We picked up our tickets. Dinah looked over at me with concern.
“Are you all right? You look pale.”
I nodded. I didn’t want to say it was because suddenly the boat trip had become all too real. I decided the best way to deal was by looking out for Sheila, so I wrapped my arm in hers as we headed outside to the dock.
Since it was a weekday and February, only a trickle of people were waiting to board. The boat was kind of odd looking, but before I could comment, Adele stepped forward.
“Good. We got one of the catamarans,” she said, then continuing with one of her in-the-know speeches she went on to explain that only four of the Catalina Express fleet were catamarans and she personally thought they had the best ride. Whatever it was called, I thought it resembled a sled.
I didn’t say anything to Sheila about it and hoped she didn’t notice the boat looked as though it were on stilts. CeeCee seemed impatient with the whole procedure.
“I’m afraid I’m not used to all this business with tickets and bomb-sniffing dogs.” She adjusted her wide-brim straw hat as two hunky Coast Guard guys walked a German shepherd past us as we prepared to board. “There was none of this on my friends’ boats. We just sat on deck chairs and sipped margaritas.”
No more stalling. I took a deep breath and led the way. Since the temperature was a bit cold, CeeCee suggested we sit inside. We had our choice of seats and took one of the booths along the window.
The engine started and the boat backed out of the slip and then turned around. We slid under a bridge and past the huge, permanently docked Queen Mary. All the while it felt pretty much like riding in a car.
“This isn’t bad,” I said to no one in particular, but Adele answered anyway.
“Pink, we haven’t even left the harbor yet.”
I tensed all over again, and Sheila hid her face in my shoulder. The motor made a louder sound, and the boat began to move faster. We passed the giant clawlike things used for unloading the cargo ships from all over the world, and then suddenly there was nothing ahead but open water. Sheila held tighter. I readied myself for the first wave of queasiness. The boat at last began to rock as it picked up speed. I waited for that sick feeling to come . . . but to my surprise, it didn’t.
I realized I’d been holding my breath, and in a gush I let it out and began to breathe again. “It feels like we’re sailing over small hills,” I said, relief spreading over my body. I wasn’t going to have to stay in Catalina forever.
“They’re called swells,” Adele corrected
Whatever they were called, they were just fine. The color returned to Sheila’s face, and she finally let go of my arm.
I had brought the crochet piece with me, and I laid it out between us on the table. CeeCee pointed to what we now all acknowledged was the landmark Casino Building.
“You have to admit it really does look like a bath-powder box,” the actress said still trying to cover her error.
Adele rolled her eyes. As usual, she had dressed over-the-top for the occasion, wearing white cutoff pants, a middy blouse with a heavy blue sweater and a white sailor’s cap. Even the crew on the boat snickered when they passed us.
CeeCee held up her cell phone as an excuse and then pushed out of her seat, moved to the middle section of the boat and took a seat with no one around.
Looking a little peaked, Sheila was pressed against the window and holding the chair handles with a white-knuckled grasp. The rocking of the boat was soft but unrelenting and seemed to have renewed her worry.
I thought it might help her get her mind off of the fact we were on a boat if we talked about Mary Beth.
“I had dinner with a friend who knew Mary Beth Wells,” I began. Dinah peered at me with a question in her eyes, and I mouthed, “Mason.” Her eyes opened wide, and it was clear she wanted more information, but that would have to wait until it was just the two of us. “Nothing he said about her seems to go with any of these motifs. She was married to the son of Lance Wells, the famous dancer-actor. She was connected to his dance studio, but her husband didn’t inherit any of his father’s talent. She and her husband went to all the entertainment-industry charity dinners.” I shrugged as I looked over the panels. “There’s nothing here that goes with any of that. We have the Casino Building, Sagittarius guy, a house, a sitting cat, a standing cat, the Arc de Triomphe, the weird circles, the vase of flowers, the wishing well—which we know is Mary Beth’s signature—and then the double-size panel with the rectangle. Since the very first panel is the Casino Building, does that mean that everything else refers to something on Catalina?”
“The diary entry referred to time she spent on an island, so that makes sense,” Dinah said. “But whatever happened, it happened over twenty years ago.” She was holding the sheet of paper and turned it over as she put it down. “Hey, look at this,” she said pointing. There were words on the back: Catalina, I’m going to miss you.
“How could I have missed that?” I said, surprised.
“Well, Pink, it’s not such a mystery,” Adele began as she stood and picked up the page. “Sometimes I think I should be the detective around here.” Adele held up the diary entry and pointed out it only covered a little over half the sheet. “It’s a complete thought, so why would you look for more on the other side? And even if you did,” she said demonstrating turning over the paper, “the line is written in such light pencil and just where your finger is likely to cover it up, you could easily just not notice it.” Adele took a bow as she finished and laid the sheet down before returning to her seat.
I glanced over to see if I had succeeded in distracting Sheila, but she still looked upset.
I pointed to the image of the house. It was certainly not a generic house. The overall shape had a Victorian feel, but it was the roof that stood out. It was shaped like an inverted ice cream cone. “I bet this house is on the island. Maybe if we find it we’ll get a way into the puzzle.”
Dinah looked skeptical. “But how are you going to manage that?”
“We could ask somebody. Maybe it’s Mary Beth’s house.”
Adele snorted. “Not really, Pink. People married to famous dancer’s sons have unlisted phone numbers and people don’t give directions to their houses.” Adele adjusted her sailor cap, which had fallen forward. “But there might be another way.” Adele knew she had our attention and held onto it for all it was worth. She innocently looked out the window and back toward the snack bar and finally at all of us. “Oh, you want to know what that way is, huh?”
She dragged the suspense out another beat or two and then continued. “Obviously you’ve never been to Avalon.” She addressed the three of us. “It’s basically the only town on Catalina, and it’s where our boat will be landing. There are only around thirty-five hundred residents, and it’s only a mile square. Most of the town is spread up the side of the hills.”
Adele stopped. Dinah and I looked at her, waiting for the punch line. Adele looked confused and then apparently realized we hadn’t gotten her meaning.
“Okay, Pink and everybody else, the point is, it’s not that big, so finding a house shouldn’t be that hard.”
I was glad Adele didn’t ask me what I was going to do when I found the house. I hadn’t figured that out yet. There didn’t seem to be anything else to discuss, so I put the piece back in my tote bag.
“Let’s explore the boat,” Dinah said. She nodded toward Sheila. “C’mon, walking around will make you feel better.” Now that I knew I wasn’t going to be seasick, I was up for it and got up quickly. Sheila, still looking at me as though I were her lifeline, followed.