Which is when Odelia decided to step up her own investigation, and retreated to her cabin along with Harry, her and Emily’s only accomplice on board.

  Frankly I was feeling a little guilty. If we hadn’t left Emily’s room last night, none of this would have happened. We would have seen this mystery man enter her room and would have alerted Odelia. But since Emily and Harry had decided to become a little frisky, it hadn’t felt like it was our place to stick around.

  “We should have protected our witness, Max,” Dooley also said now. “We didn’t do a good job.”

  “We protected her modesty, Dooley,” I said solemnly. “And offered her and Harry some privacy.”

  It was no excuse, of course. A true witness protector never leaves his post, no matter what! But Odelia didn’t seem to blame us, and frankly I didn’t see what else we could have done under the circumstances.

  “We have to do something,” said Harry as he paced the room. “We can’t just leave Emily to languish in some French prison cell. Who knows what they’ll do to her. They might even feed her some of their stinky cheese. Or worse: sheep’s brain!”

  Both Dooley and I winced. Imagine having to eat the brain of a sheep. Yuck! Though I had heard the French also enjoy eating another part of a male sheep’s anatomy, namely its dangly bits. Double yuck!

  “What did the police tell you?” asked Odelia, who unfortunately hadn’t been privy to an interview with the police detective in charge of the investigation, unlike Harry.

  “They said the door was locked from the inside, the man was stabbed with a knife that is part of a set from the galley, and that the only person who could have killed him is Emily. And when I told the detective that Emily doesn’t even know this man, he gave me a sort of commiserative look and said that obviously I didn’t know my girlfriend as well as I thought I did.” He uttered a groan of frustration. “It’s infuriating!”

  “It is,” said Odelia. “But we have to stay calm and think this through logically and work through the evidence methodically. Have you arranged for a lawyer for Emily?”

  “I’ve asked my dad. He has promised me he will get Emily the best lawyer in town.”

  “The best lawyer in town may not be such a good lawyer at all,” said Odelia. “But I guess for now it will have to do. I just wish Chase was here. He might be able to talk to this detective. Suggest a collaboration.”

  “Can’t you call him? Maybe he can pull some strings?”

  “I already have,” said Odelia. “And he’ll see what he can do.”

  “I just don’t get it. Where did this dead guy come from all of a sudden? And how did he get on board? And how come nobody saw him?”

  A knock sounded at the door, and Odelia yelled, “Come in!”

  It was the cleaner we had seen before, though when she stepped in, and carefully closed the door behind her, somehow she didn’t look like a cleaner. Her next words provided us with some clarification.

  “My name is Ella Nakamura,” she said. “And I’m a private detective working for Heather Johnson.”

  “A private detective!” said Harry.

  “That’s right. I would never reveal myself or my client, but in view of recent events I felt it important to come forward.”

  “Why did Heather hire you?” asked Odelia.

  “Heather wants to divorce her husband,” said Miss Nakamura, who was a smallish woman with wizened features who walked with a stoop. But what she lacked in stature she obviously made up for in acumen, as her story revealed. “She hired me to spy on her husband, and catch him in the act of infidelity. Which wasn’t hard, since Brian is basically a walking, talking case of infidelity. In the last couple of days alone I’ve caught him hitting on Sarah Dawson, on Chloe Adams, Kimberly Griffiths, and also on Emily. So I took pictures, shot video footage, and generally built a case that would assist Heather Johnson for when she finally decides to file for divorce. And in the course of doing so, I also noticed some other strange goings-on aboard the Audrey. Things that might shed a different light on what happened this morning.”

  “The murder,” said Odelia.

  Miss Nakamura nodded. “Exactly. You may remember that some of your father’s private papers found their way into your fiancée’s cabin,” she said, addressing Harry now. “Well, those papers were put there by Matthew Brown, your father’s private secretary. I know this to be true since he paid me to ‘find’ them for him, and to tell Steven about their presence in Emily’s room. Of course Mr. Brown had no idea I am in fact not a cleaner in his employer’s employ, but a private detective.”

