by Ann Mullen
“You can take the tour bus,” Loukas said. “One of the bodyguards will accompany you.” Loukas started motioning to his people. “I’ll tell Ollie to drive you and then he can come back for the rest of us afterwards.”
“Don’t bother, Loukas. We can call a taxi.”
“I don’t think so,” Bella refuted. “We might as well leave, too. Who wants to stay here and try to have fun knowing that poor Dorothy is dead? No. I can’t hang out at the beach…”
I walked over to Bella, put my arm around her, and said, “I don’t see why we can’t all take the bus back if everyone’s ready to leave. Ollie can drop us off at the clinic, and we’ll catch a cab back to the ship, or we can all go to the clinic.” I looked at Billy and then back to Bella. “We’ve had a fun day. I really have enjoyed myself, but we have been at the beach for several hours.” I tried to lighten the mood. “Perhaps it’s time to leave. I’m beginning to look like a lobster.”
“I think Jesse has a point,” Loukas intervened. “We did have a good time, but under the circumstances, perhaps we should call it a day. And there’s no reason we can’t go to the clinic. If Bertie doesn’t want to talk with us, then that’s okay.” Loukas looked at Bella and said, “If you want to pay your respects no one will stop you.” He looked around to see if there were any naysayers.
No one said a word.
“Okay, then let’s go.” Loukas motioned to Jacob, and then said, “Go get Jena, would you please? Tell her we’re leaving before she gets to the other side of the island. She’s in a tiff.”
“Yes, sir,” Jacob replied, and then headed down the beach to retrieve Jena and Steven.
We gathered our belongings and headed to the tour bus. We each chose a seat, sat down, and waited for Jena and Steven to return so we could leave. But that didn’t happen. Jacob returned without them.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Jacob said to Loukas. “Jena wouldn’t come with me, and Steven wouldn’t leave her. I thought about slinging her over my shoulder and forcing her, but I was afraid she’d make a terrible scene. I didn’t want to get arrested.”
“Leave them, Jacob. They know how to find their way back.”
“Jena is really upset, sir.”
“She’ll get over it,” Loukas replied. “Have a seat, Jacob.”
“But…” Bella started to say.
“Mick and A.J.,” Loukas said to his bodyguards, “I want you to go stay with her and Steven. I don’t want them left unprotected.”
“Yes, sir,” they both replied, and then got off the bus.
“Let’s go, Ollie,” Loukas shouted to the bus driver, then turned back to Bella and said, “Jena is acting like a child, and I’m tired of it. What is it with her?”
The bus roared to life, and we were once again on the road to Welsh Clinic. I took notice that every time we had been on this bus, we ended up at the Welsh Clinic. Maybe this was a sign that we should take other means of transportation. Then I thought about that for another minute and realized that this would probably be our last ride. The ship would be leaving Bermuda early in the morning.
“She’s coming unglued,” I said. “Is she on any medication?”
“Jena?” Bella questioned. “Of course not. She doesn’t take anything, except maybe an aspirin occasionally.”
“Well,” Ruby said, slowly. “That’s not quite so, Mama. Jena has been on anti-depressants and tranquillizers for a long time.”
Surprised, Bella shot back, “Why haven’t I been told about this before now?” She turned around in her seat, and looked at Ruby. “How long has she been on medication?”
“For years, Mama.”
“I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.”
“Some of her anxieties have a lot to do with you.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“You’ve always expected her to be the best of your daughters. How many times have you told her that her life was spared because God had a plan for her… and how lucky she was to be alive? Jena felt as if she always had to be good to make you love her, and that’s a hard job for anyone.”
“But that isn’t true,” Bella said. “I love all my daughters. I just wanted her to appreciate life. She almost lost hers.”
“Stop beating a dead horse, Mama. If I have to hear how Bertie saved Jena’s life one more time, I think I’ll pull my hair out. Do you realize that every time Bertie has been in our presence, you have always brought that up… even to this day?”
