“Excuse me? Could I leave this here?”
It was Bernice, and she was holding a small package. Probably something she’d bought in one of the shops and didn’t want to carry around while she mingled. After all, if you have a cocktail in one hand you can’t shake hands, or even more importantly, eat snacks, if the other is occupied with a bag or package.
“Hi!” I said brightly.
Bernice nodded at me, and then squeezed in beside me, putting her package on the counter and focussing her gaze on the cloakroom attendant.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw some familiar long hair.
“See you later,” I said to Bernice as I quickly followed after Jake Cheltenham.
“Jake?” I called after him. He stopped walking, and turned around.
“Hi, there. Have you come to join us for a cocktail?” He asked, amused.
I waved my phone at him.
“I’m on duty, but I thought I might get a few pictures of them at least. I hope some of them are suitably insta-worthy.”
Jake nodded in understanding, and then stepped a little closer to me, and lowered his head closer to mine.
“They got Heidi, huh?”
“That’s what I heard. She’s probably in the brig right now.”
“I’m not surprised.”
That piqued my curiosity.
“Any particular reason?”
“I didn’t mention this before because it didn’t seem important. But now, in retrospect, maybe it was.”
“Mention what?”
“She asked me about those ridiculous hacking rumors that Geraldine was spreading. I mean, several people asked about it when they enquired about my software, but now I think about it, Heidi asked it in a very different way. She wasn’t even interested in my software, but she was interested in the hacking rumors. I should have guessed there was something going on.”
“Why do you think she was asking then?”
“Maybe she was looking for an ally?” He lowered his head even farther, and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Maybe an accomplice to do her in?”
“Oh, wow.” I wasn’t sure if I bought his theory, but it was an interesting little tidbit. “But she didn’t push it though?”
He shook his head. “I think I was a bit too dismissive. I told her I didn’t care about the rumors at all and she lost interest. But if I’d acted like I was really upset about them? Maybe she would have tried to get me to help her kill Geraldine.”
“Goodness, it really makes you think, doesn’t it? Did you mention it to security at all?”
Jake shook his head.
“No, I didn’t think it was relevant before, because as I said, lots of people asked me about the hacking rumors. It’s only in retrospect that it all falls into place. I mean, there were so many people with grudges against Geraldine anyway, that little conversation didn’t even seem relevant.”
Around us the bar was beginning to fill up as more and more people seeped into the room. The bar was booked out in its entirety for the B&B association for two pre-dinner hours, and now a pair of tuxedo-wearing waiters were carrying large silver trays around with a selection of cocktails on offer.
“Who else had a grudge against her, apart from Heidi?”
I could think of a few but I wanted to hear who Jake would name.
“All kinds of people. She really was a piece of work in some ways. I’ll give you an example. One of my clients was — scratch that. Someone who was going to be one of my clients had to back out and cancel their software purchase because of Geraldine.”
While Jake talked I kept an eye on the room. Alex Martinez entered, and immediately went to the cloakroom counter. This was interesting, because he’d just arrived empty handed and without a jacket. He clearly didn’t have anything to check-in.
“Oh? What happened?”
“It’s obvious Geraldine’s muck-spreading was costing people money. So of course, I lost this client because they could no longer afford my services.” Jake twirled a lock of his long hair between his fingers thoughtfully. “Though in this case, the rumors were probably true. But that’s not the point. The client still had a grudge against Geraldine because of it, and that’s just one example.”
I was about to ask Jake who that almost-client was, but was distracted by what was going on at the cloakroom. Alex had handed over a small ticket, and in response he was receiving a package. I was almost certain that it was the package that Bernice had checked in. I didn’t know what was going on there, but I definitely wanted to find out.
“That’s really fascinating, Jake. I’ve got to get on. I’ll talk to you later.”
Alex left the bar immediately, without even getting past the cloakroom, and I wanted to know where he was going and what the package that Bernice had left for him contained.
I hurried across the bar, brushing past people and slipping between chatting couples to reach the exit. Once I was outside I flicked my head left and right, and quickly spotted him walking briskly down the brightly lit, wide hallway that was more like a street, toward the Grand Atrium.
When he got there, he selected a bench to sit on that was completely unoccupied.
Approaching at an angle from behind, I positioned myself so that I could see what it was that he unwrapped. The package was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string. He pulled the knot loose, and then began to unfold the paper while I hovered just behind him, out of sight.
He kept the paper close to the contents so that people walking by wouldn’t see what it was he was unwrapping, but I could just about get a glimpse.
My eyebrows rose and I nodded to myself. I should have guessed. What Alex had just unwrapped looked to be a stack of money. He put his thumb up against the small pile, and ran it down the side, sending the edges of the pile of crisp ten dollar bills to flutter and fan.
With a satisfied nod to himself, Alex re-wrapped the money in the paper, and then held it tightly in his hand.
I slowly walked backward, so that if he turned to look it wouldn’t seem as if I were doing exactly what I had been doing — spying on him.
