by Mel McCoy
Ruth narrowed her eyes at Geoff. “How did you…”
He pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and jiggled it in front of her. “News travels quickly on a ship. Just like that Code Alpha. Everyone is talking about it.”
“Oh, yeah, that.”
“You don’t happen to know anything about it, do you?”
Ruth and Loretta looked at each other, then shook their heads. “No, of course not,” Ruth said.
Geoff leaned closer. “I heard that it had something to do with Chef Mills.”
“Really?” Loretta asked, acting shocked, like she was trying for an Academy Award.
Geoff nodded. “Hey, you work with him, Ruth. Has he been at work?”
Ruth felt her heart pounding hard in her chest. “Um, I’m not sure.”
Geoff cocked his head. “You’re not sure?”
“Yeah,” Ruth said, matter-of-factly. “There are a lot of people there. And it’s hard to keep tabs on everyone.”
“But you said that he’s really strict and that he breathes down everyone’s neck.”
“Oh.” Ruth let out a light chuckle. “I was exaggerating. You know, I was so overwhelmed that I was just venting.”
“I see.”
Ruth was sure she had pulled it off. She wasn’t the best liar, but she was sure he had bought it. Then curiosity took over. “Are there a lot of Code Alphas on a cruise ship?” she asked.
Geoff pondered the question a moment. “I wouldn’t say a lot. But a lot of strange things happen on a cruise ship.”
Glancing up from her drink, Loretta asked, “What kind of strange things?”
Geoff looked around, then leaned in close. “The strangest being people who disappear.”
“People disappear? Where?” Ruth asked, her voice low to match Geoff’s. “On the ship?”
Geoff nodded. “On the ship—or there have been cases of passengers disappearing on islands. It’s assumed that they get snatched up by hard criminals and are being held hostage. And then there are other passengers that have disappeared right on the ship.”
“How does someone disappear on a ship?” Ruth asked.
“People who drink too much fall overboard during the night when no one is looking.”
Loretta picked up her drink and took a few more gulps, downing the rest of the iced tea.
“Whoa,” Geoff said. “Don’t get too carried away. I’m telling you, this drink is strong.”
Loretta waved his words away. Ruth could sense her anxieties heightening.
“What happens to them?” Ruth asked, swallowing hard, knowing the answer wasn’t going to be good.
Geoff let out a long breath. “Falling overboard, especially during the night, is basically a death sentence. It’s pitch dark. So, even if someone witnesses you falling, and they call authorities to help, it’s still a fairly slim chance they will even find you. And that’s if you survive the fall.”
“I don’t remember any of this being discussed in training,” Loretta said.
Geoff chuckled. “Are you kidding? They would never reveal these kinds of things during training. They don’t want the public to know, or people would be too afraid to get on a ship.”
“How do you know all of this, anyway?” Loretta rocked her empty glass back and forth to signal Geoff to make her another drink.
“Like I told Ruth here when we met, I worked on Conqueror of the Seas, the sister ship, for over ten years. In fact, many of us have worked on that ship. Like several of the sea officers, like Officer Humphrey, Janice, and even your new friends, Dart and Marissa. We were offered a new position on this new ship. A promotion, if you will.”
Ruth nodded. “What about Chef Mills?”
Geoff tucked his phone away. “He’s new. There’s a rumor going around that Janice was up for a promotion during the transfer to this ship as executive chef, but this Chef Mills guy swooped in and, well, you know how it goes.”
“He got the position.”
“Yup. Something about his extraordinary résumé working at top restaurants in the country. Though, it makes me wonder why he would apply for a job on a cruise ship if he was that good. But, then again, why do any of us apply for a job on a cruise ship, with the long hours?” Geoff chuckled.
Ruth thought a moment. What Geoff had told them made sense. After witnessing many verbal attacks between Chef Mills and Janice Hassley, it was no secret that Janice had felt wronged by him. After all, he’d obtained the position she sought: executive chef on the ship. But it did leave the question of why he would take a position that required many hours of work without a day off, instead of simply working at a new five-star restaurant.
