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

by Christina Freeburn

I stink-eyed him.

  “Not for nefarious reasons. You’re getting cold. You’ve experienced a traumatic event tonight. You should be resting.” Ted opened up the drawers in the dresser and pulled out my Mickey Mouse pajama set. He handed over the shirt and short set. “Get changed and I’ll tuck you in. I promise to turn around and cover my eyes.”

  I wished I brought something a little more adult like as Disney graphics weren’t the way to remind Ted I was a woman. Unfortunately, my other nightwear had the Little Mermaid.

  “Were you in Ronnie’s room any of the other times those children mentioned hearing a ghost?”

  “It wasn’t us.”

  “There’s one other possible suspect. My father. I need you to keep him away from this floor tomorrow.”

  “How? Besides creating a cage match between him and Odessa. If I tell him to stay away from Ronnie’s room, he’ll be there before I finish the sentence.”

  “With misinformation.”

  “You want me to lie to your father? Send him off on a quest he’ll never finish?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’ll catch on.”

  “Then there’s another option. I just don’t know how I’ll pull it off.”

  I was intrigued. “What?”

  “Have Claire ask him to spend time with her. He won’t say no to her.”

  I didn’t see that happening. Claire was determined to stay close to her father so I’d stay away. Unless I made other plans. What possible activity could I do that let Claire know her family was safe from my clutches? I picked up the activity guide left on the bed and scanned it. There had to be something of interest.

  I tapped the paper. “There’s a gumbo-making class that’s adults only and at the same time, there’s a class for adult and kids about treasure seeking. It’s to help learn techniques for a big treasure hunt on the island Friday. The buried prizes include Serenade merchandise, game systems, iPhones, two hundred cash, free drink coupons, and also one for twenty percent off a cruise. I’ll go to the cooking class. John will follow to see what I’m up to.”

  “This cruise line must be raking in some cash with all these high-priced gifts,” Ted said.

  “Maybe they don’t offer these for every cruise. They might be special for the Mardi Gras cruise.”

  “True. But…” Ted trailed off, worry crossing his face. He nudged me off the bed and peeled back the cover. “Let’s get you into bed. Big day tomorrow.”

  I crossed my arms and gave him a haughty look. “Really, Detective Roget, is that anyway to sweep a lady off her feet?”

  “I’m not trying to get you into bed for my sake.” He paused and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Okay, I’m trying for my sake, in a way. It’s the only way to keep you away from trouble for a few hours so I can sleep.”

  “Really? What are you going to do? Tie me to the bed?”

  Ted’s gaze brightened with a wicked gleam.

  Blushing, I scrambled into the bed. It was better to pretend I didn’t utter those words. Something was troubling Ted and he wasn’t sharing with me.

  Ted tucked me. “I’ll see you later. Get some rest.”

  I sat up, shoving the blankets to my waist. “How can I? Someone just died. I was with William when it happened. It could’ve been me.”

  “I know that.” His voice was rough. He sat on the edge of the bed and gathered me into his arms. “It’ll keep me up all night.”

  “I don’t think it was an accident.”

  “Neither do I. That’s why it’ll help me do my job knowing you’re tucked in bed safe and sound.”

  “Your job?”

  Ted stood. “The captain asked me to help him search William’s room. Three deaths during a cruise are three too many. He’s scheduled to have some FBI agents meet the ship at the island on Friday.”

  “Are you going to be guarding the room?”

  “I’m helping him document what’s in the room and collecting anything that might prove William’s death wasn’t an accident. Now get some sleep. Don’t worry about the ghosts or other creepy things wandering the halls. The captain will have security guards and the room hosts patrolling the areas tonight. Bob and I are taking an early morning shift.”

  “My hero.” I slid underneath the covers.

  “I’m trying to be.”

  TWENTY-FIVE

  I was blow-drying my hair when a thump filtered past the whirl of the dryer. I shut it off. I heard it again. It was a loud rap on the door. “Rise and shine. I have coffee and pastries.”

