“Nice to meet you. I’m Agnes and this is Eleanor.”
“I hope you don’t have anyone else on this tour,” Eleanor said. “One of those ladies from that Tawas group has it out for me.”
“I heard about that. She came to the captain’s table last night, remember?”
Martha gave us a wave and came over. “What’s going on here?” Martha asked.
“Nothing for you to concern yourself with, so go find yourself a man to stalk, I mean, flirt with.”
Martha frowned now. “I’m no stalker, for the record.” She gave the captain a forlorn look and slowly moved away. I instantly felt guilty, so I said, “Fine, you can come, but try not to interfere.”
“You say that like you’re up to something, Mother.”
“Not at all. Just curious about how the ship works.”
“Actually, that sounds like a drag. I was hoping I could talk the captain into strolling with me over to the casino. I get so mixed up.”
“I’d be happy to, Martha, providing you keep your hands to home.” He winked.
So he wasn’t all that bothered by Martha, after all.
Before they moved away, I asked the captain, “Has there ever been any trouble onboard?”
Captain Hamilton’s brows furrowed. “Not sure what you mean?”
“Crimes, plots to take over the ship. You know, the normal stuff.”
He laughed now, as did Ben. “Sure, I’ll admit there have been crimes, thefts, unfortunately, even a few rapes.”
“And that one time the newlywed fell overboard, remember?” Ben said. “She had too much to drink at her reception and was quickly rescued.”
“It’s impossible to take over this ship,” Hamilton said. “They’d have to take over the bridge and there’s no way that would ever happen with Theo and Gunner at the helm.”
“But they can’t be there all of the time.”
“Oh, you planning to hijack the ship?”
“Not at all. I just have a vivid imagination.”
“Well, we better get going on the tour,” Ben said. “We scaled down things so you could safely be in the engine room.”
We followed Ben to a service elevator that went below decks, leaving Martha to fawn over the captain. We then followed Ben down a long, narrow hallway. This certainly wasn’t what I had expected. There were doors along the passageway and I asked, “What is behind all these doors?”
“Sleeping compartments for the men who work in the engine room,” he explained.
He pressed a code on a keypad just like all the other doors had. The door also had a lock that could be opened, which I assumed was in case the power went out since he didn’t use a key. I’d have to try later to see if the golden key would open it.
He pulled out earmuffs, which resembled headphones that would mask loud noises and we were told to put them on, as did he.
When the door opened, the smell of oil and machinery wafted over to us, and even with the earmuffs on, I could still hear the hum of the machinery. I was amazed at the level of equipment inside and he painstaking explained the importance of each of the pumps, from the ones that transferred the oil to keep the ship balanced, to fresh water pumps and sprinkler pumps. It was really educational, but also so over our heads. Each of the beige pumps had a round turn handle, some of them red, others the same color as the pumps. What I found the most interesting among all the things that Ben pointed out was the engine telegraph. The bridge communicated with the engine room to change speeds via a telephone. It reminded me of the Titanic movie, when someone would manually move it from full to slow speed. There was even a steering gear down here that could take control if power in the bridge failed.
“Thanks,” I shouted, so he could hear me.
He led us back outside the door and back into a different hallway. We handed him our ear protection.
“Thank you so much. I feel so much better now. So you could power and steer the ship from right down here?”
“Exactly. It’s just a safeguard since I’ve never known the bridge to ever have failed equipment, but we could handle it if it did happen.”
I smiled, looking up the long hallway. “I know this is off topic, but my niece Kacey lost her way and I think she passed out in a supply closet down here near the engine room, she said. Anyway, she told me that someone woke her up. The thing is, she lost a priceless heirloom she had with her and it hasn’t been seen since.”
“Is there anyone who might have helped her out?” Eleanor asked.
“When did you say?”
“She went missing the same day the ship left port and she was found the next day.”
“I’ll do some checking, but I’d be happy to let you check the supply rooms if you like, but I don’t see how she could have wandered in one.”
“Why not?”
“Because we keep the closets locked at all times.”
So, she might not have made up the story, but how would I prove that she was ever down here?
“Thanks, but do you have cameras down here?”
“No, I mean we do, but they haven’t been functional for the last year. The captain doesn’t seem to be too worried about this area of the ship and I’d have to agree, since passengers never come down here.”
“But couldn’t they slip down here?”
“No, they’d have to have to a key to even get down here through that door,” he pointed out.
“Oh? That makes sense.”
Ben proceeded to open closet doors and I searched each of them, not seeing anything out of the way, until another young man came up the hallway and asked, “Is there a problem, Officer Matterhorn?”
“Willie, Agnes here says her niece was found in a supply closet the day after we left port. Do you know anything about that?”
Willie swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bouncing. “I-I know I should have reported it, but she seemed okay.”
“Which room?” I asked. “She lost an heirloom she had with her when she went missing.”
Willie led the way to a supply closet and unlocked it. He walked through it, opening another door with a key, too. “It was in here. I thought it very odd since both of these doors are always locked, as well as the door leading below decks.”
