Bekki the Beautician 10 - Cosmetics, a Cruise and a Killer Page 7

  “You should just let me go,” Bekki insisted as she struggled to get free of him. “This is only going to get worse for you.”

  “Worse?” he laughed a little and then shook his head. “No, I don't think it can get worse. None of this was supposed to happen,” he added. “All I had to do was drug the drinks I served to the two of you. That way you wouldn't have a sharp recollection of what you saw that night. But you wouldn't finish your drink, would you?” he shook his head slowly. “Then, you left it on the bar,” he sighed with frustration. “I mean after the senior manager released that booze hound, Bobby, on the hopes that he would spend more money in the casino we had the perfect target to take the fall. But then he picked up your drink and downed it,” he groaned and pulled her over to the corner of the storage room. “What are the chances right?” he scoffed.

  “But why?” Bekki asked as Peter grabbed a length of rope and used it to tie her hands together. “Why did you have to kill Rose? Was it because she was stealing money from the casino for you and Carlos?”

  “Oh, you don't know anything about anything, huh?” Peter asked and tightened the rope on her wrists so harshly that Bekki winced.

  “It just doesn't make sense to me. You were just involved in a little theft, not a serious crime, but now it's murder,” Bekki pointed out grimly.

  “It wasn’t just a little theft, Rose and some other croupiers were rigging the games so Carlos and some of Carlos’ acquaintances would win,” he admitted as he stared at the floor. “Rose got scared when they started investigating her for stealing and was going to confess everything.”

  “Now, you're looking at life in prison, or even the death penalty. Did Carlos even tell you his plans? Or did he just take that risk for you?” Bekki said as she was still processing the fact that there was a lot more to Rose’s criminal dealings than she had suspected.

  Peter hesitated and turned briefly away from Bekki. She was so far from the door that she knew there was not much hope of getting to it before he could tackle her again and she couldn't defend herself very well with her hands tied.

  “I didn't sign on for murder,” Peter admitted. “But Carlos did what he thought he had to do to protect both of us.”

  “And what about Rose?” Bekki pressed as she could tell that she was beginning to get under his skin. “Did she deserve to die?”

  Peter turned to face her with uncertainty in his eyes. Bekki decided to capitalize on that and pushed forward with her words.

  “All the cops are going to see is a young girl murdered in cold blood,” Bekki reminded him. “No one is going to believe that you never wanted Rose dead.”

  “But I didn't,” he said tearfully. “This was just supposed to be about making some quick cash.”

  “There's only one way you can prove that,” Bekki said with growing confidence as she stepped slightly away from the corner. “The cops will believe you never wanted to hurt anyone, if you let me go. Just let me walk out of here, and then the cops will see that you never had any intention of hurting anyone.”

  The door suddenly slid open. Bekki braced herself as she was sure it would be Carlos barreling his way inside. Instead it was Sammy who burst through the door, wielding a bar stool.

  “Run, Bekki!” she shouted as Peter turned with surprise towards the swinging stool. It collided with his shoulder and left arm, eliciting a cry of pain from him. Bekki tried to run past him but her hands were still caught on the shelving. She tugged hard, but all that did was send a shower of glasses from the top shelf to the floor. With all the shattering glass Sammy was startled. But she still swung the bar stool hard at Peter for a second time. This time Peter was ready for it. He caught it by the seat and yanked it hard out of her hands. Sammy stumbled forward and lost her balance. She landed palms first in the broken glass.

  “Sammy!” Bekki cried out when she saw blood on the glass.

  “Stupid move,” Peter growled as he glared down at Sammy.

  “Very stupid,” Carlos agreed as he stepped into the storage room and pushed the button to close the door behind him. “All you had to do was keep her here for a few minutes,” Carlos shook his head. “Now look at the mess we're in.”

  “How was I supposed to know her friend would show up?” Peter asked sullenly. “We need to talk, Carlos, this is getting way too out of hand.”

  “Talk?” Carlos spat back roughly and grabbed Peter by the back of the neck. He pulled him over to the corner of the storage room closest to the door and began speaking to him in heated words sprinkled with rather vulgar curses. Peter hung his head in reaction.

