psychic crystal 03 - killer cruise (7 page)

“Don’t cry,” whispered Kate. “This is a happy occasion.”

“I know. It just means a lot to hear you say that. This has been a dream come true. I’ve been waiting so long just to see you again, and this, well, it’s beyond anything I could ever have imagined. Everything you’ve given me—the clothes, a home, a job, and you, my new family—it’s just—”

“Juliette, Mom, it’s nothing more than you deserve. All those years of separation? Well, they’re over now. And we’re together. I know you didn’t give me up. I know you wanted me. Let’s don’t think about the past. Let’s enjoy today and whatever the future has in store for us. I predict only good things.”

“And soon we’ll have something really important to celebrate,” Juliette added.

“Ssshh,” Kate signaled with a finger to her lips.

“What kind of plans are you two ladies hatching?” Jack wondered.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Juliette said, sitting back to enjoy the show.

Chapter Nine

The next morning while Jack and Will worked with the security people on protection duty at the banking meeting, Kate asked Juliette to meet her in her cabin and revealed she had made reservations at the spa.

“What will we do there?” Juliette asked.

“Get pampered.”

“This is a week of firsts. My first cruise. My first visit to a spa. I feel like a queen. Did you run the test yet?”

“No. I wanted to wait until Jack was gone. And I wanted you here for moral support.”

“Okay, but you don’t need a test. I’m certain you’re pregnant.”

“Just humor me. I need scientific proof, not psychic suspicions.”

Juliette sat on the bed while Kate removed the pregnancy test from the box before she disappeared into the bathroom.

Jack and Kate’s suite was huge. It was magnificent, similar to the suite she and Will occupied. This was luxury she’d never before known.

“Everything okay in there?”

“So far,” Kate called out.

Juliette opened the door to the balcony and looked out at the ocean. Everything was so calm and peaceful. She’d never seen such beauty. She wrapped her arms around herself and smiled. She’d never been this happy.

“Mom,” Kate cried. “Come back in here.”

Juliette turned toward her daughter. “Well?”

“Congratulations, Grandma! It’s positive.”

Hugging Kate, Juliette exulted, “I’m so happy for you. Jack will be over the moon. When are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t think I should tell him on the trip. He’ll be worried about me and he’ll insist that I fly home.”

“He just might. You’ll know when the time is right.”

“I don’t know how I feel about it, though. Everything is happening so fast.”

“Kate, you and Jack are going to make great parents. I’m so excited for you.”

Kate sat back on the bed, her expression deflated.

“I know how you’re feeling. You miss your mother. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. She was your mother your entire life. She was the woman who raised you when I wasn’t there. And this is something you would have wanted to share with her. It’s not fair that she’s gone, but I’m here, and I’ll be here every step of the way.”

“How did you know?”

“Kate, I feel what you’re feeling. There’s a strong bond between us, and with the baby on the way, our bond will only get stronger. I felt a bond with you even though I didn’t know you. When Carter took you from me, stole you from my arms while I was still nursing you, I was frantic, hysterical, and he promised if I stayed with him he would tell me where you were. But he never did, and it was years, years before I found you again. All those lost years.”

“And none of it was your fault,” Kate said. “My father—the reverend—bears all the blame.”

Juliette took Kate’s hand.

“You’re not alone anymore.”

“We’d better get going or we’ll be late for our appointment,” Kate said, wiping away her tears. “And I’d better get rid of this box before Jack finds it.”

Kate grabbed the test and the package and stuffed it into her purse. She closed the door to the suite, and she and Juliette took the elevator to the spa level. Before she checked in at the spa, she tossed the evidence into a wastebasket.

“We’re here for our eleven o’clock appointment for manicures and pedicures,” Kate announced.

“Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Bradley, Suites 1001 and 1002,” said the woman at the receptionist area. “I have you down. Just go through that door, change into your robes, and someone will take you in for your treatments.”

Kate smiled. “Thank you. Come on, Mom, let’s go.” They changed into robes and were led into the spa treatment area.

“Please select the polish color you want,” the attendant said. “You two look so much alike. You must be sisters.”

