Midnight Shimmer: A Toni Diamond Mystery (Toni Diamond Mysteries Book 3)

by Nancy Warren

  “So you’re saying someone wants to kill this woman for her money. How do they get her on an infected ship?”

  She nibbled her lip. In the spa, all this had seemed so much more plausible. “Part of it has to be coincidence. She’s already booked on the ship. Maybe someone’s wanted her out of the way for a while. They discover the ship’s had a recent outbreak. They feel there’s a reasonable chance there will be another one, so they get on board.”

  “With poison?”

  “Yes.” Maybe.

  There was a long pause. She only knew he was still on the line because she could hear him breathing. Finally, he said, “Toni, other women go on cruises and they get sunburns, take up with cabin stewards, and buy overpriced jewelry and souvenir rum cake. They don’t start making up mysteries.”

  “Our cabin steward is a woman,” she snapped. Also, she always wore sunscreen to prevent wrinkles so she never burned. She and her mom had already bought some pretty jewelry. She was certain they hadn’t overpaid, as their lovely on-board shopping expert had told them which stores they could trust. Plus, Linda’s VIP card gave them an extra ten percent off their purchases. In her suitcase at that very moment was a round of Tortuga rum cake that she’d intended to give to Luke. Clearly, she’d have to get him a different gift.

  “Something’s going on, Luke. I feel it in my bones.” She’d told him what had happened to Tiffany and Wade when she’d called him last night. Now, she said, “I don’t think Wade and Tiffany were random victims of theft. I think they were targeted.”

  “How does this relate to your poisoning theory?” Luke might scoff at her, but he always listened. Probably because she’d been proven to be right more than a few times.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Is she married?”

  “Getting a divorce. But there’s a prenup. He doesn’t want a divorce. And if it goes through, he won’t get very much. See where I’m going with this? Then there’s the grandson who, I’m pretty sure, lied about his grandmother’s condition. He said she was too sick to see me.”

  “Maybe that’s the truth.”

  “Then why isn’t he quarantined? They’re sharing a stateroom. Maybe he’s poisoning her. Or he paid someone to do it when he was off the ship. Wouldn’t that be convenient? If his dear grandmother died while he was miles away, with my daughter as his alibi, and the whole damn ship as witnesses. Maybe he’s in the will for a bundle and needs ready cash for something.”

  “Like what? He’s from a rich family. Why does he need to kill people for money?”

  She’d thought all this through as her feet were being exfoliated. “It would have to be for something his family could never know about. Gambling debts. Or a drug problem. I don’t know, but I couldn’t live with myself if something bad happened to Alicia and I did nothing to stop it.”

  “You know what they say—poison is a woman’s weapon.”

  Luke didn’t promise to look into Alicia’s beneficiaries, but he didn’t outright say he wouldn’t either, so Toni decided to hope for the best.

  He said, “Is the husband on board?”

  “I don’t know. Alicia looked like she’d seen a ghost and freaked out the first time I met her. She’d been talking about her divorce at the time. Could you find out?”

  “I’m dealing with a double murder, I have to testify in a drug case that’s going south, and now you want me to find out if some rich guy is on a cruise?”

  “Please?”

  “You must be the only woman who goes in for a manicure and comes out thinking somebody’s getting murdered.”

  “I also came out with very pretty nails,” she reminded him.

  Toni took a walk on deck. There was a riotous crowd around the pool bar and Romeo, the Filipino bartender, was on duty once more. She watched him make a show out of mixing drinks, surrounded by a crowd of people, all laughing, having fun, nobody taking life too seriously. It was a cruise ship, after all. Everybody was here to have fun, relax, have a drink.

