Undercover Cruise (A Maggie McFarlin Mystery Book 2)

by Charisse Peeler

  “I’m in,” Joanie said.

  “Me too,” Mike said.

  “I’m going to bed,” Maggie said. “It’s an early start tomorrow in Belize.”

  “I’m going to take a walk around the ship,” Kimberly informed the others. “I think I’ve gained ten pounds since we got on this ship.”

  “I’ll join you, if you don’t mind,” David said.

  They left the table, heading in different directions. As soon as Maggie reached the suite and changed into her pajamas, she pulled out her phone and called Britney.

  Tuesday

  Chapter 12

  Belize City

  Maggie was one of the first passengers off the ship. She boarded the water taxi that tendered her and only two other couples to Tourism Village in Belize City. She had finally checked her phone. She had several messages from Alex and Britney.

  Alex’s messages assured her that Silas and Jay weren’t working for her, and Britney was bringing her the notebook. She wasn’t sure what was in the notebook or why the guys were asking about it. She told Maggie to be safe.

  Britney’s message was the biggest surprise. As soon as Maggie reached the end of the pier, she spotted Britney. She was wearing her Louis Vuitton sunglasses and had flung her matching oversized bag over her shoulder. She waved to Maggie. Maggie wanted to run into her friend’s arms, but she remained calm. She increased her stride purposefully until she reached her friend’s open arms. Maggie hugged Britney as if she hadn’t seen her in years instead of weeks.

  “Girl, you need a drink?”

  “It’s a little early,” Maggie said, smiling. “I feel like I’m in a foreign country.”

  “You are in a foreign country,” Britney said.

  “Well, yeah.” She smiled. “I missed you. I miss Alex. I miss my house and my pool and my life in Boca.”

  “Boca misses you too, but right now just follow me.” Britney led her into the street. where a smartly dressed black man stood next to a black sedan. “This is Terrance.”

  “Hi, Terrance,” Maggie said, smiling and shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “And you, Maggie. Britney has told me so much about you.”

  “She has?” Maggie smiled, turning to Britney. “How long have you been here?”

  “Two days. Terrance owns the hotel I’m looking at for my next big job.”

  “Aw, nice,” Maggie said.

  Britney designed high-end hotel lobbies for boutique hotels all over the world. She was the youngest member at Banyan Tree Country Club, and the prettiest. For those two reasons, she had a hard time “fitting in” at the club. The first time she and Maggie had met, they were instant friends even though Britney could have been Maggie’s daughter.

  “I haven’t purchased the property quite yet,” Terrence said as he opened the sedan’s back door for the ladies. But Britney has given me hope that the place can be transformed into something extraordinary.”

  “You’re the one with the great ideas,” Britney said. “I just sprinkle a little magic on it.” She slid into the back seat, motioning Maggie to scoot in next to her.

  “So tourism is good?” Maggie asked as she slid in.

  “Better every day,” Terrance said, “but this hotel will cater to a very exclusive clientele.” He shut the back door then climbed into the driver’s seat.

  “This place is beautiful,” Maggie said as they drove through several side streets along the ocean’s edge.

  “It’s amazing,” Britney said, also looking out the window.

  Before long Terrance pulled the car through a gate leading to what looked like a mansion rather than a hotel.

  “It’s unbelievable,” Maggie said.

  She followed Terrance and Britney as they led her through a side gate to the ocean side of the hotel. The view was breathtaking. She could see her cruise ship in the distance.

  “It’s very exclusive,” Britney said.

  Terrance led them to a small tiki hut where they set their feet in the white sand.

  “What time do we need to get you back?” Terrance asked.

  Maggie smiled. “I have to be back by two o’clock to catch the water taxi.”

  “Okay, you ladies have a good visit. I’ll be in the office if you need anything.”

  “I’m so glad you met me here,” Maggie said to Britney after Terrance had left. “What a great surprise.”

  “I was supposed to come next month. Terrance has been negotiating with the owner and happened to be here when I called. Terrance is ready to sign but is holding out not to act too eager because he wants the place next door too. He was thrilled I could come early, and we’ve come up with some amazing concepts. Now all he has to do is get the boss’s approval, and we can schedule the transformation.”

