by Diane Rapp
A shriek shattered the air and Vincent vanished into the black night. An icy whirlwind whipped the wig from Paula’s head, and her triumphant smile vanished. Her gun flew across the deck and Paula turned to confront a shimmering apparition. Stepping back, she uttered a strangled gasp.
“Celeste,” Kayla whispered, peeking around the bulkhead.
A diaphanous figure dressed in green hovered over Paula’s head. The gleaming emerald necklace against the ghost’s elegant neck sparkled with an intensity that made the necklace hanging from Paula’s neck look colorless and dull. Celeste looked beautiful in her fury while Paula’s color drained and she became a drab shadow next to the phantom. No wonder Vincent still loved Celeste.
Eyes wide with fright, Paula tried to skirt past the apparition. An invisible barrier blocked her path. Celeste’s delicately tapered hands stretched out and electric sparks flowed from her pale fingertips. She shredded Paula’s dress into ribbons of green velvet that floated like writhing snakes. They snared Paula’s wrists, surrounded her neck, and twisted around her flailing legs and arms.
Paula fought against the horrific assault. She untwisted the sinuous cloth, and shoved the clinging velvet tendrils away from her bruised skin. Suddenly the emerald necklace lifted up from Paula’s neck, twisting slowly as it tightened around her throat. Enraged, Paula jerked the necklace off, threw it across the deck, and charged Celeste, her hands flailing like a windmill.
“You’re dead! I killed you myself,” Paula shouted. Her fists passed through the ethereal image.
Celeste struck back with a vengeance. Slamming Paula against the wall, she battered the woman with a series of punches and slaps. Bruises colored Paula’s face and arms. Her eyes swelled and a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.
Celeste glared at her victim. Her smile turned feral and she attacked with a vicious energy until Paula’s body slumped. Her head lolled to the side and her eyes rolled back in her head. Celeste grinned. She clapped her hands and made a scooping motion to lift Paula off the deck. Paula’s body floated toward the black abyss of the ocean.
“No, Celeste!” Kayla shouted. “Don’t do it! You’re not a killer!” She grabbed Paula’s limp legs and dragged her back toward safety. “Celeste stop! Paula confessed to killing you. Vincent and I both heard her and she can be arrested for her crime. Let the law prosecute her!”
As the ghost swooped forward, Kayla saw hungry hatred in Celeste’s eyes. She felt Celeste fling her across the deck like a limp rag doll. As she crashed into the wall, she realized the compassionate woman in her mirror had transformed into a demonic malevolence. A freezing cold sucked the warmth from her body and ice seared Kayla’s lungs as she gasped for breath. The pleasant smell of sweet lavender mixed with the foul odor of rotten seaweed.
Descending into blackness, Kayla felt the deck shake and heard Natalia’s voice shout, “You can’t have her!” Hot hands rubbed Kayla’s icy skin. “Why was I such a wimp?” Natalia’s face registered in Kayla’s numb brain. “Avoiding contact with the other side, I let my friend face a deadly menace. I won’t let Celeste take you! Kayla, wake up!”
Kayla tried to open her eyes, tried to move her lips, but cold sapped her energy.
“Fight her, Kayla!” Natalia coaxed. “Make Celeste leave you alone. She must go if you tell her firmly. Tell Celeste to leave!”
“Leave…Celeste…please leave,” Kayla begged in a croaking whisper.
“Not good enough! You must order Celeste to go! Shout at her!”
Kayla nodded. She gulped a breath, gathered the last energy in her body and shouted, “Leave me Celeste! Now!”
Abruptly the cold evaporated.
Kayla gazed into Natalia’s worried face. She inhaled the scent of fresh soap on Natalia’s skin. “Where’s Paula?” Kayla mumbled. “Is she all right?”
“She’s over there.” Natalia pointed to the railing.
Paula lay unconscious against the iron struts of the railing, bruised and battered, but her chest moved with each breath. Long shreds of green velvet twisted tightly around her ankles and wrists, looked like seaweed, and the emerald necklace lay on the deck.
Kayla sighed. “Paula killed Celeste. She threatened to implicate Vincent in the murder and blackmailed him into marrying her.”
