Portside Peril (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 2) (5 page)

Millie shook her head as if to clear it.  These young kids were beginning to sound like the old soap opera, “Peyton Place,” where everyone seemed to be running around with everyone else.

Cat stuck her hand on her hip.  Millie could tell she had something juicy to add.  Probably another unexpected twist.  “The girls – Courtney and her sister, Chloe, were identical twins.  You know.  They look, or looked, exactly alike.”

Millie’s forehead crinkled.  This did add a new level of intrigue and mystery to the case.  Zack had dated Courtney and he was at the scene of the first incident.

The friends didn’t seem particularly shaken up by the murder/suicide of their close friends.  On top of that, Courtney’s twin sister, Chloe, was still on board the ship and she had dated her sister’s fiance!

“You have any idea who the friends are?  Do you know their names?”

Cat shook her head.  “Nope.  I tried to keep them in the store, make enough small talk where they mentioned it or even called each other by name but they never did.”

“What about looking at their room cards when they – ahem – purchased their goods?” Annette asked.

Cat frowned.  “I did glance at the card the woman handed me and I saw the name.” She let out a sigh.  “For the life of me, I just can’t remember what it was.”

Millie snapped her fingers.  “I have an idea on how we can get their names.”

Maybe Donovan Sweeney could help her.  After all, he was the purser on board the ship.  Didn’t he have access to all the records of the passengers?  She wasn’t sure if it might be against company policy but at least it was worth a try!

Millie added it to her to-do list.  First, she planned to make a run back to the dressing room to see if Zack was around.   

Millie’s heart sank when she spotted several of the dancers clustered in a small group in the dressing room back stage.  Zack was right in the thick of it.  He looked upset, his face flushed and swollen. 

Millie thought he looked as if he might cry.  When the others saw Millie coming, they stepped aside and busied themselves at their respective counters.

Zack didn’t seem to have much luck keeping the women in his life alive.  First Olivia LaShay had been murdered and now Courtney Earhart. 

Millie made her way over to Zack, leaned forward and gave him a warm hug.  A small sob escaped his lips.

“I can’t believe she’s gone.” The words escaped Zack’s lips in a low moan.  “She didn’t kill herself.  I just know she didn’t.”

Millie didn’t think so, either, considering the condition she had left her in. 

She led Zack into Andy’s small cubicle and motioned to the chair.  She pulled a tissue from a nearby Kleenex box and handed it to him. 

Zack wiped his eyes and loudly blew his nose.  Millie eased into the chair next to him.  “They’re already questioning me as if I’m a suspect.”

Millie wondered who “they” were.

“You know. Dave Patterson.” 

Millie nodded.  That made sense, since Dave had been one of the first people on the scene when Kyle went overboard.  On top of that, he was head of security.

“What do you think happened?” she asked.

“I don’t think Courtney killed herself.  I don’t think she killed Kyle, either.” He wadded the tissue in a ball.  “Think about it.  Kyle was way bigger than Courtney.  Do you really think she would have the strength to push a big guy like him overboard?”

Millie wasn’t sure how much she should be telling Zack, but she had to get his thoughts.  After all, he knew Courtney better than most.  “I met Courtney last night up near the scene of the accident.  She was drunker than a skunk.  She mentioned feeling threatened.  It was almost as if she thought someone was trying to kill her.  Kill them,” Millie added.

Zack slowly nodded.  “Courtney wanted to talk to me.  She left me a message saying it was urgent.  That’s why I was up on deck, to try to track her down.”

“What about her sister, Chloe?”

Zack shook his head. “I can’t see Chloe as a killer but then you never know.  She dated Kyle for about a year.  When they broke up, Kyle started dating Courtney.”

“How did Chloe feel about that?”

Zack shrugged.  “How would anyone feel if you were madly in love with a guy and he broke up with you only to turn around and propose to your twin sister?”

That’s what Millie suspected.  A love triangle gone wrong, but to what level was the hurt and hate?  Was it deep enough to kill someone? Millie was about to find out.

Zack extended his arm. “Chloe was so in love with Kyle, she had his name tattooed on her arm.” He pointed to the inside of his arm, just above his elbow.  It was in a place one would not be able to see unless the under arm was visible.  “Right there.”

