A small shadow darted out from underneath the table and ran right into her. It was Scout! Millie leaned down and picked up the wiggling bundle. He was moving so much, Millie could hardly hold onto him!
He licked her face, her hands, anything his small pink tongue could reach. Finally, he calmed down long enough for Millie to put him back on the floor. He promptly circled her several times.
“Wow! He doesn’t even do that when I’m gone all day!” the captain joked.
“Dogs and kids. I know how to attract ‘em,” Millie answered wryly.
Millie brushed her hands on the front of her pants. Her eyes traveled to the table tucked off in the corner. A crisp, white tablecloth covered the table. In the center was a tall silver candleholder with a long tapered candle inside. Lit and giving off a romantic glow.
Millie’s ears started to burn again and her eyelid began to twitch.
The captain handed Millie a wine glass. “Care for a glass of wine?”
Millie wasn’t a drinker. A glass of wine on a special occasion was the extent. But she was nervous and the wine might help calm her nerves.
Next to the table was an ornate silver wine cooler. Inside the cooler was an open bottle of wine. She nodded.
The captain filled two glasses and handed her one. He motioned toward the balcony. “We should enjoy what’s left of the day.”
He slid the slider door open and waited for her to step out first. Scout was right on their heels.
Good. A chaperone, Millie thought to herself.
They settled against the railing and Millie sipped the wine. It went down smooth. Too smooth. “This is a nice wine. What is it?”
“Santa Cristina Chardonnay.” He swirled the wine in the glass before taking a sip. “It’s Italian.”
He lifted his glass. “A toast.”
Millie raised her glass. “A toast.”
“To the ocean and adventure,” he said.
Scout was nibbling on her ankle. “And Scout,” she added.
They tapped glasses and she took another sip.
“Are you still enjoying life on board?”
Millie nodded. She was enjoying life on board the ship. She loved the adventure, the activities, her new friends, and the detective work.
She snuck a quick glance at the captain. Romance.
“Yes. This is so different from anything I’ve ever known,” she confessed. “Every day is new and exciting.”
He slowly nodded as he stared out at the water. He wondered if the ocean would get in her blood like it had his. Of course, he knew even when he was a young boy that he wanted to sail the seas. He never wanted to play with action figures or toy trucks or trains. It was always the boats.
He had grown up near the water, in the small village of Bertoli, on the Mediterranean Sea, where he would stand at his bedroom window for hours and watch the larger boats as they sailed by the small village. He loved the smell of the ocean air, the sound of crashing waves, wondering what lie in the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Niccolo, or Nic as his family and friends called him, had been married to his wife for 40 years before she died in a car accident.
Nic had been at sea when it happened. When the news of her sudden death reached him, it took long, agonizing days for him to make it home. He made it just in time for them to put her in her final resting place. His deepest regret was not having the chance to tell her good-bye.
Captain Armati’s daughter, Fiona, had been angry with him for months. Angry that he was not there for her when her mother died. Finally, slowly, her anger faded. But Nic had made a solemn vow to himself. To never marry again.
Lisa was a wonderful wife. She was irreplaceable and always in his heart.
Nic gave himself a mental shrug. He hadn’t meant to go there…not tonight.
He caught Millie’s eye. The woman intrigued him. She was different. Different than his other crew. Different from any other woman he had ever met. She had spunk. He liked that. He wondered what made her tick. Maybe it was because she was an American.
Millie tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear and looked away. She knew he was studying her.
“What is your favorite assignment so far?”
Millie turned back. She squinted her eyes. “Hmm. I’d have to say the dance lessons are fun. Of course, I’ve enjoyed hosting the trivia. But then there was the scavenger hunt the other day.” She shrugged. “It has all been fun.”
Nic laughed. “Okay. Maybe it would, uh, be easier if I asked you what you haven’t liked about your job so far.”
Millie’s eyebrows drew together. There wasn’t too much she hadn’t enjoyed. Other than not being able to solve the stinkin’ murder, but she wasn’t about to bring that up!
“Hmm. Maybe the tiny quarters,” she admitted.
“Ahh.” He nodded. “Well, there isn’t much I can do about that.”
They heard a light tap on the outer door.
“That would be the arrival of our dinner.”
Millie followed him indoors. She waited off to the side while the steward pushed a covered cart to the table. The cart was loaded with trays! A sterling silver half-moon cover concealed the contents of each plate. It was a very elegant presentation.
The captain pulled out a chair and motioned for Millie to have a seat. He pushed her chair in and took the seat across from her.
“Shall I stay?” The young man asked.
The captain shook his head. “You can serve the first course and then you’re free to leave. We will serve ourselves.”
The man lowered into a small bow and backed out of the room. Millie was 100% certain that the rumor of the captain dining with the assistant cruise director would spread like wildfire through the ranks.
That is, unless, of course, the captain entertained women on a regular basis. Then it would be ho-hum. Millie frowned at the thought.
The first course was a small tossed salad. Along with the salad was a selection of dressings. Millie picked the ranch and scooped a small spoonful over the top of her salad.