When the light went on, I saw a woman’s sandal laying on the floor. I picked it up. “This might just be Kacey’s shoe, but no necklace.”
“You need to report that to the captain, then,” Ben said.
“I think I’ll just check with Kacey again. She’s good at forgetting where she puts things. I don’t want to put out an alert if it’s not really missing.”
“How did she seem when you woke her up?” Eleanor asked.
“Disorientated. I escorted her back to her deck to make sure she got there okay. She told me to leave and I did, but I watched from the end of the hall to make sure she got in okay.”
“Thanks, and nothing like this has ever happened before?”
“Not when it comes to missing passengers or ones getting lost down here.”
“Thanks, Willie. You’ve been a great help.”
“And thank you for the tour of the engine room, Ben,” Eleanor said. “It was quite interesting.”
Ben escorted us topside and when the door closed, I checked it to assure that it was indeed locked, which it was. I then took out the key I found in the suitcase, but it wouldn’t even go in the lock.
I put the key back in my purse. “What does this key go to?” Eleanor asked.
“I’m not sure, but at least now we know Kacey had to have been locked in that room.”
“By someone who had a key to get through both the locked door here and the supply closets downstairs,” Eleanor said. “Didn’t you notice, Agnes, that the same key was used to open all the doors?”
“You’re right. Either whoever locked Kacey up works on this ship or has gotten access to the key that opens those doors.”
“Might be a master key Ben was using. We should ask the captain about that. Doesn’t seem like ther
e should be too many master keys floating around. I bet they keep a log or something of who might have them.”
“I love how you think, Eleanor.”
We sauntered over toward the bridge, but stopped when we saw Ruby and Pearl shooting golf balls off the ship. Eleanor hid behind me, using me as a body block as we backed away slowly, then dodging in the opposite direction. Once we were on the elevator, I exhaled. “That was close. I bet if that Ruby saw you, she’d try to hit you upside the head with a golf ball.”
“Why else do you think I was hiding behind you?”
“I can always count on you throwing me under the bus, Eleanor.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
When we were back on our deck. I went with Eleanor’s into her room, and Mr. Wilson was snoring loudly on the bed. “Looks like it’s time for his morning nap,” Eleanor said. We crept back out and I checked my room, but no Andrew.
Instead of wondering where that man of mine might be, I called Martha, asking if she was still with the captain, but she told me no. “So, do you know where the captain went after you scared him away?”
“No, but I know where your hubby is. He’s playing blackjack with Frank Alton.”
I hit the end button on my phone. “The captain is AWOL for the moment. I guess we’ll have to catch up with him later. Right now, lets head to the casino, where Andrew is with Frank.”
“Oh, boy,” is all Eleanor could say, as we went back downstairs via the round glass tube, which is what I began to call the glass elevator.
We caught Tasha at the front desk and asked, “Have you seen that captain anywhere?”
“I see him all over the place, but not recently.”
“Drat. I’d like to speak to him about something, but I suppose it can wait.”
“Where’s the casino?” Eleanor asked. “I’m feeling lucky.”
Tasha rounded the counter and we followed her into the heart of the ship. When I heard the bells and whistles of slot machines, I thanked her and we continued on our own the rest of the way.
“If Dorothy finds out Frank is in here again, she’s going to blow a gasket,” Eleanor said.
“I can’t believe that Andrew is encouraging his behavior.”
“Perhaps we should find out just what they’re doing here before we jump to conclusions. If you listen to Dorothy talk, she’ll claim that Frank has a gambling problem, but I don’t know if that’s true. I mean, sure I’ve seen him buying Mega Millions tickets, but who doesn’t when the jackpot gets big,” Eleanor said. “You know how easy it is for Dorothy to get bent out of shape when it comes to her husband.”
“I’ve never known Andrew to gamble either.”
“Oh, are you really sure you know everything there is to know about Andrew?”
I wasn’t so sure now that she said it. “Good point.”
We wound our way around the paperless slot machines and I saw Gloria pulling down the handle on one of them. You really don’t need to do that anymore. Why, with one push of a button, the slot machine goes into action. The only issue these days is how many coins per play you need to use. I remember when three quarters was it. Now, you have to decide how many lines to play and how much you want to spend per turn. Too little hardly helps you make your money back, but too much and you can lose your money pretty quickly. It’s always been my firm belief that you should never spend more than you can afford to lose. It doesn’t hurt to approach it from a fun activity standpoint.
Eleanor’s eyes grew big and she put a hand into her pocket, ready to put a coin in the machine before I stopped her. “These machines only take paper bills.”
She then fished out a twenty and proceeded to put it into the machine.
“Don’t stand there, Agnes. You’ll bring me bad luck.”
“Thanks. I’ll look for Andrew, then, without you.”
“All right then.”
I just shook my head and Eleanor either didn’t see me or really didn’t care. It didn’t bother me all that much since oftentimes, Eleanor slowed me down and it’s not like I was here looking to question anyone. The captain was next on my list. I did still wonder about why somebody would lock Kacey up like that and hoped to find out real soon. At least nobody had turned up dead, yet. I bit my lower lip almost as soon as I said it, since that was never a good thing to even think about.
