by Dawn Brookes
Rachel immediately regretted her choice of words. Jason’s brow furrowed.
“I’m pleased. I wouldn’t want to hide stuff from him. I’d hate it if Sarah hid anything from me.”
“A thing she’d never do – unless it was a surprise, of course. It’s a two-way street, though, Jason.”
He paused a moment. “I know, I’m working on it.”
“Working on what?” Sarah called from in front.
“Never you mind,” said Rachel. “I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”
Jason took Sarah’s hand as they arrived in the main square where they decided to find a place to eat. They passed a number of bars and cafés while walking and ended up eating in a tapas bar. Rachel opted for vegetarian tapas, while Mary and Gilbert chose seafood. Jason suggested Gilbert try the local beer, although he himself ordered apple juice. Jason and Sarah chose to eat calamari, also local, as Sarah was fond of squid. Rachel joined Jason in a glass of apple juice while the two Bradshaw women chose tea. Afterwards they treated themselves to chocolate churros, which Rachel exclaimed were the best thing she had ever eaten.
They arrived back on board the Coral Queen at 4pm and Rachel couldn’t help thinking excitedly as she walked up the gangway steps that tomorrow she would be joined by Carlos. For now, she and Jason had work to do to come up with a strategy that would protect the McCauley family while trapping Louise McCauley into giving herself away. Rachel was well aware how terribly wrong such plans could go if not managed properly.
Chapter 25
Waverley knocked at the door of a luxury suite that Rachel was already familiar with. This was the suite she had occupied in the past when travelling with Marjorie. Marjorie usually took the mirror image one on the port side.
A well-built man in his late seventies opened the door wide, inviting them in. Waverley glanced across the rear corridor to make sure they hadn’t been seen before ushering Rachel ahead. The familiar suite made Rachel feel at home immediately and she walked through to the living room where a petite woman stood, attempting poise but looking nervous. She assumed this must be Felicity McCauley.
“I am sorry to disturb you, Mr and Mrs McCauley, but as I explained on the telephone, it is important. May I introduce you to Rachel Prince? Rachel is a friend of Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe, whom I believe you know.”
The couple visibly relaxed at the mention of Marjorie.
“Please take a seat, Chief Waverley, and you, Miss Prince. Can we offer you a drink?” Felicity spoke first.
“No thank you.” Waverley took a seat and Rachel followed his lead. The couple joined them.
“Perhaps you had better tell us what this is all about, chief,” said Aaron McCauley. “Although, I think we can surmise it has something to do with the business we discussed with Marjorie last month.”
“l’ll let Rachel go first as she has the details.”
Rachel thought it best to get straight to the point. “I received a call from Marjorie the day after we left Southampton. She was concerned for your welfare since discovering some unpleasant facts about your daughter-in-law from the private investigator you hired to look into matters for you. It appears he was wary of trying to contact you while you were on board the ship for fear of alerting your daughter-in-law.”
“What unpleasant facts? Why are we only just hearing about this?”
“She believes your suspicions about Louise McCauley are well founded. The investigator has uncovered that she is indeed involved in an ongoing relationship with a man she has known for three years. The investigator also found evidence of research in Louise’s office; research into poisons and accidents leading to death at sea.” Rachel opted not to answer the second question, realising any excuse other than the truth would seem inappropriate.
Aaron took his wife’s hand supportively. Felicity McCauley had turned pale.
“Do go on.”
Rachel continued, “We don’t have any further details, but both Marjorie and the PI believe your lives may be in danger.”
“I see. So the woman plans to kill us before she kills our son, does she?”
Rachel swallowed hard. “That’s what we believe, sir, yes.”
“So why hasn’t she made her move? She’s actually been quite pleasant throughout the cruise. We were beginning to think we’d misjudged her, although there is always a nagging doubt as to why she decided to join us on the voyage at the eleventh hour.”
