“Aye,” Hank said with a wink, “you’d be wanting your prize.” He narrowed his eyes as he stared at them. “And how old would you two lasses be?”
“Twenty-one,” Courtney said to Grace’s surprise, having pegged the girl’s age as much younger. As soon as Grace stated her age, Hank began backing up towards his office.
“Oh, I hope it’s real jewels,” Courtney said pressing her hands together as if in prayer as Hank returned with his hands behind his back. “Oh, please, please, please.”
To Courtney’s disappointment, their prize wasn’t jewelry.
Courtney held the bottle Hank had given to her up to the light. “What is this?”
“Liquid gold,” he said handing Grace a bottle as well. “The most precious thing a pirate could ever hope for.”
Grace glanced down at the label. “Rum?”
Courtney gasped so loudly every eye in the room turned to her in concern. Her gaze zeroed in on the bottle Grace was holding. “Noooo,” she screamed as she swooped the rum out of Grace’s hand and tossed it and her own bottle out the window as if they were live grenades. Taking a calming breath, she returned to Grace’s side and wrapped a motherly arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay, Grace. Everything’s fine. I took care of it.”
Grace gave her grinning husband a look as Courtney turned to Hank. “Don’t you have another prize? Something non . . .” She speared a worried glance at Grace before adding in the barest of whispers, “alcoholic.”
“Non-alcoholic?” Hank repeated slowly, still reeling from the loss of the rum. “Um, yeah, we give the kids a choice. Just give me a sec,” he said as he backed up to his office, his eyes still riveted to the window. He returned a few minutes later with two very familiar looking stuffed toy dolphins. One gunmetal grey. The other hot pink.
“Oh, look, honey,” Kyle said as he took the pink dolphin from Hank. He glanced down at the tag on the dolphin’s belly, his grin growing wider. “Made by the Straker Toy Company.”
Chapter Nineteen
Courtney clutched the grey dolphin to her chest as they stepped onto the Sapphire of the Seas. Her eyes were bright with excitement as she retold her harrowing tale for what seemed like the hundredth time since Kyle had pulled them up out of the ocean and into the boat.
Grace couldn’t help but note that the tale changed slightly with every retelling. “Then pow! I struck out with my fist and I could hear him scream out in pain. I was so scared and my heart was just beating out of my chest but I kept fighting.” She nodded solemnly. “I bet my daddy will be really proud of me.”
Kyle held open a glass door for them. “I’m sure he’d be proud of you no matter what.”
Courtney smiled softly with a sad expression in her eyes. “My daddy only likes fighters.” She plastered a grin to her face. “And boy did I fight back. It’s a good thing I took all those Tae Kwon Do classes when I was in high school. Daddy said it was a waste of time. He’ll be so shocked when I tell him what happened.” She held her dolphin up at eye level. “Isn’t that right, Gracie?”
Grace lifted an eyebrow. “Gracie?”
Courtney laughed as she crushed her stuffed toy to her chest. “That’s right. I named her after my hero,” she said as she juggled her toy and packages together before wrapping an arm around Grace’s shoulders. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead right now.”
“I didn’t do anything, Courtney,” Grace said. “You got away from your attacker all by yourself, remember?”
“Only because you were there. I think you must have distracted him. Plus, you shared your tank with me. I wouldn’t have made it without you.” She frowned as if the enormity of what happened had just hit her. “I’d be dead right now if it weren’t for you.”
With that sober thought, they fell silent as they stepped into an open elevator filled with other passengers. After a moment, Courtney exclaimed, “I wonder if I killed him.”
Grace looked at her in surprise. “Who?”
“Tucker.” Tears sprung to her eyes. “You don’t think I did, do you?”
Kyle met Grace’s eyes over Courtney’s head. “When would you have killed Tucker?” he asked.
“Back at the wreck. I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want to die.”
Kyle softened his voice. “They didn’t find another body when they went to investigate.”
“But it’s the ocean,” she said hastily wiping tears that spilled from her eyes. “People disappear in the ocean. What if his body floated away or a shark ate him?”
