Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series: Box Set: Books 1-3

by Hope Callaghan

  Millie had to agree. The greatest compliment one could receive was people who loved the ship, the staff and kept coming back for more.

  “I’ll meet you backstage at 5:00.” The party started at 5:30 – 45 minutes before first seating dinner. Andy headed out.

  Millie checked her pocket to make sure she still had Annette’s phone. Millie took a deep breath. With a look of determination, she turned on her heel and headed to security.

  Millie tapped lightly on the outside of Dave Patterson’s office door. “Come in!” A loud voice shouted from within.

  Millie opened the door and peeked around the corner. Dave Patterson was sitting at his desk. He waved Millie inside and over to the chair.

  He leaned back as she pulled out the chair and perched on the edge. Her underarms immediately started to perspire. She wished more than anything that the man didn’t make her so nervous!

  Dave Patterson was good at judging emotions and judging from Millie Sanders’ actions, he was making her nervous. Very nervous. He tried to put her at ease. “Did you enjoy your day in Jamaica?”

  Millie nodded. Then she thought of the would-be robber. “We were almost robbed,” she blurted out.

  Dave leaned forward. “You were?”

  Millie rubbed her sticky palms across the top of her pants. “Yeah. Annette. Annette Delacroix knows a few self-defense moves and took the would-be robber down. Literally,” she added.

  Dave raised a brow. He propped his elbows on the armrests and clasped his arms together. “You don’t say.”

  “She kicked him in the groin area,” Millie added.

  Dave chuckled. “Sounds like Annette. You gotta watch her. Especially if she gets fired up and happens to be in the kitchen holding a knife,” he warned.

  Millie gave him a small, nervous smile.

  “So what brings you to my office?” he asked.

  Millie straightened her leg and leaned back in the chair. She pulled Annette’s cell phone from her front pocket and laid it on the desk. “Before you look at this, let me tell you what I know so far.”

  She went on to explain everything. She told him about how she and Annette had gone to the pet store in Kingston and that they discovered that an employee on their ship had purchased a small terrarium, complete with a brown recluse spider.

  She told him how Annette and she had spread the word she had evidence in her cabin.

  Dave leaned forward. “How did you plan on the suspect entering your cabin?”

  “We left the door ajar,” she told him.

  Dave reached for the phone. “Did anyone show up?”

  Millie nodded. “We caught her on camera.”

  Dave turned on the phone and scrolled to the video. He pressed play. “How did you get this videotape?”

  Patterson looked up. Millie shifted uncomfortably in the seat. “Annette. She was, uh. It was taken from the ceiling vent in my room.”

  “Annette Delacroix was in your ceiling?” His steely gaze honed in on Millie.

  “Yeah. She, uh, popped the access panel in the bathroom ceiling and crawled across until she got to the vent that looks down on the main part of the cabin.”

  Dave Patterson had heard it all!

  “She’s pretty wiry,” Millie added. “Kind of reminds me of a female ninja.”

  After he watched the video, he turned it off and set it on the table. “This is definitely incriminating evidence.”

  “I’ll bring Cat in for questioning.”

  Millie nodded.

  “But that doesn’t make her the killer,” he pointed out.

  Millie nodded again. “Maybe an accessory?”

  Dave picked up the pen on top of his desk and began clicking the button thoughtfully. “The store owner couldn’t positively identify anyone. Are you sure he’s not lying and it was a woman – Cat – all along?”

  Millie shrugged. Nothing was certain. If she had to choose between Andy and Cat being the guilty party, she would have to go with Cat. Not that she wished Cat were the killer. Her first choice would be someone she didn’t know.

  Dave stood. Millie got to her feet. The two of them locked eyes. Millie hesitated for a fraction of a second longer than was comfortable.

  She dropped her gaze and sidestepped the chair. Dave met her at the door. He put his hand on the knob and opened the door. “I’ll let you know if anything comes from my conversation with Cat.”

  He watched Millie walk down the long hall. The woman was a real character. He had to admire her persistence, though.

  He shook his head and slowly closed the door. Annette Delacroix? Now that was another story.

  Millie’s stomach began to churn. She didn’t want to believe Andy was involved. He just didn’t seem like the killer-type. Maybe she wasn’t the great judge of character that she always thought she was.

  She tried to put herself in Roger’s shoes. What would he do? Try to squeeze out a confession? Catch the killer in a trap? The girls had already done the stakeout – technically.

  Back in the cabin, she pulled her list of suspects from her backpack. Number one on the list was Andy. Number two - Maribelle. Cat was on the list but further down. Millie moved her to the top. Above Andy, even.

  There was something missing. Something back in the corner of her brain. A small niggle that didn’t add up. She glanced at her watch. It would have to wait until later. It was time to head down to the past guest party. It was show time!

  Chapter 17

  Millie glanced nervously from behind the curtain as she peeked into the theater. It was filling up fast. Andy was standing nearby, talking to the magician. He gave Millie a reassuring smile when he caught her eye.

  He gave a small nod to the magician and strolled over to where Millie was peeking around the edge of the curtain. “There are a lot of people in there,” she whispered furiously. If she thought her stomach was churning earlier, it was now doing a few somersaults!

