Meredith turned back to Grace. “Anyway, a position opened up during our last cruise and they offered me the job.”
“Do you like it?”
“I guess. So far. I mean, it seems pretty easy. All I have to do is mingle with the passengers and get them enthusiastic about all the activities we have planned.”
“Such as?” Kyle asked.
Meredith blew out an annoyed breath. “I can’t remember all of it. There’s a brochure out on the guest services desk you can pick up if you’re really interested.”
“Helpful as always,” Kyle muttered as he leaned back in his chair.
“If you ask me, there are far too many activities on board,” Meredith continued angrily, “and all the best ones are all scheduled at the exact same time.”
Courtney began to giggle.
“Take tonight for instance. I’ve got to spend the rest of the night hosting bingo up on the Lido Deck, but down on the Emerald Deck some professor is giving a two hour lecture on scurvy and the high seas. Now you tell me, why would they have both events at the same time? What if someone wanted to play bingo and see the lecture? What are they supposed to do?”
Grace lifted her hands in a shrug. “Poor planning if you ask me.”
Oohhs and ahhs erupted from the magician’s table drawing everyone’s attention.
Bruce Pritchard was now gone and Leo Rycroft had taken his place. The passengers at his table clapped as he showed off his magic skills.
“He’s quite good,” Grace said.
“Why is he doing that?” Meredith asked with a scowl. “He’s doesn’t work for the ship anymore.”
“See,” Tucker said, “I told you they had fired him.” He glanced over his shoulder at Leo before dropping his voice to a whisper and leaning close to his wife. “I told the cruise director he ought to fire him for embarrassing you on stage like he did. It wasn’t right.”
Courtney’s face softened as she gazed at her husband. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she smiled softly as he whispered his love to her.
“That wasn’t the only reason they fired him,” Meredith said. “They had been looking for a reason to fire him for a while.”
“Why?” Grace asked.
“He had gotten a little too close to some of the female passengers,” Meredith added. “He liked to drink a bit too much at dinner and make passes at the women. They couldn’t prove that he crossed any lines though, and he was too popular to get rid of.”
Glancing at Courtney, Tucker puffed out his chest. “It wasn’t until I went to them to complain that they finally did something about it.”
The people next to them cheered as Rycroft made a woman’s diamond necklace disappear. He picked up the woman’s purse, opened it, and pulled out the necklace to the woman’s obvious delight. With a flourish, he placed it back around her neck, leaning in close as he did, his fingers brushing against her collarbone.
“He doesn’t work for the cruise line anymore,” Meredith grumbled. “He shouldn’t be doing that. Only the people hired by the cruise line are supposed to entertain the passengers during dinner.”
“Since you’re the assistant cruise director,” Kyle said, “shouldn’t you do something?”
She lifted a slim shoulder. “I’ve been assigned to this table.”
Grace turned to Meredith. “So, does that mean you are our dinner entertainment?”
Meredith gave a slow, disinterested nod. “Yep.”
They all waited expectantly for Meredith to begin entertaining them. After a few minutes passed in relative silence, they turned toward the magician’s table to watch Leo Rycroft perform.
* * *
“I am stuffed,” Courtney said, pressing a hand to her tummy as they walked out of the dining room. “I think that was the best meal I’ve ever had in my life.”
“I don’t feel very well,” Tucker said, looking a little green. “Do you think they really leave the Alfredo sauce out in the hot sun like Merry said?”
“No,” Grace and Kyle said simultaneous.
“Honey,” Courtney said, “Merry was just joking. You can’t take anything she says seriously.” She tugged on his arm. “Come on; let’s go up to the Lido deck. I bet a nice glass of…” She glanced over her shoulder at Grace before continuing with the barest of whispers, “Brandy will help to settle your stomach.”
“You know,” Grace said, “I have a great idea. Why don’t we all go up to the Lido Deck?”
Kyle tapped his watch. “Grace, we’re going to be late for the magic show.”
