Page 51 of The Cruise Club

Twelve months later

Carmen Cunningham no longer fought the urge to murder her mother.

These days, as she sat at her desk, she even looked forward to her long-distance calls with Betty, who’d mastered a ‘newfangled laptop’ and delighted in skyping her daughter several times a week.

Betty’s poor old bones were rejuvenated in the therapeutic heat of the Florida home that she now shared with Holden, and Carmen hardly ever heard her mother complain.

Nestled on a private estate in a tranquil coastal neighbourhood in the town of Venice, Betty adored the house, which boasted panoramic windows framing the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Carmen had visited the couple when they married in a discreet ceremony at Holden’s church. Her beaming stepfather was proud of his new wife, and enchanted by his English rose.

During her stay, Carmen had become fond of Holden as he escorted her around Venice to explore.

Holden had a keen interest in the former Cunningham’s Hardware store, and Carmen found that they could converse easily.

His successful chain of stores, Jackson’s Power Tools, which he sold when he retired, shared many similarities.

A prolific reader, Holden had shelves lined with books.

He favoured popular crime writers, including Ruskin Reeve, and was delighted by Carmen’s cosy crimes.

They’d sat in quaint coffee shops, while Betty went to the beautician for her hair and nails, and they soon go to know each other.

When Carmen wandered along the white sandy stretches of beach that fronted Holden’s house, she marvelled at the abundance of fossilised sharks’ teeth to be found along the shoreline, glistening in the sun.

‘Who’d have thought I’d ever leave cold, damp Butterly?’ Mrs Holden Jackson the third said, as they sat beside the pool. ‘You should come over for the annual shark tooth festival, in April, Holden tells me it’s a hoot.’

Carmen was amazed at the change in Betty, who once again wore her delicate pink pearls, a brightly patterned bathing suit and enormous designer sunglasses, and had recently learned to swim.

‘Holden and I shall carry on cruising, of course,’ Betty continued, ‘especially while my visa sorts itself out,’ she said and sipped a key lime Martini that Holden had expertly prepared.

He moved attentively between them, refilling glasses, and Carmen couldn’t help but smile when she noticed the pineapple emblem on Holden’s cap.

Noting her daughter’s expression, Betty leaned closer. ‘I don’t bother with all that sort of stuff,’ she confided, ‘but I can’t deny Holden his occasional bit of fun .’

From her desk by the open window of her balcony, Carmen gazed thoughtfully at the branches of a fir tree, swaying in the breeze, as she remembered her time in Venice.

She hoped her mother would find lasting happiness with Holden in their golden years, sharing morning coffee on their sunlit terrace or watching sunsets over the Gulf.

After all, everyone deserved a chance at happiness. Even Betty.

When Carmen and Betty had returned from their Diamond Star cruise, the house in Butterly sold quickly. Holden had proposed to Betty on the last night of the cruise and Betty, without hesitation, accepted.

‘You’ll have a tidy sum from the proceeds of the sale, and I’ll be glad to see the back of it,’ Betty generously said. ‘I don’t need much, Holden has more than enough to support me. You can begin a new life.’

Though Desbett House was outdated, the land appealed to a local developer eager to build six modern homes on the site.

With Betty now settled in Florida, Carmen took on the task of packing up the house before the sale was finalised.

Betty had no interest in bringing memories to America, and Carmen found it surprisingly easy to part with their possessions.

‘It’s all just stuff,’ she reminded herself, sorting through the 1970s kitchen as she placed a macramé plant hanger and a set of Pyrex dishes into the growing charity shop pile.

On a cold, rainy day, Carmen boarded a plane with nothing more than her suitcases of new clothes and her laptop. She felt a wave of liberation as she left Butterly behind to begin the next chapter of her life.

When her flight touched down in Kefalonia, Carmen rented a car and drove to the village of Maxos.

She headed straight to the Villa Galini, the adorable property overlooking the beach and the place she’d dreamed of since her visit to the island on the Diamond Star cruise.