  I bolted out of the bathroom and let Ted in the room. The scent of caffeine weaved around me. “What did you find out last night?’

  “Here I thought you were excited to see me.”

  “I am.” I took one of the cups of coffee. “And this.”

  “Admit it. You only want me for my coffee.”

  I walked onto the veranda, hoping Ted followed with the pastries. I had dreamed of having breakfast out here with him while the sun rose. The sun had been out for an hour, but it was better than nothing. The seas were a little rougher than the previous day. I carefully placed my coffee down before sitting in one of the deck chairs.

  “I’m taking your non-answer as me being right.” He lowered into the deck chair beside me.

  “Any and everything means you’re right.” I sipped my coffee, the perfect amount of sweetener and creamer. The man knew how I loved my coffee.

  Reggae music floated down to us. It was a heck of a party upstairs. The sun bounced off the water. I averted my gaze as it was a little blinding.

  “This is the nicest my morning has been so far.” Ted’s voice drew me back to the present. “I hate it’s about to end.”

  “It doesn’t have to. We can just stay here all day.” Even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t possible for me or Ted. We both needed answers. The sooner the better for all of us.

  “No, we can’t. It’s not in us.” Ted let out a huge sigh. “Word about William’s death is spreading. People are freaking out. Naturally, they’re worried about the deaths. There’s a rumor circulating that William actually killed Ronnie, that it wasn’t suicide, and the guilt got to him. That he killed himself.”

  “We can throw out that theory. There’s no way he could’ve retracted the floor while he was on it.”

  Ted shrugged, eyes still focused on the horizon.

  “He wasn’t the only one on the dance floor. There were so many innocent people. He’d be killing all—” I shut up. Me. Garrison. And Bob. With him. Maybe that’s why he invited me onto the floor and maneuvered us to the center of the dance floor. We’d have less of a chance of getting out.

  “People have done stranger things.”

  “How would he have access to the panel?”

  “He traveled on this ship frequently and was friendly with a lot of the crew members. He might have watched someone. Plus, we found some tools in his room, but they don’t look strong enough to handle what needed to be done on the panel.”

  “I bet they’re Ronnie’s jewelry-making tools. She loaned me a set to fix my tiara.”

  “Do you still have them?”

  “They’re in my safe.” I picked up my coffee and went back inside. I opened it and handed the items over to Ted.

  He examined them. “These seem about the same size. I’m going to have to take them.”

  “Fine with me. Did you happen to find a diamond bracelet in there?”

  “We found a lot of jewelry.”

  I filled him in on what Ruth told me.

  Ted rubbed his forehead. My heart went out to him. This vacation wasn’t very relaxing for him either. “Let’s stop by the captain’s office and see if you can identity your bracelet.”

  Laid out on a desk in Captain Henderson’s office were diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and other stones. William had been a busy thief. My fingers itched to touch the bling, but I kept my hands behind my back. No way did I want my fingerprints on them. Off to one side were a couple of costume pieces,
one a match to the necklace I saw Ruth buy.

  “Do you see the bracelet you won?” Ted asked.

  “No.” If William didn’t have the bracelet, who did? Was that person responsible for his murder?

  “You can pick any of them up to get a closer look,” the captain said.

  “I don’t think getting my prints on them is a good idea.”

  The captain handed me a set of plastic gloves. “The detective and I used a pair of these.”

  Did John know his case was about to get busted wide open by his son? I slipped on the pair of gloves and moved the pieces of jewelry around. “It’s not here. I won it at the seminar Sunday morning.”

  “Did you attend the seminar on Monday?”

  “Lucinda didn’t show up that day. She was sick,” I said. “From what I heard, she also bailed out on the shopping trip on St. Thomas because she was still unwell.”

  The captain frowned, stroking his chin. “Then where did she go? If Lucinda had not scanned off the ship, I would’ve been told. No one told me she did not fulfill her obligations. I do not like surprises like this on my ship.”