“I guess Celeste got her revenge. Where’s Vincent?” Natalia asked.
“Paula pushed him overboard,” Kayla said, feeling guilty for not saving him.
Natalia glanced over the rail. “Oh! He landed on top of the lifeboat cover!”
Kayla struggled to her feet. “Is he alive?”
“I can’t tell but he’s slipping toward the edge!” We’d better get down there before he slides off.”
“You go ahead. I’d better find one of his heart pills.”
Natalia’s feet pounded down the staircase as Kayla crawled around the deck. She found several pills, shoved them into her pocket and ran to the stairs. “Hurry, Kayla! He’s still breathing,” Natalia shouted.
Kayla ran down the steps. The lifeboat swayed ominously and Vincent lay motionless sprawled over the cover. Natalia grabbed a rope to keep the boat steady.
Kayla shouted, “Vincent! Can you hear me?”
Vincent remained inert but she heard frantic tapping from inside the boat. “Someone’s inside the lifeboat! Steven! Is that you?” she shouted. The pounding increased in volume and Kayla brightened. “Steven’s inside the lifeboat.”
“Great! Help me pull the boat back inside,” Natalia said, straining against the rope. The ship swayed causing her feet to skid across the wet decking. Kayla grabbed the second rope and both women braced their feet against the sides of the open railing.
“Well, this is a fine mess!” Natalia grumbled as they pulled with all their strength.
“Help!” Kayla shouted. “Someone help us.”
“We could sure use Celeste’s help now,” Natalia said.
“She’s crazy! Do you think it’s safe to call her back?” The lifeboat tipped and Vincent’s body slid closer to the edge.
“We don’t have much choice. If Celeste loves Vincent she might stay sane enough to help save him. Call her, Kayla!”
Kayla nodded. “Celeste! Vincent needs you! Please help.” Vincent moaned, tried to lift his head at the sound of her voice but collapsed again. “Celeste!” Kayla shouted. “Are going to let Paula succeed in murdering him?”
A feather-light touch caressed Kayla’s cheek in a ghostly apology. The wholesome smell of sweet lavender permeated the air. “Vincent needs you! Please help him.” The ship canted against another swell and the lifeboat wrenched against the ropes.
“What’s she waiting for?” Natalia groaned, “I’m losing my grip!”
Doubt filled Kayla’s mind. Does Celeste want Vincent to die? Is she so lonely that she wants him to join her on the other side? As if answering her question, a loud pop overhead startled her. A shudder vibrated through the cable along the metal davit arm that held the lifeboat outstretched over the ocean. Kayla struggled to maintain her grip on the rope but her numb fingers slipped over damp fibers.
“What’s happening?” Natalia whispered.
“Celeste’s moving the lifeboat. See?” Kayla nodded at the davit arm. “Frost is forming on the cable of the winch.” They watched ice crystals grow like fungus, creeping down the black metal cable that disappeared into the winch.
Ping! Crack!
A stray piece of metal flew out of the winch and shattered a nearby window. The lifeboat shuddered as the davit folded in on itself, bending, crumpling, and screeching as metal scraped against metal. The tension on their rope slackened without warning. Natalia and Kayla fell flat onto the deck as the lifeboat shot overhead, swinging into position inches above their chests. Vincent slid gently to the safety of the sheltered deck as the women crawled out from under the lifeboat.
“Let me out!” Shouting and pounding from inside the boat intensified.
“Natalia get Steven out while I gi
ve Vincent a heart pill,” Kayla said, bending over Vincent.
Natalia dragged a deck chair to the side of the lifeboat and climbed up to undo the cover. Kayla levered Vincent’s mouth open and prayed he could swallow.
Soon his eyelids fluttered. “Celeste?” he muttered. “Is that you?”
“It’s Kayla.”
A tear trickled down his cheek. “I smelled lavender. I thought I felt her hand touch my forehead.”
“Yes, Celeste was here and saved your life.”
He said, “Did you see her?”
“Yes.”
“God! I wish I could see her for one more moment…to ask her…Do you think she could ever forgive me?”
“Forgive you? Paula was the one who murdered Celeste.”
