A Cruise to Murder

by Dawn Brookes

  Moving quickly to pick up the chair and put it back in place, he lifted Rachel up off the floor and headed towards the old woman’s room. He knocked at the door and held Rachel up in front of the spy hole.

  It worked. The old woman opened the door.

  “One word and she’s dead,” he said.

  Rachel could hear noises piercing her brain. She could feel herself being carried along, but couldn’t make any sense of what was happening. There was pain in her foot and her head was throbbing. She was trying to count the number of throbs: one, two, three, four, ouch! The pain in her head again.

  Blurred corridors passed through her subconscious, but everything seemed unreal, like a piece of abstract art. She could feel an arm around her waist and tried to call Carlos, but sensed it wasn’t Carlos holding her.

  She felt pain in her ankle again and could just about work out that she was on the floor. A shadow was dragging another shadow away, and now she was being held up outside a door. Her vision was returning, but things still appeared blurred.

  Marjorie?

  She felt herself being thrown on to a bed and she could hear voices.

  “What have you done to her?” Marjorie’s voice sounded distant, but Rachel could make out the words.

  “Just a little drug. It’s best for her in the long run.”

  “You’re the man from the car, aren’t you? So you’re the one who has been trying to kill me.” Marjorie sounded calm.

  “Yes, and it hasn’t been easy.”

  “Who is paying you? I will pay you double to cancel the job.”

  “Sorry, lady. That’s not how it works. A contract is a contract and I have a reputation to live up to.”

  “I would still like to know who is paying you.”

  “I won’t say.”

  “What now?”

  “You both go overboard.”

  Rachel’s brain started to come back to reality. She opened her eyes and saw him reaching out to grab Marjorie. Reaching for the fruit bowl, she picked it up and threw it with all her might.

  “Damn!” the man shouted, blood on his face. “Looks like she will have to go first.”

  Rachel saw him push Marjorie out towards the balcony, then he turned on her. She felt him dragging her along the floor. The noise of the sea sounded much louder in her head and the pain in her ankle was excruciating.

  Marjorie had been pushed to the floor and was struggling to get up. Rachel felt herself being lifted up and carried towards the barrier. She fought, but her strength wasn’t there. Her mind was still numb and her limbs were struggling to co-ordinate.

  It’s now or never, she thought as the man heaved her up.

  Chapter 31

  Sarah was finishing up her paperwork when Brigitte popped her head around the door.

  “There’s a Carlos Jacobi here to see you, Sarah.”

  She went into the waiting room and saw the handsome Carlos standing there.

  “Hello. I’m Sarah.”

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I was hoping to see Rachel this evening. I waited at dinner, but she didn’t arrive. I thought you might know where she is.”

  “She said she was going to dinner as usual and she was hoping to see you, too.”

  Sarah was worried. She picked up the telephone and called Rachel’s room, but there was no reply. She then tried Lady Snellthorpe.

  “Hello.”

  “Hello, Lady Snellthorpe, it’s Sarah. Have you seen Rachel?”

  “No dear, she called me at six o’clock and said she would probably be late tonight. I think she was going to see that young man. Is everything alright?”

  “Yes, all’s good, I just wanted to catch her, that’s all. Is everything quiet with you.”

  “Yes, everything’s fine. There’s someone at the door, so I’d better go, dear. It’s probably the guard telling me he’s changing shifts.”

  The phone went dead. Sarah looked at Carlos and shook her head.

  “She was going to meet you. Come on, let’s go and see if we can find her. Lady Snellthorpe is okay.”

  They went back to the restaurant, but people were now going in for the second sitting. Sarah asked the Maître D’ to keep a lookout for Rachel and page her if she came in. Carlos looked worried sick, but he was holding it together for now.

  “Let’s just try the bars in case she’s fallen asleep. The painkillers have been making her a bit tired. If no-one has seen her, I will contact security. They may want to put out a ship-wide alert.”

