Chapter Three
“How rude!” Millie stared at the closed door and wondered if he was one of the extra security guards Andy had mentioned. Her gut told her he was. She would have given anything to be a fly on the wall and listen in on the conversation on the other side of the closed door.
When she reached the tiki bar on the lido deck, Gloria, Liz and their friends were all waiting at the bar.
Millie smiled and pointed at the frozen peachy-orange concoction inside one of the tall, frosted glasses. “That looks interesting. What is it?”
Margaret held it up. “The drink is called Frosty Lips.” It’s delicious. Do you want to taste it?”
Millie took a step back. “No thanks. No drinking on the job.”
“We tried to order Margaret a few shots of moonshine but they didn’t have any,” Gloria quipped.
Margaret gave her a dark look while the others chuckled.
“Hmm?” Millie raised a brow.
“Sorry. It’s an inside joke,” Gloria said and then changed the subject. “We’re ready for the tour.”
“Great! Let’s go!” Millie waved them forward and they headed to deck fifteen, the spa deck, where they toured the tranquility area, one of three separate spa areas along with a VIP lounge for diamond guests. “Since you’re suite guests, you have access to the VIP lounge during happy hour. It opens at five and closes at seven thirty. They serve a variety of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, along with scrumptious hors d’oeuvres, straight out of the executive chef’s kitchen.”
Millie continued the tour through the rest of the ship, working her way down until they finished on deck two where medical and security were located.
She stood in front of the frosted glass door leading to the medical center. “Hopefully, none of you will need to see Doctor Gundervan while onboard.”
The last stop was security and she stepped to the side. “Hopefully, you won’t need to see our Head of Security, Dave Patterson, either.”
“I read somewhere there are holding cells onboard cruise ships,” Liz blurted out.
Millie nodded. “Yes. There are on Siren of the Seas, as well. You don’t want to end up there.”
“If anyone ends up in the hoosegow during this trip, it’ll be Gloria,” Ruth remarked.
Gloria frowned at her friend.
The door to the security office swung open and two tall, blonde-haired men Millie had never seen before stepped out. Following the men was a somber Dave Patterson.
The women shifted back to move out of the way.
Millie watched the men walk down the long hall, their shoes clicking on the smooth surface.
Dave Patterson waited until they were out of earshot and then turned to Millie. “Hello Millie. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“I’m giving my cousins and their friends a tour of the ship. I thought I would bring them by medical and show them where security was located.”
Patterson shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Did you show them lock up?” he teased.
“No.” Millie frowned, “but I told them where it was.”
“I would like to see it,” Lucy piped up.
Millie glanced at Dave Patterson, who shrugged his shoulders. “Okay by me. It’s empty right now.”
“It’s not much to look at.” Millie removed her lanyard from around her neck, swiped the slot on the front of the door and then entered the four-digit access code on the keypad. The ship had recently changed its’ policy and staff and crew now needed not only a special access card, but also a four-digit code to enter the ship’s temporary holding area.
Dave Patterson opened the door and held it for the girls. Millie had been in there briefly awhile back. She avoided the area whenever possible due to the small, enclosed space, which caused her to feel claustrophobic.
The small cells consisted of floor-to-ceiling bars and on the ceiling were tangled webs of thick, metal pipes that made an eerie clanging noise.
Millie shivered. The place gave her the creeps. “That’s it ladies. Not much to look at.” She stepped into the hall and the girls followed her out.
Dave Patterson closed the door behind them and then tugged on the handle to make sure it had locked.
“I heard they have a place to keep bodies if someone onboard dies,” Liz said.
“There is,” Millie replied. “It’s back there.” She pointed to the end of the hall, past Dave Patterson’s office.
“Wow! All the good stuff is on this floor,” Andrea said as they made their way to the stairs and the other end of the ship.
Dave Patterson grabbed the handrail and took a step up. “It was a pleasure meeting you, ladies. Enjoy your cruise.”
Millie and the girls headed down one deck to the crew quarters where she showed them the crew dining area as well as the activity room and bar before leading them down the hall to the cabin she shared with Danielle.
Millie swiped her card through the slot, opened the door and nearly collided with Danielle, who was on her way out.
“Millie!” Danielle’s eyes slid to the women standing behind Millie. “This is your family I take it?”
Millie introduced the women, with a little help from Gloria since Millie still didn’t have all their names straight yet. When she got to Andrea Malone, the youngest one in the group, the women paused.
Danielle and Andrea could have been sisters. Their hair was the same shade of blonde and they wore it in a similar style. They were also almost the same height.
Danielle may have been a couple years younger.
Gloria stepped forward and gazed at Danielle. “Amazing. You two look a lot alike.”
The blonde women studied one another, as if sizing the other up.
Danielle was the first to look away. She turned to Millie. “You see those stiffs earlier in the suits? I can spot G-men from a mile away.”
“G-men?” Millie lifted a brow.
“You know. FBI. Federal agents. I would bet a hundred bucks that’s what they were. Heard they went up to the bridge and had some sort of closed door meeting with the captain.”
