by Judi Lind
Well, if she couldn’t own up to her responsibility for their tattered past, far be it from him to push the matter. He’d thought clearing the air would make it easier for them to work together. If she only wanted to talk about the case for the next week, then so be it. He wouldn’t utter a single personal word. Noah knew how to play hardball, as Keely would quickly discover.
“All right,” he said at last, “we’ll play it your way. Strictly business.” He paused again and cleared his throat. Damn the woman—it sure hadn’t taken her long to get under his skin again. But she wasn’t going to manipulate him, not this time. Keeping his voice carefully neutral, he continued, “I think someone will be on this cruise to check us out. Since the police still haven’t located Sargent’s next of kin, I think there’s a very good chance that news of his death hasn’t filtered to his associates yet.”
“What about the newspapers?”
He frowned. “There was only the one fairly brief article on the local page. I seriously doubt a two-person, single-car accident would have made the wire services.”
“What about the leak in the police department you were talking about? If there is an informant, wouldn’t he pass word of Sargent’s death to the syndicate back East?”
Noah nodded. “That’s certainly a possibility. On the other hand, I think it’s unlikely that the contact in Mexico has received the word.”
Keely raised a delicately arched black eyebrow. “Even in this age of faxes and cellular phones?”
“Faxes and cellular phones could certainly play a part in this equation. We could be walking into a trap. It isn’t too late to back out, you know. I could get another agent from the Los Angeles branch to pose as Rosie.”
Keely twisted in the seat and stared at him. “Yesterday you said I was the only one who could pull this off. What happened to change your mind?”
He sucked on his upper lip as he negotiated a tight squeeze through the bumper-to-bumper traffic. “What happened was that phone call. By hinting that Rosie and Sargent were murdered, your caller raised the ante.”
“You’re worried about me,” she said, a hint of awe coloring her tone.
He turned his head and stared out the side window before returning his attention to the road ahead. “Look, this is my job, not yours. I should never have involved you.”
“But you did,” she countered. “If we know up front that we might be walking into a trap, we’ll be better prepared. More cautious.” When he started to interrupt, her voice rose to cover his. “I’m in for the long haul now, Noah. There’s one thing about me you never realized. I’m not a quitter.”
Like you were, hung unspoken in the air between them.
After a few tense seconds, he shrugged. “It really doesn’t matter. If they know about Rosie and Sargent and the transfer is off, the contact won’t be on the ship and the courier won’t show up in Ensenada.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said slowly, as if trying to find a hole in his logic. Finally she nodded to herself and said, “Okay, so we proceed on the assumption that our cover is intact. We’re Rosie and Todd Bannister, on our honeymoon—”
“No,” he interrupted. “I think we should stick with our own first names. Otherwise there’ll be confusion between our passports and what we’re calling ourselves.”
“Won’t the contact expect Rosie and Todd?”
“I looked those tickets over pretty carefully. They only say Mr. and Mrs. Bannister. I think we’ll be fine.”
“Good,” she said, and leaned back in the seat. She closed her eyes as if she’d fallen asleep, but Noah could see the uneven pulse thrumming in her throat and knew she was awake.
What was she thinking? Was she, perhaps, reliving the past and wishing for a different future than the one they’d each made for themselves?
“KEELY? WAKE UP. We’re at the pier.”
Sitting up with a start, she rubbed her eyes and stared out the windshield in surprise. Right in front of them was the magnificent ocean liner, Empress of the Seas. What an incredible sight! Vast, majestic and bobbing calmly at the dock like a dowager queen. The vessel was pristine white except for a wide blue stripe where the ship’s hull curved inward. Marine blue life-boats were fastened along one of the decks. Multicolored nautical flags draped the Empress from her elegant bow, up to the top of the superstructure and down again, ending at the stern.
“I never imagined it would be so huge,” Keely breathed.
Noah opened the car door, slid out and stretched his travel-weary limbs. “Well, she’s going to be our home for the next week. Let’s hope the old gal is watertight.”
Keely stepped around to the rear of the car to help Noah carry their suitcases on board. Impatiently waving off her offer, he hoisted the bags and led the way toward the gangplank, where they could see other passengers already embarking.
The loading process was fast and efficient. After joining a line inside the terminal marked A To L, they handed their luggage, passports and cruise tickets to a cheery clerk dressed in red, white and blue. Five minutes later they were heading up a long concrete walkway that terminated at the ship’s gangway.
Keely’s first surprise came when they reached the top of the ramp. A ship’s officer, nattily attired in sparkling white, stepped up to greet them. “Welcome aboard, folks.” He glanced at the boarding package given to them by the terminal clerk. “Ah, you’ve booked one of our honeymoon cabins. We’ll try our best to make your stay as romantic as possible,” he concluded with a meaningful wink. “Okay, folks, time for that first photo opportunity.”
Following his direction, they stood beside a large cardboard sign, gaily painted with the ship’s name and the inscription Mexican Cruise.
“Come on, folks, you’re newlyweds—you can stand closer than that!”
