Dark Passage (3 page)

‘That's because, as Georgina is quick to remind me, she has four children.' I scraped the leftover spaghetti sauce into a plastic container, snapped on the lid, then passed the dirty cooking pot to Paul. ‘I'm hoping that Scott doesn't throw a monkey wrench into our plans. Georgina didn't seem too worried, but you know and I know that Scott can sometimes be a spoiled brat.'

‘Don't be too hard on the guy. He's stuck with your sister through some pretty tough times.' Paul attacked a patch of burnt-on tomato sauce with a scrubby sponge. ‘How's the new therapist working out?'

‘Very well, I think. Georgina was worried when Doctor Christopher retired, but she's settled into a routine with the new guy that seems to be working out for both of them. She hasn't had a depressive episode in over a year.' I gave him the thumbs up. ‘Kudos to the shrink and to the new meds.'

‘Anyone is better than that quack. What was her name? Voorhis?' Paul rinsed the pot with hot water and upended it in the dish strainer. ‘What a piece of work
she
was!'

Paul was right. Georgina's first therapist had been so twisted that someone had murdered her for it. Sadly, Georgina had discovered the woman's body. She was still recovering from the trauma.

‘When will you be gone?' Paul asked. He pulled the plug and watched in apparent fascination as the dirty water swirled in a counter-clockwise direction down the drain.

‘Around the second or third week of June, depending.'

‘On what?'

I closed the refrigerator door on the leftovers. ‘There must be a gabillion cruise lines out there, Paul. Cunard, of course. Holland America. Princess. Seaborne …

‘They're all owned by Carnival, aren't they? Carnival owns Costa, too.'

‘Right. But Carnival doesn't own the cruise line we're interested in.'

Paul wrung out the dishcloth and draped it over the edge of the sink where it could dry. ‘Hannah, sweetheart?'

‘What?'

‘Promise me something. Pick a cruise line that doesn't run into solid objects. Like Italy.'

I had to laugh. ‘Don't worry, I have. It's one I've never heard of, though.' I picked up my iPhone and powered it on. ‘They're called Phoenix Cruise Lines. According to the Phoenix website, they're owned by some fellow named Gregorius Simonides. Wikipedia says that young Greg is the second son of a Greek national. Rather than helping to lead his native country out of its current debt crisis, he's living and spending his father's fortune in the UK. He buys up still serviceable, but slightly shopworn ships and rehabs them.'

‘Hence the name,' Paul commented.

‘Gregorius?' I asked, puzzled. Then, ‘Oh, Phoenix, you mean. Right. New life rising from the ashes.' I turned the iPhone screen in Paul's direction. ‘Judge for yourself. From the pictures, his ships are fairly posh. Not as posh as the
Queen Mary Two
, of course, but posh enough.'

As Paul scrolled through a slide show of ships of the line, I said, ‘The vessels are all named Phoenix something –
Phoenix Sun, Phoenix Wanderer, Phoenix Adventurer
– you get the picture. The
Explorer
goes through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos, and the
Odyssey
cruises exclusively in the Mediterranean – no surprise. If I can get the dates to work, we'll be on the
Islander
. Eight days to Bermuda and back.'

Paul was examining a schematic deck layout of the
Islander
when the instrument began
whoop-whoop-whooping
in his hand, the claxon-like ring tone I'd assigned to my sister, Georgina. He passed the phone to me as if it were radioactive.

‘Hey, Georgina. I was just about to call you. What's the good word?'

‘I have good news and bad news,' my sister replied. ‘Which do you want first?'

If there's one thing I hate, it's the good news/bad news game. I braced myself, figuring that the worst that would happen would be I'd be setting sail on the
Islander
with only one of my sisters: Ruth. ‘I've had a long day, Georgina. Don't torture me. Give me the good news first.'

Georgina's voice was upbeat, bubbly. ‘The good news is that Scott is in favor of the cruise.'

‘So what's the bad?'

‘He says if I want to go, I'll have to take Julie.'

