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Chapter Twelve

During the course of the investigation, Paul continually updated the Captain as to its progress. He also meticulously documented all events incidental to the investigation. The final document report would be made available to the Captain, Windsor Cruise Lines, and, if the necklace was not found, to Mrs. Chandler's insurance company, as well as to the police and port authorities.

The eve of the last day of the cruise, Saturday, was approaching. Captain Anderson deemed it fitting to hold a special dinner for those involved in the investigation and so had it arranged. His guests would be his top ranking executive officer, Manuel, Mrs. Chandler, Paul, and Louise and Lieutenant Ben O'Reilly. True, it was Mrs. Chandler's negligence in the first place that caused the problem; nonetheless, a very serious crime had been committed aboard his vessel and the Captain felt a certain responsibility.
As Bernice, Louise, and Ben approached the gangway leading to the Captain's quarters, Ben stopped in his tracks. His ear was against a stateroom door when Louise turned around.
"Ben, what in the world are you doing?"
"Come here, you guys. What's that whirring noise in there?"
Louise balked, "I'm not going to put my ear to that door. That's eavesdropping."
"Come on, it might be important," insisted Ben.
Bernice stepped closer and listened. With a funny look on her face, she said, "Why, that's only a hair dryer."
"Oh...," exclaimed the embarrassed Lieutenant.

Captain Anderson greeted his guests at the door and gave them a short tour of his executive conference room, which had been modified to accommodate the V.I.P. dinner.
"Over here," said the Captain, "in this glass display case, we have a one-tenth scale model of the Sunbeam. Also, take note of the miniature replicas of each section of the ship. Let me just point out a few of them for you."
Beaming with pride, Captain Anderson started with the engine room, explaining its operation. He went on to describe the bridge, which contained the ship's controls and instrumentation. Louise was particularly impressed, even with lower level facilities, such as the kitchen, crew's quarters, etc.
"And then over here, we have a brief description of the ship's history, when and where it was built, and some of the unique problems encountered during design and production. A light-weight, efficient, environmental control and plumbing system were two problems that designers had to contend with."
The Captain pushed a button on the wall, opening the floor-to-ceiling drapes. The huge sky blue drapes opened from the middle, revealing, through large picture windows, a magnificent panoramic view of an endless expanse of glittering sea swallowing the familiar orange ball that a moment earlier had been sitting on the horizon. The Captain smiled to himself as he watched the reactions of his guests, particularly Louise, who gasped in awe. The scene was splendid indeed. A crystal chandelier used for just such occasions hung over the dining table, and the slight motion of the ship moving in rhythm with the chandelier crystals, caused a pulsating, bright blue strobe effect to sweep across the walls and ceiling of the room. Not in her wildest dreams could naive Louise have imagined such a spectacular sight.
The Captain employed the services of his best waiter to serve his guests. There was only small talk during the meal, which featured fine wine, a selection of hors d'oeuvres, and lobster, with all the trimmings. After a dessert of flaming mousse, the Captain opened serious discussions regarding the investigation.