  “Crew members also have to be scanned on and off the ship at the ports?” Ted asked.

  “Yes, even if they are going off the ship for work related purposes. If Lucinda went off the ship and didn’t come back on, I’d have been alerted.”

  A memory slipped into my head. “Maybe she didn’t leave the ship.”

  Ted and the captain gave me an odd look.

  “William had accidentally handed the security guard Lucinda’s keycard instead of his own. William had been taking care of her while she was sick.”

  Captain Henderson jotted down my words. “I’ll take a look at the time stamps and also speak with the guard.”

  There were a whole lot of other surprises on the Serenade he should be concerned about. Like two employees, current and prior, and a guest dying under mysterious circumstances during the cruise.

  “I’ll ask to speak to this Ruth and also Lucinda. Detective, do you mind being present while I talk with them? Make sure I’m asking the correct questions. Since Lucinda and William have spent much time together, she might have typed the message.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “What message?” I asked.

  “We found Ronnie’s phone in William’s room,” Ted said. “The night she died, he posted on an internet message board.”

  “Or Lucinda did,” I said.

  “We shall find out from her.” The captain stood.

  “Make sure you take plenty of vitamins and wear a mask. From what William said, Lucinda has a pretty awful stomach bug.”

  “Then she’ll be moved to the infirmary. Keep an eye on her and ensure she doesn’t infect the passengers.” The captain flipped through a large planner-style book. “How about in one hour? Maybe your brother can attend also. We should search Lucinda’s cabin. Again. The bracelet must be in there. Lucinda’s behavior is most suspicious.”

  “It could be in Ronnie’s room. Zombies,” I said.

  The captain sent a concerned look in Ted’s direction. Fortunately for me, Ted knew where I was going with the comment.

  “A family on that floor mentioned hearing noises coming from the room the night Ronnie died,” Ted said. “The little boys thought it was zombies.”

  “More than likely they heard your father,” the captain said. “I had asked him to search Ronnie’s room. He had found nothing.”

  “What if William or Lucinda put it in Ronnie’s room since it had already been searched?” I said.

  “Faith has a good point,” Ted said.

  “Then I’d like you and your brother to look in Ronnie and Lucinda’s rooms.”

  “We can do that.” Ted hooked an arm around my waist and ushered me out of the office. “Please keep Garrison away from Ronnie’s room today. I don’t want to upset him or have him put himself on the captain’s radar. Somehow my dad will be blamed if Garrison becomes a suspect.”

  “A suspect? How in the world can your dad tie Garrison into this jewelry theft ring?”

  “He can’t for the jewel heist stuff, but it’s possible for William’s death. It wasn’t an accident. Someone tampered with the retracting floor over the pool. FBI agents will be boarding at the next port, and I’m sure they’re doing background checks on the victims and the passengers right now. Garrison will come up on their radar. He’s never liked William.”

  “Come on, that can’t be common knowledge.”

  “If Garrison’s coworkers are asked about his relationship with Ronnie and William, it’ll be said that he adored Ronnie and hated William. He believed William used Ronnie’s mental illness to his benefit.”

  Ronnie had mentioned being on a prescription. “How could William use her illness against her?”

  “I’m not sure as Garrison kept her actual diagnosis quiet, but not his feelings about William. He’d rant about specific incidents, but not how he was using her.”

  “What do you think? You didn’t seem to like Ronnie much.”

  Ted scrubbed his hand over his face. “No. I thought she was playing Garrison and using her illness as a way to explain her flightiness. She was always asking to borrow money. Now come to find out she had a pretty hefty stash hidden away under a different name.”

  “She what?”

  “Opened an account using a slight variation of her nickname.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “I have my sources.”

  “Who?”

  He zippered his lips.

  I narrowed my eyes. Gee, the excuse sounded very familiar. “Ronnie’s tied into the diamond scam.”

  “It appears that way.”

  “Garrison isn’t going to like hearing that. It still doesn’t mean the FBI is going to put him on a suspect list.”

