Portside Peril (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 2) (12 page)

The time seemed to drag by, although Millie stayed busy.  She reported to Andy there were no complaints with guests.  In fact, they seemed to love Scout.  She told him the scavenger hunt had been a hit with the guests and that everything for the evening was on track for the couples show.

Andy interrupted her. “How’s the investigation going?” Millie lowered her eyes.  She wasn’t good at lying.  Not even half-truths. Instead, she kept silent.

She jumped when Andy slammed his fist on the table.  “I knew it!” He leaned in. “Millie! I can see it in your eyes.  What are you up to?”

“A little eavesdropping,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Say it again, but louder,” he commanded.

Millie sucked in a breath.  “We’re going to plant a small microphone in the room next to Courtney and Kyle’s old room and eavesdrop,” she blurted out.

Andy raised his eyebrows.  “This was your idea.”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “It’s Annette’s idea.  She’s the one that baked the special brownies.”

Andy let out a harsh breath. “Special brownies?”

Millie shrugged.  “Well, she called them truth serum brownies.”

“And what exactly are in the ‘truth serum’ brownies?”

“Uh. I didn’t ask. Honestly, I don’t think I want to know.”

Andy jumped to his feet so fast his chair tumbled backward and hit the floor with a loud thud.  “She can’t do that!  She can’t drug passengers!”

“She didn’t say it was a ‘drug,’” Millie argued, “I mean, she didn’t use those words.”

Millie held up her hands.  “Look, Annette is not going to hurt anyone.  Personally, I think she’s just saying that.  After all, where on earth would she get her hands on - you know – illegal stuff?”

Of course, maybe it was legal stuff.  Legal in Jamaica. Also legal in some other foreign country that the ship just happened to visit...

It took Millie several more minutes but she finally calmed Andy enough to where he sat back down in his chair and didn’t storm off to hunt Annette down.  “You could go with us,” she suggested.

Andy’s eyes narrowed.  Millie knew she had him!  “Keep an eye on us.  See how we operate.”

“Make sure things don’t get out of hand,” she added.

Andy crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair.  “I suppose I could.”

Millie hopped up.  “Great! We’ll meet you out in front of cabin 4204 down on main.”

Millie was on pins and needles as she waited to head down to the surveillance.  Finally, it was time to go.  Thankfully, no one was in the hall near Courtney’s cabin. 

Millie gave the door a gentle push. It slowly swung open.  When she stepped through the door, she realized she was the last to arrive.  Cat, Andy and Annette were already inside. 

Annette gave her an odd look as if to say, “How did Andy find out?” but she didn’t say anything.

Millie joined the group huddled around the small coffee table.  A mini speaker was in the center.  Headphones were lying beside it.

“Aren’t you…”

“The speaker is hooked to the headphones so we can all listen in,” Annette explained.

Millie nodded. She sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned forward. 

“Amit dropped the special brownies off a few minutes ago.  We haven’t heard anything yet.”

Just then, they heard a door slam.  Cat whacked Millie’s arm. “They’re back,” she hissed.

“Shush.” Andy shushed them.

Cat gave him the evil eye. 

There was giggling. “Don’t do that.” It was a female voice.

“Hmm and why not?”

“I wish I had some popcorn or snacks. Better yet, one of those brownies,” Cat whispered.

There was more giggling.

Andy rolled his eyes.  “I hope this doesn’t become R-rated.”

“Oh! What are these?  It looks like room service dropped this off.  There’s a note ‘Happy Anniversary.’ It’s from Andy Walker, Cruise Director.  Now isn’t that nice.  Too bad it’s not our anniversary.”

Andy’s head jerked around, his eyes widened and he glared at Annette.  “You put
my
name on the brownies?”

Annette shrugged helplessly.  “I didn’t know what else to do!”

“Shhh!” Cat whacked Annette in the arm.  “They’re talking again.”

“Mmm. These are delicious. Here, hand me another one.” It was Adam talking this time.

“Too bad Courtney isn’t here.” A woman sniffled.  “She loves brownies.  I mean loved.”

“Now don’t start crying again, Melissa.  You know how unstable she was.”

“I know. That doesn’t mean she killed herself.”

There was a long pause.  Millie shifted impatiently.

“Did you tell the detective the door between our rooms was open the night Courtney died?” Adam asked his wife.

