Krewe Of Hunters: Haunted Destiny Part 34

"So, we'll stay at my place when we get back to the city?"

"Or mine. I'm in the lower Garden District," he said. "Nice place. Pretty big, with a backyard. Perfect for a dog. No dog yet, I'm afraid. Maybe we'll get one. Dogs are great guardians."

"And great pets." She smiled. The s.h.i.+p pitched and they fell together, catching each other.

She moved away from him, saying, "I'm going to take a quick shower and dress for dinner. You're welcome to join me."

"I am fond of cleanliness," he joked. "I'll be with you in a minute. I'm just going to check in with Jackson."

Alexi went into the shower, shedding her clothing as she walked. With a teasing little movement, she tossed her dress up and then let it fall to the floor, kicking it aside with her foot-still clad in its elegant strappy sandal.

Jude laughed and said, "Be right there."

She stepped into the water. A moment later the bathroom door opened.

She waited, antic.i.p.ating his arrival with the soap in her hands, the water cras.h.i.+ng down all around her, steam rising.

"Alexi!" Jude called.

"Yes?"

"I'm on my way out. Get hold of Clara and the two of you meet in the hall. Johnny will be there, and he'll stay with you. I have to head out. Something's happened. I'll explain as soon as I see you. Don't leave the dining room, you understand? Don't leave until Jackson and I are back!"

Her throat constricted and she couldn't talk, couldn't respond.

Finally, she managed to croak, "Okay!"

She heard her cabin door close. She stood with the soap in her hand for another minute, then finished her shower and got dressed. She chose a blue velvet gown that was simple and cla.s.sic.

Alexi was about to put on her makeup when she saw a piece of paper stuck under the threshold of her cabin door.

She bent down to retrieve it and a wave of cold fear washed over her as she realized she'd have to open the door.

She did, looking nervously up and down the hallway.

There was no one there. Including Johnny. He must be on his way to meet her and Clara, to take them to the dining room for the final dinner of the cruise.

She picked up the sc.r.a.p of paper. It had been ripped from one of the s.h.i.+p's daily fliers.

The words had been printed in thick black ink. The end, Alexi. It's the end for you.

15.

"And you don't think she's just at another bar?" Jackson asked Roger Antrim.

Roger was pacing the ground floor of his suite. He shook his head. "I asked her not to go off without me. Or, at least not without telling me." He stopped pacing and turned to stare at Jackson, Jude and David Beach-who had all come running when he'd sent a summons through one of the security guards.

"You two were together most of the day, correct?" Jude asked.

"We were. I'd wanted to surprise Lorna with the presents I was buying from Flora Winters, but...well, it seemed prudent to explain the situation, since Lorna thought I was trying to see Flora in-you know-in that way. How she could think that, I don't know! But we had a great day on the s.h.i.+p and then we came back here. I went into the shower. I was puttering around for a while before I realized she wasn't here. My Lorna wasn't here!"

"But maybe she did go out," David said.

Roger stopped pacing and frowned at him. "Why don't you communicate with your security men and find out? I asked the guy I sent to find you. He said he didn't know anything. Said he'd just come on for the night!"

David had a pile of notes he drew from his pocket. "He relieved Clarence Murton," he uttered. "Clarence is probably sleeping. I'll wake him up and see if he has any idea what's going on."

"You'd better!" Roger said angrily. "By G.o.d, a woman was murdered in New Orleans, and another woman was murdered in Cozumel! Not to mention the women killed before that and the young man... Yes, you'd better find out what's going on!"

"I'll put out an alert right away," Beach vowed, turning on his heel.

"I'll check the Promenade," Jackson said.

"I'll try the bars on the St. Charles Deck," Jude told him. "Roger, hang tight." He didn't tell him not to worry, but added, "Wait here."

On his way down the St. Charles hallway, he suddenly reversed his steps and headed for the smaller suite Flora Winters had taken.

Flora and Lorna had become friendly. Lorna must have been very relieved, learning that her husband wasn't seeing the widow; he was merely friendly with her as he looked into buying something special for his wife. The scenario Jude was creating in his mind was certainly possible. Jude wondered if she'd left to visit Flora and had called out to Roger to tell him that, and Roger, beneath a thundering spray of water, might not have heard her.

But Jude's vision of a happy ending began to fade.

A greater tension gripped him as he neared Flora's suite; he didn't see any of the security officers standing guard in the hallway.

And when he reached Flora's cabin door...

It was open.

The captain was at his table, which was half-empty.

Playing a medley of Broadway tunes, Alexi couldn't help noticing that the esteemed Captain Thorne seemed a little disturbed. An invitation to the captain's table was, of course, an honor bestowed only on certain pa.s.sengers.

Ralph and Lorna weren't at the table.

Neither was Flora Winters.

Alexi thought that situation probably disturbed her more than it did Captain Thorne, even though he seemed indignant.

Alexi wasn't indignant.

She was scared.

