“Obviously,” Denis said. “She’d already made forty-five dollars when we caught her. It’s just, it’s so disrespectful to Aston. Raising a child is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I only have her for summer and Christmas.”
I looked at Denis, who seemed down to earth and wise, and made a split-second decision. “Denis,” I said slowly, “I need to see Captain about something important. Would you come with me, you having gone to law school and all?”
“Did someone threaten to sue you over the edible underwear?” he said, smiling. “Was there patent infringement?”
I returned the smile, but nervously. “If only it were that simple, but no. I’m in this awful trouble.”
I hated for Denis to know how badly I’d screwed up. But I needed help, so I let go of my pride and asked for it.
“…so you see, I didn’t know the costumes were real and I certainly never meant to steal them. Only now John the butler seems to have stolen them, so I’m totally screwed, aren’t I?”
Captain and Denis nodded their heads.
Captain picked up the phone and asked the hotel manager to bring him John’s file.
A pair of metal crutches leaned against Captain’s back wall. Sydney had broken his big toe when she threw that dumbbell at him. I wondered if Denis knew what havoc his fiancée had wreaked. Probably not.
“We’ll check John’s paperwork,” Captain said. “Maybe we have an address or phone number that’ll help locate him.”
“Oh, oh, oh,” I said excitedly, “there’s a cop from Interpol on board. His name is Frank Flannagan. Do you think we should get him involved? He’s investigating me.”
“Frank Flannagan?” Captain said. “He’s not with the police. He’s a Tiffany Star Society Member and an orthodontist from Niagara Falls. Who said he was a cop?”
“John,” I said. “The maid told him. That’s why he said he had to hide the trunk. He was sure Mr. Flannagan was following me. He specifically asked to be seated at my table.”
“He always requests the captain’s table,” Paul said.
“You are gullible, aren’t you?” Denis said sadly.
I sunk down in my chair, wanting to melt.
There was a knock on the door. An officer in a starched white navy-looking uniform stuck his head in and handed over John’s file. After perusing it, Captain said, “There’s some information here. His family’s address. We require it so we can reach our staff when they’re on holiday.”
“Oh, I just remembered,” I cried. “He’s Italian royalty; he told me.”
Both Captain and Denis regarded me with dubious expressions.
“What?” I said. “You think he was lying?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him if he would steal the dresses,” Denis said.
“But he had such good manners,” I said. “And he really cared about his job. Did you know he shared best practices with butlers from other ships so he could delight and astonish his guests?”
Captain seemed unimpressed. “I’m calling Interpol, the real Interpol. Let’s let the professionals track him down.”
“They’re already on the case,” I said. “I’m told my boss notified them, naming me as the prime suspect.”
“So that’s why those Turkish police came looking for you,” Captain said.
I nodded. “Please don’t call them yet. Let me go to Santorini and see if I can learn anything. Someone may have seen him boarding a ferry or something. I’ll dig around. If I can fish up some good leads, maybe Interpol won’t arrest me.”
“I wish you’d let me help,” Denis said. “This doesn’t sound like the kind of thing a young woman should try to handle alone.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” I said modestly, but of course I totally wanted his help.
“What else am I gonna do today?” he said. “Supervise Annie in her cabin? Manny can do that.”
“And very well, I’m sure,” I lied.
Denis reached over and touched my hand. “Besides,” he said, “it’s in my nature to rescue damsels in distress.”
He is so sexist, I thought. Okay, I can live with that. “So, have you rescued any recently?”
Denis smiled. “No, but I never shy away from the opportunity.”
Either he didn’t remember saving a drenched damsel in the rain or he didn’t want to toot his own horn. I liked to think it was the latter. “Sydney won’t mind if you spend the day with me?”
He checked his watch. “She’s with a trainer right now and has a conference call that’ll go on all afternoon. I think she was happy to get Annie and me out of her hair. Syd’s a great girl, but she doesn’t have the maternal gene. Not yet, anyway.”
I do. I have the maternal gene, I thought; I have lots and lots of them.
Captain held up John’s file. “I’ll copy this for you,” he said, “but let’s call the police as soon as you get back. Learn what you can. Then we’ll turn this over to the professionals.”
“Thanks, captain—I mean, Paul.”
As we said goodbye, Denis offered Captain his hand, but Paul handed him his “I don’t shake hands for sanitary reasons” card.
I, on the other hand, tried to give him a breezy one-armed hug. But Paul planted a wet one right on my kisser. It seemed unfair to Denis.
“For this one,” Captain said, pointing at me, “I’d do anything.”
Oh, well, it was good to have friends in high places.
I’ll Be Seeing You
THE WATER WAS SURPRISINGLY rough as the tender vroomed toward Santorini. This was starting to feel like a fool’s errand. John was probably long gone. Who would remember him anyway? Thousands of day-trippers get on and off the cruise ships and ferries in Santorini every week. On the plus side, I’d get to spend the afternoon with Denis. Maybe we’d get lucky and have a madcap Mediterranean adventure like Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief. Come to think of it, we were trying to catch a thief.
At the dock, we could go one way and check out the ferries or the other way and catch the