Keely groaned inwardly. It was starting already. She wanted to scream at the man that she couldn’t stand any closer to Noah, else she’d lose her breath completely. Noah, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort, pulled her close in a pseudoloving embrace and mugged for the camera. Finally the shutter snapped and she was able to pull away.
The man who’d been their official greeter handed their tickets to another white-suited man who introduced himself as Manny and informed them he would be their cabin steward for the trip. Charming and knowledgeable, Manny rattled off the ship’s vital statistics and history as he led them to their cabin.
Pausing at a short, curved portal, he pointed to a four-inch-high iron plate at the bottom of the doorframe. “Watch your step here. Don’t want to trip over this water guard.”
They entered a small vestibule, closed off from the main living quarters by a sliding curtain. Pulling the privacy curtain aside, Manny led the way into the compact living space and demonstrated the various accoutrements. After explaining the flushing system in the tiny bathroom, and the mechanism that converted the sofa into a room-size bed, he smiled brightly. “So, how long you been married?”
“Three weeks,” Keely answered.
“Six months,” Noah said at the same time.
Keely gulped. Obviously they should have spent their time refining their cover story instead of arguing. She laughed wryly and tucked her arm through Noah’s. “It only seems like six months, darling.”
They both treated the steward to dazzling smiles.
Manny stepped back and raised an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. Well, none of my business, that’s for sure. Now, the bar won’t open until after the captain’s lifeboat drill, sometime soon after we set sail.” Manny showed them how to don their life jackets and where to muster when the drill was announced.
Then he pulled their tickets out of his pocket and studied them for a moment. “You’ve been assigned to the second seating in the Bahia Harbor dining room. That’s on D Deck. They’ll announce it over the loudspeaker. May I do anything else for you right now?”
“No, that’ll be fine,” Noah said, reaching into his pocket.
Manny held up his hand. “Oh, no, sir. G
ratuities are made at the end of the cruise.” He glanced at Keely. “I guess you’ll want to be alone now, but the captain gets real crabby if anyone misses his emergency drills.”
“We won’t miss it,” Noah said, closing the door firmly behind the little man.
He turned around to face Keely. “Well, honey, looks like we’re alone. At last.”
“Since we are, darling, maybe we ought to get our stories straight.”
He winked and flopped onto the bed. “No problem, sweeturns. You lie and I’ll swear to it.”
THE EMPRESS’S immense engines shuddered as they began their warm-up for the long voyage, and Keely released a breath of pent-up frustration. Finally. Thanks to Noah’s cold demeanor, the atmosphere in the small stateroom was tense and silent. It was going to be a long, awkward week.
Noah pulled off his sneakers and tucked a bolster pillow behind his neck. “That was a long drive. Think I’ll take a little nap before dinner.”
He closed his eyes and, true to his word, a few moments later his softly resonant snore filled the cabin.
Unaccountably annoyed, Keely stalked around the confines of the cabin like a wild creature unused to close quarters. She flipped on the television to find only one single working channel, which was running an endless sequence of tide tables and ocean currents.
She snapped it off and peeked through the porthole. The deck chairs outside the window were quickly filling with other passengers so she decided to go on deck and watch the departure preparations.
Taking her electronic door key, she slipped out of the room. Although by now the deck was rapidly filling with other vacationers, Keely managed to find an empty lounge chair tucked in the corner beside an air shaft.
Keely leaned back, adjusted her sunglasses and watched the smiling couples lining the rail as they laughed and waved to well-wishers standing on the dock two stories below. Some had even brought rolls of paper streamers and confetti and were tossing them to the cheering crowd.
The atmosphere was partylike, full of chatter and gaiety. Yet as the multitudes of strangers jostled past, she found herself eyeing them with suspicion. Noah and Chief Kapinski both believed the courier was going to be on this ship.
With millions of dollars of phony money at stake, she knew these people could be ruthless. Perhaps her sister had already fallen prey to their crimes.
If so, there was little doubt she and Noah were going to be closely watched. She looked up and caught the eye of a young crew member straightening deck chairs. How long had he been watching her? Was his interest purely professional, or did his smile hide a darker agenda?
The young man walked toward her. She stiffened in her seat as she watched his approach with trepidation. When he reached her, he merely smiled, tipped his cap and continued down the deck, whistling a sea chanty as he passed.
She laughed nervously. It was one thing to be watchful, but another to be paranoid. This was a cruise; people were always friendlier on vacation. Keely vowed to maintain some equilibrium.
Forcing herself to relax, she leaned back and affably watched her fellow passengers.
A small group strolled past her deck chair, each young couple with fingers entwined, as one woman shared a funny story about her recent wedding. Everyone was laughing and another woman launched into her own tale as they drifted past.
Everywhere Keely looked, happy couples laughed and touched with the shared intimacy of love.
She had never felt more alone in her life. Why, oh why, had she ever agreed to come on this sham honeymoon?
Then there was a long, deep blare of a horn from somewhere on board and the massive liner started moving with surprising speed out of Long Beach Harbor.
Suddenly she felt a presence at her side, but she had no sense of danger. Shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight with the edge of her hand, she looked up. Noah was standing beside her.
“Come on,” he said, extending his hand. “Let’s join the others and watch the ship leave the harbor. It’s traditional,” he added when she failed to move.