  They had been through every bar on deck’s four and five when finally they entered the wine bar and gave a description of Rachel. The staff shook their heads until a Romanian bartender said he remembered a woman of that description coming into the bar with a man.

  “They sat over there.” He nodded his head in the direction of where Rachel had sat. “I thought it was odd because she only had one drink, but he was almost carrying her out. I only noticed them leave because I dropped a glass and saw out of the side of my eye. Is that how you say it?”

  “Which way did they go?” Sarah was not inclined to give an English lesson at this moment.

  “Towards elevators, bow.”

  “Thank you,” said Sarah, and then she relented. “And it’s out of the corner of my eye.” The bartender smiled.

  “Where would they go?” asked Carlos.

  “I don’t know. Come on, we’ll go to her suite. I carry a ship-wide door pass.” She turned back to the bartender. “Would you call security and tell them Rachel Prince has been abducted and we are heading to her room. Do you understand?”

  The bartender picked up the phone as they left. Sarah could feel the adrenaline pumping through her body, and she could see that Carlos was also tense. They took the lifts to the fifteenth deck and Sarah opened Rachel’s suite door. They immediately saw the security officer, Ravanos, tied up on the floor. He was just regaining consciousness, but they left him for now and ran towards Lady Snellthorpe’s room.

  Sarah unlocked the door and followed as Carlos rushed in. Rachel was being lifted up on to the balcony. Carlos ran towards her as the man turned, but Sarah could see that he wouldn’t make it in time.

  Just then, she saw Rachel’s leg do a somersault and the man went overboard. Carlos rushed over to Rachel and picked her up. Carrying her into the room, he laid her gently on the bed. Sarah was relieved to find Lady Snellthorpe sitting on the floor of the balcony, looking shaken but unharmed.

  “Well, I have to say, I am pleased to see you.” The old lady smiled at Sarah as the younger woman helped her to her feet.

  “Are you hurt?” Sarah asked.

  “No, dear, just shaken. He was going to kill us both, you know.”

  Sarah nodded and put her arm around Lady Snellthorpe, helping her through to the suite as six security guards came rushing into the room, CSO Waverley at the front. Rachel was sitting up on the bed.

  “Man overboard,” said Sarah quietly. The CSO got on his radio while the other officers checked the balcony. “And one of your officers is tied up in Rachel’s room.”

  Chapter 32

  As Rachel saw Carlos running towards her, she knew he wouldn’t make it in time. Hanging over the edge of the balcony with the man leaning over her, she drew her plastered leg back and gave one almighty kick which thrust upwards, catching his leg. The man lost his balance and dropped her before tumbling over the edge and down into the dark, black sea.

  Momentarily, Rachel saw Sarah picking Marjorie up after she was whisked into the arms of Carlos. He carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently.

  Rachel explained what had happened, how she had recognised the man in the casino and how he had lured her for a drink. She said how she had noticed he was left handed just before the drug took effect, and that she couldn’t remember anything else until she reached Marjorie’s suite.

  The man-overboard siren had sounded and the ship had stopped, but Sarah explained it would be unlikely the man would be found as they hadn’t cal
led it straight away. The majority of the security officers were using searchlights to see if they could spot any sign of the man, but it was a futile search and impossible to find him in the dark. Rachel almost felt sorry for him, until she remembered that he had intended to kill both her and Marjorie.

  Sarah had made coffee for everyone, although she handed Marjorie a glass of brandy as well.

  “Does this mean we won’t find out who was behind this?” asked Marjorie, sipping her brandy.

  “Not necessarily,” said Carlos, producing a phone from his pocket. “He dropped this when he fell and I caught it automatically when I reached for Rachel. I think it’s a burner phone, and if we can unlock it, I suspect it will lead us to another burner phone.”

  Marjorie and Sarah looked confused. “Criminals use burner phones for illegal activities,” Rachel explained. “They are untraceable and discarded after a job is done.”

