Killer Cruise

by Dawn Brookes

  “We were so pleased you accepted our invitation. I can’t thank you enough for everything you did. You, Sarah and Dr Romano.”

  Alex Romano and Sarah still worked closely with the Russian engineer to deal with his alcohol addiction and the beginnings of liver cirrhosis. Rachel was thrilled to see him looking so happy. There was still a slight discolouration to his skin, but his emerald eyes shone brightly now that he was overcoming his problems.

  “It’s wonderful to see you too, I was delighted to be invited. This is my friend, Marjorie.”

  Darren bowed the top half of his body to Marjorie. “I am honoured you are attending our wedding, Lady Snellthorpe.”

  Ship’s etiquette even applied to weddings, it seemed.

  Darren seemed uncomfortable momentarily. Marjorie sensed his unease and dispensed with any class barriers immediately.

  “Do call me Marjorie. All my friends do, and any friend of Rachel’s is a friend of mine.” She took his hand. “Is that your son over there?”

  The Russian’s chest almost burst out of his ill-fitting suit as he proudly collected the baby and brought him over to them.

  “This is Erik Higgs, we gave him my new surname.”

  Marjorie cooed over the baby and soon found herself holding the young Erik as the groom was retrieved by the best man. Captain Jensen arrived along with Waverley and they shook hands with Darren before checking on last-minute details with the pianist.

  The chapel went silent as Eva arrived, wearing a traditional white wedding dress and veil. The dress was simple in design with a round neck and the minimum of fuss. Eva was walked down the chapel aisle by a man in his fifties.

  “Her father,” Sarah mouthed.

  “Thank heavens he looks happier than her mother,” Marjorie whispered.

  The ceremony was simple and traditional, verging on Catholic as both bride and groom came from Catholic backgrounds. Captain Jensen officiated with an ease that demonstrated his experience. As soon as the ceremony was over, he congratulated the couple and departed at a polite juncture, understanding that his presence would suffocate the crew’s joy and prevent them from being themselves.

  Marjorie had held Erik throughout the service and he’d drifted off to sleep in the comfort of her arms.

  “He reminds me of Jeremy when he was a boy. I do miss not having grandchildren, but Jeremy’s never shown any interest in having children and his second wife is a socialite. I can’t ever imagine her having children, even though she’s twenty years younger than my son.”

  Rachel squeezed her arm.

  The wedding attendees gathered round in groups and began to vacate the chapel after being advised food and soft drinks would be served in the crew café and alcohol in the bar. Rachel and Marjorie decided to leave after the service as they didn’t want to intrude or make anyone uneasy. Darren and Eva came to collect Erik, and Darren hugged Rachel again while Eva thanked them for attending.

  “It was a lovely service,” said Rachel.

  “Thank you. I am the happiest man in the world,” Darren announced.

  As the new Mr and Mrs Higgs left, Rachel thought he certainly looked it.

  Chapter 26

  Rachel and Marjorie opted for a table on deck fourteen overlooking the lido deck where a live band was playing in honour of the sailaway party.

  “Time’s rapidly passing and we are no nearer to finding out whodunit!” said Marjorie petulantly.

  “Waverley told me after the wedding he’s now going back to the theory of it being an accident. He’s even considering allowing Gordon Venables loose again and back to work!”

  “That would be a mistake, I fear, if only for the sake of his downtrodden wife. It’s traumatic enough for a woman to try and escape the clutches of a dangerous and controlling man without being confined on board a cruise ship with him.”

  “In Waverley’s defence, he did emphasise that Gordon would be sacked if he made any attempt to contact his wife during the sailing. He must be under pressure from above with Gordon’s deputy having to stand in for him and others covering her work. If he is allowed back, Gordon will be transferred to another ship as soon as possible.”

  “Be it on their head if the cruise line is happy to employ a man who presents a real danger to his wife and violently attacks a passenger.”

  “Ah, there is also news on that front. Waverley found out quite by chance during his routine background checks that Dominic Venables had a son. Guess what the son’s name is?”

