“Excuse me, Captain Byard.” A ship’s mate interrupted us before I could go on. “We have a problem, sir. Captain Rob instructed me to find you. Right away.”
“What’s the problem, Sailor?”
“I think it would be best if you came with me, Sir.”
Byard tossed his napkin on the table and stood up. “I’m sorry, Kat. If you’ll excuse me. It appears we have a situation. Please go ahead and order. Enjoy yourself.”
From my window seat at the table, I watched as Byard and the young sailor rushed out onto the deck where several residents had huddled by the railing. One of the residents pointed to something in the water. Byard stopped, leaned over the rail for a better look, then ran toward Athena’s bow.
I got up from the table and went outside to the deck. The group along the railing was now two and three deep.
“What’s going on?”
A man in front of me pointed to a speedboat. Like a giant water fountain, rooster tails flew from the rear of the boat as it skipped along the water, weaving in and out in front of Athena’s bow. “That,” he said. “She’s trying to slow us down.”
“Who?” I slipped in next to the man and grabbed the railing.
“Don’t know.” The man shook his head. “Could be pirates. Although it’s not usual in this part of the world. More common ‘round the Suez.”
“Eh, that’s no pirate.” Marco slipped in beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “You know who that is?”
I leaned over the railing to get a better view. Athena had slowed, and the speedboat had turned around and pulled up along Athena’s side.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Standing in the center of the small boat, clutching her shopping bags, red hair flying, and full skirt billowing about her legs, was the woman whose driver’s license picture I had been staring at just days ago.
“Is that?”
Marco smirked. “Sure is. That, my dear Kat, is Dede Drummerhausen.”
I looked to see if anyone else was surprised, but instead, those around me had stepped back from the railing and were laughing. A few even clapped.
From below, Dede motioned for the speed boat pilot to hand her his bullhorn.
“Captain, this is Dede. I need you to turn this ship around. I need to get on board.”
Captain Byard grabbed the railing and hollered back. “Sorry, Dede, I can’t do that. We’re under strict orders to clear the harbor. Go back to Sorrento. Take the train to Positano. You can board there. You know the rules.”
“I most certainly will not go back to Sorrento, Captain. Toss me a ladder. I’ll climb aboard myself, but believe me, you’ll regret this.”
Byard looked up at Captain Rob, his second in command, who stood on the bridge awaiting orders. “She wants to board. It’s up to her. Cut the engines.”
I leaned closer to Marco. “She’s not really going to do it, is she?”
“You don’t know Dede. If she wants to, she will. The Captain can’t turn back. So it’s up to her. She either returns to shore or climbs Jacob’s Ladder from the speedboat to the Promenade Deck.”
“But that must be at least thirty feet.”
“Up to her. The Captain has his orders.”
Marco nodded toward Athena’s bow, where Byard stood with an extra-long rope ladder. Above him, Captain Rob stood watch from the bridge. Athena slowed her engine and came to a stop, or as close to a stop as possible, without dropping anchor. The speedboat pulled slowly up next to Athena’s hull. Byard tossed a rope ladder over the railing. It flailed against Athena’s side until the boat’s pilot could grab it. Then, sidling his small craft up next to Athena, offered Dede his hand.
With one hand on the ladder, a large bag, and several smaller shopping bags draped over her shoulder, Dede placed a foot on the ladder’s bottom rung and began to climb. From beneath her, the pilot held the ladder as best he could while those watching from the rail around me yelled for her to keep coming.
“Don’t look down, Dede! Keep coming! We’ve got you!”
Dede’s skirt swelled with the force of the wind that buffeted the ship’s side, blowing it up over her shoulders and nearly blinding her as she clambered up the ladder. I was amazed at her athleticism. Despite the ship’s rocking or the shopping bags she hung over her shoulder, she scaled the ladder like a woman on a mission, and a minute later, I knew why.
As Dede reached the railing, Captain Byard offered her his hand. She refused and hoisted herself and her bags over the rail until she came to stand directly before the Captain.
“How dare you not return to the port, Captain! I’ll have your job for this!” Then, dropping her bags, she slapped Byard’s face. A slap so loud that I could hear it from the bow to where I stood midship. “You louse! I’ll be speaking with Neil about this, and believe me, he won’t be happy when he hears what happened. You’ll not be the first Captain to be replaced!”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gobsmacked!
It’s not a word I often use, but I could not think of a better term to describe how I felt or the scene I would later enter into my journal as I watched it play out before me.
Dede turned her back on the Captain, picked up her bags, and marched toward the midship lobby doors, pushing aside those residents not fast enough to get out of her way. “Hurry it up, people. Nothing to see here. Move along.”
As Dede passed, Marco and I backed up against the railing. Now was not the time to introduce myself, nor did I think it wise to return to the cabin.
“Classic Dede,” Marco laughed. “The woman thinks she owns the ship.”
“Does she?” I took hold of Marco’s arm. “Tell me something. Why would she think that? You’ve been holding out on me, Marco. Tell me what you know. You said you wanted to work together. You needed my help to uncover what the Gang of Eight was up to. But it’s a two-way street. If you want me to keep my mouth shut, I need to know everything you know about Dede Drummerhausen and why she thinks Neil would do whatever she says. Because from what I just saw, Dede believes she can get the Captain fired, and maybe she can. But why, Marco? Why does Dede Drummerhausen think she’s so powerful?”
“It has nothing to do with the Gang of Eight.”
“How about I be the judge of that. What is it, Marco?”
