by Diana X Dunn
“Everything is just too depressing at the moment,” he announced. “I’ve decided that we should have a party.”
After a brief shocked silence, everyone seemed to speak at once. Finally Max held up a hand.
“I’m sure you are all excited about the idea,” he grinned, “but you shouldn’t all shout at once.”
Randy cleared his throat. “Do you not think that maybe it is a bit odd to have a party when one of our friends has just been killed?”
Everyone else exchanged glances, glad that Randy had asked what they were all thinking.
“Nonsense,” Max brushed it aside. “It isn’t like she was family or anything. I mean, I know we’re all sad, but life goes on, right? Anyway, we’ve been sad now for two whole days.”
Suzy looked at Luke and rolled her eyes. Shockingly, Max probably really was that shallow.
“Where were you thinking of having this party?” Luke asked in an even tone.
“Oh, we’ll have to use a space on SunInc, I guess,” Max waved the question away with the carelessness of the truly rich. “Marta will arrange it all, of course.”
“Except you are all confined to the ship,” Luke reminded him mildly.
“Oh, that,” Max rolled his eyes. “That’s awkward, of course, but you can sort that out, can’t you?”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “I intend to sort it out by solving Chrystal’s murder,” he told them. “Until I’ve done that, I prefer to keep you right where you are.”
“Don’t be silly,” Max insisted. “I know we all love it here on the ship, but the ship isn’t big enough for the party I’m envisioning. We’ll have to use space on SunInc and you’ll simply have to let us go.”
Luke took a deep breath. “I don’t have to do anything,” he informed his host. “Someone was murdered and that takes priority over your desire for some fun.”
Max laughed. “Nothing takes priority over what I want,” he informed Luke haughtily. “I may have to call in a favor or two, but this party is going to happen, whether you want it to or not.”
Luke jumped up from his seat, eyes blazing. “A woman was murdered,” he repeated through gritted teeth.
Suzy put a hand on his arm and waited until he looked at her to slowly shake her head. Luke started to speak and then stopped, clearly furious.
Suzy stood up and turned to Max. “Max, darling, let’s talk,” she cooed, taking a step toward him.
“I don’t want to talk,” Max told her petulantly, “I want to have a party.”
“I know, dearest,” Suzy took his arm and tried to lead him away from the group, “but this might not be the best time for that.”
Max pulled away from her and glared at her and then at everyone around the table. “I said I’m having a party,” he announced. He looked over at Luke. “It will take place the day after tomorrow. The venue is still to be confirmed. That gives you two whole days to figure out your little murder mystery and get the hell off my ship.”
Luke started to interrupt but Max cut him off. “If you try to interfere with my plans, I will get you fired and make sure you are unemployable. Don’t push me.”
Max looked around at the rest of the group. “Honestly, people,” he complained, “I’m trying to have some fun here, and you are all acting grim and miserable. Either lighten up or get off the boat.” With that announcement he swept out of the room.
Everyone blew out a long breath as the door shut behind him.
“I think he’s lost it completely,” Peter said, shaking his head. “A party? Now?”
“As much as I hate to agree with you,” Henry offered, “I can’t imagine what he’s thinking. This is not the time to be planning a party.”
“I think it is a wonderful idea,” Genifer giggled as she downed the rest of her drink. “We all need cheering up. Anyway, it wasn’t like any of us liked Chrystal or anything. We aren’t exactly mourning her, are we?”
“Do you people eat your own young, too?” Luke muttered.
Suzy took his arm and waited until he met her eyes. “We need to talk,” she told him.
“I thought you wanted to talk to Max,” he challenged.
Randy stood up. “Everyone stop arguing,” he said. “Max has spoken and we all know what that means. In two days’ time we are all going to be at a party that no one wants to go to, pretending to be having a wonderful time, while actually hating every minute of it. And I’ll be leading the charge, making sure that Max sees me enjoying myself, because I sure as hell don’t want to be cast aside for a new model.” He shuddered. “Sometimes I don’t really like myself.”
Peter picked up his glass and raised it in a mock toast. “To partying,” he called out and then downed the drink. “I’ll be right there with you, Randy, my dear, doing everything I can to stay in Max’s good books, at least until he signs off on my deal.”
Henry snorted. “I won’t pretend to have fun,” he insisted, “but I suppose I will have to go.”
Captain Grayson stood up. He had remained silent all evening. Now he bowed formally to everyone and left the room, still not speaking.
That seemed to signal the end of the evening as Henry and Randy quickly followed him out, not bothering to say anything further. Peter and Genifer were right behind them, with Genifer clutching Peter’s arm as they reached the door. Police officers were stationed outside the dining room and were escorting everyone back to their cabins. Suzy could hear Genifer arguing about her rights and privacy, but the voices quickly faded away.
Luke looked at Suzy. “What did you want to talk about?” he asked tightly.
“You can’t win against Max,” she said in her most soothing tone. “He has way too much money and power. Don’t try to fight him, try to work with him.”
“He wants to have a party only a few days after a woman was murdered on his ship.” Luke snapped.
