Krewe Of Hunters: Haunted Destiny Part 18

There were still quite a few people around-pretty girls in bikinis who weren't going to have their Caribbean vacations ruined, families with children and groups of young adults, all of whom had to be entertained, and couples who were ready to relax.

Jude saw that Jensen Hardy was at the shallow end, near the dressing tables. He was busy explaining the rules of a chicken fight in the pool. The lighter person sat on the heavier person's shoulders. There was to be no hair-pulling or punching, but the "supporting" person was supposed to unbalance the other one. Despite the rock and roll of the s.h.i.+p, he had a number of people clamoring around him, eager to enter the contest. The winner earned a hundred dollars in s.h.i.+p credits that could be used in all the shops, cafes, as well as the casino.

In the middle of speaking, Jensen set eyes on Alexi. He beamed.

"Hey! Welcome to our piano bar hostess!" he called out. "For those of you who haven't been to the Algiers Saloon on the St. Charles Deck yet, this is Alexi! She runs a great show. And if she doesn't know your song, she'll find it. Hi, Alexi!"

"Hi, Jensen!" she called back, waving.

"Want to show them all how to play chicken, Alexi?" Jensen asked.

"No!" Alexi's stricken expression brought a roar of laughter from the crowd.

"Alexi!" he said, gesturing at the group of mostly young people who'd gathered around him. "Help me, Alexi!" Her name became a chant, and Jensen left his position to come over to her.

Then he noticed Jude. He'd obviously homed in on Alexi right away-and hadn't seen Jude.

Something flashed in his eyes. Dislike? Dismay?

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you were together," Jensen said.

By then, the chant had grown louder. "Alexi! Alexi!"

She gave in. "Jude, do you mind?"

"Of course not," he said, glancing at Jensen.

The man's smile was back in place.

Alexi left her bag, sandals and cover-up on a lounge chair. "Okay, let's do this!"

"We got her, folks! We got her!" Jensen cried, and there was a ma.s.sive round of applause as Alexi took his hand and moved with him to the shallow end.

There were a few catcalls, too. Alexi's bathing suit was a tank-top one-piece thing, not at all provocative.

Still...

Maybe, Jude thought, he was in...not love, surely not love. Too soon. Impossible... But perhaps a state of enchantment. She appeared far more sensual to him than the young women barely clad in mini-bras and string bottoms.

"Okay, folks, we're on. You there, sir, with the lovely redhead. You two-a challenge from Alexi and me. If you dare!"

Jude took a seat on one of the lounge chairs halfway between the entry and the pool. And he watched.

The young man accepted the challenge and came closer to stand beside Jensen, one arm around his red-haired companion. Jensen joked with them briefly. They were Maude and Eric Anderson from Milwaukee.

And then the chicken fight was on. Alexi on Jensen's shoulders, the Milwaukee couple likewise poised to meet them.

Jude could tell that Alexi had helped Jensen out before-and that she knew they were supposed to lose, which they did. Alexi rose from the water, dripping wet and laughing and congratulating the other couple.

Maybe he was falling a little bit in love. She seemed to rise out of the water, s.h.i.+mmering, as if she'd been born from the sea. She was not only beautiful, she was also gracious and charming.

He hadn't liked Jensen touching her. Was he just jealous?

Nope.

He hadn't liked the look in Jensen's eyes when the man had realized Alexi wasn't alone-that she was with him. And the guy was a suspect, after all!

The couple won drinks at the pool for a day; to win the big money, they'd have to become the champions, beat all the other contenders. The contest was on.

Alexi climbed out of the pool and stood by Jensen's side, encouraging the contestants in the water.

Jude felt a p.r.i.c.kling sensation at the back of his neck, followed by a waft of air. He turned. The double doors to the pool were closing, as if someone had just entered.

Someone had.

For a moment he thought that Captain Xavier Thorne had come to watch the antics at the pool.

But it wasn't Thorne. It was a different man-in a different uniform, a captain's formal attire from a long-gone age.

He was seeing another of the Destiny's resident ghosts-Captain McPherson. He was about to stand up, do what the other ghosts on the vessel would consider right, and introduce himself to the captain.

He never had the chance.

The ghost of the old captain shook his head, as though the antics he witnessed were beyond his understanding.

He turned abruptly and left.

The doors seemed to shudder in his wake.

"So, you don't like Jensen Hardy, either, do you, Captain?" he muttered.

"What?"

He looked up and managed a smile. Alexi, toweling her hair, was standing beside him.

"Seeing ghosts," he said softly. "It's really... Well, it's not good for a man's reputation. They make you talk to yourself."

She sat down, her smile wider, and then leaned back on the lounger next to him. "Minnie and Blake think it's hysterical when they try to make me respond to them while I'm working. But you get accustomed to ignoring them when you need to." She closed her eyes for a minute and then opened them again. "So?" she asked him. "Did you learn anything?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Jensen Hardy is not what he appears to be."

Alexi had just emerged from the shower after their time at the pool when she heard her cabin phone ringing.

