Cruise Conundrum: A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery (Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries Book 5)

by A. R. Winters

  “I see it meets your approval,” he said with a chuckle. Then, he reached over and gently wiped my chin with his thumb, causing a single crumb to drop down onto my bread plate. I felt my cheeks reddening but mumbled out, “Thanks.”

  Taking a break from the bread, I told Ethan about how my day had gone, and how Xavier seemed to be doing a decent job of stepping into Andy’s role. I wondered if he was going to get Andy’s share of the compensation on top of his own. I think he probably deserved it, but people so very rarely seem to get what they deserve.

  Andy, however… no, I mustn’t think like that. He was annoying, and full of himself, but no one deserves what happened to him.

  “What’s on your mind?”

  I felt the blush rise into my cheeks again as I realized I’d fallen silent. Oh, I was just thinking about how that dead guy deserved a bullet in his head.

  “Oh, just zoned out for a second. It’s been nonstop all day. Sorry.”

  “No need to apologize. I completely understand. It has been one of those days. Well, since last night, anyway. And you know, I thought this cruise was going so well.” He leaned back in his chair, stretching out his arms before stifling a yawn. I guessed he’d been up late the night before helping Dr. Ryan with all the formalities in sickbay.

  We demolished our serving of garlic bread in plenty of time for the main course. We had both gone with the cannelloni. Actually, I’d waited to see what Ethan ordered and copied him. He seemed to have pretty good taste in food, and he had a lot more experience in the nicer restaurants on board than I did.

  We each had a side salad as well to go with it, which was served with a simple oil and vinegar dressing. When the food arrived, I leaned over my plate and took a deep breath, enjoying the aroma coming from the steaming hot pasta.

  “And it tastes just as good as it smells,” said Ethan with a laugh.

  “Good. I’m famished.”

  We stopped talking as we dug in to the pasta. After a few mouthfuls, I decided to try and make things awkward again. That wasn’t actually my intention, but it was what I did anyway.

  “Did the captain have anything interesting to contribute?”

  I’m a glutton for punishment, obviously. Well, if not punishment, disappointment and awkwardness. Ethan took a moment to finish chewing his food before swallowing.

  “He didn’t say that much, to be honest. He just told me to try and solve it. So that’s what I’m going to do.” He put down his knife and fork, leaving them against the edge of the gleaming white plate. “Look, I’m sorry about the other day. It’s not that I don’t trust you or anything like that—it’s that I made a promise. I’m kind of sworn to secrecy.”

  I nodded slowly. Sworn to secrecy, eh?

  “It sounds important,” I said before putting another mouthful of the delicious cannelloni in my mouth.

  “Yes, it kind of is. Okay,” Ethan leaned over conspiratorially. “This can’t go beyond here, but there’ve been certain rumors about the captain. About his competency, and his honesty. The powers that be have asked me to kind of keep an eye on him, and see if I find anything suspicious. But I’m not supposed to tell anyone, or even talk about it at all. If I could, I would. I do trust you, Adrienne.”

  If we were married, you’d tell me.

  I definitely did not say that. I didn’t even know where the thought came from. It was a wild idea that popped into my head from nowhere, and I shooed it away quickly.

  Instead, I said, “I know about that. Kelly told me.”

  Ethan had picked up his fork again but this time he dropped it with a clatter.

  “Kelly told you? About… the rumors?”

  “Yep, Kelly trusts me.”

  That final comment had more of a barb in it than I had meant it to. It seems I had a bigger sting in my tail than I thought. Ethan visibly winced and looked back down at his plate. He picked up his fork and methodically went back to consuming his meal.

  “I understand. She has a bit of a big mouth.” The guilt was already starting to creep in. “I understand if you’ve promised to keep a secret. It’s good to honor your oath. Really.”

  Of course, it would be nice if he would honor his promise to keep silent with everyone else, but fill me in. Make me special. Make me part of his team. Trust me, if no one else.

