Killer Cruise

by Dawn Brookes

  “I would ’ave that day, but I was away. By the time I met up wiv Dom, we had a blazing row, ’e promised me ’e would never do it again – even apologised, somefing ’e never did, so I forgave im and we agreed we wouldn’t talk about it again. We never did.” He sighed wistfully.

  “You’re lucky your wife didn’t fall for his charms, I suppose.”

  “Yeah, Bee’s a smasher to look at – could’ve ’ad anyone. I don’t know what she sees in me, but we really are ’appy, always ’ave been. There’s no way I would ’ave let Dom ruin that – no way.” He raised his voice.

  “Well thankfully, it wasn’t ruined. So what makes you think he wasn’t having an affair with Gordon’s wife?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but it wasn’t ’is style to be shy about it. He would always brag about ’is conquests to the boys. It doesn’t fit his MO, if you know what I mean?”

  “I see, so you really do believe Dalton is mistaken?”

  “Look, Lady Snellforpe, Dalton’s a nice lad – but not a lot between the ears. I expect ’e saw Dom wiv some bird and either fought it was Shirley or made the whole thing up. Unless, of course—”

  “What?”

  “Unless for the first time in ’is life, Dom was keeping ’is big gob shut. Anyway, I’d better go. Shall we meet up tonight after the band’s played?”

  “Is there another daytime show? I’m not quite the night owl.”

  “Yeah, tomorrow afternoon on the lido again. We’ll meet you after that, then.”

  “That might not be convenient, Mr Walker, Rachel and I will be ashore for the day. However, we will come to one of the shows as soon as we are able.”

  Jimmy dropped his head and left Marjorie pondering over what he had told her and trying to remember it all so that she could tell Rachel when she saw her later. The only problem was, her head still felt muzzy from all the tablets she had taken, so she hoped she wouldn’t forget everything. Time to return to her room – perhaps she could write it all down once she got there.

  Chapter 15

  “Did you enjoy your day out, dear?” Marjorie let Rachel into her room. Rachel was pleased to see her friend looking much improved from the morning. The colour had returned to her cheeks and the tension in her brow had almost disappeared.

  “It was lovely, thank you, although we missed you. We did the historical tour as planned and visited the Old Town where we had a couple of hours’ free time. We also bumped into Shirley Venables—”

  “The wife of the angry cruise director.” Marjorie finished the sentence for her.

  “She happened to be on the same tour bus. We did manage to chat to her, but not for long as Sarah wasn’t keen to intrude on her outing.”

  “Or her own, no doubt – and I can’t say I blame her. She doesn’t get much time off, does she? Anyway, what did you find out?”

  “That she takes a good photo with a mobile phone and that she’s a quiet sort of girl. That’s about it. She doesn’t seem the type to be snogging the likes of Dominic Venables in a public place – I wonder if Dalton’s got it wrong. I took a quick peek at the photos on her mobile phone, but there wasn’t anything obviously incriminating.”

  “Maybe Dalton does play economically with the truth as his friends intimated.”

  “But why lie about something like that? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Perhaps he can’t help himself. Some people are like that. I knew a girl many years ago who used to invent all sorts of things, so much so that in the end she convinced herself the stories she made up were true. Such keen and elaborate stories she told, could have made it as a successful author, but alas, lies were the undoing of her.”

  “How so?”

  “Not satisfied with telling stories about herself and her own imaginary exploits, she started making up stories about other people – harmless stories at first, but when she got the attention she craved, the stories took on a dark and sinister turn. Any friends she had managed to hang on to soon gave her the cold shoulder.”

  “Did she tell any stories about you?”

