David pointed to the barstools at the overhang into the kitchen. “We were standing right there.”
“We heard Joanie screaming at him,” Kimberly said.
“What was she saying?” Mike asked.
“They shut the door so that we couldn’t hear everything, but she was mad. Joanie had her finger in John’s chest. He was backing up until they disappeared behind the hot tub. The next thing we knew, he was gone.”
“Overboard,” David said.
“Apparently.” Mike leaned forward. “So you didn’t actually see John go overboard or Joanie push him? Tell me exactly what happened?”
“Why are you so interested? You sound like a cop,” David said.
“He is a cop—”Kimberly sat back, folding her arms in front of her—“or was a cop.”
Mike looked back at Maggie, who shook her head and lifted her shoulders.
“She didn’t tell me,” Kimberly said, “but like I told her, I’m not stupid. I knew you were Joanie’s brother from the beginning.”
“You’re Joanie’s brother?” David furrowed his eyebrows. “And you work at Corporate? And you’re a cop? I am so confused.”
“He was a cop. He’s a private investigator now—and he is Joanie’s brother,” Kimberly said again. She turned to face David before turning again to Mike. “I graduated with Joanie. I remember you very well. You bailed that girl out of trouble many times, but this time, I don’t think you can get her off of murder charges.”
“Are you Joanie’s sister?” David asked Maggie.
“For such a smart guy, you’re such an idiot,” Kimberly said. She stood. “I’m out of here. Night-night all.”
“I can’t believe Joanie killed John,” David said after Kimberly had left. He shook his head. “They were such good friends.”
“She didn’t kill him,” Mike said confidently. “David, did you hear anything that was said out there? Anything at all?”
“I didn’t hear the words, just Joanie screaming, and John wasn’t saying anything, or if he did, it was too low for us to hear. The only thing I thought was weird was I heard John laughing. The next thing we knew, Joanie came in panicking, saying John jumped off the boat.”
“She said he jumped?” Mike asked.
“That is exactly what she said.”
“Who called for help?”
“Ralph called Randolph.”
“Where is Ralph now?” Mike asked, looking around.
“I don’t know. He disappeared when Randolph got here.”
Mike ran into his bedroom then came out with the card Ralph had given them the first day they arrived. He went to the house phone and punched in a few numbers.
“Hey, it’s Mike.” Mike spoke into the phone for a few moments then hung up. “He’s on his way.”
When Ralph walked in, he was visibly upset. He ran his hands through his hair several times, leaving it sticking out at all angles. His face was pale.
“You okay? Ralph,” Mike asked.
“Do you need a drink?” Maggie said.
Ralph nodded. Maggie went over to the shelf of liquor and picked out the tequila. She brought over the bottle and a shot glass. Ralph reached over and took the shot. Then he sat down on the couch.
“Did you see what happened?” Mike asked Ralph.
“I was putting glasses in the dishwasher when Ms. Brown and Mr. Haas came in the door. They were arguing about something.”
“Did you catch what they were arguing about?”
“No, I stayed unseen in the kitchen.”
“So, you didn’t catch anything?”
“No. Well, I heard something about Jules, but I didn’t understand.”
“Then what happened?” Mike asked.
“When David and Kimberly came in, Joanie and John went out to the balcony and closed the door.” Ralph looked toward David for confirmation.
“They were standing right there.” David pointed to the space where the two large doors came together. “Kimberly and I just sat on the couch. I saw Joanie poking him in the chest. It looked like he was smiling, but she was backing him up with every poke until they disappeared behind the hot tub over there, and we couldn’t see them anymore. But we could still hear them.”
Ralph reached across and grabbed the tequila bottle; he poured himself another shot. He held the bottle toward Maggie, who shook her head. “Wine and tequila, not a good mix,” she said. Mike also shook his head.
“Did you see Joanie push Mike off the balcony?” Mike asked, silently pleading for some detail that would save his sister.