  Waverley took the phone. “I will get on to it at once.” He started to leave the room with a bounce in his step before turning back. “Does anyone know who that man was?”

  “No, sorry,” said Rachel. “He was playing blackjack, though, so someone from the casino might know his name. He also paid for the drinks in the bar with his room card, a cognac and a martini and lemonade.”

  Waverley smiled. “I think I will be offering you a job soon, young lady.”

  As he left the room, Rachel looked around at the three people who were now as close to her as anyone could be.

  “You were marvellously calm,” she said to Marjorie. “Even through my disorientated and muddled state, I could hear the calmness in your voice. How did you do it?”

  “Ralph always said it wasn’t British to be over emotional, and I thought if this was going to be my last few minutes on earth, I wanted my husband to be proud of me.”

  “He would be very proud. I think your attitude unnerved the man and it brought me to my senses out of the fogginess of the drug.”

  “I am so pleased that you are safe, though, Rachel. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if he had managed to—” Marjorie took another drink. “Although I wouldn’t have lived anyway, would I?”

  They all laughed and it relieved some of the tension in the room.

  Rachel smiled at Sarah and Carlos. “How did you know to come here?”

  “It’s a long story,” said Sarah. “We have Carlos to thank for that.”

  “And a Romanian bartender,” said Carlos.

  The captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “We are starting up the engines again, ladies and gentleman. Do enjoy the rest of your evening on board the Coral Queen.”

  The room went silent as they realised what this meant. Rachel reflected soberly that she had killed a man and it wasn’t a pleasant thought.

  “That nurse did warn me the plaster was hard and not to kick anybody,” she said ruefully.

  Both Sarah and Carlos squeezed her hands in acknowledgement.

  “You couldn’t have saved him.” Carlos poured her a drink of brandy. “It was you or him.”

  Chapter 33

  Carlos helped Rachel back to her room. Her ankle was throbbing after being dragged along corridors and from kicking her assailant. Sarah stayed with Marjorie while the butler cleared her suite and then joined Rachel.

  “Is she okay?” asked Rachel.

  “Yes. She has had three brandies so I think she will sleep very well. She will either feel better or worse once we know who is behind all this.”

  Sarah and Carlos left Rachel to get some sleep. In spite of all the excitement, she drifted off into a deep sleep, only slightly aware of the pain in her ankle after taking some pain killers. Sarah had told her Dr Bentley would probably want to do another X-ray in the morning to make sure it hadn’t been damaged.

  The next morning, Marjorie joined Rachel for breakfast, and Sarah arrived shortly afterwards with Carlos and CSO Waverley.

  “We have cracked the phone code and the captain is heading towards shore so that we can get a satellite signal to call the number. There is only one number on the phone and that will be the one.”

  “What’s the plan?” asked Rachel.

  “We are going to text the number to say that the job is done. We have read previous texts and have picked up the general tone of the way the man speaks. His name was Steve Davidson and he is officially missing, presumed dead. We have gone through his room, but there is not a lot to go on, except that we now have his bank details. He texted them to the person employing him. He probably has numerous accounts, but I’m sure this will be the one he is paid into.”

  Waverley paused for a moment.

  “Is there something wrong?” asked Rachel.

  He looked at Marjorie, who responded, “Out with it, man!”

  “Because we don’t know who is responsible, after we have sent the text,” he coughed, “Dr Bentley will need to call your son and tell him you have met with a tragic accident. This will not be pleasant for him, unless—”

  “Unless he is responsible.” Looking pale, Marjorie finished the sentence for him.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I don’t think we have any alternative, do we?”

  Rachel took Marjorie’s hand. “Coffee?” she asked.

  “Make it strong,” the old lady replied.

  Beeping from all their phones broke the silence as a satellite signal brought them to life. “Okay, let’s do this,” said Waverley, tapping into the phone: “Job done, transfer money.”

