Baked Alaska

by Josi S. Kilpack

  Her interest in Glacier Bay National Park, where the ship was headed today, was almost nonexistent. Though learning about Tanice’s tampering with the wine bottle was good, knowing Tanice was still possibly hiding on the boat somewhere was less than comforting.

  She met Pete for breakfast—not at the buffet—and then they went up on deck to see the forests that stretched out for miles and miles on either side of the bay. A ranger from the Glacier Bay National Park had gotten on board at some point and began speaking over the intercom about the unique features of the area. He pointed out the animals that he spotted on shore or in the water—a brown bear that Sadie and Pete took turns looking at through Pete’s binoculars, lots of puffins with their colorful beaks, and even a pod of humpback whales that surfaced enough to spray water before going underwater again.

  As they continued forward, Sadie saw more and more chunks of ice in the water. The ranger explained that the glacier at the far end of the bay was always “birthing” icebergs and ice shards, but assured the passengers that modern technology gave them the ability to see the larger pieces far enough away that the ship could avoid them. And none of the icebergs were anything like what the Titanic encountered. That was good to know.

  It was all very interesting and beautiful, but Sadie couldn’t help but picture Breanna sitting in a hotel in Skagway instead of being a part of this portion of the trip. Sadie didn’t share her thoughts out loud, though. She didn’t want to bring Pete down with her, especially after all the sweet things he’d said to her last night.

  They had lunch in the Good Times Café and then went up to deck thirteen in time to see the glacier that gave the park its name. They got within a quarter mile of the huge mass of ice and snow and rock. Parts of it were blue, which the ranger explained was due to such intense compression that all the other colors reflected back, leaving the blue behind. What sounded like a crack of thunder was followed by an avalanche of ice—more bergs and shards birthed into the ocean. After half an hour of seeming to stand still, the ship proceeded to turn and head back out of the bay.

  More animal sightings kept passengers on deck far longer than some of them should have been; too many people obviously hadn’t prepared for the cold temperatures. Sadie and Pete, however, were outfitted with gloves and boots and warm jackets. Sadie had even brought a knit hat, though she knew once she put it on she’d have to commit not to take it off until she could fix her hair immediately upon its removal.

  “So,” Pete said when they’d gotten their fill of the sights of nature and wildlife. “What now? How are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling fine,” Sadie said, trying to ignore the dull throbbing in her head. She’d managed to forget about Tanice being on the ship somewhere, and the sheer forgetting of it made her a little more nervous when she recalled the information. “I think I’d like to take a nap, though. Would that be okay? It feels strange to want to do something so...relaxing, but it does sound nice.”

  “Of course it’s okay,” Pete said with a chuckle, giving her a quick sideways glance. “I’ll walk you to your room. Maybe I’ll go to the casino.”

  Mention of the casino made Sadie realize she hadn’t seen Mary Anne or Jen today. As opposed to the first day, Sadie no longer had an interest in doing any of the onboard activities but hoped the two women were having a good time, wherever they were.

  At the door to Sadie’s room, Pete gave her a kiss and Sadie promised to meet him in time for dinner. She felt a little bad about not spending every minute she could with Pete, and yet she appreciated the comfort of it as well. The fact that they didn’t need to spend every minute in each other’s company felt like a positive step in their relationship.

  Sadie shut her door, removed her outerwear, and noticed the message light blinking on the cabin phone. It couldn’t be a message from Pete; she’d been with him all day. She crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed to pick up the handset and push the button. It was Officer Jareg asking her to come to the security office when she was able.

  Sadie scrambled to find her shoes in a flash. What had Officer Jareg learned? Would her children be meeting her in Ketchikan tomorrow?

  She didn’t want to wear the Ugg boots she’d worn on deck—they made her feet sweat—so she went to the closet, pulling open the door and then screaming when someone stared back at her.

  “Don’t freak out!” Tanice said.

  Sadie backpedaled into the bathroom door with a hand on her chest.

