Undercover Cruise (A Maggie McFarlin Mystery Book 2)

by Charisse Peeler

  “I’ll bet she did.” Randolph winked at Maggie.

  “True story,” Mike said. He stood and held his hand out to Randolph, who accepted the gesture. Maggie also stood.

  “Well, thank you for the heads-up anyway,” Randolph said.

  “You’re welcome,” Mike said. “Sure looks like a sweet deal you got here, Randolph.”

  “It’s not a bad gig, for sure. Collecting retirement pay from Palm Beach and free travel to exotic places. It’s better than sitting at home in front of the boob tube watching reruns of Gunsmoke or Wheel of Fortune.”

  “I don’t see you a stay-at-home kind of guy.”

  Mike held the door for Maggie, but before she walked through it, she turned to face Randolph. “Where were you coming from when I saw you at the elevator on Deck 11 last night?”

  Randolph shuffled a few folders on his desk. “I was just checking things out,” he said.

  “Were you in our room?”

  “I walked through,” he said.

  “Did you see Ralph?”

  “He was there, why do you ask?”

  Maggie smiled. “No reason, just wondering.”

  “What was that all about?” Mike asked as they headed down the passageway.

  “I’m not sure,” she said, “but after I saw Randolph in the hall, I asked Ralph if he had seen Randolph, and he said no.”

  “Maybe he didn’t,” Mike said.

  “Of course he did. How could he not have? Every time we come in the suite, he comes out to greet us. When I walked in, he was straightening up the living room. It’s just weird.”

  “Honestly, I don’t think anything nefarious is going on, but I can ask him later.”

  “Don’t bother. You’re probably right; it’s nothing. So what’s next?” Maggie asked as they walked back into the section of Deck 4 she called Main Street. Shops lined both sides of a wide promenade for almost the entire length of the ship. Most of the passengers were heading toward the gangway.

  “What time is our excursion?”

  Maggie looked at her watch. “We have less than an hour to meet out on the pier.”

  “Do you need anything from the room?”

  “I have everything I need right here.” Maggie leaned toward him; a small backpack hung from her shoulder. “But, I could use a coffee.” She pointed to a café across Main Street. “They have pastries.”

  “I’m in.” Mike licked his lips and rubbed his mid-section as they headed for the café.

  They sat at the ’50s-style café table, Maggie with a venti vanilla latte and Mike with a Mountain Dew and two bear claws.

  “You never talk about your family,” Mike said as he took a big bite of one of the bear claws.

  “Not a subject I enjoy very much,” Maggie said.

  “Have you been married before, your parents alive, any kids?” Mike asked Maggie as he took another bite.

  “I have a sister in Silverdale. It’s in Washington State. You know where that is, right?”

  “Sure, remember I was stationed at the submarine base when I was in the Marines.” Mike sat up straight as if he was still a Marine.

  “That’s right. You did tell me that. You know, I actually worked there too.” Maggie said taking a sip of her coffee, “right out of high school.”

  “I don’t think you ever told me that.” Mike sat forward, “I thought you said that you were a technical writer for Boeing?”

  “I actually did both. Working at the shipyard is how I put myself through college.”

  “That’s incredible.” Mike said, “what did you do?”

  “I was an electrician,” Maggie said narrowing her eyes to match Mike’s questioning look.

  ‘That’s just too cool, Maggie, really. I’m impressed.”

  “It’s really not that big of a thing Mike but thanks.”

  “My sister’s husband still works there. He is the head of Logistics,” Maggie said.

  “Did you grow up in Bremerton or Silverdale?” Mike asked.

  “I grew up in Tacoma.”

  “Is that where your parents live?” he asked.

  “My parents both died a long time ago.”

  “I’m sorry.” Mike reached for Maggie’s hand but she pulled back. There was nothing worse than a man feeling sorry for her.

  “…And my ex-husband still lives there.” She added for effect.

  “Why did you leave the Pacific Northwest?” Mike ignored her last comment.

