Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' (5 page)

Just then Dickie, Dr. Walmer to Claire, turned. “How are you doing, Auntie?” He gently squeezed her hand setting on the table near him.

“Fine, fine, just telling this young lady how lucky I was you found me.”

Dr. Walmer looked at Claire and smiled. “Lucky for both of us. We’re the last of our family. Each of us thought we were alone in the world. How lucky we were to find each other.”

Mrs. Bernbaum beamed. “Dickie is thinking about setting up a practice in San Francisco so we can be near each other.”

Dr. Walmer nodded. “Maybe, Auntie, just maybe.” He looked at Claire explaining further, “I recently broke up my partnership in Florida and so it makes sense to settle near Auntie. We’ll see what happens after the cruise.”

“Are you a medical doctor?” Claire asked, feeling the need to make polite conversation.

Dickie nodded. “I’m a Longevity Specialist. I had quite an extensive practice in Florida. But when one of my partners decided to retire, we needed to regroup so I thought it was time for a break. Maybe I was having a mid-life crisis. Anyway, I decided to check out the relatives in California.”

“Longevity Specialist? What is that?”

“Oh my dear, I said he’s a genius, and he is. He knows just how to give me a shot of pep so I can do the things I want to do. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. It’s no wonder his practice was so successful in Florida. And I’m sure it will be even more popular in San Francisco.”

“Actually, Auntie, that’s only a small part of what I do. I specialize in extending life to the maximum. That includes the patient’s ability to remain active and functional beyond previous life expectations. You know, there are new discoveries everyday. I just put those discoveries to use.” He smiled at his aunt again, but just then Pedro and his assistant arrived with their appetizers.

Harold and Pearl were right, the food was exquisite. The meal proceeded at a leisurely pace as course after course was delivered and devoured. Wine had been ordered and poured, and more ordered. It was a wonderful beginning to the trip. Everyone had different plans for the trip and had pre-selected different shore excursions for their many stops, so now they realized they would all hear about the excursions they missed from others at the table, who had taken them.

Finally, after refills on the coffee, Ian announced he and Sean were going up to the Starlight Lounge to check out the music. He had heard there was to be dancing tonight. Harold and Pearl were ready; they said they loved to dance.

Ruth was willing and Lucy was eager. Millie was persuaded by Sean’s assurance it would be fun. Dr. Walmer demurred, saying he needed to see Auntie to her cabin, but said he might be up later.

Claire shook her head. She had put in a full day’s work at her bookshop before even leaving for the ship and it was now her bedtime. “I promise, I’ll get all rested and be ready to party tomorrow.”

Then as they all pushed away from the table, Claire, in a flash of generosity born from her guilt over her uncharitable attitude toward the old lady, offered, “Mrs. Bernbaum, would you like me to walk you back to your cabin and then Dr. Walmer can go with the others?”

“Oh, dear, that is very thoughtful of you. Yes, Dickie, go with the others. There is no reason to see me to my cabin if Claire is willing to do it. I’m a little tired myself. And Anita is waiting for me. She’ll see I get my sleep.”

Dr. Walmer looked skeptical, but as his aunt was so certain he gave in and headed toward the forward elevators with the others.

“What’s your cabin number, Mrs. Bernbaum?” Claire asked, not even flinching when Mrs. Bernbaum’s hand clutched her arm.

“It’s eighty, forty-six. I don’t have the key, but Anita will be waiting for me.”

“Who is Anita?”

“She’s my caregiver. She’s not feeling well. I guess she’s not as enamored with cruising as Dickie and I.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Did the doctor give her something for sea sickness?”

“No, Dickie did. But so far it hasn’t helped much. I think it’s partly mental. She didn’t think I should take the cruise and she didn’t want to come, so it makes her sick. You know?”

Claire nodded realizing Mrs. Bernbaum was still pretty sharp. “Do you need a caregiver?”

“Well, I suppose not, but she makes my life easier. She takes care of my clothes, fetches and carries for me and sees that I get all my pills at the right time. I’m still capable of taking care of myself, no matter how slow I am at it. However, to hear her you’d think she is all that is keeping me alive.” Now her eyes were snapping with irritation. “She thinks this is a foolish venture. She didn’t want to come, but she really didn’t want me to come without her.”

“Has she worked for you a long time?” Claire asked, thinking Anita didn’t sound like a very pleasant companion.

“Not long, about four years. And she has her good points. She’s very reliable and she is conscientious. I think maybe she’s started thinking that I am the child and she’s the adult. That attitude causes clashes, because while I may be older than God, I still think I’m in charge.” Her laugh was almost a cackle as they arrived at the cabin door.

Claire recognized the stern faced Anita, as the third person in the group blocking her passage earlier. Now, her complexion slightly green, she answered the door with cross words. “Do you realize how late it is? I was getting worried.”

Mrs. Bernbaum ignored her. Hanging on to Claire’s arm she dragged her into the room. “Claire, this is Anita. Anita, meet Claire. And yes, I know what time it is, and since we just finished dinner I think you can expect this is the time I’ll be coming to bed every night.”

Anita shook her head muttering low, but Claire could hear the words, “You’ll need more than a shot of pep from Dr. Feelgood, if you keep this up.”

Claire saw they were in a living room with a small dining area which led out to a good sized enclosed veranda.

“Wow, this is way bigger than my cabin.”

Mrs. Bernbaum shrugged. “It’s small, but comfortable. We have twin beds in the bedroom so Anita shares with me. This is called a suite. I just couldn’t see taking one of those little cabins. Dickie is in one down below and he says it’s fine, but I like having a little more space.”

