Masked to Death (A Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery Book 5)

by Christina Freeburn

  Before I was escorted back to my stateroom last night, Ted had slipped an invitation under my door for breakfast with a hand-drawn map to a secluded spot, and John Roget left an activity guide with a shopping seminar highlighted. Either John thought I had no idea how to shop, the presenter Lucinda was on his list of suspects, or he wanted to up his chances of winning a two-carat diamond tennis bracelet.

  I took extra care in choosing my attire. I wanted something casual yet sexy for the romantic breakfast. After twenty minutes of discarding combinations, I pulled together the perfect outfit that said everything I didn’t want to have to actually say. The black leggings were sheer enough I wouldn’t roast and gave me the perfect coverage to go along with the flowing red and black top I picked. The bead work around the tasteful V-neck showed off a smidgen of cleavage.

  I grabbed the handle of a small tote with a blue anchor embroidered containing my cell, travel journal, and e-reader. Depending on the buffet line, it might take Ted some time to get our breakfast. I liked keeping myself entertained while I waited.

  When I reached the foyer, the universe was with me and the elevator opened. I let the man juggling three cups of coffee out first, then stepped inside and pressed the up button. Anticipation danced through me. I hurried out of the elevator, my earlier anger ebbing away. If I read the map correctly, our breakfast hideaway spot was around the corner.

  The beauty of the sun gleaming off the ocean drew me toward the front railings, distracting me from my mission. The view was so different than anything I’d ever seen before. Instead of tall mountains surrounding me, it was blue waters with an occasional white cap breaking the surface. The glistening water was so smooth it looked like a mirror. The world looked so inviting and peaceful.

  I leaned against the railing, wanting to soak in every moment of the serenity God had set before me. No matter what else the day held for me, I wanted to remember this moment and let it fill me with hope. I took out my cell, wishing I’d thought to grab my camera, and snapped a picture. This was definitely a scrapbook-worthy moment. I pivoted to get some shots from different angles. Ideas for a layout churned through my mind. Using an app on my phone, I jotted down notes for a page.

  “Why aren’t you with my son?”

  My attention jerked away from my phone. Odessa glowered at me before slipping on a pair of sunglasses.

  I fixed a smile on my face, telling myself to ignore the attitude. For all I knew, that was always Odessa’s morning personality. Some people need a few hours, and cups of coffee, before they were pleasant. “The view is so gorgeous. I stopped for a few minutes and was caught up in it. I’m hoping I’ll find Ted soon.”

  “Is that so?” For some reason, Odessa was a little brusque. Was it because Ted bailed on breakfast plans with the family for me, or some other reason? Whatever was the reason for her attitude, she could keep it to herself.

  “Yes,” I said. “What are the plans for today?”

  “How would I know what you have planned?” Odessa looked around, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

  “I thought the wedding might be rescheduled for some time today.”

  “When it is I’ll be sure to let you know.”

  An uncomfortable feeling wiggled through me, almost like when going up and down dips on a mountain road. Odessa was engaging in conversation to be polite, but wasn’t going to actually respond in a polite way. She didn’t want to talk me.

  “I need to find Ted,” I said, using the only good excuse to get out of the uncomfortable conversation.

  “Yes, you should.” Odessa walked away.

  I stared after her. Had she seen me with John? That would explain her coldness to me, or she wanted Ted back with Elizabeth—just like her granddaughter.

  “You’re just as lovely this morning as yesterday evening.” William propped himself on the rail beside me, gazing out at the horizon before shifting his attention to me. “As beautiful and refreshing as the sun shining off the smooth ocean.”

  I stopped myself from rolling my eyes, giving an unneeded critique of his flirting. I didn’t want him to leave. Now was the perfect time to get some information from him. Odessa was just on the deck. Had she been meeting William? I reined my musings in. If she had arranged a clandestine meeting, she wouldn’t have let me know that she had been here. Focus on William and what he’s up to. Quickly, I plotted out a couple of questions in my head, trying to make sure they sounded like I was engaging in small talk rather than conducting an inquisition. “How’s your grandmother?”