“The problem is,” Waverley took over, “we can’t prove anything with the limited evidence we have, but we obviously don’t want to wait until it’s too late, so Rachel and myself have come up with a plan. But we need you to go along with it.”
“You want to use us as bait?”
“Yes and no,” said Rachel. “Firstly, can I ask whether we should tell your son about the findings?”
“Absolutely not,” said Felicity sharply. “He would never believe you. He’s besotted with the woman and would be furious with us for hiring an investigator. This would alienate him and he’d tell her immediately.”
“I did suspect that might be the case, but we need to get him out of harm’s way because we don’t know if or when the poison might cause irreparable damage.”
“How do you propose to do that?” asked Aaron.
“Here’s what we’d like to do,” said Waverley. “As unpleasant as it might sound, with your permission, I would like you to secretly administer an old-fashioned emetic called ipecac – you may remember it – into your son’s drink at dinner this evening. He will be sick enough to call a doctor and our chief medical officer, who has been fully briefed, will have him admitted to the infirmary, explaining to his wife that he will need intravenous fluids to rehydrate him.”
“We used to keep ipecac in the house in case the children accidentally drank poison. I do remember it, but hasn’t it been found to be useless? Also I think I read that it can do harm. Your plan sounds a bit too drastic,” said Felicity, paling again.
“Far less drastic than being poisoned to death,” said Waverley.
“Is this emetic safe?”
“Dr Bentley assures me it will do no lasting damage, just an unpleasant couple of hours, but he, erm—” Waverley coughed.
“Yes?” said Aaron.
“He isn’t keen to use the drug.” Waverley looked dejected.
“Then we have to find another way. If the doctor is concerned, we refuse.”
Waverley sighed heavily. “I need to be frank with you. I believe that by getting your son to safety, we will also be putting your lives in danger as your daughter-in-law might take advantage of the opportunity to make a murder attempt.”
“It all sounds far-fetched to me, like something you see in a crass movie, but we would be happy with an alternative plan if it helps Harry. I’m prepared to take the risk. What about you, Felicity?”
“I hope you’re wrong, chief, but yes, I’m willing to take the chance.”
“I have another idea how we can make sure Harry is taken out of the situation, but I’ll need to discuss it with Dr Bentley first,” Rachel said.
“If the doctor agrees to your plan, Miss Prince, we consent.” Aaron spoke and his wife nodded agreement.
“Good. Have you planned to go ashore tomorrow?” asked Waverley.
“Yes, we are all booked on an outing.”
“If the doctor goes along with Rachel’s alternative plan, we will ensure that he tells Louise that Harry will need to remain in hospital for forty-eight hours. That will give her the opportunity to come up with a scheme, if we’re right. The doctor will take blood from your son and have it analysed, so if he is being poisoned, we will know what the substance is and how we can treat him. As your daughter-in-law has researched people going overboard, we believe she will attempt to send you both over from your balcony. The balcony is rear-facing and provides the perfect crime scene.”
Rachel nudged Waverley as she sensed Felicity McCauley was being given more information than she needed to hear.
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br /> “Apologies, Mrs McCauley. You have nothing to be concerned about. We will be watching your daughter-in-law closely. I would like permission for something else, though.”
Waverley explained what he would like to do and the McCauleys gave their consent.
“Well that’s settled, then. It’s a shame Harry will be in hospital on Christmas Eve, but if that’s what you think is required, we will go along with your plan,” Aaron stood and poured himself a shot from the mini bar, “on condition the doctor agrees to what Miss Prince has in mind and that it will not put our son in any danger.”
Rachel nodded. “It won’t, you have my word.”
“Marjorie trusts you, so your word is good enough for me, young lady.”
“I am so sorry to have to put you through this situation, Mr and Mrs McCauley,” said Waverley. “I will speak to the cruise line and I feel certain we can make up for the inconvenience to your holiday.”
Waverley got up to leave and Rachel followed.