  Maggie looked at her watch. “We better get going. The group will be waiting.”

  “You’re a mystery, Maggie McFarlin.”

  Maggie just smiled as she slung her backpack over one shoulder.

  “I try.”

  Chapter 10

  Shore Excursion

  The sign at the pier said Welcome to Cozumel. As soon as they stepped off the gangway, they were encouraged to pose for pictures with members of the crew who were dressed in native garb. Tables had been set up to check out a beach towel or buy a bottle of water for the day. Booths hocking the cruise line’s wares—sunglasses, carved coconuts, T-shirts—lined both sides of the pier. If Maggie had a need for a tchotchke, there were unlimited opportunities.

  At the end of the pier stood a large tent with several people holding small signs indicating the ship-approved excursion. Maggie pulled the tickets from her backpack and handed them to Mike.

  “Hey guys. Over here.”

  Joanie appeared, signaling for them to follow her.

  Mike and Maggie followed Joanie through the crowd. The other passengers were busy dividing into groups, gathering around the multitude of signs for various excursions. When all of the Brownstone group was present, the woman holding the sign that said Jeep Tour signaled them to follow her.

  “My name is Camilla,” the excursion organizer said. “Please follow me to the best jeep tour on the island.” She walked briskly to a dirt parking lot a few blocks from the pier. Several flatbed trucks converted to transport the ship’s passengers were awaiting them.

  “This will be an experience you will never forget,” Camilla said. Maggie laughed. Camilla was repeating word for word the words printed on the brochure. Her final words were lost as she released the group to two young men standing at the ready.

  “Welcome, all,” one of the men announced. “Please, find a seat.”

  A short ladder leaned against the rear of the truck. The tour guide assisted Maggie as she climbed up the ladder first. At the top she was met by the second young man, who held his hand out to help her maintain her balance.

  Maggie took a seat on one of the crude wooden bench closest to the front. It looked like the safest place to sit. Joanie came up next and took a seat next to Maggie, probably figuring the same thing. Kimberly took the position on the other side of Maggie, and the guys took the back seats. Several other couples made the total ten.

  Two of the young locals climbed up and pulled the ladder to the side then fastened it with a bungee cord to the side rails. One of the guys headed straight toward the girls: he reached over Maggie’s head and knocked on the hood of the truck. He turned to take an empty seat.

  “Everyone, please fasten your seat belts,” he said in perfect English.

  A couple of people fell for the joke and looked around for a seat belt. Maggie rolled her eyes and smiled.

  “You like that one?” the man said. “I got many more to share before we end this beautiful day.” He winked at the girls. “Welcome to the best jeep tour in all of Cozumel. My name is José, and this is Hose-B. We’ll be your guides this beautiful day.”

  “It looks like it’s going to rain.” Kimberly had leaned over so both Maggie and Joanie could hear, but José must have overheard her. “If it rains, we get wet, but we have even more fun,” he said.

  They looked at each other wide eyes. “Let’s pray it doesn’t rain,” Joanie said.

  “I’m praying,” Maggie said. Then she remembered her phone. “Hey, thanks for taking care of my phone,” she said to Kimbe
rly.

  “Yeah, no problem. It was David’s idea, and Ralph got the rice from the kitchens. I just put it in. Did it work?”

  “I didn’t have time to try it. I put it on the charger before we left but haven’t turned it on.”

  “Where did you guys go in such a hurry this morning?” Joanie asked.

  “Nowhere in particular,” Maggie said. “I got coffee at the café, and Mike got a few Danishes.”

  “He does have a sweet tooth,” Joanie said, catching herself for being too familiar. “I mean, it sounds like he has a sweet tooth.”

  “It’s worse than that,” Maggie said. “Guess what he washed it down with?”

  Joanie knew the answer but kept silent.

  “Mountain Dew,” Maggie said. “Can you believe that?”

  “I believe it. Mike’s from North Carolina, isn’t he?” Kimberly asked.

  Maggie and Joanie felt like Kimberly might have asked the question to catch them in a lie, so they stayed silent.

