Baked Alaska (37 page)

“Sorry,” Sadie said, her eyes trained on the paper on the clipboard. “But does that say Benjamin Jefferies?” Sadie pointed. The top name on the list had been crossed out with a single line. She had to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the announcer said, taking the clipboard from Sadie, who had to let go.

Pete had said the casino was holding another qualifying round because someone dropped out. But Ben Jefferies didn’t drop out—he’d dropped dead.

“Make sure you are in your seat on time for the tournament at eleven,” the announcer said to Pete before turning away.

Pete thanked her, then took Sadie’s hand and steered her toward the exit. “What was that all about?” he asked as they left the casino.

Sadie had been counting the seconds for the opportunity to tell him.

Chapter 40

Sadie explained about Benjamin Jefferies’s name on the clipboard, then about how intense Glen and Mary Anne had been about the game. She also voiced her suspicions that they may have known Ben Jefferies had had a heart attack even though they shouldn’t have—Sadie couldn’t remember for sure what Mary Anne had said that morning when she first told Sadie about it. She should check her notes.

“So what are you saying?” Pete asked when she finished.

Sadie sighed. “I don’t know. That everyone I meet is a homicidal maniac, I guess. I’m seeing too much in things, aren’t I?”

They reached the stairs, and Pete let go of Sadie’s hand and put his hand on the small of her back instead, guiding her up the stairs. “I don’t know, there have been a lot of questions about people having been on other cruises. Maybe there’s a pattern that the cruise line is seeing that we don’t know anything about. Maybe the list is about that. Maybe there’s more going on than a poisoned bottle of wine and a cheating husband.”

Having Pete support Sadie’s vague theories gave her confidence.

“There’s got to be someone on this ship who will read the note for us,” Pete continued. “That would at least tell us where to start, though I suppose we should probably go to Jareg with it.”

“What about your contact on the medical staff?”

“He’s from the Netherlands; he wouldn’t be any help.”

“Your tournament starts in twenty minutes,” Sadie reminded him. “And shouldn’t someone keep an eye on the Rydells, just in case? Oh, wait!” Sadie came to a stop on the stairs as she remembered Henry from the computer center. She suspected he was already breaking a rule by studying during his shifts, and he worked alone in an isolated area. No one would see him talking to them. “I didn’t bring the note with me, but I think I know who to take it to.”

After getting the note out of her room, they headed to deck five, and Sadie held her breath as she opened the door to the computer center. Prior to today, she’d been concerned about the long hours the staff seemed to work, but this time she was grateful to see Henry behind the desk, just as he’d been when she’d met him the first time.

“Hello, again,” Henry said when she entered. There was a woman at one of the computers and Sadie eyed her carefully as she and Pete approached the desk. She didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation.

“Hi, Henry,” Sadie said, smiling. “This is Pete.” The two men nodded in greeting, but Pete stayed a half a step behind Sadie, giving her the lead. “I was wondering if I could ask a favor.” She spoke quietly enough that he had to lean forward to hear her.

“If I can help you I will be happy to.”

Sadie pulled the note from her pocket and slid it toward him. “Could you translate this for me?”

He scanned it, and she watched an expression of concern grow on his face. After a moment he looked up at her. “Where did you get this?”

“You can read it?” Pete asked.

“It’s Tagalog,” he said, looking between them with a nervous expression. “But yes, I can read it.”

“Please,” Sadie said. “It’s important.”

The other woman in the center logged off of her computer and stood. “Thank you,” she said, giving Henry a little wave. Henry told her she was welcome. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the door shut behind her.

“I could get into big trouble. The rules are very strict on the ship.”

“No one will know you helped us,” Sadie assured him. “But it’s important that we learn what this says.”

Henry looked at the note, but wasn’t softening.

“Would it help if we told you what we think it says?” Pete offered.

That was a good idea. Henry nodded, relaxing a little bit.

“I think it says that someone with one of the last names on this list”— she pointed at the names on the paper—“is a member of the Seaboard Club and is suspicious somehow, or needs to be watched or something like that.”

Henry looked at the paper again. “Yes, it does say that, but it says more.” He looked toward the door and then up at her. “I can lose my job for this. It is...sensitive information.”

“A man died two nights ago—” Sadie began, knowing she was taking a risk by sharing the information, but stopped when Henry’s eyebrows went up.

“Someone died? On the ship?”

“You didn’t know that?” Sadie asked. “I assumed the staff would know.”

“We know what we need to know for our positions,” he said, keeping his voice low.

Sadie considered that, and then continued. “I’m sorry, but it’s really important that we know what this note says. I won’t tell anyone you helped me.”

Pete spoke up as soon as Sadie finished. “We think the note talks about other cruises these people were on and that there might be some kind of pattern—perhaps other deaths.”

Henry looked between her and Pete, then back at the paper as his expression changed to one of surrender. “It says there have been some deaths on other cruises and that the company has investigated and found that these persons”—he pointed to the list of names—“were on every cruise where someone died. And they all belong to the Seaboard Club. It says to wait for more information before speaking with anyone, but to watch these persons, specifically when they get on and off the ship. More information will be provided before the cruise ends so that the persons can be secured if necessary when the ship returns to Seattle.”

Sadie could feel her heart rate increasing.

“Does it say how many deaths?” Pete asked.

