by Mel McCoy
The mermaid looked like it was carved out of crystal, and it captured the lights in the room, redistributing them. She was a goddess gazing up and holding her hands out on either side of her toward the heavens. They arranged the cupcakes all around the mermaid. It seemed like she’d splashed up out of the sea, with a bunch of miniature mermaids diving back into the water all around her.
“Magnifico!” Eric stood back as he watched Ruth, Loretta, and the waitstaff place the last of the cupcakes around her.
Ruth watched Eric intently. He and Chef Mills hadn’t seemed to get along either, but Ruth was still stumped on who could have murdered the Chef; Eric just acted as if nothing had happened.
Janice came out with her clipboard and eyed the display. “Marvelous!” She made random tick marks on her clipboard. “I think we are good. Ruth, I need you and Loretta to welcome guests as they take a dessert, and answer any questions for them.”
Ruth and Loretta both nodded.
“And we can get started.” Janice gave the okay to allow the passengers to enter.
This was the most anticipated dinner of the cruise, and Ruth felt a lightness in her chest, her insides vibrating with energy. She walked to one end of the table as Loretta took the other end. Ruth ran a hand down the front of her uniform, smoothing it, and wondered if this was how Arlette felt when she stood by her desserts. The rush and anticipation of others fawning at your creation. It was everything she could have imagined. A wide grin spread across Ruth’s mouth as the guests poured in one by one. Before she knew it, the whole place was crowded with eager and hungry guests dressed in formal wear. It was finally showtime.
Groups of people gathered around the statue and the cupcakes in awe. A couple approached her and asked if everything on the cake was edible. Of course, it was. Ruth felt that she wasn’t doing her job as a pastry chef if not everything was edible. She offered them each a cupcake and explained what each element was made out of. The couple seemed intrigued by her creation and her job on the ship, just as she’d been when she cruised with her husband on the Conqueror of the Seas. It was like her dream had finally come true.
The couple each took a bite of their cupcakes.
“Delicious,” the woman cooed.
The man was shaking his head in disbelief that something could be so good. “It’s simply just as good as it looks!”
But those thoughts were interrupted by the sound of shattering glass.
Ruth swiveled her head in the direction of the commotion at the other end of the display, where Loretta had been. Immediately, she noticed the guests’ faces twisted in horror. Loretta put a hand to her mouth in surprise.
What was the matter? It took a while for Ruth to register what was happening, until something small and furry caught Ruth’s eye. It scurried across the floor in front of the display.
A woman screamed and pointed at it. “A mouse!”
Chapter 20
Ruth’s heart dropped.
There were gasps and a few yelps at the sight of the mouse. Ruth locked eyes with Loretta and then with Janice, who stood at the opposite corner of the room. Her mouth hung agape. It was like the room was frozen in time. No one moved, and silence filled the air.
Then Margaret, the elderly woman who’d passed out days before, tapped on her husband’s shoulder. “I told you I saw a mouse, Lou.”
Her husband sat paralyzed at what he was seeing and dropped his fork.
The room exploded in chaos as the guests bustled around, grabbing their stuff to leave as silverware and plates clattered. A woman was standing on her chair while her husband and Janice coaxed her to come down. She shook her head vigorously, her face scrunched up.
The tiny critter scurried across the floor in Ruth’s direction, before stopping to nibble on a crumb. Ruth narrowed her eyes. She noticed something about the mouse and her lips wrinkled into a grin. It continued its journey toward her, and she picked it up as it passed by her feet.
“Hey, everyone!” Ruth held the small rodent up for everyone to see. “It’s okay! It’s not a mouse!”
The volume in the room decreased as someone yelled, “Then what is it?”
Everyone turned their attention toward Ruth and the tiny rodent.
Ruth smiled as the creature wriggled in her hands. “A gerbil!”
Still standing on the chair, the elderly woman fainted as both her husband and Janice caught her. They laid her on the ground carefully as the commotion in the room erupted again.