Another question nagged at the back of her mind, something more dire and personal.
“Geoff, was there ever a Code Alpha on the Conqueror?”
“Yes, plenty of them. From what I’ve heard, the supervisors will tell the crew involved in the Code Alpha to keep quiet. Otherwise, the more crew members that know, the higher the risk that it will leak out to the passengers. And that’s the last thing the cruise line wants. Because once the guests catch wind of anything or their vacation is disrupted, they could get upset and ask for a refund. Ships can’t make much money when that happens. Typically, the crew members find out anyway. We just keep our mouths shut in front of the passengers for the sake of our jobs.” Geoff paused. “But with the last Code Alpha, none of us could figure out what really happened.”
Ruth leaned in closer. “Oh?” she urged him to go on. “So, what happened during that Code Alpha?”
Geoff shook his head. “There’s not much to say other than a lot of speculations and rumors. But we did know that a staff member was involved. She was under suspicion. Of what, I’m not sure, but it had to be pretty serious. Rumor has it that there was supposed to be an investigation when we got back to the Florida port.”
Ruth and Loretta exchanged glances. Ruth opened her mouth to ask her next question but closed it again. Her throat had suddenly gone dry, and she felt a bit dizzy, but she had to know. “What happened to them?”
“The crew member who was under suspicion?”
Both Ruth and Loretta nodded. Loretta practically hung off her seat.
Geoff rubbed his face and took in a deep breath. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this.”
Ruth locked eyes with him. “We have to know.”
An awkward silence hung between them.
Geoff cleared his throat. “Okay.” He took a moment to scan the area to make sure that there were no prying ears before they all huddled in closer. He lifted an eyebrow, and his voice came out in a mere whisper: “I’ll tell you what happened. The staff member…she disappeared before we ever reached the Florida port.”
Chapter 16
“Calm down, Loretta,” Ruth said.
They had just gotten off the elevator and were heading down I-95 toward their cabin.
Treading down the hall at an incredible walking speed, Loretta said, “What are we going to do, Ruth?” She gasped for air as if hyperventilating.
Ruth couldn’t blame her. They had just found out that the last time there had been a Code Alpha, the crew member that was involved and under suspicion disappeared. Geoff had gone on further, explaining that there were two rumors circulating at the time, that she’d either committed suicide by leaping off the ship into the cold, deep ocean, or had been murdered and possibly thrown overboard by her very own superiors.
Either way, the story had a familiar ring to it. It was the exact same scenario Ruth and Loretta were now experiencing. Under suspicion, check. Told to keep quiet about the code, check. Would be investigated and possibly interrogated, check and check. And the woman disappeared! Never to be found again! Now Ruth had to keep her own nerves in check.
“It’s going to be okay, Loretta. Besides, Geoff said it was just a rumor.” She wasn’t sure if she was just saying this to keep herself calm or to keep her roommate from becoming hysterical.
When they reach
ed the door of their cabin, Ruth slid her keycard through the slot and waited for the red light to turn green, then hauled the heavy door open.
Loretta trotted in behind Ruth and shut the door, flinging herself against it. With the back of her hand at her forehead, she said, “I can’t believe this is happening. These are the kinds of things you only see on 20/20 or Dateline.” She put both her hands on either side of her face. “Oh, I can see it now. ‘Loretta Moran, struggling actress—tall, talented, beautiful…adventurous—disappears while aboard the Splendor of the Seas.’” She eyed Ruth. “I hope they don’t use the picture on my ID badge. Terrible lighting.”
Ruth sighed. “You are not going to disappear, and your picture isn’t going to appear on Dateline. Even if what Geoff told us was true, the woman was alone. All we have to do is stick together. You know, watch each other’s backs.”
“You’re right.” Loretta heaved herself off the door and strode toward Ruth. “And what we really need to do is get Kelvin in front of Officer Humphrey. Get ourselves out of the spotlight of this murder.”
“And that’s just what we’ll do, first thing tomorrow. Since we couldn’t find Kelvin off the clock, we’ll just have to catch up with him on duty.”
