“So that’s where that stash of cash came in,” said Chase. “To pay for all of this.”

  The captain nodded. “I’m not proud of it, but it was true that the man was a great tipper. And also, we knew what we were getting into when we signed up. Ross had a reputation with the yacht company.”

  “And they didn’t mind?”

  The captain looked mildly embarrassed. “The man was a bona fide millionaire, detective. And when enough money changes hands, it’s amazing what an effect that can have on a guilty conscience. And if someone did complain, they were quickly bought off and sent packing.”

  “So what happened with Sebastian Poe?”

  “Okay, so Ross had told us about another one of his weekends he wanted to organize. This time we were in the Bahamas, a safe distance from Bimini, the nearest island, and the only guest was Poe, along with some local women Marcus had managed to wrangle up and deliver to the Aurora. Poe arrived on his own boat, and before long, the party was in full swing. By the time I decided to turn in for the night, they were having a ball. Loud music, dancing, you know the drill. So I plugged in my earplugs and went to bed. Marcus woke me up. He said something terrible had happened. So I followed him to the main deck, and we found Ross there, blood all over him, completely out of it. The women sat huddled to one side, looking scared out of their wits. And of Poe, there was no trace, even though his boat was still there.”

  “So what happened?”

  “No idea,” said the captain. “Ross was wasted and couldn’t tell us anything, and if the girls knew, they weren’t talking, afraid we’d call the cops.”

  “So why didn’t you call the cops?”

  He heaved a deep sigh. “Can you imagine the scandal? Not only would Ross’s life have been over, but ours as well, and those women. So Marcus ferried them back to the island, and we tried to clean up Ross as well as we could, and also the deck and the guy’s suite, which was a mess. We chucked everything overboard—the booze, the drugs, the pills—and tucked our charge into bed to sleep off his bender, hoping he’d be able to tell us what happened in the morning. Only the next day, it was obvious he had no clue. He even asked about Poe, wanting to know where he’d gone off to. But then later, when Marcus finally returned from his trip, he said that one of the women told him that there had been a fight. Apparently, Ross and Poe had fallen out, both drunk as skunks, and had started slugging away at each other. Ross had aimed a bottle at his friend’s head, which had hit its target, and Poe had fallen overboard. One of the women had even gone in but hadn’t been able to find the guy. So, in all likelihood, he drowned.”

  “So Ross killed his best friend, and nobody talked?”

  “That’s pretty much the gist of it,” the captain admitted. “Though at the time, we decided that it must have been a tragic accident. Ross didn’t want to kill Poe, but it happened anyway.”

  “I don’t believe this.”

  “We got together, the entire crew, in the mess, and talked things through. The crew members who had served at the party swore up and down they hadn’t been present when the altercation took place, since Ross had basically told them to leave. So the only witnesses were Ross himself, who couldn’t remember a thing, and the prostitutes. And they certainly weren’t going to talk. So basically, we had to decide if we wanted to involve the police or not. Ross had already told us not to and threatened us with untold consequences if we did, and we knew he had the power to make good on his threat. He had also promised us a big payday if we kept our mouths shut. So in the end, we put it to a vote, and the majority decided to pretend the incident never happened. Poe’s boat was cut loose, and that was the end of that.”

  “Incredible,” said Chase, shaking his head.

  “Until last night,” said the captain.

  “Last night? So something did happen last night?”

  He nodded, took another big gulp from his drink, and said, “Poe showed up.”

  “Poe showed up? The dead man?”

  “Apparently, he didn’t die. It gave us all quite a fright, I have to say. And it freaked Ross out big time. Out of the blue, Sebastian Poe suddenly turned up and told his old friend that he had another thing coming if he thought he could get away with murder. Which is when Ross invited Poe into his suite and locked the door. So unfortunately, I have no way of knowing what was said. All I know is that one hour later, Poe suddenly left, walked off the boat, and disappeared.”

  “What time was this?” asked Odelia.

