Killer Cleavers & Cupcakes

by Mel McCoy

  Debbie clasped her hands together when she saw the dessert. “Oh,” she gasped. “How divine!” Then Debbie asked, “Where’s the Chef?”

  “Who?” Ruth asked.

  “Chef Mills?”

  Ruth swallowed hard. “He has off tonight.” Ruth followed up with a forced smile. “But, uh, these cakes are his recipe.” She didn’t feel good about lying, especially about a dessert that was one hundred percent hers, but she did what she felt was right.

  Ruth not only went over what all had gone into the cupcake, but explained the inspiration behind the cake, obviously leaving out the death of Chef Mills. The entire table sat mesmerized by how enticing the desserts looked and the story behind them.

  As they grabbed their forks, the Larson twins squealed in horror.

  Ruth leaned in to see what they were looking at. For a brief moment, Ruth’s heart ceased when she saw a cockroach on each of the girls’ forks, but she quickly realized they were rubbery fakes.

  Will, the young eight-year-old boy and brother to the twins, erupted in laughter.

  “Oh, dear,” Debbie said, placing a hand on her chest.

  Mrs. Larson frowned. “Will, that is not polite. Where are your manners?”

  The boy continued giggling.

  Mrs. Larson swatted her husband lightly on the shoulder, and Mr. Larson cleared his throat. “Will, listen to your mother.”

  Will stopped and glanced at his parents, who glowered at him. He crossed his arms while the two girls picked up the fake cockroaches, their faces scrunched up in disgust, and tossed them away from their plates.

  “Will, apologize.” Mrs. Larson kept her steely gaze fixed on her son.

  The young boy’s mouth dropped, and he looked to his father, as if his dad would help him get out of the situation. But his father glared at him, too. “Do as your mother says.”

  When Will realized his father wasn’t going to save him, he turned his attention to his two older sisters and murmured, “Sorry.”

  “Would you like me to get your daughters fresh forks?” Ruth asked.

  Mrs. Larson waved a hand at her. “That won’t be necessary, but thank you.”

  Ruth smiled and nodded. As she walked away to her next table, Mr. Larson’s phone rang, and she could hear him answer it.

  Janice hurried to her. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes,” Ruth said. “Just a harmless, boyish prank.”

  “Just keep it under control. The last thing we need is any sort of mischief causing chaos at dinner. We don’t need any more chaos.”

  Ruth gave her a curt nod. “Of course.”

  “By the way, thank you, Ruth. I mean that. You really saved me, and I can’t thank you enough. These cupcakes are a huge hit. Everyone is raving about them.”

  Ruth beamed, proud of the accomplishment they’d achieved.

  “Keep up the good work,” Janice said, before walking away.

  Approaching the next table, Ruth felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Loretta.

  “Hey, Ruth, I just heard from the waitstaff that Kelvin threatened Chef Mills after he was transferred to the mess hall.”

  Ruth’s brows knitted together. “Really?”

  Loretta nodded.

  Bingo! If they wanted to get out from under the accusing finger of Officer Harry Humphrey, they’d need to track this guy down. It was a simple plan. One that could save their lives. “We have to talk to Kelvin.”

  “No, he’s not going to open up to us.”

  “I heard that people are loose-lipped at the crew bar. I say we pay a visit.”

  “The crew bar? I heard that’s where all the bad stuff happens. All the young people getting into trouble.”

  “Drunk people having a good time tend to be more open, and it’s where the rumors seem to fly wildly. I say we take our chances. Our lives are at stake.”

  Loretta sighed. “Okay, but we go in, speak with Kelvin, and get the heck out of there. I don’t want to get wrapped up in any kind of crazy scandals.”

  “What can be worse than what we are in the middle of right now?”

  Chapter 13

  After work, Ruth and Loretta returned to their cramped quarters to wash up and change. Just as Ruth had expected, Loretta headed to the bathroom with her clothes. She didn’t mind not having the bathroom, since it was so narrow and made her feel slightly claustrophobic. Loretta seemed to overlook this slight disadvantage, as she preferred to have a nice mirror and lights to put on her face and curl her hair. So far, Ruth felt they were starting to make headway on living together.