  “He has a boss? I thought he was the owner.”

  “His wife,” Britney said, smiling. “But now spill…How is your boyfriend?”

  “Number one, Mike is not my boyfriend, even though I told him I loved him last night.”

  “What?”

  “Well, not that I loved-love him…Ugh. Never mind.”

  “You are a crazy girl, Maggie McFarlin,” Britney said.

  Just then a waiter set two large mango margaritas on the small table in front of them.

  “Oh Lord, it’s only ten a.m.”

  “It’s actually only nine seventeen, but you are technically on vacation, so drink up,” Britney said. She held the big glass for Maggie to acknowledge. “Cheers.”“Cheers, baby girl.”

  They clinked glasses before taking a drink from the paper straws.

  Maggie watched Britney dig through her purse until she came up with a Tiffany-blue pouch. She quickly unfolded the pouch and retrieved a glass straw from the pocket. Then she took the paper straw out of her drink and replaced it with the glass Tiffany straw. “Much better,” she said. Britney stirred her drink with the glass straw. “I saw Alex yesterday in New York.”

  “She left me a voice mail and said that you gave her the notebook. But how is she doing?”

  “They cleared her of having anything to do with Marco’s murder, thanks to the recorded admission recovered from your phone. She’s going to have someone go through the notebook to see if there’s something we missed.”

  “I’m just glad that is all over,” Maggie said.

  “Yeah, but remember when Angie was run over by her loser husband, and Alex picked up her purse?”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, Alex found this.”

  Britney handed Maggie a manilla envelope.

  “It was in Angie’s purse. It seems like Marco was going to use it to get more money from you.”

  Maggie began unfastening the butterfly closure. “What is it?” Britney put her hand on top of Maggie’s to stop her from opening it.

  “Don’t open it right now. I looked, and I think you should wait. It’s not bad. Well, honestly, I don’t know if it’s bad or not. Maybe it’s kind of emotionally bad. I don’t want to say more. I just think if you could just wait, it would be better.”

  “Okay…”

  Maggie looked worried but folded the large manilla envelope and zipped it into the backpack she had slung over the chair. Her curiosity was raw. She needed to refocus on why she was meeting Britney here.

  “Are you ready to find out all about your boyfriend’s sister?” Britney said, sensing Maggie’s distracted mind.

  One of the texts Maggie had sent to Britney asked if she could find out any background information on Joanie. There was something that Joanie wasn’t telling them, and Maggie couldn’t discuss this subject with Mike, who seemed overly protective of his sister.

  “I have to know what’s in that envelope,” Maggie said, reaching back in the backpack.

  “Okay, I guess you should open it up, but then you won’t hear any information I spent good money getting for you.” Britney placed her hand on the envelope, which was now sitting on the table.

  “You’re right.” Maggie shifted her
gaze from the table to Britney. “Tell me what you found out.”

  “Joanie Brown was born Janet Joanne Marker. She was born in nineteen seventy-three to Darlene and William Marker. She was probably an unexpected gift since they were both well into their forties when she was born; her brother, Mike Marker, was nine years old. She was an average student until junior high when she was caught shoplifting multiple times. It appears her parents had no control over her. She was also involved in drugs and ran away until her parents finally gave up. She was pregnant at sixteen. That’s when Mike came home and left the marines. He stayed, and his parents moved to Boca Raton.”

  Maggie did the math in her head. “That kid would be thirty years old. That’s weird. Mike has never mentioned a thirty-year-old niece or nephew.”

  “That’s probably because he was given up for adoption,” Britney said.

  “She gave her baby up for adoption?”

  “No, she gave both her babies up for adoption. As soon as she had that one, she was pregnant again. She gave the second one to the same adoptive parents as the first one.”

  “I wonder if she knows the kids?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is at seventeen, Joanie ended up in juvie for armed robbery.”

  “What? That’s a felony. How does she work at the bank?”