But he didn’t turn to look at me. He hopped up to his feet, and started to walk briskly past the ornate fountain in the center of the atrium, in the direction of one of the passenger cabin sections of the ship.
I didn’t need to follow him down there, he was probably going to put the money in his cabin. I’d already achieved my aim of finding out what it was that Bernice had left for him.
But what I did want to do, was find out what exactly was going on between him and Bernice. Why was she trying to secretly give him a wad of money? To find out, I needed a plan.
I pulled out my phone and began to write a text.
>Need you guys help with something. Dinner?
Then, I sent the message to Sam and Cece.
Putting our heads together, we were sure to figure out something.
Chapter 23
The next morning, Sam, Cece and I were up even brighter and earlier than usual. After a pizza-fueled idea session the night before — and some further encouragement to Cece not to worry about Ryan’s family — we’d put a small plan together.
We walked side-by-side across the ship, and headed down to the Conference Suite. The plan was to get there early, before anyone else. Clutched in my hand, I had my Swan-issued notebook computer. It was to provide an alibi if we needed it.
We’d spent half of our idea session the night before trying to come up with the most devious and elaborate excuse we could for what we were about to do. And the plan we settled on hinged partly on the computer.
“Looks like nobody’s home.” Cece pointed toward the Conference Suite ahead of us, the lights of which were all turned off.
When we were inside, we flicked on the lights, and surveyed the lobby. It had only just gone seven o’clock and unsurprisingly, and thankfully, no one was around. Maybe we wouldn’t need our clever little excuse after all.
“Cece?” I nodded my hea
d toward the Vendor Hall. “Do your thing.
“On it.” She walked over to the door, and used her master-keycard to quickly unlock it. The mechanism in the door whirred, and the little light next to the card-reader turned from red to flashing green as she pushed the door open.
“Good morning!” said a bright voice behind us.
Trying my best not to look guilty, I turned around with the best fake-smile I could produce at such short notice.
“Hi, Bernice.”
The B&B Association Chair was looking at us curiously. And it wasn’t necessarily a friendly-curiosity, more of a teacherly and what, exactly, do you think you’re doing kind of look.
“Can I help you with something?”
“Oh, no. We’re just here to get Sam’s phone. She left it in there yesterday.” I held up my laptop. “We used the find-my-phone app. It says it’s in there.”
“Oh, I see. I had no idea they could be that precise. Right down to the correct deck and room?”
“Err, yes, that’s right.” Maybe our plan wasn’t quite so clever after all. How would a find-my-phone app know which floor level to search? Oh well, in for a cent, in for a dollar as they say back home.
“Technology is incredible these days, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it sure is. We’ll just pop in there and see if we can track it down…”
Sam nudged me in the side. “Call my phone, let’s see if we can hear it. I think I had it on silent though, so we’ll have to listen for just a buzz.”
Sam’s phone was of course actually back in our cabin. But it was our excuse, our alibi, to search the Vendor room.
“Okay!”
The three of us entered the room, and much to my annoyance, Bernice followed right behind us.
“I’m calling you now…” And I genuinely did. Presumably Sam’s phone was happily chirping away to itself back in our cabin that very minute. “Spread out, and maybe you’ll be able to hear the buzzing. It’s probably underneath something.”
Sam headed to the back of the room, while I walked directly to Alex’s table.
“I think… I think I can hear something,” said Sam.
Predictably, and thankfully, Bernice immediately started to scurry over to Sam. Helpfully, Sam went behind a large poster display and started crawling around on the floor near some boxes. Bernice soon joined her, with Cece following right behind.
“Hold on, I’m going to have to redial. Give it a minute!” I yelled to them across the hall.
With Bernice out of view, I crawled behind Alex’s table and began to go through the stuff he had back there. Each of the vendors had a couple of large, plastic storage boxes, and I quickly pulled one of his open and began going through it.
“Is it ringing?” yelled Sam.
“I lost the signal!” I yelled back. “Hold on… yes… I just got a signal again. Give it a moment!”
Inside the box was a thick manila folder, and on the front was written B&B Assoc. Info in black marker.
“Bingo and jackpot,” I said quietly to myself, before pointing my head up. “It’s dialing! It should ring again in a second!”
When I opened the folder, on the inside cover was taped a sheet of paper with a whole list of names on it, some of which had been crossed out, and others which had been circled.
Jake Cheltenham, Bernice Burford, Anthea Robinson, Heidi Webster, Louise Settles, Bob Robertson… and more. The two names that were circled though were Bernice’s and Heidi’s. I quickly pulled the tape off and released the list, albeit with torn corners.
On the opposite side, at the beginning of a stack of papers, was a document titled Greystone B&Bs Inc. Financial Records.
Greystone, I thought. Gray stone. Like the houses and buildings of the Cotswolds. I flicked through the financial records and saw that I was right — these were the financial records of Geraldine Whitney’s company.
Delighted and excited, I snatched them up and put them together with the list.
“Is it ringing?” I yelled loudly.
“No,” said a voice directly above my head.
