I nodded and marveled at what was happening. After about a minute, Mr. Mattingley said, "Roger that." He picked up the phone receiver and handed it to me. I put it to my ear and listened. What I first heard was static, although it wasn't loud. Then, I heard a male voice say, "San Francisco, this is station KMI ready to proceed." A female voice, slightly fainter said, "Thank you, KMI. San Francisco is ready. Go ahead, sir."
"Nick?" It was Mike.
I could hear him well enough but he was yelling so I did the same thing. "Yeah, Mike. Got your cable. Problem is on your end."
"Can you repeat the last sentence?"
"Problem on your end."
"Western Union?"
"Yeah."
"How do I reach you?"
I looked at Mr. Roger, who was listening to the conversation. "Tell him to ask for ship-to-shore operator and have them call Coral Station WLVD."
I nodded and said in the phone, "Call Coral Station William Love Victor Dog."
Speaking slowly, he repeated the letters. "W-L-V-D. William Love Victor Dog."
"Right."
"OK. Anything else?"
"Question for you."
"Go ahead."
"Verify you found nothing in the apartment."
He spoke slowly. "Nothing other than furniture. No books. No letters. No photographs."
"Tremaine is eighty-six."
"Repeat that."
"Tremaine is eighty-six."
"Roger that. How?"
"Unknown."
"Roger that."
"Over and out." That seemed like the right thing to say. I heard Mike laugh as he hung up.
I put the receiver down as Mr. Mattingley said, "King Mike Item, call complete. Coral WLVD signing off." With that, he pressed a button on the console, unplugged his headset, removed it, and hung it up on the wall by the console.
I turned and looked at the captain, who was frowning. He said, "You could have done that in a radiogram."
I shook my head. "I needed to tell Mike about Jessica Tremaine being dead. And you don't want whoever it is at Western Union to know that."
"What good will that do?"
"I don't know. He was a homicide detective. I expect he'll be grilling the staff at the Napa State Hospital as soon as he can get there and will call back with something tomorrow."
The captain sighed. "How much longer is this going to go on?"
"I don't know. This gal is locked out of every possible room. She's gotta do something before too much longer."
"And, again, the question is what."
. . .
We walked back down to the ballroom and joined Ros and Freddie with Maria and Frankie for some dancing. Carter and I took turns dancing with the gals while the men sat and talked. After an hour or so, Breaux and Rampton found us. We sat together and decided we should do another patrol of the ship as we'd done the night before.
. . .
The ship was quiet. I'd made two complete rounds and was on my third. I was moving along the port side of the Main Deck outside of the Tradewinds Bar, which was closed until dawn. I was looking up at the stars and heard a sound that didn't fit in with the normal background noise of the ship cutting through the sea and the faint churn of the engines. It sounded like something falling and I was sure it had come from just around the front of the deck over on the starboard side. I quietly jogged around the front of the bar and saw what looked like a pile of canvas tarps in a dark area near the forward door of the bar. I noticed the pile was moving.
I reached down and pulled back the tarps only to find Miss Griffin, one of the young gals who'd been assigned to the captain's table, necking with a young man of about her age.
He looked up at me in frustration and said, "Can't you leave a guy alone?"
Not wanting to interrupt young love, I smiled and threw the tarp back over them. I heard Miss Griffin say, "He's one of them I was telling you about. The other one is tall and handsome."
"As handsome as me?"
"Of course not, silly."
I walked away, making a mental note to tell Carter later about his reputation among the ship's debutantes.
The promenade on that deck ended a few feet further down at a wall that, I knew from looking at the ship's map, was the start of a line of exterior cabins. The Hawaiian Room, located just aft of the Tradewinds Bar, had a row of windows that looked out onto the deck and, then, behind that the spot was dark. I walked down there to see what I could find, if anything, and it was empty. I turned around to head to the glass doors that opened into the foyer between the Tradewinds and the Hawaiian Room when I heard a sound above me.