“That won’t be necessary,” said Aaron firmly. “If you’re right, we will be indebted to you for saving our lives. If you’re wrong – especially you, Miss Prince – Marjorie will get a piece of my mind.”
Twinkling sky-blue eyes convinced Rachel that Marjorie had the best of friends in this couple.
Bernard was taking the on call for the nurses, so after dinner, Rachel met Sarah and Jason in the Jazz Bar, along with the Bradshaws who appeared to be settling in for a late night. Rachel was fidgety, wanting to know what had happened since her meeting with the McCauleys. Eventually, Mary yawned and Sarah looked up.
“You look tired, Mum. It’s been a long day, why don’t you go to bed?”
“Yes, all this sunshine in the winter is making me feel like I’m on holiday at last. I did enjoy today.”
“What are you doing tomorrow?” asked Jason.
“We’re just going to go for a walk into town and then along the beach. I’ve always wanted to paddle on Christmas Eve, now I can,” answered Mary. “Will you be joining us, Rachel?”
Sarah’s eyes widened in horror. “Mum!”
“Oh yes, of course. I forgot Carlos will be joining you. I expect you’ll want to go out somewhere together.”
Rachel nodded appreciatively. “We’ll have a lot to catch up on.”
“Well you have a wonderful day. We’ll see you at dinner tomorrow evening, then.”
“Jason and I will join you afterwards for the crew’s Christmas show, remember?”
Mary nodded and Gilbert helped her up. Rachel watched as they walked away hand in hand.
“You were so fidgety, Rachel, I’m surprised Mum didn’t catch on.”
“She would have thought it was excitement over Carlos coming anyway, so don’t worry. Don’t keep me in suspense any longer. What happened?”
“We let poor Harry McCauley enjoy his dinner before putting out an alert for him to contact the medical centre. He contacted reception and Graham met with him as planned. He told him that the batch of medication we had been treating him with had been recalled, and then insisted he be admitted to the infirmary for forty-eight hours’ observation. It was a brilliant plan, Rachel, I don’t know how you came up with it, but it worked and no harm done, apart from a bit of a disgruntled Harry McCauley. Although it was a half-hearted annoyance, he seemed almost relieved at being able to get some rest. You also saved Waverley and Graham from ending up at loggerheads.”
“Not quite me. I was pleased when the McCauleys refused to go along with the chief’s crackpot plan, so it’s all worked out. How did Louise take it?”
“Put on a convincing act of the caring wife, so much so she almost fooled me. No wonder Harry is so taken in, she is an amazing actor. If I didn’t know what Marjorie had told you, I’d think she was like any other doting wife. Graham encouraged her to stay after Mr and Mrs McCauley Snr returned to their room, just to be certain she wouldn’t try anything tonight.”
“The boss has pulled our undercover waitress from the Club Restaurant and put her on Louise’s tail. She won’t be able to go anywhere without being seen. He has also got someone watching the video footage coming from the parents’ room. We installed it while they were at dinner. The equipment’s now fully operational.”
“So now all we have to do is wait until she makes an attempt on the poor couple’s lives.”
“That’s about the sum of it,” said Jason, putting his arm around Sarah. She hated this kind of thing.
“Don’t worry, Sarah, she won’t try anything until tomorrow night.”
“You can’t be certain of that, Rachel.”
“Tonight, the McCauleys have gone to bed. Louise will need time to think about her original plan, whatever that was, versus this new opportunity. I think she’ll use the time tomorrow to concoct a new plan, and when she does, we’ll all be ready for her.” The phone rang. “It’s Carlos! See you tomorrow.”
“Good luck with telling him what you’ve got yourself into,” shouted Sarah.
Rachel put her tongue out at her friend and pressed the call answer button.
Chapter 26
Rachel leapt out of bed at 6am, pulling on a pair of leggings and matching vest before heading up to the gym on deck sixteen. Her hip was feeling much better, and although she didn’t want to risk running, she thought a workout would do her good. Jason would be meeting Carlos and checking him on board at around 8am, which gave her time to exercise, shower and get ready to meet him for breakfast.
