by Nic Saint
“We had such a great time,” said Odelia. “We spent the entire day in the company of Laura, David and Adele.”
I cut a quick look to Dooley. “Did Laura tell you about her forbidden romance?” I asked, remembering I hadn’t yet shared that particular secret with our human yet.
“Her what?” asked Odelia, gratefully closing her eyes.
“Her illegitimate romance,” I clarified. And I proceeded to give her a verbatim account of the conversation we’d overheard between the two lovers—separated by cruel fate—and Salvatore’s apt comments.
Odelia, who wasn’t aware of this romantic entanglement, quickly filled Chase in, who was equally surprised.
“They seemed very friendly with each other,” said Odelia, “but I didn’t see anything strange in that.”
“They are the same age,” Chase pointed out.
“Poor Laura,” said Odelia. “To love that man and not being able to be with him.”
“She could be with him, if only he’d get a divorce and marry her,” I said.
“Yeah, but that would create such a rift between Laura and her mom.”
“Do you think parakeets make good friends, Odelia?” asked Dooley now.
“I don’t know, Dooley. Why?”
“Oh, just thinking that maybe Salvatore could use a friend.”
“Salvatore has plenty of friends,” I said. “He’s got Bertha, and Laura, and David, and Adele.”
“Adele is so funny,” said Odelia. “She kept cracking jokes all afternoon. I had no idea she was so funny.”
“How about a gerbil?” Dooley said. “They’re the same size. I’ll bet Salvatore would love a gerbil.”
“Adele told me a very funny anecdote about Bertha,” said Chase. “How she once drove her wheelchair on her toes and how it hurt like hell because of her ingrowing toenail.”
“That doesn’t sound very funny,” said Odelia.
“You probably had to be there.”
“Oh, before I forget,” I said. “Garth was here earlier, knocking on the door and wanting to talk to you.”
“Oh? And what did you tell him?”
I smiled. “Nothing?”
Odelia laughed. “Oh my God. I keep forgetting I’m the only one who can talk to you guys.” She turned to her husband. “Garth dropped by. We probably should give him a ring.”
“Do you have his number?”
Odelia nodded and took out her phone. “Oh, dear. He sent a message.” She frowned, then pressed her phone to her ear. “Garth, hi. Odelia,” she said warmly. “You wanted to talk to us? No, we went to St. George’s.” She listened for a moment, then suddenly sucked in her breath. “No way! When was this?” She pressed a hand to her phone and said, “Someone broke into Garth’s office this afternoon.”
“What did they take?” asked Chase, frowning.
“What did they… They did? No, of course. We’ll be there right away.” She hung up and stared before her for a moment, apparently assuming we could all read minds.
“What did they take?!” Chase practically yelled.
She jerked her head up. “Oh, um, the earring. Remember that earring he found in Lil Thug’s cabin? Someone took it.”
“Was it very valuable?” asked Dooley.
“I don’t think so,” said Odelia, then studied Chase’s face for a moment. “You don’t think…”
“Ruby?” said Chase, showing us they were on the same page. In fact all of us were. Ruby seemed to have earned herself quite the reputation by now, as the ship’s number-one thief.
“I really thought I’d gotten through to her,” said Odelia. “She promised me she’d never do it again.”
“I think you’ll find that she’s made that same promise many times before,” said Chase, and got up.
Odelia, too, rose from her chair, and I had a feeling our lazy afternoon was at an end. And not a moment too soon. Lazing about is all fine and dandy, but sometimes a cat likes to get some action, too. Even when on holiday!
23
When we arrived in Garth’s office Ruby was already there, and so were her parents.
“I swear I had nothing to do with it,” the girl was saying.
“But you were on the ship,” said Garth.
She nodded. “I didn’t feel like joining my mom and dad today. After all that’s happened I just wanted to stay here and spend some time by the pool.”
“And can anyone vouch for you—for the entire afternoon?”
“Yes—well, maybe not the entire afternoon. I was with Jacob most of the time.”