For a brief instant Keely had felt a flare of hope that he’d come to share this special moment with her because…because he wanted to. It was a bitter realization to discover Noah was still in character, playing the role of attentive husband. A role he’d shunned in life.
How could she have ever believed, hoped even, that he fostered some slight regret for what he’d given up? Noah Bannister was cold and uncaring to his core, and she’d do well to keep that knowledge foremost in her mind. He was a man on a mission, nothing more. He wanted to nail this counterfeiting ring and was willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goal.
Keely knew she had to assume the same professional demeanor if she was to survive this assignment with both her heart and her self-respect intact.
Raising her hand to his, she smiled tightly. “Of course, darling. I heard someone say the sun would be setting soon off the bow. That’ll be so romantic. Shall we?”
Nodding to their fellow passengers, they were still strolling around the deck an hour later. Land was but a faint glimmer on the horizon when the public address system crackled and Captain Jorgensen announced commencement of the first lifeboat drill. Following a flood of passengers, they wordlessly made their way back to their cabin in order to retrieve their life jackets before mustering at their appointed stations on deck.
They suited up in moments. While Noah fiddled with a tangled-up nylon strap at Keely’s collar, his warm fingertips grazed the sensitive flesh at her nape and she shuddered involuntarily. “It’s only a drill,” he assured her, mistaking her reaction. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”
Recalling her earlier resolve, she snapped, “We both know what your promises are worth.”
“Ah, I see. I’m not supposed to make any reference to our checkered past, but you’re free to throw barbs whenever the mood strikes. Is that the way we’re going to play it?”
Keely flushed. He was right, of course. She had been the one to set up the ground rules; if she expected Noah to follow them, she’d better stick to the plan herself. “I apologize,” she said stiffly. “We’d better get to our drill station.”
She swept past him out the door.
When they reached the deck, an officer was waiting to direct them to their places in line. Women were sent to the front near the rail; men were packed tightly against the bulkhead.
Keely was given a spot in the last row of women. Directly behind her a narrow walkway was kept clear and then the four rows of men started. As several hundred passengers trooped by, Keely lost sight of Noah. Looking over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of his gleaming brown hair four rows behind her.
A short dark man wearing a white uniform festooned with lots of gold braid stepped out in front, clipboard in hand. Shouting to make himself heard, he urged everyone to squeeze closer and make room for latecomers.
Keely was already pretty well squashed, she thought, but inched forward until her toes almost touched the heels of the woman in front of her. Still, people continued to crowd down the walkway behind her until it seemed every single one of the sixteen hundred passengers on board must have trooped past.
The man with the clipboard gestured for attention and began giving them emergency instructions. “Now, I’m going to call out your cabin numbers and…”
While he talked, another clump of people came through the nearby door and were edging past her when Keely felt a sharp tug on the strap of her life vest. Before she could react, she was pulled backward a few inches and someone pressed close against her until she could feel hot breath whirling around the back of her neck.
“Hello, Mrs. Bannister,” a strange voice whispered. “Make sure you follow directions very carefully. You don’t want to fall overboard.”
Then the tension on her life jacket eased abruptly. Keely whirled around and stared at the backs of the group who had just passed. Men and women, young and old. Nothing to set any of them apart.
Except one of them had
just issued a warning.
Their quarry knew they had arrived and was already one up on them. Noah and Keely had been identified and acknowledged.
The cat-and-mouse game had begun.
Chapter Six
“You’re not certain if it was a man or a woman?” Noah asked as they were walking to dinner.
“How many times do I have to answer that? It all happened so fast. Whoever it was jerked my life vest, whispered in my ear and disappeared.”
Noah reached around her shoulder to push open the glass door into the Bahia Harbor dining room. As he did so, he drank in the sweetly intoxicating perfume she’d dabbed in a few highly effective spots.
Actually, between the perfume and the red silk dress that whispered over her soft curves like a lover’s promise, Noah was having a hard time keeping his mind on the case.
Of course, Keely usually helped him out of his dilemma by biting his head off every third time she spoke to him. Maybe she’d be more civilized after she’d eaten. “I guess we should be grateful,” he continued. “At least we’re forewarned. The contact is on board so the transfer must be going ahead as scheduled.”
He paused as a scarlet-jacketed maître d’ glided up to them. “Good evening sir, madame. Your name please?”
“Bannister. Mrs. and Mrs. Bannister.”
The maître d’ consulted a large seating chart. “Right this way, please.”
He led them along a peacock-colored carpet etched with a forest-green-and-navy paisley print. The immense room was dotted with large round tables decked with snowy tablecloths and intricately folded napkins in vivid teal and deep green. Tiny faceted crystal votive candles and fresh flowers completed the decor. Everything was elegant and understated, like the finest gourmet restaurant in a large, cosmopolitan city.
Pausing by a table near the window, which promised a stunning sea view in daylight, the maitre d’ pulled out a chair for Keely and draped her napkin across her lap. “Fernando will be your waiter for the entire cruise and these lovely people will be your dining companions. I’ll leave you to introduce yourselves. Shall I send over the sommelier, sir?”