Loretta lit up with fresh hope. “Of course, the mess hall.” She put a finger to her chin. “It’s not the best atmosphere to get information out of somebody, but we have to at least try. But please, Ruth, if anything happens to me, make sure they use this.” She pulled a photo from one of the drawers and handed it to Ruth.
It was a black-and-white headshot of a much younger Loretta with her blonde hair styled into a thick bun, bangs swept to the side. She was wearing a multicolored patchwork dress with dramatic bell-sleeves and looking into the camera with seductive, thickly lined eyes.
Loretta continued, “It’ll be hard enough having my only break on TV be a missing person case. I want to at least look good. Promise me.”
Ruth didn’t know what to say. What Loretta wanted her to promise was ridiculous. And then there was the fact that she, too, might go missing along with Loretta, leaving no one to relay that message. But she decided to keep those thoughts to herself. No use adding more grief onto the poor woman. Instead, she said, “I promise.”
Ruth had a terrible night. Tossing and turning, she had a nightmare that she was roaming one of the outside decks, wearing a long evening dress and holding a glass of champagne. The captain walked alongside her, talking about the ship and about life. A subtle, cool breeze whipped through her hair the moment the captain mentioned Chef Mills and the murder. That’s when she noticed that her glass of champagne was now blood red. She dropped the glass, and it shattered, splattering the blood over the light wood of the deck floor. Before she could react, the captain grabbed her by the shoulders and said, “No one will ever know,” before shoving her over the railing of the ship. As she plummeted toward the icy water, she woke up in a cold sweat, heaving to catch her breath. When she realized she was in her cabin and that none of it had been real, her racing heart slowed, and she could hear only Loretta’s soft snoring in the bed next to hers.
The next morning, Ruth didn’t tell Loretta about the dream until they were already on their way to the mess hall.
“‘No one will ever know,’” Loretta repeated. “I wonder what that means.”
“Well, I assume he meant no one will ever know he threw me overboard.”
Loretta nodded, and they moved on. It was just a dream, after all.
When they arrived in the mess hall, half of the tables were already taken by the crew, chowing down before their long day. It always reminded Ruth of a school cafeteria, with large tables and lots of chairs. They sashayed around the tables, making their way back toward the kitchen. Once inside, they were greeted with chatter from the many cooks there, prepping for the day’s meals.
Ruth and Loretta, already dressed in their work uniforms, blended right in as they walked among the other workers. At the far end of the kitchen, Ruth spotted Kelvin at one of the counters, alone, chopping a bunch of onions and placing them in a large bowl. The sting of the onions reached her eyes almost immediately.
“There he is,” Ruth said to Loretta, and they approached him.
Ruth regarded the man. “Kelvin?”
Kelvin glanced up from what he was doing for a moment, but his knife continued slicing without pause. “Yes, can I help you?” Recognition flashed across his face when he saw the two women staring at him. “Don’t tell me that jerk sent you two down here too? I’ll tell you, I worked my butt off to be there, and for him to toss me out, just like that…” He stopped chopping and snapped his finger. “I have already sent in a complaint. Best case scenario, I’ll get transferred to another ship. You should probably do the same, because if we all complain, he might actually get fired.” Kelvin shook his head and began chopping again.
“No,” Ruth said. “It’s not like that.”
“Oh,” he said, this time not looking up. “Then what do you want?”
Loretta stepped up. “We were just wondering where you were two nights ago.”
Kelvin paused and furrowed his eyebrows. “What? I don’t know. Why would you need to know that anyway?”
A man walking past them, carrying a bowl of russet potatoes, said, “Man, haven’t you heard?”
Kelvin shook his head.
The man set the potatoes down on the counter. “That Chef Mills guy disappeared two nights ago. Some say he’s under the weather or something. But rumor has it, he’s dead. Possibly murdered.” The man’s green eyes sparkled with interest in the story he was telling. “Anyway, these potatoes need to be washed and peeled.”
Kelvin froze. “That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard.” Then he scoffed. “Either way, serves him right.”