Ruth tried once more. “It’s a pet! Nothing to be afraid of. Just an innocent pet.” But it fell on deaf ears as women grabbed their bags, spilling over drinks, and plates crashed to the floor while men ushered their families toward the exit. Ruth felt frantic, her eyes darting from one person to the next. Margaret, still seated next to her husband, Lou, ignored the mayhem all around her and took a copious bite of her cupcake.
A childish giggle behind Ruth caught her attention, and she turned to see Will at the side door of the dining room with his cell phone out, laughing. When Will caught Ruth’s stare, he gasped, backing out of the exit to flee.
Ruth huffed. “And I know exactly whose it is,” she muttered to herself. She walked toward the door Will had exited from, hastening her pace.
Someone called out Ruth’s name before she reached the door, but she ignored them as she flung it open, only to see Will hurrying down the hallway. She continued out the door, calling for Will to stop, but he didn’t. She rushed down the corridor behind him. “Wait! Stop!” But he kept running, making a right down another hall and down the stairs.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, a dead end with a door marked “Crew Members Only” came into view. Will tried the door. Locked. Ruth knew that he needed an employee keycard to open it. She also knew it was something he most definitely didn’t have.
Knowing he was trapped, Ruth slowed her pace, holding out the gerbil. The small rodent squirmed in her fist. “I think this is yours.”
Will eyed her before trying to take the gerbil, but Ruth stepped back, pulling the creature closer to her chest. “Where are your parents?”
The boy dropped his shoulders in defeat. “The Blue Dolphin restaurant. It’s their anniversary today, and they are having a specialty dinner alone. Please, don’t tell them,” he begged.
“Did you escape the kid’s zone?”
“No way!” He crossed his arms. “The kid’s zone is for babies.”
“Then who’s supposed to be watching you?”
Will dropped his gaze to the floor. “Debbie. She’s with my sisters at the karaoke lounge. She likes to hear them sing and dance. I hate karaoke. They always make me sing stupid girl songs.”
Ruth nodded. She understood where the boy was coming from, and despite the heaps of trouble they were going to be in, she didn’t feel right about allowing that kind of burden to be placed on a child. It had been an innocent prank. She’d just have to figure out a way to solve this problem without outing the boy. There had to be a way, and she would figure it out. She always did. “Look, Will, I understand. But we can’t have you releasing a gerbil into the dining hall or anywhere else on the ship. We could get into a lot of trouble. You understand?”
Will nodded back.
“How did you get a gerbil on the ship anyway?” Ruth asked. It was a genuine question.
“They checked all of our bags. But they didn’t check my pockets.” The boy grinned.
“I see.” Ruth stifled a laugh. “Here.” She handed back his pet. “Just keep him away from anyone who might see him. If you get reported, I’m not sure what could happen to your little friend.”
Will’s eyes lit up as he took the gerbil. “Thanks, Ruth!” He went to take off, when his cell phone fell out of his pocket. Will was already past Ruth and had made his way up a few steps when he spun around. Ruth picked up the device, noticing a red dot on the corner of the screen.
“You were recording?” she asked. This was bad—really bad. All she could think of was it b
eing aired everywhere on the news. She thought of Officer Humphrey’s reaction. She had to at least delete the video.
Will ran up to her. “Give me that back!” He tried to grab it from her hands, but she pulled the phone away.
“Will, this video you were recording needs to be deleted.”
“You can’t delete it. It’s too epic! I could go viral on VidTube!” He jumped up, trying to take his phone again. Ruth held it up so he couldn’t reach it, realizing she had accidentally hit a button. She peeked at the screen and noticed that it had taken her back to all the thumbnails of previous recordings.
One caught her eye, and she took a closer look. “Is that Chef Mills?”
“Who’s Chef Mills?” Will asked.
“Hold on,” Ruth tapped on the video. She wasn’t sure how to use a cell phone but knew that just about everything was a touch screen these days, a frustration that had now become second nature, so she took her chances.
“Hey! That’s private!”
