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Authors: Lee Hanson
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liquor.”
“You think he was jealous?”
“Why not? You don’t have to love somebody to be jealous. You only have to be possessive and immature. The fact that Gill is just as charming as ever doesn’t negate the possibility that he might have given Adrienne a shove. Think about it: He’s a handsome, wealthy thrill-seeker who goes through women like Kleenex. Guys like that lack empathy, and they don’t take responsibility for their actions. And there’s something else, Joe. I asked Cathy if Security had questioned her and Gill about where they were after the Top Hat. She intimated that they were in their suite all that night, but they ‘had a small problem’ because Gill had ‘gone out for a walk’.”
“You’re saying that Gill is like a little boy smashing a toy so some other kid can’t play with it? That’s a leap for me, Merlin.”
“Some little boys grow up like that, is all I’m saying. So what about Dale Simpson?”
“Dale’s a bigger possibility, in my opinion,” Joe said. He leaned back, his left elbow on the armrest. “There’s a reason why cops usually zero in on the husband. Dale’s got less of an alibi for the time Adrienne went overboard than I have, and he’s got ten times as much motive.”
“Correction,” she said. “You don’t have any motive.”
“No. Security just thinks I’m covering up an accident. But you know what’s interesting? Dale doesn’t suspect me of a thing, even though I got drunk with his wife and was the last person seen with her. That’s a little strange, don’t you think? I can tell you right now, if our situations were reversed and you were missing, Dale would be answering some tough questions or bleeding all over the floor.
“Looks to me like he knows I wasn’t there when she went over the side. You know why he wanted to get together? Because I’m a private investigator. He can’t prove he was in his cabin when she went missing. He wanted me to help him figure out how to cover his ass.”
“They didn’t look like a happy couple to me,” Julie said. “Adrienne ignored him, never mentioned his baseball career; she didn’t even use his last name when she introduced him.”
“They used to be happy, according to Dale. It sounded like a whirlwind romance in the beginning, although he didn’t give up the throne to marry Adrienne. Apparently, the Rays were about to let him go. Adrienne’s parents in France weren’t too happy about the marriage; they made sure he signed a pre-nuptial agreement. My guess is Dale would have gotten zip in a divorce, and then what would he do? He dropped out of college to play ball, and he wasn’t that good at it. There’s an insurance policy, too. I don’t know the size of it, but he’s the beneficiary.
“Look, here’s a guy that was used as arm-candy, married to a woman who kept him on a leash to entertain her clients, a woman who probably cheated on him and never wanted to have kids. I’d say Dale’s got plenty of motives.”
“No wonder he’s scared,” Julie said. “If he did it, it couldn’t have been premeditated, Joe. Surely, he would have seen what an obvious suspect he’d be? Maybe it was an accident.”
“It doesn’t matter. No body, no witnesses. Who can prove anything?”
***
As per Captain Collier’s announcement the night before, all the ship’s entertainment went on as scheduled, so after dinner they were able to catch the second show in the two-story Caribe Theatre. It was a terrific show with lavish costumes and sets, a performance that brought the audience to their feet. For Julie and Joe, it put all their cares on hold, as they laughed and clapped and got back into vacation mode.
They left just before the finale in order to beat the crowd to one of the elevators. The doors slid open on Deck 10 not far from their stateroom and they walked along talking happily, still in awe of one young woman whose soaring voice had wowed everyone.
Joe opened the door to
“You think he was jealous?”
“Why not? You don’t have to love somebody to be jealous. You only have to be possessive and immature. The fact that Gill is just as charming as ever doesn’t negate the possibility that he might have given Adrienne a shove. Think about it: He’s a handsome, wealthy thrill-seeker who goes through women like Kleenex. Guys like that lack empathy, and they don’t take responsibility for their actions. And there’s something else, Joe. I asked Cathy if Security had questioned her and Gill about where they were after the Top Hat. She intimated that they were in their suite all that night, but they ‘had a small problem’ because Gill had ‘gone out for a walk’.”
“You’re saying that Gill is like a little boy smashing a toy so some other kid can’t play with it? That’s a leap for me, Merlin.”
“Some little boys grow up like that, is all I’m saying. So what about Dale Simpson?”
“Dale’s a bigger possibility, in my opinion,” Joe said. He leaned back, his left elbow on the armrest. “There’s a reason why cops usually zero in on the husband. Dale’s got less of an alibi for the time Adrienne went overboard than I have, and he’s got ten times as much motive.”
“Correction,” she said. “You don’t have any motive.”
“No. Security just thinks I’m covering up an accident. But you know what’s interesting? Dale doesn’t suspect me of a thing, even though I got drunk with his wife and was the last person seen with her. That’s a little strange, don’t you think? I can tell you right now, if our situations were reversed and you were missing, Dale would be answering some tough questions or bleeding all over the floor.
“Looks to me like he knows I wasn’t there when she went over the side. You know why he wanted to get together? Because I’m a private investigator. He can’t prove he was in his cabin when she went missing. He wanted me to help him figure out how to cover his ass.”
“They didn’t look like a happy couple to me,” Julie said. “Adrienne ignored him, never mentioned his baseball career; she didn’t even use his last name when she introduced him.”
“They used to be happy, according to Dale. It sounded like a whirlwind romance in the beginning, although he didn’t give up the throne to marry Adrienne. Apparently, the Rays were about to let him go. Adrienne’s parents in France weren’t too happy about the marriage; they made sure he signed a pre-nuptial agreement. My guess is Dale would have gotten zip in a divorce, and then what would he do? He dropped out of college to play ball, and he wasn’t that good at it. There’s an insurance policy, too. I don’t know the size of it, but he’s the beneficiary.
“Look, here’s a guy that was used as arm-candy, married to a woman who kept him on a leash to entertain her clients, a woman who probably cheated on him and never wanted to have kids. I’d say Dale’s got plenty of motives.”
“No wonder he’s scared,” Julie said. “If he did it, it couldn’t have been premeditated, Joe. Surely, he would have seen what an obvious suspect he’d be? Maybe it was an accident.”
“It doesn’t matter. No body, no witnesses. Who can prove anything?”
***
As per Captain Collier’s announcement the night before, all the ship’s entertainment went on as scheduled, so after dinner they were able to catch the second show in the two-story Caribe Theatre. It was a terrific show with lavish costumes and sets, a performance that brought the audience to their feet. For Julie and Joe, it put all their cares on hold, as they laughed and clapped and got back into vacation mode.
They left just before the finale in order to beat the crowd to one of the elevators. The doors slid open on Deck 10 not far from their stateroom and they walked along talking happily, still in awe of one young woman whose soaring voice had wowed everyone.
Joe opened the door to
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