The other passengers in the elevator shifted uncomfortably around them. They threw worried looks at each other until the elevator door opened and they bustled out leaving Grace, Kyle, and Courtney alone.
Grace wrapped a comforting arm around the other girl. “I’m sure you didn’t kill anyone.”
“I love Tucker. Even though he tried to kill me, I still love him.”
“What makes you think it was Tucker who tried to kill you?” Kyle asked.
“Who else would it be? I don’t have any enemies.” Her lower lip trembled. “I just can’t believe he’d do something like that to me. Daddy told me that he was after my money but see, that’s why this doesn’t make sense. Tucker doesn’t get anything if I die. Everything we have belongs to Daddy. Tucker wouldn’t get a dime.”
“You don’t know it was Tucker that attacked you,” Kyle pointed out as they stepped out of the elevator and made their way towards their cabins.
“But who else could it have been?”
“Is there anyone else that might want to kill you?” Grace asked.
“And Tucker,” Kyle added.
Courtney looked from Grace to Kyle, then back again in confusion. “Kill Tucker? Do you think he might be in danger too?”
“It’s possible,” Kyle hedged.
Courtney shook her head in disbelief. “No, no one. I don’t know much about Tucker’s past as I should, but I don’t think he has any enemies either.”
“He’s got one,” Grace said meeting Kyle’s eyes.
“Who?” Courtney’s gaze bounced from Kyle to Grace and back again. “Who?”
When Kyle didn’t say anything, Grace said, “I think we should tell her.”
Kyle ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he said softly giving Grace a look.
“Tell me what?” Courtney’s face paled. “Has something happened to Tucker? What’s happened to my husband?” she asked her voice rising in panic. “Something’s happened to him, hasn’t it? That’s why I haven’t been able to find him. Where is he?”
“No, no,” Kyle said trying to reassure the hysterical girl. “Everything’s fine.”
Courtney pressed a shaking hand to her forehead as she began to cry. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
“No, he’s not,” Grace said reaching for her keycard. “He’s hiding.”
“Hiding?” Courtney asked wiping away a tear. “Where?”
“Someone tried to kill him and we’ve been protecting…” Grace said opening the door. She froze in place, her mouth falling open as she stared at her formally opulent and pristine cabin. Clothes and sofa cushions were strewn around the room as well as broken glass from the glass coffee table. She caught Courtney moving towards her out of the corner of her eye and slammed the door shut.
“Protecting him?” Courtney wiped away a tear. “Where? Where has he been hiding?”
Grace stepped in front of the door. “Um.” Thinking quickly, she said, “At the theater. He’s at the theater.”
“The magic theater?” Courtney asked.
“That’s right. That’s where he’s at.”
Courtney quickly backed up. “I’d better find him.” She paused at the end of the corridor before running back down towards Grace. She thrust her multitude of packages and her toy dolphin into Grace’s arms. “Take care of Gracie for me,” she said before running off.
“Why did you lie to her?” Kyle asked as Courtney disappeared around the corner.
“I di
dn’t want to upset her any more than she was.” She reopened the door and held it open for Kyle to see. “It looks like we had a visitor while we were gone.”
Kyle stepped into the suite, his mouth falling open. “They were busy, too.” He moved to the bedroom, calling out Tucker’s name while Grace carefully stepped around the broken glass. She dropped their packages and the two dolphins onto the bar. A piece of paper in the middle of the destruction caught her eye. She plucked it out and held it up just as Kyle returned. “He’s not here,” he said moving to the balcony.
“That’s a good sign.”
Kyle peered over the railing. “Maybe not.” He shoved a hand through his hair, putting it back in place as he moved back inside. “What do you have there?”
“A warning,” Grace said handing him the note before moving to the phone in order to call security.
“Mind your own business,” he read, “or to Davy Jones’ locker you will be sent.” He tossed the letter onto the bar. “Clever.”
