The Voluptuous Vixen (A Nick Williams Mystery Book 9)

by Frank W. Butterfield

  She asked, "Known alias? Does that mean the authorities were keeping track of her?"

  I shook my head. "Unless that was in the papers, I have no idea. Knowing Mike, it was someone in the police department who tipped him off."

  "Or it could have been the Bureau, the F.B.I.," added Carter.

  I nodded. "We have a former Bureau agent who works for us. That might be the source. In any event--" I stopped and took a deep breath. I looked down at the table and tried to hold it together. It felt like that last couple of months were all crashing on top of my head.

  Ros stood up. "Barbara, Maria, I need to--"

  Miss Hale stood up. "Of course, I need to, too." The three of them left while all the other men at the table stood. For the only time I could ever remember, I didn't.

  Carter walked over and reached out his hand. I looked up and asked, "What?"

  "Dance with me, Nick."

  I looked around the room. We were in the corner. No one was looking at us. Frankie gathered the other two men and they made their way towards the bar.

  I stood up and let Carter take me into his arms where I stayed for a few minutes, letting myself cry. In public. It was another first.

  . . .

  We were back up in the suite. I'd pretty much made myself scarce before anyone else could return to the table. I was sitting in a chair, looking out over the bay.

  The night was beautiful. The sound of the orchestra from the ballroom drifted up through the open windows. I pulled on my bow tie and it came loose. I unbuttoned the top button of my shirt, reached into my coat pocket, pulled out my Camels, and lit one up.

  On the one hand, I knew why I'd fallen to pieces earlier. It was too much. So many things had happened so fast. We lost our house and most everything in it. That was the main thing. And then we went to jail and had to deal with all that mess. It was a lot.

  I heard the door to suite open. Carter's big shoes clomped on the floor as he walked in.

  "Nick?"

  "Yeah."

  The door closed and I heard Carter take off his coat. After a moment, I felt his hand on my neck, rubbing it soothingly. I could feel the warmth of his body as he leaned in close.

  I reached up and grabbed his hand. I pulled it to my face and kissed the back. He cupped my chin and pulled my head back. Reaching down, he began to kiss me lightly all over my face, from my forehead to my neck. It was soothing and it was sweet.

  Right then, there was a light tap on the door. I sighed.

  "Should I send them away?"

  I sighed again. "No."

  "You sure?"

  I leaned back against his leg. "Yeah."

  He walked over to the door and opened it. I heard Ros say, "We brought champagne."

  I stayed where I was, looking out the window, and could hear several feet walking in through the entryway. I wanted to get up, but I couldn't. After a moment, Ros pulled up a chair next to me and sat down. She took my hand in hers and patted it soothingly.

  "My, my, Mr. Williams. What an exciting life you lead. It seems to me as though it might be time to go off somewhere, just the two of you, and have a real vacation."

  I nodded. The tears were back. Suddenly, I could hear someone switch on the room's radio. After some static, I heard the orchestra below playing over the speaker.

  Freddie said, "The room service waiter at lunch today told us about this station the hotel broadcasts through the radio. This way, we can dance up here, overlooking the ocean." He paused significantly. "All of us."

  Ros let go of my hand and stood up. I looked up at her. "Come along, Nick. There's a mighty handsome man right here who I think would like the pleasure of this dance."

  I stood up as Carter walked over and took my hand. We moved in close together. I put my head on his shoulder and we danced slowly to the sounds of "You Belong To Me," one of my favorite Jo Stafford songs.

  . . .

  After three or four songs, I was back to myself. For the most part. Ros suggested we call down for sandwiches, so Carter did that, while we all got comfortable on the chairs and sofas.

  Once Carter was off the phone, he walked over and sat down next to me. I said, "I think this is where I left off."

  Maria said, "You don't have to do this, if you don't want to."

  I smiled and said, "I think I do, but thank you."

  She nodded as I said, "Once the captain knew that Tremaine was on the ship, he asked Carter and me to help find her. I told him we would need more help, so that's how Frankie showed up."

  He said, "Don't forget Farnsworth."

  "Who is that?" asked Mr. Williams.