“Why would I tell them that?  Then they’d think we had something to do with Courtney’s death.”

“True,” Adam admitted.  “Last brownie. You want it?”

“No. It’s yours,” Melissa replied.  “It sure is hot in here.  We should turn down the air.”

They heard a muffled thud.

“Whoa! Watch out, Adam. You almost fell on the coffee table.”

Millie looked at Annette.  “They’re going to be okay, aren’t they?”

“Yes. Yes.” Annette assured them.  “They’ll be fine.”

Andy wiped a nervous brow.  “Yeah! My name is all over the stupid things. Thanks to Annette!”

“Stop arguing!” Millie spoke up.  “We’re missing it!”

“…why they don’t question their own employee.  You know, Zack was lurking around Courtney’s cabin the other night.”

“You don’t think he killed Courtney.” Melissa replied. 

“I wish we had more of those brownies,” she added.

Andy’s mouth dropped open.  “They were talking about Zack!”

The group waited a few more minutes. Soon they heard snores.  The brownies must have knocked them out! 

Andy abruptly stood.  “Party’s over.”

He turned to Annette.  “If anything happens to those two.” He pointed next door. “I’m coming for you, Annette,” he warned.

She gulped hard as she grabbed the headphones and small speaker.  “Don’t worry Nervous Nellie.  They’ll be just fine.  They can sleep it off.”

Millie wasn’t worried about the Wests.  She was worried about Zack!

“I guess it’s time to have another chat with Zack,” Andy told them. 

Millie was sure Zack would be able to explain himself.  The fact that he hadn’t admitted being in the vicinity the night of Courtney’s death was a bit of a worry. 

Millie said a quick prayer for Zack, and Courtney and Kyle’s families.  She trudged behind Andy as she followed him back to his small office.  The couples show would be starting soon.

The Heart and Homes show was hilarious.  The place was packed and the show went off without a hitch.  It was so much fun, Millie almost forgot about Zack.

She watched as Andy cornered him in the dressing room and then led him to his office.  Millie closed her eyes. “Please, God.  Don’t let Zack be the murderer.”

Millie wandered into the crew cafeteria. Her plan was to eat something quick and then head to bed.  She would have to be up and ready early tomorrow to catch that first shuttle to the island. 

Millie filled her tray with a scoop of rice and covered it with some sort of beef stew.  She grabbed a slice of banana nut bread that looked suspiciously familiar.

She filled her glass with iced tea and headed to the tables.  Sarah, Millie’s roommate, and Sarah’s friend, Nikki, were off in the corner.  They waved Millie over.  She hadn’t seen the two of them together in what seemed like weeks but was really only days. 

Millie slid her tray onto the table and pulled out a chair.  She eyed the cheeseburger on Sarah’s plate.  Her mouth watered.  It looked good and greasy.  Just the way she liked them!

Sarah saw the look. She held out the burger.  “Here. Try it.”

Millie picked up the sandwich and nibbled the edge.  It was delicious.  “That’s so good.”

“So how’s the investigation going?” Nikki asked. 

“It has taken a turn for the worse,” Millie admitted.  She didn’t go into details.  Just told them there were too many suspects and not enough clues yet.  Tomorrow was a new day. 

Looking at the girls gave Millie an idea.  As she sat there and made small talk, she hatched a plan.  One to flush out the killer – or killers. It might be a bit of a stretch to pull off, but Millie was getting desperate - and they were running out of time. 

Millie was looking forward to her day on the island.  She got to dress in clothes that were a bit more comfortable: Bermuda shorts and lightweight short sleeve shirt.  Plus, it was fun watching the passengers when they caught their first glimpse of the island.  It was almost like their own private island retreat.  Away from the crowded, tourist filled islands with islanders hawking their wares.

Millie woke early. She was on a mission.  She just prayed that all of the suspects got off.  Otherwise, her plan might not work!

Millie stepped off the shuttle boat and headed to the nearest palm tree.  Although it was still early morning, the sun was blazing hot.  She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, turned it on and switched it to the pictures.  The ones she had taken of Courtney’s cabin the morning of her murder.  There was one picture in particular she wanted to see. 

She slipped her reading glasses on and tapped the small screen, making the picture as large as she possibly could.  She studied the photo for several long moments. She closed her eyes and tried to memorize the photo.  Ingrain it in the back of her mind.  She did this several times, until she was certain she had it down pat.

