Cruise to Murder (Z & C Mysteries, #2) (9 page)

“This is not what I expected from a billionaire,” Claire remarked.

“I agree. This place is not treated like the tropical island getaway that it could be.”

Claire looked disappointed, then spotted something of interest.
“Wait, Mom! Do you see how polished that one brass light switch is? Look at the rest—dirty, dull and unremarkable.”

Zo
took that as an invitation to push it, top and bottom. No results; nothing.

“It looks like a dead end
,” she said, flicking the light plate with a fingernail as she stood thinking.

“
The only thing that is out of the ordinary is the coincidence of Mike being here. Weird!” She gave one really exasperated hard flick against the switch plate with her nail and it swung open. Behind it was a two-by-three inch indentation that had another push button. Claire pushed it. A portion of a wood-paneled wall opened like a door and revealed three shelves.

CHAPTER NINE

The two looked at each other with smiles.

“What have we got here?” Zo said.

“Ha! I know where your broach is
, Mom.” Claire spotted it among other things on a shelf.

“
Quick, let’s take pictures with your phone of everything here. Don’t touch anything unless you put it right back how it was.”

Claire got busy,
opening different documents and taking pictures. On a spurt of excitement, Zo took back the broach, pinning it to the inside of her shirt. Before they left, they relocked the window they came through, and locked the front door from the inside and pulled it shut. Then Claire took pictures of the outside of the house and the grounds.

They were so glad to get back to their cabin aboard ship. Both took steamy showers and ordered their meals in. It was true what Larry said; the captain on the intercom stated that Customs was not letting anyone off the ship and that there would be an extra party arranged on the main deck with dancing and entertainment the next day.

“At least we know one thing
; that one of the people at our table took my broach. Who do you think it was, Claire?”

“I think it was Mike. He after all was the one who drove to the cottage with a
key
.”

After the two enjoyed their dinner they decided to browse through the shops. Then they would order tea and cookies and go through Claire
’s pictures. They looked at hats, jewelry, scarves, belts, candy, and art work. A quartet was singing in a nearby lounge, adding ambiance to the fun.

“I’m going to go down to the medical statio
n on the third deck and get something soothing for my throat.” Zo rubbed her neck. “It’s beginning to tickle like I’m due for more coughing.”

“I’m getting tired
, Mom. I think I will go back to the room after I purchase this wallet and take a nap, before all the entertainment tonight.”

“Okay, I’ll see you there.”

Zo decided she better go to the restroom first. After finishing up, washing her hands, and then exiting, her eyes caught a glimpse of something from the island that interested her. She stopped in the corridor of the men’s room and ladies’ room, squinting her eyes, peering past the deck of the ship and the shoreline. There was smoke wafting up from a spot on the island, and she was certain she could see some orange flames.

Someone walked by and into the
men’s room. Zo stepped aside and then back to find the comfort of leaning against the wall. She soon found her thoughts were distracted by interesting words from low voices nearby.

“Have you obtained the cameo pin yet?”

“No. This is getting out of control.”

“You are going to arrange an accident and throw the two overboard.”

“What if they are good swimmers?”

“
Don’t worry about it. People can get skull fractures falling from the ship.”

“I’ll make the call right now.
”

There was a pause, and then the man taking instruction gave instruction to the one on the other end of his call. “Yeah. Do ’
im now… and? Yes.”

The man resumed his conversation with the former.
“He said don’t worry about a thing. He’s on his way.”

Zo didn’t wait to hear what else would be said
. She took off with her heart in her throat and adrenaline coursing through her blood. The elevators took too much time with people standing and waiting, so she ran up the four flights to her deck. Her heart felt like it was going to tear from straining and breathing hard. She had to get Claire and get out of there. If Claire wasn’t in the room yet, she would have to go looking for her.

Zo slid her key card and pushed the cabin door open.
There stood Mike. He was holding Claire’s wrists behind her back, while his other arm was around her shoulders with a knife against her neck.

“Welcome
,
Mommy
,” said Mike. “You tell me where the pin is and I will let Claire go. Doesn’t that sound reasonable? Whereas, if you don’t, I will slit her throat.”

“Well, Mike.
” Zo’s heart was now in her throat as she quietly tried to control her breath. “You have such a smooth mellow tone to your voice. Too smooth to be proposing a blood-dripping murder, don’t you think?” She moved slowly and deliberately casual toward him. “I do have that pin. Why does everyone want it?”

“That,” he said with
a Cheshire smile, “is for me to know. Now, hand it over!” His voice was now angry.

“
Just a moment…”

“
Give it to
me
,” he growled, pressing the knife against Claire’s skin. Claire looked at her mom with pleading eyes.

“So,
if I give you my broach, you will let us go?” Zo knew that was not the plan, but the questions gave her time to move in closer to him.

“Sure. All will be well. No harm done
.” His voice resumed to a mellow, almost musical, tone.

“Okay
,” Zo said. “Look. Here it is.”

She started unbuttoning her shirt to bra level and showed a flash of the pin.
His eyes zoomed right in on it. Zo feigned trying to unpin it, acting as if she could not turn the little clasp. “Could you undo it? I must be nervous.”

