“Yes.”
At least he had the decency not to insult me by pretending otherwise.
“Why?”
“Because I was asked to watch you.”
Everything inside me went still.
“Asked by whom?”
Richard hesitated again.
I lifted one finger.
“If you tell me you can’t say, I promise you I will scream loudly enough to bring half this ship down here.”
“Your daughter.”
For a second, I thought he was joking.
Then I laughed.
“Good try.”
“I’m serious.”
“No.”
“Margaret—”
“My daughter thinks adding too much salt to soup is a medical emergency. She absolutely did not hire a retired detective to follow me around a cruise ship.”
“She didn’t hire me.”
That stopped me.
“Then what did she do?”
“She contacted the cruise company.”
“Why?”
His expression softened.
“Because of the phone calls.”
My mouth went dry.
I knew exactly which calls he meant.
For almost two months before the trip, I had received strange phone calls from a man claiming to work for the cruise line.
He knew my booking number.
He knew my departure date.
He knew what deck my cabin was on.
At first, I believed him.
He offered excursion upgrades, airport transportation, and changes to my dining package.
Then the questions became personal.
Was I traveling alone?
Would anyone be checking my house?
Did I normally travel with jewelry?
Would someone be collecting my mail?
That was when I hung up.
He called again from another number.
I mentioned it to Claire.
My daughter nearly lost her mind when she learned I had confirmed my home address before realizing the man probably wasn’t legitimate.
“I told Claire I handled it,” I said.
“You blocked the number.”
“Yes.”
“He called again.”