She lifted the corner of the cloth that covered the breadbasket and studied the contents, searching for a piece that wasn’t too awful chewy – one that wouldn’t stick in her throat. She settled on a slice of rye.
Millie had always prayed over her food. She clasped her hands together and bowed her head. Much to her surprise, the captain did the same. She whispered a small prayer and asked the Lord to help make sure she didn’t embarrass herself in front of him.
When she lifted her head, he was watching her, a small smile on his lips. “Ah. Now I know what is so special about Mildred Sanders. You are a praying woman.”
Millie blushed. Just a teeny bit this time, and nodded her head. “The Lord has been good to me,” she said simply.
“And to me, as well.” He tilted his head to the side. “Have you been to chapel and met Pastor Evans?”
Millie spread a thick layer of creamy butter on top of her bread and nibbled the edge. “Yes. Last Sunday. It was a lovely service.”
It reminded Millie that tomorrow was Sunday and she had the morning off.
She slid the butter dish across the table.
Captain Armati picked a crusty baguette. He broke the piece in half and reached for his butter knife. “I would go. Occasionally I do go. Most Sunday mornings are port days and I have to be on the bridge to guide the ship to dock,” he explained.
“But tomorrow. Perhaps I will go,” he added.
Millie finished her salad and set the plate, along with her fork, on the lower level of the cart.
The captain pushed back from his chair. “No. You are my guest. I’ll take care of that.”
He nestled his empty salad bowl inside of her bowl and set them on the cart. Then he lifted a covered dish from the tray. He uncovered the dish and set it in front of Millie.
Millie studied the contents. It was a small bowl of gazpacho soup. One of Millie’s favorite.
“I hope you like tomatoes,” he to
ld her.
Millie loved tomatoes. And peppers. And cucumbers. It made her think of the large garden she normally planted in the spring. “This is my favorite,” she gushed.
Pleased that he had made the right selection, Captain Armati set the second bowl of soup on his side of the table. “Mine too,” he confessed. “I could probably eat this every day.”
When they got to the main course, surf and turf, Millie looked down at the lobster tail in dismay. She frowned, not sure how to crack the hard shell.
The captain sensed her hesitation and quickly reached over to take her plate. “May I?”
Millie nodded. “Have at it.”
With expert precision, he plucked the fins off and then twisted the body. Using the tip of his knife, he pushed the meat through the shell. It landed in the center of the plate.
“Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t attempt to do that,” she muttered. Visions of flying lobster crossed her mind.
He handed the plate back. There was a round tin of melted butter. She cut a small piece of lobster and dipped it in the tin. It was a bite of pure paradise. She rolled her eyes. “This is delicious!”
Nic repeated the same steps for his lobster and then dropped the shells and tail into a bucket. He cut a large piece and drizzled butter over the top. He cut a smaller section and took a bite. “Yes. Very good,” he agreed.
The dinner was the nicest meal she’d had on board, which may have had something to do with the company she was keeping…
There were a few times, she caught him cutting small pieces of his porterhouse steak and then sticking his hand under the table to feed Scout.
After dinner, he poured two cups of coffee and uncovered a tray of tempting bite size desserts. “Shall we finish out on the balcony?”
Millie balanced the dessert plate and opened the slider while he carried the carafe of coffee and two cups. He set the dishes on a small table between the chairs. It was perfect for the space.
Millie poured a dash of cream in her coffee and took a sip. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner. It was lovely, Captain Armati.”
“Nic. Please. At least in private, call me Nic.”
“Nic.” It rolled off Millie’s tongue. His name was fitting.
They chatted about home and their children for a long time. Millie glanced at her watch. It was getting late. She needed to get to bed if she planned to get up for church in the morning.
“You must be tired,” he told her.
And smelly, she thought. She nodded. “Yes. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”
Her mind wandered back to the investigation, or what was left of it. She had all but given up on it.
She followed the captain back inside. Scout was waiting by the door, as if he somehow knew she was getting ready to leave. “I’ll see you after church,” she promised.
Her only answer was the lick of his tongue on the side of her face.
The captain led her out, through the bridge and opened the outer door. He gave a small bow as Millie stepped into the hall. “Thank you for a lovely evening.”
Captain Armati smiled. “Yes, it was lovely. Thank you, Millie, for joining me.” He didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, he slowly closed the door as Millie walked away.
Millie floated back to her cabin. The evening had been almost magical.
Chapter 24
Millie unlocked her cabin door and stepped inside. She wondered if she would even be able to fall asleep.
Sarah was nowhere in sight. Millie quickly brushed her teeth, washed her face, pulled her pajamas on and crawled into bed. It was only 10:00 p.m. but Millie was whupped. She whispered her prayers and pulled the covers to her chin.
Millie had just dozed off when her radio, which she forgot to shut off, began to crackle.
“Miss Millie. Are you there, Millie?” It was Dario.
She switched on her night light and crawled out of bed. The radio was on the desk. She almost didn’t answer but decided to find out what Dario wanted. It was unusual for him to radio her and he sounded excited.
