Under the Moonlight collection

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Under the Moonlight collection Page 34

by MaryAnn Kempher


  ***

  For Katherine, Tuesday started out pleasant enough. She and Scott had stayed in bed all morning, alternating between making love and eating the room service they’d ordered. That afternoon Scott took off to run around with Alex, and Katherine reluctantly took the elevator to Sophie and Alex’s spacious new suite. Scott told her that they’d requested an upgrade and moved into the suite that had been used for the bachelor party.

  A group of women waited inside, excitement for the upcoming wedding felt by everyone invited. They’d gathered to get a sneak peek at the wedding dress. As usual, Katherine felt out of place and not altogether welcome in the group. She’d gone over to invite Amy but had gotten no answer when she’d knocked. Kimy and Scott’s mother were helping Sophie with her dress, leaving Katherine alone with a handful of women she’d never met.

  When Sophie emerged from the main bedroom, Kimy holding the dress’s long train, she looked stunning. The dress was white satin with an empire waist and looked exactly like something Katherine would have picked out for herself. She walked over to Sophie.

  “You look amazing. That has to be the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.”

  Sophie smiled, her face glowing. “Thank you, Katherine.”

  Kimy kneeled, her red, manicured fingernails tracing the hem of the dress. “Is it supposed to be so long, Sophie?”

  Sophie looked down. “No, it was supposed to be hemmed to be shorter. Do you think they have a tailor on board?”

  “Oh, I know they do. You could go get them to shorten it. I’m sure there’s time.”

  “Oh no,” said Katherine. “It looks gorgeous the way it is. Is it really a good idea to have anyone using scissors near this dress, so close to the wedding?”

  Sophie laughed. “Maybe not.” She looked at Kimy. “I think Katherine’s right. Why tempt fate? The length is fine, and it is so beautiful.”

  Kimy gave Katherine a sideways glance, clearly annoyed that her opinion was being ignored. Katherine circled Sophie, admiring the intricate lace and bead work.

  “This dress looks like something right out of Pride and Prejudice,” Katherine said.

  “That’s the look I was going for,” said Sophie.

  That afternoon, Katherine felt more welcome and comfortable with Sophie than she ever had before. She made a mental note: complimenting a bride’s dress goes a long way. All the ladies were sorry when Sophie left the room to change, but none more than Katherine. She had a new enthusiasm for wedding dresses and looked forward to returning to Reno to start the search for her own.

  As the group left the suite, Katherine lagged behind. She’d worn a light sweater and had left it on a chair.

  “Do you mind if I run back for my sweater?” she asked Sophie.

  “No, of course not. Go ahead.”

  Katherine ran back into the room and grabbed her sweater. As she was about to leave, she stopped, sure she’d heard a noise, but equally sure everyone had already left. She pulled the door tightly shut behind her. She was surprised to see the hallway empty, that the women had left so quickly. They were all going down to one of the restaurants, but Katherine decided to go back to her room. She had a slight headache and thought a short nap would do her some good.

  ***

  Tuesday, Amy left her room early. She was avoiding Katherine and Scott. While she was glad for her sister’s happiness, it was hard to be around when she felt so lousy. She didn’t want to have to watch the obvious love between the couple.

  She spent the day walking around the ship, stopping now and then to indulge in something chocolate. She sat by some windows and looked out. Her stomach growled. She’d skipped lunch, but dinner didn’t start for nearly an hour, at seven o’clock. After a few minutes, she looked up, surprised to see RJ standing over her.

  “Hi, Amy. Hey listen, I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. You were obviously upset about something.”

  Amy smiled. “Thanks, Robert. Don’t take this the wrong way, but going back to your cabin would have been a mistake on my part. When you saw me, I’d just run into an old boyfriend.”

  RJ sat across from Amy. “Oh, that explains a lot. I completely understand.” They sat in silence for a few minutes, then he asked, “Say, did you go to the costume ball last Friday?”

