Death on the Bella Constance (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 6) (13 page)

“Well… well… well,” I said, delving into the top drawer
filled with jewelry, wallets, and miscellaneous items. “What do we have here?”

I picked up one of the wallets, opened it, and recognized the
face on the driver’s license. It was the man who had been standing across from
me at the buffet table. I remembered his face, because he was so handsome.

“Hmm… It looks as if Mr. Dawson has a side job besides lying
and doing bodily harm. He’s not a stalker! He and his girlfriend, Teresa, are
not only trying to get Maggie out of the picture, they’re also stealing from
the passengers. This must be their retirement fund. I’m glad my diamond
bracelet isn’t in here. That would really tick me off.”

“You should see this,” Captain O’Riley said, walking out of
the bathroom. “He’s got a suitcase sitting on the toilet that’s filled with
make-up, fake moustaches and beards of all shades, wigs, eyeglasses… all kinds
of stuff to change his appearance.”

“
Do-i-s-di-hi-na?
” Billy mumbled. “
I’-na-dv!
”

“What did he say?” the captain asked, looking over at me.

 “I know the last word was snake, but I’m at a loss on the
first part.” I handed the wallet to the captain as I walked past him. “This
belongs to one of the passengers. There’s more in the drawer, and lots of
jewelry among other things.” I came up behind Billy and peeked at the laptop
screen. “What you got there,
a-yv-wi-ya
?”

Billy looked at me and smiled. “You’re getting very good, `ge
ya. I’m proud of you… and you did get the snake part right.” He looked at the
captain. “Peter Dawson rigged two passenger elevators. His work is documented
right here. He’s hacked into your computer system, and now he has control from
right here.” Billy pointed to the screen. “I can fix that right now.” He pecked
at the keyboard for a little while, and then all of a sudden, the screen went
black.

“What did you do?” the captain asked.

“I crashed his hard drive.”

“How…”

“Don’t ask,” I said. “He never gives away his tricks to
anyone but me.” I smiled. “But even I don’t know how he did that.”

“What about explosive devices?” Captain O’Riley asked,
nervously. “Did you see a…”

“Bomb! Is that what you mean?” I butted in before Billy could
answer. “Please tell us there’s not a bomb in the elevator! I think I’m going
to faint!”

“I thought I heard you groan a few minutes ago,” Billy said.
“I figured you saw a very fine piece of jewelry you liked.”

The ship had been encountering some pretty rough seas, so I
should not have been surprised when a sudden jerk caused it to shake and rise,
tossing us around.

“Don’t even try to tell me that was the wind. I need to sit
down.” I walked over to the bed, sat down, and hung my head between my knees.

“The ship must’ve been hit by a wave,” the captain said,
trying to soothe my nerves. “Don’t worry. This ship is as tough as they come.
She can hold up to anything… except a rogue wave or an ocean bubble. Either one
of those can sink a ship in a heartbeat.”

“Rogue wave… ocean bubble?” I queried. “Oh, Lord. I have
something else to worry about. What’s a… whoa… wait a minute.” I looked at
Billy. “Did you just say you heard me groan?” I thought for a minute, looked at
the captain, and then at the closet door. “No way! Didn’t anyone check the
closet?” I stood up, and walked over. I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and
opened the door to see Teresa Anderson, bound, gagged, and balled up in the
fetal position on the floor. She wasn’t moving.

For a split-second, the three of us just stood there with our
mouths hung open and a stunned look on our faces.

“Teresa!” I said as I bent down to check for a pulse. I
pressed on the side of her neck with two fingers and felt a weak and irregular
beat. “She’s still alive!”

Billy grabbed his pocketknife from his pants pocket and
stooped down beside me. He cut the gag from her mouth and then the duct tape
from her hands and feet.

She fell over like a lifeless rag doll.

Billy scooped her up in his strong arms like she was nothing
but a sack of potatoes, and headed for the door. “Let’s go,” he said. “She
needs medical attention, and fast!”

“Go ahead,” Captain O’Riley said. “I’ll call the
Med
Center
and let them know you’re coming, and
then I’ll get the security team over here. We need to confiscate the evidence.”

“Okay!” I said as we were hurrying out of the room.

