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

by Ann Mullen

  “No, but Billy says they’ll be glad to help her. They’re good people. They’re Blackhawks!”

  “It kind of reminds me of my mother,” Savannah said. “She was always bringing home stray cats and dogs. It used to drive my father crazy.”

  “This isn’t a stray dog… not exactly.” I laughed at her comparison.

  “I know, but you know what I mean.”

  We reached Bella and Loukas’ room and knocked on the door. Much to my surprise, Bella opened the door, and she was in a huff.

  “Please come in,” she said. “Loukas and I were just arguing. Perhaps the four of you could convince him that it’s okay for me to go see Dorothy. He thinks I shouldn’t. He says she needs her rest. She isn’t doing well. I told him I wanted to see her. They wouldn’t let me talk to her last night.”

  Loukas walked over and motioned for us to come in. “Hungry?”

  “Don’t try to change the subject, Loukas,” Bella demanded, and then focused her attention on us. “I should be able to see Dottie, shouldn’t I?”

  I held up my hands and said, “We’re staying out of this one.” I walked over and put my arm around Bella and tried to calm her down by saying, “If Loukas says you can’t go see her then there’s probably a good reason.” I looked at Loukas, and gave him the eye as if I were waiting for him to explain his reasoning.

  “Dorothy’s in intensive care. Nobody can visit her except her immediate family. I’ve been trying to tell Bella this ever since last night, but she won’t listen.”

  I looked at Bella and said, “Perhaps later today she’ll be better and you can visit her then. How does that sound?”

  “It sounds like you’re manipulating me.”

  “Is it working?”

  She grinned. “Jesse Blackhawk you’re a bad girl.”

  “I was thinking about how good I am. Oh, I hope you don’t mind but I invited Lara to go with us. She needs company. She’s all alone and…”

  “You don’t have to explain, dear. Let’s give her a call.” Bella turned to everyone and said, “Help yourselves to breakfast. Jesse and I have business to take care of.” She turned, put her tiny arm on my back, and then led me to Loukas’ office.

  “I’d like to know where you have your gun hidden,” she said as she closed the door behind us. “Do you have it in that bag? Oh, of course you do. Where else could you hide it? Not in that tiny bikini.”

  “How do you know what I’m wearing under this T-shirt?”

  “I don’t, but I’m willing to bet you look marvelous in your bathing suit. Oh, you young people. I used to look like you do. I had a great figure and beautiful skin. Now I’m just…”

  “You’re lovely, Bella. If I look as pretty as you do when I get your age, I’ll be the happiest woman on Earth.”

  “You flatterer. You’re good.”

  “I mean it. You are the epitome of what women want to look like and be. You have style, grace, and you’re a fine looking woman. And if that’s not enough, you’re way too smart for your own good.”

  “Let’s make that call before Billy has to go get me some boots.”

  We shared a good laugh over that one as I put my beach bag down on a chair.

  Bella picked up the phone and punched in the number for Lara Sweeney’s room. She held the phone for what seemed like an eternity before breaking the connection. “She’s not answering. I wonder where she could be. You did say that you personally invited her, right?”

  “When I put her to bed, she was out of it, so I left her a note.”

  “I’ll send someone to her room.”

  “No, don’t, Bella. I’ll go.”

  “Why? You know something, don’t you? Would you care to share it with me?”

  “Okay, but you have to promise you won’t say a word to her about it until I have a chance to talk with her.”

  “If that is your wish, I will comply.”

  “I noticed something in her bathroom. She kicked her high heel off, it landed on the table, and knocked over a vase of flowers. I ran to the bathroom to get a towel, and saw… a bloody razor blade.”

  “She could’ve cut herself while she was shaving her legs.”

  “No, Bella. This is different. What I saw was an indication that she cuts herself, and you know what that means.”

  Bella seemed to take in what I said, process it, and then replied, “She’s having a difficult time adjusting to her father’s death.”