“And he will never understand why that bothers you.” Suzy patted his arm. “His life, his background, they’re totally different from anything that you could even comprehend. He’s never been told no about anything, and he isn’t going to accept it now from some police officer investigating a murder that he’s already finding boring.”
“I’m sorry I’m boring him,” Luke said stiffly, walking away from her.
“Max has the attention span of a gnat,” Suzy told him. “That’s why everyone works so hard to get and keep his interest. He can be a very wonderful and generous person, but he can also be incredibly cold and selfish.”
“How did you end up mixed up with him again?”
Suzy laughed. “Maybe some day I’ll tell you the whole story.”
She poured them both a drink from the bar and handed a glass to Luke.
Luke gave her a small smile. “Can he really get me fired?”
“In a second,” Suzy shook her head. “If he had to, he could just buy SunInc and then get rid of you, and he would do that if he was mad enough.” She held up a hand to stop Luke as he started to speak. “And yes, I think if you try to stop this party he would be mad enough to do whatever he had to in order to destroy you.”
“Over a party.”
“Over not getting what he wants,” Suzy corrected. “Max always gets what he wants in the end.”
“So if he killed Chrystal I may as well give up now,” Luke sighed.
“You’re in luck there,” Suzy said. “He was with me when she was murdered, remember?”
“So I’ve been told,” Luke frowned at her. “Of course he could just be using you as an alibi.”
Suzy shook her head. “And I thought we were becoming friends,” she pretended to pout. “Unlike most of the other guests, I wouldn’t lie for our esteemed host. Although you’ve only got my word for that, of course.”
“I know that you’ve said that you aren’t lovers now,” Luke looked at her intently, “but have you ever been?”
“No,” Suzy said lightly. “I’ve never slept with him.”
“Why not?”
Suzy laughe
d softly. “What a question. When we first met he and Randy hadn’t been together for long, and they were very caught up in each other. After a while, Max and I got to know each other as friends, so now it would just feel weird.”
“So now what do I do?” Luke asked.
“I suggest you start figuring out how to let Max have his little party without compromising your investigation. Unless you think that you’ll have the case solved before the party?”
Luke shook his head. “I’m getting nowhere on this case,” he admitted reluctantly. “Security cameras all over the ship were turning on and off at odd times that night. There’s no way to tell who was where at any given point. The murderer appears not to have left any physical traces behind. The only DNA and fingerprint evidence we collected were from you and the victim.” Luke shook his head again. “I shouldn’t really be telling you all of this.”
“So tell me something else,” Suzy suggested. “What was in my shampoo and other bottles?”
Luke frowned. “I shouldn’t tell you that, either,” he began. “Ah, Hades.” He ran a hand over his face. “Everything we’re saying right now is being recorded by Hart, isn’t it?”
“Possibly, actually, probably,” Suzy shrugged. “It’s part of the deal with being on his ship. He records everything in all of the public areas for his own security. It keeps his business rivals from talking about him behind his back and keeps his lovers from sneaking around with other guests. Usually it works well, but it all falls apart if someone can override the system, which it seems someone did.”
Luke nodded and then tapped a few commands into his M-ped. He frowned. “And the system won’t accept my police override codes, either. I don’t know why I care. My boss, the police commissioner, is probably sending a copy of every single report I submit straight to Max anyway. Mr. Hart is being treated as an important guest on SunInc, and as far as the boss is concerned, the man is above suspicion.”
“Max doesn’t recognize any outside authority. On his ship he has total control. I suspect that your bosses at SunInc will have approved any request he made to keep his personal security systems locked up. They wouldn’t have had any choice really.”
“So is the monitoring confined to just the public areas or does it extend into the cabins as well?” Luke asked.
“I’m told that the cabins are private,” Suzy shrugged. “Max wants to keep track of where everyone is at any given time, but he isn’t really interested in knowing what people are getting up to in their private cabins. At least that is what I’ve always been led to believe.”
Actually, Suzy knew it was true. She had comprehensively hacked the ship’s security systems and she knew that the cabins were not monitored. Every public area had numerous cameras and recording devices, which made making plans for a private meeting difficult. Regardless, Max could watch to see who was meeting whom, and where those meetings were taking place as the corridors and cabin doors were watched. What happened inside any of the cabins was totally private, though. Which was unfortunate for Chrystal, really.
“So if we wanted to have a private conversation, we could do so in my cabin?” Luke asked.
“I didn’t realize that Max had given you a cabin,” Suzy hesitated.
“He said that since I was spending so much time here, I might as well just stay,” Luke replied. “I’d really like a chance to talk to you without worrying about who might be listening in.”
Suzy grinned at him and licked her lips. “Talk? Are you sure that’s what you’re interested in?” She took a step toward him and looked into his eyes. She could see desire warring with caution.
What she wanted was for anyone watching to think that she was more interested in getting him into bed than talking with him. She hoped that Luke wasn’t going to be too disappointed when they actually got back to his cabin and all she really wanted was the answers to a few more questions.
“We can at least start with talking,” Luke said eventually. He offered her his arm the pair left the dining room.