  Amy laughed. “No, but I wish I had. I didn’t want to go alone and my sister had plans. Plus, it had been a long day. Did you?”

  “No, I was going to, for a little while, but something came up.”

  “What were you going to wear?”

  He laughed. “I was going to be a surfer dude. I had a blond wig and seashells around my neck—even had a small surfboard.”

  “How funny. I bet you would have looked hilarious, and I’d have loved to have seen you in that wig.”

  RJ jumped up. “I’ll be right back.”

  Amy smiled as he walked away. She was thankful for his attention. After Jack’s refusal to even get together to talk, RJ made her feel attractive and desired.

  Amy got up and walked into the casino. She stood with her back to the door, watching people play blackjack. When RJ walked up to her a few minutes later, she smiled and laughed. He really looked different. If she hadn’t known he was coming back, she wouldn’t have recognized him.

  “Wow, look at you,” she said.

  RJ had changed into swim shorts, the seashell necklace, and the blond wig.

  “Where’s the surfboard?”

  RJ laughed. “I thought bringing the surfboard would be a bit much. So what do you think?”

  “I think you look very cool.”

  Jack stood outside the casino, looking in. He watched Amy laughing and smiling and wondered about the guy she was with. He didn’t look like the same guy he’d seen her with earlier, but he’d only seen that guy from the back. He watched as the man put his arm around Amy’s shoulders and give her a hug. Jack’s fists clenched.

  He told himself he was tired and on edge because of the investigation. He reminded himself that he’d given Amy the brush-off. Something he’d thought would have given him some kind of satisfaction, but it hadn’t. He couldn’t get a good look at the guy, but in his opinion, he didn’t even look like Amy’s type.

  Over RJ’s shoulder, Amy saw Jack standing outside the casino. Her first impulse was to run away. Not a rational thing to do, but his rejection had hurt and embarrassed her. Instead of running away, she wrapped her arms around RJ and pulled him close. She laced her fingers together and let her hands rest around his waist. RJ leaned down and softly kissed her forehead. She looked up. Robert was a great-looking guy, even in a blond wig, and she felt good in his arms. But he wasn’t Jack.

  Jack’s eyes narrowed when Amy put her arms around the guy. It took all his self-control to keep from storming into the casino and kicking some ass. Okay, so I’m a little jealous, so what? It doesn’t mean anything.

  He decided the smart thing to do was to leave, and quickly, before he did something he’d regret. With one last look at Amy’s hands, resting way too near the guy’s ass, Jack walked off, angry at his reaction.

  Amy watched Jack leave, unsure whether her actions had had any effect on him at all. He’d never been a jealous kind of guy. If anything, he’d always gotten a kick out of other guys checking her out.

  What had she accomplished? Well, at least he knows I’m not sitting around waiting on him. If anything, he’s probably congratulating himself for not giving me another chance. To hell with him. I was almost over him anyway. It’s this stupid cruise. Wish I’d never come on it.

  She looked up, realizing she was still in RJ’s arms. He was holding her tightly against him, a little too tightly.

  “You ready to see my cabin?” he asked.

  Amy smiled and tried to act as if she thought he was joking. She pushed him away and took a step backward.

  “No, not yet surfer boy. I think I’m going back to my own room, maybe see what my sister Katherine is doing.”

  They walked out of the cas
ino together.

  “Let me walk you to your room,” RJ said. Amy didn’t want him to but couldn’t think of a good reason to say no, so they started walking. As they neared Amy’s room, he said, “Did you know your room is only a few doors down from the room of the woman who was killed?”

  “Killed? I thought she fell or something.”

  “Oops. No, she was murdered. She was a nice lady—I met her.”

  “Did you? Wow, so how was she killed?” They were standing outside Amy’s cabin door.

  “I’ve said enough. Besides, we don’t want to talk about that, do we?”