Bella was silent for a second, and then said, “I didn’t realize I did that… but now that I think about it, you’re right. Jena must hate me.”
“No, she doesn’t, Mama. She adores you. But it wouldn’t hurt for you to let her know that Bertie isn’t a savior. Sure she pulled Jena out of the pool, and we’re glad she did, but what would you have done if it had been a crew member instead? You would’ve given him a fat check, and it would’ve been over. But no! Bertie insinuated herself and her sisters into our lives, and have never left. Don’t you think Jena thinks about that every time she looks at Bertie? Bertie gets the praise, and Jena gets the frowns. It’s enough to drive anyone crazy.”
“I feel so badly. I don’t want my baby to think I don’t love her. I must go talk to her.” Bella raised her hand and yelled to Ollie, “Stop the bus! You can let me off right here. I’ll walk back.”
“No, ma’am,” Ollie shouted. “I will stop the bus and turn around. I won’t allow you to walk back. You’re in my care. I will take you anywhere you want to go, but I can’t let you walk when I can drive you.”
“Okay, then turn this thing around!”
She looked at her husband and said, “Don’t say a word, Loukas. I refuse to have my precious daughter think that I don’t love her… not for one minute.”
“Did I say anything?”
Ollie turned the bus around and headed back to Clearwater Beach. Once we got there, Bella, Loukas, and their two personal bodyguards, Allison and Jacob, got off the bus with the understanding that Ollie would come back for them after he dropped the rest of us off at our destination.
The bus headed out again.
Ruby decided to go with us saying that her mother needed time alone with her sister. “Jena has been in a fragile state for sometime. They need to talk about it, and if they have to do it on the beach, I say let them.
“I agree with Ruby,” Savannah said. “Bella and Jena obviously need to reconnect if it isn’t too late already.”
“They can patch things up,” Ruby replied. “All Mom has to do is say she’s sorry. That’s all it would take for Jena to get her self-esteem back. She’s mighty down in the dumps, and has been for a while. She just covers it up.”
“Holding back one’s feelings can take a serious toll on a person,” Billy added. “Now take my Jesse here. She doesn’t hold anything back. That’s why she’s so well-adjusted.”
Everyone laughed at his remarks. He, too, was good at lightening the mood. He knew the right thing to say at any given time.
The bus pulled up in front of the Welsh Clinic, stopped, and then Ollie opened the bus door, saying, “Everyone off who wants to get off.”
Billy and I stood up and headed to the exit. Savannah and McCoy followed with Raphael the bodyguard behind them. Ruby and Jeff elected to stay and be dropped off at the ship.
“Bertie isn’t my biggest fan,” Ruby said. “Jeff and I will go back to the ship and wait for Mom and Dad. We have our bodyguards, so don’t worry about us.”
The bus pulled out leaving the five of us standing in front of the clinic with our beach bags in hand.
“We’ll be in the waiting area,” McCoy said. He looked at Raphael.
“I can go with them, or I can stay.” He looked at Billy. “You decide.”
“Stay with Savannah and McCoy. We can handle this.”
Billy and I turned, walked over to the glass window, and were immediately waved in.
“Hello. I’m Faye Hamilton. I’ve been instructed to show you right in. Bertie Call
ahan and Mabel Leigh are waiting in our family crisis room. They’re with Donna Dorman, our crisis manager. She’s the one who comes in and talks with the family, and tries to help them adjust to the loss of their loved one.”
“I know all about that,” I said, sadly, thinking of the time my father died. We were taken to one of those rooms. “Let’s hurry. I know how sad a time this can be.”
We rounded the corner and saw Bertie standing outside the door to the crisis room. She was smoking a cigarette—something I hadn’t ever seen her do.
“Mrs. Callahan!” Faye Hamilton said, admonishing her. “You know you can’t smoke in this clinic. It’s against the law!”
“So, call the police! I don’t care! My sister was murdered, and you think I’m worried about the police hauling me off to jail for smoking in a hospital? Think again, lady!”
