Shed been aware of the dead as long as she could remember. Early on, her mom, not in so many words, but by careful suggestion, had let her know the sense ran in the family.
And it was best not to share that with others. She was pretty sure her mom didnt actually see or hear ghosts; with her, it really was a sense. She felt when they were close, felt the happiness that had existedand the trauma and tears.
As Alexi walked down the hall to her cabin, she passed Clara Avery, one of the entertainers in the ships main show, Les Misérables.
Clara was supremely talented; she was a soprano with a genuinely impressive voice.
Hey! Clara said. You were back-to-back cruises, too, huh? Did you take some time to get off the ship? Did you see your family?
Yes, they came and met me for lunch near the port, Alexi told her.
Good. Clara hesitated. Its been a long time, Alexi. I cant imagine having your wedding all plannedand him not coming home. But you cant let your family lose you, too.
I know. I know that, really. I see them as often as I can. Honestly. I love my folks. I didnt see my brother because hes on tour and Siennas in Europe. On vacation. Well deserved, I imagine. She grinned. My poor parents. Theyre so...mathematical and scientific! And they wound up with two entertainers and only one doctor, Sienna!
Im sure theyre proud of all of you, Clara said. She grinned. I think my dad cried when he found out I wanted to go into theater. But hes happy now!
And hes a super guy. They came to the piano bar almost every night they were on the cruiseeven when you couldnt. Your mom is lovely, too.
Your folks havent taken the cruise yet, Clara noted.
Alexi shrugged. No, her mother would never be on this ship. She didnt see the dead the same way Alexi did, but she knew they were there. She worried not just because Alexi was a piano-playing hostess on a cruise ship; she worried because Alexi was on the Destiny.
The things that happened on that ship! her mother had warned her. Terrible! And not just the poor soldiers who died. There were other incidents, too! The Destiny, like most old ships with interesting histories, had the reputation of being haunted.
Thered been incidents aboard, yes. Such as the night in 1939 when Blake and Minnie had died, murdered in cold blood.
But Alexi wished she could explain that none of the ghosts on the ship were malevolent in any way. Shed come across a couple of soldiers whod died in the infirmary: Privates Jimmy Estes and Frank Marlowe, handsome young men whod been taken far too soon; Barbara Leon, a nurse whod died of a fever shed caught while tending to others; and Captain McPherson, whod dropped dead of a heart attack at his retirement party, which had been held on the ship in 1967.
He still loved to tell her what the current captain was doing wrong.
All the Destinys ghosts were pleasant. The soldiers still believed they were convalescing, the captain was still watching over the bridge, and the nurse was still standing duty at the infirmary. They were polite and cheerful, thrilled that Alexiand more often than not, her friendscould see them.
Her family really didnt need to worry about her. She accepted the fact that Zach was gone. Time didnt heal all wounds, but it allowed memories to offer consolation, to bring smiles instead of tears. She had simply become rather dependent on living on the ship. And she did love the Destiny, including all her history and her ghosts. Alexi didnt lie awake at night anymore, the way she had at first.
Shed lain awake and wondered why, when the dead from so many different eras and generations found her, shed never seen Zachary Wainwright, never had a chance to hold him and be held one last time. Never had a chance to say goodbye...
Alexi smiled. My mom wont be getting on this ship and without my momno dad. Moms convinced the ship is haunted, which of course it is, and she wants nothing to do with that. Shes... I dont know...very Catholic, slightly Wiccan, possibly? She believes that spirits can find her. Dont get me wrong, I adore my mother. But my dad always smiles and tells me that when they were married and moved into our home in the Irish Channel, she called in a priest to bless the house and cleanse it of ghosts.
She sounds like fun. And, hey, I agree with you that this ship is haunted! I try to say nice things to whatever gives me the chills as I walk by, Clara said, shrugging. In any event, they leave me alone.
Ill see you in a little while, Alexi told her. Im going to grab some downtime with a pillow.
And Im going to pop into the lounge, Clara said. Come with me and say hi. We have some new people in the entertainment crew.
Alexi didnt particularly want to say hi to anyone at the moment; she wanted to lie down. Shed had lunch with her parents on shore, and much as she loved them, an hour or two in their company could be exhausting.