  “Emily overheard Matthew discuss something on his phone,” Odelia said. “Something he clearly didn’t want her to know about.”

  “I did some more digging into the matter,” said Miss Nakamura, “and have come to the conclusion that Matthew Brown is working for Car World.”

  “My dad’s main competitor,” said Harry. “Are you sure about this?”

  “I’ve checked Mr. Brown’s room and found evidence that links him to Car World,” said the private eye. “A copy of a preliminary contract and instructions of what kind of information they want Mr. Brown to lay his hands on. Clearly he’s been working as a corporate spy.”

  “You have to tell my dad,” said Harry. “He probably still thinks Emily is behind the theft of those documents.”

  “I’ve sent a message to your father,” said Miss Nakamura. “And I’m sure he’ll do the right thing and bring charges against Car World and against his secretary. But the thing is that Brown doesn’t know I’m on to him. What he does know is that Emily overheard him discussing certain highly confidential things with his contact at Car World, and so he planted those documents to discredit her in the eyes of your father.”

  “And now you think he might have gone one step further and implicated Emily in that murder,” said Odelia, nodding.

  “Matthew Brown is a dangerous individual,” said Miss Nakamura. “And in my experience when cornered, men like him resort to any means necessary to safeguard their position—even murder.”

  CHAPTER 33

  Odelia felt that the time had come to put her cards on the table. And so it was that we found ourselves in Amanda and Steven’s cabin—which was a great deal more spacious and luxurious than our own, I have to say—in close conference with our hosts.

  “A detective!” Amanda cried when Harry revealed to them that Odelia was in fact Odelia Kingsley and not Julie Henderson as they had presumed.

  “I didn’t know you used to date a detective,” said Steven, who looked duly impressed by this piece of news.

  “We never dated,” said Odelia curtly. “That was part of my cover.”

  “Oh,” said Amanda, who seemed even more disappointed by this lack of dating history between her son and Odelia than the fact that somehow a detective had slithered her way into her sympathies.

  “Also, Odelia isn’t the only detective on this boat,” said Harry. “I don’t think this will come as a surprise to Mom, but to you this is probably news, Dad.” And he proceeded to reveal to his father the presence of Ella Nakamura, private detective hired by Heather Johnson. “And in fact she told us just now that Matthew Brown—your loyal secretary Matthew Brown—is secretly working for Car World.”

  Steven nodded. “I got an anonymous message last night warning me that Matthew has been engaged in corporate espionage for the competition. I just figured he was working in cahoots with Emily somehow.”

  “Emily isn’t a corporate spy, Dad,” said Harry. “She did happen to overhear Matthew talking on the phone with what we now suspect was his secret contact at Car World. He must have figured she was going to blow his cover, and so he planted those documents in her room to discredit her.”

  “And how do you know all this?” asked Amanda, who didn’t seem convinced.

  “Because Matthew paid Miss Nakamura to ‘discover’ those documents and tell you about them. Of course he didn’t know she was in fact a private detective. He just figured she was a cleaner.”

  “Clever,” said Steven, nodding thoughtfully. “So Matthew tried to frame Emily, and I have to say he did a good job. I thought she was a spy for the competition, not him.”

  “Miss Nakamura also thinks Matthew may have had something to do with the dead man Emily found in her bed this morning,” said Odelia. “As a way to further implicate her and get her out of the way.”

  “Oh, hogwash,” said Amanda. “You don’t believe for one second that that girl is innocent, do you? She probably lured that man on board—he’s probably one of her many lovers—and they had some kind of lovers’ tiff and she killed him. End of story.”

  “Mom, that’s simply not true!” said Harry, getting a little worked up. “Emily is innocent. She never saw that man before in her life!”

  “Poppycock. Remember that man who started yelling at her in the street yesterday? Your so-called fiancée has boyfriends popping out of the woodwork left, right and center. Don’t fall into her trap, Harry. That sweet innocent girl act she likes to pull might work with some people but it doesn’t work with me.”