  “Around ten o’clock. I also have to say he didn’t look well. Even though we all recognized him, and so did Ross, he looked as if he’d been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks. He’d grown a beard, and his skin was blotchy, and there was this weird look in his eyes, almost as if he’d gone feral.”

  “Did you ask Ross about it?”

  “Of course. But he said nothing happened, and Poe was never on the boat. But I have to say he looked pretty spooked. Almost like he’d seen a ghost.”

  “Which he had,” Chase pointed out.

  “What did the others say?”

  “I think they were all relieved that Poe didn’t die. Even though we had put the matter to a vote, none of us felt happy about the decision to pretend that the incident didn’t take place. I mean, it’s one thing to ignore the booze and the dope, but another to brush murder under the carpet in exchange for money.”

  “How much did Ross pay so you would all keep quiet?”

  “A hundred thousand each. In cash. And he was true to his word.”

  “So you’re all a hundred thousand richer? That explains why his safe was empty.”

  “Oh, there was plenty left in that famous safe of his. And before you ask, no, I didn’t clean it out. I don’t know who did.”

  “Who had access to that safe?”

  He gave us a meaningful look. “As far as I can tell, only Marcus did.”

  “When did this incident with Poe take place?” asked Odelia.

  “Six weeks ago.”

  “Poe must have drifted ashore on one of the islands,” said Chase. “Where he managed to survive, or maybe he was saved by the locals who took him in and nursed him back to health.”

  “Like I said, the man looked terrible. And I had the impression he wasn’t all there either.”

  “Could he have returned the next day to kill his former best friend?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine. Though I’d say there’s a good chance he did. If your best friend knocks you off your boat and leaves you to drown, I don’t think you’d be happy about it.”

  CHAPTER 18

  “Robert Ross was not a very nice man, Max,” said Dooley as we left Captain Gerard drowning his sorrows at the bar.

  “No, he wasn’t,” I confirmed.

  “Though of course, if you’re a spy who has to save the world, you probably can’t always be the nice guy. When you’re faced with a criminal mastermind like Dr. Maybe, you can’t play nice. You have to be tough.”

  “Ross was an actor playing a part, Dooley,” I pointed out. “He wasn’t an actual spy tasked with saving the world.”

  “Oh, I know, Max, but still. An actor of his caliber must have had a hard time shaking the role he played once the cameras stopped filming. It’s all about immersing yourself, Max.”

  “Don’t tell me. You saw a documentary?”

  “How did you know? It was all about method acting and how some actors will go to extreme lengths to prepare for a certain part. Like losing a lot of weight or gaining a lot of pounds. So maybe Ross had become so identified with his role as James Fox that he couldn’t differentiate between Ross and Fox. As if they were one and the same person.”

  “James Fox wouldn’t throw boozy parties on his private yacht and then kill his friend,” I said.

  “Unless he had just discovered that this friend was, in actual fact, an agent for Dr. Maybe!” said Dooley. “And I think we need to look into this Poe guy and see if he isn’t secretly the leader of a global criminal cabal, Max.”

  I sighed. “Oh, Dooley.”

  We had arrived at the door where, according to Chase’s information, Marcus O’Reilly was staying. The man opened the door, looking a little bedraggled. He was dressed in boxer shorts and a stained tank top and stared at us as if he’d never seen us before. Then his face cleared. “Detective Kingsley! Come on in. Can I offer you something to drink? Or milk for your cats?”

  “No, we’re fine,” said Chase as we entered the room. The room looked as untidy as the man himself, with clothes strewn about and a suitcase open on the bed. He clearly hadn’t finished unpacking yet, or maybe he didn’t intend to. After all, once the investigation was concluded, all these people were free to return to the Aurora, presumably to sail her back to her home port.

  “We would like to ask you a few more questions, Mr. O’Reilly,” said Odelia as she looked for a place to sit. When nothing seemed convenient, she decided to remain standing, which was probably a good idea.