Just for a sec! Clara encouraged.
Alexi followed her into the crew lounge.
They didnt separate crew down here. It was a hallmark for most people who accepted employment with the Celtic American line. Entertainers and officers mingled with room stewards, even though the lounge space was small. But there was a television, a computer, lots of comfortable chairs, plenty of snacks, a refrigerator, coffeepot and a microwave.
And right now the lounge was crowded, mostly with entertainers, those who didnt play or perform as the passengers boarded. Hey, new guys! This is Alexi Cromwell, for those who havent met her yet. She runs the piano bar and she loves it when we stop by.
Hi, Alexi! Ralph Martini was the first to hail her. She knew Ralph. Hed been on her first contract schedule.
Ralph continued with, Im not new. Im just saying hi first! Ralph was a friendly, easygoing guy. She thought he was about fifty. He had a great tenor and often did a one-man show. Balding, a little stoutand totally charming. Women on board loved him.
Alexi. Im Simon Green, a man said, rising and offering her his hand. He was tall and lean, with a pleasant boy-next-door face. In the cast, my first go at it. Just a chorus guy.
No such thing as just a chorus guy, Alexi said. Im sure youre very talented. Good to meet you, and please, come by anytime.
Simon Green shrugged, giving her a smile. Im a happy guy. Ive been on a few cruises with Celtic American as a passenger. So Im thrilled to be on the Destiny and seeing how it all works from the other side!
She went on to meet Larry Hepburn, early twenties, blond, beach-boy type, out of LA, and Leanne Wilburn, from Des Moines. As they were all greeting one another, Bradley Wilcox, head of entertainment, whod recently transferred over from the Dublin, stuck his head in.
Alexi had met Bradley Wilcox before. He, too, had been on her first run with the ship.
She stayed away from him as much as she could. He organized excellent shows, hired great bands for the various dining spots and barsand was a complete jerk. He didnt seem capable of compliments.
Guitar Hero Boys, youre due on the promenade in fifteen minutes. You should be getting in place.
The foursome who made up the group rose and marched out. Alexi heard one mutter as he passed her. Are you set up? Yes. Ready to go? Yes. Are you an asshole, Brad? Yes!
She tried not to smile. And when the band had gone by, she left, too, wishing them all wellthose who were new and those whod returned to the Destiny or had switched from other ships.
In her cabin, Alexi sank down on the bed and closed her eyes, wishing she could sleep. She found herself thinking about Blake and Minnie.
Their deaths had been tragic. Minnie, a star of stage and screen, had fallen in love with Blake when hed played Romeo to her Juliet in a touring company in the thirties. The fact that she was taking the Destiny for a transatlantic voyage had been huge news at the time; reporters and fans alike had booked onto the voyage.
The fans had included a deranged former lover, convinced that if he removed Blake from the picture, he would have his Minnie back.
Minnie had been singing an impromptu number in the piano bar. Also known as the Algiers Saloon, it was located exactly where it was now. Her previous lover, Allan Snow, had leaped to his feet after one of her numbers and declared his devotion. Minnie had claimed her eternal devotion, as wellto Blake.
So Allan Snow had pulled out a gun and shot Blake, whod jumped in front of Minnie to be her protector. Then hed shot Minnie and himself.
The ghost of Allan Snow didnt seem to be aboard. Minnie told Alexi that shed never seen him and shed figured that God had been good, allowing her and Blake a different way to be together. Shed smiled and said their love was eternal.
Alexi figured it was natural that theyd haunt the piano bar.
She turned and hugged her pillow. Since Zach had been in the service and deployed overseas, theyd talked about the possibility of his death. Shed promised that if it happened, shed always remember himand shed go on with her life, be happy.
She wasnt suicidal, never had been. She was willing to find a new purpose, a new role, a new way of being. Just as shed promised. Happy was more difficult.
What worried her now was the fact that he was slipping away. She thought about him often, with love. Sometimes she was happy now. She laughed at the antics of passengers and enjoyed meeting them. Shed even roamed various ports with friends she made aboard. She knew she shouldnt feel guilty, and yet she did.
She reached into the gloomy air of her cabin, as if she could touch him.
I just wish I couldve said goodbye, she murmured aloud.