“Is Chloe capable of murder?” He shrugged. “I don’t know.  All I do know is it wasn’t me.”

Millie wanted to believe him.

“Can you help me get out of this mess?  Andy told me they might fire me if they can’t clear my name soon.”

Her heart sunk because she didn’t want to see Zack go.  He was one of her favorite staff on board.  Always upbeat, trying to help Millie adjust, giving her tips, encouraging her, pushing her onto the stage when she froze…

She patted his hand.  “I’ll do whatever I can to get to the bottom of this,” she promised him.

Millie got to her feet. “First, I need to talk to the friends.  Do you know their names?”

Zack grabbed another tissue and dabbed at his eyes.  “Adam and Melissa West.” 

That should make it easy for Donovan to find their room. She repeated the name in her head, hoping she wouldn’t forget it!

She whispered it under her breath, all the way to the guest services desk.  She must have looked a bit weird talking to herself as she walked. She did get a few odd stares, not that she minded.  It was more important to remember the names than to worry about appearances.

Her eyes scanned the customer service desk.  Donovan wasn’t on duty.  She grabbed a pad of paper and pencil to jot down a note.  “I need to talk to you ASAP.” She folded the message in half and stuffed it in Donovan’s cubby. 

Millie turned to go and ran smack dab into a woman that could have been Courtney Earhart’s twin.  It had to be her twin sister, Chloe! 

Millie shifted to the side. Chloe stepped to the counter.  The only other person working behind the counter was busy helping another passenger.

Millie seized her opportunity.  “Can I help you with something?”

Chloe gave Millie a sideways glance.  “I-I was gonna see if they might let me into my sister’s cabin.  Courtney Earhart.”  The girl pulled a card from her pocket.  “Here.  Here’s my ID.”

Millie glanced at the key card:
Chloe Earhart. 

Millie handed the card back and reached for the lanyard around her own neck - the one that gave her access to all areas of the ship, including passengers’ cabins.  “Is there something inside you need to get?” 

Millie wasn’t sure if they still considered Courtney and Kyle’s cabin a crime scene and if it was off-limits. She was torn.  She
could
open the door to Courtney’s cabin.  She could also get in a whole lot of hot water…probably.  Of course, she could claim ignorance as a new employee.

Erring on the side of the investigation, Millie touched her arm.  “I can let you in.”

Chloe Earhart looked up.  “You can?”

The women headed to the elevator.  “The stairs will be quicker,” Millie pointed out.

Chloe nodded.  “Okay.”

Questions were swirling ‘round Millie’s mind.  Questions she was dying to ask.  Like why would she stay on board and not get off with her sister’s body, not to mention her ex-boyfriend’s body?

Chloe clenched the handrail.  “I know I should’ve gotten off.  My parents.  Well, they’re devastated.”

Chloe stopped abruptly.  “My sister won’t be laid to rest until I get back home.  I’ll get off this ship, but I’m not leaving until I get to the bottom of this and find Courtney’s killer,” she vowed, “and Kyle’s.”

Millie’s eyes wandered down her arm in search of the tattoo that Zack had mentioned.  The spot with Kyle’s name.  Unfortunately, Chloe was wearing long sleeves.

She followed Chloe down the steps to Deck 4. The same deck Millie had been on the night before when she helped Courtney to her cabin.

They stopped in front of cabin 4204.  Courtney’s cabin. Millie glanced down the long hall, took a deep breath, and lifted her lanyard from her neck.  She pushed the key card in the slot.  The lock clicked, Millie pushed the door open and followed Chloe Earhart inside. 

Chloe spun around. She glanced down at Millie’s tag.  “You - you’re…”

“Millie Sanders, the assistant cruise director.”

Chloe nodded.  “I ran into Zack Smythe earlier.  Are you the one that helped Courtney to her cabin?”

Millie nodded. 

“So you were the last person to see Court alive?”

Millie blinked.  She had been the last person – which would make her a prime suspect.  The thought hadn’t occurred to her.  Did that mean security would be coming to track her down and arrest her?

Chloe didn’t wait for an answer.  She opened the bathroom door, looked inside and closed it. She wandered around the room, as if looking for something. 

“Is there something specific you needed, dear?”