Turning my head slowly, as though if I moved it slow enough the inevitable would never have to occur, I eventually looked up into the staring, glaring eyes of Bernice Burford. Her usual friendly and slightly nervous demeanor was entirely absent. She was annoyed. Really annoyed.
Just behind Bernice stood Sam and Cece, awkward expressions on their faces. Out of Bernice’s sight, Sam held up her hands in a what can you do? gesture, while Cece just shrugged.
“What in the name of all that is good and right do you think you’re doing? That is private vendor property! You have no right, no right, to touch, view, examine or otherwise molest the contents of that box! This is outrageous!”
With cheeks bright red I clambered to my feet, still holding the papers. In these kinds of situations there’s two things you can do. You can cave and be meek and humble. Or you can fight fire with fire.
Putting the darkest frown on that I could muster, I willed my embarrassed-red cheeks into angry-red instead.
“That’s enough!” I said sternly. “You’ve got some explaining to do. Tell me, why is your name on this list.” I held it out, and tapped my index finger against her circled name rapidly.
“These are Alex Martinez’s private documents and it’s not my place to know. But I imagine it’s because I’m about to be one of his preferred clients.” She gave me a triumphant but tight-lipped smirk of a smile.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Then, perhaps you can explain why…” I lowered my finger down the list and jabbed it at Jake’s name. “Mr. Cheltenham, who runs a one-person software company, would be interested in bulk-buying desserts? Does he live off them? Is his only sustenance rich and sweet indulgences? Does he eat a dozen chocolate mousses and an entire tiramisu a day?”
“I… well… what… the thing is, that you shouldn’t even be looking at this! It’s not yours!”
“Right. I’ve got another question for you, Bernice.”
Behind the now faltering Chair, Sam and Cece were both giving me thumbs up signs.
“What… what’s that?”
“Why did you give Alex Martinez a stack of money yesterday? That’s why your name’s circled, isn’t it? Can you explain?”
Bernice’s eyes went wide.
“How… how do you know about that? It was secret! There was no witness! I copied exactly what they did in the spy book…”
“Unfortunately for you, I’m very observant. Now, tell us, why exactly were you secretly giving hundreds of dollars to Alex Martinez? Were you paying him to murder Geraldine, perhaps?”
Bernice’s eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Her head began to shake left-and-right so fast it was like a nervous tic. “No! Not at all! You’ve got it all wrong!”
“Go on, then. Explain. Tell us all what exactly was going on between you all and what this list means.”
Bernice’s shoulders slumped and defeat was written on her face.
“I did pay him. But it was nothing to do with Geraldine’s death. You know how she treated me, and the things she said about me, right?”
“Yes, yes, we know that. Go on.”
“I wanted to get my own back on her. I wanted to defeat her. To beat her at her own game. If she was going to tell everyone that I was incompetent, I wanted to show that she was.”
“How?”
“Alex promised me that not only could he get her financial records, but they would be enough to ruin her.”
“Oh?”
Things were beginning to fall into place.
“But she died before he could hand them over. But he told me I had to pay him anyway. That he had prepared the information for me. I just wanted to put everything behind me, so I handed the money over to him.”
I stared at her balefully, trying to make her so uncomfortable that she wouldn’t even think of trying to pull one over on me.
“Geraldine… s
he ruined everything,” complained Bernice. “Even now she’s dead she’s still ruining things.”
I continued to stare. Hoping Bernice would have something else, some last confession or nugget of knowledge to drop. But she didn’t. Or if she did, she didn’t get a chance to tell me what it was.
While we stared at each other in an impasse, someone else walked into the room.
All four of us turned to see who the newcomer was. First he looked our way. Then he stared our way. Then his brow furrowed and his mouth formed a snarl.
“What the breakfast is going on here?”
It was Alex Martinez, holding a large white cardboard box, and he was not a happy camper.
Chapter 24
Bernice launched herself into action before I’d even got to thinking.
“Alex! They went through your stuff! They broke in here and searched it!”
Alex was already marching over, and I braced myself. I didn’t think he was likely to attack me, but then I didn’t normally think that before being attacked. Before he reached us, I quickly shoved the papers into my laptop bag before he could spot them. I didn’t want him diving for the evidence.
His face was pure rage. The cardboard box he was holding started to shake as he stomped over, and the sides began to cave in where he squeezed it with his fingers, oblivious to the damage he was doing to the container or its contents.
“I’m going to call security! This is an absolute breach of my privacy and you’re going to be fired. All of you!”
I took a deep breath.
“No, you’re not. I’m going to call security and have you arrested and thrown into the brig along with your accomplice, Heidi.”
His hands relaxed slightly, and the dented sides of the box he was holding relaxed, leaving behind deep creases.
“What?” He asked in a tone so cold I felt a chill run down my spine.
“You killed Geraldine. You and Heidi working together. And you gave her Geraldine’s accounts. We know you were walking around, talking to people, fishing for accomplices to help you do the rotten deed!”
Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries 10 - Bed and Breakfast and Cruises Page 14