  Tanice stood up from where she’d been crouched in the closet and put out her hands, palms out. She was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and jeans and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Please, please, please don’t freak out. I just need to talk to you.”

  “What are you doing in my room? How did you get in here? How did you know this was my room?”

  “I got in the same way your friend probably got that bottle of wine from my room—the steward propped the door open while he was working on the room. When he went to the cart for linens, I slipped in here,” Tanice explained. “And you gave me your cabin number on that note, remember?”

  Sadie glanced at the cabin door, weighing her options, but the open closet door was in the way of her retreat, and she didn’t dare look away from Tanice for long.

  Tanice continued. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday, okay? Really sorry. I just kind of lost it, but now I’ve had some time to think things through, and I think you might be the only person who can help me figure out what to do next.”

  Sadie considered this and, specifically, the help Tanice could be in fully clearing Shawn and Maggie if she told her side of things to security. “Go sit on that bed,” she said, pointing to Breanna’s bed.

  Tanice nodded; Sadie pulled close to the bathroom door to make room for Tanice to pass by her in the tiny hallway. Tanice sat on the edge of Breanna’s bed with her hands in her lap, as humble as a Sunday School student.

  Sadie shut the closet doors, took a breath, and then stood close to the cabin door, determined to keep a steady eye on Tanice this time. She had already found this woman to be tricksy, and she had the headache to prove it.

  “Did your friend really go into a coma from drinkin’ that wine?”

  Sadie nodded and Tanice’s face paled. “Really? A coma? ’Cause it wasn’t supposed to be that strong. I hated my husband, but I didn’t want to kill him.” She raised both hands to her face. “I can’t believe this is happening. It should just have made someone sick.” She looked at Sadie again. “Was she really old? Or really young?” Her face went even paler. “Oh, please tell me she wasn’t a child. Oh my gosh, I’m going to throw up.” She put a hand over her mouth and rocked back and forth slightly.

  Sadie simply continued to watch her.

  Finally Tanice stopped moving and dropped her hand from her mouth. “Was it a child? Did I put a child into a coma? ’Cause I double-checked the amount I put in that bottle, and it should only have killed someone who had health problems or someone who weighed less than seventy pounds.”

  Sadie went back and forth on what to say, or whether to say anything at all, but the torture on Tanice’s face was impossible to ignore. “She had a bad liver,” Sadie finally said, crossing her arms over her chest. She liked that she was standing and Tanice was sitting.

  Tanice let out a heavy breath and put her hand to her chest as tears came to her eyes. “Oh, thank heavens,” she said, her voice shaking. She then looked at Sadie, abashed. “I don’t mean that like it sounded. I’m not glad this happened—I’m horrified by the whole thing—but my friend Joan said that if it can be proven that I didn’t intend death, I might get a better deal from the DA.” She closed her eyes and dropped her chin while putting her hands on her head and bracing her elbows on her knees. “I can’t believe this is happening. Mama told me I shouldn’t do it, but I was so determined to make Ben pay for what he’d done that I did it anyway. And now someone’s in a coma.”

  “What kind of cyanide did you put into the wine?�
� Sadie asked, determined to build this case any way she could.

  “Cassava root. My brother works with a company that has a hub in Peru. He got me some of the raw root. It’s typically processed into—”

  “Tapioca,” Sadie cut in. “The processing destroys the cyanide.” Tanice’s brother brought her the cassava root, and her mother warned her against doing this but didn’t make her stop? What kind of family was this?

  Tanice looked surprised but nodded. “I put such a small amount in the wine that one glass of wine for two nights would be enough to make a grown man like Ben miserable for a few days, but not affect him so much that he’d even think to go to the doctor. He said doctors were for pansies anyway.” She lifted her hands to her head again. “What will happen to my kids?”

  “How many children do you have?” Sadie asked. And you wanted to make their father deathly ill?