  “Oh yes – I had been a scullery maid in a Lord Grayson’s household and learned how to pretend to be a lady. After that, I moved to London, pretended to be titled and sucked Ralph in by doing all sorts of creative things! To be honest, I found it amusing, but Ralph flatly refused to allow her in the house afterwards.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “Emigrated, although that might be fiction too. We lost touch. Now, getting back to Dalton, the point is that there isn’t always a reason people invent things – perhaps he’s insecure. He’s certainly not brash like the rest of the people he hangs around with, so it could be his way of drawing attention to himself. Or – he could be telling the truth, of course. Not all women are what they seem, and Shirley Venables may well have been kissing – I can’t bring myself to say the other word – on the crew deck. And she could have been the same woman the young man saw in one of the passenger areas.”

  “Mm, I’ll keep an open mind, but I’m more inclined to believe that Dalton made it up or was mistaken about the identity of the woman Dominic Venables was… ah hm… ‘kissing’.”

  “I did discover more information about Mr Dominic Venables.” Marjorie rubbed her hands gleefully with a glint in her eye. “Let’s have tea before I reveal all. Mario will be arriving shortly with a fresh pot and a selection of pastries. I’m a bit peckish.”

  If it wasn’t absurd, Rachel would have imagined that Marjorie’s suite had been bugged as Mario arrived immediately her sentence was finished, carrying a tray laden with food. Rachel stared in disbelief at the pile.

  “We’ll be having dinner in a couple of hours!”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am Rachel, but Lady Snellthorpe has hardly eaten all day, and if you don’t mind me saying so, you have room to grow.”

  Rachel did keep herself in shape with hardly an ounce of fat, so she understood what he meant.

  “You can’t talk!”

  Mario was tall and lean himself with slick black overly creamed hair, and now she looked at him more closely, she wondered if he had actually lost weight since she’d last seen him. After he’d left them, Rachel commented on it to Marjorie.

  “Do you suppose he’s ill?”

  “I can’t say I noticed. Remember, I only met him once before and it was under rather traumatic circumstances. Perhaps you should ask Sarah to give him a once-over.”

  Rachel decided to do just that. Not that Sarah would be able to tell her anything confidential, but she could at least draw her attention to it if he’d not been seen by the medical team recently.

  “Okay, back to your Intel. What did you discover?”

  Marjorie explained that she’d slept all morning and then got washed and dressed.

  “Mario was clucking over me like I was a child,” she huffed. Rachel laughed, knowing she had been responsible for that by making him promise to enquire after the old lady while she was out.

  “I ended up stretching my legs on deck sixteen and wandered into the Sky View Lounge to sit for a while. I must have been feeling better because it’s rather bright in there and I can’t abide light during a migraine, but I chose it because it’s also quiet and I was worried the noise from children playing might make the headache return.” Marjorie went on to describe the goings on of various groups of people who passed through the lounge and watching another cruise ship sail away. “I was about to return to my room when who should turn up at my table but the band manager, Timmy Walker.”

  “Jimmy.”

  “That’s right, Jimmy – he looks so much more like a Timmy, don’t you think? But yes, him – seeing me, he came over to join me, mainly to ask when I might decide to book the band as they get snapped up and such like. I won’t bore you with the details. After giving me his sales patter, he finally got on to talking about Dom, as he calls him. For all his car salesmen-type veneer, he did seem genuinely upset about the death.”

  Rachel thought it was p
robably more the money he used to make from the singer he was upset about, but didn’t want to burst Marjorie’s bubble.

  “What did he say?”

  Marjorie poured another cup of tea and finished off a breaded chicken finger fillet before answering. Rachel saw a glint in her eye as she sipped her tea.

  “It seems that this Dominic Venables was a regular Casanova, usually with other people’s wives.”

  “So I gather, but was there any new revelation? Did he say anything about Gordon’s wife, Shirley?”

  “No, he doesn’t hold much truck by anything Dalton says, but he did mention his own wife had a near miss when Mr Venables tried to pull a fast one while Jimmy was out of town. Sounds like she was one of the few who managed to resist the deceased man’s charm.”

  Rachel was thoughtful. She’d imagined Jimmy’s wife to be an older woman, but that wouldn’t necessarily put the lead singer off, she supposed.

