Page 18

CHAPTER 18

“ A mber Walker?” Beatrice’s voice echoes in my ear. “What’s she got to do with this?” she asks as she looks my way as we stand with Hetty King in Ben’s Cave as aqua waters shimmer below us.

I cast a quick glance over my shoulder at the redhead and wonder the very same thing.

“Amber’s always been a bit of a wild card,” Hetty continues. “You never know what version of her you’re going to get. When she’s nice, she’s as sweet as honey, but when she’s got a chip on her shoulder, she’s a volcano waiting to erupt.”

My eyes widen a notch. I distinctly remember her from that first night as well! She, too, looked as if she wanted to strangle Lucy. And maybe she did—or at the least stabbed her in the back.

“She’s been acting strange lately, too.” Hetty ticks her head to the side as she says it. “I’m talking about before we set foot on the ship. In fact, I’d say she was more aloof than usual. She was always on good terms with Lucy, but about a week before the trip, things soured and quickly. I saw them arguing at the welcome party. I was going to ask Lucy what that was all about the next day, but well, for Lucy there was no next day.”

I raise a brow. “Do you think Amber could be involved?”

Hetty sighs as she cranes her neck past me. “I'm just saying, she’s been acting odd. She had a bit of a falling-out with Lucy a while back. Something about a guy, I think. Maybe that was revitalized. Lucy was a one-hit wonder when it came to angering the legions, as you can see.”

“What did Lucy do for a living again?”

“She was a grifter,” Bea says while rolling her eyes.

Hetty leans in. “She would have told you she was a retired teacher, but the truth is, she was an aide. She never got paid much and they let her go with all the budget cuts affecting our state.”

“How did she manage financially? I bet she was looking for work,” I say.

“Lucy?” Hetty squawks out a laugh. “Apparently, she had a little saved and was whittling that down to nothing. She was broke. But I’m sure when we got back to Connecticut she would have found something to do. The woman was one rent check away from living on the streets. She never could manage her money.” She pats her chest. “Not all of us are trained certified accountants.” She bellows out a laugh.

“Oh, that’s great,” I say as a puzzled look crosses my face. “Do you do that in addition to your event planning business?”

The whites of her eyes flash. “Oh, gosh no. I wasn’t being literal. I meant that accountants are my spirit animal. I’ve been in the event planning biz all my life.” She waves an arm around at the cave. “Who do you think hauled all of these women here? Need a good time? I’m your girl. I’m a natural at it, too. In fact, I made sure we kept the peace from the get-go. I made Jennifer give every one of these women a big giant hug during her welcome party. I mean, let’s face it, they shelled out some serious cash to be here. I wanted Jen to show them all how grateful she was.”

“I’m sure they all appreciated it,” I say.

“Except for Lucy.” Beatrice makes a face. “That woman didn’t appreciate anything.”

“Well, thank you for sharing all of that.” I offer a mournful smile to Hetty. “How about you? Did you happen to have any rough patches with Lucy?”

“It’s an easy thing to do,” Bea grumbles.

“Me?” Hetty laughs with a brittle sound that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I get along with everyone. I’m an open book, Trixie. What you see is what you get.”

“Well, you sure are a great friend,” I tell her. “Jennifer is lucky to have you and the rest of these women, too. In fact, you’re all lucky to have each other.” I’m about to end it when a thought comes to me. “Say, do you remember a woman by the name of Beatrice Fiddlefae?”

Bea sucks in a breath—one I’m sure she didn’t need.

“Hey”—she elbows me—“don’t tell me you’re out to get the dirt on me, too.”

Before I can answer, Hetty leans back as if to inspect me better.

“You mean Beatrice Fiddle-faddle?” She rolls her eyes. “That’s another troublemaker who was a part of this group.”

“Troublemaker?” Beatrice riots. “Who is she calling a troublemaker? Lucy was the troublemaker.”

Hetty shakes her head as if she heard. “Lucy did her dirty, too, but Beatrice was a little gossip. Our group has been so much more even-keeled without her. Anyway, the poor thing passed away about a year ago. I’m not sure why I can’t find two nice things to say about her.” She bites her lip and gets a distant look in her eyes. “A part of me wonders if she set into motion what happened to poor Lucy.”

“ What? ” both Beatrice and I squawk in unison.

“How in the world?” Bea scoffs at the woman.

“How in the world?” I echo.

Hetty just shakes her head. “I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to sully poor Lucy’s reputation more than she already sullied it herself, but she was after Amber’s husband. And there have been whispers that Amber is on the brink of a divorce all of a sudden.”

My fingers rise to my lips. “I’m so sorry to hear it.”

“Loose Lucy strikes again,” Bea sings.

Hetty nods as if she agrees. “Anyway, if you want to hear more about that, you’ll have to speak to Amber about it. I’m not taking part in the rumor mill.”

“What’s the connection between Beatrice and Amber, though? I mean, as far as Bea setting Lucy’s downfall into motion?”

“Beatrice worked at some department store downtown, and apparently Amber’s husband was a manager there as well. Rumor has it, Bea introduced them—in hopes of getting Lucy to take her claws out of that rotten rat Beatrice was dating. Why she wanted him back is a wonder.”

“It’s a wonder to me, too,” Bea says. “But I did not and would not ever introduce Amber’s husband to Lucy in hopes she’d eat him for breakfast. Johnathan is a married man.” She lifts a finger and looks momentarily bewildered. “Wait a minute, I did introduce those two.” She gasps and covers her hot pink lips. “Oh my goodness. They really hit it off and I had to leave because my lunch was over—and they left together. Oh no, I am a homewrecker.” She lets out a horrific growl. “I can’t live with myself. I can’t live .” She shrugs as she lifts a hand and disappears in a puff of hot pink smoke and stars.

Hetty waves at someone behind me as the crowd in the cave begins to thin out.

“I’d better go,” she says. “It looks as if we’re through here. I’ll see you back on the ship, Trixie.” She takes a step away before freezing. “Oh, and I almost forgot, I spoke with Elodie Abernathy this morning and we’re coordinating our party-throwing efforts. Just know that both you and Jennifer are going to have the biggest and the best bachelorette bash in history. Brace yourself, Trixie Troublefield. This party is going to rock the boat like an earthquake.” She lets out a hoot before dancing off.

The boat was already rocked the day Lucy Taylor was stabbed in the back.

And something tells me, I just inched my way to the epicenter of this disaster.

I watch as Amber Walker leaves the area with the rest of her group.

She’s next on my suspect list, and I have a feeling I’m about to have a seismic shift in clues because of it.