In the background, I could hear the captain talking on the
phone, his voice getting fainter the further we ran down the hall. His last
words caught me by surprise. I heard him say, “You idiot!” Who was he being
that ugly to? This didn’t sound like the captain I knew—even if it has only
been a couple of days since we met. His words were totally out of character. I
brushed it aside. I had more important things on my mind than a captain using
harsh words to a crew member.

Teresa moaned twice. We took it as a sign that she was coming
around.

“She’s been drugged,” Billy said.

“Yeah, but she’s going to make it… isn’t she?”

“Let’s hope so.”

When we reached the elevator, I hesitated for a second, and
then looked up at Billy.

“Just hold onto me, `ge ya,” he said, reassuringly. “Don’t be
afraid. I’ll take care of you.”

I stepped into the elevator gingerly and held onto Billy’s shirt
the whole time as if that was going to protect me. It wouldn’t do me a bit of
good if something did happen, but it made me feel better. When we reached the
main deck, the elevator stopped, and the door opened. Billy and I rushed down
the hall to the
Med
Center
.
I was panting by the time we got there. I was in good physical shape, so that
wasn’t the problem. I bordered on the edge of a panic attack. I kept telling
myself to get it together, hoping I could mentally calm myself down, but it was
difficult. Gratefully, I had Billy to make me feel safe.

Dr. Whitley and his staff were waiting for us as we entered.
“Lay her over here on this gurney.”

Billy gently laid her down and stepped back to allow the
doctor room to work while I slipped around to the other side of the curtain to
see if Peter was still there.

“He’s out,” Dr. Whitley said from the other side of the
curtain. “I gave him a strong sedative, and he’ll be under for another hour or
so. His wound wasn’t deep. He should be fine. I imagine he’ll be in pain for a
while. You can’t sustain an injury like that, and not suffer some.”

I reached over and felt his pockets.

“I have what you’re looking for over here,” the doctor added.

I walked back around the curtain and watched as the doctor
handed Billy a small, black gadget.

Billy looked at it carefully and said, “You were right,
Jesse. It is a remote control. I figured as much from what I saw on his laptop.
It looks as if he knows what he’s doing. This little baby is state-of-the art.
He’s slick, all right.”

“He’s a bad person,” I said, looking over at the doctor. “I
can’t believe I was so wrong about the two of them.” I looked back at Billy and
then Teresa. She lay there so quietly, as if she were in a deep sleep. And if
we hadn’t come along when we did, she might be dead from a drug overdose. I
conveyed my thoughts to the doctor as he inserted a needle into her arm and
then started an IV drip.

“She was on the verge of an overdose,” Dr. Whitley said.
“She’s lucky you found her when you did. Another hour or so, and she most
likely wouldn’t have made it. I suspect she was injected with a strong
narcotic. A heavy-duty sedative would do the trick. It would stop her heart for
sure. See, she has a needle mark on her upper arm.” He pointed to the spot. “He
jabbed her so hard, it left a bruise. All I can do right now is give her fluids
and try to flush the drug out of her system. As soon as she comes around, we’ll
get her up and walking. The sooner she’s up and about, the better it’ll be for
her.”

“What about him?” I asked, looking at Billy and then to the
doctor. “What are we going to do with him? He can’t be allowed to roam the
ship. He’s a danger to all of us. Who knows what else he has up his sleeve.
He’s stolen from passengers, tampered with the ship’s computer system, drugged
Teresa, and he might also be linked to the tainted champagne glasses. We’re
also quite sure that Maggie Anderson is on some kind of medication, and that
someone might’ve tampered with it. All of a sudden, she started acting crazy.
If Peter Dawson can hack into a secure computer, he can do something as simple
as switching someone’s medication.”

“He’s not going anywhere for a while.”

“But we still have five days left on this cruise. No matter
where we lock him up, he’ll get loose. I know he will.”

“I’m sure that the captain has plans to contact the
authorities,” Dr. Whitley said. “If he hasn’t already. They’ll take him off the
ship as soon as we dock. He has a restraining order against him. Don’t worry
about him. Let me put your mind at ease. He’s down for the count.”

“I hope you’re right, doctor, because I have a feeling he
isn’t done. Two days into the cruise, and he’s already committed at least four
or five felonies. The best place for him is jail.”

“I get your drift.”