Vincent sighed. “Celeste knew I had nothing to do with her murder. I wanted to tell her I was sorry…we had a frightful fight…and I said things…things I didn’t mean. She died before I could apologize.” He choked back a sob.
Kayla squeezed his hand. “Celeste waited on this ship all those years to save your life. She forgives you.”
“Really?” Vincent swiped at tears and stiffened. “Where’s Paula?”
“We left her unconscious on the emerald deck.”
Vincent tried to sit up. “Don’t let her get away! I don’t care what she says to ruin my career; she must face trial for Celeste’s murder!”
Kayla pushed him back. “Paula’s going nowhere! Celeste tied her up with strips of that green dress and we’ve got the evidence to prove she killed Celeste—the emerald necklace.”
“I want her prosecuted!” He stared into Kayla’s eyes. “You heard Paula confess didn’t you? You’ll testify against her?”
“It would be a pleasure to put her behind bars.” Kayla grinned. “Besides, if I didn’t testify, Celeste might haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“No.” Vincent lifted his gaze to the ceiling and shook his head sadly. “She’s gone. I wish I could go with her.”
“Celeste wanted you to live! She might have let you die but decided to save your life. You’ve been trapped in a prison, married to a woman you didn’t love, and now Celeste wants you to live a real life.”
Vincent’s sad eyes brightened. “Thanks.”
Chapter 14 ~ Smuggler’s Plan
Steven climbed down from the lifeboat and Kayla wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let’s never fight again! If they killed you, I’d never have a chance to say I’m sorry…to say I love you…I don’t care how long it takes for us to get married…I’ll wait.”
Steven kissed her hard and murmured into her ear, “Marry me, darling. I’ll work anywhere as long as we can stay together.” Footsteps pounded overhead. Steven stiffened. “We’re still not safe! Natalia go fetch Jason, and ask him to meet us in Emily’s room straight away.”
Natalia nodded and ran through the nearby door. Captain Swenson arrived a moment later, followed by his crew. Swenson eyed the crumpled davit and whistled.
“What happened here?” he asked.
Kayla said, “Our ghost rescued Vincent from a murder attempt. You’ll find Paula tied up on the emerald deck. She confessed to murdering Vincent’s first wife, Celeste.”
“We found her. The doctor’s treating her right now,” Swenson said, glancing at Vincent. “Is he all right?”
Kayla shook her head. “He’s got a heart condition. The doctor should come down and check on him, but don’t let Paula get away.”
Swenson gestured at a crewman, who scurried up the stairs. The captain inspected the lifeboat, lifting the cover to peer inside. Rocking back on his heels, he said, “Is your ghost finished disturbing my ship?”
Kayla nodded. “Vincent says Celeste’s gone. You won’t have any more trouble from the ghost.”
Swenson nodded. “Emily won’t be happy about the cost of these repairs but if all the trouble’s finished…”
“Almost,” Steven interrupted. “There’s still the matter of a smuggling ring.”
Swenson arched an eyebrow. “On my ship?”
Footsteps clanged down the staircase. The doctor rushed to his patient and crew poured into the cramped space surrounding the lifeboat. “This is not the place to discuss the matter,” Steven said. “Let’s talk in private.”
“Good point but I need to sort out this mess.” Swenson’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the chaos. “Let’s meet in Emily’s cabin in half an hour.”
“Sounds good.” Steven wrapped his arm around Kayla’s waist and led her inside. He remained silent as they made their way to Emily’s suite.
“What’s wrong?” Kayla asked.
“You’ll understand in a minute.” Steven’s jaw clenched and he looked angry. At Emily’s suite, he barged through the door without knocking. Emily sat on the couch in deep conversation with Jean-Claude, the chief steward.
“Steven!” Emily gasped, jumping up from the sofa. She enveloped him in a friendly embrace but Steven stood unyielding.
“What’s wrong?” Kayla asked Steven.
“I think you’d better ask these two.” Steven brushed past Emily and confronted Jean-Claude. “You mind telling me how you got involved?”
Jean-Claude leaned back against a cushion. “It is not for me to tell. Emily?”
“Steven. Stop jumping to conclusions and sit down,” Emily said.