She hadn't told Clara or Johnny or anyone else about the note under her door; she intended to wait until she saw Jude. Clara was nervous enough, and Alexi didn't want to put any more of a burden on her. While Alexi could sit at the piano, Clara was required to sing and occasionally dance-and look happy all the while.

Jensen stood near the dais, directing the performers. He'd exchanged a few words with Bradley Wilc.o.x first-Bradley, who watched from the back of the dining room, arms crossed over his chest. Simon was there. He seemed exceptionally energetic, ready to give his all to his last performance on the voyage.

Larry, Ralph, the others...

The show must go on, she thought drily.

Jensen stopped by the piano. "'One Day More!'" he whispered. "They won't get to see Les Miz. So, we'll give them a great chorus number from it."

Alexi nodded, wis.h.i.+ng he wasn't standing so close.

She remembered what Jude had told her.

The Archangel hated women. He wanted the man in the relations.h.i.+p to be superior. He didn't want women working out of the home. He'd probably been turned down...

The end, Alexi. It's the end for you, her note had read.

She couldn't stop herself from snapping at Jensen. "Please! Could you move back? I can't play."

He stiffened. She heard him mutter beneath his breath, a single word. "b.i.t.c.h!"

She ignored him and resumed playing. The cast of Les Miz went into an excellent rendition of the song, along with some dance movements, definitely a challenge on the small dais, especially when half the s.p.a.ce was taken up by the piano.

Minnie and Blake hadn't been in evidence tonight, but toward the end of the number she finally saw Byron Grant. He was by the door looking in, and she waved at him. Anyone who saw her would no doubt a.s.sume that she was waving at someone in the room.

Byron saw her and nodded.

A minute later she felt him arrive and sit next to her on the piano bench. He seemed weary and frustrated.

He's dead, she reminded herself.

"Can you talk while you play?" he asked.

She kept her head down; thankfully, the song was loud.

"Byron," she said in a low voice, "I know you and Elizabeth were going to be married. I know how much you loved her. But did she ever mention whether someone had asked her out?"

"One day more!" the cast sang.

"Men always asked her out. She always said no."

"But did she tell you about anyone in particular? Say, in the last several months?"

He shrugged. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Yeah! Actually, I think it might've been about six months ago. She came home tired and aggravated. Said some guy at a lunch place told her she was inventing a fiance-and that even if a fiance or boyfriend existed, she was with the wrong guy. If she gave him a chance, she'd never have to work again. She told him she loved her work-and thank you, but she really did have a great fiance who wasn't a chauvinist and was proud of how well she did. Oh, G.o.d, what an idiot I am! The medallions. They weren't just a.s.sociated with the woman, with their jobs-they were a reprimand! They were there to mock all those poor women for loving what they did." He looked at her in horror. "For thinking work was more important than a guy. That's it, isn't it?"

"Maybe," Alexi said. "Think, Byron, please! Did she say anything more specific? Did she tell you if he was young or old, or if he wore a certain cologne or anything at all?"

They were coming to the end of "One Day More."

"He wasn't old," Byron said thoughtfully. "Elizabeth would've mentioned that, because once, one of her bosses-an older guy, about fifty-wanted her to go out with him. Elizabeth told me he was a jerk, he'd had a wife, and he'd left her to chase after younger women." He shook his head. "She would've said if this guy-the...the Archangel-was older."

Did that help? Did that clear Roger Antrim?

And leave just three suspects?

"I guess they've more or less had him pegged from the beginning," Byron murmured. "Archangel! Pathetic loser's more like it. Killing because he couldn't get a date. I'll bet he really thought that he'd punish all the women who hadn't fallen for him. And Elizabeth would've been so nice to him. She would've tried not to hurt his feelings."

Alexi played the last notes of the song.

Applause filled the room and she glanced over at the cast. Clara sweeping a bow to the crowd. She saw Ralph...Larry...

Simon. Simon?

At her side, Byron faded away.

Alexi didn't know if he'd just lost strength...

Or if he was furious and as intensely on the hunt as a dead man could be.

Jude shouted Flora's name and entered the suite.

It didn't take more than a few seconds to see that there was a body on the bed.

He rushed over, his heart racing. The woman might be asleep; she might be unaware that her cabin door had been left open.

But...she wasn't just sleeping.

And she wasn't Flora Winters. It was Lorna Antrim who lay on the bed, cold and lifeless, and yet...

"She has a pulse."

Jude almost jumped; the ghost of Nurse Barbara Leon was at his side.

"You need to get help for her immediately. She's been given something-a ma.s.sive overdose of some kind of drug. Maybe a prescription drug belonging to Flora Winters. One that's lethal in large doses."

There were vials on the bedside table. And a needle.

"Yes," she said, bending down to check. "Someone's used Flora's medication. She's diabetic, I see."

"Insulin?" Jude asked.

"Yes, an overdose. She needs the doctor fast. Tell him what happened."

Jude nodded and dug out his walkie-talkie to reach Jackson.

Why had the cabin door been open? Was the killer taunting them-showing them that even when he made it easy for them, they couldn't catch him?