After depositing Mrs. Bernbaum in one of the armchairs, Claire headed for the door, eager to get tucked into her own tiny cabin in the bowels of the ship. “Nice meeting you, Anita.” And just as she went out the door, “I enjoyed talking to you at dinner Mrs. Bernbaum. Have a nice night.” And as she closed the door and headed back to the elevator, she realized with surprise she had enjoyed talking to Mrs. Bernbaum in spite of her initial apprehension.

He had managed to contain his fury through dinner and even act pleasant when they went to the Starlight Lounge for music and dancing, but now, out on the deserted deck for a spot of fresh air before bed, Sean erupted.

“The
Heart of Persia
. That’s your last job? This is your perfect opportunity? Are you crazy, little brother? You don’t remember what happened to Pap?” His angry stride moved them away from the protection of the superstructure out near the pool where the biting cold of the wind hit them with a shock.

“Now keep calm, Sean. Of course it is the
Heart
. It had to be the
Heart.
I promised Pap I’d get it back for the family. I didn’t tell you before for just this reason.”

Ian’s righteous attitude only fueled Sean’s anger.

“Darned right you didn’t tell me. If you had, no way would I be here now. In fact, I’m thinking of disembarking when we get to Victoria.”

That alarmed Ian. “Now Sean, don’t be hasty. That would really call attention to me. That would jeopardize the whole plan.”

Sean looked at Ian, calculating the effect on him. “Would it stop you from stealing it?”

“Of course not. I told you I promised Pap. I always intended to get it, and with my retirement looming, it has to be now. Without you here, it will just be more risky for me, but that won’t stop me. I’m going to have it.”

Sean sat down at a table behind the protection of the Plexiglas barrier and looked at his brother earnestly. “Ian, don’t you remember it was this same crazy quest that caused us all so much trouble. Don’t you remember Pap’s determination to have it is what caused him to hook up with those Zappas brothers? If it wasn’t for the
Heart,
Pap would be alive today. And we would still be the Rourke brothers. We wouldn’t have had to change our name to Gallagher to avoid the publicity circus the papers made out of the whole affair.”

He shook his head wearily. For a moment in the dim light he looked as if he was about to weep.

Ian laid his hand on Sean’s shoulder a moment before sitting in a chair facing him. “Look Sean, Pap made a critical mistake joining up with the Zappas. They were trash, bad through and through. But he didn’t know that. He didn’t know they would be carrying. He couldn’t have envisioned they would turn that heist into a blood bath. You know he didn’t approve of violence.”

Ian looked off into the darkness, remembering the last time he saw his father, still and gray-faced, tubes attached to him, his hospital room guarded closely by grim faced policemen.

“Maybe it was better he died from those bullets. He would have never been able to stomach the trial and then all those years in prison because of the Zappas.”

“Ian, he had the
Heart
in his hand. He was guilty. That wasn’t the Zappas.”

Ian shook his head. “Of course he stole the jewel, but he didn’t kill anyone; he didn’t have a gun on him. It was the Zappas, they deserved what they got. Not Pap. Pap just got involved with the wrong people. It was my fault really; if I hadn’t been off on spring break with my friends he would have asked me to help him.

“But I wasn’t there when he needed help, so he found the Zappas.” Ian looked at his brother, the miserly clear on his face.

“You’ve been blaming yourself all these years? You are crazy! Pap was a grown man, Ian. You were a college kid. If you were gone for a few days he could have waited. No, he decided on what he was going to do and who he was going to use. It had nothing to do with you. You’ve been blaming yourself for no reason. If you were available he still wouldn’t have used you. He said you had to finish college before you could go into the business with him. He meant it.”

Sean looked at Ian with pity. “You’ve wasted a lot of years making this into something it wasn’t. He could have used me, did you think of that? I was out of school then. I was even working with him then.

“You know why he didn’t? It was because he knew how dangerous it was. He let his emotions rule his logic. He found out the
Heart
had changed owners. He thought it being so close was a sign to him to act. He had to have it and he was willing to take ridiculous risks to get it. He didn’t want me to be involved; he wouldn’t have even considered you. He chose the Zappas because he didn’t care how risky it was for them. He thought that by being daring and bold he could pull it off. He was determined to have it back and he paid dearly for that decision.”

Then he muttered, almost under his breath, “We all paid dearly for that decision.”

Sean released his breath in a deep sigh. “I’m tired of all this. I’m going down to bed. You coming?”

Ian shook his head. “In a while, I need to think a bit.”

Sean headed for the door, walking like an old man; the conversation and the memories taking their toll on him.

The door opened abruptly before he even finished knocking.

“Well, where in the hell was she? I waited at the buffet for two hours, dawdling over the food, trying to remain inconspicuous and I never even saw her. And I never heard from you.” Kim was more than annoyed. She was angry.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Sorry, really. It was all a mess and I couldn’t contact you. I called your cabin, but you had apparently left, so there was no way to alert you of the change.”

She looked at him doubtfully, then sighed, shrugged, turned and led the way into her cabin. “We’re going to have to work out a way to send messages. This could get dicey.”

He nodded. “The old lady refused to go to the early seating. She said families with small children and doddering old fools ate at the early seating and she was neither. She couldn’t be convinced, so everything had to be changed. It cost plenty in tips to the maitre d’, but it finally got worked out.”

Kim looked alarmed, then sympathetic.

He assured her. “So from now on she’ll be eating at the eight-thirty seating and judging by today, we won’t be finished until a little after ten. I’m sure Anita will be dining in the buffet during that time.”

Kim nodded. “Okay, tomorrow’s another day. I’ll do my best.”

He smiled with relief as he pulled her into his arms. He needed Kim. He wanted her to stay happy and willing.

“Well, good morning, sunshine,” Claire said brightly as she dropped into the chair opposite Lucy in the coffee bar.