  “Two boys,” Tanice said, her chin quivering. “I called them from port yesterday to tell them what had happened to Ben, and they fell apart. I told them I’d be home as soon as I could. I had a charter ready that was takin’ me home last night. I’d be there by now if I’d made that flight, but then I couldn’t get off the ship. My friend Joan let me stay in her room, but she’s terrified they’re going to find me and she’ll be in trouble too. I don’t have anywhere to hide. What am I going to do?”

  “There’s only one thing you can do, Tanice,” Sadie said, keeping her arms crossed and watching the other woman closely. It was this part of their conversation yesterday that had spurred Tanice to run, but Sadie was ready this time. She could roundhouse this woman in point-two seconds if it came to that. “You have to go to security and tell them what you’ve done. Right now, they think you killed your husband and poisoned Lorraina. Running off like you did didn’t help your case at all.”

  Chapter 35

  “They’ll never believe me. People don’t believe in lightning bolts from the Old Testament anymore, and if I admit to putting the cassava in the wine, they’ll suspect I killed Ben—just like you do. And what if your friend doesn’t get better?”

  “There’s no other way out of this,” Sadie said, shaking her head and allowing a sympathetic expression. “I’m sure they’re doing a full autopsy on Ben now, so they’ll find the cause of death. If they can’t tie it to you—if it was something other than the cassava—you can’t be charged with his death. But honesty is your only hope.”

  “What if I end up in prison?”

  Sadie thought Tanice would, and should, face charges. Her choices couldn’t be undone. She also wasn’t convinced that Tanice hadn’t killed her husband, despite the assurances she’d tried to offer. “If you go in voluntarily and explain what you did, why you did it, and why you ran, I can promise things will be better for you than if they find you. And they will find you. They’ve put up posters throughout the staff quarters on the ship. You can’t hide here.”

  “You’re probably right,” Tanice said, her shoulders slumping. “Joan let me stay in her room last night, but it was a fright trying to hide from her husband in that tiny space. I can’t do that again.”

  “I have a meeting with Officer Jareg right now,” Sadie said. “Why don’t you come with me?”

  Tanice looked up at her, absolutely terrified. “Right now?”

  “Why wait? This won’t be easy, you know that, but the sooner you do the right thing and get a lawyer, the sooner you’ll see your boys again.”

  Tanice started crying, and Sadie’s instinct to comfort her was hard to ignore, but she did ignore it. This was a woman who’d tried to poison her husband and had given Sadie a concussion. Sadie needed all the distance she could get.

  “Come with me,” Sadie said after several seconds had passed. “I’ll explain to Officer Jareg what’s happened.”

  Tanice was terrified of being discovered before she turned herself in and she wanted to make sure she got the full benefit of taking the initiative, so she wore Sadie’s knit cap and sunglasses as they made their way up to deck eleven. Sadie feared Tanice would run at any moment, but they reached the security office without incident. Sadie opened the door and waved Tanice in first.

  Entering a moment later, Sadie could see right away that Hazel recognized her companion despite the glasses and hat. She was already on her feet, while Tanice looked around nervously.

  “Hazel,” Sadie said, drawing the young woman’s attention to her. “Will you please get Officer Jareg?”

  Hazel nodded and hurried around her desk and down the hall, either forgetting she had a phone or not wanting to be overheard by using it. Seconds later, quick heavy footsteps caused Tanice to tense up. Sadie put a hand on her arm and whispered that it was going to be okay.

  As soon as Officer Jareg appeared, Sadie explained that Tanice wanted to turn herself in.

  “Of course,” Officer Jareg said, doing an excellent job of hiding his surprise. He put a hand out toward Tanice. “Come with me, please.”

  Tanice nodded and headed down the hallway. Officer Jareg stayed close behind her but looked over his shoulder at Sadie, who was following a few steps behind. “You wait in my office, alright?”

  Officer Jareg led Tanice into the room at the end of the hall marked “Staff Only,” and Sadie was able to share a quick look of encouragement with Tanice just before the door closed.

