Wes immediately called Alonzo, who answered on the first ring as he’d been expecting Wes to call in.
“Talked to George—what do we need to know?” Wes asked.
“Well, I don’t like this any more than you’re going to, but it came from over my head. Apparently, Captain Millbrook is friends with a few of our senators and he hasn’t been liking what’s been going on during his cruise. In turn, they called in favors to a few people who knew that we were handling the rash of tech-related deaths. In the end, we had to inform him that we had investigators undercover on the ship. He’s a good man and the information will go no further. I can’t see and don’t know the different personalities on board but I trust you and Chloe to use excellent judgment. You figure out how you want to play it. But if you want to speak to this woman, Amelia Swenson, he will see to it that you’re able to do so. Act as a friend who has access to the best criminal attorneys in the world, perhaps. Your call. And keep me posted. Again, we’re looking at a situation with twists and turns that could mean just about anything. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
As he ended the call, Chloe emerged from the shower wrapped in a clean towel.
He looked at her unhappily.
“Good news or bad news?” he asked her.
She frowned. “Bad first, I guess.”
“The captain knows who we are. Alonzo was instructed by those higher up in the chain to let him know because he reported to very powerful friends that he’s extremely unhappy about things going on during his cruise.”
“Oh. All right, from what I’ve seen—”
“He’s a good man who would never intentionally give anything away. But secrets stay secret only when they’re secrets that aren’t shared, so we’ll now need to be triply vigilant. The good news: he’ll get us—or one of us, at least—in to speak with Amelia,” he told her. “And uh, on the lighter side, you are quite fetching in a towel. But George informed me that Edward and Sally are ready to have a lovely late lunch or early dinner—”
“I’m getting dressed. So, we go and have a meal. Then Amelia?”
He nodded. “We need a little time to figure out how to play it. Alonzo suggested that we pretend we know some great lawyers. I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way where we come across as just trying to help her because we believe that she did it, but that she wasn’t really trying to do anything truly evil to anyone and we’re trying to make the captain understand that so he’ll get her out of the brig.”
“I think I like that idea,” Chloe said. “Oh, and we can pull the string that we were the ones to get Edward out of the water and even save Sally’s life.”
“Great. Okay, I’m going in. Get some clothes on!”
“Aye, aye, sir!”
Chloe disappeared in the bedroom. He headed into the shower.
“Don’t look so anxious!” she told him when he emerged.
He smiled. “I won’t, I promise. I’m going to be intrigued to discover just what more Edward is going to have to say now. See, I’m intrigued for what we’re doing.”
She smiled at that, but it faded quickly. “She may be good, as in really good. Pretending that she’s all innocent, but she’s screwed up, if so. From what I’ve gathered so far, she’s completely guilt-free as in she just wanted to do something nicefor Sally, or she knew there were nuts in the chocolate, but she just wanted to make Sally sick.”
“I am anxious to talk to her myself, but... I won’t look anxious. I promise. No big pile of anxiety!”
“Shall we?” Chloe asked, indicating the door.
He made his usual gallant gesture in opening it and she headed out into the hall. But as they walked, she took his arm and said, “I’m worried about Darlene.”
“I know. I am, too.”
“Someone tampered with her air hose.”
“Almost certainly.”
“Well, it couldn’t have been Celia. She was attached to the wreck!”
“But she could have planned to be attached to the ship so that someone could get by Darlene with no one noticing.”
“Yep.”
“Ah, time to turn back into a charming social couple,” Wes warned her.
