“Yes, I know. My father tells me about you.”
“About me?” I was surprised to hear Tatiana say her father had spoken to her about me, but not totally. Gossip was rampant aboard Athena, and I was an anomaly on board, a travel reporter, much younger than the average resident, and unexpected. But still, I wondered why Oleg would bother to mention me to her. “When was this?”
“He calls me when Athena is in Ischia. I know he is upset. His voice…it is anxious, and he says he will talk with you that night.”
“But we didn’t talk. And unfortunately, I don’t know what your father might have wanted to tell me. But maybe we can work together. I’ve got a lot of questions, and I’m sure you do too.” I put the grapes on the table and dusted my hands. “The way I see it, there’s been three suspicious deaths aboard Athena. The previous Captain. Your father. And now Ida. And I know you think Neil had something to do with your father’s death. But the thing is, I was with Neil the night your father died. I was having dinner with Neil and Antonio when we heard someone had fallen overboard.”
“My father didn’t fall.” The anger in Tatiana’s voice was palpable. “Someone pushed him. I know it.”
“But why? Because he knew about the Gang of Eight?”
“No. Is more than that. I told you I found ledgers in my father’s cabin.” Tatiana explained that her father was Athena’s bookkeeper. The job, along with a luxury apartment, was part of Oleg’s agreement with Neil for helping to broker a deal with the Russians for Athena’s dilapidated hull. Once Athena had been remodeled with upscale condos designed for senior living and christened, Oleg became the resident property manager. It was his job to oversee condo sales and collect association dues. Neil was too busy traveling to concern himself with the responsibility, and Walter, Dede’s husband, didn’t feel up to the task as his health was beginning to fail.
“And you think the ledgers prove Neil had something to do with your father’s death?”
“There are two sets of books. What do you think? One that shows Athena is deeply in debt. The other I don’t understand, but I believe it proves my father knew too much, and that—”
“Neil needed money and was using Athena to pirate stolen antiquities across the Mediterranean to pay the bills.”
“And when my father found out and wanted in, Neil arranged for his murder.”
Marco stood up from the bar and reached over my shoulder to take a grape from the table.
I put my hand on top of his. “You’re an accountant. Did you suspect—”
“No. He didn’t.” Dede returned from the kitchen with a chocolate croissant in her hand and sat at the end of the couch. “Marco’s never had anything to do with Athena’s financing. He wouldn’t know the first thing about it. Neil and my husband, Walter, handled everything until things got too busy, and Neil needed to travel for the business. Tatiana, you may remember Walter from when you first visited us onboard years ago.”
“I remember you teaching me to make Sharlotka while Walter sat in the kitchen and watched.”
“We had a good time. Back then, Walter and Neil were in business together. But I’m the reason Marco never worked for Neil or Walter after they bought Athena. I wasn’t about to have an ex-felon handling our financial affairs. In fact—”
“Dede,” Marco held his hands up, “you don’t need to get into it. It was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe it does. I never told you before, Marco, and maybe it’s because we’re locked in here, and I’ve no idea what’s going to happen, but lately, since I’ve become friends with Neil’s niece, Elli, I’ve begun to rethink things. And I can’t help but wonder if what you did—what you went to prison for—you did to save what you could of Neil’s inheritance. What I’m saying, Marco, is that I’m sorry I’ve been so rude to you all these years.”
Marco put his fist to his mouth. “Thank you, Dede. You didn’t have to say that, but thank you.”
“But as for Neil, Tatiana, he’s always been quiet about his personal life. That alone is enough to make him suspicious, but I know the man and his financial dealings are sound. My name and Neil’s are still on the business account, and I know he wouldn’t do anything to risk my safety or those he feels responsible for, including becoming part of some high-stakes smuggling operation. I’m sorry to say this, Tatiana, but if your father kept two sets of books, I’m certain Neil had no idea, and I’d be more suspicious of your father.”
“Do you feel that?” Marco went to the blinds and swept them aside. “We’re moving! Look.”
I joined Marco at the sliding door, and together, we watched as small whirlpools formed in the black waters beneath Athena’s hull as she pulled from the harbor, and the lights of Positano began to fade into the night sky.
Marco checked his watch. “It’s nine p.m. We’re right on schedule. They’re not wasting any time.”
“So much for thinking Chief Sullivan planned to escort Dede ashore and turn her over to the local authorities for Ida’s murder.”
“That was never going to happen.” Marco walked back to the bar and poured himself another drink. “We know too much. Once the Inspector knew we were on to them, they never intended to let us go.”
“So what do we do now?” Dede asked.
“Pray,” I said.
* * *
Five hours later, there was a heavy knock on the door, and Chief Sully and Inspector Garnier entered Dede’s cabin. Sully held a gun with a long silencer attached, and the Inspector had a sidearm holstered beneath his shoulder.
Tatiana screamed and ducked behind the bar.
“Well, would you look who’s here?” Sully walked over to the bar and grabbed Tatiana by the hair. “She’s going to make it easy for us, Inspector. We can eliminate this Russian doll when we toss the others overboard. Save us answering a lot of unnecessary questions about her father, and nobody will know the difference once she’s gone.”
Sully strong-armed Tatiana, tying her hands behind her back with plastic wrist ties, and handed her off to the guard.
“And you, too, Marco. You should be more careful about choosing your friends. It would have been better for you if you hadn’t tried to get so close to Ms. Lawson here. We knew she was trouble when she started asking a lot of uncomfortable questions.”
“Like what?” I asked. “Questions about the jewelry, like that gold signet ring you found on Ida? Or was it the questions I asked about the antiquities the Professor claims are on loan to him for his lectures? Maybe because I was curious about Athena’s itinerary, spending so much time in such a small area? That shouldn’t have been so upsetting unless you and your group were worried that I thought Ida might know something or that I had talked about it with Oleg. But you murdered him before I had a chance.”
“Nobody murdered Oleg. He was drunk and fell overboard.” Sully looked at the guard. “Cuff them. We need to get moving.”
Inspector Garnier took Dede by the arm. “You too, Dede.”
But Dede refused to move. “I’m not going anywhere. Not until I see Neil.”
“Oh, you’re going to see him, alright, and Captain Byard, too. Now get moving.” The Inspector took his gun from his holster, shoved it into the small of Dede’s back, and pushed her toward the door. “And you too, Ms. Lawson.”
I stood up and slung my backpack over my shoulder.
“Hold on there, Ms. Lawson.” The Inspector took hold of the strap over my shoulder. “What do you think you going with that?”
