Sleeping With the Fishes (A Deadline Cozy Mystery Book 6) Read online

  She considered her options but decided against chasing after her. Surely no one would mind if she retrieved her suitcase. In fact, she’d be doing everyone a favor since she’d also make sure she locked the door behind her.

  Taking a tentative step, she peered inside the cabin. At first glance everything appeared to be normal, then Eve noticed the fruit on the floor. Cherries. Bananas. A pineapple. She followed the trail and gazed out the floor to ceiling sliding door. It stood open.

  “Okay. This does not look good but I don’t want to jump to conclusions because if I do, Jill will accuse me of being a death knell.” With her gaze fixed on a colorful scarf hanging on the railing, she released her hold on the suitcase and urged her feet to move toward the balcony. “For all I know, a light breeze swept it out there.” Yet when she reached the railing her first impulse was to look overboard.

  And just as well she did...

  Chapter Two

  Eve counted to three and then entered the cabin she shared with Mira.

  She’d made up her mind to enjoy the trip and, despite her reservations, she was willing to use anything and everything in her arsenal of personal inducements to make sure she made the best of this cruise and didn’t ruin it for Mira.

  Her aunt remained the one person Eve didn’t ever want to disappoint. In Mira, Eve found acceptance. She could be the person she wanted to be without having to apologize for it. This was something she didn’t get from her parents who’d never come to terms with her decision to go into the food industry instead of following in their footsteps. At least she didn’t have to suffer their disapproval... Their high-flying careers as lawyers meant she only got to see them once a year for Christmas, if they could spare the time.

  “I see you’ve found your suitcase.”

  “Yes, all’s good.” Somehow, Eve managed to keep her tone normal.

  Setting her suitcase down on the edge of the bed, she opened it and began unpacking.

  Days before she’d been kidding around with Jack, trying to make light of the reasons for coming on the cruise. After her close encounter with a killer she’d decided to take Mira up on her suggestion to accompany her on the cruise. The spur of the moment decision had surprised her. Eve had been working in the restaurant business from a young age and had never taken vacations, but Mira had talked her into it, suggesting she needed a new experience.

  Jack, what should I take on my vacation?

  Leave the gun take the cannoli...

  That had been Jack’s way of telling her to stay out of trouble. Detective Jack Bradford knew her only too well.

  Eve’s shoulders slumped. “What was I thinking bringing this swimsuit? I bought it a couple of years ago and never wore it.” She held it against her and tried to imagine squeezing into it.

  “Um, Eve?”

  “Yes?” Eve turned and faced Mira, her expression, she hoped, neutral. Not that it mattered as Mira hadn’t looked up from her computer.

  “Mind telling me what happened?”

  “I probably put on weight. It’s really strange because the scales tell me I still weigh the same. In fact, the only time my weight varies is when I work on new cake recipes. It got really bad when I was trying to improve my chocolate cake recipe. Jill’s partly to blame for that. She kept saying there was something missing. Anyhow... the weight piled on. It usually takes me a couple of months to shake off the excess—”

  “I wasn’t referring to your swimsuit not fitting.” Mira’s tone remained conversational.

  “Oh?”

  “For a moment there I thought those couple of drinks I had when we boarded had come back to haunt me.” Mira sighed. “And, as immersed as I am in my story, I still noticed the ship slowing down.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Mira glanced up. “If you don’t, then why are you so pale?”

  Eve pinched her cheeks. “The elevators are fast. I think I left my stomach on the lower deck.”

  “Was that before or after the ship came to a full stop?”

  Right after the captain had questioned her, actually. Eve huffed out a breath. “I was hoping you hadn’t noticed that.”

  Mira’s eyebrows rose into a neat curve.

  “Okay. It was a long shot.” She rummaged through her suitcase. No yoga pants.

  She didn’t have a chance in hell of relaxing now.

  “Eve.”

  “All right. You’re going to find out anyway so I might as well tell you. There’s been... an incident on board.”

  “An incident?” Mira held her gaze.

  Eve decided it really was better out than in. “There’s been a murder on board.”

  Mira gave a small nod. “Care to repeat that and add all the details you’re obviously leaving out?” She closed her laptop and strode over to the mini bar to pour herself a drink. “Come out to the balcony. We’ll talk there.”

  “Um... the balcony. Right... well... If it’s okay with you, I’d rather stand here.”

  “Eve.”

  She hung her head and followed her aunt. “Please don’t tell anyone what I just told you. The captain assures me it was an accident.”

  “And you don’t think it is.”

  She told Mira about her efforts to return the suitcase. “When I saw the scarf on the railing my first instinct was to search the water and sure enough, I could still see the woman floating. Hard to miss her in her colorful outfit,” she said, her tone conversational even as her heart pounded against her chest. “I called for help. The captain notified the coast guard and he organized a rescue boat. That’s when the ship slowed down... The coast guard was nearby so they got to her first and retrieved the body.”

  “Do we know who it is?”

  Eve slumped down on a chair and gazed out to sea. “There’s a head count underway to make sure they have the right person, but we can safely assume it was the occupant of cabin 4021. One of the Carmen Miranda impersonators.”