  “Who was that hot Latin looking guy you were talking to last night?” Joanie said to change the subject.

  Maggie felt her face turn hot. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  “I walked by the wine bar, he was sitting with you. You looked like you knew each other.”

  “Oh yeah, that guy. I know him from Boca. He saw me and just stopped to say hi. I don’t know him that well.”

  “You’re from Boca?” Kimberly asked. “I thought you worked for Corporate in Charlotte.”

  The truck stopped in a dirt parking lot just in time. “Oh yeah, I used to live in South Florida but moved to Charlotte a few years ago.”

  Maggie stood, turning her body from Kimberly. She was terrible at this undercover roll; she needed to do a little more research regarding her secret identity. Using her real name probably was not a great idea either, though it wasn’t like they were investigating a murder.

  José and Hose-B soon had the ladder in place, and they were all standing around the well-used jeeps.

  “I need two people per jeep,” José said. “The color of your vehicle is your handle on the radio. I will lead, and you will follow. Please do not leave the group for any reason. Please avoid large mud holes if you can. Edwardo will bring up the rear.”

  “I thought his name was Hose-B?” Joanie said with a wide smile.

  Mike jumped into a jeep with Joanie, and Kimberly and David naturally teamed up. Maggie felt strange to be the last one standing and looked at John sitting in the purple jeep. He motioned to her: “Your chariot awaits, my dear. Climb aboard.” Maggie climbed in the seat. She looked around at the jeep. It was a metal frame welded together at a few key points. Smaller pieces of metal had been attached along the sides. Otherwise, it was completely open.

  Maggie located the safety harness, pulled it across her body, and made sure it was fastened tightly.

  “This ought to be fun.” John was excited. He was obviously the adventurous type. Maggie looked at the welded roll bar to her right. If they flipped, would it hold, or would she die in Cozumel, Mexico, with a broken neck?

  The radio broke her gloomy thoughts. Okay, this is a radio check,” José’s voice crackled on the speaker. “Blue, are you ready?”

  “Blue is ready,” crackled David’s voice.

  “Big Red, you ready?”

  “Big Red is ready,” one of the other couples man’s voice crackled.

  “Pretty in Pink, check in.”

  The group waited while Pretty in Pink—a young girl—struggled with her radio. Finally, Hose-B left his jeep and went to help her. Still no response. Hose-B ran back to his vehicle and opened a metal toolbox. When he found what he was looking for he ran back to the young girl’s jeep and fiddled with her radio. Within a minute, Pretty in Pink was acknowledging she was ready to go.

  “Finally, Barney, are you ready?”

  John spoke into his handset: “Barney is ready to go.”

  “Follow me.”

  José started down a gravel road at a slow speed as the other jeeps fell into line.

  “I hope we’re going to go faster than this,” John said to Maggie as they joined the convoy, fourth in line. Joanie and Mike were just ahead, and the Pretty in Pink kids were directly behind. The young man in the passenger seat sat with his arms crossed, looking as if he was humiliated to be the only guy not at the wheel. Maggie guessed they were brother and sister and probably belonged to the couple in Big Red.

  The road gradually grew narrower…the ends of the bushes reached out and tickled Maggie’s arms. Before long, the trail opened up again, and the next thing Maggie knew, they were on a paved road heading through town. The group had spread farther apart as they had progressed. John would drive slowly because Pretty in Pink was lagging; then he would put on the gas full throttle until he caught up.

  Maggie noted the number of identical small stucco box houses dotted across the countryside. The windows on some of the houses had bars but no glass; other windows were completely open to the elements.

  “Those clothes are about to get a good rinsing,” John said, pointing to full clotheslines.

  “What do you mean?” Maggie asked, just as the rain started to fall.

  John smiled. “Things just got interesting.”