  Once she was gone, Sadie leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and let out a deep breath.

  “Are you alright?”

  Sadie looked up at Hazel. “I’m fine, just...a little overwhelmed. I’ll be in Officer Jareg’s office.”

  She expected to be kept waiting a long time while Officer Jareg questioned Tanice, but he returned in just a few minutes.

  “Are you alright?” he asked when he sat down. Though Sadie had some complaints about the security team on the ship, she couldn’t fault their kindness. She appreciated the sincerity of his sympathy.

  “I’m fine,” Sadie said. “And I’m relieved she decided to turn herself in. It helps my children, right?”

  “I believe it will,” he said.

  “I can come back after you’ve questioned her—”

  He shook his head. “No, she is comfortable and secure. I will talk with her later. I have important things to discuss with you first.”

  “Okay,” Sadie said, but she still felt that Tanice ought to take priority.

  A smile stretched across Officer Jareg’s face. “I am pleased to tell you that your son has been cleared by the police and will join the ship in Ketchikan tomorrow. I believe he—along with your daughter and Ms. Lewish—will fly to Ketchikan first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Really?” Sadie said, putting a hand to her chest and leaning forward. “They’re cleared?”

  Officer Jareg nodded. “There may be more questions, of course, depending on what happens with Ms. Juxteson, but they no longer need to stay in Skagway or be under the watch of the local or federal police. They have been very cooperative.”

  “Of course they were,” Sadie said. As though her son would be anything but cooperative.

  “The cruise line would like to cover the cost of their flight to Ketchikan.”

  “That’s very generous. Thank you.”

  “And Captain Bormere has extended you a five-minute call from our satellite phone if you would like to talk with them.”

  Sadie’s heart jumped. “Oh, that is wonderful!”

  “However,” he said, bringing his hands forward and putting a form on the table between them. Sadie braced herself. “We would like for you to sign this nondisclosure form which simply says that you will not discuss any of what has happened with other passengers or with the media or any other person. We work hard to ensure the safety of our guests, and in this industry, reputation is everything. Therefore, we would like your agreement not to use this information in any way that could be damaging to us.”

  Sadie looked at the form he pushed across the table and scanned the first paragraph enough to know that the language
was quite technical and filled with words and terms she didn’t understand. It was the type of document a lawyer should review before she signed it. And yet, the carrot he was dangling in front of her was a great big, juicy one. She looked up and met his eyes. “I get a ten-minute phone call with my children and my entire group gets a free shuttle to the airport when we disembark in Seattle on Sunday.” The price they charged for shuttle service was exorbitant.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “And I get half a dozen chocolate-covered strawberries delivered to my room at turndown service tonight.”

  He held her eyes, but his expression was amused. “You are a tough woman.”

  Sadie shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”

  “I’ll deliver the strawberries myself.”

  Sadie was giddy as she signed the form and pushed it back to him. He took it, scanned her signature, and nodded. “I will get the satellite phone prepared.”

  Chapter 36

  Sadie tried to call Shawn’s cell phone first, but it went straight to voice mail. Had she remembered to pack his charger when she packed his things for the stay in Skagway? She called Breanna next and held her breath until she answered.

  Sadie explained that she had ten minutes.

  “I’ll get Shawn,” Breanna said.

  A moment later, Shawn was on the line. “Mom?”

  “Hey, buddy,” Sadie said, feeling all warm and fuzzy to hear her name on his lips. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

  “Me either,” he said, and Sadie’s warm fuzzies went through the roof.

  “Did you guys learn anything about Lorraina?”

  “I got in touch with Lorraina’s older sister last night. Her name is Dot. I met her when I went out in December.”

  She was Shawn’s aunt. Sadie was trying to find words for a response when Shawn continued. “Dot’s the one who encouraged Lorraina to put me up for adoption so that both of us could have a better life. Only one of us did, though—she gave me details today that Lorraina never did.”