Their eyes met in the mirror, and Katherine smiled. “Oh brother, is that the best you can do?”
Scott quickly took his shorts off and bent Katherine over the sink. “I’ll show you the best I can do.”
When they awoke from their sun- and sex-induced nap, Scott looked at the bedside clock.
“We’d better get up and get ready.”
“For what?”
“The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner is tonight.”
“Oh yeah, that,” Katherine said without enthusiasm. “I’m not going.”
“What? Come on, you have to go. I hear the food is going to be fantastic—lobster and shrimp, and lots of booze. Don’t worry about Sophie.”
Katherine smiled. It was so like Scott to focus on the menu. She placed her palm to her forehead. “No, it’s not Sophie. I have a headache. Too much sun, I think.” Seeing the skeptical look on Scott’s face, she said, “Really. I do.
“You know that if you don’t go,” said Scott, “it’s gonna look like you’re embarrassed or something.”
“I can’t help that. My head is starting to throb. They’re going to think whatever they want to think anyway. If I do go, they’ll think I’m shameless. I can’t win.”
“Hey listen, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
Scott looked away, clearly stalling. “Promise me you won’t get mad.”
“Scott.”
“Okay. They’ve me paired with Kimy for the rehearsal and dinner. You know, since I’m best man and she’s maid of honor. But I can get out of it. I’ll tell them no. The only reason I hesitate is that Sophie’s already upset.”
“No, no. Go ahead. Don’t worry about me. I’m staying here. I’ll order room service later. You go, have fun. But not too much fun.”
Scott laughed. “Okay, if you’re sure. But it won’t be the same without you.” He showered and dressed.
“You look good,” said Katherine.
Scott put on some aftershave.
“And you smell good too. I’m starting to have second thoughts.”
Laughing, Scott pulled Katherine close and kissed her. “Too late. Don’t wait up. I expect I’ll be late.”
Katherine lay back down, thinking about Sophie’s dress. She thought about how she’d heard a noise as she was leaving the room. At the time she’d thought it had been her imagination. Now she realized that someone else had still been in there. Who? She sat back up. Everyone would be at the rehearsal dinner. She was curious to see the dress and the damage she was getting blamed for, but if she got caught in their suite, how would that look?
After quickly running a brush through her hair and putting on her shoes, Katherine was out of the cabin and walking toward the elevators. She hadn’t thought it through and hoped that after she arrived at the suite, a way inside would present itself.
She took the elevator to the tenth floor, where the suite was. When the doors opened, she was startled to see Kimy standing there. She stepped into the elevator and pushed a button.
“Hello, Katherine. Returning to the scene of the crime?”
“No. The elevator went up, even though I pushed down,” Katherine lied. “And I didn’t hurt Sophie’s dress either.”
Kimy smiled at Katherine’s reflection in the elevator door. “I know you didn’t,” Kimy said.
Katherine turned toward Kimy, surprised. “You do?”
“I know, because I’m the one who tore Sophie’s dress.”
“So it was you still in the room? I knew I heard someone in there. But why?”
“Because now everyone, including Scott’s mother and sister, think you did it.”
“How does that help you, Kimy?”
The elevator doors opened, Kimy stepped out but held the door. “Oh, Katherine, you’re so naive. You think you know Scott, but you don’t know him like I do. He will never marry you, so long as his family dislikes you.”
“Even if that’s true,” said Katherine, “it doesn’t get you and him any closer to the altar.”
“Things have a way of working out.”
Kimy moved toward Katherine and whispered, “Besides, for now all I really want is Scott back in my bed. We’ve always had amazing chemistry.”
“That will never happen, Kimy.”
“We’ll see.”
Kimy let the elevator door shut.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Wednesday evening, Frank walked around the entire ship twice before deciding it was time to get some dinner, but when he got to the cafeteria, he was stopped by the ship’s captain, who was just leaving. The captain had always made Frank think of his Army days. The man’s uniform was white, spotless, and crisp. Every hair on his head was perfect and in its place. This was a man, thought Frank, who knows that wherever he goes, he’s being watched and evaluated.