  “I’m glad you understand,” he said when he’d finished chewing another mouthful. “It’s a bit awkward for me. Having to keep things secret from you, from the captain obviously, from the other senior members of staff.” He rubbed his temple. “I’m beat. I was going to ask if you wanted to go for a cocktail, after…”

  After the way I had just dropped a bomb like that right in the middle of our date, I wasn’t sure I could face having a cocktail with him. Not right then. I needed a bit of time to get over myself. And he was exhausted anyway.

  “I think you need to call it an early night. Get your beauty sleep, so you can stay as handsome as always.” I grinned at him.

  He smiled at me and a little of the awkwardness was gone. I thought I was playing it just right. The next day would be a fresh start, and I wouldn’t push him about the captain anymore; I would just wait until he was ready to tell me. Or until something else forced his hand.

  We talked a little more about the murder, and we both agreed that we would continue to talk with the suspects and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

  The cannelloni was incredibly filling and, along with the crisp green side salad and garlic bread, I couldn’t even face any dessert, which was quite unlike me. Neither of us wanted a coffee either; we were worried about being kept up late by the caffeine.

  When the plates had been cleared away and Ethan had signed for the meal—he wouldn’t have to pay for it, but they did need a record of who was eating what—my phone buzzed with a message from Cece.

  Yo! How’s the hot date with Hot Stuff? If you’re not already in his cabin, we’re going for drinks if you wanna join. Message me.

  “Anything interesting?” asked Ethan with a smile.

  “Just my friends. They asked me out for a drink.”

  Ethan nodded. “I think you’d better take them up on their offer. I really should have that early night.”

  “Yep. Get your handsome sleep.”

  He laughed at my play on words, accepting the compliment again without complaint. It was refreshing in a way. From someone else, it might have come across as arrogance, but not from him.

  “Are we still on for breakfast tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Definitely. Though I don’t know how hungry I’ll be after this gigantic meal.”

  “Oh, I figure you’ll get your appetite back by then.”

  “Are you saying I’m a big eater?”

  “No.” He paused, and looked me in the eye. “You’re a massive eater.”

  I poked him from across the table, and we both laughed.

  Most of the tension between the two of us had evaporated, but there was still something between us now, underlying our interactions. The secrets we kept from each other. I had a feeling that, one day, we would open up to each other more, but it was going to take time. One slow meal at a time.

  We said goodbye to each other outside the restaurant, and he gave me the most chaste peck on the lips as a goodbye. There were so many people coming in and out—and possibly looking on at us, since his uniform certainly drew attention— that it wasn’t safe to do anymore. But that was all right. For now, it was enough for me.

  “Good night, Ethan.”

  “Good night. Have a good time with the girls and I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  That’s exactly what I planned to do: have a good time with my friends.

  At least it wouldn’t be awkward with them.

  Chapter 17

  I met Cece and Sam at Hemingway’s.

  Swan was now experimenting with keeping it open late into the night. Previously, the bar had always closed shortly after sunset, when the lagoon pool which was located beside also clos
ed for the evening. But Swan had decided that there was money in a moonlit tropical bar, and Sam and Cece had decided it was worth a shot.

  The girls were sitting at a bamboo table, sipping brightly colored daiquiris. Cece had a pink strawberry and watermelon flavored one, while Sam’s was a yellow pineapple banana coconut concoction. Before I sat down, I ordered at the bar, following Cece’s lead with a pink drink of my own.

  “How was your date?” asked Sam.

  “Terrible,” said Cece before I even had a chance to open my mouth.

  I sat down on one of the two remaining chairs, and leaned back with a sigh. “It wasn’t terrible.”

  “Then what you’re you doing here with us instead of spending the evening with Hot Stuff, doing hot stuff?” said Cece with a wicked glint in her eye.

  “He’s tired. What with the murder yesterday, he was up half the night.”

