A Special Delivery To Die For (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 2) (5 page)

Maddie’s eyes went up inquisitively.

“Isn’t that what the Chinese say when they finish a drink? Gan Bei?”

Weird
, Maddie thought.

“It means, dry the glass,” Parker added, proud that she had added a little bit of trivia to offer the group. “Any way,” she continued, “that wouldn’t have been so bad, but we later found out that we couldn’t even get a private room during the storm, which lasted for two whole days. They had the nerve to make us share a bunkhouse with twelve boy scouts. Now, how is that for a honeymoon story?” She finished nodding her head as if everyone was in total agreement with her. “I ask you,” she added, “wouldn’t you have been furious? I mean, they could’ve at least comped us for a couple of free days or something after that.”

Maddie wanted to say something to the effect that the place had no control over the weather or the conditions after the storm hit, but she knew that Parker was not in the mood to entertain the possibility of anyone defending Ana at the time.

“And to top it off,” Parker continued, “the next three days were spent cleaning up from the storm. We had no electricity, no running water, and no privacy.”

During the entire time, her mousy husband Andrew never made any comment. He just sat quietly by and listened while his wife relayed the story that he must’ve heard hundreds of times by now.

Parker finally regained her composure. “So that’s my ‘Life With Ana’ story.”

Maddie just looked at the woman. She didn’t know what to say that would possibly make her feel better. She began to believe that the idea of having an Ana bashing party was not as therapeutic as many people may have thought it would be.

Silence fell around the table for a moment while people, apparently feeling uncomfortable after the story, tried to decide what to say. Thomas stepped in and had the DJ play some music so he could regroup.

Maddie pulled the couple aside to a smaller, more private table to let them finish the story to her and Bailey. Parker continued, “We tried to sue, but our lawyers said we didn’t have any case. They said that neither the travel agency was negligent nor the ranch. Since they had no control over the things that happened, there was nothing they could do.” Parker’s anger was beginning to get riled up again. “I’ll tell you what they could have done,” she said, the anger building with each word as she slammed her jeweled fists on the table. “They could have given us our money back or at least given us a free vacation package or something.” She leaned across the table and eyed Maddie. “You know what we got?” she asked. “You know what we got? Nothing. Not even an I’m-sorry-we-ruined-the-most-important-week-of-your-life.”

To everyone’s relief, the waiter passing by with an overloaded tray of dishes broke her emotional outburst. A sign of relief went around the table while the dishes were served. After the waiter had moved on to another table, Parker remained silent and the rest of the guests at the table breathed a sigh of relief.

For a few minutes everyone ate in relative silence, while listening to the music, which turned out to be a little less awkward as Parker’s trip to the past.

Chapter Five

The dinner had turned out to be a great success; the guests were now content and enjoying their complimentary cocktails while strolling around the deck of the beautiful boat. The night was perfectly clear so they could bask in the moonlight and stargaze until time to retire.

The conversation had moved from Ana to other sordid stories that turned out to be infinitely more entertaining. After all, how long did it take to rehash unpleasant experiences from the past? Especially after the person no longer has a voice of her own. Madeline walked in silence, taking in the crisp, clear air, the first in weeks since the rains started. It was refreshing to be able to relax for a moment.

But her respite was short lived. Thomas rounded the corner, obviously in search of more gossip to spread. He seemed to relish the chance to get in on a little juicy chatter about Ana. “Maddie,” he breathlessly exclaimed, “I finally found you.” She was leaning on the railing, deep in thought. “I’ve searched the boat from top to bottom looking for you.” He gave her a playful little tap on the shoulder. “Why’d you disappear like that?”

“I just needed a little time to process my thoughts.”

“Well, I suppose you do. It’s a lot of information to process in one evening, don’t you think?” He leaned up against the ship’s railing, mirroring Maddie’s position. “I knew that there were plenty of people that were upset with Ana, but I didn’t know to what extent.”

“I find that really odd that you would say that Thomas,” Maddie said, eyeing the tattler. “I mean, weren’t you her assistant? It would seem to me that you would know just about everything she was doing.”

“True, true,” he agreed, “but she didn’t tell me every single thing she did. And I wasn’t with her so long that I knew about all those people and how they felt.”

“Oh really? How long were you with her?”

“Only about three years. She had a real problem letting me take on more responsibility in the company. She said I gave them a bad image.” He folded his arms in front of him and stood as if he was about to ward off a defensive attack.

“Wow, that must have really bothered you.”

“Yes, it did. I mean I really know this business, but she wouldn’t let me do anything but push papers around.” He waited a minute before he continued, “Well, the joke’s on her because now I’m in charge of the whole office.”

“Well, you certainly seem to know what you’re doing, Thomas.”

“If you give me a chance, I can turn any business around. I understand business management, accounting, travel, and everything you can think of to deal with the industry. But all Ana could see was the outer shell and she couldn’t get past that.”

“Well, Thomas, I can tell that you have your finger on the pulse of this business. As a matter of fact, I’d really like to shadow you and follow you around to see if you could teach me a few things about how to get more efficiency out of my own business.”

