“I figured you’d want it strong, right?” Elli handed me the cup. “I don’t know about you, but I didn’t get to bed until after three.”
I thanked Elli, and we found an open spot along the railing. A small speed boat had arrived in the blue water below, and Oleg’s coffin, nothing more than a plain, pine wooden box, had been loaded onto its deck. We watched as Neil and Antonio boarded the boat, and Neil placed a bouquet of white lilies on Oleg’s casket.
Elli took a long-stemmed white rose from a bucket by the railing and tossed it overboard.
“Where did these come from?”
“Neil asked the clean-up crew from Ida’s party last night to pick up the flowers and put them in buckets on deck so those that wanted to could toss them overboard as a final goodbye.”
I noticed several buckets of flowers along the starboard railing and a few early morning residents who had come to bid their farewells, tossing flowers overboard as the tender headed to shore.
“So, you talked to Neil this morning?”
“He called and woke me up. He said he needed to accompany Oleg’s body ashore and expected Oleg’s daughter to be there. After meeting with her, he and Antonio were going to visit some ruins. He plans to rejoin the ship in Positano. He asked me to look after you until then.”
I stared out at the water and the cliffside view of Sorrento. Another jewel of the Mediterranean. I wished I could have gone ashore and maybe on to Pompeii. It was a short train ride from Sorrento, but as this was an unscheduled stop, there wasn’t time, and I had a lot of questions for Elli.
“Shall we walk?”
“That’s probably a good idea.” Elli kissed the tips of her fingers and blew a kiss. “Goodbye, Oleg.”
“You, okay?” I saw a tear slide down the side of Elli’s face.
“I’m fine.” Elli wiped the side of her face with the back of her hand. “It’s just…Oleg was one of my regulars. He came by at least once a week for a massage. He was in great shape. I can’t believe he had a heart attack. And I don’t for a minute think he jumped.”
“You think it might be something else?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t like Doctor Jon, and I think the Inspector’s covering something up.”
“So do I.”
Elli stopped and grabbed my arm. “Then I’m not imagining it. You really think something happened?”
“Yes. That’s why I wanted to talk to you this morning. And it’s why I asked you to go with Antonio last night.”
“You don’t trust him, do you?”
“Do you?”
Elli bit her bottom lip. I could see she was hesitant to say anything.
“Let me ask it another way. Does Antonio know Neil’s not as rich as he lets on? ”
“I doubt it. I may be wrong, but hey, I’m from Hollywood.” Elli shook her head. “I’ve seen hanger-on-ers. Once they know you don’t have money, they vanish. And I’m pretty sure Antonio’s not gay, and from what I know, Neil’s loyal to Finn, so—”
“Antonio has no idea about Neil’s finances.”
“Neil certainly wasn’t going to tell him.”
“I wouldn’t think so. But I am curious. Do you know how they met?”
“According to Neil, they’ve been friends for years, going back to when Neil was just out of college.”
“Right after your father cut Neil off.”
“Probably. I don’t know much about Neil’s early life. I only know what my mother told me about him after I discovered I had a brother. She said my father never liked to talk about Neil. Maybe my father felt guilty, or Neil reminded him too much of his brother. Whatever it was, my mother said that after Neil graduated college, he went off on some archaeological expedition in Israel. Neil told me that’s where he met Antonio. Antonio was bumming around that part of the world. He didn’t have a lot of money. He picked up odd jobs on digs, worked expeditions, and that kind of thing. Enough to get by. They had a mutual interest in archaeology. It was Antonio who taught Neil to dive. It’s become a big hobby for them both. In fact, it’s one of the reasons Antonio wanted to visit Sorrento. And once Neil’s delivered Oleg’s body to the authorities, Antonio’s convinced Neil to come with him to sift through some ruins outside the city.”
“Sounds all a little too convenient, don’t you think? Antonio’s bumming around the middle east, picking up odd jobs, and accidentally runs into Neil Webster, heir to the Webster fortune, and they become best friends and travel buddies.”
“Antonio is, if nothing else, opportunistic.”
“I’d agree with that. Despite Neil being your cousin and Antonio’s best friend, he’s offered you a job. Why would he try to hire you away from Neil, knowing it would upset their relationship? Unless… ”
“What?”
“Unless Antonio doesn’t think he’s going to need Neil anymore.”
“What are you saying?“
“I’m saying I think Antonio, Professor Braun, Greta, Inspector Garnier, Camile, Carlo, Doctor Jon, and Chef Sully are all dirty. They’re smugglers. Possibly murderers. And they’re using Athena to transport stolen antiquities across the Mediterranean—”
“No.” Elli laughed nervously. “You can’t be serious? They couldn’t possibly be—”
“Hey! Ladies. I thought that was you.” Captain Byard skipped down the metal stairs from the bridge. He had a big smile on his face. “Sorry about the delay getting out of port. Can’t be helped. Neil called back after he got ashore and said Tatiana Sidorov, Oleg’s daughter, wanted to come on board. Looks like we may be here awhile.”
Elli looked at me, eyes wide. Whether she was still processing the idea that we had smugglers—possibly murderers aboard— or that Oleg’s daughter would be joining us, she froze in place.
I put my hand on her arm. “Well, then. I suppose if we’ve time, I’ll have to schedule a massage.”