Eight
Luke’s cabin was in a corridor between the guest cabins and the staff quarters. It was significantly smaller than Suzy’s but was still spacious enough to feel comfortable. Where Suzy had a king-sized bed and a small sitting area, Luke had a smaller bed with a few chairs in a cluster in a corner. Suzy immediately headed for the chairs and slipped into one, sliding off her painfully high heels.
Luke raised an eyebrow at her. “Undressing already?” He grinned and then tapped on his M-ped. “I don’t think we are being monitored in here,” he said eventually, frowning at the screen in his hand. “I can’t be absolutely certain, but it seems highly unlikely.”
“Great,” Suzy answered from her comfortable chair.
Luke sat down in a chair next to her and smiled at her. “Alone at last,” he grinned.
Suzy smiled back at him. He was very attractive, even if the time and the place were all wrong. “I know this isn’t the right time or place for us to get involved,” she began, hoping that he would see the sense in her words. “Maybe once the murderer is safely locked up we can get better acquainted.”
“I can’t get involved with a murder suspect,” he told her, clearly reminding himself as much as telling her.
“I know, and I don’t want to do anything that might cause any trouble for you, either.”
Luke nodded. “I appreciate that,” he told her.
“But I’d like to think that I’m not really a suspect,” she suggested.
Luke frowned. “Everyone is a suspect,” he insisted.
Suzy looked questioningly into his eyes. After a moment he blinked and then rubbed his face. “I trust you, for some unknown reason,” he admitted, again obviously talking as much to himself as to Suzy.
Suzy smiled. “You won’t be sorry,” she told him. “Now, what was in those bottles?”
Luke hesitated and then sighed. “There was a strong hair removal product in the shampoo bottle. According to our labs, if you’d washed your hair in it, you’d have been bald before you’d finished rinsing.”
Suzy shuddered before he continued. “There was some sort of mild acid in the body wash that we are still working to identify. The best guess is that it would have burned your skin, not severely, but enough to be painful and probably send you a strong message.”
Suzy shuddered again. “Are you assuming that Chrystal put those things in the bottles?”
“I’m assuming it, but officially the police aren’t assuming anything,” Luke told her. “We found nothing to indicate how the foreign materials got into the bottles.”
Suzy shook her head. “The murderer took the containers of hair remover and acid with him or her?” she asked.
“That’s one possible solution,” Luke replied.
“What other solutions have you come up with?”
“It was suggested by one investigator,” he began cautiously, “that you might have doctored your own toiletries and were going to blame Chrystal.”
Suzy bit back a laugh. The idea was ludicrous, but of course, Luke had to consider every possibility.
“And of course the contamination of your shampoo and body wash could have nothing whatsoever to do with the murder,” Luke continued, “although it would be a strange coincidence that it happened the same night.”
Suzy thought about that for a minute. Chrystal wasn’t the only one who was mad that Max had taken her back to his room. Randy had been pretty upset as well. While she and Randy were nominally friends, she could just about imagine him tampering with her things if he really thought she was a threat to his relationship with Max. She shook her head. While she knew that no one could really be trusted, she liked Randy and she had no reason to suspect that he had been behind the attack on her beauty products.
“So far I’ve been nothing but grateful that I don’t have friends like yours,” Luke told her. “I can imagine any one of them trying to make your hair fall out, if they thought it would get them closer to Max Hart.”
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Suzy shrugged. “I can certainly imagine Chrystal doing it,” she told him. “I’m less certain about Randy, although he could have been just mad and drunk enough, I guess. I don’t see any motive for Peter or Henry, though. They’re here on business, and I can’t imagine either of them caring who Max was sleeping with. I mean, Peter was trying to snuggle up to Chrystal as a way to get to Max, but I can’t believe that would be motive enough to attack me. As for Genifer, I don’t think she cares what her dad does, as long as it doesn’t interfere with her fun. If someone had tampered with Chrystal’s things, I might suspect Genifer, because they hated each other, but I don’t think she cared in the slightest about me.”
“Why did Genifer hate Chrystal?”
“Chrystal was encouraging Max to make Genifer start standing on her own two feet more. She kept making little nasty remarks about people who lived off their parents and never contributed to society. She did it very cunningly, really, acting like she had Genifer’s best interests at heart, encouraging her to strike out on her own and make her mark on the world, but Genifer was happy doing nothing and living off of Max’s money, and I think Genifer was starting to see Chrystal as a possible threat.”
“Enough of a threat to murder her?”
Suzy shook her head slowly. “I can’t imagine Genifer working up the nerve or the energy to murder anyone. Or having enough brains to actually carry it out. I’m assuming that Chrystal was drugged in some way, otherwise I can’t see her lying there and letting someone stab her. If I’m right, that took planning and I can’t see Genifer managing all those steps, at least not without help.”
“So who might have helped her?”
Suzy frowned. “She and Peter have suddenly gotten to be very close friends,” she remarked. “Up until she died, Peter was spending every spare second with Chrystal. I think he just cuddles up to whomever he thinks can do the most to help his cause with Max, but I could be wrong. Maybe he started something with Genifer before Chrystal died and he helped get rid of her.”
