Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' (17 page)

Mrs. Bernbaum came awake slowly. The heaviness in her heart made it hard to breathe. She lay still, wondering if she was having a heart attack, but then she began to recognize the heaviness as the same pain she felt when they arrested Nate. It was as if it had happened yesterday, instead of more than fifty years ago. She breathed deeply trying to relax, and she remembered. That was the beginning of the end for her and Nate. Events were spiraling out of her control, certainly out of his control. Smithy, his trusted manager shouldn’t have been trusted. While he had been an important figure in Nate’s past, Nate had failed to notice or remember Smithy’s idiosyncrasies. Leopards and men don’t really ever change their spots. And Smithy’s spots revolved around his penchant for working cons. In the early days he would have been labeled a flimflam man, a con artist, a crook. And no matter that he was Nate’s friend, he probably couldn’t help himself. When the opportunity presented itself, he went with the con. And that he would so cunningly deceive his friend was the biggest blow of all to Nate.

Nate couldn’t believe it, even when confronted with the evidence. The mine had been salted. Oh, there was gold, but the quantity and quality never would have justified the cost of getting it out. Nate grew up on his father’s stories. His friend Smithy fed him more and provided the “proof” of the value. Nate believed because he wanted to believe. And Nate’s enthusiasm is what convinced everyone of the value of the mine. No wonder he had investors lining up to give him money. No wonder he could afford to live like a prince.

But it couldn’t last. The mine needed to start delivering profits and the gold just wasn’t there. Nor, was Smithy! He had disappeared shortly after Nate’s visit last April, just before they expected the rich ore to start being produced.

Of course no one believed Nate had been bamboozled just as his investors had. And why would they? He was living high off of their investments while Smithy had simply disappeared and with him the entire working capital for the Lucky Jewel.

The whole scheme was going to fall apart, but was hastened when one of his investors went to Alaska on a fishing trip and decided to fly into Skagway to see the mine. That visit to the mine, with the boxes of equipment sitting there, not even opened, was shocking. What was even more upsetting was the fact that the people in nearby Skagway regarded the Lucky Jewel Gold Mine as another of Smithy’s stories. They all knew about Smithy and during the long bleak winter they might enjoy listening to his tales, but none of them would have invested a dime in any enterprise he promoted. And they couldn’t believe anyone else had.

Nate sat in jail while his investors raged. He told Flo he had to get out to get the money to pay his investors off. That was the only way he could have his freedom and his honor. He was not a cheat. He did not intentionally bilk these people. In fact, he really had only intended to share the wealth.

Clyde Clarke was no help. Flo fired him and hired a street smart guy, who wasn’t afraid to do whatever was necessary to free Nate.

Then she began to do what she needed to do to get the money for his lawyer and to reimburse the investors. She started with the most saleable items, her jewelry, the car, the furnishings, then her furs, the apartment, and the furnishings in the office downtown on Sansome Street. Even that wasn’t enough. She borrowed from her family, she liquidated all of her own investments and finally, reluctantly she went to Bernie Bernbaum, Nate’s favorite jeweler, and offered him the
Heart of Persia
.

Bernie didn’t haggle with her. He offered her a price, not as much as it was worth, but more than she feared she would get. It would be enough. She accepted the money, appreciated the sympathy in his eyes and she left her last treasure in his hands.

Mrs. Bernbaum felt the gentle rocking of the ship and it soothed her. The room was a soft grey now; the sun was coming up, early as it did here in the north. It was too early to get up and, she admitted, she was too tired. She closed her eyes and tried to think about Anita, anything to stop her thoughts from dwelling on that time so long ago, that painful time in the fifties when her world fell apart.

As soon as Kim opened the door he quickly crowded into the passageway, forcing her to retreat ahead of him into her cabin. He sat on the edge of her bed while he studied her carefully, anxious to hear the details.

While outwardly she appeared calm, there was an air of suppressed excitement about her, as if she could explode any minute.

