“I—I liked the water,” I stuttered.
“If I remember right, it took me all summer to get up enough nerve to kiss you. I kicked myself for months for being so timid that I waited until the very end.”
Everyone else had been busy greeting each other and saying polite things to each other, but I noticed that the conversation had suddenly ground to a stop and everyone was looking at the two of us with a whole lot more interest than I was comfortable with. That included Lula Faye, who had a big grin on her face. She was enjoying the situation way too much.
I couldn’t be upset with her, though. I was too grateful. It was very nice to meet up with Evan Wilson again. It was even nicer to meet up with him looking better than I’d looked in years. I silently thanked her from the bottom of my heart for buying the pretty clothes I was wearing.
I think I ate something that evening but I don’t remember what. All I remember is pushing things around on my plate. I tend to lose my appetite when I’m nervous.
All of us made small talk. There was a piano player in the background playing some kind of jazz. It was all so unreal. The beautiful boat. Everybody all dressed up. Knowing I’d once kissed the captain of the ship! I didn’t know what to talk about. My life had been Selby Shoes and taking care of Mama and Daddy and my baby brother and sister and going to church. It had been an honest life, but it felt small and insignificant sitting here with all these other people. I couldn’t think of a thing to say.
Lula Faye later told me she thought she’d help me out since the cat had evidently got my tongue.
“My cousin, Doreen here,” she said. “Is a bona fide sleuth.”
“Really?” Evan looked interested and so did all the others. “I want to hear more about this.”
“She goes around solving murders.” Lula Faye said. “The police consult with her on cases.”
Actually, from what I’d seen, the police were usually flat out annoyed that I was involved at all, but my mama had taught me never to correct people in front of others unless it was life or death, so I let Lula Faye’s statement stand as though it were a fact. Truth be told, down deep I was grateful to my cousin for making me out to be a whole lot more interesting than I was.
“Only three,” I said, modestly.
“Only three what?” Evan prompted.
“Um, murders.”
That started a conversation around the table about the fact that no one else had ever stumbled upon even one murder, let alone three.
The fancy-talking man—he said his name was Nolan Withersham—said he’d once had a corpse discovered at the perimeter of his estate, but that he’d been in the south of France at the time. His groundskeeper had contacted the proper authorities who’d eventually informed him that it had been a local man out taking a walk who had died of a coronary. He said that nothing as exotic as murder had ever happened near him.
I saw Lula Faye’s eyes brighten listening to him talk about his estate in England and his groundskeeper and I could just about read her mind. It was probably them little sandwiches that her mama used to make for company that did it. My cousin was used to finer things. I’m afraid that living on a country estate in England with a well-dressed man like Nolan Whithersham probably sounded like the kind of life Lula Faye could get used to real quick. One thing for sure, Lula Faye wouldn’t have no problem with bossing servants around.
When dinner was over and Nolan offered to accompany Lula Faye back to her room, she didn’t say no. I couldn’t fault her none. When Captain Wilson offered to take me around for a personal tour of the ship, I weren’t about to say no either. Not in this lifetime.
The private tour took some time. It was a big ship and Evan was pretty enthusiastic about it. Frankly, he reminded me of a small boy showing a friend his favorite toy, but I could tell he was no little boy in the eyes of his staff. It was obvious that they respected and liked him.
He showed me everything from the paddle wheel and the steam pipes to where laundry was done. By the time Evan got around to showing me the pilot’s house on the top, it was pretty late. I didn’t even know we had made it to the pilot house until he was sitting me down at a little table and a waiter—I think they call them something else on the ship but I forget what—had brought us a late-night treat of cheese cake and ice cream and a few other pretty little things all arranged on a fancy plate.
I nibbled at them sweets while I enjoyed listening to Evan talk about his career in the Navy and how he ended up being the captain of this beautiful ship. The whole time I kept thinking about here I was, sitting up high, watching a pilot quietly vigilant as he steered that big ship down the Ohio River while the captain paid attention to me. It was the most romantic thing I’d ever lived through. It felt like I was inside a movie.
Then Evan looked deep into my eyes and said, “Now, Doreen. Enough about me. Tell me all about what you’ve been doing since we saw each other last.”
I didn’t have nothing to say.
“Do you have grandchildren?” he prompted. “A career you loved? Is there a husband back home? What kind of a life did that lovely and courageous girl I once knew have?”
Lovely and courageous. I knew I was going to disappoint this man, but it’s not in my nature to make things up except maybe for the stories I used to tell my brother when he was little.
“I never amounted to nothing special,” I admitted. “I got a job working at a shoe factory. Daddy got sick soon after that summer at camp, and I helped Mama take care of him for a long time. Then Mama got sick and I took care of her. By the time they had passed on, there weren’t nobody much of a marrying age left in South Shore that I liked the looks of so I never got married or had any children. They shut down the Selby factory a few years back and I did grocery clerking for a while. I got me a little house down by the river—it ain’t much but it’s all I need--and I got me a pretty good church to go to.”
“What about being a sleuth?”
