Chapter 26

Suddenly Single—What a Trip!

Hi, Trixie. My name is Brenda and I'm on a cruise with my best friend, Shelby, on what was supposed to be her divorce celebration. Let me give you a little history. I'm married to her ex-husband's cousin. My husband and I devised a plan to try to get Shelby and Ned back together. We knew their issues revolved around money and we thought we might be able to help out in that department.

Since Shelby works for my mother, I convinced my mom to give Shelby a promotion. And since my husband came into a small fortune, which we didn't need, my husband had our lawyer divert the funds to Ned.

Since they divorced over money trouble, we hoped we could put them back together with money as well. It was our idea to go on this cruise in hopes the divorce party would morph into an onboard reconciliation and perhaps even a wedding. But after witnessing how irresponsible the two of them have been financially, my husband and I are fearful of their new impending nuptials. We're starting to think they had it right the first time. Should we put a stop to the monetary madness and the matrimonial madness about to ensue?

Brenda

Dear Brenda,

Your intentions were very kind, but it looks like Shelby and Ned's journey took its own course. While your heart was in the right place, the unfolding scenario suggests it's time to step back. Their path to happiness, whether together or apart, needs to be self-directed. Sometimes, the best support is offering wisdom and a listening ear. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

XOXO Trixie

"On second thought—"Ransom says as the five of us lounge in a cabana here on the island paradise of the Blue Lagoon Resort. "Let's talk about the deceased—as in Roger Maxwell. How about we talk about the case?"

I'm not sure what that says about our future as a couple, seeing that he shooed the topic of ghosts away faster than a pirate burying a treasure. Although, I can still feel his love for me and I guess at the end of the day that's all that matters. Our love is the only treasure I care about in this scenario.

"First stop on the deadly express," Nettie says. "The girlfriend of the deceased. It's always the plus-one that gives their special someone a special eviction off the planet."

Ransom nods. "I've seen it play out more times than not. What's your take on her, Detective Troublefield?"

Something warms in me as he calls me that. For some reason, it feels like a return to normalcy and I'll take it right about now.

"Connie does have a motive," I say with a nod. "Roger was cheating on her and she just had her suspicions confirmed as they boarded the ship."

"That would send any woman into a homicidal rage," Bess says, lifting her smoothie a notch as if toasting the woman.

"True," I say. "And I speak from experience, but most every other woman simply moves on."

Nettie nods. "It takes a special kind of gal to take her murderous intentions and do something about them. I say we erect a statue."

"Where?" Bess balks at the idea. "In a prison yard?"

Wes ticks his head. "If she's guilty, that's where she'll end up."

"Anything else on her?" Ransom wraps an arm around my shoulders and I nestle into the crick of his arm.

"Shep did mention that her books weren't selling well so she was moonlighting as the accountant for Jolly Roger Spirits—and that she was dipping into the funds to outfit herself with expensive purses and a designer wardrobe."

"I like her more and more by the minute," Nettie gravels. "Come to think of it, I think she needs two statues erected in her honor. One for the killer in her and one for the fashionista. You don't mess with a woman who dresses for success."

"I learned that lesson the hard way myself," Wes muses. "Anyone else you're looking at, Trixie?"

"I don't know," I say as I look up at Ransom. "The only other people I spoke to were Elsie and Shep. Elsie is the one who was with Roger the longest. She's the event planner who helped put the trip to the Caribbean together as well. And then there's Shep. You know, I think Elsie had mentioned that Roger and Shep were close until they weren't. It sounds like something got in the way of their friendship."

"Sounds like we still need to do a little digging," Ransom says, landing a kiss to the top of my head.

"Aww," I coo up at him. "You know I love it when you say we—especially in conjunction with a case."

"He's just throwing you a bone so you don't dump him," Nettie says with a wink.

"You should dump him," Wes says. "I'm still free." He winks my way as well and I frown at the two of them.

"I'm not dumping anyone. Ransom just needs time to digest everything I've told him." I wince up at the handsome man by my side. "And maybe have a conversation with Hank Silverman."

Ransom's brows swoop in like two dark birds in flight—more like bats. "Hank Silverman," he growls. "I've done a little research and he was Roger's partner. He died of a massive heart attack. I called in a few favors and it looks as if he, too, had a pharmacy's worth of toxins in his system, the same plant derivatives in lethal levels."