  The rain was more than a shower; it was a deluge. It was like taking a shower with excellent water pressure. Maggie couldn’t even talk in fear of drowning. The streets were rivers, and John was howling with joy. He slowed the jeep until he saw a large puddle and pushed the gas: they burst through the water full force, causing the water to wash over them like a wave in the middle of the ocean, momentarily blinding them to where they were relative to the other traffic.

  “Remember, guys, drive carefully.” José’s voice crackled, but it was nearly impossible to hear him over the rain. Finally, when the deluge subsided, Maggie felt the tension drain from her body. She was thankful the water and the air were warm, because she was soaked.

  After driving a short distance farther, they came to another dirt road. They turned down it and slowly made their way to a broad scenic bluff. Two picnic tables had been set up with food and drink.

  Maggie unbuckled her harness and climbed down from the jeep. The view out over the sea was incredible. A hidden paradise.

  “Well, that was fun,” Maggie said sarcastically.

  John just laughed.

  Maggie took a minute to gain her composure by standing near the edge of the bluff. She took in the now clear blue sky, the turquoise water, and the mountains in the distance. The drop off in front of her was at least a hundred feet. Realizing how close she was, she took a step back, almost stepping on Mike’s foot. When she turned. she saw he had two Coronas in his hand. He held one of the bottles out to her.

  “This is amazing,” she said. She pointed her beer toward the horizon before taking a long swallow from the bottle.

  “Check that out.” Mike pointed to a spot halfway down the cliff where three young men were standing. One of them bent his knees then sprang out from the cliff, diving into the clear water below. The next boy followed his friend, repeating the movements for the perfect dive.

  “Wow, brave boys,” Maggie said.

  “I would love to join them,” John said. He was standing on the other side of Maggie. He also held two beers. He seemed ready to hand Maggie one, but he noticed she already had one. When Maggie saw him pulling back she held out her empty hand.

  “I’ll take it,” she said eagerly. John handed it to her, smiling.

  She finished off the first bottle in two long drafts.

  After lunch, the group loaded back into their jeeps. Maggie swapped with Joanie so she wouldn’t have to think about who was going to perform her eulogy. José went through the routine of the radio checks again, and again there was a delay with Pretty in Pink even though this time, the brother had the driver’s seat.

  “Did you get anything out of John?” Mike asked.

  “Nothing, except he obviously has a
death wish. The guy loves going fast. We went through one of those puddles full throttle, completely blinded by the water, and all he did was laugh. I honestly said a prayer.”

  “Well, that is serious then.” Mike winked at her.

  “But, on the truck ride, Kimberly might have had some suspicions. Joanie and I both screwed up, acknowledging several facts about you that only someone close to you would know. It was like she was fishing, and both of us took the bait—and the hook. She might be on to us, and if she is, I’m afraid she might take additional measures to avoid exposing herself.”

  “Honestly, I don’t think she’s the one, or that she’s even somehow involved,” Mike said before checking in with José. He started the engine then took the second position, directly behind José.

  “She was the one who hired the teller. She didn’t do a background check and didn’t question why the girl never came back. A total setup. I think she’s the perfect suspect,” Maggie said.

  “A little too obvious, don’t you think?” Mike asked. “She seems so much smarter than that.”

  “But she had access to the accounts, she could override the flags, she had the ability to pull it off.”

  “If she did have anything to do with it,” Mike said, “I’d wager that David is one of the partners—and the mastermind; but I think it’s a good idea to keep an open mind. In my experience, most of the time the most obvious suspect is the actual perpetrator.”

  “You think David is the most obvious suspect?”

  “That’s not exactly what I’m saying. I just think he’s the smartest one out of all of them. I’m actually beginning to think that the real culprit is a professional not even associated with the bank.”

  “But they had to have some help, right?” Maggie asked. She watched Mike nod his head before she sat back in her seat. The sun was shining as if the rain had never washed through the countryside. She enjoyed the view much better on the ride back as Mike took it slow and avoided potholes along the way.

  Once they reached the truck José thanked the group for joining them on their adventure as Hose-B unfasted the ladder. He took his position at the bottom, holding a bucket with TIPS written in black marker.