Both her mom and dad looked up as if stung. “Jacob? Who’s Jacob?” asked her dad.
“Oh, just a boy I met yesterday,” said Ruby.
“A boy? What boy? How old is this boy?”
“Let’s not get sidetracked here,” said Garth. “Were you with this kid all afternoon?”
“For the most part. He had to get back to work at three.”
“Work? What work? What does he do?” asked her mom.
He works in the casino,” said Ruby. “He’s training to be a croupier. He doesn’t get a lot of time off and he wanted to spend it with me, which I thought was very nice of him, as I don’t know anyone else here.”
“How old is this kid?” her father demanded.
“I don’t know, Dad. Nineteen, maybe? Twenty?”
“Twenty!”
“Look, he’s just a friend, all right? And he’s really sweet.”
“So you were with Jacob until three,” said Garth musingly.
“When was your office broke into?” asked Chase.
“I was here until four, then I was called away on some emergency in one of our restaurants. Two guys got into a fight and were smashing up the furniture.” He gave Ruby a not-too-friendly look. “Please tell me the truth, Ruby. Did you break into my office and take that earring?”
“No, of course not! Why would I break into your office?”
“Because you saw me put that earring into my desk drawer when you were in here yesterday and you wanted to have it?”
“Oh, my God! Who do you think I am? Danny Ocean’s grandkid?”
“Who’s Danny Ocean?” asked her dad.
“I don’t know the first thing about breaking into an office, all right?”
“You broke into our cabin,” Odelia reminded her.
“No, I didn’t. The door was open. The cleaner had just left and the door was open.”
Garth didn’t look entirely convinced, which just goes to show the girl’s dilemma: once a thief, always a thief.
“I would like your permission to search your daughter’s room,” said Garth, suddenly adopting a formal tone.
“Yes. Yes, of course,” said the girl’s mom, looking visibly shaken.
“You won’t find anything,” said Ruby. “I didn’t take your stupid earring. It’s ugly anyway.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Garth, and nodded to Chase. “Can you keep an eye on her?”
“Of course,” said Chase, and so now suddenly he and Odelia had been relegated to babysitting a potential criminal and her distraught parents.
And as Garth walked out, Ruby’s mom said, “Where is Jacob from?”
“Oh, God, Mom, seriously?”
“You remember what we discussed yesterday, Ruby?” asked Odelia.
The girl nodded.
“What did you discuss?” asked her mother.
“Nothing,” said Ruby, refusing to look at her folks.
“Did you do what we talked about?” asked Odelia.
“I haven’t had time yet. Mom and Dad were out all day.”
“What…” Ruby’s mom laughed nervously. “What’s going on here?”
“Ruby has something she wants to talk to you and Charles about,” said Odelia.
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Can we do this some other time? Like when I’m not being accused of stealing?”
“Do what?” asked her mother.
“Please, Mom, not now.”
&n
bsp; “Is this about that boy? Did you ask Odelia about anti-conception? Because if you did, you know you can always talk to me, honey.”
“Mo-om!”
“I just want you to know that you can ask me anything. Anything at all.”
“I know that,” said Ruby, blowing a strand of hair from her face.
Moments later, Garth burst into the office. He was holding up a small earring and had a triumphant look on his face. “Look what I found.”
Ruby’s jaw dropped. “Where did you find that?”
“Under your mattress, where you hid it after you took it from my office.”
“But that’s impossible!”
“Oh, Ruby, not again!” said her mother.
“But Mom, I swear I didn’t take it!”
“Then what was it doing under your mattress?” asked Garth.
“I don’t know! Maybe someone put it there?” She darted a glance at her mom and dad, who looked as flabbergasted as she did. Tears had formed in the girl’s eyes, and she was shaking her head. “This can’t be happening.”
“It is happening,” said Garth. “I’m afraid I have no alternative but to place you in custody. I’ll notify the police, who’ll come on board to take charge.”