Millie was certain that tidbit of information had spread like wildfire and most of the staff and crew onboard had heard the same thing. “What do you think they were doing?”
Danielle had worked as an undercover agent with and around federal agents for several years before taking a position onboard Siren of the Seas as one of the entertainment staff.
Millie knew she was gunning for a position in the security department, but so far, nothing had opened up so she was stuck where she was at…and Millie was stuck with her for who knew how long.
Danielle had a knack for getting into a bind and Millie had already saved her neck, literally, twice now. She was a real pain in the rear without even trying to be.
The young woman crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “It has to be something big. I mean, they don’t send G-men out for every day criminal activity. If I had to guess, the feds have reason to believe something is about to go down and it has something to do with this ship.”
Millie remembered what Andy had told her about extra temporary security on board for the voyage. Could it be they had something to do with the feds’ visit? She opened her mouth to tell them what Andy had said but remembered that it was supposed to remain hush-hush and quickly closed it.
On top of that, she didn’t want to frighten Gloria, Liz and their friends. Instead, she decided to have a pow wow with Annette and Cat to tell them what Danielle had said.
Millie accompanied Gloria, Liz and their friends back to their suites where they planned to hang out until dinnertime. They told Millie after dinner they were going to the theater to watch the evening headliner.
The following day, the first full day of the cruise, was a port day. The ship planned to stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico where the girls had decided to tour the fort, Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan, located not far from the port.
&
nbsp; After a tour of the fort, they would wander over to Old San Juan for a walking tour and then do a little shopping before heading back to the ship in time for the late afternoon departure.
Before she left, Millie reminded them to make sure they took their passports and key cards with them when they left the ship and to make sure they stayed on ship time.
Siren of the Seas had recently changed itineraries and this would be the third time the ship had stopped in San Juan. Millie was scheduled to work the following day and wouldn’t have time to get off the ship, which was fine with her.
She’d already toured the old fort and city and would rather save her day off for one of the other ports like St. Thomas or St. Croix, the other two islands the ship would be visiting during this voyage.
Millie found Annette in the galley piping frosting on a cake. “I thought you were going to stop by with your cousins,” Annette said as she squeezed the end of the bag.
“We did,” Millie said. “Suri told me you had just taken a break. We missed you by a few minutes.” She pulled a barstool from the corner of the room and hopped up on it as she watched her friend.
“I can see the wheels spinning,” Annette teased. “What’s going on?”
“Before the ship left, a couple men in suits met with the captain in the bridge. Danielle said she thinks the men in the suits were federal agents and that something big is going on.”
Annette placed the frosting bag next to the cake. “You don’t say. Yeah. Sounds about right. Could be anything. Maybe they’re after someone, serial killer, mobster, a spy. Or maybe they’re after a drug trafficking ring…flushing out a terrorist plot. Who knows?”
Millie shifted on the barstool. Several people onboard the ship knew who those men were and why they had boarded the ship – Captain Armati, Purser Donovan Sweeney and Dave Patterson, Head of Security. If only there was some way she could get one of them to slip up and spill the beans.
“I’m gonna grab a bite to eat before I have to report to work.” She hopped off the barstool and slid it back in the spot where she’d found it. “Maybe if we all keep our ears to the ground we can figure out what the heck is going on.”
Millie stopped by to chat with Cat at the gift shop, which was full of shoppers. She briefly told her what she knew before heading to the crew dining area to eat a bowl of unidentifiable stew, a mixture of shredded beef, mushy carrots and potato wedges mixed in with some peas.
She gobbled her dinner, and then headed out of the crew dining room where she ran into Danielle in the hall.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Danielle whispered under her breath. “Andy is fit to be tied. Someone broke into his cabin and tore the place apart.”
Chapter Four
“What the heck!” Millie, along with Danielle, raced down the hall to the other end of the ship where Andy’s cabin was located. When they got there, the door was wide open and Andy was inside, pacing back and forth while he shouted into the phone. “I want security down here pronto! I don’t care if you’re having a meeting with the president. Someone broke into my cabin and trashed the place!”
Millie took a hesitant step forward and looked around. He was right. The place looked like a tornado had touched down.
Busted picture frames littered his small desk. The sofa cushions had been crammed into the small space between the arm of the couch and the wall.
The door to the mini fridge was wide open, and there were unopened soda cans scattered across the floor.
Andy’s closet doors were also wide open. Millie craned her neck to peek inside the open doors. “Oh my gosh!” Millie gasped. The hangers were all empty and Andy’s clothes, including his work clothes, lay in a haphazard heap on the closet floor.
Andy hung up the phone. “You should see my bathroom,” he said. “Someone broke in here, obviously looking for something.”
“I came down as soon as I heard.” Dave Patterson, accompanied by Oscar, Patterson’s second in command, stepped into the cabin. He slowly gazed around the room as he surveyed the mess. “You touch anything?”
“Only the phone to call security, since you wouldn’t answer on the two-way radio,” Andy replied.
Patterson turned to Millie. She lifted her hands. “Don’t look at me. I just got here.”
“Me too,” Danielle added.
