“Because of you!” Celia exclaimed. “But how could you have any possible reason to think . . . ?”
Lady Em held up her hand. “Celia, listen to me. I can explain very simply. I was at a cocktail party the night before we sailed. Decades ago Richard and I had engaged the accounting and financial management firm that was founded by Roger’s grandfather, and we continued the relationship when Roger’s father took over. When he died in an accident seven years ago, I stayed with Roger. At the party I saw an old friend who warned me to be very careful. He told me that Roger was not the man of integrity that both his father and grandfather had been. There were rumors that former clients of Roger’s believed he had been skimming their accounts. My friend suggested I have my finances checked by an outside firm to be sure that everything was in order.
“I was so troubled by the warning that I told Roger my decision to go forward with an audit.” In a voice that was suddenly sad, she said, “I have known Roger since he was a child. When I had my yacht, I frequently invited his mother and father to vacation with me. Of course, they brought Roger along. I joked that he was my surrogate son. Well, some son he turned out to be.”
“What would you have done if an audit of your finances proved that you were right?”
“I would have prosecuted him,” Lady Em said firmly. “And he knew it. Only a few years ago the chef who had been with me for twenty years and whose children I sent to college began kiting my food and liquor bills. I entertain frequently, and it was many months before I caught on. He was sentenced to two years in prison.”
“He deserved that,” Celia said firmly. “Anyone who cheats other people, especially those who are good to them, should go to prison.”
Lady Em paused, then asked, “Celia, did you bring your microscope with you?”
“Yes, I did. It’s called a loupe.”
For the first time Celia realized that Lady Em was holding a bracelet in her hand.
“Please look at this and tell me what you think of it,” she said as she gave it to Celia.
Celia reached into her purse and took out the loupe. Holding it to her eye and rotating the bracelet slowly in front of it, she said, “I’m afraid I don’t think very much of it. The diamonds are inferior quality, the kind they use in most of the so-called jewelry bargain centers.”
“That is exactly what I expected you to say.”
Celia could see the quiver in Lady Em’s lip. After a moment Lady Em said, “And, sadly, that means that Brenda, my trusted employee and companion of more than twenty years, has also been stealing from me.”
She took the bracelet back. “I will put this in the safe again and act as if nothing’s amiss. I’m afraid I’ve already given Brenda an indication that I am concerned that it didn’t seem right.”
She reached up and pressed the clasp of the Cleopatra necklace. “Celia, I am desperately worried that I have been a very foolish old woman to have brought this treasure with me on this voyage. I have changed my mind about giving it to the Smithsonian. When I get back to New York, I’m turning it over to my lawyers, and I’ll tell them to arrange with Mr. Cavanaugh’s firm to have it returned to Egypt.”
Celia suspected the answer but still asked, “What made you change your mind?”
“Mr. Cavanaugh is a very nice young man. He made me admit to myself that no matter how much Richard’s father paid for the necklace, it had come from a looted tomb. The proper thing to do is return it to Egypt.”
“You haven’t asked my opinion, Lady Em, but I believe you’ve made the right decision.”
“Thank you, Celia.”
Lady Em ran her fingers over the necklace. “This evening at the cocktail party Captain Fairfax begged me to give it to him to put in his personal safe and have a guard outside his cabin to secure it. He said that Interpol has informed him that they believe the Man with One Thousand Faces, an international jewel thief, is on this ship. The Captain urged me to give him the necklace after dinner tonight. I told him I plan to wear it tomorrow night, but I think that might be a mistake.”
As the necklace slid from her neck, she caught it and handed it to Celia. “Please take this. Put it in the safe in your room and give it to the Captain in the morning. I don’t plan to leave my suite all day tomorrow. I’ll have my meals served in and leave Brenda to her own devices. Quite frankly, I need a bit of quiet time to decide what to do about Brenda and Roger’s thievery.”
“I’ll do anything you want me to do,” Celia said as she stood up. She wrapped her fingers around the necklace and then impulsively put her arms around Lady Em and kissed her forehead. “Neither one of us deserved what happened to us, but we’ll both get past it.”
“Yes, we will.”
Celia walked to the door and then disappeared into the corridor.
51
The victim of a man who had not only deceived and cheated her, but then tried to tie her to his crime too. Poor Celia, Lady Em thought, as she prepared for bed. I’m glad I gave her the necklace. It will be more secure in the Captain’s safe.
Suddenly an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over her. I guess I will be able to sleep for a while, she thought, as she began to drift off. About three hours later she was startled awake by the sense that she was not alone in the room. Aided by moonlight and the night light, she was able to see someone moving toward her.
“Who are you? Get out!” she said as something soft came swiftly down and covered her face.
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe—” she tried to say. Desperately, she tried to push away the obstacle that was smothering her, but she was not strong enough.
As she began to lose consciousness, her last thought was that the curse of the Cleopatra necklace had been fulfilled.
Day Four
52
Lady Em had ordered breakfast to be served at eight o’clock. Raymond tapped on the door, then unlocked it and wheeled in the serving cart. The door to the bedroom was half open and he could see that Lady Em was asleep in her bed. Not sure of what to do, he decided to go to his station and phone to tell her that her breakfast had been delivered.
When she did not answer after seven rings, a suspicion began to take root in his mind. Lady Em was old. He had seen the array of medicines in the bathroom closet when he tidied up the suite. Elderly people dying on cruise ships was a regular occurrence.
Before he contacted the doctor, he went back to the suite. He knocked on the partially open door of the bedroom and called her name. When there was no response, he hesitated, then walked into the bedroom. He touched her hand. As he had suspected, it was cold. Lady Emily Haywood was dead. Unnerved, he reached for the phone on the night table.