Undercover Cruise (A Maggie McFarlin Mystery Book 2)

by Charisse Peeler

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  It took Mike a moment to respond. “I can’t believe that just happened.” He tried to sit up but lay back on the cement.

  “Should I get help?” Maggie asked. She looked up but did not see anyone—especially not John.

  “I’m okay,” he said, keeping his eyes closed. “Give me a second.”

  Maggie sat helplessly, looking around for anyone who might be able to help, but no one came, and she didn’t want to leave Mike alone. The next five minutes seemed like five hours, but finally Mike sat up, rubbing his head. Maggie stood and offered her hand. Mike took it but used his other hand to leverage himself to his feet.

  “You okay?” Maggie asked again.

  “I actually saw stars,” Mike said, shaking his head and a little unsteady on his feet.

  “I think he hit you with this brick.” Maggie held up a red clay block lying next to the spot where Mike had fallen. “Maybe we’ll have matching bumps,” she said, throwing the brick away..

  “I totally underestimated that guy,” Mike admitted as he held on to the side of the building. He wanted to make sure he was steady on his feet before actually taking a step. He looked around as if he expected to see John, but he was gone. “I guess we should just head back to the ship,. Mike’s face was full of disappointment.

  “At least we got proof that Joanie didn’t kill him.”

  Mike pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen.

  “What I don’t understand is how he got off the boat without some kind of alarm going off,” Maggie said. “You have to show your sail card.” She held up the card that hung at the end of the lanyard. “How did he fake being pushed off the boat?”

  “John is an adrenaline junkie. I didn’t think about it at the time but we went bungee jumping in Honduras.

  “Bungie jumping?”

  “Yes, you know, we did that as part of our shore excursion,” he said.

  “Do you think he bungee jumped off the balcony?”

  “No, someone would have seen him, and where would he get the elastic rope on board the ship?” Mike asked. “But remember the list of rock climbing equipment? He likes extreme sports, and there’s a rock climbing wall over by the volleyball courts on Deck 10. Maybe he figured out how to configure some of the equipment.”

  “Maybe. Do you think the bartender helped him get the equipment?” Maggie asked.

  “Not only that, I think he used his identity. We’ll find out soon enough.”

  Maggie saw a taxi cab and waved her arm. The car pulled over, and she helped Mike climb into the taxi. He still was not quite steady on his feet. As soon as the taxi began heading back to the pier, she breathed in deep.

  “I actually saw stars,” Mike said again.

  “I think you need to be checked out by the doctor on board. I’m afraid you might have a concussion.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Mike tried to smile but winced. “So, you started to say earlier something about someone who could help us find out something….”

  “David,” Maggie said excitedly. “Now that we know John took the money, we can ask David to help us recover it. He’s a genius.”

  “Do you think he could break into a Cayman Island bank’s system?” Mike asked.

  “I don’t know, but he is pretty smart, and he does work at a bank. I think we should at least ask him.”

  Mike leaned his head gently back against the car seat. “What if he’s an accomplice?”

  “I think we need to take a chance that he isn’t.”

  The taxi pulled up to the entrance to the pier. Maggie pulled out a U.S. twenty dollar bill and handed it to the driver. “Keep the change,” she said, looking at the blood the injury on Mike’s head had left on the seat, “And—sorry.”

  “No problem.”

  The driver reached down to the passenger side of his taxi and tore off a wad of paper towels from a roll he kept there.

  “Thanks.” Maggie handed Mike the wad of paper towels. She kept her arm through his to keep him steady as they made their way over to the gangway.

  As soon as they reached the ship, Maggie placed her handbag on the conveyer belt for inspection. Mike walked through the checkpoint but stood at a small table where a ship’s security guard also stood by to examine suspicious bags.

  “Can you locate Randolph Edwards for me?” Mike asked.

  “What do you need with the head of security?” the guard asked suspiciously.