She slipped the camera back in her pocket and made a beeline for Dario, the bartender who normally worked the casino.  Since the casino closed while the ship stopped at the island, Millie knew he’d been assigned to the island, making his rounds, and serving the guests.

She pulled him to the side.  “I need your help.”

Dario tipped his empty beverage tray and slid it under his arm. “Yes, Ms. Millie.  What do you need?”

“Receipts.  I need to look at your drink receipts. Do you have a piece of scrap paper?”

Dario reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notepad and pen.  He handed it to Millie.  She scribbled the names of her suspects, minus Zack, on the sheet of paper and handed it back.  “I need to see the signatures on these receipts.”

He glanced at the list.  “But what if they don’t wanna order drinks, Ms. Millie?”

Millie grasped Dario’s shoulder and stared into his eyes.  “Now, Dario.  Your job is to sell drinks, right?”

“Yes, Miss Millie.”

“And I
know
that you are good at what you do.” Millie laid it on thick.  “You are one of the best bartenders on board the ship.”

Dario smiled wide.  “Yes.” He puffed up his chest.  “I sell them drinks, Miss Millie. Don’t you worry.”

Millie watched as Dario headed to the bar area.  She could see Adam and Melissa West.  They had just hopped up on two empty barstools at the island bar.

Dario walked over to the couple, leaned an elbow on the counter and started talking to them.  Their backs were to Millie.  She gave Dario the thumbs up and turned her attention to her job.  It was time to make sure the steel drum band had the right playlist.

The day flew by.  For the most part, Millie enjoyed the warm sunshine and tropical ocean breezes.  It gave a bit of relief from hot, humid, stagnant air.  She passed Dario on her way to make sure the lunch buffet was ready to go.  “How’s it goin’?”

Dario patted his pocket.  “I have dem all, Miss Millie.”

Millie couldn’t wait to check out the signatures on the receipts.  She had a gut feeling that finally, she might have something to go on, to lead her in the right direction.

The last of the guests boarded the 3 p.m. shuttle to the ship. A small army of crew remained on the island to tidy up and make sure it was ready for the next set of guests who were on another ship and scheduled to visit the island the next day. 

She caught up with Dario as he worked at cleaning up the bar.  He handed Millie a small pile of receipts.  “They’re all here, Miss Millie.”

Millie lined the receipts on the bar.  She plucked her phone from her pocket.  Starting on the left, she studied each of the signatures carefully.  Dario leaned over her shoulder. 

Millie turned and patted his arm. “You managed to get the signatures for all of them!”

He nodded proudly.  “Yes, Miss Millie.”

She eliminated several of the signatures right off the bat.  They weren’t even close.  But a couple of them were close. Millie snapped a photo of each of the receipts for reference.  Something about the signatures was different.

She mulled it over for the next couple of hours as she finished cleaning and straightening.  Finally, it was time to board the staff shuttle and head back to the ship. 

A storm was brewing off in the distance and the small shuttle boat bounced up and down in the choppy waves. 

Millie could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.  A flash of lightning touched the water a short distance from the ship.   She let out a sigh of relief when the crew tethered the shuttle to the ship and slipped the plank onto the open deck. 

Millie was one of the first off the ship. The cool interior air washed over Millie like a welcome breeze.  The cool air must have cleared her foggy brain because it suddenly dawned on her that she knew exactly how to find the killer. 

Millie headed up a flight of stairs to the photo gallery.  Her heart raced as she frantically searched for the picture of Kyle and Courtney when they first boarded the ship.  Her eyes scanned the rows of smiling faces.  Actually, there were two pictures of Kyle and Courtney on display.  The first one was of them as they boarded the ship.  The backdrop was a picture of Siren of the Seas. 

The second photo was a bit more casual.  The picture had been taken as the ship departed Miami.  Millie could see the city skyline in the background.  There was one more thing about the photo - a very important clue that confirmed Millie’s suspicions!

Millie headed back to her cabin.  She studied the pictures of the receipts Dario had shown her one more time.  Then she flipped back to the suicide note.  Whoever had written the note had used a pen that was a bit on the leaky side. The writing was a little runny. It was the clue.  A clue that Millie desperately needed.  After studying the suicide note, Millie was convinced whoever had written the note was left handed. 

Millie had a plan.  It would take a little luck and perseverance, and a little help from her friends.