I stopped and looked up. The pool was on the deck above and I could see a ladder mounted on the wall that led up but didn't come all the way to the deck in order to discourage use by passengers. I grabbed the lowest rung and pulled myself up by my arms, wondering if I should spend some time in the gymnasium with Carter when it took a couple of tries to get traction on the rung and begin my climb up. On the third try, I finally hoisted my feet onto the bottom rung and began to move up.
As my head came above the deck, I saw that there was a dark figure sitting on the far side of the pool. The deck lights were pointed in a way that made it impossible for me to see who it was, but, by the outline of the person's head, it looked like a woman. I pulled myself up and over the railing and onto the deck. As I did, the person heard my shoes hit the wood and turned suddenly. I saw a hint of red hair in the light, but couldn't be sure who it was. The person stood, revealed herself to be a woman by her curvy figure, and took off running aft on the port side. I dashed around the pool and followed her.
She had made it to the door when I called out, "Jennifer!" That got her attention and she stopped for a moment as the door began to close behind her. But then she was off running again and moving quickly down the passageway.
I yanked the door open, ran along the carpeted floor, and called out again, "Jennifer!" I realized how loud it was and then decided it might be a good idea to make a ruckus, so I called out again, this time much louder, saying, "Jennifer! Stop!"
She got to the foyer and made a quick left. I was about three seconds behind her and saw her going up the stairs, so I followed her. I yelled in the stairwell, "Jennifer!! Stop!!" as loud as I could. She kept going, always a little too far ahead of me for me to grab. We rounded the passage on the Upper Deck and kept going. I called out her name again.
As we were running up the stairs to the Promenade Deck, I heard someone call out my name. It sounded like Frankie. I couldn't tell where he was coming from so I yelled, "I found her! Heading up the stairs."
Her response was to scream as loud as she could, "Fuck you, Nick! Leave me alone!" She kept running. We rounded the last set of stairs before they ended at the Sun Deck. She was now about four steps above me. I leaned forward to grab her leg but I missed.
As we came out into the night air, she turned right to the port side and then left heading aft along the row of lifeboats. I made a final spurt and jumped out to grab her. This time I made it. She fell to the deck, just outside the Radio Office, in a tangle of wig and scarf and with a steady stream of curses as I put my weight on her to keep her from moving. She was crying and squirming. I was doing my best to restrain her.
Suddenly, I felt two strong hands pull me up by the shoulders. It was Carter. He moved around me and put his knee in her back and said, "Stop moving or you'll get hurt."
I sat back on my haunches and wished we had a pair of handcuffs. I could hear feet running towards us on the deck and someone clambering down the ladder from the bridge. Soon, Frankie was standing above Carter. He reached down, pulled her arms back, and quickly put a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. She screamed loudly and lustily saying almost anything and everything that I'd ever heard in the Navy.
I stood up and watched as a couple of officers I hadn't seen before lifted her up and forcibly carried her into the Radio Office. Carter, Frankie, and I stood for a moment and watched as she
struggled and then started trying to bite. One of the officers called over his shoulder, "Get the operator to bring the doctor."
I nodded and ran over to the nearest phone that was attached to the wall. I picked it up and waited for the operator to answer.
"May I help you?"
"This is Nick Williams. Can you tell Dr. Kilpatrick to go immediately to the Radio Office? We found that person and she needs a tranquilizer."
"Oh, my. Yes, Mr. Williams. I'll take care of that right now."
I put the phone receiver back on the hook and walked over to where Carter and Frankie were standing between two lifeboats. I reached for my Camels and realized I only had one left. I took it out, lit it, and had a quick drag. I then handed it to Carter who did the same. He offered it to Frankie who shook his head.
"What now?" asked Carter.
I shook my head and said, "Now, we go to bed and don't get up until we get to Honolulu."
Frankie said, "Amen."
Chapter 8
Lounge, Promenade Deck
S.S. Hilo at sea
Saturday, August 14, 1954
Early evening
We were late for the Captain's Champagne Party. We were so late, in fact, that Ros and Freddie were already there when we arrived. It was my fault, really. I didn't want to get up and out of Carter's arms.