  “Is it Dave Hughes, by any chance?”

  “You guessed it! His mother never married, but his father on the birth certificate is registered as Dominic Venables. The information only came to light after Waverley pulled up a historic assault charge citing Venables as the victim. The attacker, a teenager, went for him during a gig in Cardiff. The teenager was named as Dave Hughes, but he got off with a caution after police put it down to a ‘domestic’. Apparently, the boy’s mother explained her son was angry about being abandoned as a baby and Venables didn’t press charges. Waverley interviewed Hughes again today and it turns out he and his estranged father had been communicating via Facebook, and when he heard his dad’s band would be playing on board the Coral Queen, Dave persuaded his best friend to hold his stag do on board – sort of a final effort. It seems he imagined a great reconciliation.”

  “Well, that adds a new flavour to the pot, doesn’t it? It seems our list of suspects is increasing.”

  Rachel acknowledged the fact. “Waverley thinks Hughes caused that fight deliberately because of the friction between his father and Gordon, who has no idea that the young man is his nephew.”

  “I suppose that’s possible, but it seems a bit extreme. How would he know how his uncle would react?”

  “I wonder if his estranged father had told him about Gordon’s weak spot. Dom probably bragged about how he would get Shirley Venables to sleep with him – he was certainly arrogant enough to say something like that.”

  “It might have been better for Dave Hughes not to have become acquainted with his father, if that’s the case. If he did provoke the fight, it explains why he dropped the charges and encouraged the chief to release Gordon Venables. Perhaps, unlike his father, he has a conscience.”

  “We only have his word he patched things up with his father, though,” said Rachel as she stared into her empty glass.

  “You’re right. He does need adding to the suspect list. Did you find anything on the replacement lead singer?”

  “No, Waverley hasn’t looked into him, but promised he’ll check and come back to me.”

  “We really are no closer to the truth. Do you imagine it could have been an accident?”

  “Not in a million years. I suspect someone wanted it to look like that, and if Gordon is innocent, the murderer framed him deliberately on realising murder was suspected.”

  “Or found it convenient.”

  “Yes. We still can’t rule Gordon out, but he goes to the bottom of the list for now. Trouble is with so many candidates, I’m no longer sure who should be at the top. We will keep our new lead singer up there as a question mark until we find out when he boarded.”

  “Agreed. I would also put Nick Garrett up there. He’s a nasty piece of work and there was obviously a lot of friction between him and his so-called friend.”

  Rachel wrote the two names down along with possible motives. “I think we need to put Dave Hughes up top now too. Family feuds run deep, and if he has an abandonment grudge, he may well have argued with his father. He had obviously been violent towards him previously.”

  “Then there’s Timmy Walker.”

  “Jimmy,” Rachel corrected automatically.

  “Yes, Jimmy Walker – I still think he looks like a Timmy – a man who had a lot to lose if the band walked away from him. We also only have his word that he forgave Venables for trying to seduce his wife.”

  Rachel added the two names. “That leaves Ray Lynch and Dalton Delacruz.”

  “The
re doesn’t seem to be much of a motive for either of them to kill the man. Lynch seems happy enough with his role as the drummer and all we have on Dalton is that he is economical with the truth.”

  “Unless his leaning towards fantasies extended to arguing with Venables, who found out Dalton had told his brother about his attempted seduction of Shirley. That doesn’t make sense, though, because Dom didn’t seem to mind who found out. In fact, he would probably have revelled in it. Those two join Gordon at the bottom of the list for now.”

  “And there is one more,” Marjorie said thoughtfully.

  “Who?”

  “Shirley Venables. She had every reason to want Dominic Venables dead – already suffering a life of torment with an over-controlling husband, frightened at what her husband might do if he became convinced she was having an affair with his brother, and knowing that either way, her husband wouldn’t believe her.”

