Portside Peril (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 2)
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Portside Peril
Cruise Ship Chronicles
Cozy Mystery Series Book 2
Hope Callaghan
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http://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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AVAILABLE NOW! The Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Box Set (Books 1-3).
Get Three Full Length Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries - One Great Price and One Easy Download!
Click Here To Download It Now!
Visit my website for new releases and special offers: http://hopecallaghan.com
A special thank you to Wanda Downs and Peggy Hyndman for taking the time to read and review the second book in my new series, Portside Peril, and offering all of the helpful advice!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About The Author
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
AVAILABLE NOW! The Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Box Set (Books 1-3).
Banana Nut Bread
About The Author
Hope Callaghan is an author who loves to write Christian books, especially Christian Mystery and Cozy Mystery books. Born and raised in a small town in West Michigan, she now lives in Florida with her husband.
She is the proud mother of one daughter and a stepdaughter and stepson. When she's not doing the thing she loves best - writing books - she enjoys cooking, traveling and reading books.
Hope loves to connect with her readers!
Visit hopecallaghan.com for information on special offers and soon-to-be-released books!
Email: hope@hopecallaghan.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/hopecallaghanauthor
Other Books by Author, Hope Callaghan:
DECEPTION CHRISTIAN MYSTERY SERIES:
Waves of Deception: Samantha Rite Series Book 1
Winds of Deception: Samantha Rite Series Book 2
Tides of Deception: Samantha Rite Series Book 3
GARDEN GIRLS CHRISTIAN COZY MYSTERIES SERIES:
Who Murdered Mr. Malone? Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 1
Grandkids Gone Wild: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 2
Smoky Mountain Mystery: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 3
Death by Dumplings: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 4
Eye Spy: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 5
Magnolia Mansion Mysteries: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 6
Missing Milt: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 7
Bully in the ‘Burbs: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 8
Garden Girls Christian Cozy Mysteries Boxed Set Books 1-4
CRUISE SHIP CHRISTIAN COZY MYSTERIES SERIES:
Starboard Secrets Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries Book 1
Portside Peril: Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries Book 2
Lethal Lobster: Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries Book 3
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 outsid
e 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 inside 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.
Andy shook his head. “No, I hadn’t noticed.” He seemed completely unconcerned that Millie could have easily been hurt. What if the thing had plunged to the bottom of the ship and she had died?
Dave Patterson, head of security, made a pass by. He gave Andy the thumbs up, which meant customs had cleared the ship and a fresh batch of passengers were now heading to the gangplank and would be boarding within minutes.
Andy cupped his hands to his mouth. “It’s show time, everyone!” he shouted. The crew cheered – or maybe it was more like moaned. Millie couldn’t be certain.
One of the crew swung the entrance door open and stood watching as other workers maneuvered the ramp, attaching it to the side of the ship.
Millie snorted. With the door open, she had a clear view of the ramp and the passengers that were winding their way up. It reminded Millie of a herd of cattle on stampede.
Andy raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”
Millie shrugged her shoulders. “Oh nothing.” She wasn’t sure if Andy would think her comparison was as humorous as she.
One of the most interesting parts of passengers boarding the ship was the hierarchy: diamond passengers, the ones who had sailed the cruise line a bunch of times, boarded first.
After diamond were platinum guests and then gold. The last to board were the newbies - what cruise ship employees called “green legs” since they didn’t have their sea legs yet.
Green legs were more apt to become seasick during rough seas, more likely to get a serious sunburn on the first day of the cruise when they laid out around the pool too long. Last but not least, they were more likely to throw caution to the wind, forget about their vacation budget and spend more money than they planned. The cruise line loved green legs almost as much as they loved diamond passengers.
Andy and his booming voice greeted guests. “Welcome aboard folks!”
The cattle gate was wide open and the guests began pouring in the atrium area. Millie spent the next several hours answering questions and directing guests to different areas of the ship.
She noticed that this week’s cruise was full of large groups that boarded in clusters. Some of them looked to be college-age students.
Millie made a mental note to keep an eye on them. One group in particular started horsing around as soon as they boarded. Security had to step in and make their presence known, which seemed to settle the rowdy crowd down a bit.
By the time all the guests had boarded and security gave the all-clear to close the door and pull the ramp, Millie’s feet were aching and her stomach grumbling. All she had time to eat was a quick breakfast of cold, rubbery eggs and dry toast.
She glanced at the ship’s clock on the wall. It was already 4:30. Andy read her mind. “I’m sure you’re starving. Go take a break, grab a bite to eat and head out to the lido deck to check on the guests while you’re up there.”
Millie nodded. She had stopped by the kitchen to see her friend, Annette, when she had taken a brief break and Annette had told her that one of her favorite dishes, meatloaf, was on the menu. Millie was craving
comfort food, good old-fashioned meatloaf!
There was no line at the buffet. The eatery was getting ready to close in preparation for the dinner hour. Most of the guests had already eaten and were up on lido getting ready sail away.
Millie’s roommate, Sarah, was behind the counter, packing things up. She glanced up when she spied Millie. “Where’ve you been all day?”
“Greeting guests.” She grabbed a dinner plate and tray and hurried down the line.
Sarah followed along on the other side. “I heard you and Cat had a falling out.”
Millie flinched. “Yeah, she’s mad at me.” It never ceased to amaze her how fast news traveled on the ship. She finished loading her plate and headed to the table.
Millie ate her food alone and watched the passengers wander through the dining room as they explored the other side of the ship. She loved to watch the excited faces and the couples who seemed so happy together.
Her smile disappeared as she thought about her ex-husband, Roger, and how much fun they had had on their one and only cruise. Of course, that was before he ran off with one of his clients, Delilah Osborne, Millie’s former friend and hairdresser.
Millie pushed the half-eaten plate of food away. She had lost her appetite, even though the meatloaf was delicious. For some reason, she decided now was a good time to have a pity party for herself.
She stacked her dishes on the tray and slid out of the seat. Millie dumped the uneaten food in the trash and wandered through the sliding glass doors and onto the lido deck. The deck party was in full swing.
Millie circled the lower level, gauging the burn level on several of the guests sprawled out in the lounge chairs that surrounded the pool.
Zack, one of the dancers on board and one of Millie’s favorite staff, was leading a group of passengers in a lively rendition of the Electric Slide.
The ship had departed a bit behind schedule and the sun was already setting. Millie slid her sunglasses on and gazed out at the sea. The sunset was spectacular. The clouds floated along, high above, laced in shades of pink and blue, as they dotted the sky.