“A misunderstanding?” Dede barged between Neil and the end of the booth, shoving Neil behind her. “You mean a misunderstanding over a four million dollar coin that you hid inside that awful bag Greta made? Did you really think I’d carry such a dreadful thing?”
Greta let go of her husband’s hand. “You ungrateful oaf—”
“Ladies!” Neil pushed Dede aside. “The point here, Professor, is that we have the coin. You know it. We know it. And we also know about the hidden cache you’ve smuggled aboard Athena. The Golden Warrior. The priceless hoard of Greek and Roman antiquities you and the Inspector managed to peel off from that Camile and her former cohorts were charged with stealing from Geneva’s Freeport. We know all about it and your plans to unload it in Alexandria. The thing is,” Neil paused and smiled, “as you might expect, since we’re standing here and Antonio, Inspector Garnier, and Sully aren’t, it’s not going to happen. You see, we’ve got your friends tied up downstairs, and unless you plan to make things difficult, this ends right now.”
The Professor exhaled and, realizing he couldn’t fight his way out, clasped his hands in front of him and put them down on the table. “You have to believe me, Neil. This was never my idea.”
“I don’t care whose idea it was. You used Athena to transport stolen goods across international waters and endangered her residents and my ship. There’s no excuse, Professor.” Neil looked back at me. “Kat, get some of that rope from your bag and tie his hands and Greta and Camile’s too.”
Camile put her hands behind her back. “No. Not until I see the Brutus Coin. If you’ve got it, I want to see it. I’m the one who found it in Geneva’s Freeport. These jerks took it from me. It belongs to me. I don’t care whose idea you think it was. I want to see the Brutus coin. If you’ve got it, show it to me. I don’t believe you.”
Dede took the backpack from my shoulder and slammed it on the table. “It’s in here. You want to see it, you’ll have plenty of opportunity once you’re arrested. Now, put your hands out in front of you!”
Camile clenched her jaw. Her eyes searched the room, looking for escape.
Byard stepped closer to the table. “You’re not going anywhere. Best you do as she says.”
I took several pieces of the rope from my bag, secured the Professor’s wrists, and was about to tie Greta up as well when Camile slapped her hands on the table.
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.”