He pushed Claire to the floor. “Stay, or I’ll kill your mother!
”

With Mike’s eyes still focused on the pin
, Zo took a quick step backwards and then rocked forward with all her might, giving a straight blow to the temple with her fist and then an upper cut to the nose. Claire popped up, quickly putting an arm around his neck, tightening the squeeze with her other arm, giving Zo the perfect opportunity to kicked him in the stomach. That doubled him over. Claire let go of him, before he hit the floor.

Zo
said, “Stupid man! Don’t ever come between a mother and her baby! The momma bears wouldn’t go for it and neither do I. And, do you know what we are going to do? Throw you overboard, after we hit you over the head and it will all look like an accident.” She forced an evil laugh.

Mike strained to talk
. “What? Are you nuts? You think you are so smart. There are two more assassins on this ship. You got a death warrant on you for tonight. You won’t get away!”

“Yeah? Watch us! Come on
, Mom!”

T
hey entered the hallway and ran to the elevators. Ding! A bell went off and after a couple of seconds, that felt more like twenty, doors opened. There was an old couple standing there, who looked a little surprised at seeing two ladies come in, frantically pushing the “close doors” button. The door finally started to close, but not before a hand caught the door. It was Mike. He was about to enter with his knife and the old couple screamed.

All of a
sudden their attacker burst into flames. “Agghhh!” he screamed.

Zo pushed the button to the main deck.

Claire looked at the stunned couple, and reached for the old guy’s cane. “Excuse me.” She pushed Mike out of the way of the elevator doors, and he fell into a heap.

The elevator
kept going down, until it dinged and the doors opened to the main deck, where a happy crowd was waiting to take the elevator up. Claire gave the cane back to the old gent and they, all of a sudden, got the fortitude to push their way out of the elevator.

“We’ve got to get off the ship, Claire. I actually heard the plot to kill us outside the men’s room. There are people that we don’t know and wouldn’t recognize if we were standing next to them.”

“Where should we go then and what should we do?”

“We have to stay out of sight.
” She pulled on her daughter’s wrist and the two trotted to small seated cove by the windows. It was out of the way and in the shadows.

“Let me look at your pin
, Mom. I am still wondering why everyone wants it.”

Zo gave it to her and Claire began turning it over and over
, trying to figure out its puzzle.

“This is crazy, Claire…”

“Yes, yes it is.” She looked up from the pin. “Why is it that neither one of us is talking about a man blowing up into flames like the dog?”

“Oh, yeah, huh. Well, I’m thinking I’m glad he did burn.
”

“How did that happen?”

“Maybe his feet drag too much against the carpet.”

“You mean,” Claire laughed, “he blew himself up when touching the metal elevator door?”

“Whatever it was, it saved our lives. And, well, I guess I take the weird as normal these days. It seems to be pretty much our lives, doesn’t it? Does that make us superheroes, honey?” Zo smiled at the moment of levity.

“Oh, definitely! I’m Wonder Claire. Who are you?”

“Butt Buster. You can call me Mom.”

“
Okay, BB, we need to think what we are going to do.”

They both were quiet, as different scenarios were being rehearsed through their minds.

“Oh, oh. Look at this, Mom.” It was dark out. Claire was holding the cameo up to the light from the ship’s walkway outside the windows.

“Well, I’ll be darned. It looks like there is extra detail if one looks through the cameo with light. There is a tunnel u
nder the well toward the Koona Caves.

They both looked through the window and over in the direction of the Koona Caves… “
It’s a fire!”

“I saw it when it was just a bright light
,” said Zo. “You know? I think that it is coming from the direction of the cottage by the well.”

“Mr. Belmont’s? It
is
!” concurred Claire. “We are in deep yogurt! I think the psychos who have been after us, and murdered three people we know of, are trying to cover up their tracks. They know we know something… I only wish we knew what they think we know.”

“
Exactly. I think we can cross out the ‘love triangle’ as the motive.”

In their seated window nook, inside the ship, Claire
’s eyes caught glimpse of something that startled her. “Mom, act cool. I think I see a man staring at us from the deck.”

Zo shifted slightly, darting her eyes. “A creep with a bone necklace?”

“Yes, him.” Claire didn’t look.

“Come!” Zo suddenly stood, grabbed her daughter by the wrist
again, and took off running with her.

The two ran through the halls, knocking shoulders with strangers. Claire looked back. The man who appeared to be a native from the island, with dark tanned skin, had burst through a door to the in
side of the ship, chasing them—his eyes deadpan, his top lip drawn up on one side from a freakish scar.

“He’s following us!” Claire breathed.

Zo didn’t respond. She was too focused on getting away. Guests of the ship quickly moved to the sides of the aisle as they saw the women bounding down the halls.

“Should we scream?” Claire asked.

“Let’s just get to our room.”

A cleaning c
art was rolled in front of them. They almost hit it. A nearby stairway brought more people into the intersection. A tattooed hand suddenly reached through the sea of people, grabbing Zo by her hair. Claire grabbed a mop from the cart and whacked the man. His grip released and they veered down the stairs, since there was no way through the crowd. That took them to the eighth deck of the atrium.

T
he killer followed and was now in a maze of picture boards and a throng of people. His eyes, deeply sunken in, carefully scanned the crowd, trying to catch sight of the mother and daughter. He walked through the crowd of customers who were studying over their photos, some laughing and some smiling in satisfaction. When he finally looked down, he focused in on a pair of pumps and sandaled feet, which could be seen through a space at the bottom of a picture board.

He
put a hand down into a deep jacket pocket and took hold of the handle and trigger of a gun.