  Ruth hobbled over to the closet. Her feet were killing her, the pain making its way up her calves. It was a pain she was familiar with and, oddly enough, welcomed, as it had been a long time since she’d been on her feet for hours at a time, working in the kitchen.

  She shuffled through the clothes to find a navy-blue blouse and headed for a pair of white capris she had hung in the closet so they wouldn’t get wrinkled. Unfortunately, the pants had taken on a few creases since they had to cram all their clothes into the tiny space. Ruth sighed. There wasn’t much she could do unless she pulled out the iron. Did they even have an iron? Even if they did, did they have a board to work out the wrinkles? She scanned the room for any indications of such commodities. It wasn’t like she’d had a lot of time since she’d boarded the ship to investigate their cabin for such things. In fact, they hadn’t had much time to investigate the vessel itself. The amenities that were featured on the ship were one of the reasons they had all taken the job—it certainly wasn’t the long hours or hardly ever having a day off.

  Ruth continued searching the room for an iron but couldn’t find one. Well, a few wrinkles weren’t the end of the world. What else could she do? She slipped the pants on and forced her feet into a comfortable pair of sandals.

  After she was dressed, she sat down at the desk with her makeup bag. At the small mirror she used to put on a fresh face, she pulled six bobby pins from her bun and allowed her walnut locks to fall. Just like any woman her age, her hair was thinning a bit, but she couldn’t complain. It was at least easier to manage than using a hot iron to curl it into a puffy white loofah on her head like Loretta. Instead, her hair lay just above her shoulders, straight and soft. Though, often when not working, she’d use a thick iron to give her straight locks some body, but she didn’t feel it was necessary for their mission tonight.

  Ruth twisted a tube of “rosy posy” lipstick closed and called out, “C’mon, Loretta!” She tossed the cosmetic into the drawer with a clank and slammed the drawer shut.

  “What’s the hurry? It’s not like we’re going to be late or anything. The crew bar is hopping until at least three in the morning!”

  “I can’t imagine what you could possibly be doing in there all this time.”

  Loretta opened the door. All made up, she lightly patted her hair, which was perfectly placed with hairspray. “A woman needs to freshen up.”

  Ruth crossed her arms. “Is that my scarf?” she asked, pointing at the delicate blue garment wrapped around Loretta’s neck.

  Loretta tilted her chin down and looked at it. “What? Were you going to wear it tonight?”

  “No, but—”

  “Then what’s the problem? Are we going to do this or not?” Loretta headed for the door.

  The woman was impossible. It was like she had no boundaries, but Ruth shook it off, keeping her thoughts to herself. Besides, she had more important things to worry about than some stupid scarf. She was being accused of murder, and she had to find this guy. “Yes, we’re doing this. Let’s go.”

  They headed out of the room and made their way to the crew bar. Even from outside the bar, the bass of the music vibrated the floor under Ruth’s feet. She turned to her roommate. “You ready?”

  Loretta inhaled deeply before responding. “There’s no better time than the present.”

  Ruth grasped the doorknob. As she opened it, the music hit them like a gust of viole
nt wind. They both stepped back, taking in the thunderous boom. They faced the music and waltzed in. The volume was deafening, and Ruth could barely hear herself speak. “What kind of music is this, anyway?” She resisted the urge to put her fingers in her ears.

  “I don’t know. So, where should we start?”

  Ruth scanned the darkened room. There was a bar off to the right and a row of tables that lined the wall. On the left, a DJ bobbed his head as he watched others party on a small dance floor lit by colorful lights. The room was packed with all the young employees, gathered in groups, laughing, drinking, and dancing. A group of girls walked past Ruth, cradling cups in both hands as they sashayed around their fellow co-workers. They wore leis even though they weren’t stopping at any of the Hawaiian Islands, but it seemed to give the women a reason to wear midriff tops.

  Ruth attempted to speak above the thudding music. “Maybe you should check over by the DJ, and I’ll look over at the bar area.”