“We get that a lot,” said Kate. “I’ll take this shrimp color for my toes and this pearl shade for my nails.”

Juliette was tempted to try a vibrant purple but instead she copied Kate. “I’ll choose the same colors as my daughter.”

Juliette dipped her feet into the warm, bubbling water. She’d never been more relaxed in her life. “This is marvelous, just amazing,” she cooed.

“You’re down for a sugar-and-honey scrub,” the attendant said.

“Sounds wonderful,” Juliette answered dreamily, as the attendant switched on the massage feature in the chair. Next to her Kate was receiving the same pampering.

“Thank you again, Kate. If had known how great this felt, I would have done it a long time ago.” After a few moments, Juliette asked, “So has Jack found out anything yet from the captain about the mysterious man in the art gallery?”

“He left a message for the captain, and I think he should have some news soon.”

“Do you hear bells?” Juliette asked.

Kate listened. “Yes, it sounds like church bells. I think it’s on the sound system we have in here.”

“Church bells heard at sea mean someone on the ship will die,” Juliette said.

The women chatted about other matters while an attendant worked on their nails.

After their nails were dried, they went into the salon for a shampoo and blowout.

Kate looked at her mother. “Juliette, look in the mirror. You look absolutely amazing. Will is going to be drooling all over himself.”

“I’m not doing this for Will. I’m doing this for myself.” Juliette smiled when she saw her image reflected in the mirror.

“Well, whatever the reason, you look great. You’ll be fighting off the men.”

Kate wound her arm through Juliette’s, and they went to the Lido deck to sit in the sun.

As they lay there, Juliette commented, “This is so restful. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“I’m so happy we could be here together,” Kate replied.

Jack and Will strode by, and Will did a double-take.

“Holy smokes, Juliette! You look—you look like a movie star.”

Juliette smiled and waited for the smart remarks, but they didn’t come.

“Seriously, you look great. Would you like to take a stroll around the deck with me?”

“I don’t think I can move from this spot. I am so relaxed.”

“Then I’ll join you.”

“Kate, you look beautiful,” Jack said, sliding a chair next to her lounge. “You must have had a good morning.”

“We did. We treated ourselves to manicures and pedicures, had a shampoo and blowout, and now we’re sunning ourselves like seals. I feel boneless. How about you?”

“We spent the day in boring meetings where absolutely nothing happened and nothing got resolved, and there are more security people in that room than conferees. I think that warning must have been a hoax. We searched everywhere for bombs, for signs of anything suspicious, and couldn’t find a thing.”

“Did you find out anything about the man in the gallery?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. The captain has no record of anyone by the name of Wade Randall on his crew or working with the gallery, and he doesn’t fit the description of anyone who works there. The gallery is independently run, but they did a check, and they can’t explain what that man was doing there.”

Juliette sat up in her chair. “I’m getting a bad feeling about him.”

Jack’s walkie-talkie crackled.

“That was the captain. He wants to see us outside the gallery right away. Something’s come up.”

Chapter Ten

“They found him in the gallery storage room, covered in a tarp,” whispered the captain. “He’s been stabbed to death.”

Kate and Juliette exchanged glances. The church bells had tolled disaster.

“How long do you think he’s been there?” Jack asked.

“Well, we just set sail yesterday, but we’re going to need our doctor to get more definitive information. We’ll have a helicopter pick up the corpse. I want Kate and Juliette to look at the body and see if that’s the man they spoke to.”

Two officers escorted Kate and Juliette to the back room, where they unwrapped the tarp so the women could get a closer look at the body.

Juliette held her nose.

Kate stared at the corpse.

“T-that’s not him. He doesn’t look at all like Wade Randall or whoever the man we talked to really is. I think I’m going to be sick.”

Juliette grabbed Kate’s hand and led her out of the gallery.

“Kate,” Jack called frantically when he got a look at his wife’s pale face.

“She’s fine. She’ll be fine, Jack. I’ll look after her.”

“Murder seems to follow us wherever we go,” Kate said.

“Well, we are in the business of investigating murders.”

“Do you think the man we met did this?”