  Two minutes later, a reply came through.

  “About time! Once confirmed will transfer payment. Remember to destroy phone.”

  Waverley typed again. “Will destroy once money transfer confirmed. You do the same.”

  “Do they think it’s an accident?”

  “Yes, no investigation.”

  “Will let you know when money transferred.”

  “Right, now it’s Dr Bentley’s turn,” said Waverley. As he left the room, he turned and added, “I will let you know when there are any developments. The captain will stay within satellite range for as long as he can.”

  Sarah went back to work after Rachel agreed she would have an X-ray once things settled down, and Rachel, Marjorie and Carlos decided to play gin rummy. Marjorie had offered to return to her room, but as much as Rachel would have liked to have been alone with Carlos, she was not going to let Marjorie sit alone, waiting for news.

  Carlos was the perfect gentleman and he brightened them both up, reminding Marjorie of some of the jobs he had done for her husband in the past. She seemed to enjoy the reminiscences.

  “I am so sorry that I didn’t look after you properly on this trip. I was told it was a babysitting role really and that you were unlikely to be in any real danger. I let my guard down when I saw the ship’s security watching out for you.”

  “I have to ask,” said Marjorie, “who did hire you?”

  “I shouldn’t really say, but I suppose there’s no harm you knowing now. It was your Lawyer, Randolph, but he hired me on behalf of someone else.”

  “And who might that someone be?”

  Carlos’ phone rang. “It’s Randolph, I guess the news is out. I think I’d better answer it to keep up the charade for now.” He pressed answer. “Hello.”

  Carlos left the room for around fifteen minutes. When he returned, Rachel waited patiently for him to explain.

  “The news is out. I’m in the doghouse for allowing you to be killed, Lady Snellthorpe. Randolph says that Jeremy took it badly. I felt guilty lying to him, to be honest, but we need everyone to think the killer was successful so that whoever is responsible can feel relaxed.”

  Rachel looked at Marjorie who was visibly shaking now.

  “I don’t think it was your son,” said Carlos, taking her hand.

  “Why not?” asked Rachel, horrified that he might be raising false hopes in this tender lady’s heart.

  “Because Randolph just told me I would have to answer to Jeremy when I got ba
ck. That it was he who paid Randolph to hire me.”

  The relief on Marjorie’s face was obvious and she allowed the tears that she had been holding back to fall. Rachel hugged her.

  At that moment the door opened and in came the captain, Waverley, Dr Bentley and Sarah. They were looking pleased.

  “The plan worked,” said Waverley. “The money was transferred half an hour ago and we have traced it back to a Phillip Mason.”

  Marjorie gasped. “He is financial director of the company.”

  “And he is being arrested as we speak. I think that investigators will find that he has been siphoning money from the company for a while, and he was obviously getting desperate for more.”

  “He was Ralph’s oldest friend and would become joint controlling partner in the event of my death to prevent my son overspending,” Marjorie explained. “No wonder Ralph looked sad. I thought he suspected Jeremy, but this would have been worse for him. Randolph told me that Ralph had planned to change his will, but died before he could do it.”

  “That explains it, then,” said the captain. “I am so sorry, Lady Snellthorpe, for all you have gone through, and to you, Miss Prince. The cruise line will try to make it up to you in some small way, I assure you.”

  “Thank you, captain.” Marjorie was ever the lady.

  “I have just got off the phone to your son again, Lady Snellthorpe,” said Dr Bentley. “Despite giving me a piece of his mind, he is relieved that you are alive and well. He apologises for having been so distant and cold recently, but he has been so worried about the company seemingly leaking money and hadn’t wanted to worry you. He said to tell you he is looking forward to dinner on Tuesday?”

  Marjorie smiled. “That is our weekly dinner date. I expect this one could be interesting.”

  After all the events of the day, Rachel was pleased to be left alone at last. She stood out on the balcony, peering into the night sky then she stared at the letter in her hand.