  “She’s having a hard time with many things. When a person suffers the anguish she has, they blame themselves. Hurting oneself is just a way to pay for what they perceive is their fault. She needs counseling. Billy and I discussed the possibility of taking her home with us if she’s willing to go. Chief Sam has a way of working wonders in matters such as this. He’s the chief… the shaman of his tribe.”

  “Do you really think the chief can help her?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Then I will convince her to go. She has no family left.”

  “All right then. I’m going to her room. Call the captain and tell him to meet me there just in case I need a master keycard to get in. I’m really concerned about her.”

  “Then go, Jesse. Make haste. I will phone the captain.”

  I turned and walked out of the office, grabbing a honey bun on my way to the door. I looked at Billy and motioned to him. He stopped talking and excused himself.

  “Where are you going, `ge ya?”

  “Lara isn’t answering her phone. I’m going to check on her.”

  “I should go with you.”

  “No, you stay. I’ll be right back. The captain’s going to meet me there. Bella’s calling him right now. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m not worried about you. I know you’ll be okay, but I’m not so trusting of the good captain anymore.”

  “Then come on. Let’s go.”

  Loukas walked over and asked, “Is everything all right?”

  “We’re going to check on Lara Sweeney. She’s supposed to go with us today.”

  “Lara’s a nice girl. I hope she didn’t oversleep and forget about us.”

  “We’ll be right back,” Billy said as he followed me out the door.

  We were in a hurry, so we took the killer box down to the fifth deck. When we arrived at Lara’s stateroom the captain was already there.

  “I knocked several times, but she’s not answering,” he said.

  “Open the door,” Billy said sternly.

  “Maybe I should knock again.”

  “Open the door right now!” I demanded.

  The captain, hearing the urgency in our voices, pulled out his master keycard, swiped it, and then turned the doorknob.

  The minute we stepped into the room, I smelled a familiar odor.

  “Blood! I smell blood!”

  Chapter 24

  Seeing that Lara’s bed was empty, I hurried to the bathroom. The sight I saw almost made me gag. Lara had cut her upper thigh on her right leg several times, and the blood had pooled on the floor. But the worst part was when I looked at her right hand. She had slit her wrist, the bloody razor blade still lying in the outstretched palm of her other hand. Her face was pale. She was conscious, but losing blood fast.

  “She’s in here!” I screamed as I grabbed a hand towel and wrapped it snugly around the cut wrist, and then grabbed another and pressed it to her thigh. I applied pressure, and then screamed, “Get the doctor!” I looked at Lara and said, “You’re going to be fine. I’m here now. I’ll help you.”

  “Nobody can help me,” she cried, her voice just above a whisper. Her face was so pale.

  “I’ll help you, Lara. You can count on me.”

  Billy and Captain O’Riley went into action.

  Billy came over to help me while the captain made the call. Within a matter of minutes, the doctor and his staff were standing in the bathroom doorway looking the situation over.

  “I’ll take over from here, Mrs. Blackhawk.”

 
“But…” I tried to say as the tears ran down my cheeks.

  “Please,” the doctor repeated himself. “Let us handle this. You did a good job, but now it’s time for us to do ours. It appears that she’s lost a lot of blood. We need to hurry.”

  I stepped back out of the way to let the doctor and his team do their job. They had her bandaged up, on a gurney, and were out the door in no time flat. I stood there and looked at her blood on the bathroom floor. I grabbed a bath towel and was about to clean it up when the captain walked over, took the towel from me, and said, “It’s all right, Jesse. We have people to take care of this. You did what you could. You probably saved her life.”

  “I’m going with her,” I said, looking at Billy.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  We both turned and walked out of the room, leaving the captain to clean up the mess. As he said, it was his responsibility.

  We had to almost run to keep up with the doctor and his team. When they reached the elevator and got in, it was full to capacity, but Dr. Whitley managed to squeeze the two of us in.

