Title Wave (12 page)

Since Angelica
had missed the beginning of Larry Andrews's demonstration, and Tricia the next scheduled event for authors and readers, they decided to skip the presentations altogether.

“What do you want to do next?” Angelica asked wearily.

“I could use some downtime. I only got a couple of hours' sleep last night.”

“That's a good idea. With everyone going to all these events, I wonder if the spa would have an opening. Wouldn't a massage be heavenly?”

“Maybe some other time.”

“Manicure? Pedicure?” Angelica asked hopefully.

“Not right now. But I promise I'll go with you on the trip back to New York.”

Angelica shrugged. “Okay.”

“I'll walk you to the spa,” Tricia offered.

“And then walk all the way back to the stateroom on your own? No way, honey.”

“I don't want to spoil your fun.”

“There's a soaker tub in my bathroom. There're some kind of bath salts in there, too. If I dump in a lot, it might even become a bubble bath, especially if I can figure out how to make those jets work.”

“You don't mind?” Tricia asked.

“Not a bit,” Angelica said, and wrapped an arm around Tricia's shoulder. “I'm really proud of you. You told ship's security what they didn't want to hear, but you said it anyway. Just don't say it too loud. I don't want to frighten Ginny.”

“Will you tell Antonio?”

“Yes. But since we're now convinced EM's death was murder, I really do want us to stick together. So no going off on your own. Promise?”

Tricia nodded. “Okay.”

Angelica removed her arm and they headed for the lifts. As it happened, one seemed to be waiting for them, for as soon as Tricia pressed the up button, the doors opened and they stepped inside.

Angelica pressed the button for Deck 7.

“I must say, your maternal instincts have certainly blossomed of late,” Tricia observed.

“They were always there, but I wasn't able to show them back in Stoneham.”

“Why?”

“Because there's this whole Nigela Ricita mystique. Honestly, I can get a lot more done with that kind of anonymity.”

“The winter weather has helped keep your relationship with Antonio, Ginny, and Sofia under wraps, but what's going to happen when the baby starts calling you Nonna?”

“I've thought about that. I was hoping she'd call me Nonna Angelica, and Grace, Nonna Grace. That would be an easy way to explain it away.”

“Maybe,” Tricia said.

The lift doors opened and they got off and headed for their stateroom. Once again the long corridors were eerily empty. They walked in silence to the stateroom, and Angelica extracted her keycard from her purse to enter their suite. Thanks to the wide expanse of windows that overlooked their balcony, sunshine poured into the lounge. Tricia was glad her bedroom was supplied with room-darkening drapes.

“I'll see you in a couple of hours,” she told her sister.

“Tootles!” Angelica said, and retired to her own side of the stateroom.

Tricia was happy to see that Sebastian had returned the room to pristine condition. It seemed a shame to disturb the bed, but she really was tired. And then she saw the box on the bedside table. It was wrapped in the same paper and bow that had accompanied the sweater she'd received the day before.

“Not again,” she muttered. She crossed the room in five steps and picked up the box. Heavy. And she had an inkling what she'd find when she removed the wrapping. She wasn't wrong. A sealed, one-pound box of Belgian chocolates. The card that accompanied it said,
Sweets for the sweet.

Would Sebastian know where these mysterious gifts were coming from, or did they just arrive from the shops in the ship's arcade and he was nothing but a messenger? It was doubtful the shopkeepers would reveal who purchased the sweater and candy. If a customer in her store swore her to secrecy, she would have to respect their wishes—or forever lose a customer? Except for the champagne, the sweater and candy hadn't been expensive gifts. In fact, though they were thoughtful, they were quite pedestrian.

Tricia was too tired to even contemplate why someone had chosen her as a target of affection. She set the box back down on the night table and crossed the room to close the curtains. She pulled back the duvet, lay down, and wondered if now that she truly suspected EM's
death to be murder instead of suicide, if thoughts of finding the body would ruin her slumber. She didn't have time to ponder that thought long, for in less than a minute she'd fallen asleep.

*   *   *

Tricia awoke
to the sound of voices in the next room. She got up, checked her appearance in the mirror, and decided to drag a comb through her hair before she faced whoever was in the lounge with Angelica. No surprise. It was Ginny—albeit a very upset Ginny.

“What's wrong?” Tricia asked as she entered the lounge.

Ginny sat on the loveseat across from Angelica, her eyes welling with tears. “I can't believe I've mislaid my phone. Not only does it have the pictures we took at the luncheon today, but it's got all my pictures of Sofia on it from the past month or so. Why didn't I download them before we left home?”

“Do you think you know where you left it?” Tricia asked, feeling panicky.

Ginny looked thoughtful. “Maybe in the Garden Lounge. Antonio and I were sitting there at a table overlooking the water, looking for dolphins, turtles, and sharks. I wanted to have it handy in case we saw one so I could take a picture.”

“Maybe one of the crew found it and turned it in to the lost and found,” Angelica suggested.

“Where would that be?”

“I'm pretty sure at the Purser's Office. I'd be happy to go down there with you to report it.”

“Thanks, Tricia.” Ginny rose. “Let me tell Antonio where we're going.” She hurried out the door.

“Don't let her go wandering off on her own,” Angelica warned.

“I won't.” Tricia glanced to her right and saw that a colorful sunset stained the few clouds in the sky. “Goodness. How long did I sleep?”

“A good three hours,” Angelica said. “You'll be nice and fresh for the booksellers' meet-and-greet cocktail party later this evening. What are you going to wear?”

“I have no idea. You?”

