I glanced over my shoulder. Captain Rob had entered the café and, seeing the four of us standing in front of the Professor’s table, did an about-face. But not before Byard spotted him and gave chase.

With Byard out of her way and her hands-free, Camile grabbed my backpack and, being the athlete she was, jumped up on the table and made for the doorway. Realizing she had my camera, my notes, and most importantly, the Brutus coin hidden inside my camera’s battery pack, I sprinted after her.

We got as far as Athena’s stern. Camile climbed onto the railing, sat down, and hugged my backpack to her chest.

I doubled over, panting, my hands on my knees while I tried to catch my breath. “Give it up, Camile. It’s over.” Then, taking a few steps in her direction, I extended my hand.

“Stop! Don’t come any further. I’ll throw this bag and everything that’s in it overboard, and then nobody will have the coin.” Camile held her hand out and looked down at the water. Behind us, the Muse sailed quietly. Camile’s eyes darted back to me. I could see she was debating whether or not to jump and make a wild swim for her lover’s boat.

“Don’t you dare,” I screamed.

“Leave me alone!”

“It’s a five-story drop to the water, Camile. You hit the water, it’ll be like concrete.”

Camile was breathing hard. The look in her eyes was frenzied. She opened my backpack and searched inside until she found the small, clear plastic baggie with the lithium battery inside. She grabbed it, probably thinking it was the Brutus coin, and stuffed it inside her bra. Then tossed my backpack onto the deck. “This isn’t my fault, none of it. I didn’t have anything to do with Oleg’s murder. And I didn’t kill Ida.” Camile looked down at the water, then back at me.

“Camile. Please, we can work this out.”

“No.” Camile shook her head. “No one would believe me. I took the Professor’s signet ring the night of his lecture. It was mine. It belonged to me. Not Greta. She doesn’t deserve it. And when my husband found out I had it, he took it from me. He told me I had to give it back. He killed Ida. Not me.”

Camile looked back down at the water. Her movements were jerky. I could see the panic in her eyes.

“How did it happen?” I had to keep her talking. My only hope was that I might be able to talk her down.

“We were going to the Professor’s cabin to return the ring. Ida was outside Dede’s door. We could hear her talking about the Professor. She said he was a thief. That his collection was all stolen. It made Leon angry. He said she knew too much, and someone needed to shut her up.”

“But how did Ida know?”

“Ask the Professor. Everyone thinks it was professional jealousy, but Ida knew the Professor couldn’t have the things he had unless they had been stolen. Ida was the real historian. Not the Professor.”

“So he killed her?”

“That’s what I’m saying. We waited in the hallway until Dede had closed her door. When Ida saw us, she panicked. My husband tried to calm her and suggested we walk her back to her cabin. When we got to the elevator, he strangled her with her scarf, and when the doors opened, he dragged her body into the gym and stuffed her inside the isolation chamber. He threw the ring inside to make it look like she had found it. And then he tried to frame Marco for it.”

I put both my hands out in front of me. “I believe you, Camile. The Inspector. The Professor. Antonio. They used you. I get it.”

“How could you? You have no idea. After I was arrested for Geneva’s robbery, Leon, my husband, that double-crossing conniving inspector, convinced me to betray my friends in exchange for his defense. He took my share of what I had hidden away, and now I’m his prisoner. But with this coin, I can buy my freedom.” Camile patted her chest, then put her hand on the railing and started to stand.

“Wait! The coin.” I had to keep her talking. “Why hide it in Dede’s bag?”

“It was supposed to be proof of Athena’s shipment. But when Dede didn’t show up with the coin in Naples, the buyers got worried and called Antonio. Why do you think he’s on board? He wasn’t supposed to be. He came on in Ischia to make sure everything was okay, and when he met you, he worried you might be an investigator. So now you know.” Camile turned her back to me, put her hands over her head, and did a swan dive off the railing.”

“Camile, don’t!”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Iraced to the railing. I don’t know how long I stood there, staring out at the water, wondering if it were possible that Camile might have made the dive and not died trying. No matter how hard my eyes strained, searching the white churning waves behind us, I didn’t see a body. Nor did I see her swimming.

“Kat.” It was Neil. He put his hands on my shoulders, and I turned to him.

“She jumped.” I covered my mouth with my hand. She couldn’t possibly have survived.

“There was nothing you could do.”

“Do you think she made it?”

“Maybe. Camile’s made high dives like that before. She knew what she was doing. She’s a strong swimmer.”