  I replied, "Chief of Police in Olathe, Kansas. Good investigator. He's the one who came up with the idea of locking them out of their room."

  Frankie added, "But he had to bow out after his wife got perturbed about the company he was keeping."

  I shrugged. "Not everyone is as kind--" I got a sudden catch in my throat, so I swallowed and took a deep breath. "Well, you know what I mean."

  Carter nodded and said, "Yes. Really. Y'all are some fine folks. And we really do appreciate your kindness here tonight. It means a lot."

  Ros, who was snuggled under Freddie's arm, smiled and said, "And you two are very dear to us. And I sincerely mean that." Everyone else in the room nodded. I could feel my eyes getting wet again. I sniffed and said, "Thank you."

  We all sat there for a moment. I cleared my throat and said, "I skipped one thing. After we told the captain we'd need backup but before we met you, we went to their cabins to look things over."

  Maria asked, "Was it really like Frankie said?"

  I nodded. "You would really have had to see it to believe it. Both rooms had several trunks and all sorts of clothes scattered everywhere."

  Carter added, "Men's, women's, all kinds of everything. It was a big mess."

  Right then, there was a knock on the door. It was the room service waiter with our food along with some soda pop and beer. Carter took care of everything and made sure to give the man a folded ten. Ros caught sight of that and shook her head with a smirk.

  Once we were all settled, I asked, "Where were we?"

  Frankie finished his drink of beer, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and said, "You was just tellin' all about the clothes in the rooms."

  I nodded. "Right. And how'd you put it?"

  "I seen playhouses down in the Village with smaller wardrobes than what those two had on hand."

  Everyone laughed at that.

  "So, the next thing that happened was finding Carmen. Or who we thought was Carmen but turned out to be the real Rosie who was actually Jessica Tremaine."

  Mr. Williams said, "I'm still confused about that."

  "She wasn't the one who was stacked," was Frankie's reply.

  Mr. Williams laughed and said, "OK. Now I got it. She was the one who killed her parents."

  I nodded. "And she introduced herself--"

  Carter said, "Nope. That was Rosie who did all the introducing, remember?"

  Mr. Williams asked, "The real Rosie or the fake Rosie?"

  Frankie said, "The stacked Rosie."

  Everyone laughed and then Miss Hale said, "We really shouldn't laugh about all of this. It really is quite tragic."

  I could feel the sting again. She was right, of course, but the laughing was doing me a whole lot of good.

  Ros piped up. "I know Barbara. And I can't help feeling sorry for these two girls. It's as though they were thrown out to fend for themselves, when obviously they still needed more help."

  Frankie shook his head. "Maybe they got all the help they could get."

  Ros looked over at him. "Surely you don't think that's the case, though, do you?"

  He nodded solemnly. "I do, Miss Russell. Seems to me the hospital knew what it was doing."

  Freddie stood up and walked over to the table. "I think that is a matter of investigation, though, don't you Frankie?"

  Frankie nodded and looked out the window. "
Sure. Truth is, it don't mean squat now."

  That hit hard, too. Carter put his arm around me, in a very casual way. And it helped.

  Ros looked over at me as Freddie sat back down. "Look, here, Nick. Let's forget all this Monsieur Poirot twaddle. I'm sorry I insisted. Let's do this instead. You tell us what you think really happened. You're the brains of this outfit."

  I laughed and shook my head. "Nope. That would be Frankie. He's a cop. And he did a cop's job. I'm sure they'd be proud of him back in New York." I looked over at Frankie, who was blushing.

  Maria said, "Why don't you tell them what you told me?"

  Frankie turned and looked at his wife. "What?"

  "You know. Your theory of the case." She looked at the rest of us and sighed. "That's something I miss from when Frankie was working, not that I'm not glad that he's out of harm's way, but I used to really enjoy listening to him roll out his theories."

  Ros turned and looked over at the couple. "That's the best endorsement I ever heard. So, if Nick doesn't mind--"

  I put up my hands. "I'm all for it."

  Miss Hale spoke up. "Yes, I'd like to hear what you think, Mr. Vasco."