  He grinned at me and gently knocked his shoulder into mine. “She’s not my grandmother, and I think you already know that. This is my favorite spot to start the day. I stand here to mediate. Reflect on the day behind me and the one stretching out before me.”

  “How many cruises have you been on? This is my first.”

  “My job requires travel, so I’ve taken many journeys on this ship.” William ran his hand lovingly over the railing. “We’ve become good friends.”

  “What do you do?” I asked. “Most people I know who travel for work go by plane or car.”

  “Consulting.” William’s gaze never left the ocean.

  “What kind of consulting?”

  “It’s a specialty, so it’s complicated. It’s too lovely a day to waste on boring shoptalk.”

  Interesting. Why the evasiveness? Why not say he was a home health aide? “Is the woman you’re traveling with a friend or a client?”

  “You are very inquisitive, Miss Hunter.” William smiled down at me.

  I switched up the questions, hoping to throw him off guard a bit. “So, you don’t come on the ship to visit your sister? Watch her performance?”

  For the first time, he actually looked at me. He let out a small laugh. “Ronnie told you about me? I’m surprised. She usually keeps it a secret.”

  “Why?” When I first met Ronnie, she had said she was on the cruise alone. After she retrieved the tiara, she told me he was her brother. I focused on the memory, trying to pinpoint a reason for her to admit it. Nothing. What had I forgot?

  “Ronnie has always danced to a song no one else can hear.” William inched closer to me, our arms touching. “Since Ronnie told you about our relationship, how about you tell me what the two of you were up to last night? Ronnie seems out of sorts this morning.”

  I swallowed hard. “Fixing my dress.”

  “Is that so?” William’s expression said “liar.”

  I straightened and crossed my arms, putting some inches between us.

  “There you are, Faith.” Ted called out. “I couldn’t reach you on your cell. I was starting to worry.”

  “I forgot to switch it from airplane mode when our flight landed.” I pulled out my phone and changed the settings. It pinged. Ted had texted me last night to explain about dinner, wanting to know if I wanted to join him for a moonlight walk after things settled down in his room. Oops.

  “Until later.” William saluted and strolled down the deck, his canvas shoes making a shuffling sound on the wooden deck.

  “You must’ve thought I was ignoring you.” I tucked the cell back into my purse.

  “It had entered my mind. Who’s your friend?” Ted aimed a narrowed eye glance at William’s retreating form.

  “Someone I met during the muster drill.” I kept my tone light and mysterious. I liked the hint of jealousy in Ted’s expression. For some reason, I omitted the fact about him being Ronnie’s brother. I wasn’t sure if my motivation was because Ted hadn’t seemed fond of Ronnie or if I didn’t want him asking me any more questions.

  Ted placed a hand on the small of my back, directing me toward a stairwell leading to the tenth deck. “Does the someone have a name?”

  Big fail on my part. He was still asking questions. “William. Ronnie’s brother.”

  “I’d stay away from the guy.”

  “Why?”

  Ted paused in front of a small alcove created by the stairwell. “Ever mee
t someone and just instantly dislike them? It’s nothing they said or did to make you feel that way, but something deep inside you says there’s something off about the person.” Without waiting for an answer, Ted ducked his head to get into the small enclosure.

  I followed. There was a table and two chairs set up in the private area. The table had a lace tablecloth covering it, and the metal chairs had small cushions on them. It looked like Ted had been hard at work this morning.

  There was orange and apple juice and a carafe of coffee on the table, along with a pile of eggs, bacon, toast, pastries, and fruit. Enough food to feed a small army—or a small family. My stomach plummeted. Had our private breakfast turned into a family affair?

  “How many people are on this date?” I asked Ted.

  “Two. You and me.”

  I kissed him on the cheek. “This is so romantic. Thank you so much.”

  Ted grinned. “That’s kind of the reaction I was hoping for.”

  “Kind of?” I wound my arms around his neck. “Were you hoping for something more like this?”

