Grace snapped her fingers. “That’s it. Thank you.” She turned back to the nurse. “Is there really a drug like that, and if there is, how would you know if they were really dead?”
The nurse looked at her as though she were crazy. “I think you’ve been watching too much TV.”
A middle-aged woman with a nasty sunburn raised her hand high in the air. “But I ate at the buffet tonight. Do I have that tetrixdodotoxin thingy?”
Kyle took Grace’s elbow and led her to the door. “Grace, if Bruce had ingested Tetrodotoxin he’d be dead or in a coma. He certainly wouldn’t be running around bopping people on the back of the head.”
The door closed behind them, shutting off cries of, “Why aren’t you giving me an antidote?” and “What are you not telling us?”
“I hope you’re right,” she said trying to ignore the growing commotion going on behind the medical center doors. “I don’t like that your name was on that list.”
“Don’t worry.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Let’s get something to eat. Then we’ll go out and do something fun.”
She smiled as he took her hand and led her down the corridor. “Like what?” she asked her imagination running wild with all the romantic possibilities the ship had to offer.
“Practice our routine,” he said with a grin. “We’ve got a lot of work to do before our show.”
Her smile fell. “Couldn’t we just go scuba diving instead?”
“That’s tomorrow.”
Chapter Sixteen
Day Three
“If you fall behind, you get left behind.” Meredith Mallory stalked across the gangway glaring at the passengers lined up in front of her like a drill sergeant on the first day of boot camp.
Or a camp counselor on the first day of summer camp, Grace thought as Meredith picked up a beach ball which had rolled past her feet. “Don’t come crying to me if you lose track of time and miss the boat, because I assure you no one is waiting for you.”
A particularly mean camp counselor, Grace thought as Meredith deflated the beach ball. She glanced over at the group of teenagers who stood hovering nearby with a shocked expression on their face, before turning her attention to the beautiful beach behind them filled with sunbathers and swimmers enjoying the hot tropical weather.
Her sunglasses slid down her nose and she hastily pushed them back up as she turned her attention back towards Meredith and Alex.
Just then a man in a rock concert t-shirt stepped in front of her cutting off her view. She watched as beads of sweat broke out on the man’s baldhead and trickled down into the collar of his t-shirt. It hadn’t been long since they had left the ship, but everyone was already feeling the heat. Makeshift fans created from tickets and brochures waved in almost every hand, stirring up the hot air. Grace reached into her beach bag and brought out a hair clip which she used to pull her already damp hair off her neck.
Kyle stood next to her seemingly unaffected by the hot weather. His blond hair was only lightly tousled by the breeze and his white long sleeve cotton shirt and dark grey linen shorts looked as new as when he had first bought them.
She, on the other hand, felt like ripping her teal halter top and white shorts off and walking around in her bikini. She looked longingly towards the beach as sunbathers laid out under large colorful umbrellas with fruity colored drinks in their hands.
Rivers of sweat poured down Courtney’s red face as she raised her hand. “So if we miss the boat does that mean we’re stuck here?”
Meredith plucked at her top trying to fan herself with the material. “That’s right. Good luck getting home. You might as well buy a beach hut and settle down.”
Alex closed his eyes as if in pain. “Or at least wait until another Gemstone Cruise ship docks here. I think the Emerald is arriving tomorrow morning.”
“But you might as well forget it,” Meredith added, “because they’re going to make you pay for another cruise. Despite the fact you’ve already paid for one, they’ll penalize you for missing your ship.”
Grace frowned, not quite sure, which upset Meredith more. The fact someone might be irresponsible enough to miss the ship or that the cruise line might make a bit of money off the inconvenience. It was clearly a conundrum.
“Even if they have rooms available they’ll still make you pay for a whole cruise. See, that’s how they get you—”
“There’s also an airport fifteen miles from here,” Alex interjected. “You can take a plane to Turquoise Island and meet the ship there tomorrow morning. There are several fine hotels in Port Lucia and Turquoise Island that would be happy to lodge you for the night.”
“Tell them how much that costs,” Meredith muttered.
“Right,” Alex said adding a note of cheer in his voice. “The ship sails at eight sharp tonight so the lesson here is… be on time. Now are there any questions?”
A hand came up from a big fellow wearing a straw hat and a Hawaiian shirt. “How do we get to…” he peered down at the brochure in his hands, “…the Aquamarine Falls?”
Meredith pointed to a group of tangerine colored buses to their right. “For those of you on the malaria adventure, the buses are over there. For those of you on the shark bait adventure, the buses leave at one pm sharp.”
Heads bowed as passengers consulted their tickets in confusion.
Alex cleared his throat. “What Merry means is that the buses for the Kayak Adventure are lined up and ready to take those with tickets. For those with tickets to go scuba diving please report back here in two hours. There was a slight delay with your bus and the time has been pushed back another two hours. Don’t forget. Two hours. Be here at one o’clock. Two hours from now.” He cupped his hand around his ear. “When will you be back?”
“Two hours,” most everyone parroted back.
“Good,” Alex said. “Alright, any questions?”
Grace held up her hand. “What is there to do while we wait to become shark bait?”