“I haven't yet made up my mind. Something fabulous. Now, don't you and Ginny take too long reporting the missing phone. We don't want to miss anything good.”

“Don't worry. I imagine we'll be back within ten or fifteen minutes.”

“Good. I sure hope someone's turned in the phone. Did you notice what Ginny didn't say?” Angelica asked.

“No.”

“That Officer McDonald had contacted her. Do you think he contacted
anybody
who was at our lunch table?”

“Probably not. I'll ask Ginny on the way to the Purser's Office.”

“While you're gone, I'll pop over and tell Antonio our suspicions. I don't want either of them wandering around the ship on their own.”

“Good idea.”

A knock on the door captured their attention. Tricia answered it.

“Let's go,” Ginny said.

“We'll be back soon,” Tricia told Angelica, made sure her keycard was in her pocket, and closed the suite's door behind her.

They started off toward the lifts. “I take it you weren't contacted by Officer McDonald,” Tricia said.

Ginny shook her head. “To be fair, until just about ten minutes ago, we hadn't returned to our stateroom since this morning.”

They took the lift down to Deck 2. Luckily, there was no one in line at the Purser's Office. They approached the desk.

“Hello, may I help you?” asked a pretty, freckle-faced woman with an Irish accent and red hair almost as long as Ginny's.

“Hi. I want to report a lost cell phone.”

“Can you describe it?”

“It's an iPhone. It's got a pink case,” Ginny said.

“We've had several phones turned in since the voyage began, but I don't recall one that matches that description. Let me go have a look. I'll be right back.”

The woman disappeared into an office.

“It doesn't look hopeful,” Ginny lamented.

“Don't give up yet. Maybe the case came off,” Tricia suggested.

Ginny bit her lip. “Maybe.”

The woman returned in less than a minute, shaking her head. “I'm sorry. None of the phones that were turned in were iPhones. Do you remember where you last saw it?”

“In the Garden Lounge. We were there this afternoon.”

“What time?”

“Maybe three o'clock.”

“Did you go back there and look?”

Ginny nodded. “We even moved the chairs and tables, but had no luck.”

“It may be that a staff member found it but just hasn't had an opportunity to turn it in. In case it doesn't show up by later this evening, I'll have the security guys check the video to see if someone picked it up. If so, we may yet be able to track it down.”

“Video?” Tricia asked.

“Yes. All our public areas have video surveillance cameras.”

“I never noticed.”

“And you probably won't. They're very discreet.”

“Are all the corridors covered as well?”

She nodded. “Our passengers' security is of upmost importance.”

“That's good to know,” Ginny said.

Certainly interesting
, Tricia thought.

“Let me get your name and cabin number. Someone will contact you after the security guys have a look at the video.”

“Thank you. I'd appreciate that,” Ginny said. “I really need that phone. It's got priceless pictures of my baby daughter on it.”

“We'll do our best,” the woman promised.

“Thank you.”

Tricia and Ginny turned around and headed back the way they'd come.

“Are you going to the booksellers' cocktail party tonight?”

Ginny shook her head. “I don't think so. In fact, we were thinking we might order room service and stay in tonight for a romantic evening. That is, if Sofia will cooperate.”

“Sounds nice,” Tricia said, and suddenly thought of her ex-husband. It was at odd times like this that she missed him the most. What hurt was knowing she'd never again hear his voice teasing her. Never see those mesmerizing green eyes.

They stopped at the bank of elevators, where Ginny pushed the button. “Penny for your thoughts,” she said.

Tricia shook her head. “Just thinking that it had been a long time since I've had a romantic evening.”

“You were thinking about Christopher, weren't you?”

“Just a little,” Tricia admitted.

“You'll find another someone one day. Maybe he'll be Italian, like Antonio.”

Tricia managed a smile. “You never know.”

They rode back to Deck 7 in companionable silence. Tricia walked Ginny to her stateroom. “If I don't see you tonight, have a great evening.”

“You, too. Pay attention to everything, because I want a full gossipy report about the cocktail party.”

“It'll probably be a yawn.”

“Like lunch?” Ginny asked, looking skeptical.

“Well, I can but hope,” Tricia said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Good night,” Ginny said, took her keycard out of her slacks pocket,
and entered the stateroom. Tricia walked two doors down and opened the door to her suite.

A barefooted Angelica had changed into a formfitting, deep blue cocktail dress that looked absolutely stunning.

“I haven't seen that one before,” Tricia said.

“What? This little old rag? It's positively ancient. But I can get into it again, and it's a classic style. Did Ginny find her phone?” Angelica asked.

“No, but I learned something very interesting about the
Celtic Lady
, and I'll bet it applies to all cruise ships.”

“I've got to put on my face. Come into my bathroom and tell me all about it.”

Tricia followed her sister. Sure enough, foundation, blush, lipstick, and other cosmetics had been spread across the bathroom vanity. Angelica picked up one of the bottles. “So what did you find out?”

“That everywhere you go on board there are surveillance cameras.”

Angelica spread some of the foundation on her fingers and began to apply it. “That's not really surprising, is it? I mean, they even have them in the Shaw's market in Milford. I happen to know that the Stoneham's Board of Selectmen have been kicking around the idea of having several of them installed along Main Street.”

“Really?”

Angelica nodded. “Many of the members are still smarting that Stoneham lost its designation as the Safest Village in New Hampshire after the revitalization along Main Street. We'll probably never get it back, but they'd sure like to try. Of course,” she added with a wry smile, “it's been suggested that the village just asks
you
to leave town. Some people seem to think you attract trouble.”