Cruising for Murder: Myrtle Clover #10

Chapter Eleven

 The trolley tour was actually more entertaining than Myrtle thought it might be. The fishing village of Ketchikan was very picturesque, and the driver took them out into an equally scenic landscape away from town where eagles flew and waterfalls fell. Myrtle took a great number of pictures.

Not only was the tour entertaining, but Bettina was, too. She could tell a good joke and a good story. Nothing was said about the last few days on the ship as they took in the sights of Ketchikan.

At least, nothing was said until Myrtle brought it up.

"This is really a lovely tour," said Myrtle. "But then, I even enjoyed Juneau and it poured that day. What did you do when we were in Juneau?"

Myrtle thought Bettina's expression closed up just a bit. Juneau was, after all, the port where Eugenia met her fate. At some point, anyway.

Bettina said, "Well, with the rain and everything, I decided to stay on the ship. I'd wanted to do the tram ride thing, but I certainly wasn't going to get on it and not even have a view of Juneau by the end. I stayed in my room and caught up on my sleep."

"What did you think of Eugenia? Was she a nice girl?" asked Myrtle.

Bettina said, "Well, what was your impression of her?"

She seemed genuinely curious, so Myrtle took a few seconds to think it through. "I thought she was nice," said Myrtle. "That's sort of a weak word, but I think it fit her well. She seemed to try hard, and to be responsible. She didn't, maybe, seem like the greatest intellectual, but she was pleasant to be around."

Bettina nodded. "You don't think of her as someone who was deliberately scheming to have Celeste give her a fortune?"

"If she was, she was a much better actress than I'd have ever guessed," said Myrtle.

Bettina said, "I totally agree. I don't think she had the intellect to be able to sustain a show like that for years. Besides, no one could make Celeste do anything she didn't want to do. If she didn't want to give her money to Eugenia, there was no one on the planet who could make it happen."

Myrtle said slowly, "I also think Eugenia was observant."

Bettina narrowed her eyes. "You're saying that she saw something that may have gotten her killed?"

"It's an idea." Myrtle paused. "One thing Eugenia told me, somewhat under duress, is that you had played a prank on Celeste."

To Myrtle's surprise, Bettina flushed a mottled shade of red. "I'm afraid I did. It might not have been my most mature moment."

Myrtle said, "What Eugenia didn't tell me is why you'd done such a thing. She didn't even manage a wild guess. And playing childish pranks doesn't exactly fit into my view of you."

Bettina sighed. "No. No, it's not really something I'd ordinarily do. But Celeste was fond of playing games as I've mentioned before. She was really something of a student of human nature. She'd get bored and set up various conflicts or situations as almost a lab experiment to see how people would react."