Millie lifted the mattress and stuck her hand underneath. Her fingers ran over the cheap metal springs until they touched the small piece of paper.
She pulled it out and quickly glanced at it. It wasn’t much of a hiding spot, really. After all, that would be the first place anyone would look. She vowed to find a new spot as she headed to the cabin door. She had to hurry since now she was running a little late. She could envision Annette standing near the gangway, chomping at the bit!
Millie’s guess wasn’t too far off. She wasn’t exactly chomping – more like pacing. Back and forth! She waited until Annette had made another turn before stepping into sight. “I thought you were standing me up. You know, chickening out!” she grumbled.
Millie sighed. “Just running behind. I’m sorry,” she apologized.
Annette grabbed a ball cap from her bag and pulled it low over her mop of dark hair. Next, she slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses.
She looked at Millie. “You’re going like that? You’ll stand out like a sore thumb!” She reached inside her backpack and pulled out a matching cap. She gave it a quick snap and then stuck it on top of Millie’s head.
Next, she pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and pressed them in Millie’s hand. “Here. Put these on!”
Millie rolled her eyes but did as she was told. Annette gave a small nod of satisfaction. “Let’s go!”
Annette started down the gangplank with Millie trailing behind. They headed down the long dock and through a narrow gate, surrounded by a tall, chain link fence. Two armed guards stood at the entrance.
Millie’s brows drew together. This wasn’t looking good. “Is this a safe area?”
Annette quickened her pace. “I’ve heard this and that about some riff raff,” she admitted. She came to an abrupt halt on the other side of the fence.
Up ahead, Millie could see several men milling about, lounging against the fence, looking in their direction. With a great deal of interest.
The hair on the back of Millie’s neck stood up. She swallowed hard. They looked like a rough bunch. Ones that could easily take on two grandmotherly women.
Millie had lived her entire life in a nice, safe, mid-size town, but she watched the news and knew there were thugs on almost every street corner. On top of that, they were in a third world country.
Annette noticed the look of concern etched on Millie’s face. She dropped her backpack and reached inside. “Here. Take this.” She shoved a small silver whistle into Millie’s hand.
Millie looked down at the whistle. “What’s this going to do?”
Annette shifted her balance. “Blow the dang thing if you feel threatened.” She waved her hands in the air. “You know. Draw attention!”
Millie stared at the whistle in her hand. And who would come if she blew it? More thugs? She shook her head but draped the dangling whistle around her neck anyways, since Annette had gone to all of the trouble of packing it.
Annette wasn’t done. She pulled a round baton from her bag, zipped the backpack and stood upright. With a flick of her wrist, the metal baton doubled in size.
Millie frowned. It didn’t look like a super scary weapon but at least it appeared more effective than a whistle!
Annette slung her backpack over her shoulders. “Let’s roll.”
Millie stiffened her back and drew her lips in a straight line. She had taken a self-defense class years ago at Roger’s urging. One of the things she remembered the instructor telling the class was to walk with confidence, to hold your head high and if you feel threatened by someone, look straight into their eyes.
Millie did exactly that, as much out of fear, as wanting to remember what the person who was going to attack her looked like. The girls made it over the bridge and just steps away from the small touristy area. They were almost home free!
From out of nowhere, a man vaulted over the low shrub and landed directly in front of them.
Tied across the man’s face was a red bandanna. It reminded Millie of a stagecoach robber in an old Western movie. The only thing visible was the top of his head and his eyes, which were beady and dark. And menacing.
He held a small knife in his hand. The blade was pointing right at Millie. “Give me your bag,” he demanded.
Millie was not about to be stabbed over a stupid bag with $20 and her cell phone inside. She lifted one side off her shoulder.
Annette whacked her arm. “I don’t think so!” Annette took a step back, raised her right leg and with as much force as she could muster, kicked the would-be thief squarely in the groin.
The man dropped to his knees and clutched his lower extremities. He fell to the ground and curled up in a ball. “Augh…”
“Take that, you loser!” Annette grabbed Millie’s arm and sidestepped the would-be thief. “C’mon.”
Millie was not going to wait around to see what happened. She began to power walk toward the village as she followed beside Annette. “That was awful brave of you.” Millie admired her spunk.
“Girl, I grew up in the hood. Ain’t no little punk going to take me down,” she told her. “Course, three or four, now that’s a different story.”
The girls stopped in what had to be the center of the marketplace. Millie shaded her eyes and stared at the dilapidated buildings. The place was not much to look at. There were a few t-shirt shops, a small drug store, a couple bars. A booth that rented jet skis and mopeds. Next to that was Kingston Pet Store. Millie grabbed Annette’s arm. “There it is.”
The girls headed toward the small, nondescript clapboard building with peeling paint. Annette opened the door.
Millie followed her inside. Her carefully constructed bun was starting to come undone. She brushed a wayward strand of hair from her eyes. The day was turning into a scorcher and the air-conditioned space was a welcome relief from the heat.
The interior looked even smaller than the outside. Shelves covered every inch of space. They were crammed full of fish food, dog collars, fish tanks and any other thing you might possibly need for your pet.