My niece, Julie Lynn Cardinale, is fourteen years old going on twenty-three. With her red hair and green eyes, she is the image of her mother at that age. I was very fond of my niece and at times, particularly during the Voorhis murder investigation around ten years ago, Julie and I had grown very close. ‘I think that's a great idea,' I told my sister, truthfully. ‘The ship has a teen club and all kinds of supervised activities for kids. She'll have a ball. And it nicely settles the question of how many cabins to book, and who gets to room with whom.'

Georgina let out a long breath. ‘I'm
so
relieved! I thought you'd be pissed off.'

‘Don't be silly. I adore your daughter.'

‘Yes, but you don't have to
live
with her,' Georgina said. ‘The hormones are raging.'

‘Emily was a handful at that age, too,' I reminded her. ‘Now she's a respectable mother of three and president of the Hillsmere Elementary P.T.A.' I dragged a chair out from under the kitchen table and sat down on it. ‘I'm sure we can handle Julie, but does Scott understand that will double the price?' My brother-in-law was a successful C.P.A, as cautious with his own money as he was with his clients'. Except for occasional stints as a substitute church organist, my sister had never needed to work outside the home.

‘When Scott told me not to worry about the money,' Georgina babbled on, ‘I thought that aliens had come and taken over his body! I explained about the prices, about the staterooms with windows – I
have
to have a window, Hannah! – but he'd already visited the Phoenix website. Typical Scott. He sat me down, accused me of being naive, and launched into a lecture about hidden costs. Had I considered alcoholic drinks, for example, excursions, spa treatments, tips for the staff, souvenirs, like I was a teetotal idiot. I just sat in his office with my hands folded, nodding, smiling my oh-Scott-you-are-so-smart-and-I-am-such-a-dingbat smile, and when it was all over, he said we could afford up to $3000, but not a penny more.'

‘Wow,' I said. ‘Just, wow.'

‘So I told him, three thousand dollars would be fine.' Georgina snorted. She lowered her voice then, as if Scott had suddenly walked into the room. ‘That should allow me to drink heavily.'

I laughed out loud. ‘You can buy the first round when we hit the hot tub!' After a moment I asked, ‘What's happening with the boys?'

‘I can't believe I didn't tell you! Sean and Dillon have summer jobs that start the second week of June. Sean's shoveling manure and wood chips at a nursery out on York Road, and Dillon's going to be a counselor at a day camp for inner-city youth at Notre Dame.'

Two sons down and one to go, I thought. ‘How about Colin?'

‘Scott's driving Colin up to his mom's in West Virginia,' my sister said. ‘It was sweet of her to offer, really. Hannah, I so need this vacation!'

I could believe it. The twins were off to the University of Maryland in the fall, Julie would be entering high school and Colin had just graduated from kindergarten into the first grade, beginning what would surely be the lad's meteoric rise straight from Boy's Latin to Harvard. ‘You know what, Georgina?'

‘Yeah?'

I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice. ‘I think we're going to do this!'

‘I can hardly believe it myself, Hannah. All the stars must be aligned.'

But were they? I had a sudden chilling thought. ‘Passports?'

I held my breath until I heard Georgina say, ‘Check.'

‘I'm so relieved!' I explained about the cruise, the dates and the itinerary, which was basically out to Bermuda and back. ‘Are you comfortable with me making all the reservations?'

‘Of course,' Georgina said. ‘Just tell me how much we owe and I'll write you a check.'

‘I'd better hang up and get to it, then. 'Bye, Georgina, and I'm so glad we're going to make this work.'

‘A window,' she said. ‘I need a window. Don't forget.'

‘Check,' I said, and pressed End.

Fifteen minutes later, down in our basement office with Paul kibbitzing over my shoulder, I logged onto the Phoenix website, selected adjoining cabins on deck four and entered my credit card number, expiration date, and CCV code. My mouse hovered over the Buy Now button. ‘Here goes!'

When the screen refreshed, a special offer gave us two hundred dollars in on-board credits as a thank you for the last-minute booking. I'd be able to buy my
own
tropical drink with an umbrella in it when we hit the hot tub.

I hit Print and as the receipt rolled out of the printer, I relaxed into my chair. The Alexander girls were a sister act again, and that act was going cruisin'.