  Loretta nodded, and they went their separate ways. As Ruth approached the bar, a young man, who was with a group of other young gentlemen, eyed her. His black hair shined, reflecting the different-colored lights. “Hey, grandma. What are you doing here? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

  Ruth glared at him.

  He chuckled, turning away as he took a swig of his beer.

  She didn’t pay him any more attention as she walked around the bar to find several booths hidden on the other side. There, she saw a couple of young, tanned women who resembled supermodels in short skirts, sitting on the laps of some of the sea officers. And they were all boozing it up.

  Ruth shielded her eyes. She wasn’t sure if the women were passengers or employees, but either way, what she saw was a violation of the ship’s policies. It was something she didn’t even want to be a witness to. Though, she’d heard many times from the young employees that whatever happened in the crew bar stayed in the crew bar—but if her job was on the line and she was questioned, she wouldn’t lie. Therefore, she didn’t want to even be put in that position. That was why she had decided not to participate or spend time in the crew bar, and apparently, Loretta felt the same way.

  Ruth backed away from the scene. When she uncovered her eyes, she saw Loretta shredding on the dance floor with a man.

  Ruth’s eyes went wide. “Loretta!”

  Loretta continued dancing and laughing, ignoring Ruth’s cries.

  Stomping over to Loretta, Ruth jabbed a finger into her shoulder.

  Loretta twirled around. “Oh, hey, Ruth.” She motioned to the older, attractive fellow she was dancing with. “Have you met Felipe?”

  The man gave her a bright smile as he snapped his fingers to the beat of the deafening music. “Hello!” he called out, his wide grin unwavering. “You dance too?”

  “No,” Ruth answered in a polite tone.

  Felipe swayed to the beat. “Oh, I can show you.”

  Ruth ignored him and tugged on Loretta’s sleeve as she continued dancing. “Loretta, have you found Kelvin?”

  “I was on my way over to the DJ to see if he had seen him, but this handsome gentleman grabbed my hand and spun me around.” She wore a breezy smile, bouncing her shoulders up and down. “And before I knew it, we were having a great time!”

  “Yes,” Felipe said, “great time. I’ll show you.” He stepped forward to grab Ruth’s hand, but she pulled away, bumping into someone behind her. A few drops of the man’s beer splatted onto the floor.

  A small gasp escaped Ruth. She was about to apologize when the man yelled out, “Watch where you’re going, grandma!” It was the same rude guy she’d just crossed paths with at the bar.

  His friend walked up next to him. “Be nice, Dart. The poor little lady is just lost. Senior Daycare is on deck three.” Both men snickered, clinking their bottles together.

  Ruth’s mouth hung open. The audacity of these men. Were manners and respect not taught anymore?

  The first guy continued the taunts: “Or maybe you’re looking for bingo? Oh, look at the time. It’s 8 p.m. Don’t want to miss an episode of Murder, She Wrote!” He laughed drunkenly.

  A woman sitting at the bar swiveled around in her stool. “Why do you guys have to be such jerks all the time?” Her small curls bounced as she spoke.

  Dart shot his gaze at the woman. “Stay out of this, Marissa. It’s not like you’re anything to write home about.” He looked her up and down.

  His friend chuckled.

  Dart nudged him with his elbow. “I’d say she was like a two last night.”

  Ruth gasped. That was it. She reached up and grabbed Dart’s ear, pulling him down toward her.

  “Ow!” Dart cried. “What the heck?”

  Ruth ignored his question. She didn’t care. If there was one thing she would not tolerate, it was bad behavior. “My cat at home has better manners than you! Hasn’t your mother taught you anything about respect? Hasn’t she taught you that if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all?”

  Still holding his drink, Dart said, “You are insane.”

  The bartender stopped to watch, but no one intervened. Dart’s friend even stood there, watching and laughing. Just then, a thought struck her: the rule of “what happens in the crew bar stays in the crew bar” would apply here as well for her. And, as she didn’t condone violence or breaking the rules, this was a special situation to her. Therefore, it was now a rule she could get behind.

  “Let me go!” Dart wailed.