“Security has to take us seriously now,” Grace said picking up the phone. “What with Alex’s murder, Courtney’s near call, and now this, even an idiot can see there’s a murderer on board.”
* * *
“I swear you two have murders on the brain,” Officer Mulligan said as he stood in their suite a half an hour later.
Grace rolled her eyes in disgust. Despite her and Kyle’s reasonable arguments, Mulligan refused to believe them, choosing to find another simpler explanation for the mess in their cabin. “So, you’re saying Tucker Bernard was staying here with you?”
“That’s right and now he’s missing,” Kyle said putting a sofa cushion back in place.
“I would be too if I just trashed my friend’s cabin,” he said sitting down on the sofa cushion Kyle had just put back in place. “The Port Lucia police are looking for him. They think he tried to kill his wife.” He wrinkled his nose. “It wasn’t him though.”
“I agree,” Grace said, “but why do you think so?”
“I checked the security log. He never left the ship. Mrs. Bernard came and went a couple of times, but he never left today.”
Grace frowned. “Courtney came back to the ship? When?”
“Around noon. She didn’t stay long. The way I figure it is that he and the Missus had a little fight today and he lost his temper.”
“In our cabin?” Kyle asked.
“You did say he was staying here with you,” Mulligan pointed out. “Sounds like trouble in paradise if you ask me. No wonder she thought he attacked her.” He shook his head. “I bet she got her foot stuck in some seaweed and freaked out.”
Grace scowled down at the man. “I was there too. There was no seaweed in that wreck.”
Mulligan shrugged. “Well, maybe she was attacked then. It’s just not safe in Port Lucia nowadays. I tell people to be careful when they leave the ship but they don’t listen. You would have thought Alex would have enough sense than to take shortcuts down alleyways. The cops said he had just come from the bank. The killer probably thought he had just cashed his paycheck.”
“It wasn’t that dark,” Kyle said, “and he wasn’t killed by a robber. Whether you like it or not, there’s a killer on board this ship. They’ve killed Bruce and Alex. They tried to kill Leo Rycroft twice now, and they attacked Tucker and his wife. I have a strong feeling they’ll try again.”
A worried look crossed Mulligan’s face. “Tucker Bernard was attacked too?”
“Yes,” Grace said, “the first night aboard ship during the Davy Jones’ locker trick. Someone stabbed him and we’ve been hiding him here ever since.”
“If Tucker was stabbed like you said, why didn’t he come to us? Why come to you?”
“He was frightened,” Grace said. “He was afraid his wife would find out what he used to do for a living and divorce him.”
“He was also afraid Bruce would finish him off if he told everyone that he had been stabbed during the performance,” Kyle added.
A snort escaped Mulligan’s lips. “No doubt about that. Bruce had a vicious temper. Penny too. Those two were two peas in a pod. But why would anyone want to kill Alex?”
“Just before Alex died,” Kyle said, “he told me that he witnessed Bruce and Penny dispose of Leo Rycroft’s body.”
Mulligan burst out laughing. “They didn’t do a very good job considering he’s walking around the ship right now.”
“Nevertheless, they all thought he was dead,” Kyle said, “and Alex’s been blackmailing them ever since. Bruce found out about it the night he died and confronted Alex about it.”
“So that’s why Bruce was compiling a list of names,” Grace said thoughtfully. “It wasn’t a hit list. It was a suspect list. He was trying to figure out who was blackmailing them. That’s why Louis Rycroft’s name was on there and not Leo’s. When he wrote the list, he thought Leo was dead.” She glanced at the clock. “Well, at least we now know it was Bruce and Penny that tried to kill Leo. Now if we could just find Penny we could put an end to all of this.”
“Alex was under the impression that Penny and Bruce were framed,” Kyle said. “If that’s so, Penny may be in just as much danger as the others. If she isn’t already dead.”
Grace scowled. “Not everyone can be a victim,” she muttered softly. “Someone has to be the killer.”