She came out in her towel to answer it; Jude had gone to his own cabin to shower and change, and then he planned to meet with Jackson.

Clara was on the line. "Are you doing anything right now?" she asked.

"I'm getting dressed. What are you doing?"

"Thinking about food. I was also thinking I could use some help. I can polish the nails on my left hand myself, but I'm horrible at the right. Want to do it for me?"

Alexi doubted her friend really cared about nail polish.

She suspected Clara didn't want to be alone.

"Sure. You coming here?"

She knew that one of David Beach's men was on guard in the employee corridor here; she'd seen him when she and Jude had gotten off the elevator.

"Yep. Two minutes."

Clara's timing was precise. Alexi had just finished dressing when the knock sounded at her door. Alexi checked through her little peephole before opening it.

"Girls' day in," Clara said. "I spent the morning working with Larry and I think we're doing well with the scene, and now... I'm nervous."

"So we'll have a nail polish party. It's a cure for nervousness. With any luck, I won't get it all over your fingers and toes."

"Polis.h.i.+ng nails is better than getting drunk, which would probably get me fired," Clara said. She perched on the chair at Alexi's little dressing table, which doubled as her desk. "I wasn't scared when we started this trip, but now I am. There was a murder in New Orleans. Two men introduced as Celtic American executives show up on the s.h.i.+p. They look amazingly like cops or agents to me. What does a cop or agent look like, you ask? It's the way they always seem to be watching, the way they're aware of everything around them. I'm not complaining, mind you-it's rea.s.suring to have them here. But then there's an explosion in a restaurant, and now a terrible storm. We've all weathered bad storms, and this one doesn't scare me. I just have this funny feeling that our new friends are onto something-on this s.h.i.+p."

Alexi couldn't lie to Clara, but she couldn't decide what to say.

"Don't tell me anything. I know it's the truth. And I'm a.s.suming they think they've chased a killer onto the s.h.i.+p. They're obviously law enforcement. My guess is FBI. Let's face it-no average guy just jumps into the fray, saving people the way your Jude McCoy did yesterday. He's had real training in rescue and dangerous situations. And then, in all that chaos, Jackson Crow finds me and I feel as if I've been surrounded by a...protective force. Too bad Crow's married. He's a super guy. I'm grateful he's aboard, and grateful to have him as a friend. At least Jude McCoy isn't married-is he?"

"No, he's not married. He's been divorced for several years."

"She must have been an idiot to lose a guy like that."

"They had a little girl who died. After that, the marriage fell apart."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!"

"I know. I can't imagine the pain."

Clara nodded. "I'm so glad you're sleeping with him. Even if it's just for now. You've needed...to connect. And," she added, "don't ask how I know! It wasn't hard to figure out."

"He's a good man," Alexi said.

Clara smiled. "And a hot one, too. He is government, right? And they do believe there's a murderer on board. And...oh, my G.o.d!"

Clara had turned, looking down at the desk.

Alexi remembered that she'd left her list of medallions and the saints they represented there.

Clara stared at her, eyes wide with shock.

"Singers and musicians-and actors!" she said.

"And cooks," Alexi pointed out.

"We're in danger. Serious danger," Clara said.

"We don't really know that. But it doesn't hurt to be as careful as possible."

Clara wagged a finger at Alexi. "Don't stop sleeping with Jude, you hear me?"

"Clara, I didn't say I was sleeping with him."

"For one thing, it's obvious, and for another you didn't deny it."

"Fine. I've slept with him once. Once. What that means, whether it means anything, I don't know myself."

"Stay with him or have him stay with you."

Alexi smiled at that. "I can do my best to keep him around, but that's up to him, too."

"You won't have any trouble there," Clara predicted. "And the two of you-stick close to me, okay?" She frowned. "You don't think Ralph and Larry and Simon are dangerous, do you? I mean, I just spent the morning rehearsing with Larry. He's super nice. We had a long talk today. I feel bad for him. I guess there are still people out there who can be really nasty and cruel if you're...different. If you're not like them. Apparently, despite his success, his father won't have anything to do with him."

"That's terrible! And we're supposed to be so enlightened today." Alexi picked up the bottle of nail polish Clara had brought with her and shook it. "Give me your hand."

"You didn't answer the question," Clara said, stretching out her hand.

Alexi carefully began to polish her friend's fingernails, which was no easy task; she was accustomed to the rough movements of the s.h.i.+p, but that did make it difficult for her to be precise with the brush and keep the color on Clara's nails.

"About?"

"My cast mates. Ralph, Simon and Larry."

Alexi shrugged. "Last night Larry honestly seemed bewildered that we were concerned about him. I like Larry. I like Ralph-and we've known him for a while. Simon seems to be great, too," Alexi said.

"But you never know, do you?" Clara asked.

Before Alexi could answer, there was another tap at her door.

"Alexi, it's me, Jude," she heard.

"Don't mess up those nails! I did a good job and it isn't my forte," Alexi said, setting down the bottle of polish and rising to let Jude in.

"Hi, there," he said, greeting Clara.

"Hi to you, too."

"Everything okay?"