Death on the Bella Constance (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 6) (27 page)

“And Jimmy Carlson? Did you kill him, too?”

“A sad moment,” Steven replied. “He wanted to come clean, but
I couldn’t allow that.”

Jena
gasped, and then stepped back. “I can’t believe it. You’re not the man I
married.”

“I haven’t been for a long time,
Jena
,” Steven said as he shifted his stance and took aim.

“What are you going to do?” Billy asked, gripping his gun
tighter. He was one second away from dropping Steven like a fly. “Kill us all?
Because that’s what you’re going to have to do. Think about it.”

“I have,” Steven said.

Two words spoken that were to be his last.

Without warning, Billy squeezed the trigger sending a loud
blast throughout the room. Steven dropped to the floor with a bullet to the
head. The sight of it made me gag.
Jena
was frozen. Bella was speechless. Loukas let out a breath.

The captain came out from behind the bedroom door with his
shaking weapon drawn at the same time that the stateroom door flew open. Within
a matter of seconds, the room was filled with men holding guns led by U.S.
Marshal Wagner. Allison and Jacob hurried to Bella and Loukas.
Savannah
and McCoy came up from behind the
group.
Savannah
rushed over to me and asked if we
were all right. I nodded my head.

“We’re fine,” Loukas said, taking charge. “My son-in-law is
dead.” He looked over at the captain and said, “You might want to lower that
gun before it accidentally goes off.”

The captain obliged.

Jena
walked over and looked down at her dead husband.

Bella followed. “Oh, my poor baby,” she said, hugging her
daughter. “I did this to you. If I had been a better mother…”

“No, Mama. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was. Ruby told me about the medication you’ve been
taking. I should’ve known you needed help. A child should never have to deal
with what you did at such a young age without some kind of professional help. I
see that now.”

“I got help, Mother. That’s how I managed to get up the nerve
to talk with you about Bertie.” She looked back down at her husband, and then
looked around the stateroom. “For some reason, I don’t see this ship as my
enemy anymore. My true enemy is the lie Bertie Callahan has told all these
years.”

“We’re going to fix that,” Bella said.

“Steven is the one we’ve been looking for,” Loukas told the
marshal. “He was going to kill us all because of money. Can you believe it?
Fortunately, Billy and Jesse came to our rescue.”

“Loukas is safe,” Billy said. “The threat is over. We can all
relax now.” He looked at me as if a huge weight had been lifted from his
shoulders.

I felt the same way.

Bella walked over to us and said, “We can talk later. Thank
you so much for saving our lives. I’m so glad we had you on our side.”

“We’re glad we could help,” Billy said. “We’re still here for
you, so if you need anything just give us a call. We’re going to leave you
alone. You need time with your daughter to sort this all out.”

Billy and I stuck our guns in our pockets, turned, and walked
out the door.

Another case solved.

The two days it took us to get back to
Norfolk
were strange ones. The weather was
fabulous and there wasn’t an angry cloud in the sky. We tried to enjoy
ourselves, but after what had happened it wasn’t easy.
Jena
was distraught over the loss of her husband, but was
even more upset by the fact that he had betrayed her. Steven had been her rock
all those years she had suffered through her mental anguish, but now because of
all his misdeeds and criminal acts, he was just a bad memory. It didn’t take
long for Billy to discover that Steven had spent just about all of
Jena
’s money, and that before the cruise they were on the
verge of bankruptcy—something she knew absolutely nothing about. Of course,
Bella would see to it that her daughter would not suffer financially. She would
take care of the situation.

Billy also discovered the plot to separate Bella from her
ship had started out as a joke among two drunken men discussing their
unhappiness over the sale of the cruise line without the inclusion of the
Bella
Constance
—Utah Hawks and Steven Nelson. The joke turned into a plan.
They would use
Jena
’s mental situation to further their
cause. Jeff and Ruby Reed were purposely left out of their little scheme
because they considered both of them to be too lily-liveried and weak. Nell
would also be left out of the loop. They were afraid she might spill the beans
during one of her drunken tirades. Besides, it was only going to be a prank—a
harmless prank they hoped would work.
Jena
would be an asset, Jeff, Ruby and Nell would be in the dark where they always
were, and
Utah
and Steven would get a chance to
enjoy every minute of it. But when incidents started happening, especially the
attack on the tour bus and the subsequent shooting of
Kody
,
Utah
started having second thoughts.
Manipulative Steven convinced him that he would get the blame. Everyone hated
Utah Hawks, Steven told him.
Utah
got paranoid and set out to visit
Kody at the hospital. He wanted to make sure that the boy would tell the truth.
Utah
was innocent and wasn’t going down
for something he didn’t do… and… this had not been part of the plan. No one was
to get hurt. His sudden mistrust for Steven surfaced quickly. Unfortunately,
the police were waiting for someone to show up, and he was taken into custody.
Once released,
Utah
went back to his stateroom where he
secretly planned his exit from the company. He knew his days with Constance
Enterprises would be numbered, especially when Nell found out about his true
involvement. He told all this to Billy when questioned, and he was right about
Nell’s reaction.