She stood proudly in front of him, a triumphant smile spread over her face, as she bragged. “Everything went just right, just like we planned. All that worry was for nothing.”

“No one saw you together?”

“Probably about 4,000 people saw her get into the car, but will anyone remember?” She shook her head grinning. “We went over the bridge to Douglas Island because the woman at the Tourist Information booth warned me of delays on the highway up north because of road work. She said the upper part of Douglas Island was very remote, only a few hardy souls live out that way.

“So after driving for a while I just pulled over to the side of the road and told her I was going to go pee.” She laughed, delighted with her own subterfuge. “She didn’t suspect a thing. When I saw it was a good location, I found a spot, located a rock and called her to come down.”

“Just like that?” He looked nonplused at her casualness.

She nodded. “She thought we were on our way to the shrine, so she wasn’t concerned about the delay. Maybe a little annoyed about traipsing through the brush, but curious enough about what I wanted her to see, to do it. She wasn’t scared and she died never knowing what was coming. Really, it was a very humane way to go and not even very messy.”

Now as if seeing it all again in her mind she couldn’t seem to contain her excitement. She paced around the tiny cabin. “You know I really had to psych myself up for this. I mean I knew we had to do it or the whole plan would collapse, but truthfully, I didn’t want to do it.

“I know..., I know you couldn’t; it had to be me, but still, it was hard. And then it turned out to be so easy. Actually it was kind of exciting, do you know what I mean?”

He looked at her strangely, as if her excitement and enthusiasm were just a little worrying to him. “What did you do with her things?”

Kim pulled open a door of the closet and gestured to a small bag sitting on a shelf. “I sweated that one. The cabin steward hung around and hung around, finally he went away and I got in. I really had to hurry, but I think I got most of it. I should have waited until the old lady went to dinner, then I could have taken my time and made sure I did it right.”

“No, no it was better you came right back and removed the stuff before the old lady returned from shore. Who knows what she might have noticed if you waited until she went to dinner.” He nodded, obviously pleased. “Apparently they had words earlier in the day. She mentioned it at dinner. So now with Anita’s things missing it looks as if Anita left in a huff. It’s just what we want her to think.”

He reached out and pulled Kim to him, suddenly feeling excited himself. Success had a way of rousing his lust. “You did it, babe. It’s going to work.”

“And you want to know the best thing?” she murmured between his kisses, “I don’t have to hide out in this cabin anymore and I don’t have to wear all those dowdy clothes. I can enjoy the rest of the cruise.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “What a team we make!”

People were still drifting into the cocktail lounge outside the theatre, gathering for today’s Trivia contest. Claire and Ruth sat with Heidi and Bob when Ruth spotted Pearl.

“Pearl, Pearl over here.” She waved enthusiastically. “We need you and Harold on our team.”

Pearl headed for them, pulling Harold by the hand behind her as they threaded through the tables. “Hi, we’d love to join you.” Then turning to Heidi and Bob, “We’re the Merriwetters, Pearl and Harold, from Houston. Where are you all from?”

Just then the emcee announced the first question.

“The world’s largest office building? I think it’s the Kremlin. Isn’t it the Kremlin, Bob?” Heidi asked.

“I don’t know, maybe something in Asia. I think there is a new building in Singapore that might be it.”

“No, no, I know this one. It’s the Pentagon,” Claire said with authority of knowledge developed in all those years as a librarian.

“Are you sure, Claire?” Ruth was still doubtful.

“Trust me on this one. I know it’s the Pentagon.”

Heidi, who was recording their answers, looked to the others for conformation and seeing their nods, wrote it down.

“What is the name of the Palace housing the Hermitage in St. Petersburg? Is it called the Winter Palace, the Summer Palace, the Spring Palace or the Fall Palace?”

They looked at each other blankly. These questions were hard.