I walked over to Bertie, took the cigarette from her and handed it to Billy, who immediately looked for a restroom where he could douse it. When he returned, Bertie, Mabel, and I were sitting in the crisis room talking about what happened to their sister.
“Someone pushed me into Dorothy,” Bertie accused. “I was the one who was meant to fall and break my neck, but it didn’t turn out that way. My poor sister, Dottie…”
“How can you be so sure this was done on purpose?” Mabel questioned her. “It could’ve been an accident.” She looked at us.
“I’m so sorry,” Billy said as he knelt down in front of Bertie. “If what you say is true, we’ll find the one who did this. I promise.”
“When Billy makes a promise, he keeps it,” I added.
“Then you’d better have Jena locked up,” Bertie blurted out. “She’s behind the plot to kill her father. The only thing is—Loukas is in no danger.”
“What are you saying, Bertie?”
“Listen to me very carefully. Jena hates the Bella Constance. She almost died on that ship. The incident traumatized the poor child, and over the years I saw how it affected her. I suggested to Bella that she might need some therapy to help her cope, but Bella said she was handling it just fine. But she wasn’t. Jena resents the fact that this is the only ship in the fleet that Loukas and Bella want to keep for themselves—the one ship she almost died on, and had to hear about it every waking minute of the day. I think it’s driven her to the brink of insanity. And… I did not push her into the pool like she claims.”
“I never heard that one before,” I said.
“There’s more. Jena is the mastermind. She had the ridiculous idea that if a lot of bad things happened on this cruise her mother would give up the ship. Bella despises calamity. She likes for everything to go her way. Jena would be free at last.”
“I can’t believe Jena could pull this off by herself. No way.”
“She couldn’t do it alone,” Bertie said. “She has help. Captain O’Riley and Steven are her flunkies.”
“Do you have evidence to back up what you’re saying?” Billy asked.
“No, I do not,” Bertie replied. “All I have is my word. I’ve heard them talking. They plan to kill Bella!”
“Bella? That’s ridiculous!” I said, frustrated that Bertie would even say something like that. “Perhaps you misunderstood.”
“I most certainly did not,” she replied in a not-so-nice manner. “That’s not all. I saw something strange happen before the ship pulled out of Norfolk. I saw Jena’s husband, Steven, go into the room of Jimmy Carlson. Remember him? He was the first causality on board. The guy turned up dead shortly thereafter, so I had to ask myself how Steven knew this guy. I put it aside for the time being, and then other stuff started happening. That’s when I started snooping around.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?” Billy asked.
“That’s where we were headed, but things didn’t work out like we planned.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I want you to stop them! I want them put in jail! Jena is…”
“…coming unglued.” I finished her sentence.
“You do believe me! You have noticed her erratic behavior!”
“I think Jena is upset about something, but I find it hard to believe that she would do anything to harm her parents. She loves them both dearly.”
Billy stood up and said, “We’re going to investigate your claim.”
Bertie seemed delighted that Billy might actually believe her. “You’re a fine man, Mr. Blackhawk. I knew I could count on you.”
I had a feeling she was going to get sad and whiney on us, so I told Billy we’d better hurry.
“Please keep us informed,” Mabel requested as we were leaving.
“Oh, you can bet we’ll let you know what we find out,” Billy replied.
When we met up with everyone in the waiting room, Billy said, “We need a cab, and I need to call Loukas.” He reached into the beach bag and pulled out his cell phone while McCoy walked over to talk with the lady at the front desk.
“What is it, Jesse?” Savannah asked as she walked up to me. “What did you find out?”
“Accusations… that’s all,” I replied. “You wouldn’t believe what Bertie Callahan had to say. It was as if…” I paused as an idea formulated in my head. Bertie Callahan could be trying to get us out of the way. I didn’t tell that to Savannah. All I said was, “We need to get back to the ship.”
“What is it, Jesse?” Savannah asked. “What were you going to say before you drifted off into la-la land?”
“It was nothing. Sometimes my mind drifts.”