  Andy could hear the edge of panic in her voice. He put a reassuring arm around her shoulder and gave her a gentle hug. “Don’t worry. You’ll do just fine.”

  Millie attempted a half-hearted smile before turning her attention once again to the gathering crowd.

  By the time Andy took the stage, Millie was starting to feel woozy – and nauseous.

  Zack walked by. He noticed the white, drawn look on poor Millie’s face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a mint. “Here. This will settle your stomach,” he told her.

  Millie gratefully accepted the mint. She pulled it from the wrapper and popped it into her mouth.

  Just then, she heard Andy announce her name. “And now to introduce the one. The only. My sidekick, Millie!”

  Horrified, Millie tried to swallow the barely eaten mint. It made it halfway down before lodging in her throat. She began to gag. The mint, like a mini missile, flew out of her mouth.

  She jerked her hand and caught it mid-air. She quickly shoved the wet disc into her pocket before plastering a terrified smile to her face and stepping out from behind the curtain.

  Andy met her halfway across the stage. He gave her a reassuring nudge forward and handed her a microphone.

  “This is Millie’s first week on board, folks,” Andy told a packed crowd. “How do you think she’s doing?”

  A round of thunderous applause ensued. Millie thought she even caught a few catcalls. Her face turned bright red. The same color as the tip of the microphone.

  Millie held the microphone to her mouth. “Thank you. Thank you everybody.” Her eyes scanned the crowd. People were smiling. At her. She felt herself relax – just a little.

  “You. The passengers – make my job easy. You all are so much fun. Thank you for making my first week one of the best weeks of my life,” she finished sincerely.

  Before Andy could put her on the spot again, she shut the microphone off and handed it back to him. She turned on her heel and exited to the side, waving to her adoring fans as she went.

  Back behind the curtain, she sl
umped against the wall. She pulled the tacky mint from her pocket and stuck it back in her mouth.

  Zack was waiting nearby. He patted Millie’s shoulder. “You did great,” he promised her.

  The dancers were lining up behind the curtain for their performance. She gave him a weak smile and thumbs up before she headed down the stairs and into the dressing room to wait for Andy.

  As Millie sat there, she had a sudden thought. Something she should have considered before. She couldn’t wait for Andy to be done – to ask him one simple question. Her mind raced at how to pose the question without raising too much suspicion.

  She didn’t have to wait long. Andy appeared around the corner. His face was flushed, his eyes bright with excitement. He grinned at Millie. “You did great! The crowd loves you!”

  Millie smiled. It felt pretty good – now that the stage fright had subsided. “Thanks!”

  “Let’s go back to my cabin. I have something for you. Kind of a present,” he said.

  Millie followed him out of the dressing room and down to the lower deck. He unlocked his cabin door and swung it wide, letting Millie step inside first.

  Millie glanced around. This was perfect. It was better than what she could have imagined! The feeling quickly faded as Andy reached into his cabinet and pulled out a wrapped package. He handed it to Millie.

  She looked down at the package. A gift. Guilt consumed her. How could she have ever suspected Andy was a killer?

  “You have a great cabin,” she told Andy as she looked around.

  He nodded. “I almost feel guilty with all this extra space,” he admitted.

  “Even your bathroom. The luxury of having two large medicine cabinets.” She set the package on the table, wandered over to the bathroom and opened the door. “Why look at all this room.”

  She stepped into the bathroom. “You even have medicine cabinets.” She opened the cabinet door on the right. It was full of men’s grooming supplies. “Just look at all this shelf space.”

  Millie prayed she wasn’t crossing the line. That Andy wouldn’t wonder what on earth she was doing!

  She pulled open the door on the left. The one with the money clip, and receipt, inside. “And you don’t even use this other one.”

  “No,” he admitted. “The other one belonged to Toby, your predecessor.”

  Millie reached for the money clip, still tucked under the edge. Right where Millie had left it. She picked it up and held it out. “Oh, there’s something in here. It looks like a wallet.” She held it up for Andy to see.

  His brow furrowed. “Hmm. That doesn’t belong to me. Toby must’ve forgotten it.”

  He picked it up and turned it over in his hand. “Yes, it sure is his.” He pointed to the front. “Those are his initials.”

  Millie’s heart stopped beating. Just for a split second. She slipped her reading glasses on and stared at the leather exterior. She hadn’t noticed the lettering before. “TDO.”

  “Tobias D. Oglesby.” Andy said. “I should send it to him.”

  Millie swallowed hard. “You might want to give that to Detective Patterson.”

  Andy’s head shot up. He stared at Millie. “Why is that?”

  She took the clip from Andy, opened it up and stuck her finger inside one of the compartments. The one with the receipt. She pulled the receipt out and handed it to Andy.

  He opened it up and stared at the words. “You knew this was inside?”

  She nodded.

  “Why didn’t you take it to Detective Patterson?”

  Millie wasn’t quite sure why she hadn’t. Maybe she had panicked. Or maybe she really didn’t want to believe Andy was capable of murder.

  Either way, she should have given it to him or at the very least, told him about it. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get into too much trouble…

  “Deep down I couldn’t believe you were the killer.”