  She didn’t even need to close her eyes, she remembered so well watching the mysterious salts dissolving in the swirling water. In her imagination, the scene shifted from the salon and spa to this very bar on the day that two men had sent over drinks for herself and Alicia. It would have been so easy for someone to drop something into one of them. They hadn’t had the same one, and each woman had been sent one specifically. Alicia was long and cool, while Toni was fruity and punchy. It would have been so easy to distract the joking drinkers sitting around the bar long enough to drop the first dose of poison into Alicia’s drink. Alicia had mentioned feeling queasy soon after that and Toni hadn’t seen her since.

  Luke was quite probably right and she was turning a simple case of Norovirus into a dastardly plot. But Toni could no more ignore someone who might be in trouble than she could prevent herself from looking like a complete fool if she was wrong.

  Well, acting like a fool hadn’t killed her yet, and not acting like a fool might kill Alicia. Really, there was no contest.

  But how to get into Alicia’s room?

  The sight of the blue coverall–clad crew members was becoming so common that Toni always greeted them as she passed as though they were normal staff dressed in normal uniforms. She followed a pair of them discreetly until she found where the clean suits were kept. She waited until they were gone and then darted into the storage room.

  “Can I help you?” a startled crew member asked.

  She was equally startled—she’d thought the room was empty. However, she’d already discovered that on this ship, maybe on every cruise ship, when a customer made a request, crew members fulfilled it right away. They took customer service to amazing levels. So, she put on her biggest smile.

  “Could you get me a bucket of ice? I can’t find anyone and I’ve got two friends waiting and a bottle of champagne that needs to chill.”

  He glanced around as though not quite sure what to do. She said, “Please, it’s for the bride.”

  She didn’t know whether the word bride normally made him jump or whether the bridezilla on this cruise had become infamous with all of the staff, but he immediately said, “Yes, of course, madam,” and strode so fast toward the kitchen he was practically jogging. It didn’t take her more than a second to grab one of the protective coveralls, a hospital mask from one labeled box and a pair of surgical gloves from another, and tuck them into her Duchess Cruise Line carryall.

  Part one of her plan was accomplished.

  The cruise ship very thoughtfully put every passenger’s name outside the door. Of course, most suites only had two people in them, or in their case, three. There was a schematic of the ship showing everything from the main dining rooms to the individual cabins. It hung in the same spot, on every deck of the ship.

  She used it to identify which were the biggest cabins. There weren’t that many and they were only on two of the decks so, and now she knew Alicia’s last name, so within less than half an hour, she had identified Alicia’s cabin. She knocked, but there was no answer. Was the woman sleeping? In the bathroom? Too sick to answer the door? What if she was weak and in desperate need of help?

  The big what if.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and most easily of all, the gate of fear.

  – Oliver Wendell Holmes

  She returned to her suite, feeling as though sinister forces surrounded the ship like brooding skies before a tropical storm. Though the weather, at least, continued cloudless, balmy, and perfect.

  It was inside that things were getting nasty.

  She picked up the bundle of papers in their mail slot. The newsletter was padded, as usual, with sign-up sheets for shore excursions, special sales, and reminders of services offered by the ship. Toni flipped through today’s offerings and paused.

  A photo of a lovely floral arrangement reminded passengers that the onboard florist was available to create an arrangement for e
very mood or budget.

  It was amazing to her that there was an onboard florist. You could order everything from a dozen red roses to a large and very tasteful table arrangement. She placed the ad with the other papers on the desk. She set to thinking and was still deep in thought when her mother came into the stateroom looking perturbed.

  “Mom? Are you done already?” She jumped up and stepped closer to study how her mother’s filler had turned out.

  But Linda looked exactly the same as she had when she’d left, apart from a discontented frown. The lines that concerned her, running between her nose and mouth, were exactly as deep as they had been this morning at breakfast.

  “Dr. Madsen never showed up.”

  “He missed your appointment?” They were so keen to push all the cosmetic rejuvenation techniques that she was astonished.

  “I know. I can’t believe it. I finally got my nerve up, and I had my winnings from karaoke, so it was practically going to be free, and the doctor stood me up.”