  “Are you going to stop being rude?”

  “Are you kidding? You’re crazy.”

  Ruth pulled harder.

  “Ow! Okay, fine,” Dart said.

  She let him go, ready to grab him by the nostrils if he tried anything. But, instead, he just rubbed his sore ear. “That really hurt,” he whined.

  “Maybe next time, you’ll have a little more respect.”

  Marissa laughed. “I think you finally met your match, Dart.” She got up from the stool and measured him up. “And I’ll be sure to make sure every woman on this ship knows what kind of sleazeball you really are.” She held up her cellphone, indicating that the incident that had just occurred had been captured on video. “I’m pretty sure they will all get a good laugh out of this.” She tucked her phone away and walked out.

  Ruth faced Dart. “Seems like you’re not liked much around here, Dart. Now, I’m going to ask you a question, and I expect you to answer me courteously like the nice gentleman I know you can be.”

  Dart huffed, scanning the room and realizing that all eyes were on him. “Fine, what?”

  “Have you seen a man named Kelvin?”

  “Kelvin?” He scoffed. “You mean that whiny little—”

  Ruth glared at him.

  Dart cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah, he’s that cook that got demoted. He was in here complaining about his boss last night. Guess he didn’t like his cooking or something.”

  “What time?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but he left before I did. I’d say around 2 a.m.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  Dart shook his head.

  “I do,” a dark-haired woman said. She walked over to them. “You’re looking for Kelvin, the big guy with chestnut hair and a chip on his shoulder?”

  Ruth nodded. “You know where I can find him?”

  “When he’s not here, he’s up at the karaoke lounge.” The woman jutted her thumb up toward the ceiling.

  “Karaoke lounge?”

  “Yeah, it’s on the entertainment deck.” Ruth knew this to be deck four.

  “Thanks.” Ruth grabbed Loretta.

  “Hey!” Loretta cried out.

  “We need to go, Loretta.”

  Felipe took Loretta’s hand. “Don’t go, my lovely señorita. The night is still young.”

  Loretta cooed, blushing as Ruth pulled her out the door. “Sorry,” she yelled over to him. “I’ll find you again!”

  “Farewell,” was the last word Ruth
heard as they walked out.

  When the door closed behind them, Loretta asked, “Isn’t he a gentleman?”

  “Yes, a real charmer,” Ruth said. “Did you forget our mission?”

  Loretta swatted her hand. “What’s the point of working on a cruise ship if you don’t get to enjoy the amenities?”

  Ruth was going to make a comment about how she had been enjoying more than just the amenities, but instead said, “We are being accused of murder, remember? We’re going to be investigated, cuffed, and thrown in a six-by-eight cell if we don’t find the murderer.”

  Loretta crossed her arms. “Yes, and I’d like to have a little fun before I’m locked away forever.” Then a smile crept onto her face. “Though, I have to admit, what you did in there to that Dart guy was one of the best things I’ve witnessed in a long time.” She laughed. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  Ruth tried to hold back, but a small chuckle escaped her lips. “Truth is, I like Murder, She Wrote.”

  Loretta laughed again. “And I like Bingo. But you know what I like more than both of those things? Karaoke!” Loretta let out a hiccup, and she quickly covered her mouth.

  “Were you drinking?”

  “So, Felipe let me have some of his drink. What’s the harm?” Then she put a finger up in the air. “Let’s go! Next stop: Karaoke!” Loretta pranced down the hall.

  “Oh no,” Ruth said to herself. She could only imagine what kind of shenanigans awaited them at the karaoke lounge.

  Chapter 14

  Ruth followed Loretta to the elevator and, once inside, tapped the button for deck four.

  Glancing at Ruth, Loretta asked, “What do we do if we find this guy, anyway?”

  Ruth hadn’t thought much about what she’d do, exactly. She had been so focused on finding Kelvin that she hadn’t thought much about it. “We ask him where he was the night of the murder.”

  “Oh, yeah, right. Great idea, Ruth. I’m sure he’ll just give himself up. I have a feeling you don’t know what you’re doing.”