“Oh, why don’t we meet you two afterwards,” Courtney said. “Maybe we can go dancing or something.”
Looking a bit panicked, Tucker pulled his arm out of Courtney’s grasp. “You know, I really don’t feel well. I think I’m going to go back to the cabin and lie down.”
Courtney’s mouth opened in surprise. “Well, okay—”
“There’s no reason for you to go,” Tucker said quickly. “I’m just going to take a nap. How about I meet you at the Lido Deck in an hour.”
“I don’t want to go to the Lido Deck by myself. Besides,” Courtney said wrapping her arms around his waist and smiling up at him, “I feel like taking a nap too.”
Tucker’s gaze bounced around the ship, moving restlessly from the elevator to the guest services desk to the fountain, over across the atrium, never settling on one thing. “Actually, I think I’m going to go down to the medical center.” He broke from Courtney’s grasp and began hurrying towards the elevators. “I’ll meet you all later.”
“Are you alright, Tucker?” Grace asked worriedly as she followed him.
“Yeah, I’m just going to get something for my stomach. I’ll meet you on the Lido Deck in an hour, Court.”
Courtney followed with her own worried look. “I’ll go with you.”
“No,” Tucker said holding up his hands toward her, as he backed into the elevator. “I’m fine. Go have fun. I’ll catch up with you in a little while,” he called out just before the elevator doors closed.
“That was strange.” Courtney forced a smile to her face as she backed towards the elevators. “Well, I’m going to head back to my cabin and change into something more comfortable.” She repeatedly stabbed at the down button with her finger until it opened. “When you all get out of the show,” she said stepping into the elevator, “meet us on the Emerald Deck. There’s this great disco club up there that’s so much fun.”
Grace bit her lip as the elevator doors closed.
“What’s wrong?” Kyle asked studying her face.
She walked to the railing and looked down over the atrium. “If Courtney’s going to get changed,” she leaned over the railing watching as the elevator dropped to the floor below and stopped, “why is she going down?”
“Maybe she’s going to check on Tucker,” he said joining her at the railing. “Medical is on the next deck down.”
“What do you think’s wrong with him?”
“He’s a hypochondriac.”
Grace raised an eyebrow. Crossing her arms, she turned toward Kyle. “Speaking of your wonderful gift of diagnosing someone on the fly, couldn’t you come up with something better than that I’m afraid of alcohol?”
Kyle laughed. “What was I supposed to say? My wife thinks you’re planning to murder your husband tonight, and oh, by the way, thanks for picking up those excursion tickets for us? It was the first thing that popped into my head. Well, right after my wife’s a raving alcoholic. I didn’t want to sleep on the couch tonight so I went with methyphobic instead.”
“Good choice.” Grace gestured to the dining room. “You don’t think that was a little weird? I was half expecting her to bring out a hose and funnel and start pouring the alcohol down his throat that way.”
“She’s was probably just trying to get him to relax.”
“Oh, come on, admit it, you’re a little worried about him, too.”
“You know what I think?” he asked wrapping his arms around her
waist. “We’ve been surrounded by mysteries and murder for the last year and a half and now it’s affecting everything we do.”
Grace sighed. He did have a point. They had come across so many dead bodies recently. She had started reading mystery novels more as instructional manuals than as a form of entertainment. She bit her bottom lip. Still, Tucker did think someone had pushed him. At least at first. She glanced back up at Kyle. “So you think we may be letting our imagination run away with us?”
“What are the odds that we’ll be thrust into another murder investigation while on our honeymoon?”
“At the rate we’re going, pretty good. Tucker’s scared, Kyle.”
“Yes he is,” he said before adding, “of pretty much everything.”
Grace rested her head on his shoulder and gazed down over the railing. She spotted Courtney almost immediately. Her blue sequined dress stood out among the other passengers’ casual t-shirts and shorts.
She and Alex Wright, the cruise director, spoke to one another briefly next to the piano bar before separating and going off in opposite directions.