“Hmm, I wonder…” Mulligan pursed his lips together as he rose to his feet. “I’ll have the steward come up and clean. You two can relax now. I’ll take it from here. Rest assured that whatever’s going on, I’ll get to the bottom of it soon enough. Don’t you worry.”
Grace sank down on the sofa next to Kyle. “Well, I feel so much better about that,” she said with a wry smile, “don’t you?”
The connecting door between their balcony and the Bernard’s balcony opened. Tucker stuck his head out and looked around. He tiptoed to the door and mouthed, “Is he gone yet?”
“Where have you been?” Kyle asked.
Tucker jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Hiding in my cabin.”
“What happened over here?”
“I have no idea,” he said picking up a chair and sitting down. “I was in here watching a movie when I heard all this commotion going on in my cabin. You should see my place. It’s completely busted up. Anyway, I was sitting here wondering what to do when there was a knock at the door and someone trying to break in. I dashed out onto the balcony and through the connecting door.”
“How did you get it open?” Grace asked.
“Oh, Courtney got the steward to open it up that first day while you were out exploring the ship. I had just ducked in there when I heard glass breaking and things being thrown apart over here.”
“Why didn’t you call security?” Grace asked tossing Courtney’s dolphin to him.
“Then where would I have hidden?” He tossed the toy back and forth between his hands. “I figured the best thing to do was hide and wait for you two to get back. Have you found out who’s trying to kill me yet?”
“Not yet,” Kyle said, “but we’re making some progress. We’ve eliminated Alex from our list.”
Tucker frowned. “Was he a suspect?”
“For a few minutes,” Kyle said before explaining that Alex had been murdered.
“I think we can safely eliminate Courtney too,” Grace added glancing at the clock on the wall. Her heart sank when she realized how little time they had before the beginning of the magic show. “Someone tried to kill her today, so I think—”
Tucker bolted from his chair, his face drained of color. “Is she all right?”
“She’s fine.” Before Grace could say anymore, Tucker was throwing open the door and running out of the room shouting Courtney’s name.
Kyle smiled as the door slammed shut behind Tucker. “Well, we have the place to ourselves now,” he said reaching for her.
Grace stepped to the side, neatly dodging his hands. Shaking her finger, she said, “Oh, no, we’ve got to practice.”
&n
bsp; He looked affronted as he picked up the two toy dolphins. “I don’t think I need any practice but if that’s what you want,” he said with a grin, “I’m more than willing.”
She rolled her eyes as she reached for the door. “I was talking about our magic act.”
Laughing, he kissed her on her forehead. “So was I,” he said as he stepped out into the corridor. “Wait ‘til you see what I have planned for you tonight.”
Chapter Twenty
Grace finished tying her red sequined bowtie, then stepped back and examined herself in the floor length mirror. She straightened her black sequined waistcoat, and then checked her fishnet stockings. Her eyes met Kyle’s in the mirror as he let out a wolf whistle. “Same to you, too,” she said marveling once again at how handsome he looked in a tuxedo. “I’m starting to get used to you in that.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll wear a tuxedo everyday if you promise to wear this outfit everyday.”
Smiling, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’m sure everyone back home will understand.”
“No doubt,” he said giving her one last kiss before stepping over to the dressing room table.
Grace glanced toward the window as a flash of lighting off into the distance caught her attention. Stepping out onto the balcony, she held onto her top hat as a gust of wind swept over her.
Most of the night sky was clear and bright, but off into the distance thunder clouds loomed. “What was that saying about the sea and sky?” Grace called out to Kyle. “The one about a red sky something or other.”
“Red sun at night, sailor’s delight. Red sun in morning, sailor’s take warning.”
“How did the sun look this morning?”
Kyle chuckled as he joined her on the balcony. “Bright yellow.”
“I swear; Meredith is making me a nervous wreck. You should have heard her today, going on and on about sea disasters.” She glanced down at the ocean. “Then when she was done making me swear off cruising ever again, she launched into tales of man-eating sharks and other various monsters lurking beneath the…waves.” Her voice trailed off as she stared at the water.
The Body in Davy Jones' Locker Page 19