“What police?” her dad demanded. “From where?”
“Grenadian police. They’ll decide what to do.”
“But I’m telling you I didn’t do this!” said Ruby piteously.
“Then who did?”
“How should I know? Someone who planted that thing in my room, obviously.”
A look of annoyance flashed across the security man’s face. “Look, I’m done wasting time, Miss Kettering. This is not the first time you’ve been accused of something like this. I think we’ve all been very patient with you but at some point you will understand there have to be consequences to your actions. So please remain seated. As for you, Mr. and Mrs. Kettering, you better go and pack your bags. You’ll be accompanying your daughter to the mainland. Odelia, Chase—there’s no need for you to stick around. Thanks for your help.”
When we walked out of that cabin, we were all deeply impressed with recent events. In spite of her kleptomaniac tendencies, I’d taken a liking to Ruby, and I knew Odelia had too. And now she’d have to spend the rest of her vacation in a Grenadian prison cell. It probably wasn’t how the Ketterings imagined their vacation to end.
“Poor Ruby,” said Dooley, who clearly felt the same way. “Will she have to spend the rest of her life in jail, Max?”
“I doubt it,” I said. “Not for this. Probably she’ll get a slap on the wrist and put on the next flight home.”
“And just when she met that nice boy Jacob,” said Dooley, shaking his head. “Now she’ll never see him again.”
Suddenly a voice sounded behind us, and when we looked up, we saw that Cynthia Kettering came hurrying in our direction. “Wait!” she cried. “Please wait!
So we patiently waited until she’d caught up with us. Her face was flushed and she looked close to tears. “You’re a cop, aren’t you?” she asked Odelia.
“I’m the cop,” said Chase.
“I’m a reporter, actually,” said Odelia.
“Can you please help us? I’m sure my daughter didn’t do this. She may be a thief, but she’s never lied to us before. If she’s accused of something, she always confesses. But not this time, which tells me she must be innocent.”
“Or maybe she understands the implications and she’s determined to lie,” Chase pointed out.
“You don’t know my daughter, Mr. Kingsley,” said the woman. “She’s not one for lying. On the contrary. She likes to throw this kind of stuff in our faces, sit back and watch us stew. She seems to enjoy it. Sometimes I even think the only reason she steals is so she can shock us with her behavior. Get some kind of rise out of us, you know.”
Remembering Odelia’s conversation with the girl, I’d say Mrs. Kettering was absolutely right.
“So I’m sure that this time she’s innocent for a change. Besides, how can a girl of sixteen be expected to break into an office?”
“YouTube?” Chase suggested. “You’d be surprised what you can find online.”
“Look, I don’t care if you believe me or not, but you need to help us. She can’t go to prison in Grenada. I won’t let that happen to her, and neither should you.” She was looking at Odelia intently. The latter finally nodded.
“Frankly I don’t buy this story either,” she said. “Ruby and I had a long talk yesterday, and I think I got through to her. She promised me she wouldn’t do this again, and I don’t think she was lying when she made me that promise.”
“Exactly!” Then Cynthia Kettering frowned. “You still haven’t told me what you and my daughter talked about.”
Odelia smiled. “When she’s ready I’m sure she’ll tell you.”
Mrs. Kettering shook her head. “That’s not important right now. What is important is that we find the person who broke into Mr. Dagit’s office and planted that earring in my daughter’s room.”
Odelia relented. “All right.”
“Babe!” said Chase.
She placed a hand on his arm. “Even if Ruby is lying, there’s something funny about this story, don’t you think?”
“I don’t think it’s very funny,” said Dooley.
“Oh, thank you!” said Mrs. Kettering, and suddenly enveloped Odelia in a grateful hug.
“We better work fast,” Odelia told Chase once Ruby’s mom had hurried back to start gathering their belongings before the Grenadian police arrived.
“If you say so,” said Chase, who still didn’t look entirely convinced.