  Mira studied her for long seconds. “What makes you think she was killed?”

  The odds were stacked in favor of it.

  “Please tell me you’re not thinking you had anything to do with it.”

  “Well...”

  “Eve.”

  “What are the chances of this being a coincidence? Within hours of me coming on board a cruise ship someone is killed,” she blurted out.

  “That’s nonsense and you know it.”

  “The victim had my suitcase,” Eve insisted.

  “That happens.”

  “I’ve been grumbling about the Carmen Miranda impersonators on board and, surprise, surprise, the victim is one of them.”

  “Nothing but coincidence, Eve.”

  Eve ran through the conversation she’d had with Jill. Had she mentioned death, or killing? “I might have set the ball rolling. You know, what you think about, you bring about.”

  “As my heroine would say, that’s balderdash,” Mira insisted.

  “So you think it’s normal for a passenger to fall overboard?”

  “I’m not an expert on the subject, but it’s been known to happen.”

  “Right. It was just happenstance that our luggage got mixed up and that I happened to go knocking on the victim’s door moments before she jumped... or was pushed off the ship. And what are the odds of her also being one of the Carmen Miranda impersonators?” She surged to her feet. “It’s official. I’m cursed.”

  The tone of her cell phone ringing snapped her out of her pity party. Panic took hold of her. “It’s Jack. What do I do? What do I say?”

  “You could try saying hello,” Mira suggested.

  “And the moment I do, he’ll know something’s happened.”

  “When did you become so uptight?”

  “Right after the first murder on the island and I’ve been doing my best to hide it.” She drew in a quivering breath and giving a small nod, answered. “Jack. Hi. Hello. Howdy-ho. How wonderful to hear from you.”

  Mira rolled her eyes
. “Too obvious,” she mouthed.

  “Eve.”

  Jack had used the ‘pass the salt, please’ tone. She was sure he had... “Yes?”

  “Please tell me you had nothing to do with this murder,” Jack said.

  Murder!

  “I knew it. She was killed.” Eve frowned. “How... how did you know? How did you find out about it? Hang on. I’m putting you on speaker...”

  “Coast guard. One of the rookies at the station was on the phone talking to a friend who works there. So... did you have anything to do with it?”

  This time, she picked up a hint of wariness in his voice. Perhaps even concern. “That depends on how you define my involvement.”

  “Did you know the victim?”

  “Really, Jack? How could I? I only boarded the ship this morning.” And shortly after arriving on the island... a body had turned up. She really didn’t have a good track record. “Are you, by any chance, interrogating me?” Eve asked.

  “It’s out of my jurisdiction, but... I have a vested interest.”

  “Because you think I’m involved.” Her voice hitched, “Where’s your trust?”

  Jack chuckled. “I trust you. I just don’t trust a killer on the loose. Now try to calm down.”

  “I am serenity personified.” She had no trouble picturing the edge of his eyes crinkling with amusement.

  “Good. So are you going to tell me what happened?”

  “Detective, you assume too much. What makes you think I am in any way involved?” She heard Mira chuckle. “Actually, don’t answer that. I don’t want our relationship ruined. And it might do me good to run through the sequence of events. I might have missed something.” She closed her eyes and pictured everything from the moment she stepped out of her cabin. Halfway through telling Jack what had happened, she stopped. “Are you taking notes?”

  “I might be.”

  “A moment ago you said you trusted me.”

  “From what I understand, you were the first on the scene. Tell me again exactly what you saw.”

  “Shouldn’t the police come on board?”

  “You’ve already reached international waters. The police will no doubt want to talk to you when you dock in Florida.”

  She ran everything through her mind again. “I’m thinking there might have been a fight. A scuffle. Some sort of struggle. I saw clothing strewn on the floor and a headdress. Some of the fruit had come off.”

  “Fruit?”

  “The victim was part of the Carmen Miranda convention.” Eve tapped her chin. “I wonder if the victim was on the upper deck?”

  “Why? Did something happen?”

  “There was an altercation earlier on. I was on the phone with Jill. Everyone was dressed in their costumes. Hard to tell them apart. Except...”

  “What?”

  “I had no trouble spotting the body floating because the colors were so garish. Bright lime green and fluorescent orange.”

  “So while everyone is dressed as Carmen Miranda, they’re all wearing different costumes?”

  “Yes. They’re quite unique.”

  “She was a colorful performer,” Mira piped in.

  “Hang on.” She tried to bring up the image of the altercation in her mind. There had been five... maybe six women involved and they’d each worn a different outfit. “I need some coloring pencils.”

  Mira strode back inside the cabin and returned shortly with her laptop. Eve watched as she opened one of the applications and used one of the tools to draw a figure.

  “That’s quite good, Mira. I didn’t know you could draw.”

  “I sometimes do this to sketch out scenes for my books. How many did you say there were?”

  “Five... maybe six.”

  Mira put the finishing touches to the first figure then she copied and pasted six more figures. “What color do you remember them wearing?”

  “The first one wore orange and turquoise. And she had a white turban on with a pineapple.”

  “And the woman you saw floating wore lime green and fluorescent orange.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you remember seeing her on deck?” Jack asked.