  RJ looked at her door. “Are you going to invite me in? Come on, Amy, come on.” He was smiling and teasing her. Amy was tempted. Why shouldn’t she sleep with RJ? He was super hot, he obviously wanted her, and Jack didn’t. RJ was leaning against the wall; he’d removed the wig. Amy reached up and ran her hand through his dark, curly hair. Damn, she was horny as hell, but this didn’t feel right. She opened the door.

  “Goodnight, RJ.”

  He groaned. “You’re killing me, Amy.”

  Amy smiled and closed the door between them.

  ***

  When Katherine opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the room in shadows. Not exactly dark, but obviously she’d had a longer nap than planned. Katherine looked at the bedside clock; it was nearly six, and she’d lain down at 3:30. The door opened and Scott walked in. He turned on the light next to the bed.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking for you. Guess I should have checked in here.” He sat on the bed, leaning down and kissing Katherine softly.

  “I had a headache,” she answered. “I didn’t mean to sleep so long.” Scott had a serious look on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Katherine.

  “Someone messed with Sophie’s dress.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “Yeah, she went back to her room a little while ago and the dress had a tear in it. Pretty good one too.”

  “Oh my God, I bet she’s freaking out.”

  “She thinks you did it.”

  Katherine sat up. “What?”

  “Yeah, everyone is saying how much you admired her dress. That you went on and on about it. Sophie said you were alone in there, that you said you’d forgotten your sweater.”

  “But she can’t seriously think I’d damage her dress? I loved her dress.”

  “That’s why—jealousy. Kimy isn’t helping matters. In fact, I think it’s Kimy who gave her the idea. But the fact remains that the dress has been damaged, and someone did it.”

  “Well it wasn’t me.”

  “Come on, get up,” said Scott. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

  “I don’t know,” said Katherine. “Maybe I should go into hiding.”

  Scott laughed. “Nah, this is a big ship. We probably won’t even see Alex or Sophie.”

  “Okay.”

  Katherine showered and got ready, and soon she and Scott were on their way to the main ballroom for dinner.

  ***

  After seeing Amy, Jack had to shake his head. He wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand, he’d gotten the impression from Katherine, and Amy herself, that Amy still had feelings for him. But then she was running around the ship with some guy. It didn’t occur to him that she was trying to make him jealous. He half wondered if a cosmic joke was being played on him. Was Amy on board the ship for a reason? Was he meant to work things out with her?

  Jack found himself near one of the ship’s lounges. He got himself some coffee and sat down. It was the same lounge he’d sat in with Marni Michaels a few days earlier. He hadn’t seen her since the previous afternoon and that was fine by him. She was trouble—trouble for his career, trouble for his heart. He didn’t know if she was involved in her friend’s murder, but it didn’t matter. Any contact that could be considered less than professional had to be avoided.

  Jack was surprised to look up and see the very woman he’d been thinking about enter the lounge. She wore a long sundress with thin straps. She hadn’t seen him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He was tempted to sneak out, but that felt juvenile. He’d finish his coffee and leave. He watched Marni approach the bar and order a drink. She sat on a stool. Their eyes met in the mirror over the liquor bottles. She smiled. Jack smiled back. Marni turned, hopped down off the stool, and walked over. Jack stood.

  “Hello, Detective.”

  “Ms. Michaels,” he said. “Would you like to join me?”

  They sat, Marni sat in a chair next to Jack, a small table between them. He watched as she rubbed her arms, as if cold. It was awkward. What could they talk about? Pam Larsen’s murder was between them and normal conversation. But Marni surprised him.

  “So, Detective, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?” she said detective as if it were his name. Jack took a sip from his cup, set it down.

  “Not much to tell.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Reno, Nevada. I grew up there. Spent some time in the Army, got out and went to work for their police department. I told you, not much to tell.”

  “How’d you end up on a cruise ship?”

  Jack chuckled. “Well, I’m actually doing a favor for a friend. I’m here temporarily.”

