“I’d love to look at a menu,” Pippa told her.
“Same,” Gilly added.
I shrugged at her.“I guess we’ll look at menus.”
“Excellent.”Natalie’s smile was warm and genuine.She’d either perfected the art of looking happy to people, or she was actually happy to see people.Either way, her demeanor had put me back at ease.She opened a drawer in a nearby desk and took three velvety booklets with Serenity Spa embossed on the front and handed them to us.“Here you go,” she said.“Why don’t you three have a seat on the couch over there.Take your time, and when you know what you want, just wave me over, and I’ll get you set up.”
We sat down together, our knees touching as we huddled over our menus.
“That was easier than I thought it would be,” Gilly muttered out of the side of her mouth.
“I know,” I muttered back.“Being Captain Steve’s special friend has its privileges.”
“Better than a platinum card,” Pippa agreed.
“We should book some dinner reservations for the week.Scott and I want to try the Brazilian restaurant, and doesn’t Jordy want to eat at that Japanese place?”Gilly asked.“Nora, is there any place you and Ezra have a hankerin’ for?”
“For dinner?”I shook my head.“We’re good with whatever, but they have a taqueria on board that I heard made the best street tacos.You know I could eat those breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“You really do love a taco journey,” Gilly lamented.
“Hey,” I said with all sincerity.“I can’t please everyone.I’m not a taco.”
Pippa choked on a laugh.“We’ll get lunch there today.”
“And maybe tomorrow....and the next day.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll be in Cozumel,” Pippa gushed.“I can’t wait to snorkel with turtles.”Her body was rigid as she tried to contain her excitement.“I hope my camera works.I bought one of those cheap waterproof ones online.”
“Did you test it out?”Gilly asked.
“I put it in a bowl of water overnight, and it stayed dry.It takes decent pictures, too.Better than my phone.”
“Scott and I are going to try our hand at a recreational dive.He’s been talking non-stop about how if he enjoys it, he wants to get certified.”Gilly smiled.“If it makes him happy, I’m all for it.And there are places to dive in the Midwest.”She made a face.“They call it muck diving, which doesn’t sound appetizing at all.”
“It sounds mucky,” I quipped, enjoying the moment with my pals.But Cozumel meant adventures for them.For me, it was the end of the road for Sebastian Caldwell.He would be disembarked, and there was a chance that if the captain officially determined his death and accident, we’d never know how he died or why.I wasn’t sure why I cared.The man was a real piece of crap.The way he’d talked to his wife.Gah.I’d wanted to slap him.And hearing the way he’d gone after Charise, I was surprised someone hadn’t killed him sooner.
But he was a human being, even if he was the worst kind of human being.If Callie was responsible, it was probably for a payday.I also wondered about her first husband.I mentally made a note to stop by the WiFi lounge next door and do an internet search and see what I could find out.Maybe I’d email Reese while I was at it.She was covering for Ezra this week at the station, and she was feeling pretty darn good about the temporary promotion.Maybe good enough to be inclined to do a little digging on an old case.
“Earth to Nora,” Gilly said to get my attention.She sighed.Heavily.“You’re thinking about Caldwell, aren’t you?”
I hadn’t told them about the security chief’s inability to track down the widow and give her the news.“Callie wasn’t in her suite last night,” I informed them.“At least not when they tried to deliver the bad news.”
“Where do you think she was?”Pippa asked.
Gilly gave her a flat look.“Murdering her husband, then hiding any evidence.”
Pippa bumped her with her shoulder.“Smart aleck.”
“I think we know that we’re not going to get Nora’s best until we help her put this mystery to bed, so...”She winked at me.“So, we’ll help.”
“Yay!”I squealed.
“Hey,” Gilly complained.“I didn’t agree to this.”
I gave her my most pathetic sad face.
“Fine,” she huffed.“I’ll help too.”