  “Shoot,” said the guy who had been Ross’s consigliere if Captain Gerard’s words were to be believed, or at least his secret drug supplier.

  “I would like to tell you a story,” said Chase, causing me and Dooley to look up in surprise.

  “I didn’t know Chase was into storytelling,” Dooley confessed.

  “Me neither,” I said.

  “I hope it will be a fun story. I love a good story, Max.”

  “So there was a millionaire actor who rented a private yacht to go sailing in the Bahamas. Only he loved to throw private parties on his boat, and during one of those parties, he accidentally hit his best friend on the head. The friend fell overboard and seemingly drowned. At which point the crew decided to hold a meeting to decide whether to report the incident to the police or not. The majority won the vote, and the incident was hushed up, in exchange for a hundred thousand in cash from the actor to every member of the crew.”

  The man had blanched considerably and now dropped down on the bed, his legs not able to carry his weight anymore.

  “But then suddenly last night, the dead man rose from the dead and showed up on the yacht, surprising everyone, and most of all the actor. Now, I don’t know what was said, but I would sure love to know. Maybe the actor cleaned out his safe and paid off his friend, earning his silence. Or maybe he gave him a part of his personal stash of drugs. For the actor was also secretly or not-so-secretly addicted to opioids and cocaine, and he paid a member of his crew to ferry back and forth between the boat and the islands they passed to supply him with enough of both to stun an elephant. Does any of this ring a bell, Mr. O’Reilly?”

  The guy swallowed once or twice. “How—how do you know all this?”

  “That’s not important,” said Chase. “What is important is the role that you played. So, is it true that you were Mr. Ross’s drug runner?”

  The guy nodded. “I guess so. He needed someone to get his stuff for him, and for some reason, he chose me.”

  “And rewarded you with part of his stash.”

  “I’m not an addict if that’s what you’re suggesting,” said the man. “I never touched the stuff myself, but it’s true that he did, and in copious quantities too. I guess you could say that he was a very sick man.”

  “And yet you kept supplying him with the stuff that was most likely going to kill him and almost killed his friend Sebastian Poe.”

  “I wasn’t there when that happened. None of us were.”

  “So, I’m going to put it to you straight, Mr. O’Reilly,” said Chase. “And I want you to give me an honest answer this time, all right?”

  The man nodded fervently.

  “Did you clear out Mr. Ross’s safe this morning?”

  “No, I did not.”

  “Second question, and think carefully before you respond. To your knowledge, did Mr. Ross ever assault Miss Palmer?”

  “Yeah, he did. Or at least that’s what she claimed. There were no witnesses, apart from her and Ross, but apparently, he made a move on her and she had to fight him off. And since he wouldn’t take no for an answer, she conked him.”

  “Conked him?”

  “With his Golden Globe Award. Left a nasty bruise on his head and broke the skin. I know because it was me that had to dress the cut later on. He wouldn’t shut up about what a horrible person Suzanne was, though he used much stronger language than that.”

  “So why didn’t he fire her from the crew?”

  “He couldn’t. Not after what he did to Poe. We pretty much had the guy over a barrel. Though of course he also had us over the same barrel since we probably should have notified the authorities when Poe went overboard. And instead, we cut his boat loose and pretended nothing happened.”

  “There’s nothing probably about it,” said Chase. “Your employer murdered a man, and you decided to cover it up.”

  “Poe didn’t die,” said Marcus feebly. “Somehow he survived.”

  “You didn’t know that.”

  “So what happened last night?” asked Odelia. “Between Ross and Poe?”

  Marcus shook his head. “I have no idea. Though probably nothing good. When Poe finally came storming out of Ross’s suite, he looked like a man with murder on his mind.”

  “So do you think he returned the next morning to take revenge on his old friend?”

  Marcus shrugged helplessly. “From what I saw of Poe last night, I’d say that’s extremely likely.”