“Trust me, babe,” said Odelia with a smile. “We’d never forgive ourselves if Ruby proves to be innocent, and we allowed her to be dragged off to prison.”
“She won’t be dragged off to prison. She’s a minor.”
“Still.”
“Oh, all right,” he grumbled, earning himself a peck on the lips for his trouble.
“Odelia is right, Max,” said Dooley. “Ruby just found love in the arms of a croupier, and now this? We can’t let that happen.”
24
“So if it wasn’t the assistant, then who was it, Max?” asked Dooley.
“I have absolutely no idea,” I said. “All I know is that it wasn’t Ruby, because if it wasn’t she who stole that earring but the killer, in order to implicate Ruby, then the murderer is still among us, and he or she’s the one who broke into Garth’s office this afternoon.”
“But they were all ashore this afternoon,” said Dooley. “Everyone was.”
“Clearly someone wasn’t,” I said. “And now all we need to do is find out who.”
“It must be a woman. Only women wear earrings.”
“Some men do, too, Dooley.”
We were back in the cabin, where Odelia and Chase were getting ready for dinner. There was another concert on the boat that night, and in spite of the circumstances they were eager to go. They’d agreed not to let this murder business ruin their vacation, and so it was up to me and Dooley to crack this case. And Garth, of course, since it was his job. Though when Odelia had offered him my theory, he wasn’t impressed. And it wasn’t hard to see why: he had a killer in jail, and didn’t need the aggravation of having to track down another one.
I had asked Odelia to check who’d gone ashore that afternoon and who hadn’t, and she promised she’d look into it.
We left the cabin and headed out for dinner. Dooley and I would return afterward—neither of us had any interest in this concert, and after the harrowing events of today we had decided to stay in that evening.
At any rate, there was no cat choir to attend, so we might as well catch up on our much-needed sleep.
Dinner was a languid affair. Ruby and her parents still looked a little shell-shocked after their near brush with the law, and they didn’t talk much amongst themselves. The influencers must have had another falling-out, for they weren’t spea
king. Not to each other, and not to anyone else either. And the Biles family were also very quiet.
“So who was aboard and who was ashore?” I asked Odelia.
“Oren went ashore but Chiquita stayed on the boat,” said Odelia as she tried not to move her lips too much as she talked me through the roster of suspects. “She suffered a migraine attack again and took a pill and slept in her cabin.”
“Okay,” I said, glancing over to the influencers, who were swallowing down their food with little relish.
“The Ketterings went ashore, except for Ruby, but then we already knew that.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And the Biles family…” She had to shut up, then, for a waiter approached, offering to pour them some more wine.
There were many different restaurants on the ship, one for breakfast, one for lunch and several for dinner, and the atmosphere was pleasant and relaxed but also slightly more formal than for lunch or breakfast. There was even a dress code: no swimwear and no flip-flops. Which was a good thing, I felt, for if I saw one more hairy back or a pair of hairy legs I’d lose my appetite, and I imagined many people felt the same way.
The waiter passed on, and Odelia bent over to me again. “David and Laura went ashore as near as I can tell, but Bertha wasn’t feeling well and stayed in her cabin all afternoon.”
“Poor woman,” said Dooley. “It must be hard for her with that wheelchair.”
“Yeah, not all the shops and restaurants in these port towns are wheelchair accessible,” said Odelia.
“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” said Dooley. “I mean it must be hard to sleep in a wheelchair. Sitting up.”
“I’m sure Bertha sleeps in a bed just like the rest of us,” I said.
Dooley frowned. “She takes her wheelchair to bed? But how?”
“Dooley, the woman isn’t glued to that chair, you know. She can get in and out of that thing whenever she wants to—with a little help from Adele or her husband or daughter, of course.”
“Oh, right,” he said, and stared intently at Mrs. Biles, presumably trying to picture the scene.
Salvatore waved at us from underneath his table. Mrs. Biles or Adele had tied his leash to the table so he wouldn’t wander off, but he didn’t seem to mind.