Cameron Hardwick had checked to see which dining room they had chosen and was gravely satisfied to learn they were at a table for ten in the King Arthur, the largest of the first-class restaurants. It solved the problem of getting close to them without seeming overt. He had been assigned to a nonsmoking table and had asked to be switched to the smoking section.

Together with the maître d’, he studied the seating chart. Trying to seem casual, he pointed to the community table directly at the window on the starboard side. There were eight names listed, including Lady Exner’s. “That table looks as though it has a great view. Any chance you could put me there?”

The maître d’, a suave, slender man with a seemingly perpetual smile, was delighted to accommodate him. Already working on his tip, no doubt, Cameron thought. It always gave him pleasure to stiff the help whenever possible. Now he would make it his business to get into the dining room directly behind the old bat and Regan Reilly and make sure he was seated next to them.

Chapter 10

EVENTUALLY LADY EXNER took to her bed for an afternoon nap, which gave Regan a welcome break. She had hoped to sneak down to the next deck, where Luke and Nora had a first-class cabin, but after the episode of Veronica’s near swan dive, decided not to leave her. Instead she stretched out in the chaise on the deck and reviewed the incredible events of the past forty-eight hours.

The realization that Athena had probably not caught the train to London that Friday night, but had been murdered right in Oxford, was beginning to fill her with guilt. Athena had asked her to come down to the pub next to the train station, the Bull and Bear, and have a drink before she caught her train. As the memory of those final moments came back in ever sharper focus, Regan thought, I almost went with her. But I didn’t want to take the time. I was so glad she was leaving for a couple of days and I wouldn’t have to listen to her nonstop complaining about St. Polycarp’s and the English weather.

The ship was moving smoothly. The breeze was strong. Regan shivered and pulled on her sweatshirt. Livingston had asked her to try and remember anything at all that might be helpful in the investigation. Luke and Nora always teased her that she could remember everything from the time she was three. Regan laid back, closed her eyes, and from an investigative viewpoint began to recall the academic year she had spent in historic Oxford with Athena as her roommate.

Athena so seldom went to parties. She never indicated interest in any of the students. I never remember her going on a date, Regan thought. So who would want to kill her?

Chapter 11