Calmer Cruises

by WINTERS, A. R.

  “Fine,” she huffed, wrinkling her nose. “But I’m just going to say it for the record—it’s way too early for this.”

  I definitely couldn’t argue with her on that point. Whatever Kelly’s crisis was, it had better be a real one. Otherwise?

  She might have a mutiny on her hands.

  I wasn’t ready for the chaos that greeted us once Sam and I got to the top deck of the ship. Kelly was standing between Petal and Guru Shakti, with both of their respective yoga groups staring each other down from opposite sides of the deck.

  Sam leaned in and murmured, “It looks like they’re getting ready to have some kind of super flexible death match.”

  “Please don’t make me laugh right now,” I snorted, looking away before anyone else could see that I’d cracked a smile.

  Kelly excused herself from the yoga instructors and motioned for Sam and me to follow her until we were far enough away from everyone to be out of earshot. “Thank goodness you’re both here.” She gave a nervous look back over her shoulder. “We seem to be having a bit of a standoff. I’m hoping you can help me talk everyone down before things start to get even uglier than they already are.”

  Sam looked over at me, but I shook my head. “You’re the customer liaison,” I mouthed, hoping it would be enough to get me off the hook when it came to acting as referee for whatever was about to happen.

  And, technically, I shouldn’t have even been involved in the first place. I was the social media manager. Unless they wanted me to take pictures of the impending brawl and publish them online, I couldn’t see how this mess was any of my concern.

  I didn’t mind being there to support Sam and Kelly, though. I’d just be supporting them from a safe distance.

  “Why is everyone even up here?” Sam asked. “What could have possibly happened to make them so angry? It isn’t even fully daylight yet.”

  “That’s the thing,” Kelly sighed. “We only have a few minutes to resolve this mess. Both groups want to practice yoga at dawn up here, but there simply isn’t room for that many people to spread out. It just can’t happen, but neither side is willing to budge an inch.”

  Both of us looked at Sam. My best friend wasn’t a morning person under the best of circumstances, and even though I also wasn’t happy to be up here on the top deck instead of in my warm bed, I was quickly realizing that I would probably have to take a more active role in supporting Sam in this situation.

  “Did either group reserve the space ahead of time?” I asked, hoping that there would be an easy, cut and dry solution. If one of them had signed up first, they were entitled to use the space first.

  Simple. Easy. No muss, no fuss.

  Kelly shook her head. “Unfortunately not. But once word got around about the view, both groups decided they had to have it.”

  “Maybe we can just have them flip a coin?” I offered. “Or maybe one of them will just… be mature about the situation if we ask one of the groups to volunteer to come back later?”

  Kelly and Sam both shot me a skeptical look. “I have complete faith in the two of you to come up with a perfect solution,” Kelly said, already moving toward the exit.

  “Wait, what?” I held up my hands to stop her. “You can’t just leave us here to fix this by ourselves.”

  “Right,” Sam nodded. “They already know we don’t have any authority here. We’ll stay here with you and back up whatever decision you make. You’ve got the title. They’ll listen to the cruise director.”

  There was no doubt from the look Kelly gave each of us that she wasn’t happy we were making her stay, but it was only fair. Petal and Shakti would eat us alive if we tried to settle their argument without anyone else around.

  And in the end, they would have probably insisted on talking it over with Kelly again anyway.

  Once the three of us approached the group with a united, cohesive message, they were a little less combative. Just like Sam and I had said they would be.

  “But if one of our teams has to leave,” Petal said, eyeing the three of us suspiciously. “Where would we go? Surely you aren’t just going to arbitrarily pick a side, are you? We’ve all paid a lot of money to be on this cruise, and we should all have equal access to the facilities.”

  I was tempted to point out that they did still have equal access to the facilities, but like most public areas, the deck space was first come, first served. But I resisted that temptation. Partly because daylight was quickly approaching, and partly because I wanted to leave this chilly upper deck and go find some breakfast within the next few minutes.

  Luckily, Sam had a handle on the situation.

  “Have any of you experienced the lagoon pool a couple of decks down from here?” she asked. “It’s heated and there are tropical plants all around. Hardly anyone will be out there at this hour, and I think it would make a wonderful setting for saluting the sun. You still have uninterrupted views in both directions and it could be a really nice, holistic experience.”

  I struggled not to chuckle as both Petal and Shakti quickly turned to their teams with excited looks. Sam had really done a good job selling the lagoon pool. Knowing our luck, they’d all probably start arguing about who could use that space instead.

  Shakti spoke up first. “That does sound… adequate.” I could tell from the way his group was chattering happily behind him that they considered it to be much more than just adequate, but again, this wasn’t the time to split hairs. Not when there was fresh breakfast being served down in the international buffet right about now. “We’ll take you up on that offer.” He turned to Kelly. “Would you be so kind as to show us to the lagoon pool, Ms. Cline.”

  Kelly turned and flashed us a grateful smile. “I’d be glad to, Guru.” She directed them toward the stairs. “We’d better hurry, though. I don’t want anyone to miss the beautiful sunrise.”