Then she was startled out of her reflections when it seemed that something slammed against her door.
She jumped up and hurried to open it.
A man stood there, tall, dark-haired and...bizarre.
He was wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans and strange prosthetic makeup. The man whod raced through the piano bar!
He looked at her with beseeching eyes.
I must speak with you. I must! he said.
She frowned. Was he new in the entertainment department?
There was a commotion at the aft end of the hallway, and Alexi peered in that direction.
More men were coming along the hallway, men shed never seen down in the entertainment area before, but they were accompanied by Nolan Perkins, one of the stewards.
Sir, she began, turning back to the man who had knocked at her door.
He was gone. She thought she saw him disappear around a corner that led to midship. She looked in the other direction.
Hey, Alexi, Nolan said.
Whats going on? she asked.
Im just showing these gentlemen the ship, Nolan said. He lowered his voice. Theyre bigwigs with Celtic American, he told her, then cleared his throat. Alexi Cromwell, meet Jackson Crow and Jude McCoy.
How do you do? the first man said, smiling as he reached for her hand. He was tall, good-looking and obviously had Native American ancestry. His dark hair and light eyes made for a striking contrast.
Ms. Cromwell, said the other. He was equally tall, broad-shouldered, sandy-haired. His eyes were unusualblue and green with flecks of brown. His features were clean-cut, his jaw hard and square. Very attractive, in a rugged, austere manner.
He looked at her oddly.
As if he knew her? Or thought he did?
Or worsethought she was guilty of something!
Both men wore tailored shirts and pants, not the usual tourist apparel. But then, they werent tourists. They were bigwigs with Celtic American.
Nice to meet you, Alexi said.
Have you seen a man? Nolan asked her.
That made her laugh. A man? Nolan, Ive seen hundreds of men. Its a cruise ship.
She understood exactly what he meant. And yet, for some reason, she was loath to tell him that yes, a mana strange-looking manhad just gone by. She wondered why company VIPs were so interested in him.
Hes tall, bizarre makeup of some kind, sweat shirt and jeans, Jude McCoy said.
She lifted her shoulders. I believe I did see him earlier, she admitted, running through the piano bar when the passengers were boarding.
She had seen that same man again, just minutes ago. And she wasnt telling these men. Why? Instinct? Pity?
But thered been something even more peculiar about him than the prosthetic makeup or whatever it was he had on his face. A sense of anguish, perhaps.
She hesitated. She shouldnt lie to these people. But the young man had seemed so desperate. In her heart, she felt that hed come to her for help.
Still...
Actually, she said, I think he was in this hallway. He ran in that direction. But where he is right now, I couldnt say.
That was mostly the truth. She didnt know where he was. Hed run.
Well, thank you, Ms. Cromwell. If you should see him again, can you report him to us, please? Were in staterooms 312 and 314, Jackson Crow said. Its imperative that we find him, he added quietly. But Im not at liberty to discuss the details.
Of course, she murmured.
As they walked down the hall, she was more suspicious than ever.
Why were company bigwigs staying down in the bowels of the ship with the crew? The larger roomsstaterooms with balconies, the suiteswere on the upper decks.
She was about to return to her cabin when Clara came running down the hallway, leaning against the wall, gasping for breath. Alexi! Did you have the news on?
The news? No, why?
Thank God were leaving! That guy, that horrible killer! She gasped for more breath. The Archangelhe murdered a woman in New Orleans!
2
It wasnt until the Destiny was far out into the Gulf of Mexico that Jackson Crow and Jude had a chance to meet with Captain Xavier Thorne and his head of security, David Beach. Their first business on board after walking every deck, including the holds and areas passengers never saw, was to go through the ships passenger and crew screening. There was a page for every passenger and crew member on board, including a photograph and information regarding citizenship and means of identification. A ship-issued ID was required anytime anyone, passenger or employee, boarded or left the Destiny.
In other words, no one, including crew, could get on or off the ship without that ID.
Jude and Jackson hadnt seen their man in the thousands of passenger screening documentsbut then, even if theyd seen him, they might not have known him.
This suspect could have ditched his makeup anytime after hed boarded. Or certainly, after hed been seen by Alexi Cromwell.