A Cuppa Cruise Conundrum: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 7)

by Constance Barker

  “Generally speaking a cruise of any duration more than a few hours will have at least one death. That’s why all of our cruise ships are equipped with a morgue.”

  “Comforting,” Essie said.

  We all turned to stare at her but I knew what she meant. The captain and his crew didn’t and he bristled at her tone.

  “What? Does that knowledge make you feel any better?” she asked.

  It didn’t make me feel better. In fact knowing that the protocol was to continue with the cruise and not turn over the body until the end the trip made me think a cruise was kind of a perfect place to kill someone. Usually there wouldn’t be a police officer on board who could investigate. Or at least I didn’t think so. Any sort of investigation would be done by the crew, presumably the captain. How much did he know about gathering evidence and preserving it? Did they even have the tools to collect evidence for safekeeping?

  Eli held out his hand for the caution tape which Patrick handed over. After he took a few pictures with his phone he fastened the tape in an X across Toe’s door.

  “Do you have pylons, bags, tweezers, and a flashlight?” Eli asked the captain.

  Captain Fredericks nodded to Patrick. “Gather those items for the officer.”

  Patrick hurried away again. I noticed Jules gazing at him as he ran down the corridor the stain of a blush dusting her cheeks again. What was up with those two?

  “Does the ship have security cameras?”

  “Of course. There are security cameras on all of the public decks and in corridors leading to the pool, casino, night club and spa.”

  “What about this deck?”

  “No, there ware no cameras on the passenger decks.”

  “Great so no way to tell who she was in the corridor with,” Eli said.

  “Really? She’s in front of Toe’s door. Who else would she have been in the corridor with?” the captain asked.

  “Anyone,” I said.

  “I know you don’t want to think he did it because you’re all from the same home town but you have to look at this objectively,” the captain said.

  I bristled. When the superior captain persona revealed itself I didn’t think it would be so condescending. “Toe didn’t do this but we’ll find out who did.”

  It sounded like a schoolyard challenge and I was prepared to help Eli in any way I could. He chugged another mouthful of the ginger ale.

  Eli stood almost nose-to-nose with the captain, the muscle in his jaw twitching with his attempt to keep his anger under control.

  "I am objective. I will talk to Toe about the entire evening but I know he didn't do it. Which means someone else did. We need to find that person."

  Patrick came running back at that moment with an armful of supplies. He dropped the pylons on the floor which Eli positioned in front of the door to make a square. He then fastened the caution tape around them. All that would have to be moved when the ship's doctor took the body away.

  "Captain, one of the life boats is missing," Patrick said.

  "That's not good," the captain said.

  Did that mean the killer got away? If the cameras worked on that deck they'd be able to tell who it was.

  "We'll need a passenger list that we can cross check with everyone still on board," Eli said. "And a crew list."

  The captain nodded. "Patrick go fetch those things for Eli."

  Patrick dashed off again. I almost felt sorry for the guy. He was getting a great workout when he probably just wanted to be sleeping. I watched him pass Jules. He gave her a lingering look and a smile.

  Eli bent down again to start picking up any trace evidence that might be on the carpet. He swept a flashlight beam across the rug and saw a piece of hair that he snagged with the tweezers. He put it into a paper bag. With no other tape available he fastened the bag with the yellow caution tape. We wouldn’t be able to test it on board but once we got back to port he would turn it over along with any other evidence we found.

  The crew at the end of the hallway looked bored now. Most of them shuffled their feet, yawned and leaned against the wall. Sarah had moved away from Alec who was glaring at her. Other staff from the kitchen looked like they were in shock. From so far away they couldn't see much but they saw enough to know their boss was dead.

  Ten minutes later Patrick returned with two lists and some DVDs. I assumed they held the security footage of any cameras in operation at the time of the murder.

  "Here are the lists and the DVD footage."

  "Thanks. Once I'm finished here I'll interview Toe then take a look at those."

  "I can start going through the lists to see if anyone is missing," I said.

  His seasickness seemed to be at bay for now but the scent of blood couldn't be helping his stomach. He stood frequently to get away from the smell. The sooner the evidence was collected and the body taken away the better. Once the body was moved they could see if there was anything underneath it that might give them a clue about who had done this.

  "That would be a huge help. Thank you."

  I started with the crew first since they were all present. Even Mikey had finally shown up wearing a concerned expression and lingering off to the side away from everyone else. Maybe he wasn't a morning person.

  I went through the list of the crew and checked them off as I spotted them. Everyone was accounted for so that must mean the missing lifeboat carried a former passenger. The only reason for leaving the ship under the cover of darkness in the wee hours of the morning, other than some sort of disaster on board, was to flee a crime.

