by Kathi Daley
“I’m going to put you on speaker so that Trevor can help with this.” I turned on my speaker option, then set my phone on the table close to both of us. “Okay,” I said when we were ready. “First on the guest list is Harris Hamilton, the president, founder, and CEO of Hamilton Investments. He is here with his wife, Dotty, who does not work for the company. He was in the meeting Trevor witnessed this morning, and he was also the one to announce that the reason Lucy had not made the mandatory cocktail party was because she had left the ship after receiving word of a family emergency. He is the one to who told Lucy to keep the missing money quiet for now, and, according to several Hamilton Investments employees, his behavior was odd when he arrived to give his speech tonight. Trevor and I both consider him to be a strong suspect.”
“And the wife?” Woody asked. “Was she on board at the time of the argument?”
I glanced at Trevor.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “On my way to the gym this morning, I noticed a group gathered on the dock waiting to go into port. Dotty Hamilton was not one of them, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t join them later.”
“Who was in that group?” Woody asked.
“Lance Simpson, Claudia Weston, Jason Overland, Vinnie Aberdeen, and Yvonne Redmond.”
“And were any of those guests employees of Hamilton Industries?”
“No,” Trevor answered. “They are all plus-ones.”
“Okay, so who did you notice attending the meeting that morning?”
Trevor leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “I walked by sort of fast and wasn’t taking notes but I definitely saw Both Harris and Lucy. Half of the group had their backs to me but based on my memory of what I saw I would say that in addition to Harris and Lucy there were three or four others in the room.”
“Remind me how many Hamilton Investments employees are on the ship in all.”
“Nine, counting Harris Hamilton.”
“So Hamilton and Lucy plus three or four others were in the meeting, and three or four were not.”
Trevor nodded despite the fact that Woody couldn’t see him. “Correct. I know Clint Redmond and Bret Nolan stayed on board the ship. I ran into them in the gym. I can’t say that I specifically remember seeing them in the meeting, but I do know they were on the ship when the argument Amanda and I overheard broke out. Evan Weston is the vice president of the company, so I would assume that if there was any sort of meeting, he’d be there, but I can’t say for certain he was, although I didn’t see him with his wife, who was definitely with the group who went ashore. Given the fact that I’d seen both Jason and Vinnie with the group heading ashore, yet neither of their wives were part of it, I would assume that both Connie Overland and Shelley Aberdeen stayed aboard. They are both account reps for the company.”
“Okay, so based on who you know went ashore, who you know stayed on the ship, and who you suspect stayed on the ship, who would you say is unaccounted for?”
Trevor frowned. “Well, as I said, I don’t remember seeing Dotty Hamilton at all today. Well, not until the cocktail thing anyway. And even then, she seemed totally out of it. It seemed like she was drugged or something.”
“Drugged?”
I answered Woody’s query. “She was just staring into space. She didn’t speak or even have any expression on her face. She didn’t even look up at her husband when he came into the room for his big speech, which seems to have been another anomaly.”
“I’ll want to hear about the speech, but first, let’s finish this list,” Woody said. “Other than Dotty Hamilton, who else was unaccounted for prior to the cocktail reception, which everyone other than Lucy and Lance attended?”
“I don’t remember seeing either Lisa Long or her plus-one, Brody Newsome, at all today until the reception,” Trevor answered. “I also don’t remember seeing Cynthia Davis, who is employed at Hamilton Investments and seems to be in a relationship of some sort with Bret Nolan, who also knew about the missing money.”
“So, other than Hamilton, who you’ve already said you consider to be a suspect in Lucy’s murder, do any of the others stand out as having a specific motive?”
I spoke up. “Lance is missing as well. We don’t know what’s become of him, or even if he’s dead or alive, but we suspect if he is not the second victim, he could be the killer. Someone cleaned out the stateroom where he and Lucy were staying. If it wasn’t Harris who killed Lucy, it seemed to us it could have been Lance.”