Nell Hawks is a smart woman. She knew her husband was
involved somehow, but couldn’t prove it. So… she drank to keep from thinking
about it. Once
Utah
confessed his involvement, she saw a
way out of a very unhappy marriage. She told him she would give him five
million dollars, and all he had to do was disappear. She would immediately file
for a divorce. He took her up on her offer. He would catch a cab to the airport
as soon as the ship docked, and she would never see him again.

Maura and Joe Rodrigus were lauded as heroes for their part
in helping us, and as usual, Bella would see to it that they were
well-compensated for their efforts. When Billy and I picked up our beach bag,
Maura had still been holding Billy’s cell phone in her hand waiting for a call
that never came. She forgave us for not calling when we showed up immediately
after the showdown at Loukas and Bella’s, and filled her and Joe in. We told
them that their information had helped us to save three lives. They were very
happy.

Teresa and Maggie recovered from their ordeal involving Peter
Dawson, and were enjoying their last two days on the ship. Maggie wasn’t
charged for her attack on Peter. No jury would ever convict her once they heard
all the evidence. Peter Dawson didn’t die from his fork wound, but instead had
been released from the hospital straight into custody where he was transferred
via helicopter to a jail facility somewhere in the states. He was charged with
numerous felony counts—attempted murder, stalking, kidnapping—just to name a
few. He would be put away for a very long time. And… he was out of Maggie and
Teresa Anderson’s lives forever.

I expected a big blowout between Bertie Callahan,
Jena
, and Bella, but it never happened. Before we left
dock, Bertie returned to the ship with Mabel to collect their things. They were
going to take Dorothy’s body home by plane. A private, brief exchange in
Bella’s stateroom settled the matter of Bertie’s big lie. There would be no
more gifts, money or free cruises on the
Bella Constance
.

Mabel Leigh broke her silence and told us that nobody had
tried to kill Bertie. She was the one who had pushed Bertie into her sister,
sending Dorothy to her death. It was an accident. Mabel caught her shoe on one
of the steps and started to fall. It had been a natural reaction for her to try
to grab onto something. She never intended to hurt anyone. I imagine Mabel will
carry the pain of Dorothy’s death around for the rest of her life.

Sadly, on the last day of our journey back, a terrible thing
happened. A young girl reported to the captain that she saw a lady jump off the
ship. That lady turned out to be Lara Sweeney. I cried when I heard the news.

When the ship docked in
Norfolk
,
we had a tearful good-bye. When new friendships are developed, a bond is formed
making it hard to part ways. Bella assured us that we would see and hear from
her again. She gave Billy an envelope stuffed with cash—the final payment for a
job well done. He took the envelope and stuffed it in my purse.
Jena
gave us an envelope containing the pictures from the
cruise. I told her we would look at them after we got home.

As we were departing the ship, Maggie came up to us and
placed a folded up check in Billy’s hand. He immediately gave it back to her
and told her that she didn’t owe us a thing. I, on the other hand, would have
taken the money.

I told Billy on the way to the car that we could make a
fortune working detective detail on cruise ships. He made a face and said it
was too much chaos. I thought about it and had to agree. Although I enjoyed our
cruise on the
Bella Constance
it was good to get back home.

Mom and Helene greeted us at the door. It was late, the kids
were in bed, Thor was running around whining, and when Athena came hobbling up
to us with a big bandage wrapped around her belly, I asked Mom what had
happened.

“We were sitting on the front porch when a bear wandered up
into the yard,” she said.

I gasped.

“Now, don’t panic, Jesse. I know how you have a thing about
bears. We got the kids inside while Athena and Thor ran him off. Unfortunately,
Athena got a swipe from the bear’s claws. I called Chief Sam, and he rushed
right over to fix her up. She’s going to be fine.”

“Where’s Spice Cat?”

