ship?”

  “Sometime around nine. Why?”

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, Jena’s face kept leaping forward. Why would the most unlikely person keep appearing in my thoughts? I had brought her name
up as a joke, but now it didn’t seem so improbable anymore. But why? Why would she want her father dead? If anyone should be a suspect, it should be Nell. She’s married to Utah. A woman sticks by her man… good or bad… and she knows what’s going on all the time. Yes, it had to be Nell. Or maybe…

  “Oh, never mind. I’m just grasping at straws.”

  Billy walked over to me, and said, “If you have an opinion, `ge ya, I’d like to hear it.” He smiled. “Sometimes you come up with some weird stuff, but sometimes you don’t. What are you thinking?”

  “Let’s just say that Utah is the ringleader. Wouldn’t it make sense that Nell would be in on it, too?”

  “I’ve thought about that,” Billy replied. “But Nell has a love-hate relationship with that man because he treats her so badly. You know she can’t be happy. Why would she do anything to help him hurt her father? And what does that have to do with Dorothy?”

  “Suppose that the three sisters from Georgia and the three daughters of Bella and Loukas crossed paths as they were leaving the ship… and Nell gave Bertie a quick push. It was dark. Who would know?”

  “I followed them,” McCoy said. “I never saw the three sisters from Georgia, so I doubt if the girls did. I definitely didn’t see one of them push anyone down a flight of stairs.”

  “Oh,” I mumbled. “I guess that shoots that theory down.”

  “It’s not impossible,” Billy said, looking at McCoy. He looked over at me and then Savannah. “What do you think?” he asked her, trying to include her in the conversation.

  “I don’t want to think,” Savannah replied. “All of this is disturbing. The thought that we could be in the company of real killers, not made-up ones like in my books, makes me nervous. My insides are shaking. One of us could get hurt… or killed. We’re right in the middle of this mess. Nobody really knows who’s doing all those horrible things. We’ve had a suicide, a stalker, an injury from a broken high-heel, a stabbing in the dining room, a killer in a dune buggy, and now, an attempted murder via stairs. I just want to go to bed and forget about all of this for a while.”