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

by Hope Callaghan

  She ran down to her cabin and grabbed her wallet. She shoved that and her cell phone in her backpack and headed for the exit.

  She switched her phone on as soon as she cleared the ship. There was a message from her daughter, Beth. “Hi Mom. Just wondering how your first week went and if you still like it.”

  Millie blinked back tears at the sound of her daughter’s familiar voice. She saved the message and then dialed Beth’s number before heading to a shady area to talk.

  Beth picked up on the first ring. “So how was it?”

  “Exciting. Busy. Tiring.”

  “Did you make any friends?” her daughter wondered.

  Millie grinned. “Yep. I made a few friends.”

  “And a few enemies,” she added.

  “Enemies?”

  Millie nodded. “There was a murder on board the ship I helped solve and in the process I guess I stepped on a few toes along the way.”

  Beth laughed. “You’re beginning to sound like Gloria.”

  That sounded like a compliment to Millie! “Gloria” was Gloria Rutherford, Millie’s cousin. She lived in a small town not far from Millie’s place. Over the past couple of years, Gloria had developed quite the reputation for solving mysteries.

  “It must run in the family,” Millie said proudly. And maybe it did. She had almost forgotten about her cousin and her recent notoriety. She made a mental note to give her a buzz. Maybe they could compare notes!

  Millie and Beth talked for a bit longer and she was a little sad when the conversation finally ended. She promised to give her daughter a call the next week and in turn, Beth promised to give her brother, Blake, a call to let him know their mother was safe and happy.

  Millie ran her few errands. It was nice to be off the ship. On American soil, even. Somewhere she felt relatively safe walking around on her own.

  She loaded her backpack with the toiletries, some chips that she decided she couldn’t live without and a couple books she was looking forward to reading.

  She made a mental note to run by the library next time they were in port so she could check out some books and read them in her free time, which would be scarce if the last week was any indication. Of course, the murder investigation had taken up quite a bit of time.

  Now that that was over, things would hopefully settle down.

  She glanced at her watch as she stepped out of the grocery store. It was time to head back. She pulled her sunglasses down and quickened her pace as she headed back to the ship.

  Several other crewmembers were lining up to board. Some of them she recognized. Her eyes widened when she spied Cat and Dave Patterson boarding just ahead of her. She ducked behind another crewmember in an attempt to hide but it was too late.

  It was as if Cat could sense that Millie was behind her. She narrowed her eyes and glared right at Millie!

  Millie wilted under the piercing stare. She swallowed hard and hung back, hoping that Cat would be long gone by the time she was back on board.

  Dave Patterson noticed her, too. She watched him board and then stand to the side, as if waiting for someone. Which he was: Millie.

  He crossed his arms as she wandered over to him. “I trust you had a nice day off.”

  Millie nodded. She patted her backpack. “Stocking up on the necessities.”

  He nodded. “You have a minute?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  He waved an arm. “Follow me.”

  Millie followed him down the hall and to his office. He unlocked the door, swung it open and waited for Millie to enter first.

  He waved at a chair near the door. “Have a seat,” he told her.

  Millie picked the chair closest to the door. She lowered herself onto the edge.

  Patterson slid into his chair and leaned back, gazing at her thoughtfully. Millie’s armpits began to sweat. An all too familiar occurrence whenever she was close to Dave Patterson. She began to squirm under his intense gaze.

  “Toby Oglesby confessed to Olivia’s murder,” he announced.

  Patterson watched as Millie nervously fiddled with the zipper on her backpack. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “I bet you’re wondering how Catherine Wellington was involved.”

  “I am a bit curious,” she admitted.

  “Cat and Toby’s mother are best friends. Close, almost like sisters. Cat was the one that got him the job on board the ship.” He went on, “She knew Toby was fixated on Olivia.”

  Patterson explained that Toby hung around the store almost every day, trying to talk to Olivia, who pretty much blew him off.

  Toby had a bit of a temper and when it started to sink in that Olivia was not going to give him the time of the day, he got angry. Angry enough to hint to Cat that something bad might happen to Olivia.

  When Olivia died, Cat immediately grew suspicious that Toby may have been involved somehow. She had nothing concrete – just her suspicions.

  “And when Cat heard you had some kind of note that Olivia had written, she panicked. She wanted to take a look at the note before it was turned over to authorities in case it implicated Toby,” he finished.

  “But wouldn’t that make her an accessory? Or at the very least tampering with a police investigation?”

  Dave leaned forward, his hands resting on the desk. “It might have except for the fact that you didn’t have a note. It never existed so there’s nothing to charge her with. Plus, she claims she only wanted to look at the note – not take it,” he pointed out. “Toby said he never confessed the murder to his mother or Cat.”