Alex pointed to two colorful huts painted in turquoise blue and bubblegum pink standing near the parking lot. In front of the two huts there was a colorful statue of a pirate carrying a treasure chest under one arm. His other hand held a cutlass which pointed to a weather worn boardwalk in between the two huts. “Follow the boardwalk to the gates of Ruby Village and beyond that is our very own water theme park, Ruby Springs. No charge for admission.”
“No, you just have to pay for everything else,” Meredith grumbled. “I hope you all brought your wallets. An eight ounce cup of water costs five dollars.”
Mutterings of discontent rippled through the group.
“There are fountains located all throughout the park, which,” Alex added loudly while glaring at Meredith, “are perfectly safe to drink. Now are there any questions?”
“What if we didn’t bring any money for the Kayak Adventure?” a woman to Grace’s right asked.
“You don’t need money for kayaking,” Alex said. “You already paid for your tickets on board.”
“What if we’re going scuba diving?” a man to their left asked. “Do we need money for that?”
“No, you paid for that on the ship too.”
A man wearing his shirt as a scarf held up a blue ticket stub. “Does my drink card pay for water in the theme park?”
“No, I’m sorry, unfortunately it does not.”
“But what if we need water?” the woman next to the man asked.
“There are fountains throughout the village and the theme park,” he repeated cheerfully.
“How much do they cost?” an older lady asked digging through her wallet.
“They’re free.”
One of the five teens standing around raised their hand. “Is this like a real island or a fake island?”
Alex wiped a hand down his face. “It’s a fake one. Alright,” he said quickly to forestall any more questions. “Time to load up the bus and head on out. Everyone on the Kayak Adventure follow me.”
Hands dropped a
s half of the group followed Alex to the buses. The other half milled about uncertainly as they checked their brochures and tickets.
Alex walked up to the first bus. He rapped his knuckles against the door, calling out to the driver as he did. “Time to go.”
Grace glanced over at Courtney who looked a little lost and forlorn as she stared down at her brochure.
“We have two hours before we go scuba diving,” Grace said to the young woman, “do you want to go explore the village with us?”
Courtney smiled in relief. “Yeah, thanks. I didn’t get a chance to go last time. Tucker and I spent the day on the ship. He promised that this time we’d…” Her eyes misted over and she quickly looked away in embarrassment. “Maybe we can find a cafe or something. I’m absolutely famished. I’d like to get out of this heat and get something cold to drink,” she said waving her brochure. “It’s just so hot.”
“Sounds good to me,” Grace said trudging through the sand towards the boardwalk. “What do you think, Kyle?” When he didn’t respond, she glanced behind her.
Kyle stood where she left him intently staring at the buses.
“What’s going on?” Grace asked hurrying to his side.
He tilted his head. “I’m not sure, but I think I just discovered who the Pied Piper is?”
“Who?”
He jerked his chin towards Alex who was helping people board.
“Alex? Why do you think he’s the Pied Piper?”
“Because of the way he knocks,” he said demonstrating the knock on the pirate statue.
“That’s not exactly an unusual knock, Kyle,” Grace said. “I’ve heard plenty of people knock on doors like that before.”
“Yeah, but Alex’s name was on the list.”
Alex waved as the buses drove away. He pivoted around on his heel and jogged towards Meredith, speaking to her briefly before turning and heading towards the village.
“Going to the water park?” Kyle asked as Alex passed by.
Alex did a double take, looking surprised by the question or that they were speaking to him at all. “Nah, I just have some business in town. I’ll see you tonight at the show.” He gave them a jaunty wave as he sauntered away. “Good luck.”
Grace felt her stomach flip-flop at the mention of the magic show. She just hoped Kyle was ready for tonight. “We’re going to get to practice again before the show tonight, won’t we?”
“Yeah, sure.” Kyle touched her on the arm. “Let’s follow him.”
Grace started to follow her husband but paused when she recalled Courtney standing nearby waiting for them. She reached out and grabbed Kyle’s sleeve before he could get too far. “I’m going to hang out with Courtney for a bit. I think she’s feeling kind of lonely without Tucker. Besides, maybe I can talk to her about the night Tucker was attacked. Hopefully she has an alibi. I’d love to eliminate her from our suspect list and send Tucker back to his own cabin.” It wasn’t that she didn’t like Tucker, but it wasn’t exactly fun sharing their private honeymoon suite with a third party. Especially one that was a night owl who stayed up all night watching movies when he wasn’t talking about his wife and how much he missed her.
Kyle smiled as he leaned in to kiss her. “You and me both. See if you can’t get her to talk about the magic theater. I’d be curious to know if she knows about the secret door.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
He gave her another kiss. “You will think of something. Good luck,” he said pulling away from her.
“You too, and be careful.”
Grace waved as he hurried to catch up to Alex who had already disappeared behind the gate.
“Where’s Kyle going?” Courtney asked.
“He wanted to do a little sightseeing on his own. It’s just the two of us for a while.”
Courtney’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh goody. I was afraid I was going to be a third wheel. This is much better. It’ll be just us girls. Isn’t that great?”