  “He should be up half the night with you,” said Cece with a smirk.

  I rolled my eyes at her. “We had a fine date. It was great.”

  “But not that great, right?” asked Sam. She knew me too well. It wasn’t surprising, since we’ve been best friends since kindergarten.

  “No, it was fine. I just feel like he doesn’t open up to me as much as he could.”

  “Well, he is a man,” said Cece, arching her eyebrows. “What do you expect?”

  I shrugged, sighed, and took a sip of my drink. It was cool and sweet and had just enough kick to let you know it was going to work.

  “Have you opened up to him?” asked Sam. She was referring to the fact that the previous year I had been kidnapped, but I hadn’t told anyone else about it yet. Not Ethan, and not even Cece.

  “I guess not. Maybe we’re just taking things slow, getting to know each other.”

  My two companions nodded, and for the moment, their inquisition was put on hold.

  We all sat back in our chairs, enjoying the evening. The night air was cool and fragrant, with the smell of lavender from a nearby bush, which was growing amongst some potted bamboos.

  Suddenly, a spark caught fire in Cece’s eyes.

  “So who do you think did it?” Cece leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, interlocking her fingers and resting her chin atop them.

  The sudden change of topic confused me for a moment.

  “Did what?”

  “Did it. The murder. The death. Who turned Amazing Andy into Afterlife Andy?”

  I almost felt like scolding Cece for being so flippant about the death. But I knew, in my own head, I’d been pretty flippant myself. It would be hypocritical to scold her.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Yet,” said Cece giving me a look.

  “Yet?”

  “Yep. Yet. You’re going to find out who did it, aren’t you? You always do.”

  I took a sip of my drink. I did always manage to find out who did it, didn’t I?

  “I don’t know. Everyone who’s supposed to be upset does seem upset. The people with the best reason to kill him aren’t acting overly suspicious.”

  “What about too upset? Do you think any of them are hamming it up a bit too much? That can be a sign, can’t it?”

  “Yeah. All of them. Truth be told, I thought Andy was awful. But his friends seemed to like him for some reason.” With a shrug, I leaned back in my chair, resting the cool glass of my drink on my stomach and tilting my chin down to take a sip from the long curly straw.

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out before we get back to port. We wouldn’t want the land cops to have to actually do their job, would we?”

  I laughed at that. I was sure the police in New Orleans were wonderful at their jobs, but it would be better for all concerned if we could wrap up what happened before we got back there.

  “What about you, Cece?” asked Sam. “How was your date with Dr. Ryan yesterday?”

  Cece snorted. “My date? It was going great. I’d nearly convinced him that staff were totally allowed to go skinny dipping on the pool deck after it was closed off to passengers. Until Little Miss Murder over here ruined it.”

  “Hey, I didn’t kill him.”

  “But you did find him, and you called it in. Couldn’t you have just left it ‘til morning?”

  I knew she was teasing, but the stern look on her face could have fooled someone who didn’t know her better.

  “Yeah, right,” said Sam with a sarcastic interjection. “I think not reporting a murder case because we didn’t want to disturb anyone is almost certainly a disciplinary offense.”

  “Like we care about following the rules.” Cece laughed and noisily slurped down the bottom dregs of her daiquiri.

  “Speak for yourself. I am a stickler for the rules.”

  Sam and Cece both looked at me with disbelieving eyes. Cece held up the cardholder dangling from her lanyard and waved it in the air. Okay, she had a point. Cece had a master key that would open any cabin on the ship. She and I had been in cabins we weren’t supposed to be in on more than one occasion. I guess I had broken a few rules after all.

  Hemingway’s bar was quiet that evening, and I wasn’t sure whether Swan’s experiment with keeping it open at night was going to be a success. But because it was so quiet, I managed to spot something rather interesting. Or someone, anyway.

  I had nearly finished my drink and I could see Cece shuffling in her chair like she was about to get up in order some more. But just behind her, who should walk by but none other than the mystery man who I’d previously seen disguised as a housekeeper and then later as a guest.