“No. Like I said, I was trying to mind my business in the kitchen. When Joanie came in, she was yelling, ‘He jumped!’ That’s when I called security.”
“What did Joanie do next?” Mike asked.
“She just sat there.” Ralph pointed to the chair where Mike was now sitting.
“Like nothing happened?” Maggie asked.
“She seemed calm. Maybe in shock,” David suggested. “She didn’t talk until Randolph came in and said the whole…‘You have the right to…’ blah…blah…blah.”
“Miranda,” Maggie said, remembering her online lessons. The Fifth Amendment…ensuring a person’s right not to incriminate themselves.
“Did she say anything to Randolph?” Mike asked, ignoring Maggie.
“Yeah,” David said. “She said he jumped.”
“Anything else?” Mike asked.
“She said she would wait for her brother. Which didn’t make sense at the time, since I had no idea that you are her brother.”
Ralph looked at Mike. “You’re Joanie’s brother?”
“It’s a long story,” Maggie said.
Ralph stood from the couch. “Do you have any more questions for me?” he asked Mike.
Mike shook his head. “No, thanks, Ralph. Have a good night.”
Ralph took the tequila bottle from the table where Maggie had left it. He still held the shot glass in his other hand. “Goodnight all,” he said as he walked out the door.
“Why would he jump?” Mike asked aloud, but he was talking to himself. He loosened his bow tie, having a difficult time with it until it finally came free. He threw it across the room.
“Well, I doubt if he committed suicide,” Maggie said. She suffered a barely disguised scowl from Mike.
“If he’s dead, he jumped himself, or it was just a horrible accident,” Mike said, “but one thing’s for sure, my sister isn’t a murderer.”
“We should at least take her something to wear,” Maggie said.
“Good idea. I won’t be able to sleep without talking to my sister,” Mike said.
Kimberly must have heard their conversation, because just as Maggie approached the room, the door flew open, and Kimberly handed her a small pile of clothes. She had changed, but not into her pajamas. She was wearing a pair of white shorts and a loose blue top over the top of a bathing suit, her hair curled, and she had put on fresh makeup.
“Where are you going?” Maggie asked.
“Wine bar.”
Kimberly smiled. Maggie looked at her watch. A quarter to eight.
“Kimberly, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Maggie said.
“You know what a good idea is? That you mind your own business.”
Kimberly brushed past Maggie and left the suite without looking back.
“We can’t go down there now,” Mike said. He had been talking on the house phone, which he now hung up.
“Can we at least get her a change of clothes?”
“It will have to wait until morning,” Mike said, sitting slowly on the couch. “She doesn’t want to see us until morning.”
“She’ll be okay,” Maggie said, sitting on the coffee table to face him.
“She didn’t kill John. I don’t know what happened on that deck, but I’m one hundred percent sure she did not push him over.”
Maggie placed a hand on his knee. “It might have been an accident.”
“No.” Mike shook his head. “Some
thing’s not right.”
Maggie didn’t know what to say to comfort him, so she remained silent.
“I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.” Mike stood and left the room.
Maggie looked at her watch. It was too early for bed. She considered walking down to the wine bar to see what Kimberly and Silas were doing, but instead, she took a bottle of Cabernet and headed for the business center, where she could use a computer.
Thursday
Chapter 18
The Brig
Mike and Maggie located the ship’s brig on Deck 1. It was just a few doors past the infirmary where Maggie had found herself the morning before. As soon as they entered they found a tired young woman sitting at a metal desk. She lit up as they approached but couldn’t hide the dark circles under her eyes. She must have worked the night shift, and her shift would be ending soon.
“We’re here to see Joanie Brown,” Mike said.
The woman looked at the computer screen and yawned. “The woman they brought in last night?”
“That would be her,” Mike said.