“I don’t think it was a coincidence. You could almost sense the evil emanating from the recesses of his mind.”

When Kate got to the restroom, she threw up in the toilet, then stood at the sink while she washed her face.

“Feeling better?” Juliette asked, handing her a paper towel to wipe her hands.

“I’m fine. It’s just seeing that body—”

“I think it was the combination of the body and the baby,” Juliette said.

“We’d better get back. Jack will be worried.”

The women walked back into the gallery, where Jack placed his hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Are you okay, honey?”

“I’m fine,” she assured Jack, looking up into eyes that reflected concern and love. “I would like to get another look at those fabulous paintings we saw last night,” Kate said, as she strode over to the alcove where she and Juliette had last seen the masterpieces.

“They’re gone.”

“What do you mean?” asked the captain.

“The paintings that man showed us. They’re gone.”

Kate walked up and down the gallery aisles, looking at the walls and the prints encased in plastic.

“They were here last night, an assortment of what I think—no, what I
know,
is stolen art,” Kate insisted. “Irreplaceable art.”

The captain brought to Kate a man she’d never seen before. “Katherine Crystal Hale, I’d like to introduce you to the shipboard gallery manager, Pierre Dumas.”

Kate stared at a plump but well-appointed gentleman who offered her his fleshy hand.

“Mrs. Hale, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kate extended her hand. “And this is my mother, Juliette, um, Bradley.”

“Mrs. Bradley,” said Monsieur Pierre Dumas, inclining his head in greeting.

“Mrs. Hale says that she and her mother were speaking to an art auctioneer, who called himself Wade Randall, inside this gallery at around eight p.m. last evening. He showed them around, spoke to them about some artists, and said he was inventorying some paintings. The ladies got a look at those paintings, and from the description, they were of some import.”

“They were priceless pieces,” Kate interjected. “Rembrandts, Monets, a Matisse, a Vermeer, a Jan van Eyck, a Cezanne, even a van Gogh.”

Monsieur Dumas laughed heartily.

“Mrs. Hale, I think you must be mistaken. We don’t have the caliber of paintings you’re talking about anywhere in this gallery, not on our cruise ship. We do have beautiful lithographs in color, hand signed and numbered, and an archived Old Masters’ collection with original Picassos, Rembrandts, Matisses, Renoirs, Dalis, and Chagalls of impeccable provenance, as well as post-impressionists, at our U.S. gallery. But we don’t offer those on the cruises. However, I assure you we maintain the highest professional standards to give passengers a premier collecting experience. Our stateside pieces come directly from the estates of deceased artists or are purchased from reputable international auction companies. But to bring those aboard ship? The insurance alone would be cost-prohibitive.

“Although there are some upscale passengers aboard, none of them could even hope to afford paintings such as those,” Monsieur Dumas continued. “Ah, would I love to have even one of those works in our onboard gallery? Of course. Those priceless pieces remain locked up in our vault in the States.

“Most of our collection comes directly from living artists doing contemporary paintings of landscapes, places they’ve lived or visited. But our artists are primarily unknown—of a certain quality, yes, but not the equal of any of the masters you describe. The people who come to our auction here like the look of a painting that might suit the décor in their living room or dining room. They are gambling that one day, perhaps, these unknown artists will rise to the level of a Chagall and that their investment will be worth something. And that has certainly happened with many of our artists.

“We offer watercolors, giclées in color on canvas with hand embellishments, some oils on canvas. We try to demystify art by making it accessible to the passengers on cruise ship auctions. At best, we might have a Picasso print or lithograph, but for the most part, I’m afraid the level of the art we offer does not rise to the level of art auctioned off at a Christie’s or a Sotheby’s. We try to offer passengers something they can take home, a memento of their cruise, but no, the artworks you are talking about would never be sold on this ship.”

“But I saw them,” insisted Kate when she was finally able to interrupt the flow of Monsieur Dumas’ monologue. “Not only did they look authentic, but many I recognized as stolen from various museums around Europe.”

“And you would recognize these how?” asked Monsieur Dumas, raising his eyebrows in doubt.