“I’ll be fine.” I put my hand to my head. “It’s the movement of the ship. I’m still getting used to it.”

But it wasn’t the movement of the ship that caused my knees to go weak, but a feeling of déjà vu. A flashback to a life long gone. I hadn’t noticed the similarity before. Perhaps because the captain was wearing a hat, and the sun was in my eyes, but now, seeing him on the Bridge in the low light, the resemblance was uncanny, and it all came crashing back to me. The shadow of the young Air Force pilot I had married in college…and buried in an empty coffin. To Eric. Gone too soon to a senseless Vietnamese war—but never forgotten.

“Here. Take a seat.” Captain Byard offered me his chair.

I sat down and tried to dismiss the striking similarity. It was going to be hard enough to focus on the task at hand and not relax in his company. But not until I knew Captain Byard wasn’t hiding the truth about Dede Drummerhausen and her whereabouts or if he might have any idea about the gold coin I had found inside the bag she’d left behind did I dare to let my guard down.

Captain Byard introduced me to his first mate, Captain Rob, also known as the Officer of the Watch, who, along with his counterparts, manned the bridge twenty-four hours a day. Then went on to tell me more about the Bridge.

“From here, we have a clear view of the surrounding area.” Captain Byard pointed to the window. “That’s Mount Vesuvius straight ahead. And on the bulkhead below, these rounded radar screens give us Athena’s position, approaching vessels, maps of the ocean floor, and the coastline.”

I glanced at the blips on the green computer screens, like glowing orbs. I had no idea what they meant.

“The Bridge is the heart of the ship, the safest place to be. We keep all our important papers in the safe up here. Ship’s registration. Maps. Crew passports. Emergency cash. The windows are fortified for heavy-duty storms and, for security reasons, bulletproof.”

“Bulletproof?” I snapped a couple of pictures of the deck and Athena’s crew, then held my camera to my side. “Are we expecting trouble, Captain?”

“Nothing you need worry about.”

I took a quick picture of the captain.

He offered me his hand. “Come, I promised you a tour.”

Chapter Five

Captain Byard explained we would spend the evening cruising slowly along the Italian coastline before we dropped anchor at Procida the following day. Procida was a short thirty-minute cruise away, but due to our late departure and traffic in the harbor around the island, Athena would wait until morning to arrive. Meanwhile, we had a spectacular view of Naples, with its twinkling city lights behind us and the red glow of Mount Vesuvius directly ahead.

“Looks like she’s still active.”

“She is. The last big explosion was March of forty-four. But the one most people know about that wiped out Pompeii was seventy-nine AD. She’ll blow again someday. In fact, she’s the only active volcano in all of Europe.”

I stared at the quiet scene across the bay, then snapped a couple of shots with my camera. The crescent-shaped mountain ridge was draped in misty-white clouds, making it impossible to see anything but the faint orange glow in the moonlight. If nothing else, I hoped I might get an artsy shot.

“The eruption that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum was over in fifteen minutes. The ash and the clouds were so thick you wouldn’t have seen anything from here. Archaeologists are still finding evidence of what was once an active trade port.”

I took one last look through the binoculars and followed Captain Byard outside to the deck and back to the elevator I had taken from Dede’s floor to the Bridge. Beneath the moonlight, steps ahead of me in his white jacket, the captain cut a handsome figure—so like Eric. He paused when we got to the elevator doors and pointed one last time at the orange glow in the sky. When the doors opened, Byard stepped inside, pushed the button to the Promenade deck, and stepped back.

“I thought we’d start in the reception area on the Promenade Deck. It doubles as Athena’s Grand Lobby. You came in so late last night you may not have had much chance to see it.”

The elevator doors closed, and I noticed the captain studying my reflection in the mirrored glass. I smiled quickly, awkwardly. Byard looked ahead, but not before he returned my smile with what I suspected was an involuntary wink. I pretended not to notice and looked down at my camera.

“The elevator stopped, and the mirrored glass doors slid open onto the Promenade’s two-story lobby. I was stunned. Byard was right. I had been too tired when I arrived last night to notice its sweeping staircase, the crystal chandelier, or the stunning gold and ivory statue in the center courtyard.”

“How did I miss that?” I pointed to the statue.

“You didn’t. But now you know why we left the dock late last night.” Byard gestured to the statue. “This is the Goddess Athena. Known as the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare. We picked her up in Naples yesterday. We’re transporting her to Alexandria.”

The statue was enormous, at least fourteen feet high, and centered in a shallow reflecting pool, surrounded by a waterfall of crystal beads. She loomed over the lobby like a reigning queen.

“Is she real?” I walked beneath the gold and ivory statue and took several shots of her. On her head, she wore a gold helmet, and in one hand, she held a giant spear. In the other, a shield.

“You’re asking the wrong person. However, there are some onboard who do know about Greek and Roman antiquities. Your neighbor, Professor Braun, for one. He and his wife, Greta, live across the hall from Dede. He can answer your questions. As for me, I’m still new here. I can tell you anything you want to know about the ship. But when it comes to art, I haven’t a clue.”

After walking through the Grand Lobby and a labyrinth of connected hallways lined with boutiques, restaurants, and gift stores, Byard led me out onto the Promenade Deck, where we strolled beneath a full moon and the sound of waves crashing against Athena’s hull.

Byard explained Athena was twice the length of an American football field, had 165 luxury condos, three hundred and fifty-five residents with an average age of sixty-two, and a crew of a hundred and twenty-five.

“Athena caters to a very exclusive clientele. Most of the cabins have one and two bedrooms. Some are fancier than others—like Ms. Drummerhausen’s—and a few studios in between. The residences are on the top five floors above the Promenade Deck and beneath the Lido or the Sun Deck.”

“And the cost?” I asked. “How expensive is the average apartment?”

“Entry-level would be about one point five million for a small studio.”

“And for a cabin like Dede’s?”

“My guess would be at least two and a half to three million. Plus, yearly association dues and a guaranteed wealth analysis of five million dollars.”

“That’s some serious money.”

“For some, Athena’s their last home. But for a few, a suite aboard is nothing more than a second or third home. Right now, many of our regulars are away on summer vacation.”

“And the crew? They come and go as well?” I could get all the statistics I wanted about Athena from the brochure Finn had left in my gift basket. But I hoped that if I could keep Byard talking about the crew and maybe himself, he might reveal more than he had initially told me.

“There’s not much turnover. Most have been on the ship since Mr. Webster bought her in ninety-one. His people are very loyal.”

“And you? You said you’re still new here. How long have you been aboard?”

“A little less than a year. Why?”

I sensed an uneasiness in Byard’s response. A resistance like a brick wall. Something in his past he didn’t want to talk about.

“Just curious.” I ran my hand through my hair and looked down at my feet. I didn’t want to meet his eyes. “So, where were you? Off in the South Pacific or somewhere like it?”

“No. I was working odd jobs in South Hampton.” Byard rubbed the back of his neck.

“Really?” I felt I had scratched the surface of something he didn’t want to talk about.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to interview me?”

“Would that be so bad?”

“Not if you promise not to quote me.”

“Okay.”

“Because Neil wouldn’t be happy with me if he thought I were talking about it.”

Byard stopped at the railing and wrapped his fingers around the metal bar. “I suppose it’s a matter of record. Nothing you couldn’t find out if you wanted. Neil hired me because there had been an accident with the last Captain.”