It was the Captain. "Sorry to disturb you, but here's the list of names and the times you can start your interviews. Hope the times are okay. If not, let me know and we'll try to arrange something more suitable for the two of you."
He looked at us, and with a big smile said, "You guys look so happy. I heard you singing. I didn't want to interrupt, but I have to get back to the bridge. We need to be ready to set sail for Mykonos later tonight."
"That's okay, Captain, and thanks for the list. We'll get to it right away." I quickly looked at it. "It looks great. I'm sure we can follow your suggestions on the times. Thanks again."
After we closed the door, we finished our song, praising God for how good He really is. "God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me."
Chapter 15
Tonight's the night I have to do away with George. I need to hurry, before we're out at sea again. Anchored here outside Kusadasi we're close enough to the shore for my plan to work.
I'm worried sick. If by chance they find the envelope taped under table nine, I'm sure George will remember he saw me crawling under there for my ring and put two and two together. He will most likely guess that I put it there. Then I'll be arrested not only for stealing the necklace, but also for the murder of Barsha.
The Inspector and that couple from table nine with the goofy names, Kit and Kat – that sounds like they should be in some kind of a puppet show – will put their heads together. Then for sure I'll be dragged off to prison. I'm taking no chances that that will happen. They all seem pretty smart, so it won't take them long to figure it out.
So before that happens, if it ever does, and just to make sure there'll be no slip-ups, I've got to lure George down to my cabin and give him a glass of wine with the knock-out drug. That's one good thing about traveling to these foreign countries; you can just about purchase anything you may need. I bought the drug on a lark in Istanbul, but now I'll use it on George . . . How clever of me.
The only thing is, I'll only have twenty minutes for him to drink the wine and then get him up to the top deck. This time I want his body to be found, so I'll just throw him over the side.
Since he'll be awake it'll be easier. No need to take him up in a dinner cart like I did with Barsha. And then when the drug takes over . . . over he goes. I need someone to hear the splash. I might even call out "Man overboard" myself, just to be certain. Everyone will think it was a suicide and that George is the thief and killer. But first I have to find him and bring him here under some false pretense. I must come up with a great idea, one that he won't be able to refuse.
I know he's free tonight, so I'll go out and look for him. He hangs out in the staff game room a lot. I'll look there first. I have to approach him with no one else seeing me, and get him to follow me before he tells anyone he's coming to my room.
Someone called to me, asking if he could talk to me. Turning around, to my surprise I saw it was George. I suggested we go to my room where we could relax and talk over a glass of wine.
Well, luck's with me tonight. There he was, saying he wants to talk to me. It can't get any better than this. It's late, about one a.m. Another good fortune. And the hallways will be empty. This is going to be easy.
"Have a seat, George, and I'll pour us a glass of wine. What do you want to talk about?"
"I was wondering about the other night. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered why you'd go looking for your ring at night with no flashlight."
"I had just noticed it was missing and went right to the dining room to look for it."
"Then you know nothing about the envelope taped under the table? I think you do. You didn't lose your ring. It was still warm from where you'd been wearing it. I want a share of the money you'll receive when you sell the necklace. Three million dollars is a lot of green backs. I'll take three hundred thousand. That's just ten percent to keep me quiet."
"Okay, George, that sounds reasonable. Can we talk about this outside? Come up to the top deck with me and I'll show you where the necklace is now, so that you can see that our investment is hidden safely."
It's been ten minutes since George drank his wine. He believed my story of the necklace being hidden on the top deck, so he can't have looked under the table again. He should be going woozy any moment now. I put enough of the stuff in his drink. Too much. I've got to get him up on the top deck before the drug kicks in. I've got to keep calm and let him think I'll go along with his blackmail scheme.
"I don't want any trouble, George. So I'll pay you your ten percent. Let's go up on the top deck. Okay?"
When we got off the elevator, George said, "I feel so dizzy. Did you put something in that glass of wine? Where is the necklace hidden?"
"I made that up, just like I agreed to give you three hundred thousand dollars. Look around, George, there's no one else here. Just you and me . . . and soon it will be just me."
"What are you . . . going to do?"
"Do you swim, George? Not that it matters. By the time you hit the water, you'll be out cold. It won't take long for you to drown."
"What are you . . . talking about? I think I'm . . . going to . . . pass out"
"Here, George, put your arms around me?"
He's gasping for breath. I think he's dying in my arms. I must have given too much of the drug. Never mind.
Suddenly he stops breathing altogether. Well, at least he won't be calling out for help. One push and that's all it takes. No sound comes from him. The only sound I hear is when he hits the water . . . SPLASH. The smile on my face has just got bigger.
And now the words I've been hoping to hear. It seems to take longer than I expected, but here they are.
"Man overboard! Man overboard!"
That's much easier than I expected it to be. Why was I so worried? If we'd been sailing later tonight they never would have recovered George's body, and probably wouldn't have heard him fall in the water. Now it's an obvious suicide. All the money from the necklace will be mine. From now on it will be free sailing.
"Goodbye, George."
