'Just go on,' Cassie said hurriedly. 'Have a good time.'
But her gaze flashed with anger, and it was for Tobin.
In a voice that viewers of 'McKinley High, USA' would have been shocked to hear, the demure Cassie McDowell snapped her fingers at a passing waiter and said, 'Get me another vodka tonic. And put some goddamn vodka in it this time, all right?'
The waiter nodded and left.
'Gosh, Cassie sure seemed crabby right at the last there.'
'Didn't she though.'
'She's real nice.'
'Yes, she is.'
'You'd never guess she was a TV star and I was a secretary at an insurance company.'
'Some of us biggies are like that.'
'You're being sarcastic.'
'You just make too big a fuss over celebrities is all. They're not much different from anybody else-a little more insecure maybe.'
'I notice you said 'they're.' Aren't you a celebrity?'
'I suppose.'
'You don't sound very happy about it.'
'I started off writing for a newspaper. I had an old Dodge then and a wife I loved a great deal and two very wonderful children and someday I was going to write a novel and I'll be damned if I can figure out why I let it all go.'
'Gosh, I don't know why you would either.'
'But I did.'
'Another woman?'
'A series of them.'
'Oh.'
'You don't sound impressed.'
'I just have a thing about married men who play around.'
'I know. Adultery's always ugly, no matter how fashionable it becomes.'
'That isn't what I meant. I mean, I wish I could sound noble about it but it's just that I went out with two different married men and fell in love with them both and they both strung me along.'
'Oh.'
'But I don't like adultery much, anyway. If I ever get married I'm going to try very hard to stay faithful.'
'It isn't always easy.'
'Maybe we've just never been in love.'
'Yes,' Tobin said. 'Yes, maybe it's that simple after all.'
By now they had climbed the stairs to the next deck up, where they saw an aerobics class being conducted on the teakwood deck outside the glass-paneled gymnasium.
'How about a 7-Up?' Tobin said, nodding to some outdoor tables near the railing.
'Nothing stronger?'
'I don't think either of us needs it.'
'You're not suspected of murder.'
'Did the captain say any more to you?'
'Yes, he came around this morning with the ship's doctor. A very cold man named Devane.'
By now he'd steered her to a small imitation sidewalk cafe complete with yellow lawn umbrellas and matching yellow furniture. They faced away from the joggers, which was just as well. Even though the glass afforded Tobin glimpses of lovely women, he did not need to feel guilty about his lack of exercise. There was far too much else to be remorseful over.
He ordered two diet 7-Ups and said, 'So what did the captain want?'
'He wanted this Dr. Devane to look at my hands. Isn't that weird?'
'Did he say why?'
'No.'
'So he looked at your hands.'
'Ummm,' she said, sipping the first of her drink.
'And what did he say?'
'He just sort of glanced at the captain and shook his head.'
'But he didn't say anything else?'
'No.'
'That is odd.'
'And scary.'
Tobin said, 'Maybe not.'
'No?'
'No. It sounds to me as if they came there looking for something and didn't find it.'
'I didn't kill him.'
'I know.'
'I'm just a secretary.'
'Yes.'
'From Kansas City.'
He touched her hand. 'And a sweet one.'
'You're so nice.'
'Don't put any nobility on me.'
'No?'
'No. This is all probably a protracted attempt at seduction.'
She might have been squinting in the late afternoon sunlight but he knew it was a wince instead.
'I used to be sort of promiscuous.' She was turning him down.
'We all were.'
'I mean, I feel guilty about it.'
'So do I. Sometimes, anyway.'
'I was even kind of a groupie with certain types of men.'
He smiled. 'Insurance men?'
She laughed. 'No. They're just as dull as they're supposed to be. But you know…'
'Jocks, airplane pilots, doctors?'
'Right. All the men I met in singles bars.'
'Well, that decade is behind us.'
'But I was still pretty much that way until the thing happened with Ken Norris. I mean, I was going to sleep with him and I'd only met him a few hours earlier. I even sort of plotted it.'
'You did?'
'Yes. I saw him arguing with Todd Ames, and then he walked out of the bar to the railing and I pretended to walk out and get lost and just sort of run into him. It was very calculated. I just wanted to be able to tell Aberdeen that on my cruise I'd slept with a TV star.'
'I want to know more about his argument with Todd Ames.'
Her smooth, carefully tended face showed curiosity. 'You think he might have killed Ken?'
Tobin shrugged. 'What were they arguing about?'
'I don't know. There was so much noise in the bar I couldn't tell.'
'You sure they were arguing?'
'Oh, yes. Ken threw his drink in Todd's face.'
'Did Ken say anything about this later, when you were alone?'
'Not exactly. He was pretty drunk, sort of rambling most of the night, but I got the impression he didn't think