  “I know what you’re thinking. I thought the same. Turns out his wife has kept herself in shape and is very attractive. He showed me a photograph and she is rather stunning – I told him she looked like an ex model. Jimmy – are you sure it’s not Timmy? – laughed and explained he never knew what she saw in him, but they are very much in love.”

  “So she didn’t succumb?”

  “Apparently not. She showed Venables the door and informed him she would be telling her husband about his behaviour, and she did.”

  “That can’t have done their working relationship any good.”

  “That’s just it. Jimmy says they had a huge row, Venables assured Jimmy he wouldn’t go near his wife again. He says they agreed never to talk of it and carried on as normal.”

  “How forgiving! Do you believe him?”

  “He seemed sincere enough, but he also said that our Mr Venables would make a play for every woman he met.”

  “That puts me in my place as one of the many then,” said Rachel, remembering how he’d made a beeline for her in the bar the night before he’d died.

  “You have a far better fish to fry. That other fellow, Ray, said Walker and Venables argued all the time, didn’t he?”

  “It seems like they all argued, and still do. What a dysfunctional group of people. I’m amazed they didn’t come to blows before.” Then Rachel remembered that they had done just that a few nights ago.

  They finished their tea and decided to get ready for dinner. Rachel returned to her room no nearer to knowing who might be responsible for the death of Dominic Venables, but mentally moving Jimmy higher up the list of suspects. The list that seemed to grow ever longer.

  Waverley stood to attention, hovering outside the door to Rachel’s suite.

  “Mario told me you were with Lady Snellthorpe so I decided to wait,” he said gruffly.

  Rachel raised her eyebrows quizzically. You mean you didn’t want another ear bashing. She smiled to herself.

  “Will this take long? I’m about to change for dinner. Marjorie and I are meeting an elderly couple we have got to know during the cruise.”

  Two can play gruff.

  “I don’t mean to intrude, but I need a statement from you regarding the scuffle yesterday.”

  “Scuffle? A scuffle is when two people play at it. This seemed more like an unevenly matched boxing contest where one party continues to rain down blows while the other’s out cold, but you know that already.” She remembered the strength it had taken to pull Gordon off the prone Dave and the fear in the young man’s eyes. “I don’t want to appear rude, but I really don’t have much time.” She mellowed. “Perhaps I can come and see you later this evening or tomorrow morning?”

  “I’m busy tonight, captain’s dinner with some paying guests, but tomorrow morning will be fine. Would nine o’clock suit?”

  “That will be fine, see you then.”

  Waverley turned on his heels and marched along the corridor. Rachel was exasperated, not able to work him out. One minute he was encouraging her to help and the next he was positively standoffish.

  Perhaps the captain’s told him to keep me out of it again.

  Rachel quickly showered and changed into a jade green cocktail dress ready for dinner, choosing white open-toed shoes with a small heel and a deeper toned green stole to cover her shoulders. The mirror revealed a healthy glow developing as a result of spending time in the open air and she opted to apply only a light smattering of makeup without foundation. Then it was time to collect Marjorie, who had arranged for them to meet up with Ron and Mabel for pre-dinner drinks.

  Marjorie was ready and waiting, dressed in a black evening dress with matching shoes and a red snug. Her bright-blue eyes twinkled under the light of the corridor.

  “You look gorgeous,” Rachel told her admiringly.

  “And so do you, dear, but then you look divine whatever you wear. It’s time young Carlos got his priorities straight.”

  Rachel’s boyfriend, Carlos, had been exceptionally busy with his private detective agency and had been taking jobs that required him travelling both nationally and internationally. A recent case had taken him back to Italy to recover some stolen jewels taken from an estate in Norfolk. Carlos didn’t mind travelling to Italy as he still had distant relatives there and it allowed him to catch up with their news. Lady, the Springer Spaniel, had travelled with him on his last trip and helped sniff out the hidden gems.

