I woke up alone the next morning for the first time since we'd been on the ship. I suppose that Ranger could have been excited that we were in Santo Tomas. He could have been excited that there was French toast on the breakfast buffet. I doubt it, but his culinary delights have surprised me on occasion. He could be taking in the view of our new port. But he was probably brainstorming with Tank and getting the 411 on where he and Lula were when the murder probably occurred. I mean that's the most likely solution.
I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. I didn't hurry for it like I had been, I really liked being with him. It was hard to face that in a matter of days we'd be back in Trenton and he'd be up in his tower and I'd be in my little house in the burbs and we'd be no closer to a solution than we were when we started. But…this journey wasn't about us anyway. It was about Tank and Lula. Knowing that Tank existed as their primary suspect if this was a murder made us both uneasy and put Tank and Lula's happy ever after on shaky ground.
I finished showering and dressing in a sundress and strappy sandals. I put on a huge hat that I'd bought in one of the shops on the beach and strolled down to the breakfast bar set up at the pool. Tank and Ranger were sitting at one of the tables drinking coffee.
"Good morning boys," I smiled. "I knew it. You couldn't stand the idea of missing French toast for breakfast and you got up early so you'd be first in line."
"That's why Lula's up," Tank nodded toward the hot end of the bar.
"Of course," I nodded. "Does that mean that it's not why you're up here this morning?"
Ranger caught my hand and settled it on his shoulder keeping it in his grasp. "No…they were on board."
"I was afraid you'd say that. Are the federal marshals on board yet?"
"Not yet," he said softly.
"Have you guys eaten?"
"No," he shook his head.
"You need to. You're going to need all of your energy to get through this." I kissed Tanks head and then Rangers and pulled away and went to join Lula at the breakfast bar. "Good morning Lula."
"Good morning. The French toast just came out."
"None for me thanks," I smiled. "Are you making a plate for Tank?"
"Why," she frowned.
"You should probably make a plate for Tank," I said softly.
She sighed, "It's true then…another one of them boys is dead."
"Yep," I nodded.
"This sucks," she sighed.
"It does suck," I agreed. "We're all going to need all of our energy to solve this murder…if it is a murder, and then get you and Tank happily married. So make Tank a plate and I'll make Ranger a plate and we'll enjoy this lovely morning."
She nodded and reached for another plate.
I put a plate down in front of Ranger and left to get juice and coffee and when I returned I saw the federal marshals boarding the ship. The Captain was with them. "Eat up kids. The big boys are here."
Lula's fork hit her plate in a clatter.
"Act normally Lula, you don't want to look suspicious. Besides you don't even know that anyone other than Hunter is dead, remember?"
"Yea," Tank leaned over and kissed her lightly. "It's fine baby. It's all good."
"It's all good," she said softly and pushed her plate away. "I'm done with breakfast I think."
"Lula," I said softly.
"It's my wedding Stephanie," she said as fat tears filled her eyes and slid down her face. "It's my wedding and I never even thought anybody would want to marry me let alone someone as wonderful as Tankie. I mean I was a ho. You know what I'm saying here?"
"I know honey," I sighed. "But you can't give up on your happy ending now. This is going to be fine."
"You don't know that," she sobbed.
"But I do know that," I said with a smile. I do know that. You just need to trust me."
She took a deep breath and straightened her face. "Okay…I trust you."
"Good," I smiled and got up to get more coffee.
Ranger followed me to the coffee urns. "You know who did it?"
"Nope," I said with a smile.
"Why are you making her promises that you may not be able to keep?"
"Because I've always been able to solve them before," I said seriously. "There's no way that I'm going to start failing now when some of my very best friends lives are on the line."
"Okay," he said with a slight smile. "I guess I can see your point."
"I hope so," I sighed. "If you don't believe in me…nobody will."
"I do believe in you."
"Good," I smiled, "because here they come."
The Captain approached us with four men and a smile. "Officers I'd like you to meet Ricardo Manoso and Stephanie Plum."
"Ranger…you old dog" the first man came toward us with a grin. He was a big man with bigger muscles, huge white teeth and a military bearing. He was Hispanic and very, very good-looking.
"No way," Ranger laughed, "Mad Dog…man I thought you were out of the game?"
"I'm not in the game," he laughed pumping Ranger's hand. "Why are you involved in this? Has this pretty lady finally tied you down?"
Ranger grinned, "Not yet."
"Oh so you're single," he grinned at me.
I laughed.
"Back off Dog," Ranger shook his fist at him.
"What's going on…really," he asked.
"You may have to recues man," Ranger shook his head.
"Why," he frowned.
"Because man…it was Hunter and Cable," he said seriously.
"Fuck," he blinked.
"You were with their unit too," I smiled.
"I was," he nodded. "Who else is here?"
"Tank's the groom man," Ranger grinned.
"No fucking way," he said as Tank suddenly picked him up from behind in a bear hug. "Fuck…Tank…you're still strong as an ox."
"You know it," he grinned. "Damn Dog…when is the last time we saw you?"
"Joey's funeral," he said soberly.
"Damn…you still know how to bring down a party," Tank sighed.
"So…if Hunter and Cable are dead, where are Score and Points?"
"On board," Ranger said seriously. "They're confined to quarters for attacking an innocent passenger."
He cocked a brow at Ranger's slightly bruised chin, "yea…you're an innocent passenger all right."
"I am," Ranger grinned. "I did nothing to instigate anything with them."
"So…where were you between 1530 and 1630 yesterday?"
"Ashore with Stephanie," Ranger nodded. I'd say we were probably at the Butterfly Garden during that time."