Ruth put her finger up to indicate to give her a minute. Will pouted as she turned her back to him.
On the phone’s screen, Chef Mills became animated, and his voice boomed from the device’s hidden speakers. “I know what you did, and now the entire world will know.” He waved a blue folder at someone who was out of the shot. “I have all the evidence I need right here. You’re going down!”
“When did you record this?” Ruth asked, turning back toward Will.
“None of your business!” Will cried. “Give me back my phone!”
Ruth turned her attention to the phone. In the recording, Chef Mills spun on his heels, turning his back on whomever it was he was talking to. And before the video froze, indicating the end of the recording, the person stepped into frame, sneering with anger.
Ruth gasped. It couldn’t be!
Will snatched the phone out of her hand and started up the stairs. Ruth stood there, frozen for a moment. She couldn’t believe who Chef Mills had been talking to. No one would believe it. That meant she’d have to prove it. But how? She needed that video.
The boy was almost to the top of the first platform when Ruth’s senses came back. “Will!” she called after him, but he didn’t stop. She had to think fast before her evidence disappeared forever. “If you don’t stop, I’m going straight to your parents to tell them about your little prank.”
Will halted and turned around. “What? You said you wouldn’t tell!”
“I changed my mind,” she said, making her way up the stairs toward him.
“No! Don’t tell! They’ll make me do horse riding lessons with my sisters or something stupid.” His shoulders slumped.
“I don’t know, Will.” Ruth folded her arms across her chest and gazed down at him. “What you did could cost a lot of people their jobs.” She started walking past Will, now having the upper hand. “I have to tell them.” She turned her back on him and started making her way up the rest of the steps, when the boy grabbed her elbow.
“Please don’t,” he begged. “I can do something to make it up.”
Ruth paused. “I don’t know, Will.”
“Please.” His green eyes were pleading.
The corners of Ruth’s mouth ticked up slightly. She had a plan that would not only fix everything but also make everyone happy. “Okay, Will. I’ll make you a deal.”
Chapter 21
“A mouse!?”
Officer Humphrey’s head looked like a giant, bright-red pimple ready to burst.
Ruth, Loretta, and Janice were seated on the other side of Humphrey’s desk. They’d been called to his office soon after the chaos at Mermaid’s Dinner had quieted down. Ruth had come back to tell them she got rid of the gerbil, and that it wouldn’t be a problem anymore, but it didn’t matter. It was too late. The damage had been done, and they were ordered to see the chief security officer in his office immediately.
“Technically, sir,” Ruth started, “it was a gerbil.”
“A gerbil?” Humphrey cocked his head. “What’s a gerbil?”
“A pet. My granddaughters had one named Fluffer. It was adorable.”
Humphrey grumbled. “I don’t care. Besides, everyone said it was a mouse!”
“No. It was definitely a gerbil. Gerbils have furry tails with a tuft at the tip. A mouse’s tail is hairless.”
Loretta regarded Ruth. “I did not know that. What a nifty tip.”
Humphrey’s nostrils flared. He looked about ready to tear out the last of his thinning hair. He growled, “Enough!”
Janice placed a hand on Ruth’s and Loretta’s shoulders and there was a moment of silence as Humphrey stared at each of them. Then he ran his hands down his face. “Whose was it? Where did it come from?”
Ruth shrugged. “We don’t know.” There was no way she was going to throw an eight-year-old boy under the bus. No, there were other ways to get out of this mess. Besides, even if she did tell him about Will’s prank, they’d still be in trouble. “Maybe we need to do a better job of vetting the passengers when they get on the ship?”
Humphrey rubbed his temples, then looked up. “Janice, you’re dismissed. Gather your chefs and get your kitchen back in order. I will deal with you later.”
Janice gave him a curt nod. “Thank you, sir.”
After Janice left, a new, overwhelming silence filled the room. Then Humphrey began, “I had explicitly asked both of you not to cause a ruckus on this ship.”
Loretta shifted in her seat. “Sir, you can’t blame us for the gerbil.”