  Millie’s brow furrowed. That part was probably true. After all, Toby was off the ship right after they discovered Olivia’s body on the atrium floor.

  “So now what?” Millie asked.

  “Toby has been arrested,” Dave said.

  Dave Patterson wasn’t finished. “You’re lucky I don’t turn you in for withholding evidence.”

  Millie’s heart stopped. Yes, she should have turned the receipt over to Patterson as soon as she discovered it. She swallowed hard. “I won’t let it happen again,” she promised.

  He abruptly stood. Millie got to her feet. “This is your warning. Next time I won’t be quite so forgiving,” he said somberly.

  Patterson walked to the door and grabbed the handle. His expression softened. “Now try to stay out of trouble, will ya’?” He grinned and opened the door.

  Millie gave a small salute. “I’ll do my best, sir.” She stepped out into the hall and started down the long corridor.

  Millie smiled and picked up the pace as she headed to her cabin. Today had been a great day! She had solved her first mystery and still had a job – at least for another week.

  The end.

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  Apple Crisp

  Ingredients

  4 cups sliced apples (about 4 medium)

  2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

  ½ cup all-purpose flour

  ½ cup quick oats (can substitute w/graham cracker crumbs)

  ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

  ¾ tsp. nutmeg

  1/3 cup butter, softened

  Heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange apples in greased glass baking dish (8x8).

  Mix sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg until blended. Add butter. Blend until mixture sticks together.

  Sprinkle mixture over apples.

  Bake uncovered 25 – 30 minutes (until topping is brown and firm).

  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

  *This recipe also works well with mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries & blackberries).

  **

  Portside Peril:

  Book 2<
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  Hope Callaghan

  hopecallaghan.com

  Copyright © 2015

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Although places mentioned may be real, the characters, names and incidents and all other details are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  ______________________________

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Banana Nut Bread

  Chapter 1

  “Cat is madder than a wet hornet!”

  Millie Sanders, Assistant Cruise Director, had just stuck her key card in the cabin door slot and reached for the handle when her friend, Annette Delacroix, came up behind her.

  Millie turned around. “Really?” She had been having a good day. Actually, she’d been having a great day but things were suddenly taking a turn for the worse.

  “Let me guess. She’s mad at me?” Millie held out a little hope that maybe Cat wasn’t angry with her for throwing her under the bus, so to speak.

  Annette clucked her tongue. “You should see her! She’s up in the gift shop, tearing the place apart, hair flying everywhere.”

  Millie pressed her hands to her cheeks. This was bad. It was worse than she had expected. Catherine Wellington’s signature beehive hairdo was always perfectly coiffed with nary a hair out of place.

  “W-what’s she saying?” Millie squeezed her eyes shut and offered up a quick prayer.

  “Something about a traitorous, two-timing, double-dealing, skunk-smelling.”

  Millie cut her off. “I get the idea.” Her shoulders sagged. There was no way Millie could live onboard the cruise ship with an archenemy – namely Cat - who had a tendency to gossip. If Cat set her mind to it, Millie was 100% certain she could make Millie’s life miserable.

  “I guess I better go try to make amends.” Millie pulled her key from the slot and shoved it into her pocket. She followed Annette down the corridor.

  Millie eyed her friend. “What about you? You’re just as guilty as I am,” she pointed out.

  Annette nodded. “True, but for some reason, you’re the target.” Annette shrugged her shoulders. “Better you than me!”

  Annette and Millie had set up a sting to catch a potential killer. Cat had walked right into their trap. In the end, police cleared Cat, but not before she spent some time behind bars, which was the reason for her fit of rage, directed at Millie.

  Millie opened the door that separated the crew quarters from the guest area. She held the door and waited for Annette to step through.

  Annette shoved her hands in her pockets. “I’d love to go with you. You know, help smooth things out but I’ve gotta get up to the kitchen. Something about a fish fiasco.”

  Millie stopped in the hall. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips as she glared at Annette.

  “If it doesn’t work out, let me know and I’ll try to talk to her,” Annette offered.

  Millie watched her friend’s hasty retreat as she hustled to the kitchen. “Scaredy cat,” Millie muttered under her breath.

  Millie headed in the opposite direction, towards Ocean Treasures, the gift shop where Catherine or “Cat” as her friends called her, worked. Of course, there was a good chance Millie was on the “persona non grata” list now, so it might be “Catherine” from here on out.

  She smiled and nodded to a few of the crew as she passed them in the hall. Although Millie had only been working on the ship for a short time, the faces were beginning to look familiar.