  “Didn’t somebody call him? Maybe he fell asleep in his stateroom. Maybe he got called away because somebody was sick.” Maybe he’d died of old age.

  Her mother shook her head, looking disappointed. “They were trying to track him down when I got there. I could hear them. I think they even sent someone to his stateroom to look for him. He’s missed all his appointments this morning.”

  “Maybe it’s just as well, Mama. Perhaps this is a sign that you look fine as you are.”

  “I suppose. But I liked his bedside manner. And besides, even if it’s red and puffy for a few days, by the time we get off the ship, no one will ever know that I indulged in a tiny cosmetic procedure. I’ll simply look mysteriously younger.”

  “Did they reschedule?”

  “They said they’d call me.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here, Mama. I need you to do me a favor.”

  Linda listened as she outlined her plan, her eyes widening as Toni laid it all out. “Did you tell Luke what you suspect?”

  “Yes. I did.” Her words came out more clipped than she had intended.

  “And did he suggest that you might be plumb crazy?”

  “He didn’t use the exact words plumb crazy, but that was the gist of the conversation.”

  “You can’t seriously suspect that nice young man. He’s so respectable. So handsome.”

  “I have bad news for you. It’s not only ugly people who commit crimes.”

  “But Tiffany likes him.”

  “I know.” That was the worst part. “And I almost let her get trapped alone with him. I’m not convinced he’s doing wrong, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong with Alicia. Haven’t you noticed that people who got hit are starting to show up again to meals?” Looking pale and a little thinner, but they were emerging from their sick beds. Not Alicia.

  “I refuse to believe it.”

  “Because he’s so good looking?”

  Linda shook her head, so the blond waves cascading down her cheeks trembled. “Because Tiffany’s smart about people. And he came here, in person, to apologize to you. I was angry with him, too, for putting our baby in danger, but you have to give him credit for owning his fault and coming to you to admit his fault.”

  “Unless he was trying to spike our guns.”

  “What guns?”

  She picked up the florist’s order form. “It’s an expression. It means that maybe he showed up here all apologetic so we’d fall under the spell of his charm. If he’s harming his grandmother the last thing he wants is me nosing around.”

  “Which is exactly what you are planning to do. Really, Toni. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  To prevent any further argument, she picked up the in-house phone and ordered a tasteful floral arrangement suitable for an invalid. The onboard florist assured her the bouquet would arrive within the hour. In fact, it was only thirty minutes later that there was a discreet knock at the door. Toni held up her hand and the two women waited silently. Sure enough, the door soon opened and a young woman entered holding a large floral arrangement.

  “Oh, that is so pretty!” Linda gushed. “I’m so sorry we couldn’t hear you knocking, we were out in the patio and you can’t hear anything out there with the sound of the ocean.”

  “That’s all right. Where would you like the arrangement?”

  “Well, let’s see.” Linda made a production of trying to decide where she wanted the flowers. “Maybe on the table here? If you could perhaps just move my eyeglasses.”

  Of course, in order to move Linda’s eyeglasses, the girl had to put down her passkey, since she only had two hands. Once again, Toni was thankful that customer service was everything on the ship. Linda began picking things up and helping to make room on the table, getting into the poor girl’s way as they tried the flowers here and there.

  “Maybe on the other side of the room, on the counter over the fridge? What do you think?” And while she was fluttering, she palmed the passkey and slipped it to Toni. The girl left without ever realizing that she didn’t have her passkey with her. Toni knew they didn’t have long, so she threw herself into the hooded blue coverall, pulled on the gloves, tied the mask over her face, grabbed the floral arrangement and, with a thumbs-up to Linda, left the suite.

  She avoided the elevators, running lightly down two sets of stairs to reach Alicia’s stateroom. She passed a couple of people who merely nodded at her or said hello. When she got to Alicia’s door, she knocked once more. She could see a light on in the room and as she knocked a second time, the light went out.