  Andy started for the door and abruptly halted. “Wait. You forgot your gift.” He reached over and grabbed the present. “For you.”

  Millie turned the package over, slipped her finger under the tape, and gently lifted. She pulled the paper off and set the box on the table. She jiggled the cover until it finally came off. Tucked inside the box was a flashlight. A large, silver flashlight.

  She lifted it from the box and turned it over in her hand. “This flashlight weighs a ton.” Was Andy going to put her on some sort of night patrol as punishment?

  Andy took the flashlight from her hand. “This isn’t just any old flashlight, Millie.” He turned it over so that the bottom was facing up. “It’s part flashlight, part Taser.”

  Millie’s eyes widened as she stared at the end. She’d never seen a real Taser. Only on TV. “I’ll show you how to use it,” he promised.

  “I-I don’t know what to say other than that is the most interesting gift I’ve ever gotten.” This was the honest to goodness truth.

  Andy handed it back. “Now you can be safe no matter where you are.”

  Andy and Millie took the receipt and the money clip and headed down to Patterson’s office. She still wasn’t sure how Cat fit into the whole thing.

  “Cat and Toby – were they friends?” she asked Andy as they walked.

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure. They had kind of an odd relationship, those two.”

  “There was some sort of connection but I’m not sure what it was,” he admitted.

  Luckily, Patterson was in his office. He raised a brow when he saw the two of them walk in together. Andy laid the wallet on the desk and explained how Millie found the receipt inside and that it had belonged to Toby.

  Dave listened silently as they relayed the entire story. His eyes bore into Millie. “You never told me about this?”

  He leaned forward. “I’ll deal with you later,” he added ominously. “Cat Wellington is on her way down now.”

  Millie reached for the door handle. “I’d rather she not see me,” she said.

  Andy got up, too. “Yeah, we should get out of here.”

  Dave nodded and followed them to the door. They made their way down the long corridor and over to the bank of elevators. Andy waited while Millie stepped in first. She didn’t dare mention her aversion to elevators, certain that he probably thought she had plenty of quirks without adding another to the growing list.

  The door started to close. Just before it shut, she caught a glimpse of Cat walking towards Detective Patterson’s office.

  Millie was on pins and needles the rest of the evening and all through the night as she wondered what happened when Patterson questioned Cat.

  She didn’t have to wait long. By the time Millie got ready for work the next morning and started down the hall, Annette was speed walking from the other direction.

  “Cat’s in the hoosegow!”

  Millie’s mouth dropped open. “You mean Cat’s in jail?”

  Annette grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side of the I-95 corridor. She waited until a group of people had walked past. “They’re holding her ‘til we get back to port and they can arrest Toby Oglesby for suspicion of murder!”

  “They think she’s an accessory,” she added.

  Well, that made some sense. Toby killed Olivia, escaped from the ship and for some reason, he left Cat behind to tidy up the loose ends.

  Millie spent the rest of the day mulling over the events that had taken place. All in all, the thing that made her happiest was a sense of accomplishment. She’d actually helped solve a murder. With the help of Annette, of course.

  Not far behind that, she was relieved Andy hadn’t been involved.

  The rest of the day was jam-packed with activities that kept Millie on her toes and on her feet, literally.

  By the time evening rolled around, she was ready to collapse. Tomorrow would be even busier. It was turnover day and from all that she’d been told, it was the worst day of the week, trying to get all the departing guests off and a fresh, new crowd on.

  She kneeled next to her bed t
hat night. “Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for a good week. Thank you for helping me make it through. Thank you for all of the new friends I’ve made and let me always shine Your light for others to see.”

  A Bible verse popped into her head:

  “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV

  She finished her prayers and climbed into bed. Millie was out like a light as soon as her head touched the pillow.

  Chapter 18

  BEEP…BEEP. Sarah groaned and Millie buried her head in her pillow as the alarm went off early the next morning. Way too early for either of them.

  “You go first,” Sarah offered as she pulled the covers over her head and sunk down.

  Millie sighed. It was going to be a long day. She shoved her feet in her slippers and shuffled to the bathroom. The bright light was too much. Millie closed her eyes and waited for her eyes to adjust.

  When she popped them back open, she leaned close the mirror. She felt as old as she looked. By the time she showered and dressed, she felt much better.

  She couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Toby – and Cat.

  Andy was already up on Deck 5 when she got there. The line of passengers waiting to disembark started at the exit door, snaked around the atrium and down the hall. It went as far as the eye could see.

  Millie smiled and waved to some of the familiar faces as the two of them made their way to the exit, just as the crew opened the door and the first passengers started to disembark.

  Millie plastered a smile on her face and kept it there for hours – until the very last passenger got off.

  The security guard stationed near the exit finally nodded at Andy. “Last one,” he announced.

  Andy’s shoulders sagged. He glanced at his watch. “Another one bites the dust,” he said. “You have a few hours of downtime, Millie, if you’d like to go ashore.”

  Millie decided she could use a few personal items like aspirin and sunscreen – stuff they sold on board but for a lot more money than what she could buy them for in Miami.