“Try the scones. They’re excellent.” Marco used a pair of silver tongs, selected a lemon scone from the tiered tray, and placed it on a plate before me. “Tea?”
I shook my head. I wanted answers.
“What’s going on, Marco? Why the flowers, and what did you mean when you said I could thank you for saving my life today? What do you know?”
“I think you have a pretty good idea.” Marco picked up the teapot and, ignoring my objection, was about to fill my cup. I placed my hand over the top.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure I do. Why don’t you explain it to me.”
“I was sitting here when you had tea with the Churchill sisters on your first day aboard. I heard them tell you about Dede. How they think she went missing.”
I removed my hand from above my cup. “Okay, I’m listening.”
Marco finished pouring my tea. “I think you, being a reporter and all, must be beginning to wonder if things aboard the Athena might be less about Seniors at Sea than something a little more exciting. Perhaps…Senior Smugglers at Sea. Has a nice ring, don’t you think? It might explain some of the more unusual things that have happened aboard. Namely, shall we say…murder.”
I blinked. “You care to expand?”
“Oleg’s death to start with. Some aboard think it might have something to do with you.”
“Me?” I put my hand to my heart. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“It seems, Ms. Lawson, that some worry Oleg might have said something to you?”
“Like what?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Marco held his cup in both hands, his long, bony fingers tapping the rim as he spoke. “But it’s the reason I believe you’re in danger. Unless, of course, you choose to believe Oleg’s death was, as Chief Sully would like us all to think…accidental.”
I exhaled.
“And if Oleg’s death hasn’t piqued your concern, then you might start with the Professor’s missing ring. It’s not the first of things that have gone missing around here, and I understand his wife is quite upset about it. The ring would probably fetch a pretty penny on the black market.”
I took a sip of my tea. “No offense, but I heard the Chief and Captain Byard searched your cabin.”
“They always do. Something goes missing, and my cabin’s the first they search. But, between you and me, it takes a thief to know one.”
“So, you admit you’re a thief?” I put my cup down.
“I prefer to think of myself as more of a Robin Hood. I don’t mind stealing from the rich. The rich have more than they need. But I draw the line at looting tombs of the dead and the graveyards of lost civilizations. That’s cultural homicide. One does have to have one’s values.”
“Good to know.” I nodded slowly. I wasn’t sure where Marco was going with his story, but it felt close enough to what I suspected was going on that I wanted to listen. “So… you’re a thief with a moral compass.”
“I am, but we’re not here to talk about me. I’m here to tell you that you need to be careful. The group you went diving with this afternoon is worried Oleg might have told you that Athena’s carrying a bounty of stolen artifacts. It’s worth millions. Their biggest yet. And if anyone were to find out…well…let’s just say that’s why I think you’re in danger and why I finagled my way on board your pontoon this afternoon.”
“To save me.”
“Yes, I told them I had to go on the first dive with the Doctor because I was concerned about diving without medical assistance. You wouldn’t have come out of the water if I hadn’t been with you.”
I swallowed. I was inclined to share that opinion. “And you don’t think anyone suspected you?”
“Everyone who knows me thinks I have dementia and am easily riled. They didn’t want to risk me throwing a temper tantrum and not let me onboard the dive boat. Which is lucky for you. If not, you might not be here.”
I pushed my cup away. “Let me get this straight. You don’t suffer from dementia? And you’re not a kleptomaniac? What you’re telling me is that this is all an act?”
“Not all. I do enjoy the occasional moon bath now and again.”
I rolled my eyes. Why me?
“It doesn’t matter what you think. What I’m trying to tell you is you’re in trouble.”
“And that these men, all of whom I was on the dive with this afternoon, the Professor, the Doctor, Chief Sully, Antonio, and Carlo, you believe them to be thieves and murderers?”
“You can add to that list the Inspector and his wife. I believe they’re the reason why Oleg was murdered. He uncovered what the Inspector, his wife, and the rest of them were doing, and Oleg wanted in. At the end of the day, it was easier to get rid of Oleg than cut him in.”
“How do you know this?”
“Like I said, it takes a thief to know one. And I know the Inspector and the Professor knew each other long before they took up residence aboard Athena. It’s no coincidence they’re here together.”
“Explain.”
“Years ago, I served time at Fleury-Merogis, a French prison in the suburbs of Paris. While there, a group of thieves were arrested for breaking into a Freeport in Geneva, Switzerland, and stealing rooms full of Greek and Roman antiquities. It was the talk of the prison yard. Perhaps you heard of the break-in?”
I shook my head. So far away, on the other side of the world, news of the break-in hadn’t made the nightly news in the US.
“Doesn’t matter. Although it was very dramatic. The thieves used an aerialist…but I’ll get to that in a moment. What does matter is that Inspector Garnier, who had a reputation for investigating some of the world’s largest art thefts, had been called in to investigate, and he asked Professor Braun to work with him to verify the authenticity of the items stolen. Things like gold jewelry. Statues. Coins, and such. All were believed to have been looted from museums and private residences during the 2nd World War and secured away in a Swiss Freeport in Geneva, in what, for all practical purposes, is a warehouse for stolen art and antiquities. There’s probably more art hidden away in that Freeport than in some museums. Ultimately, the Inspector was successful in helping the prosecution to obtain a conviction against those charged. But he could never have done it without the help of one attractive young woman he convinced to turn evidence against the thieves she worked with.”
“Camile?”
“Mademoiselle Garnier. Yes. And mademoiselle’s plea came with a marriage proposal from the Inspector.”
