men she didn’t know and hook her way back to Miami?”
“No,” Josiah said. “But maybe they weren’t strangers. Crews party together when they’re in port. Louise or her boyfriend could know the charter captain or a crew member. She could have agreed to pay them when she got back to Florida. She could have come back for this money—or asked one of our crew to get it for her.”
Helen wasn’t convinced. “I still think Mira is a liar as well as a smuggler,” she said.
“Why would Mira lie?” Josiah said.
“Because Louise discovered she was smuggling emeralds,” Helen said. “Mira threw the second stew overboard in those high waves. Louise is dead and Mira killed her.”
“Mira isn’t violent,” Josiah said. “I know that.”
“Really? You didn’t know she was a smuggler,” Helen said.
Josiah didn’t react. Helen wondered if he was angry.
“If Louise suspected the head stew was smuggling, she would have come to me,” he said.
“Would she?” Helen said. “Louise is what—twenty-one?”
“Twenty-three,” Josiah said.
“You think a twenty-three-year-old toilet scrubber would have the nerve to approach you and accuse her superior of smuggling?” Helen asked. “I’m eighteen years older than Louise, and I’d think twice about accusing Mira, except I’ve seen the proof.”
“Proof, Helen,” Josiah said. “That’s what you’re missing. You have no proof Mira killed Louise. We don’t even know that Louise is dead. She could be drinking in a bar with her boyfriend right now.”
“If she is, I’ll take it all back,” Helen said. “But I’m worried about her. I know she isn’t your problem anymore. The Bahamian official said so.”
“No, she is,” Josiah said. “My ship, my crew, my responsibility. I need to know she’s safely back in the States. I’ll check with the Bahamian authorities and see if they’ve located the
“A deal,” Helen said.
He was the captain. On this ship his word was law. But Helen knew Louise was dead.
CHAPTER 31
Silence followed the captain’s promise to find Louise. The waves playfully slapped the yacht’s side and the showy tropical pink sky mocked Helen’s fears.
It seemed impossible that this postcard-pretty sea had been a crazed killer a few nights ago, raising up waterspouts and six-foot waves.
But Helen knew better. The storm had been so rough she couldn’t walk the short secret passage without being thrown against a wall. Even an experienced stew like Louise couldn’t carry a tray without nearly dropping a glass.
Louise was small and wiry. Mira was a sturdy woman. Helen thought she was stronger and more muscular than the second stew.
How had she killed Louise? Knocked her out, then dragged her out on deck and thrown her overboard? Lured her out on deck by asking for help with an unsecured hatch? Told her a piece of deck furniture had come loose from its lashings and she couldn’t reach the boys to put it back?
Any of those excuses would work. And Mira could quickly wipe up the seawater after she opened a door.
Helen hoped Mira had knocked Louise unconscious first. It would be unbelievably cruel to throw her overboard alive. No one would hear Louise’s shouts for help on board the ship. She would see life—and hope—sailing away.
Helen was grateful the captain interrupted her thoughts with another question. “You said there was another emerald smuggler?” Josiah asked.
“There’s another smuggler, but he’s not bringing in emeralds,” Helen said. “Carl is smuggling wallets.”
“Wallets. What’s in them?”
“Nothing,” Helen said. “These are designer wallets, cosmetic cases and small purses. The real deal. He has about twelve thousand dollars’ worth of smuggled merchandise in a black Prada backpack in his closet.”
“Huh,” the captain said.
“Are you going to fire him when you see the wallets?” Helen asked.
“He’s a good first mate. I’d like to keep him. I will confiscate those wallets.”
“Could you wait a bit first?” Helen said. “Otherwise, he’ll know I saw you early this morning and ratted him out.”
She didn’t want to disappear over the side like Louise.
“I’ll wait till we’re back at the marina,” Josiah said.
“And then you’ll drop the smuggled wallets over the side?” Helen asked.
“We don’t pollute,” Josiah said. “But I could give them to charity.”
“One more thing,” Helen said. “I know why Mitzi attacked the engineer. I think Andrei kicked her when he came back here drunk.”
“You think? You didn’t see him?”
“No, I was upstairs. But I heard the dog yelp.”
“I wish you had seen him,” Josiah said. “I can’t fire him for something you
Interesting, Helen thought, as she ran back to the crew mess. The captain was willing to overlook the first mate’s wallet smuggling, but talked about how he couldn’t fire the engineer unless I saw him kick the dog. I bet he’d like to get rid of Andrei. Maybe now he’ll see a way to do that.
“You’re fifteen minutes late!” Mira greeted Helen as she opened the crew door. Helen heard both washing machines churning.
“I had to see the captain about my contract,” Helen said. “I wanted to talk to him before his day started.”
She studied Mira’s face, but the head stew seemed to accept her explanation.
“Suzanne made breakfast burritos,” she said. “You can eat one now. I’ve started the laundry for you. I’m going upstairs to set up breakfast.”
The morning light made her hair shine like dull gold, but Helen caught a glimpse of the healing wound on her scalp. Did Louise fight to leave the yacht—or fight for her life?
It didn’t make any difference, Helen thought. The scab would disappear in a day or two. Even if it didn’t, the wound was proof of nothing. Mira would probably get away with murder.
“I need you to finish the guests’ ironing today,” Mira said. “It’s our last day in port and we have to hustle. Remember, we’re shorthanded.”
“I won’t forget that,” Helen said as she unfolded the ironing board.
Ugh. Ironing. Her least favorite chore. This would be the last time she ironed anything, especially sheets and underwear. This morning, it didn’t matter that Helen had only a few hours’ sleep. She felt energized. She sang as she folded laundry and hummed while she ironed Ralph’s wretched briefs. She cheerfully cleaned staterooms and scrubbed guest heads. Her real work was done.
Helen heard Beth breeze into the galley. “We’ll be at Atlantis all day, Suzanne,” she said. “Make something easy for dinner tonight. Grill steaks for the boys again. They never get tired of meat. The girls will like seafood. Maybe grilled lobster?”
“How about warm lobster potato salad?” Suzanne asked.
