Under the Moonlight collection

by MaryAnn Kempher

  “Give it to me,” said Bobby, trying to pull a square box from Jojo’s grasp.

  “No. Get your own pizza,” answered Jojo, rolling his chair away.

  “You suck.”

  “No, you suck.”

  Frank walked over and calmly took the box, holding it high above Bobby and Jojo’s heads.

  “Working hard, Jojo?” he asked, annoyance in his voice. Their eyes met.

  “Yes,” answered Jojo, defiantly.

  “You’ve both been on this ship a year now. You know the rules. You’re not supposed to eat in here, you guys. You’re supposed to take turns, one goes at a time to get something to eat.”

  “Aw come on, Frank,” said Jojo. “Look at me.” Jojo stood. He was tall and very thin.

  “I have to eat, a lot. And I can’t keep leaving to do it. You don’t want me to waste away, do you?”

  Frank laughed. “No, I guess we can’t have that. But you’d better be more careful. If Jack had seen, he probably would have chewed your butts out.”

  “So, Frank,” said Bobby, “how’s the investigation going? Any leads?”

  “No,” answered Frank. “Only one witness, an old lady.”

  “Mr. Smalls was in here a few minutes ago,” said Jojo. “He’s worried about how the publicity will affect the ship’s reputation.”

  “I think the murder will be good for the ship,” said Bobby. “Some people are weird. They’ll get a gory kick out of cruising on a ship where a murder took place. Kind of like when people stay in haunted houses.”

  “Well,” said Frank, “if this isn’t solved before reaching Tampa, the publicity is going to be rough.”

  “Will it be solved?” asked Bobby. “Do you think?” Jojo turned his chair, as interested in Frank’s answer.

  “No. Jack’s a good detective but he has nothing to work with.”

  “We told Mr. Smalls we’ll be staying in Tampa when we get back,” said Bobby.

  “Oh yeah? You’re both quitting?” asked Frank. “That’s news to me.”

  “We’ve talked it over and think it’s a good idea,” said Jojo. “Now’s as good a time as any.”

  “Why?” asked Frank. “I’m sure any bad publicity will pass. I don’t see even a murder docking the ship for long.”

  “We’ve heard things,” said Bobby.

  “Such as?” asked Frank.

  “Such as,” Bobby said, “the owners are thinking of selling. Ship’s not making money. Half the cabins are empty.”

  “Yeah,” said Jojo. “We’re headed for greener pastures. We’re gonna open a coffee shop together. You know, mochas, smoothies, that kind of thing.”

  “Not sure how to respond to that,” said Frank, smiling slightly.

  “How about congratulations?” said Jojo, who was always quick to take offense.

  “Sorry,” said Frank. “Congratulations. I’ll be sorry to see you two go. It’s been good working with you two. But as they say, all good things must end.” Turning and opening the door, Frank said, “I’ll see you guys later. No more pizza.”

  “Sure, sure,” answered Bobby and Jojo in unison, but the minute the door shut they grabbed the box and began eating.

  Frank walked down the corridor, wondering what his next move should be. Maybe he’d go see if Jack was done eating lunch with Marni Michaels. He’d only known Jack a week, but he’d thought he was smarter than that. Besides the fact that as far as Jack knew, she might have stabbed her friend to death, Marni Michaels was kind of a bitch. Her youthful beauty is clouding Jack’s judgment, Frank thought.

  He decided it was his turn to interview Ms. Nene Albright. He knew Jack had already interviewed her, but he wanted to determine, for himself, exactly what she saw and find out if she remembered anything that might help Jack find Pam Larsen’s killer.

  Frank found Nene on the lido deck, sitting comfortably on a lounge chair, a coffee cup in one hand, a piece of cake on a nearby table. He had her passport photo and vaguely remembered what she looked like from the night before, but was still relieved to find her so easily. She looked up as he approached.

  “Excuse me Ma’am,” he said. “Are you Nene Albright?”

  The woman licked chocolate frosting off her chubby fingers, and held her hand up. “Yes I am,” she said.