The sing-along portion of the evening was well underway and, fortunately, we came in right at the end. The passengers were not much good at singing and since that was the final dinner of the voyage, most folks were drinking and making a party of it.
When we found Ros, she pulled me aside and said, "Nick, dear, be a doll and go make right with the headwaiter. Get us our own table, won't you? The captain is really quite handsome in his uniform, but I don't think I can stomach another dinner with that Gale Storm woman. The food is so good on this ship, it's a shame to waste a meal on catty indigestion."
I smiled broadly and said, "That's a great idea. Do you mind if I include Frankie and Maria?"
"Oh do! She's such a lamb and he's so stalwart. Freddie already went to the purser and arranged to pay for their trip. He also set them up in a suite at the hotel."
"He beat me to it."
She smiled and nodded in reply. "Do me another favor will you? Get us a table for eight. There's an actress traveling with her husband. I adore her and he has a TV show. It's a western of some sort."
I nodded. "Who are they so I can tell the headwaiter."
"She's Barbara Hale and he's Bill Williams. They're probably traveling as Mr. and Mrs. Now, do run along dear and make all the arrangements, so we don't lose out."
I asked, "Before I go, do you mind if I give you a kiss on the cheek?"
She smiled at me just like I'd seen on the screen and even blushed a little. "My, my, Mr. Williams. This is so sudden." She offered me her cheek which I kissed lightly. I'll admit I was thrilled to have the chance. "Now, run along." And I did.
. . .
For once, everyone arrived at dinner at the same time. Once we were all seated, I looked around the table and took in what was going on. Maria was in heaven. She was sitting between Ros and Miss Hale and reveling in all the Hollywood gossip. Meanwhile, Frankie was in between Mr. Williams and Freddie and they were talking about making movies and filming stunts. As dinner wore on, Mr. Williams worked on convincing Frankie to try out as an actor on his TV show. I wondered if cowboys ever had heavy New York accents during the wild west days, but Frankie was enjoying himself. And that was a good thing.
Meanwhile, Carter and I were more or less eating alone. We were surreptitiously holding hands while we ate and talked about nothing in particular, which was one of my favorite things to do.
At one point, Freddie looked over at me and asked, "So, Nick. What did the captain say when you told him we were taking our own table?"
"He was gracious, but he got Miss Kilgore on the job pretty--" I looked around and then said, "darn fast." Ros and Miss Hale both laughed at me for not swearing.
Carter said, "Miss Hale, we both really liked you in Seminole with Rock Hudson."
The pretty brunette replied, "Thank you, Mr. Jones. I enjoyed making it."
Ros asked, "How was the location shoot?"
Miss Hale turned her head towards Ros. "Oh, it was fine. Bill kept teasing me about shooting a western in a swamp." She looked over at Carter. "We filmed the exteriors in the Everglades in Florida. Fortunately, it wasn't that hot."
Maria asked, "And what about Rock Hudson?"
Glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, Miss Hale turned to Maria and said, "He was a perfect gentleman."
Carter squeezed my hand and I whispered to him, "I told you."
. . .
Later that evening, we were dancing in the Veranda Ballroom. Carter and I took turns with the ladies while, as had happened every night, the other men sat at the table and talked.
Ros and I were dancing to the band's rendition of "Autumn in New York," when she said, "You know, Nick. There's something I just don't get about this business with that girl."
"What's that?"
"Seems to me that she must have had someone's help. A member of the crew, I mean."
I nodded. "I've been wondering about that, too."
"How did she get into all those rooms if she didn't have a key?"
I sighed.
"Oh, don't mind me."
I"No, I don't like loose ends."
"And this case, or whatever you call it, isn't quite wrapped up, is it?"
"No."
"And, I've made it worse by bringing it up."