  “I must admit, I hadn’t put Shirley in the frame, but I suppose she and Dom might have argued, and the argument could have gotten out of hand. Knowing what we do of the Venables ego, we can assume he wouldn’t have backed down, and a woman desperate for respite from the false accusations of her husband may understandably have turned to violence, however unlikely. Perhaps he attacked her and she defended herself. The only problem with that is I’m sure it was a man in the pool trying to kill Gordon.”

  “Do you know that for certain?”

  “Almost, but I didn’t get a clear look at him because of the mist, and until I shouted, he had his back to me. But the shape looked like that of a man, and I’m pretty sure my recollection doesn’t fit Shirley’s frame. Gordon also said it was a man.”

  “What if he’s lying? If he did suspect his wife, it would explain the accusation in that letter she received, wouldn’t it?”

  Rachel mulled it over for a moment and accepted the possibility. “We’ll add her to the bottom of the list, but I just don’t have Shirley Venables down as a cold-blooded killer.”

  “No,” said Marjorie. “But as you suggested, if the first incident turns out not to have been an accident, even if it was self-defence, and she had reason to believe her husband suspected her, he would have had permanent leverage over her. She’s desperate enough to be free of him.”

  “The hole in this theory is that a man called Gordon on the telephone to say his wife could be in danger. Shirley wouldn’t be strong enough to push him in the water, and by all accounts, he was already under suspicion for the murder and locked up. I can’t see her putting herself at risk in that way.” Rachel caught the eye of a waiter. “I need a martini – our list has just grown!”

  After dinner, Rachel walked Marjorie back to her suite. It had been a busy day and she wanted her friend to get some rest. On arrival back in her own suite, she decided to email Carlos again. There had been no reply from his office phone or his mobile the day before, and worry had been building up in her throughout today when she didn’t hear from him again.

  After emailing, she opened the doors on to the balcony and found herself imagining different scenarios about where Carlos was, none of them pleasant. When he didn’t contact her after they’d docked in Russia, initially she’d felt relieved, not wanting to tell him about the attack, but now concern had set in. It was nearly four days since receiving the last text, and the tension was now setting her nerves on edge. Marjorie had been doing her best to keep her mind occupied, and discussing the list of suspects had helped.

  She pulled the suspect list out of her handbag and placed it on the table. The only sounds she could hear came from the breaking of the Baltic waves against the side of the ship to her left. The scene was eerily black.

  During their briefing – Marjorie had taken to calling the meetings ‘briefings’ or ‘war councils’ – they’d decided to follow the stag party on their tour the following day. A quick call to Waverley and a bit of checking on his part had revealed the boys were booked on a Stockholm sightseeing excursion, and Sarah had reluctantly agreed to join Rachel and Marjorie for the same excursion. The excursions desk was closed, but Waverley had called one of the team in to provide tickets for three.

  When Waverley called her suite to confirm that the excursion was booked, Rachel went through the suspect list briefly over the telephone and he agreed they should continue to investigate, but was still hoping to close the case as an accident/unexplained death. He reasoned the attack on her and Gordon could have come from one of the band, convinced Gordon had murdered their friend. The coroner in Copenhagen didn’t have enough evidence to conclude that it was murder, particularly as she had since discovered evidence of high levels of drugs and alcohol in the victim’s system. As the drug found in his system turned out to be LSD, the coroner explained an alternative scenario to Waverley, suggesting the man may have thought he could fly, apparently a common hallucination linked to LSD use. Waverley appeared to be coming to the same conclusion.

  Much to Rachel’s disgust, Gordon Venables had been reinstated as cruise director on condition he stayed away from his wife.

  “I told him, if he’s seen within one hundred yards of her, he will be in the brig,” Waverley assured Rachel.

  Dr Bentley was none too happy about the situation either, Sarah told her when she phoned after surgery.

  “He’s worried. He says an obsessive man like that is unlikely to leave her alone. I’m frightened for her, Rachel.”