  “Just tell him it’s Mike Marker, and I have some information he might be interested in.”

  The man picked up his walkie talkie, and after some back and forth, he told Mike: “ “He’ll meet you in the purser’s office in fifteen minutes. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes, thanks,” Mike said. He headed for the elevators with Maggie in tow.

  When they reached Deck 4, Randolph was waiting for them.

  “Wow, what happened to you?” Randolph asked. “Do you need a doctor?”

  “Never mind my head,” Mike said. “Take a look at this.”

  Mike pulled out his phone and scrolled to the pictures he had taken in town. He held his phone to Randolph.

  “Who is that?” Randolph asked.

  “That’s John,” Mike said impatiently.

  “Well, I’ll be.” Randolph said, “He’s alive.”

  “Not only is he alive, but he was also hiding somewhere on this ship,” Maggie said. “We followed him this morning.”

  “Impossible,” Randolph said.

  “Obviously not impossible,” Maggie returned. “We also think he may have used climbing equipment from the rock wall to stage his fall overboard.”

  “Well, that’s easy to figure out,” Randolph said. He unfastened his walkie talkie from his belt then spoke directly into it: “Can you meet me on Deck 11?”

  A disembodied voice answered: “Roger that.”

  Looking at Mike, Randolph added, “Can you also stop by the infirmary and bring an ice pack?”

  “You got it, chief.”

  After ending the communications with his assistant, Randolph turned back to Mike and Maggie. “Let’s go up to the balcony in your suite.” He reached and pushed the Up button behind them.

  When they reached the door to the suite, Randolph used his master key card to let them in. He walked straight to the sliders, ignoring David and Kimberly, who were sitting next to each other on the couch. Randolph pulled out his key ring and thumbed through the keys until he located the one he wanted; then he removed the lock and slid out the chain, allowing access to the balcony. Mike and Maggie followed him behind the hot tub. He leaned over the rail, careful not to touch it. “Well, you could be onto something.” He turned to face them. “There are definitely some gouges in the paint that could have been made by rigging gear.”

  His walkie talkie squealed to life. He walked away from Mike and Maggie and spoke more instructions. His assistant showed up and joined them on the balcony. He handed the ice pack to Mike, who was obviously in need.

  Randolph once again joined them. “They’re missing several pieces of gear from the rock wall.”

  “So, I guess you can release my sister?”

  “I would rather not, but I will if you promise to keep her quiet and make sure she doesn’t leave this suite. She’s an eyewitness, and when we pull into port tomorrow, I need her to be available.”

  “Done,” Mike said.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “I’ll let you know. Thanks.” Mike shook Randolph’s hand. “Just get my sister released.”

  “You got it.”

  “There’s one more thing,” Mike said, “do you think we could get access to the ship’s computer?”

  Plenty of computers are available in the business center,” Randolph said.

  “They have too many filters and protections. We need one that can bypass the security features set up by the ship.”

  “I think I can have our I-T department set some
thing up for you in this room.”

  “That would be great,” Mike said.

  “Whatever you find, I need to be the first to know.” Randolph looked back and forth between Mike and Maggie. “Okay?”

  “Definitely,” Mike said.

  Randolph ushered them back through the sliding glass doors before he threaded the chain back through the handles and locked it, pulling on the lock to ensure it fastened.

  “I’ll send up the I-T crew as soon as possible,” Randolph said.

  David perked up. “I-T crew?” He looked at Mike.

  “They are going to set up a computer free of the security restrictions—and we’re going to need your help,” Mike said.

  “I’m in,” Mike said, smiling, not even having a clue what he had agreed to do.

  When the equipment showed up, David barely let the IT crew get it in the door when he took over. He set the monitor on the bar between the kitchen and living area. He requested a few things, which the IT staff quickly brought up.

  Maggie watched in fascination as it all came to life. David had requested an additional monitor so he could look at multiple screens at the same time. Mike stood behind David, giving him the name and address of the bank John had walked into earlier that morning.