“Hello, Frank,” said the captain.
“Hello, sir.”
“Mr. Smalls has given me the impression that you’re working on the—” he lowered his voice, “—murder investigation with Jack. Is that so?”
“Yes, sir. I’m trying to be helpful, if I can be.”
“And? How’s it going?”
Frank shook his head. “Not great, to be honest,” he answered. “We don’t have a lot to go on, but we’re doing what we can under the circumstances.”
“Two murders in one week. Do you think they’re connected?”
“I don’t know what to think, sir. What I saw on the footage we have baffles me. The killings seems so random.”
“Mr. Smalls has suggested I cancel the Captain’s dinner. He thinks it may seem callous. What do you think?”
“I don’t understand, sir. I thought the dinner was last Friday?”
“No, it was supposed to be but was rescheduled.”
Frank’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’ll have to excuse me, sir. I have to find someone.”
The captain looked confused, but Frank wasn’t in the mood to explain. He hurried to Jack’s office. When he walked in, he was surprised to find the office empty. He walked over to security, and Jack was inside. Frank took him aside.
“Hey, Jack, I was just looking for you.”
“Something wrong?”
“I ran into the captain.”
“Suppose he grilled you? Wants to know all the details—wish I had something useful to tell him, or Mr. Smalls.”
“Get this,” said Frank. “Didn’t Marni Michaels say she’d gone to the Captain’s dinner Friday night?”
Jack pulled a small notebook from his shirt pocket, flipped some pages, then looked up. “Yeah, sure did.”
Frank shook his head, clearly annoyed. “Well, she lied. Captain said there was no dinner that night. It was canceled and rescheduled.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” said Jack. “Wonder why she’d lie?”
“I’m fixing to find out. Wanna go with me?”
Jack smiled. He hoped the attraction he felt for Marni wasn’t as obvious to Frank, as Frank’s dislike of her was to him.
“No,” answered Jack. “Let me talk to her.”
“Okay, but I hope I don’t see her anytime tonight. I hate being lied to.” Frank looked at the screens. “Everything quiet?” he asked.
“As quiet as usual,” answered Bobby, who was eager for both Jack and Frank to leave, so he could sneak out for a few hours. Jack sat.
Frank pulled a wet wipe from his pocket and started cleaning his hands. Jack could see that his fingernails and palms were blue.
“What happened?” he asked.
“This?” answered Frank. “I broke a pen, got ink all over my hands.”
“I was thinking of getting one of those,” said Jojo, pointing at the tattoo on Frank’s arm.
“You?” said Frank. “Get a tattoo? You’d never make it through the procedure.”
“Oh that’s nice. I’ll have you know, I once had kidney stones. If I can survive a stone being pulled from my special friend, I think I can ha
ndle a tattoo.” Frank, Bobby, and Jack laughed.
“Your special friend?” said Bobby. “That’s it, hand it over.”
“Hand what over?”
“I want your man card.”
“Ha ha.”
Jojo angrily turned back toward the screens. “Jerks,” he muttered under his breath.
“Aww, don’t be mad,” said Bobby, reaching under the desk. He pulled out a small TV. “There’s a game on.”
“Oh you two and your baseball,” said Frank disdainfully.
“Don’t take that tone when you’re talking about baseball,” said Jojo, only half joking. “It’s America’s favorite past time, didn’t you know?”
“Hey, Jojo, I know you like baseball,” said Jack, who was quickly interrupted by Jojo.
“Like baseball? Like baseball?” he held up his hand. “Why I’ll have you know this ring is—”
Bobby finished his sentence. “—a genuine World Series ring, we know.”
“Don’t let the game distract you from your job,” said Jack.