  Marking off the Sweet Home people would be easy. They'd all popped their heads out of their rooms when the commotion started and my aunts wouldn't have let anyone leave. I went through my memories of the discovery and the minutes shortly after and marked off everyone in the corridor as still being present. The rest of the ship would take a little more time.

  I walked back to Eli. "Everyone in the crew and in this corridor is accounted for. We'll have to get the rest of the passengers to assemble somewhere so I can do roll call."

  "Great, thanks. We'll wait to do that until it's a little later in the morning."

  It had to be someone who fled the ship. But what if after doing a roll call everyone was still on board? In such an enclosed space with not a lot of options for escape they had to be able to find the killer.

  “Can I tell our doctor to take the body away now?”

  Eli shook his head. “Time to speak to Toe. Then your doctor can take her.”

  Anger flashed across the captain’s face but he said nothing. I understood why Eli wanted to wait. He couldn’t be two places at once and he needed to watch the doctor take the body. Eli marched down the corridor to his dad’s stateroom. The captain and I started following him to his dad’s cabin but he stopped and shook his head.

  “What do you mean, no?” I asked.

  “I think it would be best if you two stayed out here while I questioned him.”

  “It’s my ship and I’ll be present for the interview,” the captain said.

  Great, more male posturing. Reminded me of those nature shows where the two bucks locked horns.

  “Toe is my friend too and I want to be there.”

  Eli sighed at me and glared at the captain. “Lily, I don’t like you being around this stuff.”

  “Hard for me to get away from it on a ship,” I said. “And I’m a big girl. I can handle it and I can help.”

  “I know how much Essie likes Toe,” Eli said.

  I glanced over at my aunt who was still guarding the corridor. We all knew how much she liked the old bachelor even if she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, least of all herself.

  “What does that have to do with me being there for the interview?”

  “I don’t want you getting upset if he says something…”

  “Scandalous?”

  Eli nodded. “What if he says he was with another woman?”

  Chapter Five

  I almost laughed
at the implication but we were talking about Toe. He had a habit of dating a lot of different ladies. As far as I knew though the only one he was truly interested in was Essie and she wasn’t ready to settle down. Probably never would be ready again. She loved being married but after her husband died I think she made a silent vow to avoid relationships at all costs. You’d never know it though by her continued jealous comments where Toe was concerned.

  “We can all handle it, Eli.”

  He acquiesced with a shrug and knocked on this father’s door. Harvey opened it seconds later as if he’d been waiting for us to come calling. He stepped aside to let us all enter, frowning at the captain as Fredericks walked in.

  “What’s he doing here?”

  “Odd that you would question my presence but not the civilian’s,” the captain said pointing at me.

  “She helps Eli with his cases often. Has quite a knack for ferreting out the criminals. You drive a ship.”

  “Exactly. My ship, my presence required. And I pilot a ship not drive it.”

  Harvey shrugged and shut the door behind them then took a position out of the way while we took spots for the interview. It wasn’t an interrogation because Eli didn’t think Toe killed anyone. None of us thought that except maybe the captain.

  Eli grabbed one of the plush chairs by the window and pulled it up so he could face Toe. The old gentleman sat in a chair facing the door his face still ashen from his discovery. Eli put his ginger ale on the table between them and sighed. The medication seemed to be kicking in. He didn’t look as green as he had earlier.

  I stood off to the side out of Eli's view so he wouldn't be distracted. Not that I thought my presence could totally distract him. I'm no beauty queen. But I didn't want him thinking about anything else in the room if he didn't have to. He had enough to worry about with the seasickness and questioning one of our own residents about a murder.

  I watched Toe as he waited for Eli to start. He wasn't nervous just confused. And he must be tired. The rest of us had at least gotten in a few winks before the chaos started but if he was just getting back to his cabin that meant he'd been awake all night.

  "Toe, can you tell me exactly what happened?"

  Toe sighed and his shoulders slumped forward. "I was coming back to my cabin and saw her on the floor."

  "And what did you do then?"

  "I don't remember. I panicked. Ran to get you."

  "The first mate said he found you holding her."

  Toe nodded as memories came back to him. "That's right. I was going to help her up. I didn't know she was dead when I got there. I thought maybe she'd gotten drunk and wandered down to my cabin."

  “For a night cap for old times sake perhaps?” the captain asked.

  Eli shot Fredericks an angry stare. The captain straightened but clamped his mouth shut.

  He turned back to Toe. "Okay, so when you realized she was dead then what?"

  "That's when I let her go and rushed to get you. Patrick stayed in the hallway while I went to find you."

  "What were you doing before that?"

  "I'd rather not say."