The minute the words were out of the doctor’s mouth, another
wave… or something… hit the ship. The room rocked, glass rattled, and metal
instruments on a tray fell to the floor. The lights flickered, and then the
phone rang, startling everyone in the room… except Peter and Teresa.

The doctor reached over and picked up the phone as I said
nervously, “I sure hope we’re close to shore. I don’t think I can handle much
more of this. Too much in such a short period of time.”

“Hang in there, `ge ya.” Billy wrapped his arms around me.
“We have other things to do before this day is over.”

“I still think we should go to Maggie’s room and check her
pill stash.”

“We are,” Billy replied. “Let’s see who’s on the phone with
the doctor. Maybe it’s the captain with more news for us.”

The doctor replaced the phone back in its holder and said,
“Captain O’Riley has called the authorities, and he also said that we should be
docking by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? What time tomorrow?” I asked, with fear in my
voice.

“I don’t have a timeframe. I’m sorry. He just said tomorrow.”

“Did he say if he found anything else in the room, like drugs
or needles?”

“I asked him about that, and he said the place was clean, not
so much as an aspirin lying around. They searched every inch, and the best they
could come up with was a half-empty pack of Rolaids. Assuming that he was the
one who drugged Miss Anderson, he probably threw the syringe overboard. That’s
what I would’ve done.”

“I think we can lay the blame at his feet,” Billy stated.
“She was tied up, drugged, and left in his closet. That says it all to me.”

Billy and I thanked the doctor for his help and started to
leave to meet up with the captain when Dr. Whitley said, “Wait a second. The
captain said to give him a few minutes to go back to his quarters to retrieve
his phone, and then meet him at Maggie Anderson’s room.”

The storm had worsened making it difficult to maintain our
balance as we made our way down the hall back to the elevator.

“Is it safe to get in this elevator?” I asked Billy. “The
storm seems to be getting pretty bad. What happens if…”

“We’re better off staying inside than trying to fight the
wind and rain. I’d take my chances in an elevator over Mother Nature anytime.”

I held on tightly to the handrail and Billy as we rode the
elevator down to deck five. To take my mind off how scared I was, I started
talking. I mentioned the ugly remark the captain had made to the person he
called, and that I found his words out of character considering how polite he
always seemed to be. “He called someone on the other end of the phone an idiot,
and he wasn’t joking. He sounded mean and hateful. Does that sound like the
captain to you? It sure doesn’t to me. He could be hiding something. Maybe he’s
part of the plot. He could be covering up…”

“Take it easy, `ge ya. I know you’re frightened being in an
elevator, but I promise you nothing is going to happen. You’re safe with me.”

The elevator came to a stop at deck five, and the door
opened.

“See, it wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Elevators don’t scare me—being stuck in one does.” I hurried
out.

We both looked down the hallway at the same time and saw
Captain O’Riley standing by the door of room 525—Maggie and Teresa Anderson’s
room—waiting for us. We rushed to join him.

The captain swiped his master keycard and opened the door
while Billy pulled out a wad of latex gloves and started passing them around.

“We don’t want to leave any fingerprints.”

“You think of everything,” I said. “I forgot one of the first
lessons you taught me—always carry a pair of latex gloves in your pocket.”

Billy just smiled.

The room was a mess as if someone had trashed it. Clothes
were scattered about, and trash and food littered every table top and counter.
There wasn’t a clean spot in the room. We walked in and waded through the sty.
Something squished under my shoe, and when I looked to see what it was, I
almost gagged. I had stepped in what smelled and looked like vomit.

“What happened here?” I asked. “I’d never guess that Maggie
and Teresa were such pigs. This is disgusting! How gross!”

“You can not judge people by what you see,” Billy commented.
“Things are not always what they appear to be.” He looked around. “Start
looking, folks. Let’s see what we can come up with.”

We spread out and started our search. It didn’t take long to
find what we were looking for. I saw a handbag sitting on a table near the
window, so I headed straight to it. I found a little red bag inside that read,
I
see your lips moving but all I hear is blah… blah… blah
. I laughed out
loud.

“Did you find something?” the captain asked.

“Yes, I did. I found a little make-up bag with a funny
inscription on it.” I held up the bag for both of them to read. Neither one of
them laughed. “Oh, y’all just don’t get it, I suppose.” I chuckled as I emptied
the little red bag on the table and watched as three pill bottles tumbled out.
I picked them up, examined each label, and then said, “I couldn’t tell you
whether these bottles contain the pills they’re supposed to, or not. I
recognize the name of one of them. Atenolol—Mom takes that. It’s for high blood
pressure.” I looked at the other bottles, and then said, “I’m sure the doctor
could help us out on the rest.”

