Page 67 of The Cruise

‘But he recently lost his wife,’ Kath added, ‘and grief affects everyone differently.’ She thought of her own ups and downs over the last few months.

‘Quite so,’ Bridgette agreed and remembered her beloved Hugo.

‘I don’t think Selwyn’s grieving,’ Anne said, ‘he seems to be having the time of his life.’

Kath twirled the champagne in her glass. ‘Jane told me that he had been a tube train driver and his wife a cleaner for the council.’

‘Crikey.’ Anne looked at Kath. ‘He must have saved up to come on this cruise. It costs a fortune.’ Anne knew she wouldn’t be on the cruise without Kath and Jane’s financial support.

‘I don’t think you can be judgemental about people’s financial situations.’ Bridgette reached out and stroked the Captain’s arm fondly. ‘None of us really know much about each other.’

The Captain, hand quivering, caught Bridgette’s arm and returned the tender gesture. ‘Another bottle, old gal?’ he said.

With their glasses replenished and sitting comfortably, they stared out as the last rays of the day glowed in the darkening sky and the sun began to dip.

‘Aren’t we lucky,’ Kath said, ‘to be here, with new friends in such wonderful surroundings.’

‘It’s moments like this that I’ll always remember,’ Anne added. ‘Like souvenirs.’

‘Keep those moments in your memory bank,’ Bridgette spoke softly, ‘and remember, the best souvenirs are your memories.’

* * *

Dicky sat backstage in the entertainers’ dressing room and stared at his face in the mirror. There were new lines on his forehead, and he could see dark circles under his eyes. Entertaining the ladies was exhausting, he thought, and a man his age should have early nights every now and again. His reflection told him that he was burning the candle at both ends. The wealthy widow was inexhaustible, and Dicky wondered if she was on vitamin injections. The woman had no right to have so much stamina. After a full day of sightseeing and pandering to her every wish, an energetic session had followed. It was all Dicky could do not to fall into bed and sleep for a week.

Still, there wasn’t long to go, the cruise would be over soon, and Dicky, with another expensive watch on his wrist and a generous gift of more dollars to ‘treat himself’, was a happy bunny.

As his fingers reached out for Melissa’s blemish concealer, he remembered what he’d heard in the library the previous night. If his assumptions were correct, Kath’s drunken ramblings had been a confession. Her husband’s ‘accident’ was, in fact, cold-blooded murder. Dicky smiled and dabbed his face. There was no evidence other than what he’d heard. If Kath had kept it to herself all this time and benefited from the death, Dicky knew she would never admit what she’d done. But there was no reason not to put the fear of God into her, and it would be easy to extract a good amount of money from her. She’d have no idea how he knew about her guilt, and the anxiety would send her straight to her online account to transfer a large sum.

Dicky rubbed his hands together. His plan to escape from his marriage was going well, and the nest egg in his safe was building. Soon he’d be free. Dicky fancied a spell in the Costas to indulge in warm weather and stints in cabaret clubs.

Goodbye, Doncaster. Hello, Benidorm!

If only he could get back in Anne’s good books, he thought as he took Melissa’s bronzer and applied it to his cheeks. Anne was unique, and he’d made a mistake standing her up.

‘Get your thieving hands off my stuff!’ Melissa stomped into the room and grabbed the bronzer from Dicky’s raised hand. ‘I don’t have anything that will make you look any better.’ She flung herself onto a chair. ‘I could put a week’s shopping in the bags under your eyes.’

‘Ah, Melissa,’ Dicky cooed, ‘you are a miracle waiting to happen in someone else’s life.’

‘Bog off, Dicky. It will take a miracle to make you look human and ready to go on stage.’ She shook her shoulders and began to scrape her hair into a tight knot. ‘I hear the wealthiest widow on the ship has you in her claws?’

‘Far from it, she likes my sparkling company and I energise her.’

‘The only thing that is energising her is a daily dose of my special vitamins, and they come at a price.’

Dicky’s mouth dropped open, and he leaned back in his chair. ‘You’re supplying her?’ He shook his head. ‘What else have you got in your secret drawer?’

‘You’re not the only one cashing in on the passengers, so don’t look so shocked.’ Melissa began to apply her stage makeup. ‘And don’t bugger up my routine tonight.’ She glued on false eyelashes and glowered at Dicky. ‘I want two curtain calls and the audience on their feet before you come on.’

Dicky’s comedy act would follow Melissa’s solo performance in the Neptune Lounge. He’d often enjoyed arriving on stage just as Melissa was soaking up the applause. Interrupting with a few clever words or a joke at her expense deflected the audience’s attention to him.

‘All right,’ Dicky replied, ‘don’t get your knickers in a twist.’

‘I bet Jane McDonald never had to put up with your sort of nonsense.’

‘Jane and I were the best of friends.’ Dicky sighed and recalled cruises in days gone by at the start of his career.

‘Yeah, yeah, and I sang with Freddie Mercury...’

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