  “I’ve participated in this type of rodeo a time or two,” Ted said. “If I didn’t know Garrison, I’d put him on my list. He had motive. He had means. He had opportunity.”

  “No, he didn’t. He was dancing with Bob. On that dance floor.”

  “Right near the edge of the pool where they could easily get to safety. They made sure to get you out, but he didn’t make a move to see about William.”

  I had to agree with Ted’s assessment. It was suspicious. If I was nosing around in the matter and didn’t adore the man, I’d slap Garrison’s name on my list too. “I’ll get Garrison to take the gumbo-cooking class with me.”

  “Let’s go fill in the family in on the plan. They’re waiting for us in the atrium. This morning my mom decided we should all attend the seminar on treasure hunting so we can participate as a family in the hunt tomorrow. I’ll have her take notes for us.”

  “Sounds like fun.” Not. I forced out a chipper smile.

  The seminar didn’t bother me, but having a day of being labeled as part of the group yet not being part of it sounded like torture. Of course, if things went as they had before, there would be some reason to exclude me from the treasure hunt and I could enjoy the island on my own.

  Tomorrow was my last day of vacation, and I planned on having some beach time. So far, all my attempts had been thwarted. Not that I tried all too hard.

  “There you two are,” Odessa greeted us. “We’ve been standing here waiting.”

  “All the good seats will be gone.” Claire pouted, directing a glare at me.

  “Faith was ready to go, but I had to make a side trip.” Ted placed an arm around me, which caused Claire’s anger to grow. Ted wasn’t very good at figuring out how not to make his daughter mad at me. “And I hate to say it, but I won’t be able to attend the seminar.”

  “Why not?” Odessa straightened her spine and tipped her chin up, doing her best to look down on Ted, who was taller than her.

  “Because,” Ted said. “Bob has to come with me too.”

  “Why?” Odessa’s eyes blazed.

  “Because.” Bob grinned, enjoying the fury pouring from his mom. “Take notes
for me, Jelly Bean.” Bob ruffled Claire’s hair.

  “‘Because’ is not a reason,” Odessa called out after them.

  In the corner, I spotted John in a lounge chair near the bar, his face half-buried in a leather menu. I elbowed Garrison, doing the shifty eyes toward John. “Garrison and I have to leave as well.”

  “Why?” Odessa stretched the word out.

  I so wanted to say because. I smiled innocently. “I wasn’t aware of this morning’s plan and already paid to attend the gumbo-cooking class.”

  “I signed up also,” Garrison said. “Ted thinks I should keep an eye on Faith.”

  “Sounds reasonable,” Odessa said.

  Gee, glad to know she thought so highly of me. I hooked my arm through Garrison’s and hightailed it out of there.

  I drew him toward the art gallery, which was a hallway between the atrium and the theater. Paintings were hung on the wall and a bored-looking crew member sat at a desk, waiting for someone to pay the, in my opinion, exorbitant prices for the artwork and the cost to mail them home. The area was empty except for the one crew member and an elderly couple shuffling down a row of Thomas Kinkade paintings.

  I stopped in a corner. A cubicle wall hid us from view.

  “So what are we going to really do?” Garrison asked.

  “We’re going to figure out who could’ve taken my bracelet.” I explained about the captain benefitting from Ted and Bob’s investigative skills. “We know it’s not in Ronnie’s room.”

  “Someone could’ve put it in there now. There have been noises heard in there,” Garrison said.

  “I think someone’s been searching for my bracelet. It’s either worth more than we believe, or something on the bracelet will prove who the killer is.”

  “How?”

  “I dropped my purse after Ronnie died. The killer returned to take any evidence out of the room. Remember, Ronnie’s scarves and her jewelry tools were taken. They had been in her room when I talked with Ronnie before I went to the portrait session.”

  “You just said those items were found in William’s room.”

  “It doesn’t mean he took them. He didn’t know I’d lost the bracelet. He asked me about it the next day.”