Undercover Cruise (A Maggie McFarlin Mystery Book 2)

by Charisse Peeler

  Maggie looked confused. “But why would she do it?”

  “That’s what we are going to find out.”

  Sunday

  Chapter 23

  Disembarkation

  Getting off the ship was always so much worse than getting on. The suitcases had to be packed and sitting outside the room the night before. Clothes and essentials for the next day had to fit in a carry-on.

  Maggie’s suitcase was full of dirty, messy clothes, a good representation of her current state of mind. She had a fitful night, waking up several times, thinking it was already time to get up.

  Finally, morning came. The group said their goodbyes to Chef Paul as he handed them each a small brown bag with an egg sandwich, fruit, and a pastry. Then they walked out the door of the suite. Maggie was the last to leave. She stopped one last time to look back at the room they had just spent the previous week in. It had all happened so fast.

  Ralph herded them down to the VIP lounge, where he left them to wait for their disembarkation instructions. Joanie handed him an envelope as he said his final goodbyes. Then he hurried back to get the OASIS suite ready for the next group.

  Joanie sat on one side of a small table, facing Mike and Maggie. She looked refreshed and was smiling. It was as if she had never spent a night behind bars.

  “Have you two figured out how we’re going to get Aunt Millie’s money back?” Joanie asked.

  “That’s the thing, Joanie,” Mike said. “The money might not be missing.”

  “Of course it’s missing,” Joanie said a little too loudly, causing passengers sitting nearby to turn.

  Mike leaned in, keeping his voice low. “It was Aunt Millie’s money, and Aunt Millie’s name is on the account.”

  Joanie didn’t flinch but tightened her lips.

  “Did you know anything about this?” Maggie asked but instantly regretted getting in the middle of the siblings. Joanie’s eyes filled with ice.

  “If you…”

  She stopped, and the ice melted. “Of course I didn’t know anything about this,” she said in a sugary tone but kept her back teeth closed.

  Mike’s knee pushed against Maggie’s thigh. Maggie leaned back and smiled, leaving any unspoken words to roam around in her head.

  Joanie looked down at her phone. She became distracted by whatever she was looking at while the other two remained silent until their turn came to disembark the ship.

  The line to get through customs was long even though their VIP status allowed them to be among the first to disembark. The group formed a human shield around Maggie; Mike took the left and Joanie the right, Kimberly the front, and David the back. They now took warnings of Maggie’s panic attacks seriously. Maggie focused on her steps, not looking around.

  It seemed like the longest week of her life. Even having access to all the amenities of the luxury suite, she needed space. She was homesick for her home in Boca Raton, her friends gathering at the bar for happy hour and arguing over the stupidest club rules. Even the thick Florida air was a welcoming hug. She wished she could just stay in Boca. Her home was only thirty minutes away, but her car was in North Carolina.

  She had planned to head to the mountains before her trip back to Boca, but maybe she would just drive down the west coast of Florida to decompress.

  “How are you doing?” Mike asked, noticing Maggie’s faraway look.

  “I’m good, just focusing on anything other than all these people. I can’t believe how many people they put on these ships—and to think in a few more hours just as many will be boarding.” Maggie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, not too much longer, they were through the line and out the door to the terminal where their driver stood waiting on them. He took Maggie’s bag and helped her up the single step into the black Sprinter van, where she stepped to the back seat. Mike was right behind her and took the spot next to her. Joanie climbed into the front passenger seat.

  “What’s next?” she asked as soon as the van was moving.

  “As soon as we get home, I’m going to visit my aunt.”

  “Not without me,” Joanie observed from the seat in front of Mike.

  “Of course,” Mike said. “You and Maggie are coming with me.”

  “I can’t go,” Maggie said quickly.

  “Of course you can. We’re partners in this.”

  The flight from Fort Lauderdale to Charlotte was uneventful. Maggie fell asleep before they even reached ten thousand feet. When she awoke to the sound of the landing gear engaging, her head was on Mike’s shoulder, and the noise from the plane engine had changed from a low hum to a higher-pitched grinding.

  “Well, hello, sleepyhead,” Mike said, stretching the arm that Maggie had been using as a pillow.

  “So sorry,” she said, “I guess I was tired. I normally can’t sleep on a plane.”

  “No trouble today.” Mike smiled.

  “Did I snore?”

  He smiled again. “Maybe a little.”

  The driver of the transfer van stood waiting at baggage with a sign that had BS S&L written boldly on a white piece of paper fastened on a clipboard.

  “Not just B-S this time,” Mike said, smiling at Maggie, who shook her head.

  “There’s a lot of B-S, if you ask me.”

  She looked at the faces around her. They were the same people that had started out on this journey, and the same member of their group who had not been with the group at the beginning of the trip was missing at the end. The faces might have been the same, but the group had changed in five days. The excitement that had been present the first day in anticipation of their adventure had been transformed into quiet contemplation and exhaustion. Everyone would go back to their regular routines on Monday morning…everyone except Mike and Maggie.

  The driver dropped David and Kimberly at their cars in the bank parking lot. He loaded their bags into their vehicles then got back into the driver’s seat. He looked in the rearview mirror at the three silent riders.

  As soon as Mike’s house was in view, Mike broke the silence.

  “You two up to a visit with Aunt Millie today?”

  “I think that might be a good idea,” Joanie said without turning around.

  Maggie remained silent but shrugged her shoulders.

  At Mike’s house the driver unloaded the bags. Joanie took hers directly to the trunk of her car and took off. “See you there,” she called out as she spun out of the driveway.

  Mike stood, watching her drive out of sight.

  “What’s that all about?” Maggie asked.