  “That man was her ex-boyfriend, and he was stalking her,” said Harry.

  “So? This fella that was found dead is probably another one of her ex-boyfriends. How much longer are you going to protect her, son?”

  “I happen to believe she’s innocent,” said Harry determinedly. He turned to his dad. “Have you found a lawyer for Emily, Dad?”

  “I have, actually. He already talked to Emily and the detective in charge of the case. And I’m afraid it won’t be easy to convince the French police to let her walk. The door of her room was locked from the inside, the man was lying right next to her, and most importantly, the only set of fingerprints they found on the knife are hers.”

  He let that sink in for a moment, and I could tell from Odelia’s expression that the situation was grave, and that things did not look good for Emily.

  “What does that mean, Max?” asked Dooley finally when no one spoke.

  “It means that Emily, in spite of what she says, must have handled that knife. And that the police are one hundred percent convinced that she killed that man.”

  “Well, then,” said Amanda with satisfaction. “It’s pretty obvious that Emily is not the girl you thought she was, Harry. Best to break off that engagement.” She turned to her husband. “I think we better put out an official statement distancing ourselves from Miss King. We don’t want to get mixed up in this mess.”

  “Mom!” Harry cried, aghast at this blatant betrayal.

  “I’m not so sure,” said Steven, rubbing his chin.

  Amanda was taken aback. “What?! Steven, we have to make it clear we have nothing to do with Emily. It’s going to be bad enough as it is, considering her dead boyfriend was found on the Audrey. If we don’t act now our reputation will be shot. Emily will drag this whole family down with her—and the company!”

  “If she’s guilty,” said Steven, “and that’s still a big if in my book. But if she’s innocent, as Harry claims…” He directed a quizzical look at Odelia. “What is your opinion, Mrs. Kingsley?”

  “I think Emily is innocent,” said Odelia. “Without a doubt.”

  “But if she didn’t do it, then who did?” asked Steven.

  “That’s what we have to find out. But whoever it is, it’s obvious that they’re targeting Emily for some reason.” And she proceeded to fill the couple in on some of the other disturbing events that had taken place. Before the meeting she had asked Harry for his permission to reveal the real reason she was on board, and he had readily agreed. But when Amanda heard about the threatening messages and the picture, she wasn’t convinced.

  “This merely proves to me that Emily is not the right girl for you, Harry. Clearly she carries a lot of baggage, which is not what we want.”

  “It is what I want,” Harry insisted, really standing his ground. “Emily is innocent, and whoever is doing this to her must be stopped and caught. And Odelia is the person who will do this.”

  Amanda looked dubious. “Accepting for a moment that Emily is innocent—and I’m not saying she is—are you quite sure Mrs. Kingsley is up to the task? She’s not exactly a professional detective, is she?”

  “Odelia’s track record is impeccable,” Harry insisted.

  “I have heard great things about Mrs. Kingsley,” Steven chimed in. “She works with the Hampton Cove police all the time. Isn’t your uncle chief of police, Mrs. Kingsley?”

  “He is,” Odelia confirmed.

  “Oh, well,” said Amanda with a wave of the hand. “I can see I’m outnumbered. But I’m telling you right now that you’re making a big mistake. Emily will be the death of this family, mark my words.”

  “What else did your lawyer have to say?” asked Odelia.

  Steven scratched his scalp. “Well… The police seem to think that Emily met this man on the beach last night, and decided to invite him to spend the night with her on the boat. Then for some reason they fell out, and she killed him. Maybe he got rough with her, or maybe they got into a fight. Whatever the reason, they’re convinced that they’ve got their killer in custody.” He grimaced. “I’m sorry, Harry.”

  “No, that’s all right, Dad,” said Harry. “It’s important to know what we’re up against. And I can tell you that Emily did not meet that man on the beach last night. I was with her when I got back, and she didn’t go out.”