  Toe clamming up surprised me. If he had an alibi why not tell them all what it was unless it was something scandalous like Eli suspected? How shocking could a 62 year old be on a ship? He could be seeing another woman. There were a few on board from Sweet Home, but they were all married. The thought that he might be seeing a married woman made me a little sad. Then I shoved the thought aside and chided myself for jumping to conclusions. There could be a perfectly logical explanation as to why he was out at four in the morning. Ugh! At least I hoped so.

  He wasn't with Essie of that I was certain. She had been in her room alone, poking her head out when all the commotion started. If she'd been with Toe she would have seen it first hand and come to get me when Toe went to get Eli.

  "Toe, we really need to know. We need to search for her killer but we need to eliminate you as a suspect."

  "You think I did this?" He waved his hand in the air in a circular motion.

  "Of course we don't think you did it," I said.

  Eli turned to look at me and I shrugged. He turned back to his non-suspect.

  "I think it was most likely someone else but I need to be sure," Eli said.

  "I'm too much of a gentleman to say."

  So he was with someone. Doggone it Toe! But who? Did any of the other staff know Toe? Maybe he'd met other crewmembers through Margery. He'd been doting on Essie for a while now I just assumed he'd left those gallivanting days behind him.

  "Please, let me know. I'll be discreet when I talk to them."

  Toe looked around the room. I followed his gaze to Harvey, then to the captain who had his arms crossed over his chest and a disapproving look on his face.

  Looking defeated, Toe nodded. "My alibi is Essie."

  I gasped. Okay…I didn’t see that one coming. My chin must have hit the floor.

  "It's not what you think though, Lily. I got a message from her to meet on the Promenade deck. I thought it was odd since her cabin is right down the hall. And she's never asked me to meet her in secret before."

  That's for sure. Aunt Essie wasn't the beat around the bush type. She got away with her snide jealous comments because Toe just didn't hear them. If she wanted something she asked for it, she didn't send messages. My warning bells went off. Someone was trying to get Toe away from his cabin so they could set him up as the killer.

  Eli turned to the captain. “We’ll need that security camera footage as soon as possible. It won’t help us figure out who was in this corridor but it can at least confirm Toe was on the Promenade deck.”

  The captain nodded. “I’ll oversee it personally and have Patrick contact you. We’ll need to watch them in my office unless you brought a laptop with a DVD drive.”

  “No laptop,” Eli said.

  We were there for a party and mini vacation. Why would any of us have a laptop? Of course we all had our smart phones but that wouldn’t help with the footage unless it could be emailed to us. Something I imagined the captain would not agree to.

  “If we’re done here I’ll go to the security office to help Patrick with that footage,” the captain said.

  Eli nodded. “I’ll need to speak to every crew member throughout the day today.”

  Captain Fredericks gave a brisk nod then left the room. We would have our work cut out for us today. After a light breakfast, I didn’t think Eli could handle anything heavy, we would split up and try to find a killer.

  ***

  An hour later Eli and I sat in one of the ship's two restaurants eating a light breakfast from the buffet. The meds seemed to be working well but Eli didn't want to risk having anything too greasy so I opted for something that wouldn't rub his nose in the fact that I could still eat bacon.

  I poured syrup over the stack of pancakes on my plate and grinned when I thought of the last time Jules had eaten pancakes. The special syrup Reva's chef had made for Valentine's week affected everyone a little differently, especially those who weren't used to alcohol. Moonshine in syrup wouldn't have been a problem if he'd let the alcohol cook off but he didn't. I’d been craving pancakes ever since I saw Jules plow through hers.

  I sliced into the fluffy flapjacks and popped the forkful into my mouth before the blueberry syrup could drip onto the table.

  Eli pushed fruit around his plate.

  "I thought the meds were working," I said.

  "They are sort of. Still a bit queasy so I'm taking it slow."

  He took a sip of his ginger ale instead of spiking a piece of pineapple with his fork. Then he picked up some dry toast and nibbled on the corner. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about the case. I loved watching him work even when that work was just thinking about the situation.

  "I'll stop in to see the ship's doctor a little later to get you some super duper meds. They must have something stronger on the ship."

  "That would be great, thanks. I'll be swamped with these
interviews all day."

  "I need to talk to you about that," I said.

  There were way too many people on board for Eli to interview them all himself. And of course he didn't want to let the captain do it since they were having some sort of macho power struggle. Not that I could blame Eli for that. The police, not a captain, should investigate a murder. Maybe on other cruises the captain took point because there was no law enforcement on board, but this time there was.

  The sooner we had another suspect the better. Not that I considered Toe a suspect. I still thought he was innocent, but I was worried about others on board getting wind of the murder and focusing on the one likely person. So far we'd managed to keep the murder between the Sweet Home folks in our corridor, and the ship's crew. Not even all the crew knew exactly what was going on…just that they all needed to be available today for an interview.