Chloe looked at Millie then dropped her gaze to the floor.  She shrugged.  “I don’t know.  A clue maybe?  Something the investigators might have missed?”

Millie didn’t think that would be the case.  After all, the room was small.  It wouldn’t take long to search every square inch of the cabin.

Still, Chloe seemed determined.  She lifted the edge of the mattress.

Millie pulled open a closet door and peered inside the dark space.  It was empty. She started to shut the door when something caught her eye. Something blue.  Millie reached in and grabbed hold of a silk fabric.

She pulled it out and unfolded it, holding it up. 

Chloe dropped the edge of the mattress and stepped closer.  “What’s that?”

Millie frowned.  What it was - was the stained dress that Courtney Earhart had been wearing the night of her death.

Millie draped the dress over her arm. She slipped her cell phone from her pocket and turned it on.  She scrolled to the pictures she had taken of Courtney in the morgue. She slipped her glasses on and pulled the phone close.  Courtney was wearing a different dress - a pink one! 

That meant that if Courtney committed suicide, she managed to change into a clean dress, write a suicide note and then overdose on a bunch of pills, all the while inebriated to the point of passing out.  This scenario was highly unlikely.

Chloe pointed to the dress draped across Millie’s arm. “This is the dress Courtney was wearing the last time I saw her alive!”

Millie turned the phone so Chloe could see the dress Courtney had on when security discovered her body. “Does this dress look familiar?”

Chloe’s eyes grew wide.  “That dress belongs to Melissa!  I watched her unpack it and put it in her closet!  I only know ‘cuz I remember telling her how much I liked it.”

Chloe lifted the stained dress from Millie’s arm.  She held it up.  “Maybe you can talk to Adam and Melissa?”

Millie paused.  Why would she talk to Adam and Melissa if she, Chloe, was bound and determined to get to the bottom of her sister’s death?

“I could.” She looked around.  “I need to find out what cabin they’re in.”

“Well, that’s easy,” Chloe replied, “it’s right next door!”

Millie’s radio began to squawk.  “Millie. Do you copy?” It was Andy.  She glanced at her watch and discovered she was late!  Ten minutes late to be precise.  “I’m here, Andy.  I’m on my way.”

“Meet me in front of the watermelon.” The “watermelon” was a carved, Styrofoam fixture that separated the buffet line from the tables in the eating area.  If one looked at it real close, you could see the food stains and nicks that covered the front. 

“10-4.”

Millie turned to go.  “You need to take the dress to Detective Patterson.  It’s evidence.”

Chloe followed her to the door.  “So maybe we can work together to track down my sister’s killer?” 

Chloe kept saying her “sister’s killer” but there was no mention of poor Kyle. 

Millie’s eyes wandered to Chloe’s long-sleeved blouse, which was odd considering they were in the tropics.

Chloe followed Millie into the hall.  The poor thing looked so sad!  Millie impulsively turned around and hugged her slender shoulders, which trembled ever so slightly.  “I’ll see what I can do,” she promised.

“Thank you,” Chloe replied thickly.  She pressed a hand to her forehead.  “I think I need to go lie down.”

Millie jogged down the corridor to the staircase.  She took the stairs two at a time.  She forgot how many floors it was from Deck 4 to the lido deck, which was where
Waves
, the ship’s buffet area, was located.

Andy was already waiting for Millie when she reached the watermelon.  He narrowed his eyes when she got close.  “What happened to you?”

“I-I.  Well, I ran in Chloe Earhart, Courtney’s twin sister, down near guest services.  She’s beside herself what with her sister’s death.”

Andy crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels.  “Why on earth didn’t she get off the ship with her sister?”

“She’s convinced her sister was murdered and seems determined to get to the bottom of it.”

Andy tapped the side of his face.  “Ah, I see. So you offered to help find her sister’s killer?”

Millie shrugged.  “Kind of…sort of.”

He waved his hand.  “You know, since you were the last person to see Courtney alive, Dave Patterson will want to speak to you.”

That didn’t bother Millie.  What did bother her was the fact she was getting a reputation for being a busy body, which she didn’t think she was.  It wasn’t her fault she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She thought about Dave.  He was a nice enough guy.  She wasn’t sure that he liked her.  After all, she always seemed to be underfoot and in his way.