  Marni smiled and said, “I’d say that friend owes you big time.”

  Jack laughed again. “Tell me about it. But enough about me. What about you?”

  Marni looked slightly uncomfortable. “I don’t like to talk about myself much.”

  “Oh come on.”

  “I grew up in the Tampa area. Brandon, it’s a suburb.”

  “So what do you do at the law firm?”

  “Law firm?” Marni looked confused.

  “Yes, didn’t you say you and Pam worked together at a law firm?”

  “Oh, um, yeah. Law firm. Secretarial work.”

  “And your family?”

  Marni looked away then back at Jack. “I don’t have much family to speak of. I grew up in foster care mostly.” She laughed. “I suppose you come from a huge family. Lots of brothers and sisters?”

  “A few brothers and sisters. I wouldn’t call that a huge family. I’d like to though, some day. You know, have a family. Lots of kids, dogs, the whole shebang.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  “Yeah well, one day maybe. Do you keep in touch with the other foster kids?”

  “No,” she answered, sounding sad. “There are three cardinal rules to surviving foster care: keep your head down, your mouth shut, and mind your own business. You don’t make many lifelong friends growing up in foster care.”

  Jack studied Marni. He couldn’t figure her out. On one hand, she seemed fragile and feminine. On the other hand, he’d seen flashes of steel, and now that he knew she’d grown up in foster care, he understood why. She was tough—she’d have to be. It was also more understandable why she wasn’t more distraught over her friend’s murder. It would take a lot to break through and get to this woman’s heart.

  He watched as she fiddled with a button on her dress. When she looked up at him, he was surprised to see tears on her face. Without thinking, he reached over and put his hand on hers and squeezed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She laughed, a mirthless laugh. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying. It’s been a stressful couple of days.”

  “Of course it has.”

  Marni looked down at her hand, with Jack’s hand still covering it. Their eyes met. He removed his hand, using it to pick up his coffee cup. And feeling slightly foolish without knowing exactly why.

  “Look at me, feeling sorry for myself,” said Marni. “My stress level must be nothing compared to yours. I mean, finding one murderer would be hard enough, but you have to find two.”

  Jack grew serious. “How did you know there were two murders?”

  For a moment Marni seemed flustered by the question, but quickly recovered. She shrugged. “I heard a few of
the maids discussing it.”

  “How much do you know?”

  “Just that he was on staff and had been killed in the employee cafeteria.”

  Jack grew annoyed. Not at Marni, but at how the cruise ship seemed to be like a small town. The housekeeper had been right—nothing could be kept secret, not for long. He’d given all the security personnel instructions to keep Matt Smith’s death to themselves, yet it obviously had gotten out.

  “So did you ever find out who RJ is?” asked Marni.

  Jack paused before answering. Technically, this course of conversation should not be continued. But the truth was, he needed someone to talk to. The only other person he had to bounce his thoughts off of was Frank, and Frank wasn’t always available. He had his own job to do.

  “No,” he answered. “But we know he’s a crew member.”

  Marni dropped her cup. Luckily it was empty.

  “Are you feeling okay, Ms. Michaels?” he asked.

  She laughed, then said, “Yes, don’t worry about me. Are you saying that two people on the crew are killers?

  “No, I didn’t say that. We don’t know if there are two killers, and we don’t know if RJ is involved. We just want to talk to him.”

  Jack wasn’t being completely truthful; they knew Matt had been killed by a man, but Marni didn’t know that. While in his heart he didn’t think she was involved in Pam’s murder, the fact remained that Pam had been killed by a woman, and they knew she and Pam had fought mere hours before Pam’s death. Marni was still a suspect.

  “It should be easy enough to figure out who he is then, right?”

  Jack sighed. “I thought it would be, but I’m not having much luck there. I assumed RJ was the man’s initials.”

  “Well that does make sense.”

  “We know RJ’s first name but haven’t found anyone with that first name who also has a middle or last name that starts with J.”

 

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