"Oh my word." I spike up in my seat. "I heard he died in a car accident. But I guess the heart attack could have caused the accident. And that might mean that Hank was murdered—in the same way Roger was."

"Hey," Bess calls out. "Maybe they have the same killer?"

"I bet they do," Nettie growls. "I wonder what woman they did wrong?"

"Or what man?" I say. "We still don't know a lot about the enigma that is Mr. X."

Ransom ticks his head to the side. "We know that they're responsible for coming up with all the formulas that spawned a successful liquor empire."

"And an underground black market concoction called Blackbeard's Brew," I add. "It can cause auditory and visual hallucination," I say to Wes in the event he wasn't in the know.

"Is that stuff floating around on my ship?" he says with a threat laced in his voice.

"I don't know," Ransom says. "But the coroner did mention that the levels of toxins in Roger's bloodstream were highly concentrated. And along with that, I'm having the FBI analyze a bottle of Blackbeard's Brew as we speak. They finally got their hands on one last night. I'll know soon enough if that's what killed Roger."

"Mr. X has the know-how and the product itself," I say. "He could have cooked down the toxins before he left home and brought the killer brew onto the ship."

"It wouldn't get past TSA," Wes points out.

"It might if it was in another kind of bottle," I say.

"Like a flask?" Bess asks.

"Or something to do with hygiene." I nod up at Ransom. "If the toxins were concentrated, then they wouldn't need an entire bottle to do Roger in. Whoever did this knew exactly what they wanted to happen and when."

"Agree," Ransom says. "This was no accident. Someone was very upset with Roger long before they set foot on the gangway."

A waitress steps into the cabana and the entire lot of us clams up.

"Captain"—she purrs his way clad in a teeny weeny bikini—"that surprise you ordered is ready for your party." She takes off and all eyes turn to Wes.

"I thought we'd have a little fun on our final day on land," he says, getting up and plopping a baseball cap onto his head. "Let's just say you'll be jumping glad when you see it."

"Jumping?" Bess raises a brow. "If that's a clue, no thanks."

"Aw, come on." Wes helps her up. "How about I give you all the mimosas you want today, once we get back?"

"I'm in." Nettie practically flies right out of the cabana as do the rest of us.

We follow Wes out past the beach onto a long boat dock, and sitting in the water not too far out is an expansive water trampoline the size of the Blue Lagoon Resort itself.

Wes has an entire crew help shuttle us out to the blow-up toy and soon we're all settled on the stretchy black fabric that spans the width of it. Bess and Nettie lie down while Wes, Ransom, and I jump to our heart's content, sending both of those women three feet into the air with every bump and thump.

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" Bess yells over the commotion as she girds herself for yet another launch.

"Because you secretly love the thrill," Nettie shouts back as she's propelled into the air. "Also, I believe we were promised a lifetime supply of mojitos!"

"It was mimosas," Wes calls out. "And the offer was for today only."

"Well, then we'd better get back," Bess tells him as she wobbles and rolls. "I'm going to need to down an entire bottle of champagne after this!"

"Trixie." Ransom looks my way with a devilish gleam in his eyes. "Think fast," he says before executing a jump that sends me soaring higher than ever before, straight off the edge and into the crystal clear waters.

Someone plunges down next to me, and the next thing I know I'm in Ransom's strong arms before we ever hit the surface.

"I'm sorry," he says as a devilish smile curves on his lips.

"You don't look very sorry," I say, wrapping my arms around him. "But then, I'm not so sorry either because now I get to do this." I wrap my entire body around his as we indulge in a kiss that says I'm sorry for everything and I love you more than you will ever know.

Ransom is having a hard time wrapping his head around my strange reality, and I knew he would.

I just hope there's still room in his logical mind and heart for me and my quirks. I'm not sure I can be with someone who thinks I'm clinically insane. And yet, I might be clinically insane enough not to want to walk out that proverbial door either.

We spend the rest of the afternoon swimming and playing in the water, knowing full well that the killer is still out there and that time is running out.

And that alone casts a shadow over our sunny respite.