  He hurried past the back of the bar area, his head down and his steps quick and with purpose. He was off somewhere, and I wanted to know where.

  I wanted to follow him, but I didn’t want to explain to the girls what I was doing. I also didn’t want to ruin their evening. Time was of the essence, though. Luckily, I was right about Cece’s plan to order more cocktails.

  “Another drink?”

  Sam was already nodding her head. “Oh yeah.”

  I slurped down the rest of my drink.

  “Sorry, guys. I think I’m almost as tired as Ethan was. I’m going to call it a night. See you later.”

  I was on my feet before they had a chance to complain.

  “Thanks for abandoning us,” called Cece with a cheeky smirk on her face as I made my departure.

  “I’m sure you’ll manage fine without me. Sam will look after you, won’t you?”

  “I’ll look after the drinks,” said Sam with a giggle.

  The girls waved me off while I walked briskly in the direction I had seen the bearded mystery man hurrying off to. As soon as I was out of their line of sight, I broke into a jog, hurrying through a door into the inside of the ship.

  I spotted my quarry heading in the direction of the officers’ cabins and started to trail behind him.

  He took a flight of stairs up to where the senior officers’ cabins were: Ethan’s, the captain’s, the second officer’s, and a few others.

  Once he had exited the stairwell, I hung back, listening for a clue as to who he was going to visit or where he was going.

  I heard him stop outside of a cabin, but I didn’t hear him ring the doorbell. Instead, I heard a beep followed by the whirring of a door unlocking itself after the successful application of a key card.

  A door was pushed open and, guessing he would’ve had time to walk into the room but not enough time to shut the door, I darted out into the hallway so I could see where he was.

  The last I saw of him was the heel of one black shoe disappearing inside a cabin, followed by the door closing quickly behind him. I rushed over to the room and stared at the door. I knew this cabin. In fact, it was one that Cece and I had broken into on an earlier cruise. Well, not broken into. We had Cece’s key card, after all.

  It was the captain’s.

  It may seem strange for me to be so outraged at him breaking into the cabin of the captain, a man I didn’t particularly like, and a cabin which
I had previously broken into. But I felt outraged nonetheless. Who was this guy? And what did he think he was doing, breaking into a captain’s cabin at night?

  I was sure the captain was off having dinner and probably dancing with the VIP guests, so obviously this man knew when it was safe to break in. I wondered what he was after in there.

  I loitered in the hallway outside the door of the cabin for a couple of minutes, listening as best I could and considering what to do. For a moment, I entertained the idea of confronting him myself. But that didn’t seem wise or safe.

  Just when I was thinking that the best course of action was to call Ethan and get him over here, I heard the unmistakable sound of the burglar approaching the door again with heavy footsteps.

  It looked like my time had run out. If I was going to call Ethan, all I would be able to tell him was what I had seen. He wouldn’t be able to get here and catch them in the act.

  I turned and fled back into the stairwell before he could get the door open again. I just about made it inside before I heard the captain’s cabin door close, indicating the man was now back out in the hallway. I wondered if he had caught a flash of me disappearing.

  Suddenly afraid, adrenaline pumping through me, I hurried down the stairs, taking the steps three at the time.

  When I’d gone down a couple of levels, I burst out into a hallway of passenger cabins and broke out into a jog again. When I thought the coast was clear and I was certain I wasn’t being followed, I started to walk back to my own cabin.

  The whole way there, my heart was pounding a mile a minute, and I felt shaky from the excitement of it all.

  When I got back to our room, I was surprised to find Sam already there.

  “Where did you get to, young lady?” she asked, playfully, with all the energy of a concerned parent. “Did Ethan find some more energy?”

  I snorted and shook my head as I closed the door behind me and kicked off my shoes. “No. Not that. I’m sure he’s fast asleep. On the way back though, I saw someone.