  “Right,” Petal clapped her hands. “That means we need to hurry as well. Spread out, everyone! The sun isn’t going to wait for any of us!”

  I turned to Sam as everyone started leaving. “Good job. The lagoon pool was a perfect solution. I think we should celebrate by having breakfast down at the buffet.”

  “Totally agree,” she nodded. “And we should be able to get down there before most of the other passengers. Nobody in their right mind is awake right now.”

  I laughed. “Right? Just us and the yoga crew.”

  We took the elevator down to the main deck where the majority of the shops and restaurants were located and then cut across the outdoor area to get from one end of the deck to the other.

  “Who needs yoga at dawn when you can get your exercise in this way?” Sam smirked. “I feel like we’ve been on a hike already this morning.”

  I nodded and stifled a yawn. “I’d probably be more into hiking if there was always a breakfast buffet waiting at the end.”

  “Hey, what is that?” Sam pointed toward the lounge chairs across the deck. “Is someone sleeping out here?”

  I squinted against the rising sun. “Maybe they had a few too many drinks last night. Do you think we should wake them up?”

  “They’re going to get a heck of a sunburn on one side of their face if we leave them there.”

  “Good point.” We started walking toward the sleeping figure. As we got closer, I could see that they were laying in an extremely awkward position, with their arms and legs sort of bent at weird angles. “They must have really been partying last night,” I mumbled. “Hey there,” I called out once we were about ten feet away. “Excuse me, um…”

  My voice trailed off as I finally got a good look at the person’s face. And then I saw the unmistakable dark puddle that had formed around their head.

  “Is that…?” Sam swallowed hard as I reached out to grab her arm.

  “Sam, I think we’d better call Ethan and Dr. Ryan. We have a dead body to report.”

  Chapter Eight

  Sam and I did our best to look inconspicuous and also make sure no other passengers go
t close to the body while we waited for Ethan and Dr. Ryan to arrive. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long. It also helped that not many passengers were even out of bed at that early hour of the morning.

  Ethan was the first to make it out there with a couple of extra security guards in tow to set up a perimeter around the deck.

  “Are you okay?” Ethan asked quietly, giving my arm a subtle squeeze.

  “I’m good,” I nodded. “Sam and I were just on our way to get breakfast when we saw him. We thought he had just partied too hard and passed out at first, but… then we got closer and saw who it was.”

  “Rock Holliday,” Sam added with a frown. “It’s just a matter of time before word gets around that one of our VIP passengers has died.” She sighed. “This is going to be bad.”

  I nodded in agreement then turned back to Ethan. “Does the captain know yet? Or Kelly? We had just finished helping her deal with the yoga groups before we came down here.”

  And it was just our luck that we would have been celebrating that small victory mediating between the two yoga groups when we stumbled, almost literally, upon something much worse.

  No amount of fast-talking was going to solve this problem. Nothing was going to bring Mr. Holliday back.

  “I called the captain on the radio before I came out here,” Ethan said. “And I’m sure he’ll bring Kelly. The more pressing issue at the moment is getting Dr. Ryan out here to inspect the body so my team can take over.”

  Just as Ethan mentioned the doctor’s name, Dr. Ryan walked out onto the deck with Cece right by his side. As soon as she caught sight of the body, though, she left him to make a beeline toward the spot where Sam, Ethan, and I were waiting a safe distance away.

  Dr. Ryan didn’t waste any time. After making a quick visual inspection, he looked up and frowned. “He obviously fell from one of the higher decks. Judging by the injuries he received upon impact, I’m guessing possibly the observation deck. Have you notified his wife?”

  We each shook our heads. “Do you think foul play was involved?” Ethan asked.

  “Possibly. It’s also possible that he could have jumped.” The doctor shrugged. “It’s hard to know anything for sure until after I’ve done an autopsy and toxicology report.”

  “What happened here?” The captain’s voice drew our attention as he and Kelly hurried out onto the deck behind us. “Oh, no. Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”

  Kelly took one look at the body before grimacing and turning away. “And please tell me that isn’t Rock Holliday.”

  Cece shuddered and shook her head. “I have to get out of here. I… I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “How did he die?” the captain asked, seeming to barely notice as Cece rushed past him. “And why is there so much blood? Did he get mugged?”

  “We’re not sure,” Ethan and Dr. Ryan said at the same time. Dr. Ryan continued, “We know he fell from one of the upper decks. We don’t know any of the other circumstances surrounding his death yet.”

  “But we’ll get to the bottom of it, Captain,” Ethan reassured him. “We need to get the body out of here before the other passengers start poking around. If there was any foul play involved, we can’t waste any time.”

  The captain shot a nervous glance over his shoulder toward the security guards. They were still blocking the doors that the first early morning passengers would no doubt start trying to use any minute now. The longer we all stayed out here, the more attention it would draw.

  It was decided that Dr. Ryan and the security guards would take the body down to the ship’s morgue as quickly and inconspicuously as possible while the captain and Kelly notified Rock’s widow and then decided what to say to the press when they inevitably found out about the death.