  I stood on my toes, and roamed my mouth lightly over his. His hands drifted to my waist, wandering down to rest on my hips. I pressed myself more firmly to him, feeling his heart race against me. Ted cupped the back of my head, increasing the pressure of the kiss. What I started as a light teasing kiss Ted turned into an intense one. I responded by exploring his chest and back with my hands.

  Ted moved us farther into the darkness. My back touched the cool metal of the ship and I shivered. Ted held me tighter, one hand lingering near the decorative beads of my shirt.

  We were in public. My grandmothers wouldn’t approve. Even as I sent my brain reminders of proper behavior, I arched up, heating up the kiss. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted more. Needed more from Ted. My head swam and my legs seemed almost unable to hold me up. Ted clasped me firmly to him, and everything in his touch told me he had me. I was safe. I was loved. I was his. My heart and head tripped over themselves, trying to assert control over the situation in which I so wanted temptation to win.

  Children’s laughter drifted toward us, bringing us back under control quicker than a bucket of ice water.

  “Breakfast. Food,” Ted said, his voice unsteady.

  I nodded, knowing I couldn’t trust my voice to say anything more than an agreement spoken in breathless regret.

  I plopped onto a chair, pressing my hands onto my still shaking legs. My grandmothers had insisted I make sure Ted and I had separate rooms so nothing improper went on. They had raised me from almost day one, and I hated to disappoint them. They held to traditional ideals about relationships and wanted their granddaughter to follow suit. I loved and respected them so much, I had followed their rules for how I should conduct myself—at least when it came to romantic relationships. Now, I wished I’d been able to stand up to my grandmothers a little more. I was almost thirty years old. A grown-up. A woman should make choices based on her emotions and desires rather than rules laid out when she was a child. Right now, on this cruise, with the man I knew I was in love with, I so wanted improper goings-on happening between us. I wanted our relationship to go to the next level. With or without a ring.

  I smiled seductively at Ted. “Breakfast tomorrow in my room?”

  “Can’t.” Ted dumped a spoon of scrambled eggs onto my plate. “I promised Claire tomorrow was daddy-daughter day.”

  That was understandable. “How about Tuesday before we dock at the first port? We can spend the evening dancing until dawn, go back to my room, and mark our choices on the breakfast menu door hanger and hang it along with a ‘do not disturb’ sign.” No one would be worrying about where I was, as the people who would do that—my grandmothers—were back in Eden.

  Ted stroked my hand. “I want to say the hell with breakfast and go back to your cabin. I do.”

  “Your nos aren’t giving me that impression.”

  My come-hither expression was morphing into one of annoyance. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hasty about adding a sexual component to our relationship.

  “All of your invitations are making some tempting images spring into my brain. I want to prove that the reality is so much better.”

  My cheeks felt warm. Very warm. “Do you? Really?”

  Ted caressed my cheeks. “Yes. But I don’t want to rush you.”

  “How can you be when I’m the one asking?” Almost begging.

  “Daddy!” Claire’s tearful voice reached us.

  Over his shoulder, I saw Claire running down the deck right toward our secluded spot. Elizabeth was trailing after their daughter and smiled apologetically.

  “Why did you leave me? Are you mad at me? Is it because I invited Grandpa?”

  “I’m so sorry, Faith.” Regret filled Ted’s eyes. Claire threw herself into her father’s arms.

  “I don’t hate you, Daddy. I don’t. Please don’t leave me again.” Claire broke out into full-fledged sobs.

  Ted winced. “Jelly bean, I’m not leaving you. I just came to have breakfast with Faith.”

  “I woke up and you were just gone. Like before.”

  Ted rocked his daughter back and forth, exchanging a pained look with his ex-wife. “I’m sorry about that. Daddy handled that all wrong.”

  “So did Mom.” Elizabeth squeezed Ted’s shoulder, then rubbed her daughter’s back.

  Ted hadn’t talked much about his marriage or divorce from Elizabeth, just giving me a few key details here and there since we met.