In the corner hung a large metal cage. Inside the cage was a bright red macaw, his tail feathers a brilliant shade of cobalt blue. Millie shuffled over to the cage. “Well, aren’t you a pretty thing,” she told him.
“Aren’t you a pretty thing,” the bird mimicked.
Millie smiled. She glanced down at the nametag fastened to the bottom of the cage. “So your name is Winston.”
“My name is Winston,” the bird replied.
Annette wandered over. She had never seen a macaw up close. The bird tilted his head and eyed Annette. He whistled. “Pretty lady,” he told her.
Annette patted her hair. “Smart bird.”
A man wearing a colorful knit cap that covered long, dark braided locks stepped from the back. “He’s for sale.” He nodded toward the cage.
Annette shook her head. “I might be tempted but the cruise ship won’t let him on board.”
He nodded. “Ah, I see.” He eyed their nametags hanging around their neck. It was their ship ID that they were required to wear even when off duty.
“So you are not looking for a pet,” he surmised.
Millie shook her head. “No, but we’re wondering if you may remember someone that came in recently to buy a spider. A brown recluse to be exact.”
The tall man rested his elbows on the counter and dropped his chin in his hands. “Could be,” he said. “I don’t sell too many arachnids. Of course, ‘tis easy to find them on the island even when you don’t want to,” he pointed out.
“I may have sold one to a man not long ago,” he added. “Of course, my memory is a little vague.”
Millie unzipped the front compartment of her backpack and pulled out a $5 bill. She slid it across the counter. “Does this help?”
The man grabbed the bill and shoved it into his pocket. “It twas about a week ago.”
Annette leaned against the counter. “Do you know what he looked like?”
The man rubbed
his forehead. “Vaguely. Again, my memory. It’s a little fuzzy.”
Millie sighed and reached for another $5. “Is it getting any clearer?”
He stuffed the bill in his pocket. “Yes. He was a tall man.” He pointed to their tags. “He wore a tag like yours.”
Annette rubbed her hands together. “Can you describe him?”
“Tall white man.” He shrugged. “They all look the same to me.”
Millie reached for her phone. She scrolled through the screen until she got to the picture of Andy. She tapped on the screen to enlarge the picture and turned it toward the man behind the counter. “Is this the man who came in?”
The man squinted his eyes as he held the camera close. “It could be.”
She groaned and pulled another five from her purse. “Now does it look like the man?”
He grabbed the five and shoved it in his pocket. “Like I said, it could be. I’m not 100% positive.”
Millie slapped her forehead. “It could be” was not conclusive. The girls thanked him for his time and headed out the door.
They stopped just outside the stoop. Annette turned back and glanced at the closed door. “What do you think?”
“That maybe Andy paid him off to buy his silence. I mean, it was either Andy or it wasn’t.”
The girls stopped inside the drugstore to buy a couple bottled waters before starting the walk back to the ship. Millie spied the man they had had a run in with earlier. He was hanging out down on the corner - on the opposite side of the street.
When he saw them, he turned his back and ignored them.
Annette nodded. “See? Gotta show ‘em that we’re not afraid. Otherwise, you’re an easy target.” Nonetheless, Annette picked up the pace. “So what about the sting? We might as well move onto phase 2 – the stakeout.”
Millie had to agree. They would need to step up the investigation if they were ever going to figure out who killed Olivia.
“We need to spread the word that you have some kind of evidence in the case hidden in your cabin.”
Millie nodded. “Right! We need a gossip. Someone who can spread the word so-to-speak.”
Annette snapped her fingers. “I’ve got just the person – Cat!”
“…and one of the other crew gave me a note that Olivia had written to them.” Millie’s eyes widened. She leaned close to Cat, who was on the other side of the counter. “She said that if anything happened to her, this person was a prime suspect,” Millie whispered in a loud voice.
Cat pulled the No. 2 pencil from her hair and began to chew on the middle. “Who was it?”
Millie jerked back and shook her head. “I can’t say. What if I put my own life in danger?”
She drummed her fingertips on the glass display case. “No. I’m waiting for Dave Patterson to get back on board later tonight. I’m gonna take the note right to him.” She paused. “But for now, it’s safe and sound inside my cabin.” She winked at Cat then glanced at her watch. “I better go. Trivia starts in ten minutes.”
She could feel the heat on the back of her head as Cat’s eyes bore into her skull. I should get an academy award for that performance, Millie decided.
Annette was waiting for her on the other side of the bank of elevators. “Did you do it?”
Millie gave her the thumbs up. “Mission accomplished.”
The girls made a quick trip back to Millie’s cabin. Annette removed the panel in the bathroom and Millie helped push her up and into the space. “Are you sure about this?”
Millie didn’t need to have Annette end up trapped in the ceiling and suffocating. Then she really would be in hot water! Of course, not to mention the loss of a good friend.
“Nah! I’m fine. This is a piece of cake!”
Millie watched as she crawled over to the open vent and waited to make sure Annette was in the right spot. “You have your phone?”
Annette flashed her cell phone through the vent. “Check!”
