Chapter 12 #3
“I hope we get to sit together!” Celia said. “I’m looking for a table—oh! There! Broderick, Daniel and Daniel’s new obsession,
the young Gina, are at a table already and it looks like . . . yep! They’re holding seats for us!”
They were.
Once they had filled their plates, they made their way to the table where the brothers were waiting for them.
Wes thanked them as they brought their food and took their seats. Then Daniel murmured, “Hey! I guess she really is okay!
We need the rest of the table, too. Edward and Sally are out on deck and, of course, George!”
Sally was up, on Edward’s arm, smiling at him and then waving at their group. They soon joined them, with Sally apologizing
as she sat. “I’m so sorry. I mean, first off, thanks for saving places for us! We weren’t hurrying because Edward and I have
decided that we’re not getting off the ship. I told him we could, no problem, but—”
“But we can get massages right in the ship’s salon!” Edward interrupted. “I told Sally, I don’t care. We both had our moments.
We’re just going to enjoy time.”
“That’s lovely,” Chloe said. “Sally, you really feel all right now?”
“I do, and of course, I am so sorry to have frightened everyone and to have been such a bother!” Sally said.
Wes smiled at her. “Sally, you were absolutely not a bother. We’re just grateful that you’re all right. But how—”
“Oh! Thank you, thank you! I heard that it was the two of you who found my EpiPen and got me the care I needed. I can’t thank
you enough!” Sally told him.
Wes shook his head. “Sally, I understand that you know about your allergy. How did you happen to—”
“Well, you see, I don’t really know!” Sally told him.
“I’m so careful about what I eat. But there was a little welcome packet at my door, bars wrapped in a ribbon with a note, and I thought that it was plain chocolate, and it tasted like plain chocolate .
. . It was only a little bit and I ate it all but, oh, silly me!
I should have known better. I mean, the whole world doesn’t need to avoid nuts and I wouldn’t want others to not have something that they enjoyed because of me .
. . But, anyway, thanks to you and Chloe, I’m here and well.
Again! You both pulled me up and out of that swimming pool!
And now, well, I’m starting to think that you’re more than the perfect couple—you’re guardian angels! ”
“Just in the right place at the right—or wrong—time,” Chloe said, glancing at Wes. “But I thought that the ship’s crew had
been made aware—”
“Oh, I’ve mentioned my allergy—it’s on some paperwork somewhere. But not everyone reads everything and . . .” She broke off,
shrugging. “Go eat! You people eat. You don’t have that much time!”
“I guess we should hurry a bit,” Gina said. Wes lowered his head, smiling. The young woman was stunning and did belong on
a runway or magazine cover. And yet, he thought, she had nothing on Chloe, whether Chloe’s hair was dyed, short, long or . . .
whatever!
She was probably good at what she did. And he’d overheard her talking to Chloe the day before; she wanted to be useful.
Giving to the right causes was extremely useful.
But she was with Daniel and . . .
Daniel just might be a greedy murderer.
“Interesting,” Broderick noted.
“What’s that?” Edward asked.
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here, including you and George!” Broderick said. “But no Amelia!”
“Well, she said that she wasn’t going diving,” Celia told them with a shrug. “Maybe she’s sleeping in.”
“She was by this morning,” Sally said cheerfully.
“Edward stepped out for a minute so that she could step in. They’re very strict about no more than two people being in a room
with a patient,” George told them.
“Well, that’s sweet and nice of her. Curious that she isn’t having breakfast with us,” Broderick said, and he laughed softly. “She is very serious about business!”
Chloe suddenly rose, excusing herself. “I’ll be right back! I left my brush in the room. I’ll look like a hedgehog if I don’t
have it when I get out of the water!”
“Honey—” Wes began.
But he knew that something was bothering her; really bothering her.
“Well, I guess I’m done!” he said to the table. “Edward, Sally, George—see you later. Broderick, Celia, Jeff, Daniel—see you
on the bus!”
They were due to exit the ship soon to make that bus to the diving station.
What was Chloe doing?
He followed after her and found that she was speaking with one of the gentlemen with security.
He hurried up in silence to find out what she was up to.
“I have the head cruise director on the line, Mrs. Douglas,” the officer was saying. “One second, he’s checking everything
for me . . . Sir!”
He spoke into the phone and listened.
“Thank you, sir, a concerned cruiser is asking and there’s a good reason. I’ll have her—” he paused, looking at Wes. “I’ll
have them speak with you directly.”
Chloe took the phone and identified them both as Mr. and Mrs. Douglas; Wes realized that she had come to the man asking about
any welcome gifts that might have been left outside the rooms.
“I can assure you that there were no such gifts. And, of course, I’ll be speaking with all my crew, finding out if any of them know of any such gifts from Milestones or the like.
We can also check our hallway cameras. And we’ll let you know as soon as we know something, but it’s going to be difficult.
Families travel together, um, romantic situations arise, and people like to give each other little gifts under those circumstances.
Still, hopefully, the cameras will give us all that we need. ”
Chloe thanked the man.
Wes spoke up. “It would be good to know anything as soon as possible. Before we all leave the ship.”
“Stay where you are,” the man told him. “Give me five.”
“We’re right here,” Chloe said, looking at Wes. “I know who did it,” she said softly. “What I don’t know is why.”
Time had gone by quickly. As they stood, waiting, a voice came over the ship’s speakers, telling those who were departing
for excursions to please have their papers ready as it was time to exit the ship.
From where they stood, they could see that a line was forming on the deck below.
“We need to stop her!” Chloe said.
He quickly scanned the crowd leaving the ship.
And, of course, the clues had been there all along.
Amelia Swenson was almost the first in line. And she was carrying a large bag.
Amelia doesn’t intend to get back on the ship! Because somewhere out there, probably in the video, was the truth. She had
given Sally the chocolates.
“Wes! We need to get her!” Chloe cried, shoving the phone back into the hands of the security guard and racing for the stairs
into the hallway.
She didn’t go for the elevator; she was racing for the stairs.
He followed because, yes, of course, the clues were all there.
But why would Amelia Swenson, lesser nobility among the tech crowd, be out to kill Sally Brookins, who wasn’t in tech at all?
Then again, she had talked about belonging to her group, the people with whom she studied Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock
Holmes . . .
And had helped police catch a killer.