“No, just that there are others—more than two.”

Sadie pictured Glen and Mary Anne’s intensity at the qualifying round earlier. She thought of how angry Mary Anne had been when Pete had won. She felt the blood drain from her face as she spun around to face him. “Ben was the top winner in the tournament before he died,” Sadie said, grabbing Pete’s shirt. “But now
you’re
the top winner in the tournament. You’re beating Glen!”

Pete took her hand and gently pried her fingers off his shirt. He smiled slightly, remained perfectly calm, then looked past her to Henry. “Henry, could you do some research for us?”

“What kind of research?” he asked carefully, but the fact that he was asking at all showed some willingness.

“Can you find more information on the other deaths this note is referring to? It would be on other Seven Sea cruise ships, probably over the last few years.”

“Two years,” Sadie said, remembering the detail Mary Anne had mentioned offhandedly. “That’s when the Rydells joined the Seaboard Club.”

Henry pulled open a drawer and grabbed a pen and paper. He wrote down some details, then looked up at Pete for more instructions.

“We need to find out, specifically, if the people who died on the other cruises spent much time in the casinos.”

Henry furrowed his brow, and Pete nodded. “I know, it’s a detail that might be hard to find, but can you try? If we’re right about this, you’ll be helping to capture a serial killer.”

Chapter 41

“Steer clear of them,” Sadie said to Pete as they entered the casino. She’d tried to convince him to drop out of the tournament, but he insisted on keeping his spot in order to keep an eye on Glen and Mary Anne. The final round would start in just five minutes. “Don’t drink anything, don’t sit next to him—nothing. And make sure you lose—the sooner the better.”

“I know,” Pete said. “You’ll check with Officer Jareg first, right?”

Sadie nodded. Their plan was for Sadie to call Officer Jareg, but if he wasn’t available, she would try to get into Mary Anne’s room to see what might be in there. Mary Anne’s distraction with the tournament provided a unique opportunity. When else would they be certain she wouldn’t come to the room?

“And you’re sure you can get Mary Anne’s room key?”

“She keeps it in the cell phone pocket of that horrible purse. I don’t think it will be difficult.”

“And if you can’t get it, or if anything goes wrong, we meet back at the security office. Deal?”

“Deal.”

They approached the table and with a final look, parted ways. Sadie found Mary Anne at the same window seat they’d sat at before. Her expression was relaxed again, and she looked more like the Mary Anne Sadie had first met. Once Mary Anne saw Sadie approaching, her smile got wide, and she pointed a finger at Sadie, narrowing her eyes behind her glasses.

“He won’t win again,” she decreed playfully. “Glen never loses.”

Sadie had to force a smile. “May the best man win.”

“Oh, he will,” Mary Anne said with a nod. “I can promise you that.”

Sadie’s mouth went dry, and she took a deep breath. “Could I borrow your pen again? Pete wants to sign up for the player’s card they have on the ship.”

“Sure,” Mary Anne said. She put her purse on her lap and pulled it open.

Sadie stared at the pocket where Mary Anne’s ship-card was stored. She glanced to her right and saw a couple walking toward her. As soon as the couple was behind her, Sadie stumbled forward, landing practically in Mary Anne’s lap as though she’d been tripped.

Mary Anne let out a small scream of surprise while Sadie attempted to right herself. In the process, she
accidentally
snagged the strap of Mary Anne’s purse and flung it to the ground where she also landed beside it in a very unladylike—and uncomfortable—heap. She reached for the bag and picked it up from the bottom so that all the contents spilled out. If something suspicious were there, it was now on the floor and could save Sadie from having to take things further.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Sadie said after the contents of Mary Anne’s purse were sufficiently dumped. She got to her knees and started picking up everything she’d spilled. She moved fast and kept her back to Mary Anne, who was just getting up from the window seat.

Sadie used one hand to put Mary Anne’s pocketbook back into the purse while she fished in the front pocket for the card with her other hand. She made sure to block Mary Anne’s view with her body. Her fingers felt the smooth surface of the card, and she slid it out of the pocket and under one knee before she reached for the other items scattered across the floor.

A few other passengers bent down to help her clean up, which Sadie was grateful for because it kept Mary Anne at a distance long enough for Sadie to slide the card from under her knee and into the side of her sock. She watched all the items going back into the purse, looking for anything suspicious, but nothing stood out other than the fact that there was so much stuff. The purse could hold an entire medicine cabinet and still leave room for a twelve-pack of soda.

When the last items were put into the purse, Sadie thanked the people who’d stopped to help and then stood, watching to make sure the cuff of her pant leg fell over the card hidden in her sock. She turned to hand Mary Anne her purse. “I’m so sorry.”

“Are you alright?” Mary Anne asked, sweetly enough that Sadie almost felt bad for the deception. Almost.

“I think I twisted my knee,” Sadie said. She attempted to take a step, but added an exaggerated limp.

“Oh, you better not walk on it, then,” Mary Anne said, reaching out for Sadie’s arm to steady her. “Maybe you should go to the clinic. Would you like me to go with you?”

“I think I just need to walk around, maybe put some ice on it.” She glanced toward the tables on the far side of the casino. “I hate to miss the competition, but, ooooh, yeah, I need to get some ice on this. You stay, though. I’m fine.”