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seemed to like the ship, with her bright and spacious, elegantly decorated public areas. The Rapture was a good ship, large enough with her eleven passenger decks not to feel cramped, but not so big as to overwhelm a port with too many p eople . She was sleek and modern with clean lines , and her crew kept her extremely well-maintained. Her hull was deep and her stabilizers worked well, allowing barely noticeable movement on deck that first night out. Some ships are built with only Caribbean cruising in mind and have a hard time handling the rigors of the North Sea or a Trans-Atlantic crossing. The Rapture was designed to take on rough seas.
    Everyone had been pleased with t he staterooms on the ship at check-in , even Gertrude.
    “This is real nice,” she said, peering into in her closet on arrival. “Not too big, but plenty of room for my things. I’m glad you told us to bring extra hangers, though, Si dney. Either they cheaped o ut on that or somebody stole some of them. I bet someone did steal them. Th ose hangers are good , but t here’s not near ly enough. I don’t like my mattress, though. Tell them to bring me another one. ”
    I always encourage my clients to pack some extra lightweight wire hangers . The ship’s closets have a fair number of good wooden ones , but never enough for all the High Steppers’ stuff. I also recommend that they pack a full-sized bar of their favorite bath soap . N ice but small bath amenities are always provided , but High Steppers prefer to stash th ose away in their suitcases to take home.
    The staterooms on the Rapture were comfortable and spacious, with muted, tasteful colors and small but well -fitted bathrooms and closets equipped with in-room safes . There were small televisions but no in-room Internet access , as you might find on many newer ships. The beds were designed so that they could be set up as twins or a queen, by prearranged preference.
    Most of the group had opted for outside cabins. A very few chose the slightly cheaper inside cabins that had no window. Amy and Charlie Wu had a balcony cabin, as did the Johnsons. Abe Klein and Brooke Shyler had each booked a suite.
    Some of my group — the ones who hadn’t ordered room service and gone straight to bed —were attending the welcome show immediately after dinner . Looking in on the show, I saw that t he Murphys had grabbed seats on the front row center of the Broadway Showroom . Muriel seemed mesmerized by the dancers. She didn’t miss a move, bobbing with the music, smiling and clapping enthusiastically after every number. It was clear that Gladys was correct ; t he cast members , in their sequined costumes , were apparently living Muriel’s dream. Her longing was painful to watch. The Johnsons and Angelo Petrone and the Levy sisters were all enjoying the show , too, but no one was as enthusiastic as Muriel.
    I didn’t see any of the other High Steppers in the audience . The missing ones were probably all resting in their cabin s , reading the Daily Program for tomorrow, eating pillow mints, watching the clock so they could be first in line for the Sweet Dreams Buffet.
    The only group member I hadn’t spotted at all since we boarded was Jerome Morgan . D ark, heavy-set and clean-shaven , Morgan had close-cut, almost buzz-cut hair and a long , hooked nose . He wore dark sunglasses most of the time and a flashy watch. The watch was the only flashy thing about him ; otherwise he was very quiet in dress and manner. W e had little personal information about him. At Kennedy , Morgan had told Jay that he and Fernando Ortiz worked for Abe Klein ’s business , without mention ing exactly what they did. He did volunteer that Abe had paid for their trip as a reward for good job performance.
    Itchy Feet Travel (IFT) sells a lot of incentive travel, usually rewarding top producers in a company . I t was hard to imagine either Jerome Morgan or Fernando Ortiz as super-salesm e n. They did not fit the glad-handing