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“Please.” Bess averts her eyes. “He’s on a cruise ship. Life can’t be all that bad.”
“Maybe it is.” I shrug. “Maybe he funded this entire trip on credit cards just so he could exact a little revenge?”
“Could very well be.” Ransom tips his head my way. “And it’s up to me to figure that out. Don’t worry, Trixie. I’ve got everything under control.”
“Hear that?” Wes seems amused as he poses the question to me. “Detective Baxter has everything under control.”
I nod to Ransom.
We’ll see about that.
A bright yellow Frisbee sails by and Sparky lets out a yelp.
Before we know it, Nettie is on her feet, taking off down the beach after it.
Bess squints in her direction. “If I’m not mistaken, I think that wooden critter attached to her arm is leading the way,” she says as we watch Nettie in her green and pink muumuu flying across the sand like a kite.
“She does seem to be defying gravity,” I point out.
“And logic.” Wes shakes his head.
“Nettie?” Ransom jumps to his feet. “Nettie, look out,” he shouts as she gets precariously close to those sand sculptures gracing the landscape.
Then to our horror, one by one, Nettie Butterworth runs right through the giant Aloha sign, the whale, the dragon, and lastly that beautiful castle comes tumbling down in her wake as well.
“Maybe we should ditch her?” Bess groans.
“We can’t ditch her,” I say.
“We would if we were smart,” she counters.
Nettie bullets back in this direction with an irate crowd in her wake, trailing her by a mere few feet.
“Run,” she calls out, and it takes less than ten seconds for us all to make a dash for the van and escape the mob with moments to spare.
We sigh a breath of relief as Ransom hits the highway again.
There’s one person who shouldn’t be breathing a sigh of relief, and that’s the killer.
Ransom might have everything under control, but that won’t stop me from questioning my suspects just one last time. And I’ll have a chance to do just that at the Cancel Culture Club’s dance party coming right up.
Someone on that ship thought it was a good idea to end Julia Edwards’ life.
And I think it’s a good idea to figure out exactly who they are before we dock back in L.A. and they don’t just get away from the ship—they get away with murder.
CHAPTER 22
Suffice it to say, Bess, Nettie, and Sparky the Spark Plug decided to sit out the second day on Kauai.
Since Ransom had to work, I enticed Elodie in joining me as we headed to the Spouting Horn blowhole down in Poipu. We watched Mother Nature shoot water fifty feet into the air via a volcanic tunnel, then did a little shopping before settling on one of the brown sugar beaches.
I sketched the tropical landscape for hours while Elodie regaled me with tales from the testosterone side. Elodie can give any steamy beach read a run for its erotic money. And boy, were her tales steamy.
But alas, our time on Kauai has wrapped up and the ship has set sail once again. We’re out in open waters, pulling away from the Tropics one knot at a time as we make our way back to L.A. On the bright side, I’ve got three art classes to teach. One with a focus on charcoal, one concentrated on watercolor, and my favorite—acrylics. No sooner do I turn the corner, en route to the crafts room, than I see a giant orange note posted on the door.
All art classes canceled this afternoon. Please proceed to the Smooth Sailing Lounge for a rousing game of Bingo, where we will have prizes, dessert, and fun! Don’t miss out!—Tinsley Thornton
“What?” I hiss as I try to make heads or tails of it.