"Ben, Paul has been keeping me up to date on matters pertaining to your investigation, and we are both pleased and thankful for your efforts. You've done a lot in just a couple of days. Do you think we have a chance of recovering Mrs. Chandler's necklace, and is there anything more that we can do?"
"Well, Captain," began Ben. "I wanna go over this in detail with ya and it's gonna take awhile, so I think we can excuse the ladies."
He had reasons for not wanting them to be there. Both Louise and Bernice were happy to oblige and graciously thanked the Captain as they exited.
"First of all, gentlemen, I have an unexpected surprise for you." Ben, with an unmistakable self-satisfied look on his face, beamed an ear-to-ear smile while taking time to intentionally focus on each man's face.
He continued with his discourse, "As you know, in establishing a list of possible suspects, Paul here provided photos and names of passengers who were seen at both the Ball and the Discotheque the night of the theft. These photos were those routinely taken at the door of the Ball. Mrs. Chandler looked at all photos and identified some potential suspects. Later, Paul expanded that list by matching drink receipts from the Ball to those taken in the Discotheque that night. He discovered there were no Ball pictures for two particular people, so he gave me the ones taken when they boarded ship. These photos and IDs were added to the batch we faxed to the LAPD for makes. I got back information that this couple, Jean and Bill Harlow, are drug traffickers and wanted in Florida. My friend Jerry at the LAPD quickly deduced that these folks weren't here for vacation. The DEA, in cooperation with the LAPD, plus me, of course, figured out their little plan to smuggle a large quantity of pure cocaine into the U.S. The method of smuggling drugs by transferring them from Mexican vessels to U.S. vessels has become increasingly risky for the drug people. With satellite observation, spotter planes, sophisticated radar, and effective coast guard surveillance, drug traffickers are forced to be more innovative. It is not that difficult to smuggle drugs aboard a cruise ship, though.
"Our likely couple probably picked up their cache in Puerto Vallarta, taped the packages to their bodies, and simply reboarded the ship. It would be impossible to smuggle the stuff ashore at Long Beach, so they did the next best thing. They dropped it into the ocean in a waterproof flotation capsule. The capsule was designed to sink below the surface and remain there for twelve hours. A timing device then activated, releasing a gas that inflated a flotation collar, allowing the package to float to the surface. That way, the ship was long gone before any pickup was attempted. They waited until they were close to U.S. waters before they made their drop. The drop time and the position of the ship were critical. Then, equipped with a signal receiver, an inconspicuous looking American fishing boat could easily locate the package. This time, though, we got lucky. Jerry called me just before dinner to tell me that the operation was upset with the intervention by a disguised DEA vessel. And a couple million dollars' worth of pure cocaine was confiscated. It's a small dent in the supply of cocaine that's coming in to the U.S., but it's significant that we have discovered another one of their little tricks. Who knows how long this has been going on with ships on both coasts.
"Jerry, the local police, along with DEA agents will be in Long Beach to greet a certain, surprised couple. The bottom line, Captain, if nothing else, this investigation, thanks to Paul's alertness, has prevented a couple million dollars' worth of cocaine from hitting the American streets, and I will add, American schools. Plus they will be watching other ships more closely now."
The elated Captain smiled approvingly at Paul, who reacted with a humble grin. "Paul," he said, "be sure and include this in your report. We must do something about it. And, like it or not, you will be recognized for your good work. By comparison, Ben, our necklace theft seems rather insignificant."
"Not in every respect," replied Ben. "Don't forget, had it not been for the necklace, our drug traffickers would not have been discovered. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason."
Ben noticed a flicker of doubt in the Captain's eyes, but continued. "Now, let me give you a run-down on the necklace caper. First of all, to be honest, we have several hundred potential suspects. He, she, or they could be most anyone on board. However, as you know, I have narrowed my list of likely suspects down to a few. They all have one thing in common-they were all known to be in the vicinity at the estimated time of the crime, and had motive.
"Suspect number one is Mrs. Chandler, herself. Throughout the investigation, she has remained relatively calm and patient, which surprises me, considering the monetary and sentimental value of the necklace."
"She was sure upset that morning," interjected the Captain.
Recognizing that the Captain was naive in these matters, Ben went on. "She has been seen on several occasions roaming the outside decks and standing at the fan tail railing for long periods. She could have been waiting for the right moment to drop a replica of the original necklace overboard. She could be in need of the insurance money. The real diamonds could have been sold off long ago."
"I don't think so," responded the Captain in a reserved, but annoyed, tone of voice. 'An unwarranted insult directed toward a lovely, sophisticated lady,' he thought.
Ben looked back at the Captain and spoke in a respectful, yet firm, manner. "You're probably right, Captain. Nevertheless, she is a suspect right now." Although he didn't mention it to the Captain, Ben had arrested sweeter appearing ladies, of all ages, than Bernice for crimes ranging from shoplifting, to fraud, to even murder.
Ben went on, "Ricky Colletti is definitely a suspect. He was with Bernice in her stateroom that night, and I am afraid that if he saw the necklace, it would have been too tempting for him to resist. At home he lives from check to check, driving a cab, and it's obvious his sole purpose for coming on this cruise is to bag a rich widow."
The Captain nodded affirmatively. He had seen the type before, many times.
"Sharlet Latimier is another suspect. Removing the card key from Bernice's door could make her look innocent, or perhaps, guilty. In other words, she may have thought she was creating an illusion of innocence by locking the door and then giving the key to Juan. She is also going back to a dead end job and an empty bank account. We still can't rule out the possibility that the key was stolen at the discotheque and later left in the door by the thief. And, we can't rule out Juan."
Both the Captain and Paul jerked to attention at the implication of disloyalty on the part of a crew member. Not a word was spoken, though. They both knew that the day would come when they would be faced with this kind of problem.
Ben speculated further, "If Juan, or in fact, any crew member, could pull off something like this, it would certainly be to their great benefit. Being away from your family for ten months out of the year, year after year, has got to be tough. Two or three of them could be working in collaboration with someone on the mainland. A clever bartender working with a cabin boy, would make a perfect team. Anything is possible."
Captain Anderson, a frank and honest man, again interrupted. "I accept this theory. Manuel here is probably more familiar with this ship than anyone else associated with Windsor Cruise Lines. We have anticipated the possibility of a person or persons, not excluding our own crew and staff, of having planned to seize upon such an opportunity as may have been presented. We are prepared, therefore, if necessary, to search the ship from stem to stern to locate the necklace or diamonds. The thief or thieves may be planning to retrieve the necklace at a later date. We have on board computer access to top assembly and lower assembly drawings, down to the part level. This information, coupled with our knowledge of the ship, will allow us to identify most hiding places. Once everyone has left the ship, we will begin our search. It will be difficult, maybe impossible, to look everywhere. I can only guarantee one thing, no crew members or staff will leave this ship with that necklace."
"I don't see how you can do anything more, Captain," said Ben.
The Captain continued, "And, I can assure you that all suspect passengers, their possessions, and luggage will be searched. The drug thing will allow us the latitude to search to the degree deemed necessary."
"We plan to do that in customs," said Ben.
As the three men shook hands and filed out the door, Ben's mind was preoccupied with conflicting thoughts. Something was missing. Perplexed over not receiving more insight on the theft, he went to his favorite spot out on the fan tail deck and sat under the stars to wait for an answer. The seed had been planted, but the answer was not to come tonight.
However, a feeling of calm reassurance came over him as he exited from this short trance. It was a spiritually infused sensation that left him with a revived faith and a sense of hope.