As soon as I said his name, Spice Cat came out from hiding.
He jumped up on the sofa, leaped down, and then ran around behind us. He then
headed straight for the kitchen table where he proceeded to walk around the
vase of flowers before finally lying down and stretching out.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with that cat,” Mom said. “Ever
since you two left he’s been doing all kinds of things he’s not supposed to.
The first two days all he did was sleep on your pillow, and then he started
getting into everything. I caught him lying in the clean clothes basket this
morning.”

“Ah, he missed us,” I said.

“We all did,” Helene added, hugging me. “We’re so glad you’re
home.”

“We’re glad to be home,” Billy said. “The cruise was fun, but
I’ve had enough. I need a vacation from our vacation.”

“According to Bella the trip was very adventurous.”

“Oh, is that what she called it? You talked to her already?”

“For your information, Missy,” Mom said. “I’ve talked with
Bella every day since you left. She’s a very nice person. She told me that you
didn’t call more because you and Billy were very busy trying to protect her
family. And then she told me everything that happened on the cruise.”

“I bet she did,” I said. “Ah, so that’s why you never called
me. I wondered about that, but I didn’t say anything.”

“Why don’t you and Billy take your bags to your room while I
get us some coffee? It’s decaf.”

“Okay,” Billy replied. “But only one cup. I’m beat.”

“Well…” Mom said, hesitating for a second before continuing.
“I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” I asked as I followed Billy to our room.
“Another case?”

“Kind of.”

I looked at Billy and said, “Be prepared. When Mom wants
something from us…”

“I know,” he replied. “Go ahead, Minnie.”

“You see,” she started. “I have this friend named Flo.” She
looked at me. “I’m sure you’ve heard me mention her before. She’s a bookkeeper.
She thinks she might have found incriminating evidence on one of her clients by
accident, and now she thinks he’s trying to kill her.”

“Kill who?” Billy asked as he unpacked his suitcase.

“Kill the bookkeeper!” Mom exclaimed. “Flo needs your help. I
told her I would ask you about taking on her case as soon as you got home. I’m
really worried about her. Usually, nothing shakes her up, but this has gotten
her scared to death.”

“We’ll discuss it over coffee,” Billy said. “I’m sure we can
fit the case into our busy schedule. Don’t fret, Minnie. We’ll help your
friend.”

A week later as we were settling back into home life, telling
the same story about our cruise to our family and friends, and sharing photos
of the trip, we got a call from Bella Constance. She said she wanted to bring
us up to date on the outcome of the events on board.

We were all ears.

“You can put me on the speaker phone, so everyone can hear.
I’m sure that Minnie and Helene want to hear this.”

I pushed the button, and told her everyone was listening.

“Now that Steven is no longer with us so to speak,
Jena
has come out of her shell. She’s not covering up her
feelings anymore. To be honest, I had no idea she had such strong opinions
about everything. She suggested we take a cruise to
Jamaica
next month, and she wants to invite
your family to join us! Can you believe it?” Not waiting for a reply, she
continued. “
Jena
doesn’t hate this ship. Actually,
now that Bertie Callahan is out of the picture, she loves it. Go figure. And, I
think Steven was the one who exacerbated her emotional state. I’m glad he’s…
well… we won’t go there.”

“How delightful!” Mom exclaimed, looking over at Helene.
“We’ll have a good time!”

“I don’t know about that, Bella,” Billy said. “It’s a little
too much too soon.”

“I understand,” Bella replied. “Maybe another time.”

“How’s Nell doing?” I asked.

“Oh, Jesse, you wouldn’t believe the transformation in her
since we got rid of Utah Hawks! She’s like a different person. She quit
drinking the minute he agreed to take the money and run. She’ll be spending
most of her time on the
Bella Constance
now. Her kids are grown and…”

“Now she has a decent man in her life,” I said, finishing her
sentence. “How is Captain O’Riley doing?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s our job to know everything,” Billy said, chuckling.

“It’s ironic how the choices we make and the paths we choose
determine how the rest of our lives will turn out,” I said. “I’m so glad
everything worked out… with one exception.”

“I know,” Bella agreed. “I’m so sorry about Lara Sweeney. I
know you were going to take her under your wing, but sometimes life just
doesn’t go the way we planned. Loukas said to say hello and please keep in
touch. If you don’t, he’ll be calling you. He keeps up with his friends, and so
do I. We’ll talk again soon.”

Our conversation ended, but it was just the beginning of a
lifelong friendship with Bella and Loukas Constance.

TO BE CONTINUED