The officer shook his head. “I’m not talking about the mouse. I’m talking about…” He studied the notes in front of him. “The scene you caused in the crew bar—”
“I thought what happens at the crew bar stays in the crew bar,” Loretta whispered to Ruth.
Ruth shrugged. She had thought the same thing. How did he know?
“Don’t say anything and don’t admit to anything,” Ruth whispered back.
Looking up from his paper, Humphrey cleared his throat, gaining their attention again before continuing. “You both chased a man out of the karaoke lounge?” His eyes bounced back and forth between the two of them, confusion washed across his face.
Loretta’s eyebrows knit. “We thought he was somebody we were looking for.”
Humphrey referred back to his notes. “And you both confronted an employee in the mess hall about the Code Alpha, not only revealing the code and accusing him of murder in front of the entire staff, but risking our investigation. What were you thinking?”
Ruth straightened herself. “We were thinking we are your prime suspects in a murder investigation and, to be fair, sir, I think we have every right to try to exonerate ourselves.”
“I told you, you’ll get that chance when we get back to port.”
“I understand,” Ruth started. “But—”
“I don’t think you do!” Humphrey pounded his fist on his desk. “We have codes for a reason, ladies!”
Ruth leaned forward. She could feel her face flush with anger. There was no reason for him to yell, and she was just about fed up with all this nonsense. “With all due respect, sir, I think I know exactly what those reasons are. We heard about that lady staff worker who worked on Conqueror who was involved with the last Code Alpha, and how you told her to keep quiet before she mysteriously disappeared.”
Humphrey opened his mouth, then shut it.
Loretta tugged on Ruth’s elbow and whispered, “Ruth, I think that’s enough.”
Ruth continued, “Or how you told us we’re prime suspects in the murder investigation while leading us to believe Janice wasn’t. That was a game, and that wasn’t very honest, sir.”
Loretta’s tugging was becoming more frantic.
“I don’t answer to you.” Humphrey crossed his arms. “I’m your superior, and you undermined my orders.”
Ruth ignored Loretta’s warnings. “If you ask me, you put all our lives in jeopardy. I should report you!”
“I put live
s in jeopardy?” Humphrey’s eyes went wide. He leaned forward in his chair, jabbing his finger toward her. “You spread information about a vital confidential code, interfered in a murder investigation, and caused absolute chaos on this ship! All of these could have caused mayhem, riots among our passengers and crew—and cost us more lives, all of our jobs, and not to mention, the capturing of the killer!”
“Well, now, when you put it that way, sir—” Loretta started.
“You broke the rules,” Humphrey continued. “And I told you what would happen if you didn’t follow the rules.” He picked up the receiver and dialed a four-digit number before speaking. “Officer Malloy, please report to my office immediately to apprehend two fellow crew members. Thank you.” He hung up the phone.
“Oh no!” Loretta cried. “Wait, sir, you can’t do that!”
“I can, and I will. My sole job is to keep everyone on this ship safe, and if that means locking up you two, then that is what I’ll do! And your contracts will be terminated immediately!”
Ruth sighed. “Wait.” She always felt that what was right was right, and that sometimes you had to fight for those rights. Maybe she didn’t understand why Officer Humphrey handled the investigation the way he did. Still, she hadn’t meant to drag her roommate into this. Loretta didn’t deserve to pay for what Ruth had done. She knew exactly what she had to do. What she’d planned before they were in hot water with Humphrey. “I can prove who the murderer was.”
“What?” he asked.
Loretta’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “What?”
Ruth cleared her throat. “I have something that might just prove who the murderer was.”
Humphrey scoffed. “Is this some sort of trick?”
“No trick, sir. If I can give you proof, will you promise not to lock up Loretta? She didn’t have anything to do with this. It’s my fault, and I pulled her into it.”
“What are you doing?” Loretta whispered.
Ruth held up a hand to stop her from talking, not tearing her gaze from Humphrey. “All you have to do is check my email, sir.”