  Frankie nodded and said, "OK, folks. But some of it's gonna sound half cockamamie because I don't have all the facts."

  Ros waved his concern away. "We wait with baited breath."

  Frankie grinned, took a deep breath, and sat up straight. He got a glint in his eye that told me this was serious. I relaxed against Carter, feeling better than I had since we'd moved upstairs.

  "Well, it's like this. I say that this doctor lured them to the ship to murder 'em both."

  He paused for dramatic effect and he got it. Ros and Miss Hale both gasped. Freddie nodded slightly. Even Carter pulled me in tighter in response.

  "How so?" I asked. I couldn't help myself.

  "I would imagine that if you did some digging when you get home that you're gonna find that he was in touch with them once they set up housekeeping in Frisco. You'd probably find a pattern of phone calls from the pier over to their apartment on the days the ship was in town. Follow me?"

  This question was directed at me, so I nodded.

  "So, he's callin' to check in on the two. To make sure they're doing OK. Maybe the doctor in him is really concerned, who knows? But, bit by bit, he begins to suspect that they're gonna make trouble for him. So far, he's got everything under control. Coral Lines don't know, or don't care, about his past indiscretions. He's got that nice nurse on the side--"

  Ros said, "Really, Frankie! How do you know that?"

  He grinned at her. "I seen 'em both sneakin' down to the gloryhole, where the crew sleep. There they was, holdin' hands and bein' all lovey-dovey. That was on that first night we was criss-crossin' the ship."

  Carter said, "I must have seen them right before you did because I saw them on the "A" Deck walking together. I just now realized that's who they were, even though Nick and I saw the nurse the next day when we went to look at the body."

  Miss Hale asked, "You saw the body?"

  Carter nodded but Ros interrupted before he could say anything. "But what about this nurse? The paper said that she'd been arrested."

  Frankie said, "She was in on it."

  I added, "Or she knew what he was up to."

  Frankie nodded and took a drink from his glass of beer. "So, as I was sayin', he's got this real cozy set-up and these two dames is gonna queer the deal if he doesn't deal with 'em. Now, as I said, I don't have any facts but that's how I read the story."

  Maria piped up. "And he's almost never wrong."

  Carter leaned over and whispered, "Are you gonna ask Mike to hire him?"

  I shrugged. He was reading my mind, of course.

  Frankie continued, "Somehow he convinces the two of them to book tickets."

  "Which they did Sunday before last," I added.

  Frankie nodded. "Right. He probably sent a cable since the Hilo would've been at sea. Anyway, so they show up and he must've seen something was goin' on from the get-go when they was using each other's names. And, like Carter here says, I think it was the stacked one who put the other one up to it."

  Mr. Williams looked at his wife for a moment. "Maybe you should use a different name, Mr. Vasco. How about Rosie for the one who came onto Nick, and Jessica, since that was her real name."

  I nodded. "And Rosie really is the right name for the voluptuous gal. That's a fact."

  Frankie nodded. "Sure. So, as I was sayin', Rosie put Jessica up to it. From what I could see that first night at dinner, Jessica was doped up or somethin'."

  Freddie said, "She barely spoke at dinner."

  Frankie nodded. "Now here's a curious thing. Did Rosie come on to anyone at dinner that night?"

  Carter said, "No. She barely said anything."

  Freddie spoke up. "I tried to engage her in conversation and all she would do was reply either 'yes' or 'no'. It was very odd. I was very fascinated by her. I admired how she was dressed. I saw the Marlene fascination immediately. It seemed to me, in fact, that she was playing Marlene. She was cold and indifferent, as Marlene can sometimes appear."

  Ros looked over at Maria and said, "She's actually quite a dear. If you're ever in L.A., I'll arrange a luncheon with just the three of us."

  Miss Hale said, "Not without me, you don't. I've been dying to meet her."

  Ros nodded. "Oh, of course, Barbara. It'll just be us four girls."

  I looked over at Maria, who I thought was going to burst over the idea of being one of four girls at luncheon with none other than Marlene Dietrich. I had started thinking of reasons to get Frankie and Maria to L.A. when Carter leaned over and whispered, "Oh, no you don't. I'm gonna arrange that one." I loved my husband so much right then.