Loretta’s mouth hung agape. She nudged Ruth, keeping her voice low. “Did you hear what he just said? The man is dead.”
“How could you say such a thing?” Ruth asked Kelvin.
Kelvin continued his work, ignoring Loretta and Ruth’s shocked expressions. “So, he is dead.”
Ruth knew it was a long shot, now that he knew why they were asking, but she had to ask. She had to know. She needed a clue. Anything. “So, do you remember what you were doing that night?”
Kelvin laughed. “Are you seriously asking me that?”
Ruth jabbed her fists into her hips. “You know, Kelvin, I find it rather suspicious that you don’t know anything about Chef Mills when everyone is talking about it, considering he’s been in the forefront of your mind.”
Kelvin locked eyes with her, and Ruth could see a hardening of his face. “What are you trying to say?”
“The crew bar, the karaoke lounge, and even on deck fifteen, we heard people talking about Chef Mills and the Code Alpha. These were all places you were at last night, and you claim to not know anything about this.”
Kelvin stopped chopping and narrowed his eyes. “Wait. You two have been following me?” His eyes shifted between the two of them.
“And now we’d like to know where you were two nights ago, and you very conveniently don’t remember,” Loretta added.
“I see what you are trying to do.” Kelvin waved the knife between the two of them. “And I don’t need to tell you anything!”
“I’m also sensing some anger issues,” Ruth said.
Loretta widened her stance. “You did say that it looked like whoever killed Chef Mills was angry. I’m thinking a fit of rage, perhaps?”
He jabbed the knife toward them. “Get out of here!”
Both women jumped back. The man really was crazy!
The other cooks froze, watching to see what would happen next.
Ruth and Loretta scurried out of the kitchen, while everyone stared at them, whispering.
When they left the mess hall, Loretta said, “Yikes! That was unexpected.”
“Maybe we pushed a little too hard,” Ruth offered. There was no good reason for any person to threaten or jab a
knife toward a person. If he was capable of that, what else was he capable of?
“Whether we did or not, he didn’t give us an alibi, and he got angry immediately. Sounds guilty to me.”
“Me too,” Ruth said. “But I don’t think that’s enough evidence to get the blame shifted off of us and onto him. We need a new plan.” She didn’t know exactly what reaction she had expected from the man, but that was far from it. Ruth glanced at her watch. “Oh dear, we better get to work. Today is important.”
“Mermaid’s Dinner tonight.”
“Yeah, and Janice is bound to be flustered.”
Chapter 17
Ruth and Loretta continued to the elevator to reach deck five and head to the Mermaid’s Dinner Room. Heartbeat pounding in her temple, Ruth was tempted to slow her pace but instead decided to hurry to keep up with Loretta and her long legs. When they reached their destination, they joined the other staff members lined up in white coats. Ruth panted, trying to keep her posture straight.
Janice Hassley was standing in front of everyone, scanning her crew. “Tonight is Mermaid’s Dinner, and it’s the biggest dinner of our passengers’ vacation. So, we have a lot to do.”
Glancing over at her station, Ruth frowned. She raised a hand. “We don’t have a recipe at our station. May I ask what dessert we will be preparing?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’m still looking for the recipes Chef Mills planned on for preparation for the dinner.” She pointed to the cooks. “So, you all start prepping for tonight’s dinner, and my bakers, start organizing your ingredients—your eggs, flour, sugar. You know, all the basics.”
As everyone dispersed to their separate stations, Janice approached Ruth. “Listen, Ruth, just give me a minute. I’m sure I’ll find the dessert recipes scheduled for tonight’s dinner in Chef Mills’s office. I’ll be right back; just try to keep everyone busy.”
“Sure thing, Janice.” Ruth turned around to see everyone already greasing trays, wiping down counters, and pulling out basic ingredients. She joined them, working at a feverish pace to prep for whatever dessert they’d need to make. Hopefully, Janice wouldn’t take too long—soon, they’d be all prepped and ready to go, and the last thing they wanted to do was wait around for whatever recipe they’d be working with.