  “I don’t know how he did it, but Mike got her record expunged or sealed or something because the crime doesn’t show anywhere.”

  “How did you find out about it?”

  “One of her school friends knew about it, and my private detective talked to one of the guards that used to work at the juvenile facility. Anyway, it was the boyfriend who was the actual perp; Janet claimed he forced her to drive the car. But when there’s a gun involved, all the participants are charged with armed robbery instead of robbery. The guy was in prison but got out last month.”

  “I wonder if she knows about that?”

  “I would say yes. Joanie visited him on and off throughout the years. Most likely he’s the father of the first two children that were adopted.”

  “What about the two children she has now? I think one is fifteen and—”

  “Not sure how it happened, but when the guy went to prison, she seemed to straighten up, she got her G-E-D and went to college, where she earned a degree in business. She started working at the bank as soon as she turned eighteen. She worked through college, starting as a janitor then working up to a teller and now head honcho. As successful as she was at work, she still had challenges in her relationships. Her ex-husband was another real loser.”

  “Yeah, Mike filled me in on that situation.”

  “She was a shit show who turned around to be a productive member of society, squeaky clean.”

  “Well, thanks for the info. I guess I feel better that I got drug into this,” Maggie said. “Anything on the aunt?”

  “Nothing.”

  Maggie picked up the envelope. “Can I look at this now?”

  Britney shook her head in disapproval. “If you insist.”

  Maggie carefully unfolded the top edge. Inside was a single piece of paper. She brought it out and examined it.

  “A birth certificate?” she said.

  “Yep,” Britney confirmed. She had already looked at it.

  “I don’t get it,” Maggie said/ “Should this mean something to me?”

  “Look at the birth date?”

  “March twenty-seventh, nineteen sixty-three. The same day I was born.”

  “Yes.”

  “Britney, help me out here,” Maggie said, “should I know this person?”

  “Oh my god, Maggie, it’s you. That is your birth certificate.” She pointed to the name on the official form.

  “This is not my birth certificate. I’ve seen my birth certificate, and this isn’t it. Why do you think it is?”

  “This was in Angie’s handbag that night she was meeting with us. That and the life insurance policy with her name on it. According to Alex, Marco was going to use it to get some money from your parents. He must have thought you were from money.”

  “I guess he must have figured it out—but honestly, this isn’t me. I’m one hundred percent sure. If you saw my father, you wouldn’t have a doubt. I look just like him.”

  “There is no father listed on this birth certificate,” Britney pointed out.

  “Why do you think this is me?” Maggie asked again. “It doesn’t make sense. If it was me—and it isn’t—how did Marco come up with this?”

  “I don’t know. Alex gave it to me when I was with her in New York. She said to give it to you when you got back to Boca. I guess I should have waited.”

  “No, no. It’s okay, really.” Maggie saw the anguish on Britney’s face. “I appreciate that you gave this to me, and I’m not upset. I just think it’s a mistake, but I’ll look into it.”

  “Okay, I didn’t want you to freak out,” Britney said.

  “I’m a little freaked out, but I’m glad you gave it to me.”

  “What are your new friends doing today?” Britney asked to refocus Maggie’s brain.

  “Mike and Joanie are going cave tubing, and Kimberly and David are zip-lining. I think John is rock climbing.”

  “Sounds fun,” Britney said. “Too bad you had to waste your day with me.”

  “I’d much rather be here with you, and honestly, I can’t wait to get back to my life in Boca. We need a night out at Capital Grill. I’ve been craving some French onion soup.” Maggie smiled at her friend as she tucked the birth certificate back into the envelope then zipped it into her backpack.

  “That does sound yummy. Speaking of yummy, what’s the scoop on Mikey?” Britney said. She set her elbows on the table and folded her hands under her chin gazing at Maggie at full attention.

  “Hate to disappoint, but there is nothing to tell.” Maggie’s voice dropped. “Unfortunately.”

  “Maybe Miss Maggie needs to make the first move,” Britney suggested.

  “I like him, but it’s not going to work out. He has a whole life in Mayberry.”

  “Hahaha. That’s funny. But seriously, why not have some fun and go home?”