  “Ross didn’t discuss it with you? Or the incident where Mr. Poe went overboard?”

  “Never. After he paid us for our silence, he never mentioned it again. Though I could tell it haunted his dreams. He never organized a party again, and he became strangely subdued, as if the guilt was eating away at him.”

  “Or maybe he was afraid someone would talk and he’d be arrested.”

  “I did once see him check news sites about Poe’s disappearance, so it definitely kept him up at night. But like I said, he never mentioned it again.”

  “And the authorities never contacted him to ask about Poe suddenly going missing?”

  “Not to my knowledge. According to the papers, they figured Poe and his girlfriend had fallen out. Neighbors had heard screaming and shouting only the day before, so they suspected her of foul play, but nothing was ever proven.”

  “Apparently, the girlfriend had connections with organized crime,” Chase told Odelia. “Which is why the police figured her family had ‘fixed’ Poe.”

  “Another reason Ross was so nervous about what happened. If Poe’s girlfriend’s family found out about what really happened, they might have come after him.”

  “Maybe they did,” Chase pointed out. “If Poe was alive, he could have told his girlfriend, and if she told her family, they could have decided to get even.”

  “What a story,” said Dooley with a touch of breathlessness. “It’s not Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but it’s still very gripping, isn’t it, Max?”

  “It is,” I said.

  “Maybe Disney will make a movie about it!”

  “Somehow I doubt it. It’s not all that suitable for kids, wouldn’t you say?”

  “No, I guess you’re right. It doesn’t have that wholesome quality.”

  More like a decidedly unwholesome quality.

  CHAPTER 19

  The next door we knocked on was Suzanne Palmer’s door. Only when she opened and we stepped in, we found that she wasn’t alone but in the presence of Jeanine Bishop.

  “We would like to make a statement,” Suzanne announced, tilting her chin. “And we would like to do it together.”

  “Captain Gerard told us that you talked to him,” Jeanine explained.

  “Then he also told you that we know what happened on the Aurora?” said Odelia. She had adopted a kindly tone, as she often does. She clearly felt for the woman who had been forced to bear the brunt of Mr. Ross’s ill-conceived and unwelcome advances.

  Suzanne nodded. Tears had formed in her eyes, and Jeanine now took her hand in support. “Robert Ross was an evil man,” Suzanne announced. “And I know I probably should have said something sooner, and the fact that I didn’t will probably haunt me forever, but... He attacked me. I fended him off and managed to get him away from me, but if I hadn’t succeeded...” Her voice broke, and it was obvious that the incident had made a powerful impression on her.

  “You hit him over the head with his Golden Globe, is that correct?” asked Chase.

  Suzanne nodded. “He needed stitches, so Captain Gerard headed straight to the nearest port where he received medical attention.”

  “I thought Marcus O’Reilly patched him up?”

  “Marcus isn’t a trained nurse, detective,” said Jeanine. “Like you said, he patched him up to the best of his abilities, but when Ross inspected his handiwork in the mirror, he had a meltdown. Claimed he would never work again with the kind of scar Marcus’s needlework would leave and demanded to be taken to a hospital immediately. So Gerard did as he was told, though I have to say Marcus probably did a better job than the nurse at the hospital did.”

  “At least I didn’t have to come anywhere near the man again,” said Suzanne with a faint smile at the recollection.

  “I served him from that moment on,” said Jeanine, “with Suzanne being relegated to galley duties. Which was a good thing for all involved.”

  “And he didn’t try anything funny with you?” asked Chase.

  “No, he didn’t. Said I wasn’t his type and kept complaining about his scar, which got inflamed at some point and gave him a lot of grief.”

  “Those Golden Globes are pretty solid,” said Suzanne.

  “Well, I just think it served him right. The man was a very unpleasant character. Possibly the most unpleasant client I’ve ever worked for, and I’ve been doing this job for almost twenty years now. Though we once worked for a family with kids, and they were also pretty awful. Both the parents and the kids.”