  “We didn’t get officially introduced last night. My name is Frank Towers. I’m a member of the ship’s security team. I’d like to talk to you about what you saw, if you don’t mind.”

  Nene pointed at a lounge chair and said, “Do you want to sit down?”

  “No thanks.”

  “Well, you know I already talked to someone today. His name was Jack.”

  “I know, ma’am. It’s always good to have more than one person interview witnesses.”

  “Where should I start?” asked Nene, speaking to herself. She told Frank her story, beginning with her departure from the casino and ending when Frank began tending to the fallen woman.

  “The woman who ran away, if you saw her again, do you think you’d recognize her?” he asked.

  “Oh I don’t know about that. They were outside, it was dark …” her voice trailed off.

  Frank snapped his notebook shut.

  “Well, thank you for your time.”

  ***

  Jack watched Frank leave the lounge. He looked back at Marni. She was at least ten years younger than he was, and a possible murder suspect. He knew he should leave, catch up with Frank, but he didn’t. He was drawn to Marni like he hadn’t been drawn to another woman since Amy.

  “So, must be pretty nice working on a cruise ship,” said Marni.

  “Well it was, until last night,” answered Jack. He watched for a reaction. He got one, Marni’s face turned white. Looking intently at her, he said, “I will find your friend’s killer before we get back to Tampa.”

  “That almost sounds like a threat, Mr. Harney.”

  “Don’t think of it as a threat,” said Jack. He took a sip of water. “Think of it as a reassurance.”

  “I didn’t kill my friend, Detective.”

  “I didn’t say you did. But you have to see that you could be considered a suspect.”

  “Are we finished?” she asked, standing.

  Jack jumped up. “For now.”

  Jack watched Marni Michaels’s sheer dress swish from side to side as she hurried from the room. He caught a glimpse of himself out the corner of his eye and turned his head toward a mirror that covered the nearby wall. He sighed. Under any other circumstances, he’d have chased after Marni and said whatever he needed to say to get those blue eyes to smile back at him. He was sorry he’d upset her but reminded himself that even beautiful women kill.

  He took the elevator to the third floor, where the crew’s rooms were located, and pounded on Matt Smith’s door. He knew that would piss him off, but he didn’t care. He needed to talk to him, to see if he’d seen or encountered anything suspicious the night before. But at barely one in the afternoon, waking Matt was like waking someone on a normal shift in the middle of the night. Jack could have waited until the next shift to fill him in on what happened the night before, but the truth was he was annoyed with the guy. When Matt hadn’t seen or heard from Frank, he should have checked in at the security office, but he hadn’t. Jack got more annoyed the longer he knocked. No answer. Damn. Where the hell is this guy? He resolved to chew his ass out that night.

  ***

  Jack had just stepped out of the elevator, with plans to go back to his office and then security, when he saw Frank walking toward him.

  “Finished talking to Nene Albright,” said Frank. “Nothing new there. But we might have a problem.”

  “What now?” asked Jack.

  “I can’t find Matt,” Frank said. “I’ve been all over this ship. I’ve been to his room. He’s nowhere to be found.”

  “When’s the last time you two spoke?”

  “Last night, not too long before Pam Larsen’s body was found. He was about to go get something t
o eat.”

  “He was gonna go eat?”

  “Yeah, we do that now and then. A quick stop at the cafeteria for a sandwich or something. I thought it was a little odd that we didn’t run into each other at all last night, but I was with you a lot so didn’t give it too much thought. But I stopped by his cabin. I knocked and knocked, but got no answer.”

  “I just came from there too. I’m surprised we didn’t bump into each other. Same thing—no answer.” Jack turned back toward the elevator and pushed the button. They rode the elevator to the third level.

  “Do you have the skeleton key?” asked Frank.

  “No,” answered Jack. “I forgot it—it’s back in security. If he doesn’t answer, we’ll get housekeeping to let us in.”

  Jack knocked and knocked on Matt Smith’s door, with the same results as earlier. No answer. He and Frank walked over to the housekeeping office. Jack took out his identification.