  “We have to get out of here,” Bekki hissed as Sammy edged closer to her. “They're not going to let us out of here alive,” Bekki met Sammy's eyes, and saw the terror rise in Sammy's gaze. She hated to scare her friend, but felt that she needed to know the truth.

  “You'll do as I tell you,” Carlos suddenly roared and slammed Peter back against the wall of the storage room. He turned swiftly and began moving back towards Bekki and Sammy. Bekki felt her heart jump into her throat as she saw Carlos' fierce expression. “The two of you have put yourselves in a very dangerous situation,” Carlos explained as he walked over the broken glass. With each step the glass made an awful crunching sound. Bekki's nerves were set on edge by the sound, and the promise of the murderous gleam in Carlos' eyes.

  “I'm sorry,” she whispered to Sammy who had wrapped her hands in the edge of her shirt.

  “Shh,” Sammy frowned and tried not to show how much pain she was in.

  Bekki knew that they had to find a way to escape. Carlos wouldn't think twice about killing them and tossing them off the ship. It was the perfect place to dump a body, and she knew that it was likely that they would never even be found. She thought about her husband, and her family back home, and how they would wonder what had happened to her. It was a fate she couldn't let them suffer. Her cell phone was in her pocket, but she knew that she couldn't get a signal, and even if she could, who would she call? Nick couldn't come to her aid, nor could he send the police in. The coast guard would never make it to them in time. Then she recalled the way that Carlos and Peter had been communicating through the walkie-talkie feature on their phone. She remembered Todd giving her the card with the special set of numbers on it that would connect to his cell phone. If she could get a message to him, then he might be able to help them. But first she had to get her hands untied.

  “You two just stay right there,” Carlos growled as he turned back to Peter. “Do you have some of that special ingredient left?” he asked.

  Peter nodded, his expression dark and full of fear. “Yes, I have most of the bottle,” he said.

  “Well, get it,” Carlos demanded. He paced back towards the door and pressed his ear to it to make sure they weren't going to be interrupted.

  “Can you untie me?” Bekki asked in a whisper.

  Sammy tried to bend her fingers, and winced the moment she did. “I'm sorry, Bekki, I don't think I can,” she whispered in return.

  “It's okay,” Bekki murmured in return. She was twisting and tugging at the ropes that tied her, hoping to get free. “What about a piece of glass?” Bekki whispered. “Can you put a piece of glass in my hand?”

  Sammy watched Carlos closely as she crouched down and picked up a shard of glass.

  “What are you doing?” Carlos suddenly barked as he turned to face her. Sammy stood up and then froze.

  “My hands, they hurt so bad, I couldn't stand it…” she began to explain.

  “Well, don't worry about that, darling,” Carlos smirked as he glanced between the shelves where Peter was searching through one of the boxes. “Pretty soon you won't be feeling any pain.”

  Sammy shuddered and shifted closer to Bekki as if she was frightened. “You have to let us go,” Sammy said quickly. Bekki felt Sammy pushing the shard of glass against her hand. She took it carefully from her and held it tightly to keep it from slipping out of her fingertips.

  “I don't have to d
o anything,” Carlos corrected her and then turned back towards the shelving. “Peter! What's going on?”

  His question was followed by a loud crashing sound. “What are you doing you imbecile?” Carlos demanded and rushed over to the shelves.

  “Now!” Sammy hissed to Bekki. She tried to bend her fingers to help but there were still pieces of glass stuck in her skin making it very painful to bend them. Bekki worked the glass against the rope furiously. It seemed a lot easier when she made the plan in her mind. Finally, she felt the glass break through some of the fibers of the rope.

  “What a mess,” she heard Carlos complaining.

  “Sammy, open the door and run,” Bekki insisted as she struggled with the rope. “Quick, before he comes back.”

  “No,” Sammy said firmly. “I'm not going anywhere without you.”

  “Did you get the stuff?” Carlos barked as he walked back towards the front of the storage room. He noticed Sammy standing so close to Bekki and glared at her.