“That’s what Billy says, but he’s also said that when your mind wanders, something helpful usually comes out of it.”
“I don’t know about that.”
Savannah didn’t push for more information, and I didn’t offer. I wanted to discuss my thoughts with Billy first before I lay blame anywhere.
“A cab should be here in a minute,” McCoy said, walking toward us.
Billy closed up his phone and said, “Loukas isn’t answering. Something must be wrong.”
“Did you try to call one of his bodyguards?”
“I don’t have a number.” Billy turned to Raphael and asked, “Would you call one of them for us and find out what’s going on, please?”
Raphael made the call, closed up his cell phone, and then announced, “Jacob said that Loukas turned off his phone by mistake. Jena has calmed down, and they are now at the Constance stateroom. All is well.”
“Let’s go!” Billy commanded. “We have many questions to ask.” He looked at Raphael and said, “I want you to go to Bertie and Mabel, and tell them you have been assigned to protect them. They’ll soak up the attention quicker than a thirsty dog lapping water from a bowl. That way we can keep an eye on them.”
“Yes, sir,” Rafael replied, and then took his leave of us.
“Do you believe what Bertie said?” I asked Billy as I grabbed the beach bag and walked briskly, trying to keep up with him.
“Everyone in the car!” Billy said as he just about shoved us in. He jumped in the front seat with the driver, handed him a twenty, and said, “Take us to the cruise ship, Bella Constance, and make it fast!”
The driver sped off as if his wheels were on fire. The funny thing was that we didn’t have far to go. Billy could’ve saved his twenty dollars. Savannah and I chuckled at that when we got out of the cab. However, Billy was in no mood for jokes. He was all business.
“We must check on Bella and Loukas!” he demanded. “If what Bertie said is true, things are going to get ugly—fast!”
“What if they aren’t true?” I asked Billy. “Shouldn’t we consider the possibility that for whatever reason unbeknownst to us that Bertie might have an ax to grind?”
“Those thoughts are in my head, too, `ge ya. Either way, we must protect Bella and Loukas. We need to ensure the safety of our clients!”
“Our friends,” I corrected him.
Billy’s cell phone beeped a tune that indicated he had a text message. He checked his phone, and then closed it back up without saying a wor
d as to what was in the message. I didn’t ask.
“What did we miss?” McCoy asked. “What’s the…”
“Let’s hurry!” Billy demanded, and started walking as if he was in a real big hurry.
McCoy caught up with him, stepped in front of him, and then said, “Slow down a minute, buddy. Tell us what’s going on. Don’t let us walk into this blind.”
Billy stopped long enough to tell McCoy and Savannah about Bertie’s accusations. “If there’s any truth to her words, Jena is the one we’ve been looking for the whole time.”
“That can’t be true!” Savannah said. “Not Jena! She’s as gentle as a butterfly. She wouldn’t hurt a soul. No, I don’t believe it for one minute.”
“Then I guess we’d better hurry up and find out. Let’s go see what’s going on over there.”
“Come on, Billy,” I said as I stood next to McCoy. Now was my chance to add my thoughts to the situation. “You don’t really believe that crazy woman, do you? She’s upset about her sister. She wants someone to pay, and that someone is Jena. Why is that?”
Billy hesitated in his tracks for a second, and then replied, “I never said I believed her.”
“Ah, I get it now. You have your doubts about Bertie, too. I thought it was just me being my suspicious self. I can’t help it. I didn’t believe her either. Oh, there might be some validity to some of her story, but I can’t imagine…”
“She could’ve been trying to get you out of the way of what’s really going to go down,” McCoy said.
“Why?” Savannah asked. “What would she have to gain by…”
A moment of silence was just enough to give us time to think about the situation. Whatever the truth may be, there was no time to lose. Once the seed of doubt had been planted, we knew that danger would be fast approaching.
The four of us took off running.
Chapter 26
Once on board, our sprint slowed down to a brisk walk as we made our way to Loukas and Bella’s stateroom. On the way we ran into Maura and Joe Rodrigus.