  “I’ll have to think about it. Let’s do the others. There was the purple one. She had a yellow turban with bright red cherries.” Eve clicked her fingers. “And then there was the silver one. Her turban had a pineapple on it with bananas. She’s the one who gave me the death stare.”

  Jack groaned. “So you did have contact with them.”

  “Not deliberately. I was up on deck talking with Jill and fast losing my cell connection. My phone’s now switched over to the on board satellite and that’s going to cost an arm and a leg. Anyway, I was focused on the conversation with Jill. Wait...” Eve held up a finger. “One of them shoved me out of the way.”

  This time Jack sighed. “You got into a fight with a passenger?”

  “No. I was making my way from one end of the ship to the other. Then... there was the death stare. That happened when I was walking toward the railing. I told you my cell signal was failing. The further we moved away from land... Never mind all that. The one who shoved me probably thought I was moving too slowly or I wasn’t moving to the rhythm. Did I mention the music? One of them had her own entourage and she was making a grand entrance.”

  “Music?”

  “Yes and singing. You know... Chica chica bom chic.”

  “Okay. What else do you remember?”

  “The silver Miranda elbowed the purple one in the ribs. Then the—”

  “Wait. Who shoved you out of the way?”

  “That’s a good question. I know the silver Miranda gave me the death stare and she then elbowed the purple Miranda. Let me think... I saw a flash of green and...”

  “Orange?” Mira asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then you were shoved by the murder victim. You said she wore lime green and fluorescent orange.”

  “That’s right. And she’s the one who jumped in and argued with the silver Miranda.”

  “Did you hear any of it?”

  “No. It looked like a territorial war. Lime green and fluorescent orange kept pointing to the other end of the ship. I guess the police can get to the bottom of it all. I’ve decided I’m staying in my cabin for the duration of the cruise.”

  Mira cleared her throat. “You haven’t finished describing the costumes.”

  Eve did a quick mental check. “Oh, did I mention the one with the sailor outfit? She didn’t have any fruit on her, but she wore the most garish necklaces. Bright purple, orange and green. Her turban had a sailor’s hat attached to it.”

  “That’s four counting the victim.”

  “Hang on, there’s one more. She wore fire engine red and blue and had a red turban with bananas on it. Did you get all that, Jack?”

  “I’m almost afraid to say yes.”

  Mira clapped her hands. “You’ve color coded all the suspects.”

  “Wait. Are we pointing the finger of suspicion at them?” Eve asked.

  Mira shrugged. “Of course. They’d been arguing. It stands to reason there was a lot of competitive animosity between them. It would only take one person to go one step too far.”

  Jack cleared his throat. “Eve, go back to when you returned the suitcase. Did you see anyone else?”

  “Yes. Yes, I did.”

  Mira shifted to the edge of her chair. Eve couldn’t help thinking her aunt had been showing more interest in the incident than she normally would. A sign she had writer’s block?

  “I saw someone coming out of cabin 4021.”

  “By someone, do you mean—”

  “Yes, a Carmen Miranda impersonator.” Forgetting herself, she stood up and leaned against the railing. “Give me a minute. I have all these colors whizzing around my mind. I remember white, lots of it...” Or silver... “And a colorful sash around her waist. I can’t be sure if I saw her out on the deck.”

  “But you’re sure you saw her emerge from ca
bin 4021.”

  “Yes. Positive. I called out to her but she either didn’t hear me or she ignored me. Also, at that point I wasn’t sure I had the right cabin. By the time I checked, she’d already disappeared inside the elevator.”

  “Did she look disheveled?”

  “No. Are you wondering if she’d been in a fight with the victim?”

  “I’m trying to catch anything you might have missed.”

  Eve raked her fingers through her hair. “Now that I think about it, she might have been adjusting her turban, but that doesn’t really mean anything.” Eve sighed. “There’s a hoard of Carmen Miranda impersonators running around and they’re all fussing with their costumes.”

  “But at that precise moment when you approached cabin 4021, you only saw one. Correct?”

  “Yes, detective.”

  Mira held up her hand. “I did a Google search on procedures aboard cruise ships. Do we know if they’re up to date with cameras? Most ships nowadays have warning systems in place to raise the alarm if someone falls overboard. The camera might have captured something.”

  “Are you suggesting I approach the captain and ask him?” Eve shook her head. “He’s not too happy with me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I had the gumption to walk into someone else’s cabin. He couldn’t see past that. Never mind that I raised the alarm.”

  “Maybe the captain is in on it,” Mira suggested.

  “You’re kidding me.”

  “It’s something I picked up from you Eve. Suspect everyone acting suspiciously. Why would the captain be cross with you? If you hadn’t raised the alarm, the ship would have continued on its way and the woman’s body would have been lost for good.”

  “You’re right. Now all we need is motive. Any ideas, Jack?”

  “I’m afraid to open my mouth in case it gives you ideas and you think you can go off and launch an investigation.”

  Eve shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. I’ve already decided, I’m staying right here in this cabin and living off room service until we hit dry land.” To make her point clear, she folded her arms and pursed her lips.