Read Online 34 - The Queen's Jewels by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain - Free Book Online

Flynn on the shoulder, exchanged what appeared to be a few pleasant words, and whisked the blonde out to the middle of the floor. As I watched them, Flynn rejoined me, a satisfied smile on his ruggedly handsome face.
    “You look like you’re elsewhere,” I heard him say.
    “What? Oh, just daydreaming.”
    “Daydreaming is good,” he said, sliding into his chair. “People ought to do more of it.”
    “You dance beautifully,” I said.
    “Thank you for the compliment,” he said, dabbing a drop of perspiration from his upper lip with a neatly folded white handkerchief. “One of the perks of traveling the world,” he added. “I’ve learned from some of the best dancers around the globe. Of course, I was rudely interrupted. Oh, I don’t mean to sound as though your friend’s cutting in bothered me. All’s fair in love and war, especially on a dance floor. Lovely woman. Her name is Jennifer.”
    “I love her dress and jewelry,” I said. “She has very good taste. Did she say what she does for a living?”
    “No. Sure you don’t want to dance?”
    “Not at the moment, but thank you for asking.”
    “I assure you I’ll ask again before we reach the States.”
    I kept my eye on Haggerty and his dancing partner while chatting with Harry. Kim and Betty were still on the dance floor.
    “Do you have family?” I asked.
    Harry’s face brightened, one foot tapping in rhythm to the band’s music. “I certainly do, a splendid daughter named Melanie, the apple of my eye. She’s a nurse in New York City, works with the disadvantaged. I’ve had a few wives, three to be exact, but those marriages didn’t last. Not easy for a woman to be married to a man who’s always off on a ship somewhere in the world.”
    “You live in New York?”
    “I really haven’t lived anywhere since my last divorce. I have a room in my daughter’s apartment in New York, but I’m seldom there. Always on the sea, it seems.”
    “Are you still working?”
    He shook his head. “No, but once you’ve enjoyed traveling the globe, it’s hard to break the habit. Some of the freight companies I’ve worked for give me free passage whenever I ask. Of course, traveling as a passenger on a freighter is a far cry from this magnificent ship, but I must say that I probably enjoy them more. Opulence has never been my style, although I admit that I could get used to it.”
    “You seem to be very much at home on the Queen Mary Two ,” I said.
    “I’m enjoying it. I felt it was time for me to indulge myself before it’s too late.” A shadow of melancholy crossed his face but was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
    “I thought I’d stroll past the casino and test the waters,” he said. “Would you like to join me?”
    “I think not, Harry. I’m about to call it a night. Besides, I’m not much of a gambler.”
    “Smart thinking, Jessica. I hate to think of how much I’ve lost betting on some damn fool thing or other. My first captain used to say that sailors work like horses while at sea, and spend their money like asses ashore. I’m afraid that definition fits me.”
    I was tempted to suggest that at his age, he should do whatever it was that gave him pleasure, but I wasn’t sure he’d take it the right way.
    Kim and Betty returned to the table.
    “Mrs. Fletcher?” Kim said.“May I have this dance? They’re playing ‘The Tennessee Waltz,’ one of my favorites.”
    “I was just telling Harry that I’m going to retire for the night,” I said, rising.
    Kim took my hand. “I insist. Just one dance.”
    I allowed him to lead me away, hoping Harry wouldn’t be insulted that I’d turned him down. But he’d started up a conversation with Betty and didn’t seem to notice. Kim was shorter than I, but it didn’t pose a problem any more than it had with Betty. He was a graceful dancer, easy to follow.
    “You and Betty looked as though you could be professional dancers,” I said.
    “We’ve practiced,” he said. “Betty has