  “Get over there,” he jabbed his finger towards a pile of boxes. Sammy moved over to them as he asked and looked warily at Bekki. Bekki had just one more strand of rope to cut through. The problem was that if she moved her hands too much she was sure Carlos would notice. “Listen ladies,” Carlos said with a smug smile. “We're going to have some drinks together. No need to be so crabby,” he chuckled a little when Bekki glared at him. “We can even have a toast.”

  Peter came walking out from the shelving with four wine glasses in his hands. Two had a clear liquid at the bottom, the other two were empty.

  “This will be better,” he murmured to himself as he poured wine into all four glasses. He handed the two glasses with the clear liquid to Carlos.

  “Don't want to get your hands dirty, huh?” Carlos rolled his eyes. He held out one of the wine glasses to Sammy. “Take it,” he commanded her.

  Sammy reached out with a bloody hand but she couldn't grasp the glass.

  “Take it!” he shouted again.

  “I can't,” Sammy grimaced. “My hands.”

  “Then I'll help you,” Carlos offered and began to put the glass to Sammy's lips.

  “No!” Bekki cried out. “I'm much thirstier. Please,” she looked into Carlos' eyes, hoping that their time together in the salon might have created the slightest inclination in him to be kind to her.

  “How sweet,” Carlos nodded a little. He stepped up to Bekki and placed the wine glass against her lips. “Take a sip,” he suggested, his eyes gleaming. Bekki pretended to take a sip but kept her lips pressed together as she did. None of the liquid made it past her lips, but her lips did tingle. Whatever was in the wine was a much higher dose than Sammy had experienced.

  “See, not so bad,” Carlos coaxed her. “Now take another sip,” he suggested.

  “What about that toast?” Bekki asked, careful not to part her lips too much.

  “Oh, that's right, I did promise a toast,” Carlos frowned. “Peter, join us please.”

  Peter couldn't look at Bekki or Sammy. He shuffled towards Carlos with the wine glasses in his hands and held one out to him. Carlos took it with his free hand and began to take a sip. Bekki seized the moment of vulnerability when he had the wine tilted against his mouth. She surged forward, her hands free of the rope, and slammed her hands hard against the glass and his chest. The glass shattered, sending wine splashing all over his face. When he lost his balance from the push, he gasped, and the poisoned wine in his other hand sloshed out of the glass and right into his open mouth.

  “Oh, it burns!” he cried out and tried to spit out the wine as he fell to the floor. Peter sprung into action to tackle Bekki, but Sammy was already on her way to protect her. She stuck her foot out to trip Peter, and his large frame went crashing down into the piles of glass on the floor.

  “Ouch!” he cried out as the glass cut into his skin.

  “The door, Sammy!” Bekki cried out. Sammy tried to push the button but her fingers were too hurt, she slammed her shoulder into it instead. The door began to slide open. Carlos was trying to stumble to his feet, and Peter had already got to his.

  “Don't let them get away,” Carlos slurred as he tried to keep his balance. “Peter, don't let them get away!”

  Peter lunged after them but Bekki pulled down the pile of boxes that Sammy had been standing in front of. They scattered across the floor creating a barrier between them and Peter. Bekki grabbed Sammy's shirt sleeve and tugged her out of the storage room. They ran for the exit of the dance club. Bekki was so afraid that she didn't notice that the lights were no longer flashing and that there was no longer any music playing. When they reached the door that had been open earlier, they found it closed and locked with a key.

  “You're not getting out that way,” Peter said from the doorway of the storage room. Carlos managed to get to his feet and was standing behind Peter, clinging onto the doorway to keep his balance.

  “Get them,” Carlos barked out.

  “They're not going anywhere,” Peter said and began walking casually towards them. Bekki slid her cell phone out of her pocket. She took out the card with Todd’s number and quickly sent a message to him and then she reached for the nearest chair. She picked it up and held it up in the air ready to fling it right at Peter when he got close enough. But before she had the chance someone began pounding on the door.

  “Who's that?” Carlos slurred again barely staying on his feet.