“You still have your list for today?”  The “list” was Millie’s list of duties. She patted her top pocket.  “Right here.  In an hour, I report to stage to help Alison with the line dancing class.” Alison was one of the other dancers.  Millie liked her but didn’t really know her all that well.  Actually, the only one she really knew was Zack.

She decided she needed to get to know them all a bit better.  One never knew when they might come in handy while investigating a murder! 

“C’mon.” Andy waved his arm. “Let’s eat.”

Millie followed Andy over to the pizza counter.  She eyed the pies in the display case. “What do you recommend?”

“Hawaiian is my favorite but the pepperoni is pretty good, too.”

Millie grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza along with a small side dish of pasta salad.  The two wandered to a table in the corner.  “Oh! I almost forgot.  The captain would like to see you up on the bridge at 1400 hours. To you civilians, that would be 2:00 this afternoon.”

Millie had just taken a bite of her pepperoni pizza.  It tasted delicious, at least the first bite.    Now it felt like she was chewing on a chunk of cardboard. She chewed a few more bites and then swallowed the thick lump.

Millie grabbed her glass of water and took a big swig to wash it down.  “W-why me?”

He shrugged.  “Maybe he wants to talk to you about the murder.”

“You think he suspects me?”

Andy wasn’t quite sure, and he wasn’t one to question the captain.  It was as much a mystery to Andy as it was to Millie. 

“I don’t know, Millie,” he admitted.  “All I can tell you is in all my years as cruise director, Captain Armati has never asked to see my assistant.”

If that was supposed to make Millie feel better, it didn’t.  In fact, it had the opposite effect.  Her brow began to sweat at the thought of Captain Armati.  She’d met him only once.  On her very first day and she got the distinct impression he didn’t care for her.

Maybe he was going to fire her!  “Do you think I’m getting the boot?”

Andy picked a chunk of pineapple from the top of his slice of pizza and popped it into his mouth.  “Well, I would hope he would have given me some sort of warning if that was his intent.”

Andy picked up his glass of lemonade and took a long swallow.  “Of course, he may not tell me in case I tip you off.”

That made sense to Millie.  Certain she was about to get the ax only days into her new job, she shoved the plate and the rest of her pizza aside.  She had completely lost her appetite. 
What would she tell her children?  That their mother, the loser, had managed to be fired less than a month into the first paid job she’d had in years?

Andy reached over and patted her hand.  “Don’t worry about it.  If that’s the case, I’ll try to go to bat for you.”

“If I have to get another assistant, that means I’ll have to share my cabin again.” He winked. 

Andy had it made.  His cabin was a bit larger than the rest of the staff.  It was large enough to accommodate a small table and a couple chairs.  There was also a sofa and nice, new flat screen TV. 

Plus, Millie couldn’t guarantee, but his bath sure seemed a bit bigger than the one she and Sarah shared, which was barely big enough to turn around.  Every time Millie climbed into the shower and turned even just a little, the shower curtain clung to her!

“Well, that makes me feel better,” she said grimly.

Andy placed his empty plates on his tray and stood.  “Let me know as soon as the meeting is over.  I’m opening for the afternoon galley tour and will be back in my office after that.”

Andy didn’t really have an “office.” It was more of a cubby tucked back in the corner, behind the dressing room at the back of the stage. 

Millie’s steps dragged as she made her way to the theater for the line dancing, as if she was making her way to her own execution.  She wondered how she’d gotten herself into this predicament.  She was beginning to take a real shine to the job, getting to know some of the crew and staff.  Millie was making friends, solving murders, and they were paying her for it!  Finally, she had purpose in her life again.

The thought of going back to the suburbs and facing the four walls, wandering around with nothing to do and sinking back into a depression was not what she wanted to do.  Maybe she could beg him for mercy.  Surely the man had some sort of compassion.  She could explain her situation.

Her steps lightened.  That was what she was going to do!  Plead her case.  There was no way Captain Armati could fire her if she told him how much the job meant to her!

Millie picked up the pace as she entered the theater.  When she spotted Alison setting up on stage, Millie rolled up her sleeves and bound up the steps.  “Let’s get this show on the road!”