  “If you mean what I think you mean, I’m not ready,” said Rachel as she took the old lady’s arm and led her down the corridor towards the lifts. Changing the subject, she remarked, “You appear to be a lot better than you did this morning. Has the head cleared?”

  “Mostly, just a bit fuzzy, but at my age, fuzziness is not unusual.” She laughed. “I’ll stay on the wagon tonight, though.”

  “Good idea,” agreed Rachel.

  Chapter 16

  Sarah hurried into the waiting room towards the end of a hectic surgery and noticed Shirley Venables sitting alone in a corner. She smiled and called her through to the clinic room.

  “We meet again.”

  “Sorry I didn’t say anything earlier. I forgot I needed an appointment until my phone beeped a reminder.”

  “No problem.”

  Sarah pulled up the woman’s medical record on the computer and a reminder flashed as to why she was there, but she asked anyway.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “My pill implant needs changing.”

  “Okay. Have you had any problems with it?”

  “None, just some spotting which can be annoying at times.”

  Sarah looked at the screen. Shirley Venables, thirty years old, married with no children. After checking her weight and blood pressure, Sarah asked, “Are you happy to have this implant removed and a replacement in the other arm?”

  “Very happy, we’re not ready for children.” Sarah noticed the other woman’s eyes filling up. “I don’t want children with my husband.”

  “I see.”

  Shirley and Gordon had only recently joined the Coral Queen and Sarah hadn’t got to know them very well. Obviously the events of the past few days had taken their toll.

  “I’m sorry about Gordon being arrested.”

  “I’m not,” said Shirley, starting to cry. Sarah handed her a box of tissues from the desk.

  “Would you like to talk about it?” she asked softly. Shirley looked unsure, but Sarah smiled gently, encouraging her to take her time. “Let me get you some water.”

  After leaving the room to get glasses of water for them both and explaining to Gwen that she might be a while, Sarah returned to find Shirley sitting up straight. She handed over the water and wondered for a minute if the woman would cut and run, but she remained in her chair. Sarah shuffled her own chair round to face Shirley and prodded gently.

  “Sometimes it helps to talk.”

  Shirley looked Sarah in the eye. She had big brown eyes underneath the false lashes that glistened with tears. Beneath the heavy makeup, she would be beautiful.
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br />   “Things are not good between us, they haven’t been for a long time. I’m grateful for the break.”

  Sarah was beginning to believe the affair with Dom might have some truth in it. “Go on,” she said encouragingly.

  “We met on our first cruise contract. He’s not good looking, but it didn’t matter. We hit if off straight away. He seemed so funny and attentive, he made me feel like a beauty queen.

  “After a whirlwind romance, we got married as soon as our contracts finished and we moved to Wales where Gordon originates from. I was happy there for the first six months, but we never went out. He didn’t seem to have many friends, but then I realised he just kept me away from them.

  “I began to get restless and feel like a prisoner in our home. I complained I was lonely – my family are in Munich. Neither of us could find work locally so we decided to apply to work on cruise ships again as a couple.”

  “Did you meet his family while you lived in Wales?”

  “Only at the wedding. Gordon raged about his parents, he said they preferred his brother who had always been more outgoing. I didn’t witness that at the wedding – they seemed a nice couple. They tried to talk to Gordon, but the relationship was strained. Gordon appeared standoffish and waspy whenever they spoke to him. They phoned a few times a week, but Gordon would always end the conversation on a negative note. I started to notice how insecure he could be and blamed his parents, but—”

  Her voice cracked and Sarah waited patiently for her to continue. She placed a hand on the other woman’s, encouraging her.

  “It’s not them, it’s him. As soon as we started working on the Jade Queen, the ship before this one, he became obsessively jealous. Every time I spoke to another man, he would accuse me of having an affair. When I wasn’t working, it became easier to be in our room rather than have to explain where I’d been and who I’d seen. I distanced myself from my fellow dancers and they thought I was snubbing them because I thought I was better than them.”