  For a second she experienced a flashback to the time a much younger Tiffany, an avid reader even then, would read much later than she was supposed to. She’d flip off her light when she heard her mother approaching her bedroom.

  Toni used the passkey to enter Alicia’s stateroom.

  She entered carefully, slowly, not wanting to startle Alicia. She called out softly, “Hello?”

  There was no answer.

  She walked deeper into the suite, her eyes adjusting to the gloom. The curtains were drawn and without a lamp on it was hard to see anything. She had calculated that Wade would be up on deck somewhere and was pleased to find she was right. Through the plastic lens of her face mask she saw the stateroom was empty but for Alicia, lying in bed.

  She’d assumed Alicia’s stateroom, like hers, would feature two single beds and a sitting area. But Alicia’s suite was much more luxurious. She lay in splendor in a queen-sized bed and her sitting area was twice the size of Toni’s. An open connecting door led to a second bedroom where, no doubt, Wade had his quarters.

  Toni placed the flowers on the table. Alicia turned her head. She definitely wasn’t sleeping. Her eyes appeared to be open. It was hard to tell with the cheap plastic facemask. Well, it was now or never. She eased it off.

  “Alicia?” she said softly. “It’s Toni Diamond. I’ve been so worried about you, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “Toni?” The woman in the bed shifted, pulling the bedclothes up over her chin. “What are you doing here?” Her words sounded blurry, as though it hurt her to talk.

  The good news was, she didn’t sound so weak with poison that she was near death. If anything, she sounded edgily polite, no doubt wishing she was in her own home, where her well-trained butler or her private security staff would throw unwanted intruders out.

  She reminded herself that making a fool of herself was not life-threatening and immediately tried to explain her irrational behavior.

  “I got this idea in my head that you might be really sick. My mother told me I was plumb crazy, but I had to make sure. No one answered when I knocked earlier and I got scared. I am so sorry I bothered you.”

  There was a moment of complete silence. Then, “You brought me flowers?”

  “I did.”

  An arm, clad in a very expensive nightgown, reached out of the bed and flipped on the bedside light. Alicia sat up.

  Sh
e saw immediately that Alicia did not have the Norovirus. Her instincts had been right about that. What Alicia had was red, puffy areas around her eyes, her mouth, and her nose.

  “My gosh, you never had the virus at all, did you?”

  The woman shook her head, then winced. “I hope I can trust you to keep my secrets.”

  “Of course.” Why had it never occurred to her that Dr. Madsen made stateroom calls not only to check on sick patients, but also, in his capacity as the head doctor in the medi-spa, to offer his services in a more private setting? She’d been such a fool.

  “Since you’re here, why don’t you sit down, take off that ridiculous suit, and tell me everything that’s going on. I am so bored I am going out of my head.”

  So, after stripping off the coverall and stuffing it in her tote, Toni pulled one of the extremely comfortable armchairs closer to Alicia’s bed.

  “You might as well open up the curtains so we can enjoy the view.”

  Toni did, and in the light streaming in, saw that Alicia’s face looked like it was very painful. “You used the Norovirus epidemic to disguise the fact that you’re having cosmetic procedures done.”

  “I took advantage of a convenient situation. I’d already scheduled my treatments. I would simply have said I was under the weather. No one would care. People mostly mind their own business on cruise ships.” She didn’t precisely come out and say that Toni should have minded hers, but the implication was clear. Then, she added, “I am very happy to see you, though. I get bored watching TV and reading.”

  “You’d already booked your appointments? So, you’ve done this before?”

  “Oh goodness, yes. Dr. Madsen and I are old friends. He’s been coming almost every day to give me a treatment. I want to step off this ship looking a lot more refreshed and younger than a seven-day cruise would warrant.”

  “Does it hurt?” She thought of her mother, and of the woman she’d seen holding the ice pack to her lip, tears streaming down her face.