  “She’s going to be fine,” Dr. Whitley tried to reassure me. “You got to her in time. Another hour and …”

  I put my hand on Lara’s shoulder and said, “Did you hear that, Lara? You’re going to be okay.”

  “I’m never going to be okay. Not anymore.” Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over. “Nothing is ever going to be the same again.”

  “Maybe it shouldn’t be,” I said, trying to comfort her. “Perhaps it’s time for a change. Life changes and we have to go with the flow.”

  She looked up at me, and I could see the pain in her eyes.

  “You have new friends now. Life will get better.”

  She closed her eyes and didn’t say anything.

  When we reached the Med Center, I told Billy that I wasn’t going to leave her. “She’s fragile, and she needs a friend. Please go back and tell Bella I can’t go to the beach and enjoy myself until I’m sure Lara is going to be okay.”

  “I will take care of everything.”

  As usual, Billy did exactly as he promised. He returned to Loukas and Bella’s stateroom while I stood by and held onto Lara’s hand as Dr. Whitley examined her. I tried not to look at his assistant, Joy Lynn, who was busy hooking up an I.V. and a unit of blood. Needles always did make me queasy. The unit of blood was administered just to be on the safe side, the doctor explained.

  “A sudden loss of a fair amount of blood could be very dangerous,” Dr Whitley said.

  I concentrated on Lara, talking to her, and trying to convince her everything would work out. I even brought up the subject of her coming to the mountains to stay with us for a while. To my surprise, she seemed to be quite receptive to the idea. She was so down in the dumps, I guess anything that made her feel wanted helped to lift her spirits.

  A smile came to the doctor’s face. He winked at me in approval.

  “It’s not as if I have a life to go back to,” Lara admitted.

  “You can start a new one. Make new friends.”

  “You really are a champion of the lonely, aren’t you?”

  “I’ve been there many times myself, so, yes, maybe I am. I know what it’s like to feel as if you’re the only one who doesn’t have much of a life. Before I met Billy, that’s where I was. I was empty inside.”

  “You’re lucky to have someone who cares about you.”

  “One day you’ll meet the right man, and your life will change forever. I’m not saying it’ll happen overnight, but it will happen.”

  It turned out that Lara’s wounds were only superficial, at least the one to her wrist was. She had several cuts on her leg, but only one required a couple of stitches. It didn’t take long for the color to come back to her cheeks, and her disposition improved with each passing moment.

  Suddenly, Bella came charging through the door with about a half-dozen people behind her. She turned to them and asked, “Would you please wait outside for me.”

  They complied.

  Bella closed the door, and then walked over to Lara. She looked at her injures and then at the doctor. “Is she going to be all right?”

  “She’s going to be just fine,” Dr. Whitley replied. He looked at Lara. “I’m going to suggest that you get therapy for your depression. You need a professional to help you through your grief. And believe me, Lara, you’d be surprised at how many people have relied on counseling to help them in difficult times. I’ve been to one myself. Many years ago, I had a girlfriend who was killed in a car accident. It tore me up, and I fell apart. If it hadn’t been for Dr. Glaser, I never would’ve made it through. She saved my life. I was young, about your age, and I wanted to die. She helped me out of my manic-depressive state.”

  “We have that covered, doctor,” I said. “If it’s okay with you, Lara, you’ll be staying with Billy’s parents, Chief Standing Deer Sam Blackhawk and his wife, Sarah. They’re great people, and if anyone can help you, Chief Sam can. He’s a miracle worker as far as I’m concerned.”

  Not to appear that we had been discussing Lara behind her back, Bella said, “That’s a wonderful idea!”

  I looked back at Lara and said, “Billy and I discussed it after we took you to your room last night.” I looked at the doctor and his staff, and continued, “We have no secrets in this room. As they say, what happens here stays here, right Dr. Whitley.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  His staff shook their heads in agreement.

  “What you did to yourself was a cry for help. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. All you need is one person who cares about you enough to be there for you in this time of crisis. I want to be that person.”