  “I’m Jack Harney, this is Frank Towers. We’re from security. We need you to let us into a room.”

  The woman nodded. She followed Jack and Frank to Matt Smith’s room. They stepped aside while she unlocked the door.

  “Has this room been cleaned this morning?” asked Jack before going in.

  “No, sir,” she answered. The woman opened the door and moved out of their way. Jack and Frank walked inside. Like most rooms, Matt’s was small. It was also neat and clean—more neat and clean than either man expected.

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” asked Jack. Frank nodded.

  “Yeah, the bed is made, the room neat. It doesn’t look like Matt slept here last night.”

  “So where did he sleep?” asked Jack. “Is he seeing anyone?”

  “Not that I know of,” answered Frank.

  “Let’s go.” Frank followed Jack out. They started walking.

  “Where we going now?” asked Frank.

  “To the office. Let’s pull up the security footage from last night. See if we can find Matt.”

  Chapter Eight

  Saturday morning, Katherine lay on her side staring at Scott’s face. She smiled when he sleepily opened his eyes.

  “Hey, beautiful.” said Scott.

  “Hey, handsome.”

  “How’d you sleep?” asked Scott.

  “Great, when I finally got to sleep,” answered Katherine. “I know it’s my fault we missed the ship, but I have to vent. If we hadn’t missed the ship, Amy would be in the cabin next door. And boy do I wish she was.”

  “Why, what happened?”

  “I stayed up after you left and watched a movie. Around—I don’t know, midnight or so—I went to sleep. Then someone knocked on a door.”

  “Someone knocked on our door?” asked Scott.

  “No, I think a few doors down. Close enough to wake me. Anyway, no biggie. I fell back asleep. Then two guys went into the room next door.” Katherine motioned with her head to the right. “I know they were guys because they were loud, talking in there like it wasn’t the middle of the night. Dorks.”

  “How did you know it was only two guys?”

  “Jeez, Scott. I don’t for sure, but I only heard two different voices.” Scott leaned over and kissed Katherine’s forehead.

  “Well I’m sorry you slept so badly, but don’t you have a brunch to be getting ready for?”

  “I don’t wanna go.” Katherine lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. She was supposed to meet Alex’s family and friends for a wedding brunch. Basically the same people she’d had dinner with the night before, only this would be worse; Kimy would likely be there too.

  “You know as well as I do that Sophie doesn’t like me.” As much as Scott wanted to tell Katherine it was all in her head, he knew it was true.

  “Don’t worry about Sophie,” he said. “After she gets to know you better, she’ll love you.”

  “Well, what are you going to do today?”

  “I don’t know. I feel like hell. That was some party last night. Probably go back to sleep. Later though, we could meet?”

  “Sure. Where?”

  “How about the lido deck at two?”

  “Oh jeez, Scott. There are so many people. How will I find you?”

  “Just look for the tall, good looking guy.”

  Katherine got out of bed. Smiling down at Scott she said, “I always do. But where will you be?”

  “Why I oughta—” Scott grabbed for Katherine. She dodged his grasp, and ran toward the bathroom, laughing.

  ***

  The brunch was as bad as Katherine had imagined it would be. Although Scott and Alex’s mother and sister were always polite to Katherine, they otherwise ignored her. She was going to marry Scott. Somehow she needed to get them to accept her. Katherine didn’t know if they wished Scott were still with Kimy, or if they disliked her because they blamed her for Scott getting shot. Either way, she felt alone at the brunch. Thank goodness Amy had come too. She sat next to Katherine and when nobody else would talk to her, she did.

  Just when Katherine thought she couldn’t feel any more uncomfortable, Kimy arrived. Scott’s mother and sister and Sophie jumped up. They all hugged as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. Scott’s mother and sister scooted their chairs apart to make room for her. Kimy smiled across the table at Katherine.

  Amy, seeing Katherine’s discomfort, said, “Well, did you all hear the big news? Someone on board died last night. I heard it from the housekeeper who dropped off some towels to my room this morning. She knew because the woman’s room is right near mine, and she was ordered to stay out of it.”