To Carmen’s absolute joy, it was still for sale and the owners were agreeable to Carmen’s offer on the charming three-storey Villa Galini.

They agreed to rent it to Carmen while the sale was finalised.

To Carmen’s further delight, she discovered that Theo was in Maxos, and the moment he heard she was there too, he rushed to see her.

‘Where are you staying?’ Carmen asked when they reunited.

‘I have a cramped space above the bar at Jimmy’s, it’s not ideal but it’s impossible to find anywhere during the summer months, in this tiny village, that isn’t already booked.’

‘Why don’t you take the top floor of Villa Galini,’ Carmen offered. ‘There’s plenty of room and it will give you peace and space to finish your memoirs.’

Theo agreed that Villa Galini was roomier and far quieter than the bar and moved in the next day. Carmen was thrilled to have her friend nearby and enjoyed his company during their breaks from writing.

Maxos turned out to be everything that Carmen had dreamed of.

As the weeks passed, she grew to love the quaint village even more.

After her daily swim at the horseshoe-shaped beach, Carmen would head into the village square, where she was greeted by the woman who owned the gift shop, and spent hours sweeping needle-shaped leaves from the cobbles outside her business.

At the bakery, Carmen chose her favourite koulouri, a sesame-covered bread, before selecting provisions from the tiny mini market, where the open-air counter displayed sun-kissed produce and towering crates spilt over with deep red tomatoes, bright yellow lemons, bundles of fragrant herbs, figs and earthy potatoes.

She cherished the simple pleasures, flinging wide the bright blue shutters of the house, watering the terracotta pots on her balconies, brimming with vibrant oleander, and waving to the sleepy honey seller who napped daily on the bench below her window.

When awake, he stared down the passing tourists until they handed over fifteen euros for a jar of his golden treasure.

‘That’s inflation for you,’ Theo quipped, one sunny afternoon, as he and Carmen sat on the patio of her home, sipping wine and watching the old man. Theo caressed the gold cuff on his wrist and leaned back in his chair. ‘You can’t stop the world from turning.’

Suddenly, a voice called out, startling them both.

‘Kalimári!’ the voice called out again, louder this time.

‘It can’t be…’ Carmen whispered, gripping the wrought iron railing as she peered down the lane.

‘Kalimári! Oi! Anyone there? Squid! Squid!’

‘Kaliméra Fran!’ Carmen and Theo shouted together, rushing to meet their unexpected visitors.

Carmen laughed with delight as she embraced Fran and Sid. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’ she exclaimed, pulling back to stare at them both.

‘We’re off on another cruise and flew into Kefalonia last night,’ Fran said with a chuckle. ‘As members of The Cruise Club, we thought we’d take advantage of the wonderful offers.’ She unbuttoned the waistband of her shorts and collapsed onto a chair. ‘Blimey, it’s a scorcher today!’ she added.

‘Aye, we thought we’d surprise you,’ Sid added, grinning as he shook Theo’s hand. ‘Got a taxi here with Debbie.’

‘Debbie?’ Carmen asked, eyebrows raised. ‘But where’s Don?’

‘Oh, you really must keep up, dear,’ Fran said, fanning herself dramatically. ‘She kicked Don into touch ages ago and moved out of their marital home. We left her at the Psaro Taverna, down by the harbour, where she’s pestering Spiros for a job.’

Carmen laughed, remembering Debbie’s manner. Spiros would do well to refuse.

As Theo brought out wine and a platter of olives, the group settled in and began catching up.

‘Have you given any more thought to retirement?’ Carmen asked.

‘We have,’ Fran mused, ‘but we still enjoy what we do and like to keep a hand in. We’ve a good team now to run things at the restaurant, and given the scare we had with Sid’s health, it’s prompted us into taking plenty of holidays.’

‘I’m not surprised that the restaurant is busy,’ Theo said, ‘the food you serve is incredible, and I loved my visit to Blackpool.’