Jack looked back at the monitors, their images changing randomly. He sat forward. On the fifth floor, outside the casino stood Marni Michaels, standing near the spot at which her friend had been murdered. His pulse quickened.
“I’ll see you all later,” said Jack.
Bobby and Jojo watched Jack hurry from the office, then looked at Frank.
***
Jack exited the elevator and nearly walked into Nene Albright and her sister Gaga. They all smiled at each other.
“Hello, Detective,” said Nene.
Jack made a slight bow. “Ladies, where might you be off to?”
Nene was wearing a flowing floral dress, white gloves, and a large floppy hat. Gaga wore much the same, minus the gloves.
“Outside. But you know, being ladies of a certain age, we like to take care of our skin.”
Jack looked out the glass doors. The sun was low in the sky, and it would be dark soon. He inwardly shrugged.
“Well, have fun,” he said.
Nene and Gaga gave Jack little waves, giggled like middle school girls and walked away.
***
Marni watched the rolling waves, a slight smile on her lips. She was thinking about Jack Harney. He was unlike any guy she’d ever met. She would have thought any guy, cop or not, would have jumped at the chance to sleep with her. She didn’t feel that this belief made her vain, but honest. Lately, at least some men were surprising her with their kindness and restraint.
Jack was obviously a man with morals. She found his morality sexy, and something of a challenge. His reluctance only made him more attractive to her. It didn’t hurt that Jack was hot, in a working man meets movie star kind of way. Although she was anxious for the cruise to be over, she also lamented that fact that soon opportunities to see and speak to Jack would be gone. It wasn’t just that she wanted to get him into her bed, which she did, very much. She also liked him.
She knew why he’d refused her advances—she was a suspect in her friend’s murder. Sadly, she figured that if he knew her better, the chance of anything happening between them would be that much slimmer.
Marni turned to go back inside, and saw Jack walking toward her. He was wearing beige pants and a white polo shirt. His face was tan and his hair had started to get more blond due to the sun. Marni ached for his touch. She wanted to grab him and pull him close. He stood next to her, leaned on the railing, and said, “Ms. Michaels.”
Marni smiled at his formality. “When are you going to start calling me Marni?”
Jack smiled. “Marni, I was hoping you could clear something up for me.”
Marni took a step forward, she was definitely in Jack’s personal space. “What’s that?”
He stepped backward. “Regarding your whereabouts last Friday night.”
Marni took another step forward. She reached over and ran her finger down Jack’s arm.
“Okay?”
Jack stepped backward again. “You told us you’d gone to the Captain’s dinner? Yes?”
Marni pretended to brush something that wasn’t there off Jack’s shirt, her hand lingering where his chest muscles were. Jack took ahold of her wrist.
“Marni, where were you really?”
She looked into his eyes. Could she tell him the truth?
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Marni, the Captain’s dinner was rescheduled, so you couldn’t have been there.”
Marni took a few steps backward, and her hand fell to her side. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Well, that’s a harsh way of putting it, but I do need to know where you were.”
“Maybe I got the name wrong. What does it matter? So I wasn’t at the Captain’s dinner. I was eating.” Her voice rose in pitch, she sounded panicked.
“I didn’t kill Pam, Jack. I know there’s been another murder on this ship besides hers. Why don’t you find that killer? It’s probably the same person who killed Pam.” Her fingers gently caressed the blond hair on Jack’s arm. “You believe me, don’t you?”
Jack didn’t answer. Marni swallowed hard. As she fought to keep tears from falling, she turned and hurried away.
***
Frank watched Marni Michaels on the screens as she touched Jack’s arm and then his chest. She was some piece of work, he thought. And he suspected Jack wasn’t nearly as objective when it came to Ms. Michaels as he should be. Frank grew angrier by the minute. He looked down at Jojo and Bobby, who were laughing.
“Man, she’s got him wrapped around her finger,” said Jojo.