As Courtney disappeared from view, Grace lifted her gaze up, stopping when she noticed Tucker dashing down one of the opposite corridors. She watched as he nervously looked over each shoulder before turning and racing for the staircase.
“Tell you what,” Kyle whispered into her ear, “we’ll keep a close eye on him this week. Just as soon as the magic show is over with.”
“Oh, why wait,” Grace said drawing his attention to Tucker as he ran down the stairs, turned, and then weaved his way through the crowd lined up in front of the doors to the magic theater two decks below. “Let’s start now.”
Chapter Seven
Grace and Kyle walked into the theater and immediately split up, each taking one of two aisles as they searched the small dark theater for Tucker.
Grace’s gaze automatically fell to the stage as she walked down the aisle. Heavy black curtains were pulled back revealing the stage. Five tall blue and white painted waves sat in front of a large wooden pirate ship on a shiny black floor.
Kyle whistled.
She glanced across the rows of blue seating to find him making his way down the third row. He pointed to the end of the row where Tucker sat hunched down, a hand covering the side of his face.
Weaving her way around several passengers, she came to a stop next to Tucker and loudly cleared her throat.
Tucker dropped his hand and looked up. As soon as he saw her standing next to him, he popped out of his seat, and scooted down to make room for her.
“Fancy meeting you here,” she said taking his vacated seat. “Feeling better?”
Tucker blew out his breath as a guilty look crossed his face. “Yeah,” he said with a grimace.
“Good,” Kyle said coming from the other direction. He slid into the seat on Tucker’s left hand side. “I was wondering if we should order a flower arrangement for you.”
Tucker laughed nervously. “I guess I’m just not that good of a traveler.”
They lapsed in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes as the rest of the ticket holders found a seat.
Chilly in the cold theater, Grace rubbed her hands down her bare arms. “So we’re just curious,” she said, “but is there any particular reason why you’re avoiding your wife?”
He smiled at her sheepishly. “She’d kill me if she finds out I’m here. You saw her at the dinner tonight. She has very strong views about this magic show.”
“So, why are you here?” Grace asked, shivering.
Tucker lifted up his hands. “I . . . just had to come. It’s a very good show. One of the best.”
“How do you know?” Kyle asked shrugging out of his tux jacket and passing it to Grace. “Last time you were here, Leo Rycroft was the magician.”
“Right,” Tucker said, “but Bruce and Penny were his assistants and I just bet they’re going to kill it tonight. Plus, I’ve heard good things about them.” He rubbed his hands on his tuxedo pants. “I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” he said sounding like a man about to get a root canal. “Please don’t tell Courtney I’m here.”
“Your secret is safe with us,” Grace assured him. “But listen, about the incident on the stairs—”
“I’m sorry,” he interrupted, his brow furrowing in worry. “I can be rather clumsy sometimes. I didn’t hurt you when I fell, did I?”
“No, not at all. I was just—”
The lights dimmed and a voice came over the speaker announcing the beginning of the show and introducing their magician for the night, the dread pirate Captain Davy Jones, and his first mate, Penny Rycroft.
Grace looked over at Kyle and mouthed Rycroft at him.
“She’s married to Leo Rycroft,” Tucker whispered.
“I thought she and Bruce were together,” Kyle said.
Tucker shrugged. “They’d been having an affair behind Leo’s back for months. Probably even before Leo and Penny got married.” He paused for a moment. “At least that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t really know because I don’t know these people at all.”
“Sure you don’t,” Grace said, turning her attention back towards the stage as Bruce Pritchard, aka Davy Jones, and his assistant Penny walked out onto the bow of the wooden ship in their pirate costumes. He looked like a low rent version of Blackbeard, and Penny looked like a serving wench from the seventeen hundreds.
He ordered Penny to aim the lone cannon on the ship towards the scurvy looking audience as he brought out a long match, which he lit with a snap of his fingers. With a puff of smoke, a good deal of sparklers, and a loud bang, Penny and Bruce magically transported from the bow of the ship to the stage in a blink of an eye, thus beginning the show.