“Oh, that weren’t nothing but me being at the wrong place at the wrong time and using a little bit of common sense to figure things out. I ain’t no real sleuth. Don’t want to be one, neither.”
It sounded so small after hearing all about his exciting travels and career. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that it’s best to just be honest up front about things. Saves a person a whole lot of worry and grief later.
“You had a little brother?” Evan said. “Whatever happened to him?”
“He moved to Texas. I was down there for a long spell last year helping his wife get through the chemo. She’s doing real good now but I don’t care all that much for how my brother turned out. Mama and me kind of spoiled him when he was little. He ain’t never gotten over it.”
“And your sister?”
“She passed on about ten years ago,” I said.
I’d laid my everyday life out there in front of him. It weren’t nothing special and I knew it. I was also starting to feel the weight of how late it was. My new shoes had begun to hurt a long time ago, and the girdle Lula Faye had insisted I buy was beginning to cut into my waist something awful.
“Sounds to me like you spent your whole life taking care of your family,” Evan said.
“Yep. Guess so.” That girdle was starting to get on my nerves. I wanted to get back to my cabin and yank it off. “That pretty much sums it up. I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for Lula Faye winning the lottery and making me come with her. She even bought this dress I’m a’wearing.”
Then about the time I started figuring that I’d probably bored the man to tears, Evan reached across the table and laid his hand over mine. “I’m so glad Lula Faye brought you on this trip,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”
“There ain’t that much more to get to know,” I said, surprised.
“Selfless women are rare these days,” Evan said. “Honest ones even rarer. I’ve enjoyed tonight more than you can possibly know.
Just then the pilot had to interrupt us about som
e river traffic ahead and it needed the captain’s attention.
“I have to deal with this and it could take a while, so I’m going to have someone walk you back to your room. I’d like to spend more time with you during this cruise if you’re willing.”
My annoyance over the girdle evaporated after that little speech. My feet felt just fine and dandy, too. I’d never realized before that the attention of a handsome man could be an effective pain-killer but there it is. That spot of arthritis I got in my left knee seemed to have left me as well when he took my hand and led me to the door. Some young deck hand was already waiting to walk me back to my room. I don’t know how Evan managed to get him there so fast.
When I woke up the next morning, I found out that we were docked outside of Cincinnati. That was no surprise. I’d seen that on the itinerary we’d been given. I also knew that there was going to be some free time to do some wandering around, sight-seeing, riding in the tour bus, or shopping time. I surely hoped Lula Faye would be as good as her word and we could do some more shopping. It had been a long time since I’d cared about being anything except clean and modest, but that had changed the minute Evan Wilson laid his hand over mine.
Let me tell you something. This was one seventy-two-year-old lady who all of a sudden wanted to look good!
The next several days were like living in a dream. Them two fancy rooms of Lula Faye and mine, and good food I didn’t have to cook, available several times a day. Evan was a busy man with a huge boat to drive and all, but we ran into each other from time to time and he kind of lit up whenever he saw me. We would talk for a few minutes before he would rush on. He’d ask if I were enjoying myself and if there was anything I needed. Usually we’d be interrupted before we’d got two words out because so many people wanted his attention. Every time I ate in the main dining area I was automatically seated at the captain’s table whether he was there or not which made some of the other women act a little miffed.
I kept wishing I knew for sure whether or not there was still a Mrs. Wilson back home, but he never mentioned a wife. It was a worry to me. Not that I expected to marry the man. Gracious! The time had passed long ago for that kind of foolishness, but still, it made me feel good that he seemed to like talking to me. And I mean “to” me. Even though he was the captain and all, he never talked down at me.
I didn’t see as much of Lula Faye as I had expected, and that was fine. She seemed to be awfully interested in that Nolen Withersham. He told her that he was recently widowed and taking this cruise to help mend his broken heart. It worried me when Lula Faye started taking on sort of an English accent like she was already practicing to be Lady of the Manor.
With Lula Faye spending every spare minute with Nathan, I had to walk the decks and amuse myself by myself a good bit, but that weren’t hard. There were a lot of things to do and people to talk to. I’m usually not the most social person in the world but the thing about a cruise is that you know it is going to end at some time and everyone will go home. It ain’t like when you strike up a conversation with someone you don’t know back home and then wonder if you’re going to have to be friends with them for the rest of your life whether you like them or not.
A couple days later, I got ready for breakfast and went to get Lula Faye. Even if we weren’t together all that much during the rest of the day we tried to at least have breakfast together and get caught up. Nolan Withersham weren’t an early riser, so we usually had breakfast all to ourselves.
Lula Faye was not up yet when I knocked on her door. She came to open up and was as disheveled and sleepy-eyed as I’d ever seen anybody.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“N-nothing,” she said, glancing in the mirror as she tried to smooth her hair down.
She sounded kinda guilty, but I figured she was just ashamed of sleeping in so late. Lula Faye and me do come from people who know how to get up early and get a day’s work done. Of course, we were on vacation so I didn’t know why she would feel guilty about sleeping late. It weren’t like she had anything she actually had to do. Considering the fact that she’d won the lottery, I figured she’d never have to do anything ever again if she didn’t want to.