“Let me see,” Billy said, walking over to me. He took the
bottles, and looked at each one of the labels carefully. “Their names sound
familiar, but I couldn’t tell you what they’re supposed to look like either. We
need to get them to the doctor. I’m sure he’ll know. Look around for a plastic
bag to put these in.”

I looked over at the top of the dresser and saw a small J.C.
Penney bag. I went over, picked up the bag, and looked inside. A receipt was
the only thing in the bag, so I dumped out the receipt, and held out the bag
for Billy. He dropped the three pill bottles in it. We searched the room for
more prescription drugs, but found none. We did, however, find something
unusual. Billy found a photo stashed in a compartment of a piece of luggage
that he held up for us to see. Someone had taken a picture of Teresa and Peter,
smiling, with their arms around each other, showing a clear shot of a very
large diamond ring on Teresa’s hand.

“What do you make of this?” Billy asked, looking at me. “I
found this hidden in a secret compartment.”

“Evidence talks. Now that I have a clear idea of the truth, I
think they were dating, got engaged, but then something went wrong. If I were a
betting person, I’d bet that Teresa found out something about him she didn’t
like. She broke up with him, but he didn’t take it well. When Maggie found out
he was stalking her daughter, she stepped in and tried to put a stop to it.
Didn’t she say he was out on bail? So, he must’ve gotten caught in the act and
was arrested. He’s waiting to go to trial. He’s even got a restraining order
out on him.”

“If Maggie was out of the way, Teresa would never testify,”
Billy added. “She’d be too scared without her mother’s support.”

“If he’s out on bail, he’s not supposed to leave the state,
is he? I’d say he’s violated that order. What I don’t understand is why Teresa
would voluntarily go to his room and stay there for over an hour. I saw her on
the surveillance camera when Bella,
Savannah
,
and I visited your deck this morning. You have a very elaborate system.
Impenetrable—up until now. I was surprised considering the size and age of the
ship. I guess I didn’t expect the ship to have all this modern technology.”

“Loukas and Bella insist upon the best, and they have the
finances to make it happen. For that I am grateful. It makes my job easier.
And, I can assure you that my crew will find out how Peter Dawson managed to
hack into our system. It won’t happen again. Bella will see to that. She’ll be
upgrading everything.”

“She is a terrific person, isn’t she? They both are.”

“Yes, they are.”

His harsh words spoken earlier came back to me. I no longer
fully trusted the man. Deep down, I knew he had another side to him, and I was
determined to find out in my own way.

“I imagine you must have your hands full running this ship.”

“We must go,” Billy demanded, interrupting our conversation.
“Bella and Loukas are waiting for us, and we need to take these pill bottles to
the doctor.”

“I’ll take them,” the captain said. “You two go on. We don’t
want to keep them waiting any longer.”

“I have a better idea,” I said, taking the bag from Billy’s
hand. “Why don’t I take them to the doctor, and then meet y’all back at Bella’s
stateroom?” The captain started to say something, but I didn’t give him a
chance. “I’m sure Bella and Loukas have important things to talk about, and who
better than you two to fill them in on what’s been happening? It’ll only take me
a few minutes, and then I’ll join you.”

Billy looked at me funny, and then said, “But I thought you
hated riding in the elevator after what happened this morning.”

I could tell from the changed look on his face that he was
beginning to see that I had something going on in my head, and he was going to
let me run with it.

“I’ll be fine. I’m over it now.” I lied.

“That’s a good idea,” he replied. “Thanks, `ge ya.” He winked
at me. “As soon as you find out what these pills are, hurry back and let us
know.”

“I will,” I said.

The three of us left the room, closing the door behind us,
and then slipped off the latex gloves. We stuffed the gloves in our pockets as
we headed to the elevator.

Billy and the captain got off on deck six while I stayed and
rode up to deck seven. I didn’t like riding in the ship’s elevator, and the
fact that the sea was tossing us around like a wet rag, made the jaunt even
more frightening. But I held my breath and kept it together, gladly exiting
when the door opened. I walked briskly as I made my way to the
Med
Center
. By the time I got there and handed
over the bottles, my insides were shaking.