  “He’s not that kind of guy,”

  “Sister, every guy is that kind of guy, unless…”

  “Unless what?”

  “Unless he likes you…like you’re the one and all that.”

  “HA!” Maggie said too loudly. Then, in a more calm voice: “If he even thought of me as more than a friend, other than in the most platonic way possible, he sure hides it well. So if we are going down a road, he’s sticking to the ‘friend’s zone.’ ”

  “I hate to tell you, Maggie, but when it comes to harmless flirting, you are so obvious like a chatty Kathy, but when you’re seriously interested, you freeze up like a mannequin.”

  Maggie frowned. “It’s awkward, especially since we’re staying in the same room. I can’t even—”

  “Wait, wait.” Britney smiled wide. “You are sharing a room?”

  “We have to, the couple we replaced were married. There wasn’t an option.”

  “You are telling me that there wasn’t one empty cabin on that giant monster of a ship?”

  “Well yeah, but…”

  “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie.”

  “What?”

  “The opportunity is there, now take it.”

  “I can’t even sleep. I’m so afraid I’m going to snore.”

  “That’s unfortunately true. I’ve shared a room with you, and snoring is only half of it. Woman, you yell and scream and fight in your sleep.”

  Maggie’s face heated up. She thought her night terrors were under control.

  “I’m sorry,” Maggie said, hanging her head.

  “You don’t have to be sorry. I never said anything because I didn’t want to embarrass you.” Britney put a hand on Maggie’s shoulder.

  “But you tell me now?”

  “You’re sleeping in the same room as the man you might want to marry.”
<
br />   “Oh my! Britney.” Maggie felt her face go slack. She wanted to cry, both from embarrassment and the flood of memories rushing into her head.

  “Another drink?” Britney asked at the same time she waved for the server.

  “Or ten,” Maggie said.

  Alcohol was the only way to forget the past. She had once gone to a therapist who asked her if she had ever been in combat. When Maggie asked why, the therapist told her she had severe PTSD. Maggie couldn’t come up with any horrific event in her life, so the therapist wanted to try to hypnotize her. That was her last appointment. Instead, Maggie quit her job, moved from the rain in Seattle to the sunshine in Boca. It was the best therapy. She could breathe again. Life was good.

  After several more drinks disappeared in front of them, Terrance reappeared. He delivered Maggie back to the pier, where she and Britney hugged.

  “Have fun on the rest of the trip. I’ll see you back home next week.”

  It was always as if Britney was the older woman in the relationship.

  “’K, love you, Brit.”

  “Love you, Maggs. Now go have fun.”

  Maggie swung the backpack over her shoulder and turned to wave at Terrance and Britney as they stood watching her make her way down the pier. She measured her steps, feeling the effects of the alcohol.

  The water taxi was full, but Maggie was able to squeeze in as the last one aboard. She considered waiting for the next taxi, but instead stood with her back to the other passengers and held on to the pole, facing the ocean.

  She let the sea air hit her face, closed her eyes, feeling the motion of the waves as they traveled the short distance. Because she was the last on, she was the first off, letting her walk fast and allowing her to be the first on the gangway, out of the crowd.

  She placed her backpack on the conveyer belt and went through the metal detector. The elevator was empty; she rode straight up to Deck 11 and stepped into her suite. Ralph welcomed her back, and she took her favorite seat by the window. He handed her a glass of Cabernet, which she took a sip of before setting it on the side table.

  She unzipped the backpack and took the birth certificate from the envelope. Free from Britney’s supervision, she took the time to read every line. The mother’s name: Sarah Anne Marshall. The birth date: March 27, 1963, her birthday. But the baby’s name was Anne Louise Marshall….Did it mean anything that Maggie’s middle name was Anne, or was that a coincidence? Where the father’s name should have been was typed UNKNOWN, all in capital letters, like a neon sign advertising the insult. The birthplace was listed as St. Joseph’s hospital in downtown Tacoma, Washington. It was an official copy complete with an embossed state seal. Maggie ran her fingers over the raised letters as if she could feel something familiar.