The woman, whose name tag just said Sally, looked them over and picked up the phone in front of her. She pressed a few buttons. “There are two people here to see the Brown woman,” Sally said into the receiver. She looked Mike and Maggie up and down as if someone was describing them on the other end. “Yeah, that’s them…Okay…Later.” She hung up the phone and said, “You can go in.” She pointed to the gate behind her and pushed a button. The gate clicked loudly, and Mike pushed on the metal until the latch released. He stood aside and let Maggie in. The gate closed behind them with another loud click. The small hallway opened into a space divided by thick metal grates. Surprisingly there were portholes in both of the two cells, providing detainees a view of what they were missing.
Joanie was leaning against the dirty white bulkhead as she sat on a simple cot covered by a tight white sheet, a thin pillow, and an olive-green blanket. She was still wearing her formal black gown from the night before but had gathered it up around her legs. Her formal hairdo was loose. She brushed the long brown strands out of her face then casually waved as they entered. She didn’t appear too distraught.
“You think there’s a need for two jail cells on a cruise ship?” Maggie asked as she approached the cell where Joanie sat locked up.
“I would imagine that these cells normally hold drunks. They probably have two cells, so drunks can be separated if they’re not getting along,” Mike said.
“Occasionally, we lock someone up for petty theft or bringing contraband on board,” Randolph added, causing Maggie to jump.
“I didn’t hear the gate open,” Mike said.
“I came in the back door.” Randolph pointed behind him. Maggie looked around then noticed the door. She also saw cameras in each corner of the room, their lenses aimed at the cells.
“It smells like puke and Lysol in here,” Joanie complained. She stayed in her position against the wall, drawing her knees to her chest.
“Yeah, that’s a regular occurrence in these cells,” Randolph said. Then he leaned back toward the door Maggie and Mike had entered from and yelled, “Sally, can you bring two chairs?”
Sally appeared, dragging two plastic chairs. She left them just inside the doorway. Randolph handed one of the chairs to Mike, who passed it to Maggie, who set it in front of the bars to Joanie’s cell. Mike set the second chair next to Maggie, who was already sitting down.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Randolph motioned Mike to come with him back out the door. Maggie sat, looking at Joanie, who just remained silent. When Mike came back in, he sat, folding his hands nervously.
“Where did your friend go?” Maggie asked.
“He’s giving us some private time,” Mike said.
“Not too private.”
Maggie pointed to the cameras. Mike nodded his head in acknowledgment.
“They’re still searching for the body,” he said.
Joanie moved to the end of the mattress as if she could hear better a few inches closer.
“The body?” Joanie asked. “He might still be alive?”
“There’s no way he could have survived the fall from that high up. But what I don’t understand is how you could have pushed him over the rail. It’s pretty high,” Mike said.
“I didn’t push him over,” Joanie said, suddenly standing barefoot at the bars.
“The ship has been stationary since the incident, and there are two more ships in the area searching for John’s body,” Mike said.
“I didn’t push him overboard,” Joanie said again.
“We don’t think you did.” Maggie looked at Mike, who remained silent.
Maggie pulled out her phone and clicked on the Notes app. “Can you tell us what exactly happened?”
“We were having a drink. John suggested we do a shot. I said no. I was already drinking wine and didn’t want to get sick. John didn’t take no for an answer and brought us both shots anyway. It was pretty good, and he handed me another one. I noticed John wasn’t drinking as much. I think he had a beer or something. I just figured he was trying to get me drunk, but I wasn’t. I was a little tipsy when we went outside to the deck. I figured he was going to make a move, but he didn’t. He started saying some ridiculous shit that didn’t make sense. He said he knew what I did, and he could prove it. I said I didn’t do anything. He said he had proof.”
“Proof of what?” Maggie asked as Mike listened stone-faced.
“He was smiling the whole time. I finally told him I knew he had something to do with the scam. He said, ‘Prove it.’ I had just said it hoping he would admit something. He said it was all my fault and that there’s plenty of evidence against me. He showed me a notebook with notes that I had made—notes with account numbers. He said money was missing from all those accounts. He said he was going to go straight to the bank president when we got back home. I was just trying to get the notebook out of his hands.”
