Bess hugged her back. “Yes, but hurry, okay?”
“Okay,” Nancy said.
When Nancy got to deck 3, she actually had to fight a crowd to make her way to the reception desk. She wasn’t sure how Craig would see her, but she continued past the desk. In a few minutes he caught up with her.
“Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?” Craig said.
“My friend Bess doesn’t think Laura Houston is the same person who left the ship in Alpena,” Nancy said.
Nancy could tell that Craig was caught off guard by that bit of information. “Who does Bess think she is?” he asked.
“She doesn’t have a clue, but I’ve been thinking that perhaps it’s related in some way to the diamonds,” Nancy said. “There could have been a switch—maybe identical twins or something like that. This new Laura might be the one behind the robberies.”
Craig shook his head. “Nancy, we’ve been through this before,” he said. “I just don’t believe that the fugitive is a woman.”
“Don’t you think we should at least keep an open mind about this, Craig?” Nancy said.
“Okay, okay,” Craig said. “Why does Bess think the new Laura isn’t the old Laura.”
“Well, for one thing, her personality just seems different. She’s not as lively as she was a day ago, not as vivacious,” Nancy said.
“Maybe she’s just tired,” Craig said. “Cruises aren’t for everyone, you know.”
“Bess also noticed that Laura wasn’t wearing a gold necklace that she said she’d never take off,” Nancy continued, “and she had on fingernail polish that didn’t match her outfit.”
Craig gave her a blank stare. “I’d be laughed out of a courtroom if I tried to present that as evidence.”
Nancy could feel her blood beginning to boil. “Nobody said anything about using it as evidence, Craig,” she managed to say, “but sometimes it’s the little things that give a criminal away—so it’s never wise to ignore them.”
“I think you’re wasting your time,” Craig said. “I think we still need to watch the men on the ship.” With that, Craig turned around and walked away.
Infuriated, Nancy decided not to return immediately to their suite. Instead, she took the elevator up to the sundeck to see what George was up to.
George had just climbed out of the pool and was toweling off.
“I need to talk to you,” Nancy said.
They found a couple of secluded deck chairs and sat down. Nancy told her about Laura’s strange behavior and about Craig’s thinking that there was nothing wrong with it.
“I hate to side with Craig, Nancy,” George said, “but he may be right.”
“Why do you say that?” Nancy asked.
“Laura might have talked to her husband in Argentina and gotten irritated about something,” George said. “Or maybe Laura really wasn’t serious about Bess’s designs, and she’s just trying to let Bess down gently.”
“But Bess’s designs are wonderful,” Nancy said. “I think that anyone would—”
“Nancy, you think Bess’s designs are wonderful because you and Bess are friends. And Bess’s designs really may be great for the right person,” George interrupted, “but maybe they didn’t really appeal to Laura. After all, you heard her say that she was going to stop buying from designers in New York and Paris and start buying from Bess. A little extreme, right? That honestly sounded to me like someone who was just trying to be nice.”
Nancy took a deep breath. She wasn’t used to such insightful comments from George. “All right—I feel a little foolish,” she said. “You’re probably right.”
“Wait here. I need to tell Brad something,” George said. “I’ll be right back.”
Nancy watched as George hurried back over to where Brad was talking to some other men. When George reached him, she squatted down by his chair and said something. Brad looked over and waved at Nancy, then George stood up and hurried back over. She grabbed Nancy’s arm. “Let’s go. Brad’s busy talking to some men about investing in his cruise ship gym equipment,” George said. “Besides, I’m beginning to feel guilty about spending so much time with him and so little time with you and Bess.”
“I think we’re both guilty of deserting her,” Nancy agreed. “Let’s turn this back into three best friends going on a Great Lakes cruise!”
When Nancy and George got back to the suite, Bess was dressed. “I was just about to come see what had happened to you,” she said.
Nancy apologized, then told Bess what had transpired with Craig.
“Well, I think he’s wrong,” Bess said. “I was here with Laura, and I know that something isn’t right.”
“Bess, you can’t just assume that—,” George started to say, but Nancy interrupted her.
“I think we should just forget about everything except what we came on this trip for: rest and relaxation,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to sit in a deck chair, facing a railing, and read a book—just like pictures of people on those old ocean liners that used to cross the Atlantic.”
“Read a book?” Bess said. “I was thinking of something a little more exciting.”
“I think relaxing in a deck chair, letting the cool lake breezes blow around me, and just thinking about the upcoming swim trials at school would be great,” George agreed.
“I see I’m outvoted,” Bess said, smirking.
The three of them each packed a canvas bag with their things and headed toward the elevators. Nancy and George were amazed at how well Bess could maneuver on her crutches.
They took the elevator to deck 3; it was the widest deck and had plenty of deck chairs. They found three together at the corner, where a cross corridor met the main deck, and made themselves comfortable.
Nancy stretched out and opened her book. When she looked over at Bess and George, she saw that they seemed to be enjoying themselves. George had closed her eyes, and Nancy was sure she was in the middle of a daydream about the final swim team trials. Bess had a smile on her face. Nancy hoped Bess was dreaming she was in New York, watching some famous models parade her fall collection down a runway in front of fashion editors and buyers from the biggest department stores in the country.