‘240,676 people sailed on 100 cruises from the Port of Baltimore in 2012. “Since beginning a year-round cruising schedule in 2009, the Port of Baltimore has continued to make waves as one of the hottest cruise ports in the U.S.,” Governor O'Malley said. [It] handled the fifth-largest amount of cruise passengers among East Coast cruise ports, 11th largest in the U.S., and 20th most in the world. In 2011 the Port began using a state-of-the-art, climate- controlled enclosed passenger boarding bridge. The bridge is mobile and flexible to accommodate various sized cruise ships. Baltimore is within a six-hour drive of 40 million people.'

Maryland Port Administration, January 30, 2013

‘I
thought this cruise was sisters only,' Ruth grumped when I telephoned her the next morning. ‘I'm not sure I want responsibility for a teenager running loose aboard.'

‘Julie's not
your
responsibility,' I said reasonably. ‘Nor mine. She's Georgina's.'

‘Shit, Hannah. Have you looked at Julie lately, really
looked
? She's developed – and I do mean developed – into a beautiful young woman. No telling what kind of trouble she'll get into.'

‘Don't be silly! What possible trouble could Julie get into on a cruise ship?'

‘You'd be surprised,' Ruth said, using her firm, older sister, voice-of-experience tone.

‘Other than getting hammered and falling overboard,' I added, just to show I wasn't completely out of touch with current events.

‘I watched a CNN special on cruise ship safety a couple of months ago,' Ruth continued. ‘Did you know that a person falls overboard approximately every two weeks?'

‘I do. I saw the same show,' I replied. ‘But most of those accidents are alcohol-related, or suicides, not foul play.'

‘With some exceptions,' Ruth said.

‘There are always exceptions,' I said, ‘but if the
Phoenix Islander
is anything like the
Queen Mary Two
, there'll be a zillion activities for teens, and they're pretty closely supervised. Julie's not going to be standing on the bow like a hood ornament with her arms outstretched singing, “My Heart Will Go On.”'

‘Well,
I'm
not going to babysit,' Ruth said flatly.

‘Me, neither. There's a hot tub on board – several, actually – and one of them has my name on it.'

‘And I'll be right beside you, sister, holding a pink drink with an umbrella in it. But …' she added after a beat, ‘a cruise ship is like a small city. I'm worried that some creep will try to take advantage of Julie. You have to admit she's a bit naive.'

‘Julie may be naive, but criminals certainly aren't. It seems to me that a cruise ship is the worst possible place to commit a crime. First of all, where would the perpetrator go? Aside from overboard, there's no place to run, no place to hide.' I paused to take a breath. ‘Besides, the ship has a database that includes photographs of everyone, both passengers and crew. If some perv were stupid enough to try something, he'd be a cinch to identify. And, good Lord, there are security cameras everywhere!'

‘I hear what you're saying.' Ruth hesitated a bit before continuing. ‘OK, you're right, it's Georgina's problem. I, for one, am planning to engage in adult pastimes. Lectures, shows …'

‘Ballroom dancing?' I interrupted.

Ruth snorted.

‘On second thought, you could probably
teach
ballroom dancing.' My sister and her husband were semi-professionals. A few years back, when Ruth was sidelined by an injury, Hutch and his partner, Melanie, had even made it all the way to the finals of
Shall We Dance
, a television talent show. Ruth and Hutch still danced regularly in local and regional competitions.

‘No dancing, thanks,' Ruth said. ‘That would be like going to work early!'

‘If you taught, they'd let you sail for free,' I pointed out. ‘File that away for future reference.'

‘Nuh uh. I'd rather attend lectures on the history of Bermuda, or crop circles, or how to avoid back pain. The rest of the time I plan to lie around like a slug while somebody else cooks my meals and picks up after me.'

‘You need a wife.'

Ruth grunted. ‘Back into your cage, Hannah.'

I laughed and hung up on her.

Our boarding pass instructed us to arrive at the port of Baltimore no later than one, so on the day we were to set sail I picked Ruth up at the home she shared with Hutch on lower Conduit Street. Parking at the Port of Baltimore cost fifteen dollars a day, so to save her some bucks we'd offered to pick Georgina and Julie up too, but Georgina had telephoned in a panic just as I was heading out the door. Julie was running late, so they'd have to drive to the port themselves.