“What notebook?” Mike asked.
“It was a small spiral notebook. I brought it with me because I couldn’t leave it on my desk at work and didn’t want the kids to come across it at home.”
“Why on earth would you have account numbers written down in a notebook?” Mike asked, shaking his head lightly.
“It was for something I was working on. Don’t worry, Mike. I promise it’s nothing illegal.”
Maggie set her chin in her hand. “What color was the notebook?” she asked..
“Red, why?” Joanie asked.
“I saw Ralph coming out of the guys’ bedroom with a small spiral notebook. He didn’t expect me to be there, and he slipped it into his pocket.”
“Ralph?” Mike looked at Maggie. “The butler guy?”
“Yeah, Ralph, he looked pretty surprised when he saw me and Kimberly come in the door. I guess he thought we had gone on the shore excursion. His hair was messy, and he was carrying a notebook.”
“A red notebook?” Mike asked. “It wasn’t necessarily the same notebook.”
“You’re the one who doesn’t believe in coincidences,” Maggie said to Mike.
“Well, how did it get from Ralph to John?” Joanie said.
“He was coming out of the room not going in,” Maggie added.
“My notebook is in the front pocket of my suitcase,” Joanie said. “You can check if it’s still there.”.
“It doesn’t make sense, Joanie,” Mike said.
“Fine,” Joanie said. “It wasn’t bank accounts, it was information on my kids. The two babies I gave up for adoption. I keep track of them, and I use resources from the bank to keep track of them. I can’t just leave that information lying around at home, so I brought it with me.”
“Oh no, Joanie, you didn’t.”
“Whatever, Mike. It’s my business, but what we need to figure out right now is why John jumped. You need to get me out of here.”
Joanie sat back on the metal bed, causing it to squeak loudly.
“Is there anything you can think of that you haven’t told us already?” Mike asked his sister.
“There is one thing I didn’t mention that might be important.” Joanie hung her head. Maggie and Mike waited silently for the next words. “I was sleeping with him.”
“What?” they both said at the same time.
“You slept with John?” Mike said, leaning forward.
“You say that like it’s such a bad thing,” she said.
“It is a bad thing. You just got out of a bad relationship. You are always just getting out of a bad relationship. That’s just not how you fix things, Joanie. Why don’t you give yourself a break.” Mike’s tirade started as anger but ended with sorrow: his last words were barely a whisper.
But Mike’s distress unraveled Joanie. She came close to the bars to spit her objection: “You are not and never will be my judge, big brother. Do you know why you think you are so much better than me, Michael? Because you had a narcissistic father whose big achievement in life was to have a son and a helpless mother who depended on her son to take care of her because her husband sure didn’t.”
Mike moved to leave but froze. He looked back with tears in his eyes, but it didn’t stop her. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Like I always have and always will. Why don’t you just go play house with this Boca chic.” She turned, giving Maggie a chance to escape behind Mike.
“Jesus, Joanie. We’re trying to help you out here. The world doesn’t revolve around you. Other people have feelings. Your pity party isn’t helping anyone, and I’ve been there for you every single time you needed me. Lots of people in the world have mommies who don’t love them enough. I wish for once in your life you could care about someone other than yourself.”
“I’m the one going to prison, Mike. For something I didn’t do.” Tears ran from Joanie’s eyes. She put her face into the pillow.
“You’re not going to prison.” Mike’s voice was too low for Joanie to hear, but Maggie heard him loud and clear. Joanie’s brother was going to do everything in his power to help his sister.
The two walked silently down the corridor. Maggie watched Mike wipe tears from his eyes even as he remained silent. She followed him, evaluating the brother-and-sister dynamic that had just played out in front of her.
Undercover Cruise (A Maggie McFarlin Mystery Book 2) Page 15
