The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (great novels .txt) π
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I write down both names. Iβm going to need to brush up on my opiates to keep up with these Left Coasters.
βWhere would he have gotten the pink friend? Did he have a prescription?β
βI doubt it. I mean, he was in Mexico. He could have gotten it on a street corner.β
Maybe, but could he have gotten it back on the boat? βUh-huh. So, he said he wanted to spend the last two nights relaxing. Did he mention anything else he was going to do? Any other activities on the boat?β
βNo, not really. I know there werenβt any other stops. The ship was sailing straight from Puerto Vallarta to L.A. There was a big dinner on board the last night. Bill said he was looking forward to that, and the food had been really good this time, a big improvement over the last time.β
βHeβd been on this cruise before?β I ask. Mrs. Black didnβt mention that, and neither did the cruise people. Iβll have to ask them to check their records.
βThree, maybe four years ago. I only remember it because I prepared the presentation for his pitch to the cruise line, G and M. They were looking for a guy with a lot of landsat experience.β
βThis cruise line is called Pink Pearl,β I tell him.
βIs it? Well, maybe they changed hands or rebranded or something. Iβm sure it was the same cruise. Bill definitely mentioned how much the food had improved.β
βThe cruise line, G and M, did they have any specialty?β
βWhat, like the Disney boat with Mickey Mouse running around? No, not that I remember. I didnβt do the research on that pitch. Billβs other assistant did.β
βWas that Chrisjean Olsen?β I ask.
βNo. Chris only came on board with us eighteen months ago. Before her there was Haley, and, before her, Melissa, who I think was Billβs assistant at the time. It was a revolving door with him.β
Was it now? βWhyβs that?β
βBill had high standards. Iβm not trying to be sexist here but women in this job?β He makes a soft huffing noise. Emily leans towards the phone with a frown. βYou have to devote yourself to it. Itβs your wife and your girlfriend and your best friend and your dog. Sometimes I travel three weeks out of four. Try doing that with kids. It just isnβt a job for someone who has a family. Really, I never understood how Reggie put up with it, but that womanβs a saint and a martyr.β
I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers and try not to think about Mrs. Black. βI understand Chrisjean had to leave the trip because of a family emergency. Does that happen often?β
βYeah. Chrisβs daughterβs a diabetic. She doesnβt manage her illness very well. She had some kind of emergency, and Chris had to fly home early. This isnβt the first time, either. About six months ago, Bill called me on the way to the airport, told me to grab my passport and a change of clothes, and jump the next flight to Hong Kong. Chris had to turn around at the airport. Bill was furious. I thought he was going to fire her after that, but they patched it up.β
I note this all down, my pen scrawling across the pages. βDid he say anything about firing her after she left this time?β
βYeah. He was pretty pissed. But that was Bill. Heβd flare and blow off steam and then heβd be fine a few days later. He was a great guy to work for. Donβt let anyone tell you different.β
βThank you, Jay. Youβve been a great help. Good luck with your promotion.β
He chuckles a little. βIβve got big shoes to fill, but thanks. I hope the cruise company figures this out. Itβs weird, food poisoning when Bill said how good the food was.β
βThatβs why Iβm investigating. We donβt want anyone else getting sick. Thanks again.β
After I wrap up the call, I sit back on the couch and hold my arm out to Emily. She snatches up my notepad and holds it against my chest as she snuggles to my side. βWhat were the clues, Daddy? Other than heβs a sexist pig.β
I chuckle and kiss her forehead. βYou tell me, baby doll. What were the clues?β
βIβm not the PI, but the pink friend thing seems big.β
βItβs security consultant, and I think so, too. Except that the staff doctor told me that brick is usually yellow or white. Maybe they added some food coloring. Anyway, everything he said corroborates what Mrs. Black told me. Black took drugs to relax. He had a high stress job and maybe living a double life was stressful for him, too. He used marijuana and opiates to relax. Maybe he took the brick by mistake, thinking it was an opiate.β
βThat would be awful. If he died because he took the wrong drug.β
βYeah.β I stroke her hair. βEmily, you donβt use, do you?β
βNothing stronger than Advil, Daddy,β she says.
βGood girl.β I take the notebook from her and read over the pages. βIf Olsen left the cruise on Tuesday, and MacDonald flew back on Friday, Black was alone from Friday afternoon through Sunday on the boat. Iβve got to establish a timeline of what he did those last two days.β
Emily nestles into me and looks on as I flip the pages. βHow will you do that?β
βInterviews with the ship staff. Itβs the same personnel on our cruise as the one Black took. Hopefully, theyβll remember him. Thereβs CCTV footage from public areas on the ship that the cruise people are getting for me, which could help establish when he was out of his cabin, but there arenβt any cameras in the rooms, so if he stayed in his cabin the whole time, figuring out what he was doing is going to be a ball-ache.β
Emily nods against my shoulder. βMr. MacDonald thought he might have gotten the drugs when he was off the ship. Do you think thatβs possible?β
βI donβt
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