“Come in and order some breakfast to be brought here to the room,” Lula Faye said. “I don’t want to go to the dining room. You can eat while I shower.”
I’d never ordered anything remotely resembling room service in my life, but there was a little menu card beside the phone, and I found out that it was easier than I thought telling someone what to bring me. I already knew what Lula Faye wanted. The woman eats oatmeal for breakfast every morning of her life. Her mama told her once that it was good for a woman’s complexion and Lula Faye never forgot that. It mighta worked for her mama, but from what I could see Lula Faye’s complexion weren’t any better than any other woman’s her age.
Then I crawled up onto Lula Faye’s bed and used a remote to turn on the television set while I waited for someone to bring us a ready-cooked breakfast. I had to admit, rich people could have a real easy life if they wanted to. I reminded myself not to get used to it, though. I had a regular life to get back to after this fairy tale was over.
But my normal life seemed awfully far away right then. There’s something about being on a river cruise that makes a person feel like time is standing still. With no responsibilities to worry about except to relax and enjoy myself, I felt like I was sort of drifting through each day and it felt real good. Some days we stopped at little towns and shopped and walked and did some sight-seeing. At night after supper, I would tuck myself into that snug little room with the expensive sheets and good bed that didn’t sag in the middle. There was something to look forward to every day of this cruise and I was determined to savor every second of it.
At least I thought there was a lot to look forward to until Lula Faye got herself accused of murder.
I knew I shouldn’t have let her talk me into going on that cruise. Baptists playing the lottery just ain’t natural. I shoulda known something bad was bound to happen and it surely did.
I thought Lula Faye seemed a little “off” at breakfast a couple days before the cruise was going to be over. Kinda clingy. Didn’t say much, though. She kept looking around worried-like, no matter what we were doing. If I pointed out something interesting on the river bank, I could tell she weren’t really paying attention. After breakfast, we were going to be given the option to go on shore and Lula Faye said she weren’t interested.
“What’s wrong with you,” I asked. “Even I’m enjoying myself and I hate to travel.”
Lula Faye sort of bit her lip and traced her finger on the white linen table cloth they had on the breakfast table. “I might have made a big mistake,” she said.
This was the first time I’d ever heard Lula Faye ever say anything about her having made a mistake. Even when we were little bitty girls she always acted like she was right about everything even when she was dead wrong. This new behavior scared me and when I’m scared I get irritable.
“A mistake? What did you do, Lula Faye?” I said. “Spit it out!”
“I might have given some money away,” she said.
“Might?”
“Okay,” she admitted. “I did give some money away but I didn’t mean to. I thought I was just lending it to someone.”
“How much?” I knew it couldn’t have been too bad. Lula Faye, with the one exception of taking me on this cruise and buying me some clothes, was one of the most tight-fisted people I knew unless there were people watching. Then she’d give a few dollars to charity or put a couple quarters in the collection plate.
“A few thousand.” Her eyes wandered away.
“How few a thousand?”
“Maybe a hundred.”
“A hundred thousand?”
She nodded, her eyes downcast.
“Dollars?”
She kept looking down at the table. Embarrassed.
“Who on earth did you give a hundred thousand d
ollars to?”
“Mr. Withersham.”
“The Englishman?”
She nodded again.
“Why?” I suddenly found myself tapping my foot to beat the band. It was a habit I only had when I got upset, so I made myself stop. It weren’t my money she’d given away, but I couldn’t understand what had gotten into my cousin to make her do something that strange. She’d only known the man four days.
“He said he needed a small loan for a short time. He said his estate manager, who takes care of his finances, was ill and he was unable to get his funds wired to the United States right now.”
“I can understand loaning him a few dollars,” I said. “Maybe even a few hundred dollars. But a hundred thousand? What did you think he was going to do with it? Buy the whole ship?”
Lula Faye couldn’t seem to hold her head up one second longer. She laid it down on the table even though it looked funny and people stared.
“Is your friend okay, ma’am?” One elderly gentleman at the next table leaned over and asked me. “Does she need a physician?”
“What I think she needs,” I said, “is to have her head examined.”
“Oh. Psychiatric problems?” he asked.
“Definitely,” I answered.
I leaned over and whispered into Lula Faye’s ear. “What did Mr. Fancy Pants need the money for?”
Lula Faye mumbled something into the crook of her arm and I had to ask her to repeat it. When she did, my jaw dropped so fast I almost unhinged something. I had to ask her to repeat it again.
“You heard me right,” she said. “I loaned him the money so that he could buy me a really nice engagement ring once we got to New Orleans.”
“An engagement ring?”
She nodded.
“You thought you were getting engaged?”
She nodded, this time sniffling.
“When did you even have a chance to get your hands on that much money?” I asked. “It’s not like there’s a bank on board.”
“When we went ashore yesterday.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“Nolan said I shouldn’t say anything because it would be hard on you to find out that I would be marrying and moving to England and living a luxurious life while you were still stuck in Kentucky. He said we should break it to you slowly. Let you get used to the fact that we were a couple.”
Murder On the Mississippi Queen Page 5