“Double yay!”Knowing I had their support put me at ease.I wasn’t relishing the idea of lying to them about my whereabouts today.“Ezra and I made plans to do a little sleuthing after lunch.”
Gilly chuckled.“You mean snooping.”
“Potatoes, poh-tah-toes.”
“Our help is on one condition, though,” Gilly amended.“You have until we dock in Cozumel to do your aroma mojo thing and figure out the bad guy, but if we can’t solve the mystery by then, you have to promise me you’ll let it go and enjoy the rest of the trip.Once that body’s off the boat, there’s not a whole lot any of us can do about it.”
“True.”I sagged back on the couch.If the death was declared an accidental drowning, once Sebastian and Callie were in Cozumel, I would have no other choice than to let it go.“Fine,” I conceded.“It’s a deal.”
Natalie must’ve gotten impatient because she approached with an open tablet in hand before we called her over.“Do you ladies know what treatments you’d like?”
“I’m going to take the Ambrosia package,” I told her.It was a sea salt scrub, a sixty-minute Swedish massage, and finished with a thirty-minute facial.
“Oh, that sounds good,” Gilly said.“Me too.”
“Me three,” Pippa added.
“And when would you like your treatments?”she asked.
I looked back and forth between both my girls, and they both nodded.
“Tuesday morning after breakfast, around ten a.m.,” Gill said.“We’ll start our next fun day at sea with a bang.”
The guest services director frowned as she scrolled around on her tablet.“Is it okay if we stagger the three of you?It’s the only way to get the three of you in close to the same time?I can get you in at nine-thirty, ten, and ten-thirty.That will get all of you out of there in time for a late lunch.I’ll just need your names and room numbers, please.”
We obliged.
“Thanks, Natalie.”I got up from the couch, using my besties as leverage.“I appreciate it.”
They got up after and stood on either side of me.“You’re the best,” Gilly told her.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she said as we were leaving.
“Where to?”Pippa asked once we were in the corridor and out of earshot of anyone.
“I think we need to go back up to the Resplendent Retreat.I need to see it in the light of day, and, who knows, maybe I’ll be able to see something...”I touch my nose.“...that I couldn’t see last night.”
“I like it,” Gilly said.“Let’s do it.”
“WiFi Lounge first,” I told them.“I want to look up Callie’s first husband’s death, and email Reese to see if she can access the police database or call in a favor to see what exactly made the police suspect that the death was suspicious and why they couldn’t get anything to stick in the investigation.”
Pippa raised her hand.“You and Gilly check out the retreat.I’ll do the computer legwork and email Reese.When we’re done, we can meet at the taqueria and compare notes.”
“Tacos!”I laughed, feeling lighter than I had all morning.I had my two closest allies giving me their full support, and it had been exactly what I needed.Since our phones were basically bricks on the ship, I’d worn a watch.The time as four minutes after eleven.“Okay.Let’s meet in one hour, regardless of what we find.”
Pippa and Gilly agreed, and we were off.Time wasn’t our friend.We had until eight a.m.on Monday to get Sebastian’s death figured out, or someone, maybe his wife, was going to literally get away with murder.I couldn’t let that happen.Not if I could help it.
ChapterEight
Gilly and I left Pippa on the fourth floor and headed up to deck sixteen.I wasn’t sure what I expected when we got to the gate.Maybe police tape or some kind of barrier cordoning off the Resplendent Retreat, but no.It looked like the death of a guest on their ship had been nothing more than a blip on the radar, and, today, it was business as usual.
We swiped our key cards and entered.Surprisingly, there were fewer than twenty people inside.Given that the area was reserved for concierge-level guests and those staying in the more extravagant suites, I understood why.
A sign in front of the hydrotherapy pool declared itClosed for Maintenance.It was the only indication that something terrible had happened here.If we hadn’t found Sebastian’s lifeless body floating in that very pool, we never would have known.We hadn’t heard a whisper of rumors circulating the ship about a sudden death.They had a tight-lipped crew.I wondered how many staff members had even been told about the incident.
“Well, at least they had the good sense to shut down the pool.”Gilly planted her hands on her hips.“I can’t tell you how angry I’d be if I found out I’d been swimming in the dead guy soup.”
“Okay… gross.”I grimaced.“I’m sure the filtration system handled… whatever bodily fluids or, uh, other things might have ended up in there.”Still, I agreed with her.The thought made my stomach turn.