Dave Patterson and Oscar carefully surveyed the damage. “Do you want to stay while we investigate?” Patterson asked Andy.
“Yes!” Andy nodded and turned to Millie. “You’re gonna have to fill in for me. The first headliner show starts in half an hour.”
Millie swallowed hard. Although she loved her job, she hated to host the theater shows…all those passengers…hundreds, if not thousands of them, staring at her. Last time, she’d had to open for a show she’d suffered a severe case of stage fright.
If Zack, one of the dancers, hadn’t pushed her onto the stage, she would’ve turned tail and bolted.
The palms of her hands grew sweaty at the thought. “I…”
“I’ll do it,” Danielle offered. “No biggie.”
Millie thought that sounded like an excellent idea but Andy was not having it. “Millie,” he warned.
“Okay! But if I pass out and embarrass myself, I’ll never forgive you,” she threatened. She stomped out of the cabin and into the hall.
Danielle followed behind her and fell into step as Millie marched down the hall. “You’ll do fine. Don’t worry. Just pretend they’re all naked.”
“It doesn’t work,” Millie muttered. “I’ve tried that before.”
The theater was already starting to fill up when the two women made their way down the center aisle and to the back.
Millie began to pace back and forth behind the large, velvet theater curtains.
The echo of voices grew louder as the theater filled.
Alison Coulter, one of the dancers who had been in the dressing room getting ready for the show, made her way over. “What’s wrong Millie? You look stressed out.”
“Andy is dealing with a small crisis and Millie has to fill in,” Danielle explained.
“Oh.” She held out her arm to stop Millie’s pacing. “Let’s try some breathing exercises to calm you. It works like a charm for me.”
Millie focused her attention on Alison. “Okay.”
Alison lowered her voice. “Breathe in and…hold it. Close your eyes. Visualize softly swaying palm trees and the sound of waves washing onto a white sandy beach.”
Millie sucked in a breath and closed her eyes.
“Now slowly breathe out…,” Alison said in a soft, soothing voice.
Millie began to feel lightheaded. She tilted to the side and began to topple over.
A quick moving Danielle caught her. “Easy does it.” She helped Millie into a chair near the side of the stage.
Danielle picked up a stack of papers from a table nearby and began to fan Millie’s face. “This isn’t going to work.”
Alison knelt down and patted Millie’s cold, clammy hand. “What if Danielle went with you? You could make it a co-emcee introduction.”
Millie lifted her head and opened her eyes. It was a thought. Andy hadn’t said Millie had to go it alone. She gazed at Danielle. “Will you?”
“Absolutely.” Danielle nodded as the orchestra began the introduction piece, signaling it was time for Andy…Millie to make an appearance and announce the show.
“Here goes nothing.” Millie scooted out of the chair and stood.
Danielle grabbed Millie’s elbow and propelled her forward.
Felix, another dancer, handed each of them a mic and mouthed the words “hot mic.” The microphones were on.
Millie plastered a smile across her face and the women strolled center stage. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen,” Millie said.
“Welcome to Siren of the Seas. We trust you’re all having a wonderful vacation so far,” Danielle chimed in.
The two women bantered back and forth and Danielle’s presen
ce helped put Millie at ease. Before she knew it, the orchestra music picked up, their cue that their part was over and the show was about to start.
The girls wrapped up their introduction and exited stage left.
As soon as they were behind the edge of the curtain and out of sight, Millie collapsed against the wall and clutched her chest dramatically. “Holy smokes. I should get a raise for my performance,” she gasped.
“Me too,” Danielle grinned. “You did great.” The women turned their attention to the show. After the show ended, they made sure the stage costumes, all the way down to the last feathered headpiece, had been put away.
Finally, Millie was able to relax. It had been a long day and an even longer evening.
Tomorrow would be another busy day and she was exhausted. “I think I’ll turn in,” she told Danielle as she turned off the theater lights. “I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be crazy.”
Little did Millie know how true that statement would be.
***
Millie’s eyes flew open and she sat straight up in bed. It was pitch black inside the cabin. “Danielle?”
Nothing.
She flung the covers back and crawled out of bed. “Danielle, are you in here?”
Silence.
Millie shuffled across the room. Seven shuffles. She had it down to a science. It was seven steps from the edge of her bunk to the bathroom door.
She fumbled for the door handle and pulled it open. Millie flipped the bathroom light switch and peered at the top bunk. It was empty.
Danielle, typically not an early riser, was already gone. She glanced at the small wall clock above the bathroom towel rack. Six forty-five a.m. The girls’ daily schedule typically started at seven thirty when they had to report to Andy’s office. Perhaps Andy had sent Danielle to check on the early risers’ yoga class in the gym.
Inside the small bathroom, she could feel the ship shudder as it docked in the Port of San Juan. If Millie hurried, she would have enough time to grab a quick bite to eat before reporting to work.
Millie flew through her morning ritual as she took a quick shower, pulled her hair back in a messy bun, and dabbed a little foundation and mascara on before slipping into her work uniform and heading to the crew dining room.
Cruise Control (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 6) Page 3