  Millie liked to pride herself on being able to remember details. Like so-and-so loved chocolate ice cream or that someone’s mother was a school teacher in Little Rock or her ex-husband, Roger, refused to eat the food on his plate if his meat and vegetable touched each other.

  Millie scowled at the thought of her cheating ex-husband. He picked the most inopportune times to invade her brain!

  No, it was peoples’ names that Millie had a hard time remembering.

  Millie paused as she reached the outside corridor and the elevator. She could take the elevator but instead, headed for the stairs. It was good exercise and although there was no scale on board, except for the one in the gym, her clothes felt a little looser since she’d come on board, so the extra flights of stairs had helped shed the pounds.

  Bright lights lit up the inside of Ocean Treasures gift shop. Millie grabbed the handle and twisted the knob. The door was locked.

  Millie peeked around the edge of the doorframe and caught a glimpse of the top of Cat’s beehive hairdo as she bent over the display case near the rear of the store. Strands of hair stuck out all over her head. Gone was the smooth, sleek “do” that was Cat’s signature style.

  Millie gave the glass door two sharp raps and waited.

  Cat’s head popped up. Her green eyes narrowed when she saw Millie.

  Millie mouthed the words, “Let me in.”

  In response, Cat shook her head. Her hand shot up and she gave Millie the middle finger. Millie could read her lips and what came out would make a sailor blush.

  Millie was determined. She needed to talk to Cat, to explain her side of it. Cat needed to see that it wasn’t really Millie’s fault that Cat had been taken in for questioning in the death of Olivia LaShay, a ship employee and Cat’s co-worker.

  Millie crossed her arms, planted her feet in front of the door and defiantly stared at Cat. Cat tried her best to ignore Millie. It worked just fine until Millie moved in front of the large, plate glass window. She dropped to her knees, clasped her hands together and begged. “Will you puhleeze let me in?”

  Cat rolled her eyes and headed to the front entrance. Millie thought she was going to unlock the door. Instead, she turned off the light and disappeared into the back storage room. She shut the door behind her.

  Millie rose to her feet, wiped the dust from her knees and slowly shuffled away.

  “Millie, do you copy?”

  Andy, her boss, was calling her on the radio. She unclipped the radio and pressed the button. “I’m here.”

  “Passengers are starting to board,” he told her.

  Millie glanced at the stairs and then at the elevator. The elevator would be the quickest way down, but ever since the time Millie had been stuck in one and discovered she suffered from claustrophobia, she hated them.

  Against her better judgment, she pressed the down button and hopped into the empty elevator. This particular elevator wasn’t as bad as the others. The front was floor-to-ceiling glass and it faced the atrium area so Millie could see out.

  She stepped inside and pressed the button. The elevator doors closed and it began its descent. The elevator was halfway down when it shuddered and then stopped. Millie could see they were halfway between floors.

  Millie pressed the floor button again. The elevator made a small whirring noise but refused to budge. She pressed another button. Still nothing. Millie panicked and punched all the buttons.

  The air insi
de the confined space was stifling. Millie’s heart began to beat faster. She started to feel faint. She leaned forward and placed both hands on the rail, staring out at the atrium below.

  It was as if the elevator was invisible. Millie waved her arms frantically. No one seemed to notice her. She reached back and pressed the emergency button. Nothing happened.

  Millie sunk to her knees and peered out. Cat was walking by. Millie pounded on the glass. “Help! Help! I’m stuck inside,” she yelled.

  The movement caught Cat’s attention. She stepped closer. Her eyes met Millie’s. For a moment, Millie thought she was going to turn and walk away.

  Cat glanced around the atrium. Over in the corner, two workers had removed a wall panel and were poking around at some electrical wires.

  Millie watched as Cat tapped one of the men’s shoulders and pointed at Millie. The man’s eyes widened. He shook his partner’s arm and the two of them stared at Millie, still kneeling on the floor of the elevator.

  They raced across the open floor. One of them held up a finger as if to say, “One minute.”

  Millie pulled herself to her feet. She closed her eyes and thanked the Lord that someone was going to rescue her. Closing her eyes helped.

  Millie forced herself to breathe in, breathe out. She continued the slow, rhythmic breathing until the elevator jolted and began to move.

  The elevator reached the atrium floor and the doors sprung open. Millie sprinted out. Her eyes darted around the room as she searched for Cat but Cat, her rescuer, was long gone.

  Chapter 2

  Andy Walker, Cruise Director, was dressed in a crisp, white uniform and standing at attention when Millie sidled up. He glanced at his watch. “You’re right on time, Mildred.”

  Millie frowned. No one ever called her Mildred, no one except her mother when she was growing up and only when she was angry.

  “Did you see me? I was stuck in the elevator!” She pointed to the offensive object.