  David’s fingers flew over the keys, but he shook his head. “It’s not like our bank. They have a firewall I can’t get past.”

  “You can get past the firewall at your bank?” Maggie asked.

  “Well, yes,” he said proudly, “that’s my job, to make sure others can’t.”

  Or if you wanted to take money out of someone’s account and set someone else up for it, you could, Maggie thought.

  Mike saw the concern on Maggie’s face and came over to where she was standing. “You okay?” he said.

  Maggie turned and took a step away from where David was engrossed in his task.

  “Are we sure David didn’t have anything to do with this?” she whispered. “Maybe he helped John?”

  “Do we have any other option at this point?”

  “I guess not,” she said.

  David looked up from the keyboard. “Do you have any account numbers from the bank?”

  “Um, no,” Mike said.

  “Why do you need one?” Maggie asked.

  “In order to get past the firewall I have to enter a string of numbers into an alphanumeric field. It looks the numbers might be embedded in an account number. If I could get one account number, I could work through it. If I had two, I could break it even faster.”

  “How can we get an account number?” Mike asked to no one in particular.

  “I have an idea,” Maggie said.

  Maggie pulled her phone from her backpack. “I know someone who could help,” she said, scrolling through her contacts until she came to Alexandra’s name. Several contact numbers were listed. Maggie started with Alex’s cell phone, which went directly to voicemail, so she hung up, not bothering to leave a message that she knew would go unanswered. Alex was modern in many ways, but not when it came to technology. Maggie then chose Alex’s work number. Alex answered on the second ring.

  Maggie explained the story to Alex and then stayed silent, holding the phone to her ear for a long while. Finally, she motioned for the pen and pad of paper sitting next to the phone. She jotted down a few numbers and letters and repeated what she wrote.

  “That’s it,” David said aloud, “they use letters.” He continued to tap the keys and finally sat back, stretching his arms behind him.

  “Did you get it?” Mike asked.

  “It’s running now.”

  “I’ll get a list of all deposits made today, but it’s going to take a bit of time.”

  Chef Paul entered the suite at that moment. They all turned and looked at him.

  “Did I interrupt something?” he said, looking around.

  “Nope. You’re right on time if you’re here to make lunch,” David said.

  “I would be happy to,” Chef Paul said. He smiled and headed for the kitchen. Just then, the door clicked again, and Ralph stepped in, holding it open. Joanie walked in.

  Joanie ran to Mike and threw her arms around him. “I am so sorry for how I treated you,” she said.

  Mike wrapped his arms around her. “I understand. This whole thing has been hard on everyone, especially you.”

  Maggie watched the interaction, understanding how Joanie and Mike’s warm embrace in the aftermath of their argument with one another must be typical of their relationship.

  Ralph came back from the kitchen and approached Mike. “Randolph Edwards would like to speak with you, if you have some time. He has some vital information for you.”

  Mike looked over at David, who still was leaning back in his chair, arms across his chest. “It will be a while,” he said to Mike, sensing Mike’s reluctance to leave.

  Mike waved to Maggie to join him.

  As soon as they entered the purser’s office, Maggie gasp. Sitting with his back towards them was John…but when he turned around, Maggie realized it wasn’t John but the bartender. Maggie again was stunned by how much the bartender resembled John: similar height and weight—and, of course, an identical bald head. But when he had turned, the similarity ended. The man had a broad nose with a white scar across it.

  “This is Vlado Kovacs,” Randolph said. The man stood and turned toward Mike and Maggie. He nodded his head in greeting. Mike returned the gesture. “It seems your associate, Mr. Haas, had made arrangements with Mr. Kovacs to use his I-D.”

  “He made it impossible to deny his request,” the man said in a heavy accent.

  “What do you mean?” Maggie asked.

  “He showed me a badge and said it was official business.”