I put my hands to my forehead and closed my eyes. I had never seen anyone jump to their death before. I wanted to erase the vision. Camile standing on the railing. Looking desperate. Holding my backpack in her hand, then tossing it onto the deck. I opened my eyes. The bag lay at my feet. The last thing she had touched. I picked it up, held it against my chest, and stared at the water. The Muse that had sailed behind us had slowed, and the distance between us grew until Athena’s toy boat turned and headed in another direction.

“It’s Carlo, he’s getting away.”

“He won’t get far. We’ve got a tracker on board. Come with me. Professor Braun and Greta have been locked in their cabin, Captain Rob’s been relieved of his duties, and Byard’s back on the bridge where he belongs. Let’s head back to Dede’s cabin.”

Residents had already begun their morning stroll along the Lido deck. A few had stopped to chat with each other, and as we passed, I noticed a few nervous looks. Judging from their whispers, they were aware something unusual had happened.

Neil put his arm around my shoulder and hustled me to the mid-deck elevator. “Don’t worry, Kat. It’ll all be fine. As soon as we get back to Dede’s cabin, I’ll make a ship-wide announcement to settle any rumors circulating. People are going to need to be reassured.”

I didn’t know what I expected to find when Neil and I arrived outside Dede’s door. Across the hall, an armed guard stood outside the Brauns’ cabin and nodded curtly to Neil as we passed. Neil returned the nod, didn’t say anything, and knocked lightly on Dede’s door. Elli answered. She looked relieved, kissed her cousin on the cheek, and stepped back so we could enter.

Irene was seated on the couch in the living room. Tatiana was on one of the small swivel chairs opposite her. On the bar was an open bottle of red wine, and from the kitchen, I could smell the warm scent of garlic bread and roasted tomatoes. Dede was cooking.

Dede came as far as the kitchen door, clutching a potholder. “I hope you’re hungry. I called Chef Louie and had him send up what I needed to make lasagna. All this stress. We need to eat something. Give me a few minutes, and we can sit and discuss. Help yourself to a glass of wine or something harder if you like. We deserve it.”

Neil excused himself, said he needed to take care of something, and went to Dede’s house phone and called the Bridge. Moments later, he was patched into the ship’s public address system.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Neil Webster. I’m sorry to report that we’ve had an unfortunate incident aboard that requires Athena’s immediate return to Naples. I apologize for the inconvenience. I’m sure you’ve heard some pretty wild rumors by now. News travels fast on a ship like this, but you have nothing to worry about. In fact, we actually have something to celebrate. Several residents, Dede Drummerhausen, Marco Marcopoulos, and our visiting travel writer, Kat Lawson, have been instrumental in uncovering a smuggling operation aboard Athena. And, because of their bravery and personal sacrifice, I’m happy to say we’re returning to Naples with those responsible and a cache of stolen antiquities. I want to thank them and each of you for your patience. We expect to reach Naples no later than five p.m., and we plan to resume our previously scheduled itinerary as soon as possible. In the meantime, to make up for this sudden change in our travel schedule, please visit any of Athena’s restaurants. Her movie theater. The spa. Enjoy a swim in the pool. A massage, or if you like, a workout in the gym. It’s on us, folks.”

Neil hung up the phone, and I handed him a red wine. “The gym? I thought we left Antonio, Inspector Garnier, and Chief Sully tied up in the gym.”

“We did. But Marco and Finn moved them to a more secure lock-up. They emptied several of the caged storage units and created a makeshift brig. Looks pretty good. And after Byard caught up with Captain Rob, I relieved him of his duties and sent Captain Rob and Doctor Jon to the Brig as well.”

“So there’s five of them downstairs. Four of the Gang of Eight, plus Captain Rob.”

“That’s right. And with Professor Braun and Greta confined to their cabin, we’ve got all but two. Carlo and Camile are on the run. That is if Camile’s still alive. But we’ll find out soon enough. The Muse can’t pull into any port in the Med and not be noticed, and when she does, we’ll have them as well.”

“And Captain Rob? Do you think he was part of this all along?”

“I have trouble believing Captain Rob knew what was happening. But put enough money in front of someone, and you never know. Once Camile murdered Ida, and the Gang realized that Captain Byard might be suspicious of them, they made Captain Rob an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

“Maybe so, but it wasn’t Camile who murdered Ida. It was her husband.”

“Camile told you that?” Neil sounded surprised.

“Right before she jumped.” I explained that Camile had confessed to me she had stolen the Professor’s signet ring the night of his lecture and that when her husband found out, he had insisted she return it. “They were on their way to the Braun’s apartment when they ran into Ida outside Dede’s door and overheard Ida talking about some secret cache she thought the Professor was smuggling.”

“So, Inspector Garnier murdered Ida to shut her up.”