Page 95 of The Cruise Club

Carmen laughed, remembering Debbie’s manner. Spiros would do well to refuse.

As Theo brought out wine and a platter of olives, the group settled in and began catching up.

‘Have you given any more thought to retirement?’ Carmen asked.

‘We have,’ Fran mused, ‘but we still enjoy what we do and like to keep a hand in. We’ve a good team now to run things at the restaurant, and given the scare we had with Sid’s health, it’s prompted us into taking plenty of holidays.’

‘I’m not surprised that the restaurant is busy,’ Theo said, ‘the food you serve is incredible, and I loved my visit to Blackpool.’

‘And we loved having you all to stay with us,’ Fran said, smiling at the memory. ‘Having a famous chef at our table didn’t half do our street cred some good.’ She thought fondly of the centre page spread in theBlackpool Gazettethat had featured Theo in Sid and Fran’s kitchen, standing proudly with his arms around them both as they prepared for the evening service.

‘And you came back to Kefalonia,’ Sid said, addressing Theo.

‘He can’t stay away,’ Carmen teased, winking at Theo.

Before Theo could reply, a voice broke into song from the lane:

‘Toreador! Love, love awaits you!’

Fran sat up and suddenly remembered the singing bar owner from their visit to Maxos during the cruise. Was this the same man, she wondered, as she saw Theo swiftly turn.

Theo’s eyes fell on Jimmy’s handsome face, and his smile widened. Leaning over the railing, Theo embraced Jimmy and kissed him on the lips.

‘Ah, the puzzle is solved,’ Fran said with a knowing nod as she watched the two men gaze lovingly at each other.

‘Now,you’rethe one who needs to keep up,’ Carmen laughed.

As Theo made room for Jimmy at the table and expertly uncorked the wine, he turned to Fran. ‘By the way, whatever happened to Dicky Delaney?’

Fran held up her glass to be filled. ‘Peter is on our cruise again and told us that Dicky’s moved to Malaga. He’s settled down with his lady friend in her humongous villa, and she happens to be his new manager. Apparently, he’s doing well,gigging in shows all over southern Spain and having a high old time.’

‘To Dicky!’ they all cheered, clinking glasses.

Fran reached into her oversized bag and pulled out a recent copy of theDaily Mail. ‘I brought this for you,’ she said, smoothing the paper on the table and pointing to a page.

Carmen and Theo leaned in to read the bold headline.

Ring of Trouble! Jewellery Thief Couple Caught

Red-Handed After Stepping Off Ship!

Theo began to read out loud: ‘A couple arrested after disembarking from a cruise ship have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms following a recent court appearance.’ He paused to nod at Carmen before continuing. ‘Colin and Neeta Scott believed they’d got away with their thefts when theDiamond Starberthed in Málaga at the end of a twelve-day cruise. However, a guest speaker on board, an acclaimed author of detective novels, tipped off the ship security.

‘“I saw Neeta Scott wearing earrings, on the last night of the cruise, that she reported to have been stolen,”the author told the purser.“I was certain that the couple had directed suspicion away from themselves by claiming to have lost jewellery too, and the ship’s security team was informed.”

‘Local authorities followed the pair when they disembarked, and they were arrested while attempting to pawn the stolen jewellery in the town.’

Theo and Carmen studied the image of Colin and Neeta following their arrest.

‘It took a while for it to come to court,’ Sid interjected.

‘And they don’texactlyexplain how the sleuth figured it out,’ Fran added, her eyes narrowing as she turned to Carmen.

Carmen smiled. ‘It had me baffled at first, but it all came down to Neeta foolishly wearing the earrings she’d reported stolen, then, when spotted, trying to cover them by ruffling her hair over her ears.’

‘Silly girl,’ Fran tutted.

Sid shook his head. ‘Thieves think they’re clever, but it’s the small mistakes that catch them out. She might have got away with it if she hadn’t been so careless. Neeta practically convicted herself.’

Carmen took the paper from Theo and began to fold it. ‘But of course,’ she said, ‘it had a lot to do with passengers attending the Upside-down Pineapple Pensioner Club.’

Jimmy looked puzzled. ‘Pineapples and pensioners? What is this?’

Carmen grabbed a towel and moved to the villa steps. ‘Perhaps you should ask the sleuth himself,’ she said and gestured towards the beach. ‘I’m sure he’ll be happy to explain.’

A man emerged from the sea, shaking droplets of water from his hair as he walked along the beach then climbed the steps beneath the fir tree.

‘Ruskin!’ Carmen called out. ‘We’ve got visitors!’

---