“Have you crossed Rudy Vincent off your list?” Nancy asked.
“Yes. He may look the type, but he’s too busy doing other things, including playing cards,” Craig said. “I don’t think our fugitive is on the ship yet.”
“Well, let’s say that you’re right about the fugitive being a man and that he hasn’t yet come on board. I think a preemptive strike is called for here, though,” Nancy said. “If we can discover who this female accomplice is, then maybe she’ll be scared enough to give us the name of the fugitive—and then we can give it to the local police, who can stop the guy before he comes aboard.”
“We’re only picking up two passengers in Alpena, Michigan, tomorrow,” Craig said. “They’re both in their seventies. I think we can safely eliminate them.”
Nancy didn’t necessarily agree, because she knew a lot of people who were quite active at that age—maybe not in stealing diamonds from jewelry stores, but in other ways. But she decided not to say anything. Craig was in charge of the investigation, and he had already made up his mind.
“I think you need to be especially careful, Nancy,” Craig said. “Whoever planned that first accident for you will probably try again.”
“There are quite a few older women on this ship, Craig,” Nancy said. “It’ll be difficult to keep an eye on all of them.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Craig said. “Just be suspicious of any woman who suddenly seems interested in being friends with you.”
That was going to be difficult too, Nancy knew, because people tended to warm up to her. For part of the trip she would need to be a little more standoffish.
The next morning the ship docked in Alpena. Nancy scanned the town from the porthole next to her bed. It looked as interesting as Sturgeon Bay.
When Nancy didn’t see George, she panicked—but she quickly noticed a note taped to the mirror.
I’m going to check on Bess, then Brad and I are going to swim some laps, George had written. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to go ashore with you. I’m taking Bess her sketchbook and a couple of drawing pencils.
Nancy quickly dressed because she wanted to check on Bess too. She left George a note, telling her that she was going down to the clinic but would come straight back.
Bess was sitting up in bed, but she still looked uncomfortable.
“Well? How are you?” Nancy asked.
Bess let out a big sigh. “Okay. I just wish I could go ashore,” she said. “Laura said there was a really great boutique here. I could probably get some more ideas.”
“Laura has been here already?” Nancy said. “I wonder how she heard about your accident.”
“I had quite a spill, Nancy,” Bess said. “It’s probably the talk of the ship.”
“I guess that’s right,” Nancy agreed. “I wish there were something I could do.”
“I’ll be all right. My hand’s not hurt, so I’ve been sketching a little,” Bess said. “Laura’s promised to come by after she’s gone ashore and look at what I’ve done.” She sat up some more. “Laura has a seamstress in New Orleans. She’s going to have her sew up one of my designs, Nancy. Isn’t that wonderful? I am so excited!”
“That’s great news, Bess. I’m proud of you! I never knew you were so interested in designing,” Nancy said. “Well, I wanted to check on you before George and I went ashore. You have my cell phone number if you need anything.”
“Enjoy!” Bess said. She picked up a drawing pencil and made a few marks on her sketchbook. “I have something in mind that you might like wearing, Nancy.”
Nancy grinned. “A Bess Marvin original,” she said. “Can I afford it?”
Bess returned her grin. “You probably can now,” she said, “but in the future, who knows?”
Nancy left Bess’s room and hurried back to their suite. George had already showered and changed clothes and was waiting for her. On the way back to the room, Nancy had decided to take George into her confidence. There was too much danger for her friends to be in the dark about what was going on. She told her friend the truth about Craig. “So it’s a much more dangerous case than I originally told you,” Nancy said.
“Wow!” George said thoughtfully. “This is a big operation.”
“That’s what I think too,” Nancy said, “but sometimes I don’t think Craig is up to it.”
“Well, consider me a second set of eyes, Nancy,” George said.
“Perfect,” Nancy said. “Now let’s go see what Alpena has to offer us!”
She and George headed down to deck 3. When they got there, Nancy saw Craig and Amber on their way down the gangway. Nancy pulled George aside. “Let’s wait until they get to land,” she said. “I don’t want to start a fight between them.”
“If I were Craig, I’d put an end to this relationship,” George said. “Amber seems really high-maintenance to me.”
Nancy shrugged. “Love does strange things to people,” she said—but she agreed with George. Nancy honestly couldn’t imagine this relationship going anywhere at this rate.
Nancy and George waited until Craig and Amber had disappeared down a side street before starting down the gangway.
“Where should we go first?” George asked.
“Let’s do some window-shopping,” Nancy said. “We can make a mental list of the shops we want to go in and I can do some detective work at the same time.”
“So you’re looking for an older woman?” George asked.
Nancy nodded. “Craig thinks she’s the accomplice of the fugitive, and he doesn’t think the fugitive is on board yet,” she said.
“Does he think the person will board here in Alpena?” George asked.
Nancy shook her head. “Craig said the only new passengers are an elderly couple,” she said. “He didn’t think they were likely candidates.”
“Well, there are only a couple more ports of call. Port Huron, Michigan, and Lake Erie Beach in New York,” George said. “Do you think Craig is wrong about the fugitive escaping to Canada this way?”
