“Good cover, sis,” Nettie whispers my way while elbowing Bess. “See this? She resorted to murder to land herself a soap hunk. Now that’s some soap-worthy dedication.”
I scoff, ready to defend my innocence and general lack of homicidal tendencies, when Elodie glides over in a cloud of expensive perfume and questionable timing.
“Oh my,” she purrs, assessing the scene with the clinical detachment of someone evaluating wallpaper samples. “That stain is never coming out of that Veragamo gown. Sixty thousand dollars down the drain—or should I say, soaked into the carpet.” She pats my arm. “Darling, be sure to steer clear of the men. There’s some hot stuff here this time around, and I’d hate to see them go to waste in the morgue.” She winks at Wes. “And if I like anything, it’s a piping hot meal.”
Wes clears his throat as his ears turn pink.
“Don’t worry, Captain,” Elodie continues. “I’ll go open the Queen’s Mall to divert attention.” She flashes me a wicked smile. “We’re practically a team.”
She sashays away just as Tinsley appears with her expression souring like milk left in the sun. “A team of terror.” She jabs a finger at me. “You, Trixie Troublefield, are a menace. Acursedmenace.”
She turns to Wes, batting eyelashes so thick they could double as patio awnings. “I’ll try to distract the crowd.” Her fingers work another button on her already generous neckline before she marches off.
She’s subtle.
“You’ll need more than that!” Nettie calls after her. She shrugs at Wes. “I’d volunteer my own boobs for the effort, but I’d hate to miss the show.”
Ransom pulls me close just as his crime-fighting counterpart appears. Quinn Riddle storms over, flanked by security officers who look like they’ve been interrupted during their dessert course. Quinn’s dark hair is pulled back tight as her verdant eyes sweep the room with disdain. Her perpetually pinched expression tightens even further when she spots me.
“What in the fresh hell have you done now?” she growls, not bothering with pleasantries.
Quinn has despised me since the moment Ransom’s eyes lingered on me a second too long. And well, her dislike only deepened with each body I’ve accidentally stumbled upon.
“Is this the tenth?Twentiethcorpse you’ve tripped over?” She glares at Ransom. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but I’m going to have to report this incident to our superiors as suspicious activity. I won’t stand by and allow any more of these so-called coincidences for the sake of the safety of our future passengers. This madness has gone on long enough.”
She stalks off, leaving a vapor trail of hostility and the faint scent of control issues. Suffice it to say, she’s not my biggest fan.
“Don’t worry about her,” Ransom says, moving close enough that I can feel his warmth. “I’ll handle this.” His hand cups my elbow. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
“I’m fine. I just tripped over the poor woman’s legs.” I pull back slightly. “Ransom, I saw a ghost as the passengers were boarding.”
His expression shifts from concern to something much more alarming. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“I’m sorry. I was just so caught up in all the drama.” I gesture vaguely to the crowd now pressing against the hastily erected caution tape, gasping and recording every little morbid detail on their phones. “And well, the ghost is sort of a drama queen, too.She was a very popular soap star. Honestly, I didn’t even know she had died. I didn’t realize she no longer had the need to breathe. But then, when I saw her up and disappear in a cloud of smoke, well, I put one and one corpses together.”
He sighs hard enough to inflate a life raft. “Trixie, you need to tell me these things. There has got to be a way to circumvent this in the future.” His radio chirps, summoning him back to duty. “I’ve got to take care of this. I’m going to have security clear the lounge. Take Bess and Nettie and make sure they get to their cabins safely. I’ll see you soon.”
He lands a kiss on my lips and spins me in the opposite direction of the body.
I make my way over to where Bess and Nettie are huddled and scan the gathering crowd. The trophy wives’ reactions are a study in contrasts.
Val Cruz-Henderson shimmers in her gown as she trembles at the sight, and her caramel highlights glitter with each shudder.
Beth Williams produces tears the size of cocktail olives while being comforted by another passenger.
Harper, the sharp brunette, looks mildly disgusted and equal parts annoyed that her evening took a turn for the fatal.
And then there’s Boomer Beaumont, looking as if he’s about to blow his top at losing one of his star trophy wives. But beneath his shock, there’s a gleam in his eye that suggests he’s already calculating the ratings spike.
Welcome to cruising on theEmerald Queen of the Seas, where the buffet is endless, the drama is deadly, and the bodies pile up faster than poolside drink orders.
And so are the days of ourknives.
CHAPTER 5
Suddenly Hitched—What a Trip!
Hello, Trixie!