  Rachel had to agree. Waverley was taking a huge risk with this one and she couldn’t work out why. From what she had known of him in their previous dealings, he made mistakes, but he didn’t strike her as a risk taker. What he was doing now seemed out of character.

  He can’t have told the cruise line about the attack on the passenger.

  Rachel found herself equally surprised Captain Jensen had agreed to the man’s reinstatement. This reckless behaviour didn’t make sense, unless there was something Waverley wasn’t telling her.

  The sound of her mobile telephone ringing made her jump from her reverie. Leaping up from the table, she almost slipped, realising she hadn’t even kicked off her stilettos from the wedding.

  Where was her phone? She clambered over the chair that had fallen to the floor and, dashing into the sitting room of her suite, saw the phone on the sofa. She looked at the screen and pressed the answer button.

  “Carlos, where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you.”

  “Sorry, it’s not Carlos.”

  “Is that you, Greg?” asked Rachel, recognising the voice of Carlos’s assistant.

  “Yes, he asked me to call you yesterday, but I was following a bloke around all day and I forgot.”

  “So where is he and why have you got his phone?”

  “I don’t have all the facts because he’s gone off grid on this one. It turns out the case he’s working on is much bigger than one missing dog. He said there could be a trace on his phone so he gave it to me to put them off the scent, asking me to let you know. He picked up a pay-as-you-go and was heading up to the Scottish Highlands. That was on Friday. He texted my number on Saturday to tell me he was following up another lead and had boarded a ferry to Dublin.”

  “I see,” said Rachel, trying to control the palpitations pounding through her chest. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Is he in any danger?”

  “Nothing he can’t handle, Rachel. Don’t worry, he can take care of himself.”

  “Is Lady with him?”

  “Yeah, it’s thanks to her that he’s got this far, he says. She sniffed out a secret room when he went to collect the missing dog. Turned out they found cages full of designer puppies, stolen to order. He was livid – him and his detective friend cajoled the guy into helping them with their enquiries on condition he gets some leniency.”

  “Okay, thanks for telling me. Oh, and Greg?”

  “What?”

  “Next time he asks you to contact me, make sure you do it the same day.”

  He sounded suitably rebuked. “Sorry, promise
,” he said, ending the call.

  Rachel felt most of the tension dissipating. As she sighed deeply and looked heavenwards, she prayed, “Thank you, Lord. Why on earth didn’t I just trust you in the first place?”

  Her father had always told her it was much harder to have faith when trials came and things didn’t go to plan, and she had to admit that on this occasion, her father was right.

  Chapter 27

  It had been a frustrating day. Rachel had found it difficult to concentrate on the beautiful city of Stockholm because she had been champing at the bit to find out why Dave Hughes wasn’t with his friends on the tour and still fretting over the whereabouts of Carlos. Marjorie and Sarah made the best of the trip, annoyingly determined to look on the bright side of everything while Rachel took a rare journey into the doldrums. The other two women allowed her space, sensing her mood, but even that made her miserable.

  When they got back to the ship, Sarah put her arm around her friend.

  “Oh Sarah, Marjorie, I’m sorry. I’ve been a right pain in the butt today; I don’t understand what came over me.”

  “Well you did get a blow to the head.” Sarah laughed, clearly detecting it was alright to joke again.

  “You do have a lot on your mind,” said Marjorie kindly.

  “That’s no excuse. Only last night, I was relieved to find out Carlos was safe and thanking God, and today I behave like a petulant schoolgirl.”

  “It’s the adrenaline drop,” explained Sarah. “You’ve been on tenterhooks for days with adrenaline and cortisone coursing through the veins, and those hormones have plummeted today, leaving you feeling drained. From one adrenaline junkie to another, trust me, it’s quite normal.”

  Rachel slapped her head. “You’re right – you know what else? I haven’t been running or gone to the gym since Friday – no wonder I’m so grouchy.” The realisation that there was a cause for her mood immediately made her feel better. “How strange, I’m fine now.”

  Sarah mock wiped her brow. “Thank goodness for that.”