“Oh I don’t know,” said Bobby. “He seems in control of the situation. See, she’s leaving.” They watched Marni walk away from Jack, then Jack follow a few minutes later.
“Quick, quick,” said Jojo. “Pull up the guest floors.”
A few minutes later, he and Bobby started laughing hard, as they watched Jack go into Marni’s room.
“Looks like Jack’s gonna get laid,” said Jojo.
Frank shook his head in disgust. “Shut up. This isn’t a good thing.”
“Why?” said Bobby. “What’s the harm? We know she didn’t kill her friend.”
“That’s beside the point,” said Frank. “It’s unprofessional.”
Jojo and Bobby looked at each other and burst out laughing some more.
“Oh, that’s rich,” said Bobby. “It’s unprofessional,” he mimicked Frank.
“You two are idiots,” said Frank, then he left the office, slamming the door behind him.
***
Jack watched Marni leave, torn. Did he think she’d killed Pam? No, but she was keeping something from him, something to do with Pam’s murder. He looked down at his arm, seeing her small hand. His heart was still beating hard. It had taken real effort to hide his feelings when she’d touched him. After a few minutes, he started walking, and was soon standing outside Marni’s cabin door. He hesitated. He told himself he was just going there to talk to her, to try to make her tell him what he sensed she was holding back. But that was a lie. He reached up and knocked. She opened the door wearing a towel.
“I was about to take a shower,” she said.
Jack didn’t respond. He walked into her room, shoving the door shut behind him. He took hold of her towel and pulled her tightly against his body, his mouth covering hers, his tongue searching for hers, his hands yanking the towel off and tossing it to the floor. He easily picked up Marni and carried her to the bed. She pulled his shirt up over his head, her hands running themselves through his thick chest hair. She reached for his belt buckle, undoing it slowly, her eyes watching his. Then she pulled his pants down and gasped.
Oh my.
Marni pulled Jack down on top her, her legs wrapped around his back. His lips missed nothing. They traveled down her neck, and over her breasts. His hands caressed her body, gently but with purpose. When his mouth found hers again, she sucked on his tongue. In one swift move, she was on top of him. She hovered, tea
sing, then lowered herself on him. As she felt his hardness slide in and out, deeper and faster, their lips never left each other’s. The attraction was so fierce, the passion so great.
Finally, Marni screamed out in pleasure, and Jack shuddered. They lay next to each other, breathing heavily. Jack turned on his side, facing Marni. He ran his hand over her breasts, small and pert. He took her nipple into his mouth. She arched her back, and he sucked hard. It almost hurt, and Marni knew what the phrase “hurts so good” meant.
Jack was ready again within moments, but the second time the lovemaking was slower, less fierce. Every inch of her body was explored, every nerve set on fire. Neither thought about the real world outside the cabin door.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The rehearsal went smoothly and the wedding party was awaiting admittance into a small room set up for the dinner. Scott rolled his eyes. Women, he thought. Sophie and Kimy had spent the last five minutes whining about weight gain and manicures that chipped too easily. Kimy held up her right hand. “Can you believe that?” she was saying. “I got these done yesterday.”
“They look fine,” said Sophie.
“What, are you blind? Half the polish is gone on two nails already. But don’t worry—I’ll get them fixed before the wedding.”
Sophie smiled. “I wasn’t worried.”
“I was,” said Scott, in a teasing voice. “You really must take better care of yourself, Kimy.”
Kimy playfully punched his arm.
“Shut up, you.”
Scott laughed and walked away, crossing the room toward Jason, who stood near a table holding cookies and punch.
“Lord, deliver me from crazy women,” said Scott.
“That’s why I’m over here,” Jason said. “So where’s Katherine?”
Scott picked up a Dixie cup of punch, took a sip, and said, “The room. She had a headache.”
“Did you tell her about the dress?”
“Yeah, she said she didn’t do it. I don’t know what happened, but leave it to Kimy to get Sophie all worked up.”
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