“Anyone else?” Woody asked.
Trevor and I looked at each other and both shrugged. “Not at this moment,” I answered. “Although, as you said, the unknown embezzler has to be on the suspect list.”
I could hear Woody rustling papers in the background. We chatted for a few more minutes before he hung up, after promising to do some digging and then call me back the next day.
I turned to Trevor. “Calling Woody felt like the right thing to do. I feel better now.”
“I agree. If we can’t inform anyone on board that Lucy is dead, at least we’ve notified someone in a position of authority.”
“I think we need to tell Mac as well,” Trevor said. “She can decide how to deal with Ty. The problem is that they’re always together.”
“Maybe you can suggest that the two of you head to the gym when we see them tomorrow,” Trevor suggested. “Ty is unlikely to follow her into the women’s changing room or sauna.”
“Good idea. I’ll suggest it to her if we see them at breakfast.”
Chapter 8
Tuesday, November 13
I awoke the following morning to find that the welcome sunshine of yesterday had given way to overcast skies. It was early, barely even light, so I supposed the dark clouds might burn off as the day progressed. I sat up in bed and glanced out the window. That was odd. Shouldn’t we have been in port hours ago? I could hear Trevor moving around in the other room, so I pulled on a robe and headed in that direction.
“We aren’t in Friday Harbor,” I said when I left the bedroom.
“I noticed.” Trevor glanced out the sliding door that led onto the deck that overlooked the sea.
“But the trip from Port Townsend to Friday Harbor is a short one. We should have been there hours ago.”
Trevor frowned. “They must have changed the itinerary for some reason. I’ll see if I can find a member of the ship’s crew to ask what is going on.”
“I’ll come with you. I desperately need coffee anyway, and while there is a Keurig in here, I think I prefer to go to the dining room. Just give me a couple of minutes to brush my teeth and pull on some clothes.”
The first thing we noticed when we left our stateroom and started toward the dining deck was that there wasn’t anyone around. As I’d already noted, it was early still, so I supposed it wasn’t odd that the other passengers weren’t out and about yet, but there wasn’t a sign of the ship’s crew either. Even the dining room, where I’d hoped to get coffee, was dark.
“I’m afraid this might be one of those Twilight Zone situations,” I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. No service. “What on earth is going on? Where is everyone? And why isn’t there any cell service? I was told we’d have service for the entire trip as long as we had an international plan.”
Trevor frowned. “I don’t know. Let’s go down to the kitchen. Even if the restaurant isn’t open yet, the kitchen staff must be doing prep work. Maybe we can get some answers and some coffee at the same time.”
We took the stairs to the bottom deck. The door to the engine room and bridge was closed and locked, although I could hear voices inside. “Are they speaking Russian in there?”
“I’m not sure. It sounds like it could be Russian, although I don’t know how to understand or speak it, so I don’t know for certain. Whoever is speaking has a strong accent. I’m going to say it is some sort of Slavic language for sure based on what I can make out.”
“I met the captain briefly on the first day and I didn’t noti
ce that he had an accent of any sort, so I don’t think either of the voices we can hear is him.”
Trevor nodded. “I agree. The men on the other side of the door don’t sound at all like the captain or any of the crew we’ve met so far.”
I knocked on the door. The voices stopped speaking, but no one answered. I looked at Trevor. “Okay. I think it might be time to worry.”
“Let’s check the kitchen,” Trevor suggested.
The kitchen, like the dining room, was empty of people, but there was food in the refrigerator and walk-in freezer, so we didn’t have to worry about starving. I still wanted coffee, but I wanted answers even more, so we decided to head back upstairs and check in with Mac and Ty. I hated to wake the lovebirds so early in the morning, but the ship, which should have been at port, looked to be out at sea, and the staff who should have been cooking and serving our breakfast were nowhere to be found. Plus, there was definitely something up with the captain and his crew.