  Tears spilled down her face. “Thank you, Jesse. Thank you so much for caring.”

  “As I said, life is only going to get better. I promise.”

  I wanted desperately to ask her about what she said last night, but I didn’t dare. Now just didn’t seem like the right time. She had accused one of Bella’s daughters, and I wanted to know which one she was talking about. But it would have to wait. Besides, her accusation could’ve been the ranting of someone who had consumed too much alcohol. No, I wouldn’t ask her. I would use my wits to figure this one out. I had only three people to choose from. It couldn’t be that hard, and I already had my suspicions.

  “I guess I won’t be able to make it to the beach today,” she said with a weak grin on her face, looking at Bella.

  “That’s perfectly fine, dear,” Bella said as she walked over and patted the hand I was still holding.

  I let go of Lara’s hand, and stepped back so Bella could give comfort to this poor, lost woman—a woman who was in desperate need of love and affection.

  “From what I hear from Savannah, the Blackhawk Compound is a great place to live. Lots of family and support is now going to be available to you. I’m glad you’ve decided to do this.” Bella turned, looked at me, and said, “Savannah was right about you. She said that I would never meet anyone like you. You’re spontaneous, impulsive and crazy sometimes, and you’re led around by your heart. To me, those are some mighty good qualities in a person.”

  “We’re going to keep Lara here for a while for observation,” Dr. Whitley said. “If all goes well, she should be free to dine at the captain’s table tonight.” He looked at Bella and me, and added, “You might want to go ahead with your plans for today. She’ll be in good hands. She won’t be left alone for a minute.”

  I looked at Bella and then back to Lara, “What do you think? Do you want me to stay? Because if you do, I will. I won’t leave your side. Just say the word.”

  “No, you go on to the beach with Bella, and I’ll see you this afternoon when you return.”

  “I’ll call from my cell phone to see how you’re doing, okay? Perhaps we can go to my room for a chat before dinner. We have many plans to make.” I smiled at her.

  “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

  Bella and I both ga
ve Lara a hug, and then promised to get back with her as soon as we returned from our day at the beach.

  The smile on Lara’s face as we were leaving warmed my heart.

  Once Bella and I were in the hallway with the rest of the group, she turned to me and said, “Thank you, Jesse. Your concern for Lara was right on the mark. If it hadn’t been for you… well… I don’t want to think about how this could’ve turned out.”

  “Jesse has pretty good instincts,” Billy said as he walked over to me and handed me the beach bag. “I tell her that all the time.” He looked at me and asked, “Are you all right, `ge ya?”

  I belly laughed after seeing him carrying the bag.

  “It’s not as if it’s your purse,” Billy remarked, very manly.

  I grinned, took the beach bag, and then replied, “I’m fine. I talked to Lara about coming home with us.”

  “She needs some friends,” Savannah said as her eyes lit up.

  Loukas walked over to his wife and said, “Are we ready to go to the beach, Bella?”

  “Yes, we are,” she replied. “Is everyone here?” She looked around. “Where’s Nell?”

  “She’s gone to see Utah,” Loukas replied. “She’s in one of her moods. She thinks we all hate her husband.”

  Silence filled the air temporarily, until Bella said, “Perhaps she has a point. Let’s go to the beach!”

  The trip to Clearwater Beach was refreshing. No bullets—just lots of pretty scenery. We took the same tour bus that we had taken on our tour of the island the day before. Ollie, the driver was all smiles as he greeted each one of us, telling us we would have a fine day at the beach. Once we reached our destination, Ollie told Bella and Loukas that he would park the bus and be ready to take us anywhere we wanted to go… whenever. He was at our beck and call.

  “Ah!” Savannah said as she stepped off the bus admiring her surroundings. “Another beautiful day!”

  “I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I boarded the Bella Constance!” I exclaimed. “I can’t wait to lie back on the beach and soak in the sun. Let the worries of the day just float away.”

  Although there were only a few people at the beach, I was sure it wouldn’t be long before the place was packed.