Grace settled back into her seat with an annoyed sigh. Normally, she loved magic shows and had it been any other magician, she might have been on the edge of her seat as the dread pirate and his first mate went through their routine. However, she just couldn’t separate the character of Davy Jones from the loathsome Bruce Pritchard, no matter how mind boggling the tricks were or how loud the audience laughed at Penny’s horribly exaggerated cockney accent and her antics on stage.
And truth be told, she admitted to herself, even if it hadn’t been Pritchard on stage, the mystery surrounding Tucker and his near miss on the stairs earlier would probably have occupied a great deal of her attention anyway. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the young man was in serious danger and if she and Kyle didn’t do something to save him, he’d never survive his honeymoon.
Kyle reached across Tucker to touch her arm just as Penny and Bruce wheeled out a collection of swords. He leaned over and motioned for her to come closer.
“Bruce Pritchard cut up one of his assistants about ten years ago,” Kyle whispered, “during a sword cabinet trick. Completely destroyed his career.”
Tucker leaned forward, his face inches from their own. “Wait, what happened?”
“He put his assistant into the box then proceeded to slice her to ribbons,” Kyle said. “She would have bled out if my father hadn’t been there at the time and rescued her. Bruce didn’t care; he just kept adding more swords in as she begged him to stop.”
Suddenly, Kyle’s emphatic no to Bruce’s suggestion that she join him onstage became crystal clear. “What made him do that?”
“A combination of things. He was drunk. She was flustered. She screwed up one of his tricks. Flubbed a line. Dropped a prop. Missed her cue. By the time it came for this trick, he was boiling mad.”
Tucker’s eyes widened. “Why haven’t I heard about this before? Shouldn’t this be common knowledge?”
Kyle shrugged. “He couldn’t get work for the longest time. Completely disappeared. Last I heard he was playing kids’ birthday parties under an assumed name in Alaska.”
“What happened to the girl?” Grace asked.
“She survived but just barely. A few more minutes and she might have died. Bruce has always been rec
kless. What got me is that he didn’t even care that he hurt her. He was more concerned with his own neck.” His gaze shifted to the stage as Penny wheeled out a steel grey school locker complete with stickers and graffiti. “Penny’s crazy to get into that locker.”
Beads of sweat appeared on Tucker’s brow. He wiped a hand down his face. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Kyle pursed his lips together. “Remind me not to order the fettucine Alfredo,” he said to her before sitting back in his seat.
Grace nodded before doing the same.
Bruce opened the locker door, his shoulders comically slumping when he noticed all the junk inside.
“What?” Penny asked in her exaggerated accent as she knelt by the locker. She began cleaning out the locker by casually flinging books onto the stage. “You asked me to get a locker, so’s I got a locker. If you wanted a certain type of locker you should’ve been clearer, Cap’n.” She flung a baseball over her shoulder, squarely hitting Bruce in the stomach, causing him to double over. “Just doing as I was told. Can’t blame a lass for doing what she’s been told, now could you?”
An assortment of items came out next, all landing on or near Bruce, driving him back away from the locker. Gripping his sword tightly in his hand he raised it over his head as he approached her from behind.
A dog’s squeaky toy came out next, bopping Bruce in the face, stunning him long enough for Penny to empty the locker and stand and face Bruce and the audience.
Scowling, Bruce wiped a hand down his face. “Okay Penny my love,” he said menacingly as he motioned to her with his sword, “climb into Davy Jones’ locker.”
Penny looked from the audience to the locker, vigorously shaking her head.
“Come now,” Bruce said, “it’s perfectly safe. You’ve seen me perform this illusion a dozen times.”
“I know,” she said primly, “which is why I ain’t doing it,” she said loudly over the audience’s laughter.
“It’s either the locker or the plank,” Bruce growled. He pointed his sword at her neck. “Make your choice.”
The Body in Davy Jones' Locker Page 7