Chapter 16
"Man overboard! Man overboard! Lower the emergency boat!"
Kat and I woke up with those words in our ears. We looked outside our cabin door and stepped out into the hall. We saw mass confusion. People running in all directions. And then just about that time, Inspector Rashan came hurrying toward us.
"Come quickly. Someone has jumped off the ship. It could be a suicide. They're looking for the body."
We hurried back into our room, quickly threw on some outdoor clothes and ran with the rest of the people out onto the top deck. We could see a small boat in the water with big shining lights searching for the body.
The moon was shining brightly on the ocean. The sea was calm, and all was quiet apart from a low hum from the ship's engines. How different it would be if we were at sea, instead of anchored just off the coast of Kusadasi. The person in the water would be a mile or more away now, and by the time we stopped and turned around, we would never find them.
I thought how romantic this night could be. But here we were looking for a possible suicide victim. I was also thinking it could be our killer and thief.
Then a woman's voice shouted, "Over there! Over there!" as she was pointing behind the little boat. They turned their big searchlights around. You could hear many gasps throughout the ship decks.
We saw the body floating face down. At first we couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. Then we heard one of the officers in the boat shouting out as he looked up at the Captain, "It's a male, sir. One of our crew members."
As they brought the body to the boat's edge, other crew members helped to bring the body up on the deck.
Everyone was held back, except for the Captain and Inspector Rashan. We tried to get through, but we were told we had to wait behind the line.
By the time the Inspector realized we weren't with him, they were carrying the body to the infirmary. They passed right by where Kat and I we
re standing. A towel was over his face, but we could see his name tag on his uniform coat . . . hello, my name is george.
As Inspector Rashan passed by us he handed me the key to his cabin. "I will be in there as soon as I can. Make yourselves at home. I believe it may be a suicide. I'll be trying to find out more, and we can discuss everything when I get back to my room. I'm hoping the Captain can meet with us, as this death is most likely connected to this case of ours."
Twenty minutes later the Inspector arrived at his cabin with the Captain, saying, "Well, it definitely looks like a suicide. Of course, he might have been drunk or on drugs and fell by accident, but more likely he's our killer. We have to wait until our next port, Mykonos, so we can have the autopsy done on his body. The doctor here on the ship says he doesn't have the facilities to do this. But he'll give us as much of the information as he can, after he examines the body."
Kat asked, "Why do you think it might be suicide?"
"No one heard any sound from him on the way down. That, as you probably know, is usually a sign of someone taking their own life. If he'd fallen by accident, or maybe been pushed, he would have called out for help as he fell. It is, of course, only a theory. A suicide victim does not wish to be rescued, so he doesn't bring attention to himself, although they usually leave a suicide note.
"There is no sign of a suicide note, either in his pockets or in his cabin. Nor were the jewels in his pockets or cabin. So we'll carry on with our investigations. If he is our murderer, he probably thought we were getting too close to catching him."
The Captain said, "To keep the guests from being fearful, we'll tell them that there is every indication that George took his own life. I've not been told yet which George it is. There are three George's here on the staff, but I do know the necklace wasn't in any of his pockets."
I said, "My guess it's George King, James's friend. The one James told about the three million dollar necklace."
Inspector Rashan said, "I take it you share my thoughts that George King was the thief and murderer, and that maybe he started to feel guilty or scared?"
Kat answered, "Kit and I were talking about this while we were waiting for the two of you. It's possible, if James told him we wanted to interview him about the stolen necklace and the death of Barsha. Maybe he thought we knew he did it, and went up to the top deck and threw himself off."
The Inspector said, "That certainly is possible, but I want you to continue with the interviews in the morning. I'm especially interested in what James has to say. He told you that George was a good friend of his, so maybe he can bring some light on our case after you talk to him."
Kat and I both agreed.
I said, "James is first on the list that the Captain gave us. He's scheduled right after breakfast tomorrow morning."
The Inspector shook his head. "Please don't start thinking we've already solved the case. The thief and murderer may still be out there. We're sailing in a few minutes to try to keep within our schedule. The Turkish police in Kusadasi aren't involved, as it's likely to be suicide, and they know I'm on board if it turns out to be murder. Within a few hours we should know if there are any signs of alcohol or drugs in the body that might have caused him to act irrationally and jump overboard. If it looks like murder, I'll alert the Chief of the Greek Police in Mykonos and give him the facts, and he can decide what to do next."
"You know, Inspector," I said, "even if they find drugs in the body, it's not a conclusion to the case. Someone could have ministered them without him even knowing it."
Kat added, "Yes, someone who has the necklace. It's still missing, and as it wasn't in George's pockets, it must still be on this ship. Unless there's a note confessing to the two crimes, we still have a case to solve – and a necklace to find!"
Chapter 17
The discovery of the body delayed our departure from Kusadasi until well after midnight. Once we were on our way to Mykonos, the Captain announced that we were unlikely to arrive before mid afternoon, as the storm was forecast to be bad.