‘And we loved having you all to stay with us,’ Fran said, smiling at the memory.

‘Having a famous chef at our table didn’t half do our street cred some good.

’ She thought fondly of the centre page spread in the Blackpool Gazette that had featured Theo in Sid and Fran’s kitchen, standing proudly with his arms around them both as they prepared for the evening service.

‘And you came back to Kefalonia,’ Sid said, addressing Theo.

‘He can’t stay away,’ Carmen teased, winking at Theo.

Before Theo could reply, a voice broke into song from the lane:

‘Toreador! Love, love awaits you!’

Fran sat up and suddenly remembered the singing bar owner from their visit to Maxos during the cruise. Was this the same man, she wondered, as she saw Theo swiftly turn.

Theo’s eyes fell on Jimmy’s handsome face, and his smile widened. Leaning over the railing, Theo embraced Jimmy and kissed him on the lips.

‘Ah, the puzzle is solved,’ Fran said with a knowing nod as she watched the two men gaze lovingly at each other.

‘Now, you’re the one who needs to keep up,’ Carmen laughed.

As Theo made room for Jimmy at the table and expertly uncorked the wine, he turned to Fran. ‘By the way, whatever happened to Dicky Delaney?’

Fran held up her glass to be filled. ‘Peter is on our cruise again and told us that Dicky’s moved to Malaga.

He’s settled down with his lady friend in her humongous villa, and she happens to be his new manager.

Apparently, he’s doing well, gigging in shows all over southern Spain and having a high old time. ’

‘To Dicky!’ they all cheered, clinking glasses.

Fran reached into her oversized bag and pulled out a recent copy of the Daily Mail . ‘I brought this for you,’ she said, smoothing the paper on the table and pointing to a page.

Carmen and Theo leaned in to read the bold headline.

Ring of Trouble! Jewellery Thief Couple Caught Red-Handed After Stepping Off Ship!

Theo began to read out loud: ‘A couple arrested after disembarking from a cruise ship have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms following a recent court appearance.’ He paused to nod at Carmen before continuing.

‘Colin and Neeta Scott believed they’d got away with their thefts when the Diamond Star berthed in Málaga at the end of a twelve-day cruise.

However, a guest speaker on board, an acclaimed author of detective novels, tipped off the ship security.

‘“ I saw Neeta Scott wearing earrings, on the last night of the cruise, that she reported to have been stolen,” the author told the purser. “I was certain that the couple had directed suspicion away from themselves by claiming to have lost jewellery too, and the ship’s security team was informed.”

‘Local authorities followed the pair when they disembarked, and they were arrested while attempting to pawn the stolen jewellery in the town.’

Theo and Carmen studied the image of Colin and Neeta following their arrest.

‘It took a while for it to come to court,’ Sid interjected.

‘And they don’t exactly explain how the sleuth figured it out,’ Fran added, her eyes narrowing as she turned to Carmen.

Carmen smiled. ‘It had me baffled at first, but it all came down to Neeta foolishly wearing the earrings she’d reported stolen, then, when spotted, trying to cover them by ruffling her hair over her ears.’

‘Silly girl,’ Fran tutted.

Sid shook his head. ‘Thieves think they’re clever, but it’s the small mistakes that catch them out. She might have got away with it if she hadn’t been so careless. Neeta practically convicted herself.’

Carmen took the paper from Theo and began to fold it. ‘But of course,’ she said, ‘it had a lot to do with passengers attending the Upside-down Pineapple Pensioner Club.’

Jimmy looked puzzled. ‘Pineapples and pensioners? What is this?’

Carmen grabbed a towel and moved to the villa steps. ‘Perhaps you should ask the sleuth himself,’ she said and gestured towards the beach. ‘I’m sure he’ll be happy to explain.’

A man emerged from the sea, shaking droplets of water from his hair as he walked along the beach then climbed the steps beneath the fir tree.

‘Ruskin!’ Carmen called out. ‘We’ve got visitors!’