Following the workout, she felt calmer, although the fluttering of anticipation in her stomach would not be quietened. She opened the door to her stateroom and jumped in the shower. Once dressed, she decided to drink coffee on the balcony and watch the activity on the portside. She might even see Carlos boarding.
As she walked back inside, there was a knock at the door. Opening it, she expected to see Waverley, but she was swept up into the arms of the man she loved. He lifted her off the ground and walked inside.
“Carlos! I wasn’t expecting you for another hour.”
“I came early. Jason was good enough to get me registered earlier than planned. I dumped my bags, and he told me where to find you. I’ve missed you so much.”
Rachel gazed into his sincere brown eyes and the love reflected there took her breath away. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity before he stopped and looked at her again.
“I think you should go away more often,” she laughed.
“Jason tells me you have things to discuss with me, so before I get carried away, perhaps we should talk.”
Rachel sensed the serious tone and poured him a coffee.
“Let’s sit outside and I’ll tell you all about it.”
An hour later, Carlos was fully in the picture about all that had occurred during the cruise so far. The only thing she didn’t mention was the attack and stabbing, feeling it would cause him unnecessary pain, and he would then object to her being involved in the flytrap set for Louise McCauley – if she were required.
After she finished, he sat back and whistled. “What is it about you and murder, Rachel? Don’t you think you will be getting enough of this sort of thing when you’re a DS without using every holiday for practice?”
“That’s not fair! It’s not like I go looking for trouble. You wouldn’t want me to ignore injustice if I can do anything about it.”
“I’m not sure, I would like you to live a long and healthy life, now and in the future.”
“Carlos, what is it? You put yourself in danger all the time in your line of work, so you’re not going to go all male protector on me, surely! You know that’s not who I am.”
“No, I don’t want to do that, but I would like to think that if you’re on holiday, I don’t need to worry about you getting involved in murder every time. At least killer one is under arrest.”
“Hmm.” He had a point, but this conversation could head into a row if they weren’t careful, so rather than spoil the moment they had experienced prior to it, s
he changed the subject. “How was your day in Lanzarote?”
“It was nice, but I thought we could explore together. How would you like a run along some volcanic sand?”
Pleased she hadn’t mentioned the injuries, she answered, “I’ve not long been for a gym workout, but a long walk would be wonderful.”
“A walk it is, then.”
They headed up to the buffet to meet Jason and Sarah for breakfast as Rachel wanted to avoid the Club Restaurant. Bernard, Brigitte and Gwen were also present and delighted to meet Carlos again, having only met him briefly during her first cruise when she had got to know him under similar stressful circumstances. Jason shook his hand and winked, but Carlos shook his head. Rachel sensed he was still unhappy with her disclosure, but he would have to get over it. He should know by now that she would never shirk her responsibility, no matter how dangerous, and if he couldn’t live with that – it didn’t bear thinking about.
Sarah sensed the tension, but said nothing. Rachel was thankful as her friend would be more likely to agree with Carlos on this particular subject.
As it turned out, they had a pleasant breakfast before Carlos took her hand and suggested they go ashore. Once they were off ship, he relaxed again and became more carefree. If he noticed the slight slowness to her gait, he didn’t mention it.
They walked hand in hand along the beach and felt the heat of the sun beating down on their exposed arms and legs, having both changed into shorts before leaving. After walking without saying much for three quarters of an hour, Carlos stopped.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been angry earlier – it was just a surprise, that’s all. I never want to change who you are, Rachel, and I know it’s unfair for me to want to protect you when you must worry about me at the same time. I never saw myself as a chauvinist, but perhaps it’s there, deep down in my male psyche.”
“Carlos, I don’t mind you wanting to protect me. I want to protect you too, but we must both do what we do and accept the risks, because if we don’t our marriage will be over before it’s started.”
