“Sure.” Jill pointed at the buffet. “You go first. It’s your party.”
A blush spread over Charles’s cheeks. Standing tall, he said, “You’re with me, so you don’t have to wait in line.”
Una had never seen such a decadent spread. There were baskets of bread, platters of cheese, and small bowls of caviar. There was salmon in dill sauce, roast beef, lemon chicken, baked ziti, roasted potatoes, five different kinds of salad, and an assortment of pickles and olives.
Though most of the guests heaped their plates high, Una wasn’t very hungry. Kristofer would want her to sample the sumptuous food, but she had very little appetite. She took a small piece of salmon, a few potatoes, and some asparagus. Jill’s plate contained mostly cheese, bread, and pickles while Charles had gone for roast beef and glazed carrots.
“Let’s eat outside. It’s stuffy in here,” Charles said.
Una and Jill followed him to the back deck, where tables were arranged around the perimeter of the dance floor.
As Jill spread butter on a slice of French bread, she glanced around. “After we eat, we should start watching her.”
“She probably won’t do anything until we leave the dock,” said Charles.
Una put her forkful of salmon down. “We’re going somewhere?”
“Just around the harbor.” Charles looked at Jill. “I heard my mom tell your mom that we’re going to stop just past the channel markers. That’s when we’ll do the cake and fireworks. It was Mrs. Smith’s idea, you know. To rent a boat. She told my mom it would be safer to shoot off fireworks over the water. More impressive, too. The party planner almost lost her freaking mind finding a boat big enough for all these people.”
It was her idea.
Suddenly, the ship’s horn blasted, and a voice boomed out of the wall-mounted speakers.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Captain John and it’s my pleasure to welcome you to Charles’s bar mitzvah celebration. It’s come to my attention that some Russian spies have learned of the secret cargo we’ve got on board, so we’re going to cast off in hopes of staying one step ahead of them. As soon as we’re anchors up, the scavenger hunt will begin. Ask any crew member for a clue sheet and put your spy skills to the test. We expect a smooth cruise around the harbor tonight, but just in case, there are life jackets on every deck and lifeboats on both the stern and port sides. Now, let’s cast off before the Russians have a chance to crash this party.”
The deck vibrated under Una’s feet as the engine thundered to life.
We’re going out to sea, she thought in a panic.Into her territory.
Guests flocked to the rails to watch the crew detach the boarding platform and untie lines.
Una’s mind was spinning. Their plan had been desperate at the start. Now, with the dock sliding away, it was bound to fail.
What could she do? Beg the captain to stop? Find Elaineand tell her that she was playing into Mrs. Smith’s hands? And even if she could still disembark, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t leave Jill and Charles and J.J. alone to face whatever was coming. And something was definitely coming. Icicles of foreboding formed in Una’s chest.
She saw the fear in Jill’s eyes and whispered, “It will be okay.”
The boat cleared the dock and headed toward the channel. Una stared at the trail of white froth behind it. The path to land. To safety.
The DJ started playing the James Bond theme song.
“Kids!” he shouted into his mic. “See if you’ve got what it takes to be a secret agent! Get your scavenger hunt sheet from any crew member and don’t forget to grab a Polaroid camera. Put any pictures you take in this big bowl to my left. Who knows? One of you might snap a photo of a Russian spy.”
“Come on, Charles.” Jill motioned for him to get up. “If we team up, we can pretend to play while keeping an eye onher.”
The kids rushed toward a crew member, their fear momentarily forgotten. Una saw J.J. waiting in line with a handsome boy with dark hair and broad shoulders. Seeing Jill, the handsome boy smiled and performed a small bow. Jill lit up like a star, but didn’t leave Charles’s side.
Una gave the kids a head start before ascending the same staircase. The music still permeated to this deck, but it wasn’t nearly as loud. Scanning the groups of people, Una saw Benjamin in conversation with a gorgeous woman in a one-shouldered midnight-blue gown.
The woman’s gaze landed on Una. Her dark eyes narrowed into hostile slits.
Mrs. Smith.
Suddenly, a group of kids swarmed Benjamin. They shouted excitedly, explaining their need to search under the cushion of his bench. Finding a clue taped to the underside of the cushion,they whooped in triumph and raised their Polaroids to capture the moment.
Camera flashes struck Mrs. Smith like bullets, and she snarled. Seeing her distress, Benjamin took her elbow and steered her to the other side of the boat.
“Ohmygawd, look at her! She’stotallypissed.” A girl in a hot pink dress showed her photo to her friend.