Thomas appeared genuinely flattered by Maddie’s suggestion. His Cheshire cat smile reminded her of Astoria, who wasn’t allowed to take the trip with her. “Why of course! I’d love to show you the ropes,” he answered, pride oozing from his voice.  Extending his elbow, Maddie gladly accepted it and together they walked from the deck to the lounge area.

“Isn’t it kind of late for more activities?” Maddie asked. It seemed that most of the guests were already heading to their cabins for the night.

“Of course, but we need to make arrangements for tomorrow night. We have a host of events going on throughout the day and I have to make sure every detail is exactly right.”

She watched as Thomas made his way from one area of the boat to the next, deftly taking care of every minute detail of each event scheduled. She allowed him to ramble on casually while she took in everything he had to say about Ana. It wasn’t long before she was able to glean that he didn’t appreciate or value his boss in any way. Thomas was excruciatingly honest in his appraisal of her and he made no pretense of trying to be nice about it.

It seemed to be par for the course for the evening. It was the way everyone seemed to feel about her. Maddie wondered just how much more about Ana she didn’t know.

“So, Thomas,” she started, “it’s no secret that you didn’t care for Ana very much.”

“No, I didn’t,” he agreed.

“So, why did you stay with her? Couldn’t you have found a job at another agency?”

“Well, I certainly thought about it. But, I was indebted to the company because they sponsored my education. I did my internship under Ana and she offered me the position afterwards. Besides that,” he added, “Rockcrest Cove is a very small town without a lot of opportunity for an aspiring travel agent.”

“So, why do you think she didn’t want you to move up in the company? It sounded like she invested quite a bit in your future.”

Thomas was silent for a minute while he mulled over her question. “Like I said before, she said that I would be a pretty bad image for the company. She had a major issue with my lifestyle choices, if you know what I mean.”

“I do,” Maddie said, “but didn’t she know that about you before? It couldn’t have been news to her.”

Thomas looked surprised at Maddie’s conclusion. It was true. Ana had known about his lifestyle before he began working for her. There had to have been another reason why she didn’t want him to move up in the company. “Well, I guess it just meant that she wanted to be at the top all by herself, I suppose.”

You could hear the anger and frustration begin to rise in his voice. He tried to change the subject. “So, what have you found out from all those people you talked to tonight? Did you learn anything that stood out as suspicious?”

“A few things, but I’m just not ready to talk about it right now.”

“Oh, well that’s a disappointment. I’d really like to know where your investigation is heading.”

“Well, Thomas. I do want to thank you for all the help you’ve given me. I wouldn’t have been able to narrow it down without that list you gave me.”

Thomas became serious for a moment. “I guess what I’m asking is if you have anyone that you’re considering a real suspect yet.”

Thomas was certainly not what Maddie had expected when she started investigating this case. She studied him for a moment, trying to figure out if he would be honored or mortified by the prospect that he was being considered as a suspect or not.

“Well, I’ll tell you this much. You’re certainly on my list of people who didn’t like Ana, but not liking someone doesn’t naturally make one a murderer.”

“That’s nothing. Everybody on this boat, with the exception of you and your granddaughter, have the same feelings.”

“Some stronger than others,” Maddie agreed. “But you…your feelings are different.”

Thomas turned his attention away while he fiddled with a flower arrangement on a center table. “How so?”

“Well, most of the people here have lost money because of poor business dealings. But they had a choice to go to another agency or go online when they wanted another vacation. But you...you have been tied to Ana for your entire professional career. She sponsored your education, gave you your internship, and you helped her build up her business over the years with no reward for your hard work. As a matter of fact, it sounds like she was actively trying to keep you from becoming a full participating member of the business.” Maddie paused before she made her next statement, “It almost seems like she had something over you that compelled you to remain in her employ as a lower level member of the business.” She paused again, “Was Ana blackmailing you for something?”

Thomas froze in his position for just a moment. He didn’t respond nor did he direct his attention to Maddie in response. Finally he said, “Don’t be silly. What could she possibly have to blackmail me on?”

“Thomas.” Maddie said calmly, “Did you have any reason to kill Ana?”

“Well, I can’t say I didn’t think about it once or twice,” he answered with trepidation in his voice and continued, “but I didn’t kill her. I’m just not that kind of person. I couldn’t possibly do something like that.”

Maddie studied the young man and she decided that she honestly believed he didn’t kill Ana, but she had a strong feeling that there was still something more to the man standing in front of her. She made a mental note to discuss it with Bailey when she got back to the room.

The day’s activities were quickly winding down and Maddie was feeling a bit exhausted from the events of the night before and being Thomas’ shadow as he sailed from one task to the other. She excused herself and decided to take a break on deck with a Mimosa after brunch. She was perfectly content to sit and watch the comings and goings of the many Ana haters and observe them without their knowing. Although she was already beginning to formulate an idea of who the killer was, she was convinced that he or she was on the boat and that she would have solved the crime before they docked once again.