  After an investigation involving the brutal murder of a teenage girl, Ted had turned to alcohol to stop the images haunting him. Ted didn’t blame Elizabeth for throwing him out, nor did he blame her for going through with the promised divorce and ending his visitation. It wasn’t until a few months after the divorce, and not being permitted to see his daughter, that Ted fought his demons. Bob had encouraged Ted to move out of Morgantown for a fresh start. Elizabeth had agreed, even offering to drive Claire to him for weekend visitation. She wanted her ex-husband to have the opportunity to heal without dealing with gossiping coworkers.

  It never bothered me that Ted was friends with his ex-wife. I actually thought it was admirable. Of course, it was easier to feel that way when I wasn’t witnessing the camaraderie between them, and it was obvious to me that Claire wanted her parents back together.

  Quietly, I slipped out of the alcove. There was a section of the deck where the sun was shining so I made my way to a chair and sat down. The movie playing on the huge screen at the pool didn’t interest me, so I pulled out my e-reader and my phone. I settled myself into a deck chair and browsed through the books.

  I skipped over the romance books, not feeling it at the moment, and also bypassed the mysteries. I didn’t need anyone else planting whodunit thoughts into my head. I had John for that. There was a reason Ronnie had originally not mentioned her brother being on the cruise. Why did she change her mind? Or had it slipped out? What was it about William walking off with Ruth that concerned her so much she lowered her guard?

  My mind tumbled all the questions around and around. The words on the screen made no sense. I turned off the reader and exchanged it for my travel planner, hoping the act of writing would focus my brain on something else. Instead of journaling about the pleasant events of the trip, I scribbled down my theories and tried connecting them with wavy arrows.

  “What are you writing?” Ronnie lowered a large cream-colored beach tote onto the floor and flopped onto a seat beside me. She arranged the flowing fabric of her caftan around her, exposing her mint-green bikini. She slipped off dainty silver sandals and placed them underneath the chair.

  I slapped the book shut, slipping it into my tote. “About the trip. How are you this morning? William’s concerned about you.”

  “I’m fine. No reason for any concern.” Ronnie slathered sunscreen on her long legs and rubbed it in, catching the eye of men walking by. The silver bracelets with tiny crystals adorning her wrists clanked together.

&n
bsp; “He’s family. Of course he’d be worried. Someone you know died.”

  Ronnie collapsed back and draped her arm over her eyes. “My tiara went missing. That’s my biggest problem right now. Quinn made his own choices and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “Went missing?” That bothered her? Not a man dropping dead at her feet?

  “I swear I placed it on the vanity in the bathroom, but this morning it’s gone.” Ronnie tapped her lip. “If I can’t find it, I can always remake it. I have some jewelry-making supplies with me. If you let me borrow yours, I can copy it.”

  Whatever William was involved with, so was his sister. Quinn’s death had no effect on her, and she knew my tiara was the last one and had an excuse for why she needed it. She had watched Claire pitch hers over the rail in the midst of a tantrum.

  John was wrong about Odessa. There was no way she’d have matching, or almost matching, tiaras made if she knew it’d get her granddaughter caught up in a jewelry scam. John needed to focus on Ronnie and her brother.

  “It’s kind of intricate,” I said. No way was I letting her switch any stones.

  “If Quinn made it while half-drunk, I can do it sober.” Her voice grew deeper, a coldness creeping into her gaze for a brief moment before disappearing after a rapid series of blinks. She fidgeted, covering her legs with the caftan.

  “Why did you originally tell me you were cruising alone?”

  “What?” Her blue eyes widened.

  “When we first met, you said you were traveling alone, then later you said William was your brother. I’m confused about that.”

  Ronnie whipped a pair of sunglasses from her beach tote and perched them on her nose. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  “That question sure does annoy you. You weren’t too happy I asked it yesterday.”

  “And yet you’re still asking it.” Ronnie rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’m on a medication that leaves me confused at times and I forget things on occasion. And, I hadn’t known William was on the ship until I saw him at the muster drill.”