Steven paced. “When a trusted friend tosses me into a lifeboat, I get a bit unreasonable.
“Steven! You can’t be serious,” Kayla said.
Emily slumped on the sofa, her face turning red. “It’s not what you think, Steven. You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t understand,” Steven said, his fist clenched. “Do you mind clearing things up for me?”
The door opened. Jason and Natalia rushed in, unmindful of the tense scene.
“Steven!” Jason grabbed Steven’s hand, pumping it in a vigorous handshake. “Natalia told me where they had you stashed. We’re lucky they didn’t toss you overboard.”
Steven glared at Emily. “Yes. It’s lucky for all of us.”
Kayla held her hands up. “Will you all stop?” She turned to Emily. “Can you please explain?”
Steven said, “I recognized your voice, Emily. You and that Frenchman moved me.”
Emily glanced sideways at Jean-Claude, who sat smiling, unconcerned. “We did move you, but it was to save your life. I eavesdropped on a conversation—you know, by reading lips—and found out where they were hiding you. The plan was to dump you overboard tonight so we acted quickly.
“Jean-Claude volunteered to help, but we couldn’t take time to explain. They were coming to kill you, Steven! We found you blindfolded, tied hand and foot, so we moved you to the lifeboat, and got out of there to escape detection.”
Steven plopped into a chair and leaned forward. “You could’ve told me something! I heard you giving him directions.”
Emily nodded. “I’m sorry. We planned to let you out after all the commotion died down.”
“Okay, then who was the ring leader. Who was planning to kill me?”
Emily looked up as a figure filled the open doorway. “Him,” she said, tears filling her eyes. Everyone turned.
Captain Swenson stood in the doorway holding a gun. His eyes looked narrow, mean, as his mouth curled into a sneer. Swenson no longer resembled the heroic figure of Brian Dennehy from Cocoon, but looked like a villain.
Emily confronted the captain, her fists resting on her hips, oblivious to the threat of the gun. “You courted me, made me trust you! But all the time you were using my ships to transport your loot,” Emily accused.
Swenson grinned wolfishly. “So true, my dear. It was quite entertaining and I’m sorry to end the relationship so quickly. I planned to marry you and become your heir before I killed you off.”
Jason moved forward.
Swenson grabbed Emily. Swinging her in front of his body, he aimed the gun at her head. “Make another move, copper, and you’ll end her life right now. Jef
ferson!” he barked over his shoulder. “Get in here.”
Kayla remembered the words of the note left in her cottage. “Copper” was how the note referred to Steven so the two incidents were connected. Jefferson, the communications officer, stepped inside and Kayla suppressed a groan. These guys knew every message Steven sent to Interpol and probably intercepted return messages containing good information.
Jefferson shut the door and pointed a pistol into the room, looking eager to kill.
“It’s kind of you to gather all together,” Swenson said, shoving Emily away. “Now we won’t need to round you up to kill you.”
Jason scowled. “You can’t kill us all!”
“Sure we can. When we scuttle the ship to cover our tracks, you’ll lay dead on the ocean floor and no one will know who killed you.” Swenson glanced at Kayla and snarled, “We almost had you when we sabotaged the lifeboat…it would have been so easy to end your investigation right then…but something jammed the equipment.”
“You fired at us that night outside the disco?” Kayla asked.
“That was Jefferson’s clever idea!” Swenson glared at his companion. “He recognized Steven and panicked. We had no idea you really believed in that ghost drivel, or we would’ve made it look like part of the haunting. By the time you put the facts together, we realized you had to die.”
Steven shook his head. “I don’t understand. We checked you out! You were running your wife’s company, when the smuggling ring started operating in the Mediterranean. You didn’t captain a cruise ship until this voyage.”
Jason said, “His wife’s company was the key to the entire operation—she owned a shipping company with existing international contacts—a perfect front for the smuggling operation. Swenson organized the smuggling ring, using the shipping company to gather garbage and smuggle the artifacts.”
Steven nodded. “I get it. The shipping company profits soared with Swenson in charge. Did you marry your wife to gain control of her company?”
“Why not?” Swenson scowled. “When she died our company was worth millions but her greedy kids swooped in and kicked me out!”