  Which left Sam, Ethan, and me standing there and exchanging tired, worried looks. “Come on,” Ethan gestured toward the doors. “Let’s get out of here for a little while before the craziness starts. You two said you were on your way to breakfast?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, until we got sidetracked by a possible murder. I’m honestly not quite as hungry as I was before, but I could definitely use some coffee. Are you going to join us?”

  He looked from me to Sam. “If that’s okay?”

  “The more the merrier,” Sam answered. “And I’m still starving, for the record. Coffee will help, but I’m going to need a little more than that after the morning we’ve had.”

  A few minutes later, we were taking our seats in the buffet dining room. There were a few passengers in line behind us but nobody was acting any differently than normal. Nobody seemed to realize that a possible murder had been committed just outside on the deck.

  Which was good. The fewer people who knew—at least initially—the better.

  I pulled out my camera to take photos of our feast. There was my big stack of waffles smothered in maple syrup with whipped cream and strawberries on top. There was Ethan’s sunny side up eggs with a side of bacon. And finally, Sam’s bowl of cereal and side of fresh fruit. It all looked so delicious that I almost didn’t have the patience to post the pics to social media before I dug in.

  Sam quirked a brow. “Is it safe for the rest of us to eat now, or are you going to take some more food selfies?”

  “Hey, I still have a job to do. And you have to admit this breakfast looks amazing.” I turned my phone around to flash some of the photos to Sam and Ethan. “If you were a passenger scrolling through their social media feed, you can’t tell me this wouldn’t tempt you to come down to the buffet.”

  “It’s tempting me.” Ethan nodded. “And I have the real thing right in front of me. How do you always manage to make the pictures look so good?”

  Sam nudged him with her elbow and mouthed the word, “filters.”

  “Some of it might be filters,” I conceded as I gave her a healthy dose of side eye. “But if Kelly asks, you can feel free to mention my artistic eye for detail.”

  We all laughed and took a few bites. I didn’t think it was possible, but the food actually tasted even better than it looked.

  Once we’d had a chance to get some food in our stomachs, the conversation turned more serious. “So,” I began, “who do we think the most likely suspects are?”

  “Wasn’t Rock Holliday in business with Guru Shakti?” Sam asked. “He would probably have the most to gain in this situation, right?”

  “Or the most to lose, depending on how their financing was set up,” I pointed out.

  “I think his wife Babs probably stands to gain the most right now,” Ethan said. “If we’re just talking about money, that is.”

  I nodded. He was most likely right about that. But something about that theory didn’t feel right to me. “I’m having a hard time picturing Babs Holliday throwing her husband off the top deck of the ship.”

  Ethan looked thoughtful as he took another bite. “That’s a good point. She seems like she’d be a little more subtle than that.”

  “Unless that’s just what she wants us to think,” Sam speculated then shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s still too early to be doing detective work. I’ve barely even finished my first cup of coffee.”

  Ethan chuckled. “Well, I should be going soon, but a little more coffee will probably do me some good, too. After we leave here, I’m going to talk with Babs. I’ll pay my respects and see what she can tell me about last night.”

  I exchanged a knowing look with Sam then asked, “Do you mind if we come with you, Ethan? Just to pay our respects, of course.”

  “And to see if she needs anything,” Sam added. “I’m sure Kelly and the captain will want us to be extra attentive to Babs for the remainder of the trip.”

  Ethan smirked. He knew what we were up to, of course, but he also had learned to trust our instincts. When it came to solving problems, Ethan was never too proud or too stubborn to listen to a good idea. That was one of the many qualities I loved about him.

  “Yes,” Ethan nodded. “I think that sounds
reasonable. And with this case, I think three heads will definitely be better than one.”

  I sighed and took another bite of my waffles. This wasn’t how I’d hoped to start my day, but there was no point in complaining. Rock Holliday obviously hadn’t planned on starting his day like this, either. We owed it to him to figure out who his killer was.

  Which meant we still had a lot of work to do.

  Chapter Nine

  My stomach was in knots as we stood in front of the door to Babs Holliday’s suite. Maybe trying to soothe my nerves with the biggest breakfast of my life might not have been such a great idea, but it wasn’t just the waffles that were making me feel a little queasy.

  Even if Babs was technically a suspect in her husband’s apparent murder, there was still the possibility that she was completely innocent. I was glad that we were all going together, since asking a grieving widow to answer tough questions was never easy. And since she was such a high-profile passenger, we needed to tread very carefully to avoid a public relations fiasco.

  “Should we knock again?” Sam whispered when Babs hadn’t answered the door after a couple of minutes.

  But just as she finished speaking, the door slowly swung open just a little. “I’m not interested in talking to anyone right now.” Babs’ voice was barely above a whisper. “If you’re looking for a statement, you’ll have to contact my lawyer.”

  I could only see a sliver of her face from where I was standing, but she looked totally different from the last time I’d seen her. Her eyes were red and puffy, a sure sign that she’d been crying. Her hair was disheveled and she was still bundled up in a fluffy robe, as if she’d just rolled out of bed.

  What an awful way to wake up.