The music had stopped and we walked over to the table. I said, "Not at all." But, of course, she had. I'd been contentedly enjoying the evening after a long and wonderful day in bed with Carter and now I was wondering again.
I pulled out her chair as the other men stood. Freddie asked, "What is wrong, Ros?"
She sat down and I pushed her chair in slightly. "I've just reminded Nick about that blasted girl. And I wish I hadn't. Not on our last night at sea. And we've all been having such a marvelous time."
Mr. Williams looked over at me and asked, "Is this about all that yelling that happened this morning?"
I nodded. "It is. The captain asked us not to talk about it."
He nodded and then looked at me for a long moment. He really was handsome. He was a few years older than Carter, but he looked like a slightly shorter and leaner version of my husband. Carter, who had just walked up with Miss Hale, caught me looking and shook his head slightly.
We men all stood as Carter pulled out Miss Hale's chair next to her husband. After we were all seated, Mr. Williams said, "Well, I hope it isn't speaking out of turn, but I got the impression that the woman was that gal who was sitting at the captain's table on the first night and was dressed in a tuxedo. Is that right?"
I nodded as Carter sat down next to me.
"Do you know I saw her with the ship's doctor yesterday? But she was wearing a red wig and looked kinda loopy, if you get my meaning."
Frankie asked, "Where'd you see them?"
Mr. Williams looked up as if he was trying to remember. "Oh, it had to have been on the 'A' Deck. I'd just been to the barber shop and I saw them heading down the stairs. I thought it was strange because it seemed like she could barely walk. I wondered if she was drunk. But that was in the afternoon."
"Do you know what time?" I asked.
He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I can't keep track of time here. I just know it was after lunch. I went to the barber right after I dropped Barbara off in our room on the Main Deck."
I looked over at Carter and said, "Maybe that's who he was seeing when we went to find him yesterday."
Carter nodded thoughtfully. "If that's the case--"
Frankie stood up. "We gotta talk to the captain, fellas."
So, we did.
. . .
When we arrived at the Radio Office, Mr. Breaux was coming down from the bridge. He looked at me in surpr
ise and said, "Oh, Mr. Williams! How did you know?"
"How did I know what?"
"That you have a radiogram."
"I didn't. We need to see the captain about you-know-what."
He nodded and then handed me a folded-over piece of paper. "You might want to look at this first."
I opened it up and it read:
NICK WILLIAMS C/O CORAL LINES SS HILO AT SEA. CALL IMMEDIATELY NO MATTER WHAT TIME. MIKE.
I handed the radiogram to Carter and said to Breaux, "Can you set that up?"
The officer nodded and said, "Come on in and I'll hand you off to Mr. Mattingley. Then I'll let the captain know you're here."
The three of us walked into the Radio Office while Breaux climbed up the ladder to the bridge. Mr. Mattingley was behind the counter. He already had his headset plugged in and the phone was on the counter.
He asked, "Same number?"
I nodded as he turned and began to tune into the frequency used for ship-to-shore calls. After a few seconds, he said, "King Mike Item, King Mike Item, this is Coral Station WLVD." He waited for a moment and then said, "Roger. Receiving you clearly. Advise when ready." After a moment, he said, "San Francisco Klondike 9921. Repeat San Francisco Klondike 9921." He pressed a button on the console, turned back to face us, and said, "They're connecting."
I picked up the telephone and, after a few moments, I could hear Mike on the far end. The connection wasn't as clear as it had been the night before but I was still amazed that we could talk this way.
"What's going on?" I was pressing the headset to my left ear, had my right hand over my right ear, and was yelling.
"Went to Napa today."
"OK."
"Found out Tremaine and Rudson both treated by same doctor."
"OK."
"He's on your ship. Name of Kilpatrick."
I looked up at Frankie, who was nodding thoughtfully. I didn't know if he could hear Mike or if he was way ahead of us.
"Anything else?"
"He was fired a couple of years ago for sexual misconduct. With a patient."
The Voluptuous Vixen (A Nick Williams Mystery Book 9) Page 10