“You appear to be a little frightened, Mrs. Blackhawk. Would
you like something to calm your nerves? I could give you a Valium. Nothing
strong, just the lowest dose.”

“I don’t think so, doc.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, I’ll be okay. Thanks anyway. And please call me Jesse.”

His eagerness to give me a sedative for my nerves only made
me more nervous. Right now, I didn’t trust too many people. Was I going to have
to add him to the list? He seemed satisfied with my last refusal, and went
about as if nothing was wrong. Me and my doubts—what was I going to do with
myself?

“Okay, Jesse,” he replied as he, too, slipped on a pair of
latex gloves. “Let’s see what you have here.” He looked at the label on the
first bottle, opened it up, and then said, “Atenolol… 50 mg… white pill… twice
a day. Yep, that’s correct. That’s quite a bit. Her blood pressure must be hard
to control if she has to take that much every day.” He closed the bottle, set
it down on the counter, and then looked at the second bottle. “Clonazepam…0.5
mg… yellow pills, twice a day. Yep, that’s right. Let’s look at the last one
here.” He looked at the label and said, “Nabumetone 500 mg… twice a day. Hmm, I
take these for arthritis myself.” He opened the bottle, shook a few pills out
into his hand, and said, “I don’t think so. No, these aren’t Nabumetone.” He
looked up at me. “I need to check my PDR to be absolutely certain, but I’m
quite sure this is Adderall… 30 mg…”

“What’s Adderall?”

He reached up, pulled down a book, and started flipping
through the pages. The book was almost three inches thick and was filled with
pictures of pills of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I was lost when it came to
keeping up with the good doc. He scanned the pages, finally coming to a stop in
the middle of the book where he found something of interest.

“Here it is,” he said, pointing to a pill. “Adderall is an
amphetamine used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. My daughter
takes these pills.” He thumbed through the pages, stopped and pointed at the
picture of pills. “See, right here… Adderall… 30 mg.”

I looked at the picture and then at the pill on the counter.
“They look the same. You were right.”

Dr. Whitley hesitated for a minute, thinking, and then said,
“If she was combining these pills according to directions on the bottle, she
was on a roller coaster ride. No wonder she acted so strangely. It explains
everything. I’m not surprised she was so unruly. She’s lucky she didn’t kill
herself.”

“I think that was the whole point, doctor.”

Teresa moaned, opened her eyes, and tried to speak. She was
beginning to come out of her drug-induced state. It only took her a few seconds
to realize where she was.

“Where’s my mother?” she asked in a panic. “Is she all
right?” She tried to sit up, but had to lie back down. “My head’s killing me.”

“That’s a side effect from the drug,” Dr. Whitley said as he
slipped off the latex gloves and walked over to her. “It should go away soon.”

I followed and added, “You’re going to be fine.” I reached
over and took her hand in mine. “Do you remember what happened?”

She started to cry. “He… he… he demanded that I come to his
room. He said we had to talk, so I went to his room. He started saying all
kinds of crazy stuff… and when I tried to leave, he stabbed me with a needle.
He injected me with something. I don’t remember much after that.”

I wanted to hurry up and tell Billy what I had just learned,
so I didn’t waste time. I blurted out everything we knew about her and
Peter—the hour they spent together yesterday, and their meeting last night—and
then I asked her to fill in the blanks.

“We dated, I broke it off, and then he started harassing me.
He followed me here and forced me to see him. He threatened my mother. He said
he would kill her if I didn’t do what he wanted. He even said that it was in
the works. I didn’t know what he meant. When I asked him to explain, he did
this to me.”

“I see,” I responded.

There was more to this story, but it was clear to me that she
wasn’t ready to tell all. So, I threw her a bone. “Did you know that your
mother’s medication has been tampered with? She could’ve died. Sad to say, she
had a psychotic episode and stabbed Peter in the chest with a fork.”

“What? What did you say?” She coughed. “May I have some
water, please?”

“Sure,” the doctor said. He walked over to the counter, got
her a cup of water, and brought it back to her. “Hold on a minute.” He handed
the cup to me, and then raised the head of the gurney so that she was sitting
in a slightly elevated position. He took the cup from me, and when he handed it
to her, he told her to drink slowly.