  “Help!” Bekki shouted as she tugged at the door. “Someone help us!”

  The pounding on the door became slamming.

  “Step back!” Todd shouted from outside the door. Bekki and Sammy ducked out of the way just before the door shattered and Todd along with a few security guards who had heard the commotion rushed inside. Bekki stared with surprise at him. She had only sent the message to him a few moments before.

  Peter surrendered easily, and Carlos had passed out on the floor. A medic was called to pick out the remainder of the glass in Sammy's hands and bandage them. Todd stood close to both of them, overseeing the process.

  “How did you know?” Bekki finally asked when the medic walked away. “How did you know we were in trouble?”

  “Well, to be honest I didn't,” he replied with a shake of his head. I was going to search the club myself for any sign that your friend might have been drugged, and I happened to be outside. When I heard voices in here I knew that wasn't right, and then I got your message on my phone.”

  “Wow,” Sammy said as she looked down at her bandaged hands. “Looks like we had a lucky streak after all.”

  Bekki managed a smile, but she was still reeling from everything that had unfolded. As she shared with Todd everything she had learned about the case, all she could think about was getting back to Nick. She was on a boat floating through paradise, but to her it was hundreds of miles away from Nick's arms.

  “I can't say I approve of your methods,” Todd said with a frown. “You put yourself in some dire circumstances. But in the end you did crack the case, so I do think I should thank you for that.”

  “No thanks needed,” Bekki sighed as she glanced back over the quiet club. “I just wish it hadn't happened.”

  “Me, too,” Sammy said as she tried to wiggle her fingers in the bandages. “Good thing Todd came to our rescue.”

  “But you came first,” Bekki pointed out and hugged her friend warmly. “I couldn't ask for a better friend, Sammy, thank you.”

  “I guess I get tomorrow off?” Sammy asked hopefully.

  “You both do,” Todd said. “The ship is coming into port tomorrow morning. They're offering free vouchers for flights back home since the cruise can't continue. Between the murder, the reports of poisoned drinks, and now the assault in the club, I think management is ready to scrap this cruise.”

  Bekki felt a burst of excitement at seeing Nick again so soon.

  “Thank you, Todd,” Bekki said and reached out her hand for a handshake. He smiled and gave it a firm shake.

&nbs
p; “I think your husband better watch out, Bekki, I doubt he could be a better detective than you,” he chuckled.

  “Hmm, I'll be sure to tell him that,” Bekki grinned.

  “I'll just be glad to get home, where the salon doesn't rock,” Sammy laughed.

  “Thanks again,” Todd said as he walked away.

  Bekki and Sammy headed back to their cabin for their last night on the ship. As Bekki was helping Sammy pack her bag, Sammy noticed all of the boxes and boxes of cosmetics.

  “You know, I think you're right, Bekki,” she said quietly.

  “Right about what?” Bekki asked as she packed the last container.

  “I don't want to hide my age, I want to accentuate my beauty. I am beautiful, eye wrinkles and all,” she sighed.

  “You don't have any eye wrinkles!” Bekki said with frustration and frowned.

  “You shouldn't do that you'll get wrinkles on your forehead,” Sammy said with a cluck of her tongue.

  “Well, if I do I'm going to have earned them and I will name them after you!” Bekki announced as she zipped up the suitcase.

  Sammy laughed at Bekki's words. “I can see that, you pointing to your forehead, going this is Sammy, and this is Sammy!”

  “Exactly,” Bekki laughed too and they sat down on Sammy's bed together. “The truth is, Sammy, you don't want someone who only likes you for your looks. You want someone who likes you for who you are, and appreciates your beauty.”

  “I guess you're right,” Sammy nodded. “I just hope I find that person soon.”

  “You will,” Bekki assured her with certainty in her voice.

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning Bekki finally had a signal to be able to call Nick. It was a beautiful sound to her when she finally could hear it ringing.

  “Bekki,” Nick said breathlessly into the phone. “I've been trying to get hold of you.”

  “I know, me too,” Bekki frowned. “There was no reception.”