“I know that one. We’ve been there, haven’t we, Bob? It’s the Winter Palace.” Heidi started writing it down.

“Wait, are you sure, Heidi? It seems Summer Palace sounds right?” Ruth asked tentatively.

“No, it’s the Winter Palace. I tell you we’ve been there. We know its name.”

“Okay,” Ruth agreed, looking around to see what the other tables were doing.

“What are the four most popular flavors of syrup at the IHOP restaurants?”

“Now how are we going to know that?” Ruth was worried.

“Think, we can figure it out. Who goes to IHOP?” Claire looked around at the faces of their team.

“We do. Harold, you must know these,” Pearl told her husband.

“Maple for sure, they always bring it hot to the table. Butter pecan, I like that one. And what about blueberry?”

“Not blueberry, but maybe blackberry? What do you think?” Pearl looked at her husband.

Harold nodded.

“Come on, guys. We need one more.”

“It’s got to be strawberry. Everybody likes strawberry.”

Pearl nodded. “Yes, there is always strawberry syrup on the table. All right, maple, butter pecan, blackberry and strawberry, I think that’s it.”

Heidi was writing furiously.

The questions were coming faster now. One of the tables protested. They were falling behind, so the emcee paused for a moment.

Claire took this opportunity to tell Pearl about Mrs. Bernbaum’s invitation to view the Glacier from her private balcony.

“Ooh, that’ll be fun. I’d like to see one of those big cabins anyway, wouldn’t you, Harold?” Harold nodded. He was willing to do anything his wife wanted to do.

Then the questions started again and they argued amongst themselves as they tried to sort out the right answer. Finally they were done and now they all waited eagerly to see how smart they were. There was much cheering and jeering between the tables of contestants when the answers were given. The rivalry was more intense than the prizes warranted.

“Well, we did good, even if we didn’t win. Sixteen out of twenty is pretty impressive,” Pearl insisted, still feeling miffed because the correct answer was blueberry syrup, not blackberry, in the top four syrups at IHOP.

“Oh look, Pat and John were on the winning team. We’ll have to stop and congratulate them, Ruth.” Claire waved to the couple they had met at breakfast on one of the first days of the cruise.

“Don’t worry, every time we play we get better. Maybe the next time we’ll win.” Ruth was very competitive. “This is a good team. We’ve got someone who knows a little bit about everything. Let’s try it again, shall we?”

“Okay, next time it’s on the schedule, we meet here.” Heidi handed the paper and pencil to the crew member who was collecting them and headed out of the lounge with her husband.

Claire rose from her chair to head over to chat with Pat. “See you later at Mrs. Bernbaum’s, Pearl. Thanks for joining us; we needed you.”

After a few minutes with Pat and John, Ruth reminded her of her lesson. “Enough of these games of skill and knowledge, I’m going to introduce you to a game of pure luck. If you win it will be purely by chance.” She led Claire into the casino which, because they were at sea, was operating full force. She wandered around, peering at one machine then another before stopping in front of Slotto. “Here, this is the one.”

“But Ruth, this one takes quarters. Isn’t that a little rich?”

“Don’t be a wussy, Claire. It takes money to win money. And it’s not like it’s a dollar machine or a five dollar machine. Did you bring your money?”

Claire really wasn’t enthused about Ruth’s plan, but she dutifully pulled a twenty dollar bill out of her pocket. Ruth showed her how to slip the bill in the slot and then work the machine. “When these three symbols appear, you get Slotto. Then the balls with different numbers on them blow around in the chamber until one drops in the tube. The machine pays you as many coins as the number on the ball that dropped.”

So Claire played the slot machine with Ruth at her elbow with every pull. She had to admit the sound effects made it seem exciting. She got Slotto twice, one time she hit twenty-five coins, and one time she hit fifty. Meanwhile her twenty melted away and she added, on Ruth’s insistence, another twenty. When she was down to the last of that twenty she objected to adding another.