The ship's doctor said that he was unable to give a definite diagnosis, but on his preliminary examination it appeared that the so-called suicide jumper had been heavily drugged, and therefore was almost certainly another murder victim. His lungs were empty of seawater, which meant he was either dead or fully unconscious when he hit the water, so could not have climbed over the ship's railing.
Inspector Rashan agreed with the doctor's findings, and said that with the lack of a suicide note, and no sign of the necklace either in the man's pockets or in his cabin, the search for the thief and for the murderer of Barsha must continue, on the assumption that he or she was still at large.
Even though it was now the early hours of the morning, before Kat and I went to bed we ran over what Maria had told us about what happened after they left the dining room the night her necklace was stolen.
Kat said, "I can recall it perfectly. Practically word for word. Maria spoke so slowly you could tell it was painful for her to recount that evening."
"You tell it, Kat, and I'll try not to interrupt you. I want to get a mental picture of exactly what she said about that night."
"Okay, I remember hearing the sound system calling all the table nine guests to return to the dining room. We'd both fallen asleep on the deck, on that lounge chair. By the time we arrived, I think everyone was already there."
"You're right, they were."
Kat smiled. "Thanks, Kit, but you promised not to interrupt. Okay, everyone was standing except for Maria. She was sitting down and looking white as a ghost. In fact, Mark thought she was sick and that was why we had all been called together. It was after Maria told us her necklace had been stolen that she gave an account, hesitatingly, of what had happened.
"I remember her saying, 'After we had dinner, Jason and I went back to our room to change our clothes. We were going up to the Disco lounge and we wanted to put on something more comfortable, and also to put away my necklace. We don't dance much, but we love to watch people who do. They always seem to have so much fun. I took off my necklace, put it back into its box and placed it on the top shelf in the closet. I usually give it to the Captain of the ship and he personally puts it in the safe, but stupidly I thought I'd wait and do that the next morning.'"
I nodded slowly, but managed to keep myself from interrupting again. Kat seemed to be recalling things exactly. "Go on."
"Well, Maria said, 'After the first sip of my glass of Champagne I told Jason I don't feel comfortable with the necklace in our room. I'm going to get it and take it to the Captain.'
"Jason said he'd go with her. She told him no, but being the gentleman that he is, he insisted.
"She said, 'We left our table, and told the server we'd be right back.'
"That's when she told us that they always get an end unit. She said she knew it sounded extravagant to us, because she also said they rent the cabin above them and the one next to them. Doing this made them feel safe. With all the money they have, they certainly can afford it.
"When they arrived at their cabin, nothing looked changed. Maria said she went to the closet, found the box, opened it up, and that's when she saw that the necklace was gone. At that time Jason noticed that the sliding door to their private deck was ajar. After looking further he noticed the door had been forced open and the lock was broken.
"I remember her words, 'I was heartbroken that an heirloom that had been in my family for over three hundred years was gone because of my negligence.'
"She started to cry and turned to all of us and said, 'If any of you have it, please return it, no questions asked, and I'll give you a reward.'"
I nodded. "I remember looking around at everyone, and they were all shaking their heads. What amazed me was no one took an offense that they'd just been accused by Maria implying one of us had stolen her necklace."
Kat said, and I agreed with her, "It's got to be someone from table nine."
Chapter 18
The Captain was ri
ght about the storm, and we woke early to find the ship pitching into a strong headwind and large waves. Right after breakfast Kat and I returned to our cabin to wait for James. Even though George King would not be there, we were hoping that James would show up. We still wanted to pick the brains of our three servers.
We both agreed that after each interview with James, Alex and Berta, we would ask them to stay after their friends left, so we could ask them if they suspected anyone, either one of the staff or anyone at table nine.
Sometimes other people pick up things that we may have overlooked. That was exactly why Inspector Rashan wanted us to snoop around. You know the old saying, "Two heads are better than one."
We agreed that I would ask the questions, and Kat would take notes. When we heard the knock on the door we guessed that it was James.
I went to the door. James stood there smiling. "Hi, sorry I'm late."
"Come in, James. We're so sorry to hear about your friend George."
"George? What's happened to him?"
Kat said, "You mean to say that you're the only one on the ship that doesn't know that George committed suicide last night by jumping off the side of the ship?"
James said, "That wasn't my friend, George King. That was George Talbot. My friend George will be here soon. He had to make a stop off at the bathroom. We were just told about five minutes ago that is was George Talbot that died."
Very soon George King was knocking at the door. He introduced himself as we shook hands. He turned to Kat. "Hi."
James looked at George. "It seems as though everyone that's investigating the case thought it was you who was murdered last night!"
They both laughed, and George said, "As you can see, I'm well and alive here on this planet earth, although it's still a bit stormy out there. James told me that you knew that he'd told me about the three million dollar necklace, and that you wanted to ask me some questions. So fire away. I have nothing to hide."
"Well, first of all, George, did you tell anyone else about the necklace and its value?"
"Nope, no one."
"Second, where were you between nine and ten on the night of the theft?"
"Oh, that's an easy one. I was on clean-up duty until eleven in the dining room. There are many people who will vouch for me."