Millie turned to go. “I’ll be back as soon as trivia is over!” She didn’t wait for Annette to reply. She left the cabin door ajar and headed up Deck 7 to start trivia.
Thankfully, Sarah had gone ashore with her friend, Nikki, for the day. Now all they had to do was wait. And hope that Cat and her motor mouth would spread the word in time.
Trivia today was all about food. The questions were easy, at least to Millie.
Since it was a port day, there was only about half of the size of group who normally showed up to play. It was still fun and there were several winners who walked away with the dime store trophies – a gold colored palm tree glued to a small plastic platform. Blazoned across the front was the ship’s name, Siren of the Seas, in bold, gold letters.
Millie shoved the folder back in the cabinet and locked the door. She made a quick stop by the crew mess for a plate of some unrecognizable stew concoction and a scoop of rice. She ate alone and watched as several other crewmembers wandered in and out.
She had just finished eating when her cell phone beeped. She pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Annette: “Mission accomplished!”
Millie emptied her dirty plates in the nearby bins and darted out of the room.
Annette was out of the ceiling and pacing the cabin floor when Millie arrived. “You’re never gonna believe who just snuck into your cabin!”
Chapter 16
“But how can that be? All the clues lead right to Andy.” There was the receipt Millie had found in his medicine cabinet, the man at the pet store told them a man had bought the spider – not a woman! Then there was the matter of Andy’s deceased fiancé, not that that was proof that he killed Olivia.
On the one hand, Millie was greatly relieved it wasn’t Andy that snuck into her cabin in search of the non-existent note.
Could it be that perhaps he and the person Annette saw in the cabin were in cahoots? Maybe together, they had hatched a plan to kill the poor girl.
It was time to make another visit to Dave Patterson’s office.
Annette looked down at her dusty clothes and then glanced at her watch. “I gotta go change to get ready to head back to the kitchen.”
She handed her cell phone to Millie. “You can take this down to Patterson.”
Millie picked up the phone and shoved it in her pocket. “He’ll probably want to keep it,” she warned.
Annette nodded. “Yeah, I know. Maybe he can figure out how to transfer the video to his computer.”
Millie raised a brow. That was a great idea. Annette had some great ideas. Millie decided she was the perfect sleuthing partner.
Millie watched Annette skip off down the hall before closing the cabin door. Millie headed to the bathroom to wash up. The hot, humid tropics made her normally straight smooth locks zing straight out from her head.
Millie wet her comb and ran it through the locks in an attempt to tame them – at least a little. Next, she spritzed some hairspray and then patted her hair down.
Satisfied with the results, she wandered back out of the bathroom and checked her appearance in the full length mirror. It wouldn’t be long before the passengers would come back in full force – tired, hot and hungry.
Millie found Andy near the main gangplank. He was talking to Detective Patterson, who nodded to Millie when she got close. “Heard you and your sidekick, Annette, were in town today, snooping around.”
Millie nodded guiltily. “Yeah.”
Patterson crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “And?”
“I have some new information.” She gave him a dark look. “Can I stop by your place later?”
Patterson arched his brow and nodded. “Of course.” He nodded to Andy before heading across the room and disappearing into an elevator. She watched the door close behind him before she turned back.
Andy rubbed a hand across his bushy brow. “You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”
Millie swallowed hard. Her eyes dropped to the ground. She studied her polish
ed black shoes for a second. “I can’t. I think I know who the killer – or should I say - killers are.”
Andy didn’t have a chance to reply. A young couple stepped over the threshold. Well, not really stepped. It was more like “stumbled.” They had had a few too many adult beverages. The man lunged forward and directly into Andy’s arms.
Andy pulled him upright. “Whoa there pardner. Let’s get you two back to your room.” He looked at Millie over the top of the man’s head. “I’ll be back in a flash.”
Millie nodded and then turned her attention to the next round of guests coming up the gangplank. The rest of the afternoon sailed by as Millie and Andy greeted the returning guests like family. Many of the faces were beginning to look familiar.
Several of them that passed by were from Millie’s trivia games and they greeted her by name.
Andy shifted his feet. “You’re pretty popular,” he complimented from the side of his mouth.
“Just doin’ my job,” she shot back.
After the last passenger had boarded, the crew pulled the gangplank and closed the door. Andy turned to Millie. “Tonight is formal night. The guests get all gussied up and hit the town, so-to-speak.”
Millie nodded. She remembered the time she and Roger had dressed up on their cruise’s formal night. The picture – one of the last pictures they had taken together – used to hang in the living room, above the fireplace.
After the divorce, in a fit of anger, Millie had almost shredded the picture. At the last minute, she had changed her mind. Someday, she would give it to her daughter, Beth.
The thought of her home made her feel the teensiest bit homesick. The feeling quickly passed, though, as she remembered she needed to stop by Detective Patterson’s before she started her evening shift.
“You’ll need to make an appearance at the past guest party,” Andy told her. “That’s where they formally introduce the crew to the passengers.”
She raised a brow. “Are you hosting it?”
Andy nodded. “Yep. Truth be told, it’s one of my favorite things to do. I love the excitement the past guests bring with them. Return guests – they’re the best thing in the world.”
Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series: Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 11
