“Nine,” I said. “Captain Rob appears to have been a part.”
“Whatever. I’m tired of their antics and thievery and want it behind me. I didn’t sign on for such. And you, Neil Webster,” Dede poked her index finger into Neil’s chest, “you need to start spending more time onboard. Irene’s going to need you, and it looks to me like we’ll have a few more empty cabins. You’ll have to get busy training someone to take Oleg’s place. Elli perhaps. The girl’s bright, and I think she’d do fine. As for that Seniors at Sea story, Kat, hopefully, you’ll write a nice travel feature about Athena’s spectacular amenities. Something that might help us find some well-to-do retired couples who might like to join us. No more of this highfalutin arrogant riff-faff, if you will. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a table to set and a lasagna in the oven, and I don’t plan to let it burn. I hate when it’s crispy.”
Dede left the lobby with Elli and Tatiana. Neil, Captain Byard, and I stayed behind while the Carabinieri supervised loading boxes from the lobby floor and down the gangway to their awaiting vans on the dock. When the lobby floor had been cleared of all the boxes, and special care had been taken to rewrap the Golden Warrior statue and place it in a van all by itself, the police turned their attention back to their handcuffed charges. Antonio. Sully. Inspector Garnier. Captain Rob and Doctor Jon. All sat defiantly on the floor next to Professor Braun and Greta. I snapped a dozen more shots. Not one of them looked in my direction. Then, getting them to their feet, with their hands behind their backs and their feet bound, the police duckwalked them through the lobby, out onto the deck, and down the gangplank, where they were loaded into a special bus with barred windows and flashing white lights.
Neil picked the ax up off the floor and handed it to Byard. “I’ll need to go with them. But first, there’s one last thing I need to do. Have you seen Marco?”
“He’s with Finn.” Byard nodded to the port side exit door where the two men stood. “They’re waiting for you.”
“If you’ll excuse me. I’ve some business to take care of.” Neil started to walk away, then stopped. “Before I go…Kat, there’s something I want to say. I know I’ve been secretive about my past, but I want to thank you. I don’t know when I’ll be back on board or if you’ll still be here when I return. But I appreciate the risks you took. We might not have caught this group if it hadn’t been for you. And I know you’ll write whatever story you want about what happened here, and if you still want to interview me for a business feature, I’m all yours. I can’t think of another reporter I’d trust with what you know. So, call me when you’re ready, and we’ll talk. I’ll give you an exclusive. You deserve it.”
Neil hugged me goodbye, and I wiped a tear away as he let go. My throat was so tight I could barely say thank you.
I watched as Neil approached Finn. It was an emotional greeting and parting. Finn was crying. Neil reached into his pocket for a handkerchief and, handing it to Finn, whispered something into his ear. Then, nodding to Marco, Neil gestured to the doorway where two plain-clothed detectives were waiting.
I swallowed hard. I had covered homicides before and, at times, been surprised when I discovered the victim’s assailant. I had no idea Finn had killed Oleg. Not until Finn had confessed did I wonder that if I had known what Finn was thinking, I might have been able to say something to stop him.
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“I don’t know.” Byard shook his head. “There’s not much Neil can do about it. Finn will turn himself in, and then it’ll be up to the courts.”
“Athena won’t be the same without him.”
“You okay?” Byard raised a brow.
“I will be.”
“Good. I’ll be up on the Bridge if you need anything.”
I took one last look at the lobby, its sweeping two-story staircase now empty. The water fountain where the giant gold Athena statue had reigned over the room was in shambles. Bits and pieces of broken plaster lay on the floor, scuffed with the black markings of police boots and trolleys loaded with items removed from Athena’s storage lockers. Outside the lobby’s double doors, beyond the Promenade Deck, I could hear the sounds of seagulls and the blast of horns from ships coming into Naples’ harbor. It was over. The Gang of Eight had failed. Antonio, Inspector Garnier, Sully, Doctor Jon, Professor Braun, Greta, and Captain Rob had all been arrested. Finn was off to be prosecuted for Oleg’s murder. And with any luck, Carlo and Camile wouldn’t get far before the Carabinieri would pick them up.
I walked out onto the deck. I needed to call Sophie back. I checked my phone. The signal was strong. I wanted to finish our conversation, but not before I took one final, swift walk around the Promenade Deck to clear my head. Sophie said I had a way of finding trouble. She wasn’t wrong. But I like to think that maybe trouble had found me and that I had turned it into an opportunity. I had come for one story, and now I had three: a feature about Athena’s Seniors at Sea program, a story about an organized group of seniors who were smuggling a hot horde of stolen antiquities across the Mediterranean, and a third story I never dreamed I’d get, an exclusive feature about Neil Webster.
I took a deep breath and quickened my pace. I wanted to do at least three laps around the deck before I went back to Dede’s suite. I was into my second lap when I heard Byard call my name.
“Kat! Hold up a minute.”
I stopped midship and looked behind me. Byard stood outside the small staff-only stairway door that led to the Bridge. He looked winded, like he had raced down the thin inside metal stairway to catch me.
“What’s up?” I took several steps in his direction.
Byard jogged toward me, then stopped to catch his breath. “I thought you’d want to know. The carabinieri picked up Carlo and Camile a few minutes ago.”
“Where?”
“Sicily. They were in Marsala when the police found them.”
“I suppose in some ways that’s good news. At least Camile didn’t die, and the carabinieri got them all.”
“All that we know about. There’s bound to be more. Those who Antonio worked with who promised connections to a network of collectors and ready cash from black market investors.” Byard nodded toward Athena’s stern, and we walked slowly until we came to the railing.
“It’s such a waste,” I said. I crossed my arms and stared out at the water.
“What’s that?”
“Smuggling. Stealing from the past. Robbing from the future. Marco calls it a cultural homicide. Look around. We’re floating above ancient civilizations and sunken ships with treasures dating back thousands of years. Things we could learn so much from, but for those who would rob us of our history for the sake of greed.”
“You’re sounding very philosophical, Kat.”
“I’m going to miss this.” I wrapped my fingers around the railing and stared out at the Med’s lapis blue water.
“Why don’t you stay on awhile? I’ve convinced Neil we should bypass Alexandria for the time being and head for the Greek Isles. It won’t be as exciting as what you’ve experienced so far. But then, I don’t think that’s what you want, and if you haven’t seen the islands, you should reward yourself with a little R&R.”
I laughed. “A little R&R is what got me into this in the first place.”
A breeze picked up and blew my hair into my eyes. Byard swept it from my face, and for a split second, when I looked at him, I thought I saw my first husband.
“I promise you, no hijackings. No pirates. No hidden treasures in Athena’s hull. Just a nice… restful…maybe…romantic week?”
“Romantic?” Could I really do this again? Was it Byard, or was it the uniform? The somewhat familiar smile? My stomach filled with butterflies.
Byard put my hand on his chest. “If you like.”
I kissed him lightly on the lips, and he kissed me back. I could have lost myself in his arms for the moment and forgotten everything. Except when I opened my eyes, it wasn’t Byard’s face I saw, but Eric’s. The husband I had lost to a senseless war. Forever MIA. A hot shot Air Force pilot. Shot down over Hanoi four weeks before the end of a war that forever changed my life.
My phone rang.
“Excuse me. I’m going to have to take this. It’s my publisher.”