“Yeah, great,” Grace said as they walked up the boardwalk and then through the gate. They stepped into a quaint little village teeming with people. Dress shops, bakeries, trinkets stores, restaurants and ice cream shops in gingerbread buildings in pastel yellows, pinks, blues, purples, greens and oranges lined a courtyard the size of a football field.
Deciding it was time for lunch, they stopped at a pastel purple cafe called the Lilac House and ordered a couple of sandwiches and cokes. While they sat down to eat at umbrella covered wrought iron tables, Grace tried to tactfully broach the subject of the magic theater.
“So we went to the magic show the other night.”
Courtney slammed her drink down on the table. “I hate that place,” she said with a groan.
“It was pretty interesting. You know that Davy Jones’ locker bit where they push all the swords in the box?”
“Yeah,” Courtney said without enthusiasm.
“I wonder how they do that?”
Courtney took a bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. “Mirrors,” she said with a definitive shake of her head. “I saw it on a show once. You know the ones. They tell all the magician’s secrets. They use contortionists too.”
“You don’t think they use secret doors, perhaps?”
“Like a trap door?”
“Maybe or another door in the ship behind them?”
She shook her head. “No, they definitely use mirrors. Did they call you up to the stage?”
“No, not yet,” Grace said with a sigh, “but I’ll get my chance tomorrow night.”
Courtney frowned. “But I heard that they cancelled the show. Now that Bruce is dead—”
Grace narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Dead? How do you know that?”
“Everyone knows that,” Courtney said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s all around the ship that someone killed him. I didn’t sleep a wink last night.” She leaned over the table. “I heard that some psychopath put some kind of poison in the ranch dressing at the buffet.” She eyed her sandwich suspiciously before taking a bite. “I haven’t eaten anything on board the ship since I heard the news.”
“I heard it was the French dressing,” Grace said wryly before taking a bite of her salad.
Courtney shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if all the dressing was poisoned. The ship is trying to cover it up. I went and had a long talk with the guy at guest services and you know what he told me?”
“What?”
“He had the audacity to look me in the eye and tell me that no one was poisoned. Can you believe it? Lied to my face. Luckily, Merry filled me in on the truth at dinner. Where were you and Kyle by the way? I was hoping we could all have dinner with each other.”
“I’m sorry, Courtney. Yesterday was pretty hectic. We didn’t eat until late last night. How about we go to one of the restaurants near the theater tonight?”
“Oh, that sounds like fun.” She grimaced. “But you know, I have half a mind to go home.” She glanced down at her plate with a crestfallen expression. “But I don’t want to leave without saying good-bye to Tucker.” Tears filled her eyes. “He didn’t come back to the cabin last night. Second night in a row.”
“I’m sorry, Courtney,” Grace said sympathetically. “Please don’t cry. I’m sure Tucker will show up soon.”
She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “No, I think it’s quite clear he doesn’t love me.”
Grace slipped into the chair next to Courtney and took the girl’s hand. “That’s not true. He loves you very much. He even told me so.”
“When did he tell you that?”
“Uh, the other day,” Grace said. “The important thing to know is that he loves you.”
“If I could just talk to him again. Just for a few minutes.”
Grace bit her lip, torn between trusting Courtney and keeping Tucker safe. What if Courtney’s tears were a ruse? What if the girl was just testing her; seeing if she knew where Tucker was. Could she risk Tucker’s
life just because she felt sorry for Courtney?
“Courtney, when Tucker left us to go to the medical center, where did you go?”
She shrugged. “I went to my cabin.”
“You didn’t go down to the medical center?”
A guilty look crossed Courtney’s face. “You saw me, didn’t you? Okay, I admit it. I followed Tucker to the medical center.”
“Why?”
She licked her lips. “You know that magician’s assistant? Penny. She’s trying to steal my husband. She’s obsessed with him. She even followed us home the last time. The girl’s crazy. I had to threaten her with a restraining order just to get her to leave us alone. Tucker told me that there was nothing between them but…”
“You didn’t believe him,” Grace finished for her.
“No, I did, but…my daddy warned me before we left for our honeymoon that Tucker was using me. He showed me pictures of Tucker and that girl. I didn’t want to believe him but I guess he was right. I was afraid Tucker was going to meet her so I went to the medical center to see if he was there, but he wasn’t.” She burst out in tears. “I’ll never see him again.”
Grace wrapped her arms around the other girl. “Don’t cry, Courtney. I’m sure everything’s going to work out. I bet he’ll be back with you by the end of the cruise.”
Courtney wiped her eyes. “Do you think so?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good,” she said sniffling, “because I’m going to kill him.”
Grace sat back with a sigh.
“If only I could find out where they’re hiding. I thought they might be in her cabin but she hasn’t been there all night.”
“How do you know that?”
“I staked it out last night. He and Penny may be with that red headed girl Tucker was hugging the other night. She’s probably covering for them.” She crushed what was left of her sandwich in her hands. “Wait till I get my hands on her.” Her eyes narrowed as she examined Grace’s hair. “They said she was wearing a rose gold colored dress. You were wearing a rose-colored dress that night, weren’t you?”
The Body in Davy Jones' Locker Page 16