  “It seems Mr. Haas was posing as a government official and convinced Mr. Kovacs to participate,” Randolph said.

  “I didn’t know,” the bartender said again.

  “You can go for now,” Randolph told the man.

  Maggie moved aside to let the bartender pass. As soon as he left the room, Randolph held up some ropes and carabiners attached to what looked like a harness of some kind. “We also found this stashed in one of the lifeboats. It seems that’s where John was hiding.”

  “In a lifeboat?” Mike asked.

  “Yes, there was bedding, a food stash, and, unfortunately, what appears to be several bottles of urine.”

  “Gross,” Maggie said.

  “He was a Special Forces marine. I just don’t understand why he took such measures.”

  “I radioed ahead to the Coast Guard and the local authorities in Broward County. Have you two figured out why he would fake his own death to escape to the Cayman Islands?”

  “We haven’t figured that out yet,” Mike said, “but we’ll let you know as soon as we find something.”

  “All right. We’re leaving this port soon and will arrive in Fort Lauderdale by morning. I’m meeting with the locals before we leave here.”

  *

  As soon as they returned to the suite, Mike and Maggie saw Kimberly and David sitting at the computer, their faces drawn close to the monitors.

  “I got a list of accounts,” David said without turning around, “but I didn’t see John’s name on any accounts at this bank. Are you sure he isn’t using an alias?”

  “How about Vlado Kovacs?” Mike said, moving to the computer. David and Kimberly moved aside to let him get a closer look. Mike took his reading glasses out of his front pocket, settling them near the end of his nose. He put his finger on the mouse and rolled it around for a while. Suddenly his face changed.

  “What?” Maggie said.

  He looked at the three of them. “Nothing.”

  Just then Joanie came out of her room. She had wrapped a towel around her head. “Did you find something?” she asked.

  Mike pushed the power button causing the monitor to go blank.

  “Why did you do that?” Maggie asked looking at David who shook his head.

  “It
was a dead end,” Mike said.

  “He was at the bank,” Maggie said. “We saw him there.”

  “But we didn’t see him actually deposit any money. We only saw him enter an office, and he still had the backpack when we followed him. He could simply have rented a safety deposit box.” Mike started to pull the wires from the computer.

  Ralph came into the room. “Does anyone need a drink?”

  “Please,” Mike said. “Amaretto sour.”

  “I’ll take a Cabernet,” Maggie said.

  “Margarita,” Joanie said.

  “Make that two,” Kimberly said.

  “Three,” David indicated.

  “You got it.” Ralph moved to the other side of the bar. He fixed Maggie’s drink first: all it involved was pouring the wine from the opened bottle. Maggie took the filled glass from the counter and sat at the far side of the room, looking out the large glass windows.

  “Why don’t we go sit on the small balcony in our room?” Mike held out a hand to Maggie. She took Mike’s hand and followed him through their room to the balcony. Mike pulled out one of the two plastic chairs and allowed Maggie to sit.

  “I thought we had him,” Maggie said, confused by the look on Mike’s face.

  “That’s the thing, Maggie. I did see something.”

  “What?”

  “There was an account that received nine hundred thousand dollars this morning.”

  “And?” She tilted her head.

  “The name on the account was Margret Brown.”

  “Your Aunt Millie?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Is it a setup?”

  “Possibly, but I honestly don’t think so.” Mike hung his head.

  “You’re saying Aunt Maggie, a ninety-three-year-old woman, is somehow connected to John Haas in a scheme to defraud your sister’s bank?”

  “It seems ridiculous,” Mike said, “but that is what it appears to be. Technically, though, it’s her own money, so I don’t think it would be defrauding anything.”

  “I can’t get my head around this,” Maggie said. “Your aunt, that sweet old lady?”

  “I’ve known this woman my whole life”—Mike tilted his head—“but, honestly, in the very back of my brain, I just might believe it, even if I don’t want to.”