“Maybe we should see if Harris can tell us what is going on,” Trevor said as we walked up the stairs.
“It might be best to ask him. We’ll check in with Mac and Ty and then go to his cabin. I suppose there could be a logical explanation for everything that is going on.”
Trevor knocked on Mac and Ty’s door. There was no answer. He knocked again.
“Mac, it’s Amanda,” I called out. “I need to talk to you. It’s important. Open the door.”
“Hang on,” I heard her call.
After a moment, she opened the door wearing only a long T-shirt. “What’s going on?”
“Look out your window,” Trevor said.
Mac turned around. “What am I looking for?”
“Friday Harbor.”
A light went on in Mac’s eyes. “We should be at dock.”
Trevor nodded. “Not only are we far enough out to sea that there is no visible land in any direction, but the only staff we have been able to find are a couple of men speaking in a foreign language we think could be Russian or some other Slavic language. They’ve locked themselves in the engine room which also leads to the bridge. It feels a lot like they have taken over control of the ship.”
Mac frowned. “What? That doesn’t make any sense. Did you check the dining room?”
“We did,” I confirmed. “It is dark. The kitchen is free of the personnel who should be making our breakfast as well. Trevor and I are going to try to find out what is going on from Harris, but we thought you should know.”
“There has to be an explanation,” Mac said. “Harris looked ill yesterday. Maybe he had something contagious and the kitchen staff are sick as well.”
“Maybe.” I glanced at Trevor. “We are going to head up to try to talk to him. Maybe he can make sense of all this.”
“I’ll come with you,” Mac said.
I glanced at her bare legs. “Why don’t you just meet us on the pool level after you get dressed. Maybe there is someone in the gym who knows what is going on. If you get there first, check it out.”
“Okay. I’ll tell Ty what is happening and we’ll meet you there.”
Mac closed the door and Trevor and I went toward the stairs. When we reached the deck where our stateroom, as well as the other executive staterooms, were located and went to the end of the hallway, where we knocked on Harris’s door. He didn’t answer, but we kept knocking. Eventually, Evan, who was in the cabin next door to Harris’s, opened his door and stuck out his head.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“We would like to talk to Harris about the change in itinerary,” I said
“Nothing has changed. Everything is fine.”
I shook my head. “We were supposed to be in Friday Harbor today. We aren’t.”
“Oh, you must not have received the updated itinerary.”
“Updated itinerary?” Trevor asked.
“The crowd from Hamilton Investments has done the same cruise year after year, so we decided to change up the route this year. We are heading north toward Canada. I think everyone is going to enjoy the change of scenery.”
“What about the kitchen staff?” Trevor asked.
“Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication, and the ship’s crew were not apprised of the change in advance. As it turned out, the crew weren’t willing to head so far north, so we agreed to let them off before we pulled out of Port Townsend. But not to worry: I’ve already arranged for a new crew to join us at the next port. I know this presents some minor inconveniences, but things should be back to normal by the end of the day. In the meantime, feel free to help yourself to all the food and alcohol you want.”
I looked at Trevor. He rolled his eyes slightly. I could sense that he didn’t want me to make a scene until we figured out what was really going on.
“Okay. Well, thank you for letting us know what is going on.” I glanced toward Harris’s door. “Is Mr. Hamilton all right? I’m surprised he didn’t hear us knocking just now.”
“He is a bit under the weather. I imagine he took some flu medicine. You know how that can knock you out.”
I forced a smile. “Sure. Well, thanks again.”
By the time we made it up to the pool deck, Mac and Ty were there. Clint and Yvonne and Shelley and Vinnie had shown up there as well. Both Clint and Shelley, who were Hamilton Financial employees, said that they had no idea about the change in itinerary either. I shared everything that the company’s vice president had just told us. After a bit of discussion, Ty and Mac offered to go down to the dining room, where everyone would eventually gather. They planned to fill the others in on what we knew, while Trevor and I went to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone.