  Frankie said, "OK, folks. You know, by now that Porrot guy would've been banging his cane on a table or somethin'"

  Everyone laughed as Ros said, "You're right, Frankie. We'll behave. We promise."

  He grinned and said, "Now, on to the little incident by the pool. I don't think that was any sort of coincidence, do you, Nick?"

  I shook my head.

  "Right. I think she really was on the prowl and probably thought she could bag America's most famous queer, no offense meant."

  I laughed. "None taken."

  "Didn't you tell me that she said she was gonna get rid of Jessica?"

  I nodded. "She said she was gonna 'drop her'."

  Frankie nodded. "My guess is that the doc was eggin' her on. And, my guess is that he did the job himself. Probably shot the poor gal up with some sort of drug that would kill her."

  "You think so?"

  Frankie nodded.

  "Her body had already gone through rigor when Carter found it. I could easily lift her arm."

  Frankie grinned. "Yeah, I thought about that. I'd say that by lunch she was dead. That would make the time right, or close to right."

  "Yeah, of course." I had that sinking feeling again. "That would mean it was right after I saw Rosie."

  Frankie nodded. "So, here's where I want you to listen to me real good, Nick. OK?"

  I nodded.

  "If that was the case, then the inevitable started before you sent that cable. Got that? You hear me?"

  I could feel a wave of relief pour over me. And my eyes got wet again. Carter squeezed me and said, "Thanks, Frankie." His voice cracked a little as he said that.

  The other man nodded and said, "Nick would've eventually have put it together, but it's always nice to have someone else put it to you straight. That's why cops always travel in pairs." He looked at the two of us significantly. At that moment, I realized I would hire Frankie myself even if Mike turned out to be an idiot and didn't want to.

  Freddie said, "So that whole conversation about electroshock treatments at Napa was a ruse then, right?"

  Frankie nodded. "Right. When the doc was called in to look at the body, the one he killed, he must've been shocked. He didn't expect Rosie would've done somethin' l
ike that, I don't imagine."

  Carter asked, "How the hell did she move the body without anyone seeing?"

  Frankie grinned and said, "That's the tough part about cases like this. That's somethin' we'll probably never know."

  Carter sighed and said, "Now I get why Nick was asking you about how you handled unsolved cases while we were waiting for the captain."

  I said, "Yeah. This is just like Taylor Wells in Ensenada." Taylor was a movie star who'd been dating Jeffery when he was murdered down in Mexico. We never did find out who did it because all the suspects died before it could be solved.

  Ros said, "I forgot you were involved with that case."

  I nodded. "That's the last job I ever did that involved Eddie Mannix."

  She smirked. "All's the better, if you want my opinion."

  Freddie said, "The option for It Was Raining Then is almost up." That was the movie Taylor was set to star in when he died. "It looks like Metro is going to let it lapse. I've been looking at picking it up. Doris Day might--"

  Frankie whistled. "It's getting late folks--"

  Ros nodded. "So wise to keep us all in line. Otherwise we'll prattle on about Hollywood until dawn. You were saying?"

  "I was sayin' that Nick didn't get the ball rollin'. It was already in motion." Turning to me, he said, "But what you did do is make sure no one else could get hurt. You realize that, now, don't you?"

  I nodded. Right at that moment, I felt so much affection for the man.

  "Good. So, that night we did our first criss-cross, Maria almost caught Rosie in the shower." He turned and looked at her affectionately. "I was so proud of you, sweetheart."

  She smiled and said, "What can I say? I learned from the best."

  Carter whispered, "Just like me." I blushed. Not too much. But a little.

  "I think the rest explains itself. Rosie was hopping from room to room, stealing what she needed from other passengers. She must've known she wasn't gonna make it to Honolulu."

  I said, "I wonder why she didn't jump overboard."

  Frankie said, "Doesn't fit the profile."

  "Wadda ya mean?" I asked.

  "She wasn't the type. Rosie wanted to live it up. She was probably enjoying the chase. She already knew the worse that could happen is she'd be sent back to the funny farm."