  “How’d she die?” asked Scott’s mother.

  “She fell outside the casino, on the deck. Isn’t that awful? And what sucks for us is that the cruise is probably going to be cut short, and the ship turned around.”

  “What?” said Sophie. “What about my wedding?” Amy looked uncomfortable. She hadn’t thought about the wedding and what her news might mean to the bride to be.

  ***

  Alex Mitchell splashed cold water on his face then looked in the mirror. Then he quickly looked away. He was tall, so could only see the lower half of his face, but he knew he looked like hell. That had been some bachelor party. Too much beer, and seasickness had combined to make Alex green in the gills.

  It had been his future bride’s idea to have the wedding on a cruise, and when she’d made the suggestion, it had seemed like a good idea. Now he wasn’t so sure. However, it had been a fun party. All his friends had been there. His brother Scott made most of the arrangements, but Alex would have bet money it was his brother’s best friend Jason who had arranged for the stripper.

  He wasn’t complaining. He liked naked women as much as the next guy. Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing any naked women. Man, was I drunk. Truth be told, he was feeling kind of gushy lately toward his friends, though he’d never show it. The decision to have the wedding on a cruise ship had been kind of last minute, and sailing out of Tampa instead of Los Angeles had been his fiancée Sophie’s doing; her whole family lived in Florida. But his family and friends had dropped everything to fly all the way from Reno for his wedding and Alex was thankful.

  He heard the cabin door open and Sophie call his name. He was surprised she was already back. He dried his face and when he removed his towel, Sophie was looking up at him.

  Petite with short dark hair, she’d always reminded him of Demi Moore, or to be more accurate, the character she played in the movie Ghost, but on speed. Sophie did not do slow.

  “You’re not going to believe what I’ve heard,” she said.

  “What?” was all Alex got out before Sophie told him what Amy had said.

  “Well, that’s terrible,” said Alex.

  “Do you know what this means?” asked Sophie, her voice rising.

  “No.”

  “Our wedding, Alex. She said it’s likely the cruise will be cut short. We’re going to have to move up our wedding. I’m going back to the brunch, but after that’s
over I’m going to go talk to the wedding coordinator. I need you to go talk to the bakery chef, see if our cake is ready, or if it can be sooner. Also, find out if your tux can be ready, and check on the flowers. Can you do that?” Alex inwardly groaned.

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Gotta run.” Sophie stretched, kissed his cheek, and darted out the door. Sometimes conversations with Sophie left Alex exhausted, even when he hardly spoke. This whirlwind conversation, combined with a hangover, made him want to ignore what she’d asked him to do and go back to bed. He looked over at the clock radio on the nightstand; it was nearly eleven. He’d go do what she asked, but he wasn’t going to suffer alone.

  After a quick shower, Alex dressed and walked down the hall.

  “Wake up,” he said to the door. “Get your scrawny butt out of bed.”

  He heard the barely audible, “Leave me alone.”

  “Open up.” Alex could hear shuffling, then the door opened a crack. Scott looked as bad as Alex felt, which wasn’t great.

  “What do you want at this God-awful hour?” asked Scott.

  “It’s eleven o’clock,” answered Alex. Scott stood back and opened the door wide. Alex went in and sat on the bed.

  “You look how I feel,” he said to Scott. Scott threw himself, face down, on the other side of the bed next to Alex. His voice was muffled by the pillow his face was buried in.

  “Well,” said Alex, “looks like the wedding might be moved up.”

  “Why?” asked Scott.

  “I don’t know. Some lady fell overboard or something. They’re turning the boat around. Sophie wants me to check on a few things.”

  “What kind of things?” asked Scott.

  “Wedding things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like the cake, my tux, flowers—you know, wedding stuff.” Scott sat up, then immediately held his head with both hands.

  “Why do I have to come with you?” he groaned.

  “Because you’re my brother, you’re my best man, and I don’t want to do wedding crap alone. Now get your ass in the shower, and make it quick.”