She turned it up and pressed the talk button. “Go ahead, Dario. I’m here.”
“Miss Millie,” he said breathlessly. “I have news.” He lowered his voice. Millie could barely make out his words. “I have news on the investigation. You’ll never guess what I just found out.”
Millie was torn. Should she put her clothes back on and find out what “news” Dario had that sounded so promising? Could it wait until morning?
Millie knew there was no way she would be able to sleep. No way that she could. “I’ll be right there. Where are you?”
“In the casino, Miss Millie.”
Millie slipped on a clean pair of shorts and t-shirt. She grabbed her flip-flops from the shelf and shoved her feet in.
She studied her reflection. At least she didn’t have bed head. Millie slipped her lanyard with her ID and room key around her neck and headed out the door.
Her mind was whirling. What on earth could Dario possibly have stumbled upon that would move the investigation forward? He seemed so excited.
The casino was packed. Dario was pacing the floor when Millie stepped inside. Millie had never seen it this busy. Of course, she didn’t spend much time on this floor, especially at night. She spent most of her evenings in the theater.
When Dario spied Millie, he hurried over. “What’ve you got, Dario?”
“Well, you know how you look for someone that write with their left hand? Someone that was on your list?”
Millie nodded. “But everyone on my list was right handed. We checked.”
“Yes.” Dario’s head bobbed up and down. He pulled out two drink receipts. He handed the first one to Millie. He pointed at the signature. “They sign this using right hand.”
“Okay.”
He laid the second receipt on top. “This one. They sign using left hand.”
Her eyes widened. “They’re ambidextrous.”
Dario grinned. “They sign using both hands.”
Millie’s eyes traveled to the top of the receipt and the name printed there. She sucked in a breath and held it. “Oh my gosh!”
The receipts fell from her loosened grip and fluttered to the floor. She picked them up and shook them in her hand. “Still, this isn’t concrete proof that we have the killer.” She folded the receipts in half and handed them back to Dario.
“We need to trick them. Make them think we have evidence and hope they confess.” It might just work. Millie was running out of ideas.
She patted Dario on the back. “You’re sharp, Dario.”
Dario puffed up his chest. “I join your team.” His eyes shot up. “You need someone like me.”
He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially. “I love that TV show. What is it? Detective Gumbo!
Millie grinned. Detective Gumbo. She used to love to watch the old reruns. Back in the day when she had a TV - and a house. Yeah, the show was great but now she was living it!
Millie slowly walked back to her room. She had only a couple more days to get a confession. Time was running out. Tomorrow morning was church and she had to work in the afternoon. She needed to come up with a plan and fast!
Chapter 25
Millie, Cat and Annette sat together at the morning church service. Millie had just enough time to tell them they had a good lead on the killer when Pastor Evans started the service. His message was one of patience. Not one of Millie’s strong suits. In fact, some people described her as downright impulsive. The key verse was:
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 (NIV)
After the service ended, the girls wandered down to the crew cafeteria for brunch - if you could call it that. It was a hodgepodge selection of food: eggs, bacon and toast. They also had chicken tenders, wraps and sub sandwiches.
Millie was in the mood for breakfast. Something she normally didn’t get a chance to sit down and eat because she was working. She was lucky most mornings if
she had time to grab a slice of toast and a cup of coffee.
The girls headed for a table in the corner. Cat set her tray down and slid into the open seat. “What’ve you got?”
Millie told them what Dario had discovered.
“We should add him to our team,” Annette suggested.
Millie had to agree. Dario’s position as bartender gave him access to many of the ship’s passengers. He spent most of his days working in the casino but he occasionally worked on lido and he was always on the island.
“He offered,” Millie told them. “I think he would be perfect!”
Cat picked up a fry, dipped it in ketchup and popped it in her mouth. “What’s the plan?”
“I think if we allude to the fact that the investigators have evidence and are about to make an arrest.”
“So you’re going to lie?” Annette was surprised Millie would use this tactic.
“Oh no.” Millie shook her head. “Not a lie. Just kind of put it out there like…” She paused. She didn’t have the exact wording yet. This detective stuff was still new to her and Millie was pretty much flying by the seat of her pants. “I’ll find a way to wheedle it out.”
Scout was waiting for Millie when she got up to Captain Armati’s apartment. The captain himself was nowhere in sight. The woman in the bridge told her he had stepped out. The captain had given Millie the code to his door the night before so Millie entered the code and let herself in.
It felt odd being alone in the captain’s personal quarters, although she wasn’t really alone. Scout dashed to the door and pranced in circles around Millie’s feet.
The first thing Millie did was take Scout out to his potty pad on the deck before she grabbed his carrier and they let themselves out of the apartment.
Scout was so excited to be out and about, he wiggled all around in his carrier. Millie had to use both hands to hold him.
She had less than an hour to round up her suspect and get a confession. After that, she had to report to Andy’s office for her afternoon assignments.
Millie knew there was a 50/50 chance she would find her suspect on the upper deck, soaking up the rays near the VIP area. Returning to the scene of the crime, she thought.
Portside Peril (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 2) Page 13