"Yea," I nodded.
"And what about you Tank?"
"In my cabin with my fiancée doing the nasty," Tank said adding some risqué actions to his words. "She'll corroborate my story, but I'm guessing you're going to need more than that."
"Probably," he sighed.
"Look man, just do your job," Tank said seriously. "I didn't kill them. If I had killed them, there would be a lot more blood. You know me man. Subtlety is not my strong suit."
"No shit," he nodded. He turned to me, "by the way…my name is Enrique DeJesus. It's not Mad Dog. And no matter what they tell you about me, just keep in mind that it was a long time ago and they were involved too." He waved his fingers at the two of them and then followed the Captain to the security office.
"Do you think they'll let him stay on the case," I asked biting my lip.
"Maybe," Ranger said thoughtfully. "He knows us. He knows this is not our doing. Having him here could be beneficial to us."
"Until he sees Lester," Tank sighed.
"Why will he get mad when he sees Lester, or need I ask," I rolled my eyes.
"He's Marina's brother," Ranger said with a slight smile.
"Oh shit," I groaned. "We're going to have another murder to deal with.
We were called up to the Security Office one by one. I got to go first.
"Ms. Plum," a man stood as I entered and smiled. "I'm Marshall Douglas. You've already met Marshall DeJesus. This is Marshall Henderson and Marshall Grant. We've been assigned to this vessel for the duration of its voyage. Our goal is to stop these unexpected deaths and follow up in case of foul play."
"Good…we're glad you're here," I smiled.
"Have a seat," he pulled out a chair for me.
"Thank you."
"We understand that you've been assisting the ship's security team with their investigation and we'd like to thank you for doing such a good job of preserving the crime scenes."
"You're welcome."
"How do you come to be onboard the Jewel of the Sea," he asked.
"My friends Tank and Lula are getting married when we reach Grand Cayman. I'm their maid of honor."
"And how long have you known them?"
"Just a little over four years," I said with a smile.
"Obviously you're very close or you wouldn't be in the wedding party. How many of the passengers on board the ship are here for the wedding?"
"All of them," I shrugged.
"Oh," he blinked. "That's a very expensive wedding."
"Tanks family owns the most successful wine and alcohol distribution center in the south. His parents paid for the voyage and the wedding. Tank could probably afford to do it on his own these days, but it's still nice."
"It is," he agreed,
"How many of the other passengers do you know?"
"I know most of them," I said with a smile. "There are still a few of Tank's relatives that I haven't met, but I've met everyone else I think except the Reverend and Mrs. Burns. I haven't met them yet. I met the victims on the second night of our cruise."
"Did you get along with them?"
"Of course," I smiled. "I get along with everyone. I had no reason not to get along with them until they attacked Ranger. But then they were confined to cabin…at least all but Hunter…he was already dead."
"And what is your relationship with Mr. Manoso?"
"Undefined," I said seriously. "We're working on defining it. At the very least, he's my boss and my friend."
"You wouldn't categorize him as a boyfriend?"
I snorted, "I doubt anyone has ever classified Ranger as a boyfriend. He's…not really boyfriend material."
Enrique snickered and coughed to cover it.
"You're lovers then," he asked.
"We have been. We're not at this time. May I ask what relevance that may have to this case?"
"We don't know yet ma'am. We're just covering all the bases."
"Ah," I nodded. That meant they were just seeing whether they could move in on me. I am not arrogant, but I know when a man is interested in me…and a couple of them were, including Mad Dog.
Enrique unfolded from the wall and leaned on the table, "do you think either of these men died of natural causes?"
"No," I shook my head.
He was surprised my answer. They were all surprised by my answer. "Do you think either of them died as the result of an accident?"
"No," I repeated.
He blinked.
"Why," Marshal Douglas leaned forward. His face wore a slight frown, but his eyes were definitely curious.
"Hunter had blue lips and blue fingertips under his nails. If he'd died of alcohol poisoning or a heart attack, that wouldn't be so pronounced. Now…a heart attack would cause some blueness and that would be mostly in his lips, but this was highly pronounced. I'd say he'd been poisoned. I'd say that his body was slowly being deprived of oxygen. I'd do some tox screens on heavy metal poisons if I was the coroner."
"What about Hess," he said seriously.
"The crime scene was too clean," I shook my head. "It didn't look right…you know? I mean I know he's ex military, but it was clean. There were no recently removed dirty clothes. There were no clothes laid out in preparation to be worn. There was nothing. Moreover…he was shaving…using an electric razor in the shower and he was sober…at least I didn't smell anything on him. He's a bourbon drinker, I would have. The only reason a reasonably sane person would take a chance like that is if he was in a hurry. That means he'd have clothes laid out to wear. But…he was on lockdown. He wasn't going anywhere. It's definitely a murder."
"Thank you for your help Ms. Plum. We'll probably have more questions for you once we've talked to the coroner and viewed the crime scenes. We appreciate your observations."
"I'm happy to help. I'd like it if we could wrap it all up before Grand Cayman so the wedding and honeymoon can go on as scheduled."
"We would too," he stood and shook my hand.
"Oh Stephanie," Enrique interrupted, "do you have any suspects?"
"Not yet," I said with a smile. "But as soon as I know something…I'll let you guys know."
"Thanks," he grinned.
I wasn't out the door when I heard Henderson ask, "What was that all about?"
"Don't you read the papers dude? She solved the Boston DA's murder last month. She's good."
"How good," Douglas asked.
"Hopefully, we're going to find out," he said.
I grinned as I walked away. I had a reputation…as a murder solver. This was too cool.