  “She could have gone out after you went to bed,” Amanda said. “The point I’m trying to make,” she added when Harry rolled his eyes, “is that we don’t really know this girl. I mean, what do we really know about her? About her past? Nothing, apart from what she’s told us. And then of course there’s the clause.”

  “Not again with the clause!” said Harry.

  “It is a fact that your grandfather explicitly tried to prevent persons of low morality from marrying into this family,” Amanda insisted. “And from where I’m standing Emily is just such a person. Low morals.”

  “Let’s not turn this into a mud-slinging competition,” Steven suggested. “Instead let’s try to stick to the facts as we know them. Emily claims never to have met this man, this…” He consulted his phone. “Daniel Taylor. And I think we owe it to her to give her the benefit of the doubt. For now.”

  “Did the police give any information on this Daniel Taylor?” asked Odelia.

  “Just that he’s an American tourist,” said Steven. “Who had been staying at a local hotel this past week.”

  “Was he traveling alone?”

  “That, I don’t know,” said Steven. “Unfortunately the police aren’t very forthcoming. But I’m sure more information will come to light as the investigation runs its course.”

  Odelia nodded. “With your permission I would like to run my own investigation.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Amanda suspiciously.

  “That I talk to all of the people on board.”

  “So now we’re all suspects, are we? Steven and me included?”

  “Mom—someone put the dead man in Emily’s cabin,” said Harry. “And if the police aren’t going to investigate, we have to do it.”

  Amanda directed an annoyed look at her husband. “Don’t you think we’ve all been through enough already? Our guests shouldn’t be subjected to more harassment from this amateur PI.”

  “Odelia is not an amateur, Mom,” Harry insisted.

  “It’s fine, Harry,” said Odelia. “Mrs. Griffiths, I understand this is all very inconvenient to you, and I promise I’ll be as discreet as I can.”

  “Mh,” said Amanda, who didn’t look convinced.

  “I have done this many times before, you know.”

  “Okay, fine,” said Steven. “But try not to upset our guests too much, Mrs. Kingsley. As my wife says, we’ve all been through enough already.”

  “Great,” said Odelia, well pleased. “I’ll set up the interviews. Could you ask the crew members to comply?”

  “You’re going to talk to the crew members as well?” said Amanda.

  “I need to talk to everyone who was on board last night,” said Odelia.

  “Fine!” said Amanda, but she clearly wasn’t happy about it.

  CHAPTER 34

  In spite of his predicament, Tex was back on the beach. It seemed like such a pity to let a back injury stop him and Marge from enjoying their vacation. So he had taken a painkiller and had somehow managed, with Marge’s support, to negotiate the short distance from their Airbnb to the beach. There he had sunk into a sun lounger and hadn’t left it again, allowing his back some much-needed repose.

  Marge had been playing with Grace in the sand, the cats were safely back at the apartment, and all was well, in spite of the occasional twinge of pain when he moved.

  It wasn’t ideal, but in life he had learned to take the rough with the smooth, and to make hay when the sun shines.

  And the sun was definitely shining!

  Luckily they had secured themselves a nice little spot in the shade, and as the sun beat down on the beach, he closed his eyes and soon was fast asleep.

  He woke up when Marge touched his arm. A little groggily he glanced around. The beach had filled up nicely, and was now full of people frolicking in the surf or basking in the sun. Kids were yelling as they jumped the waves, or built sandcastles, and generally the air was redolent of salty water and suntan lotion.

  “Tex, you’re completely red!” Marge said as she brought her face closer to his. “Haven’t you applied the sunblock I gave you?”

  “Oops, forgotten,” he said with a smile. “It doesn’t matter, though, does it? I’m in the shade.”

  “Even when you’re in the shade you can still get burned, you know. It’s the reflection from the water.”

  Now that she said it, he suddenly felt it. A sort of burning sensation, especially on his face. And when he lifted his arm, he saw that it, too, was red. Really, really red! Not unlike a boiled lobster!