I heard a shriek across the room and moved in that direction. It was Frank Alton doing some kind of victory dance like you might see a football player do in the end zone after a touchdown. Why, the way he was twisting and turning, that man could throw out a hip. I wasn’t about to say so, though, since he’s never said anything to either Eleanor or me about some of the things we do. I must admit that we’ve had to run away from bad guys and gals before. Now, some might even wonder how I ran down a beach once, but all I can say is that when somebody chases you with a gun, you run.
Andrew was up and slapped Frank’s back in congratulations. “Good play, man.”
Frank took his seat. “It looks like lady luck is on my side.” He frowned, now. “That is, if my wife stays in the spa long enough.”
“Dorothy is in the spa, you say?” I asked.
“That’s where you should be, Agnes,” Andrew said. “How did the tour of the engine room go?”
“Engine room?” Franks said. “That doesn’t sound like something a woman would be interested in.”
“Probably not, but it was quite interesting. Did you know they can actually steer the ship from down there if the controls fail in the bridge?”
“That sounds like it might ruin one of your scenarios,” Andrew said.
“How do you know what I was thinking?”
“I’ve known you long enough, Agnes. I know how you think. Isn’t that why you wanted to go on that tour? Strange, I didn’t see that listed as an activity.”
“It’s not. I guess the captain goes out of his way to accommodate his passengers.”
The dealer gave me a hard stare and I clammed up, as the bets were put down on the table and he dealt the cards. Andrew asked for one card and Frank threw down his hand after asking for one, too. It didn’t look like he was doing that well anymore.
“I don’t get it,” Frank said. “It’s Agnes, she’s bringing us bad luck.”
“You might be right,” Andrew said with a laugh. “From that look of hers, I think I’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight.”
“It reminds me of my honeymoon. Dorothy got angry about something that I didn’t even remember doing.”
“Sounds just like a woman.” Andrew laughed again.
“I think I should go before I really make you sleep on the floor tonight,” I said, waltzing away from the table.
I found Eleanor not long afterward and she did not look happy.
“That darn machine ate my twenty like it was candy. I don’t think I’m cut out for this gambling thing.”
“Good to know. We should get going now. I heard Dorothy is in the spa and I thought it might be good if we distracted her from coming into the casino, looking for her husband.”
“That bad?”
“Actually, Frank seems to be on a winning streak, but I’m bad luck.”
“Men!” Eleanor said with a snicker.
We left the casino behind and I glanced on the wall at the map of the ship and only then did I remember about the map that I had in my purse. “We should head back up to our room so we can take a peek at that map.”
“Why don’t we do that in the ladies room. I don’t feel like going all the way back up there and coming back down to find the spa.”
Chapter Eleven
We found the bathroom, and through the doors was a nice sitting room with a couch and television tuned to the Food Network. We eased ourselves down on the couch and I took out the map and unfolded it. We gazed at it like it was in Greek, since it was a blueprint really and not one we could read.
“There doesn’t seem to be an x that marks the spot,” Eleanor observed.
&
nbsp; “I suppose that would be asking too much.”
“Do you think there are terrorists on board?”
“I have no idea, but I think it’s time I come clean to Andrew about finding the blueprints. I thought it was a map of sorts. I’m not sure how to proceed, now.”
“And are you also planning to tell him about the key you found?”
I thought about that for a moment. “No, we’ll keep that to ourselves for the time being.”
“So, why tell him about the blueprints, then?”
“Because, dear Watson, I don’t want it on my conscience if there is a plot related to this ship. We should go ahead and inform the captain about the map and the suitcase. He might have an idea how to proceed from there.”
“That might be best. Andrew can hardly get mad at you if you tell the captain.”
I folded up the blueprints and shoved them back into my purse. I know my plans were to check on Dorothy in the spa, but right now I wanted this blueprint thing off my back. I hated to be deceptive to Andrew, but he really gave me no other choice.
I went to the front desk again, but this time the cruise director wasn’t in sight. Instead, Jess, the girl she had taken over for at the pool volleyball station just the other day, was working the counter.
“Could you page the captain? It’s very important that we speak to him and soon.”
“He’s in the spa. It seems that there was an incident there.”
“Where is the spa, exactly?”
She motioned for a young man, who took us to the spa. The door was wide open and a gurney was being hauled out, with Leah on the stretcher! I entered once they had wheeled Leah toward the infirmary, but only because I could hear the shrill shrieks of Dorothy Alton.
“Dorothy, are you okay?”
“No, I-I’m not. Th-There was this woman in a seaweed wrap and she was turning blue. I was so scared that I didn’t know what to do, other than to call for help. I-I tried to do CPR, but it was so hard to do with the arthritis in my arms.” Tears trickled down her face. “I tried the best I could, even gave the woman mouth to mouth. It certainly wasn’t the highlight of my cruise, I’ll tell you that.”
I was at a loss for words. I really didn’t know what to say to Dorothy.
Madison Johns - Agnes Barton 07 - High Seas Honeymoon Page 11