When we arrived on the bottom deck, we checked the door to the engine room and bridge again. Still locked. We went on toward the kitchen, which was on the same level but down the hallway. Trevor began gathering ingredients for a veggie scramble, sausages, and biscuits, while I started the process of making coffee.
“Okay, this whole thing is weird, right?” I said as I dug around in the refrigerator for juice of some sort.
“Very weird,” Trevor agreed.
“I wonder if Harris and his wife are really sick.”
“You think they’re dead?” Trevor asked.
I shrugged. “We know at least one person who boarded this ship in Seattle is now dead. Where you have one murder, it seems more likely that other might occur.”
“If that is true, the killer has to be Evan, because he was the one who told us that Harris is sick.”
Trevor was right. If Harris and his wife did turn out to be dead, I would definitely suspect Evan of doing the deed. “Alyson,” I called, hoping that she would show up this time.
“Hey,” she said as she appeared. “What’s up?”
“First, has Lucy remembered anything?”
“No, I’m afraid not. She doesn’t even seem to be trying. I think she probably just needs more time.”
“Fine,” I said. “But I need you to do me a favor.”
“Okay. What do you want me to do?”
“You know that room at the very end of the hallway on the same deck as the cabin Trevor and I are sharing?”
“Sure.”
“I need you to pop in and check to see if there are two people inside. I’ve been told that the man and his wife are sick, which is why they aren’t answering their door. I need to be sure.”
“On it,” Alyson said, disappearing.
“That’s a handy little trick,” Trevor said after I turned back to the task at hand.
I smiled. “Yeah, it is. When Alyson first showed up in my life when I returned to Cutter’s Cove, I was pretty freaked out and wanted her gone, but now I feel like the two of us work well together. Don’t get me wrong; having her pop in and out is pretty strange, but I’ve gotten used to that part.”
Alyson reappeared. “The cabin is empty. In fact, all the cabins are empty.”
“All of them?”
“Well, except for th
e dining room. Mac and Ty are in there, talking to a bunch of people. They seem pretty upset.”
I could only imagine. “So you checked all ten staterooms and none of them were occupied?”
“Yes. That is correct. There are no people in any of the staterooms.”
“I need you to do one more thing before you go, if you don’t mind. I need you to pop into the engine room and bridge, then tell me who is in there. It’s on this deck.”
“On my way.” She disappeared again. Less than ten seconds later, she was back. “There are three men in there. Two of them have strong accents although they are speaking English. They appear to be in charge of steering the ship. The other one is the vice president of Hamilton Investments.”
“Evan?”
Alyson nodded.
“What are they doing?”
“Nothing, really. One guy is at the controls and the other is looking at a map with Evan. Do you want me to spy on them?”
“I think that would be an excellent idea.” I turned to Trevor after Alyson had disappeared again. “I’m going to take this coffee upstairs and let everyone know breakfast is on the way. I’ll come back to help you bring the food upstairs after that.”
“Be careful,” Trevor said. “Something really strange is going on. I’m not sure who we can trust.”
“I’ll be careful. I’ll have Mac come back down with me to help with the food. We can fill her in then.”
When I arrived in the dining room, I found Mac and Ty trying to keep the crowd calm. I saw there were eight people in the room in addition to Mac and Ty. A quick inventory revealed that, in addition to Harris and his wife, Evan, who I knew was on the bridge and most likely behind everything that was going on, was missing, as was his wife, Claudia, his assistant, Lisa, and Lisa’s plus-one, Brody.
“I have coffee,” I said, setting down the large urn and plugging it in.
Suddenly, all eyes were on me.
“Do you know what is going on?” Bret asked.
“No, I don’t. At least not yet. But Trevor owns a restaurant and is the best cook you will ever meet. He is making breakfast. I suggest we all get some coffee and food inside us and then try to figure everything out.”