  “I honestly don’t know, but I wish we could have arrived together in a show of force.”

  “Do you think she’s up to something?” Maggie asked, noticing the concern on Mike’s face.

  “She’s always up to something.” He pulled both his bag and Maggie’s bag through the back door of his house and relocked it. “I guess we better go now.”

  When they reached Aunt Millie’s house, Mike’s aunt was sitting on one of the rockers near the center of the long front porch. Joanie sat in the rocking chair next to her. Both had a glass of tea set on a small white wicker table. Two empty glasses and a half-full pitcher were waiting for them.

  Aunt Millie smiled and waved as the two approached. “How was your trip?” She stood to hug Mike.

  “I think you know how our trip went,” Mike said, moving two of the rocking chairs to sit directly in front of her. She poured the tea into the empty glasses and handed one to Maggie and one to Mike. Joanie was gently rocking back and forth with one foot tucked under the other. Mike motioned Maggie to one chair. He took the other.

  “Well?” he looked at his aunt and waited.

  “You wouldn’t understand, Michael. I am here alone every day bored to death. “

  “Where did all the money come from?”

  “It was all mine, but don’t think I didn’t consider ‘borrowing’ some from the crazy card ladies at the club.”

  “Why?” Joanie asked from her
perch, as if she hadn’t already filled her aunt in.

  “They are always bragging about their children and grandchildren. They have everything, including plenty of money. I guarantee they wouldn’t even notice the money was missing,” she said.

  “No, why did you set up such a scheme with your own money?” Mike asked.

  “And how did you get John to go along with the plan?” Maggie asked.

  “Everyone has secrets. You just need to know how to approach a man—or a woman, for that matter.”

  “Your aunt watches too much tv,” Maggie said.

  “Well, Ms. Maggie McFarlin,” Aunt Millie said with a sly smile, “I know a lot more about you than you think.”

  Maggie sat back into the chair, hoping to escape any suspicion directed at her. “I have nothing to hide.”

  “Don’t you?”

  Maggie kept her composure, hoping that Aunt Maggie didn’t know her secrets—how could she?

  “Aunt Millie,” Mike said. “This is about you, not about Maggie or me or even Joanie. It’s about how on earth did you get an offshore account in the first place?”

  “Darling, I’ve had that account for years.”

  “Who are you?” Joanie said, shaking her head.

  “Why do you kids think old people are stupid? I have been on this earth a lot longer than you. I might have picked up a thing or two along the way. I figured you kids needed some adventure. Mike, what were you doing? Finding lost cats and spying on cheating husbands?”

  “More cats than cheaters, unfortunately,” Mike said.

  “Seriously? Michael.” Joanie gave her brother “the eye.”

  “I gave you a real case, and you solved it. No harm, no foul,” Aunt Millie smiled, picking up the glass pitcher and pouring the remaining liquid into her glass. “More tea, anyone?”

  “I could lose my job over this whole thing,” Joanie said.

  Millie tilted her head at Joanie. “Because I took out my own money?”

  Joanie uncrossed her arms.

  “Seriously, Joanie, look at your brother. I haven’t seen him this happy in years.”

  “Oh, God, Auntie.” Joanie shook her head.

  “So, what happened to John?” Maggie asked.

  “Aw, yes, John is fine. He is somewhere in St Lucia. I gave him a hundred thousand dollars, and he had some more stashed away; he is free from his ex-wife’s clutches, and he’s living in paradise. Now you want to talk about an evil ex-wife. He really had a doozy.”

  “The cruise line knows he survived,” Mike says.

  “Even better, since he is alive, the ex can’t get the life insurance policy, win-win.”

  “But the—” Joanie started

  “You are worrying too much,” Aunt Millie interrupted her. “All the money in the bank here and all the money in the Cayman account will eventually be yours. Probably sooner than later. No one was hurt—so go ahead, admit it, this was fun.”

  She took a drink of her tea.

  “I think you’re a crazy old woman,” Joanie said, “but I love you.”

  “Love you too,” Aunt Millie said.

  “Don’t think we’ve finished this conversation, Aunt Millie, but I’m going to get Maggie back home. We’ll talk later.”

  “All right, kids, see you later.”

  Aunt Millie stood and hugged Mike then winked at Maggie as they left.

  *

  “You’re welcome to stay for a few days,” Mike said to Maggie as they parked in his driveway.

  “I think that would be a little awkward with your daughter, and honestly, I just need a hot bath and a bottle of wine.”

  “I understand.”

  Mike seemed a little disappointed, which surprised Maggie. She was sure his offer was made out of politeness rather than anything more emotional. He had made it clear that their relationship would remain a close friendship even after the kiss they shared. She had agreed deep down that there was no future between them except as friends.

  They remained silent as Mike loaded Maggie’s suitcase into the back of her SUV. Then they hugged goodbye.

  “Stay safe on the road and call me before you head out, okay?” Mike had her by the shoulders.

  “Absolutely,” she said, smiling as she moved away from him. He held her door open as she buckled her seatbelt, and then he shut the door. With a small wave, she backed out of the driveway, leaving him standing there. She smiled weakly, wondering if she would ever see Mike Marker in person again.

  *

  Maggie woke up with a start, unfamiliar with her surroundings at first, but then remembering she was back at the Courtyard in Salisbury, North Carolina. Her phone had was playing her default ringtone. She looked at the clock by the side of the bed: seven a.m. She looked at the phone again and saw it was one of her oldest friends, Katherine Frazier, from Bremerton, Washington.“Hey, what’s up, Kat?”

  “Maggie, it’s Lisa, she’s in trouble.”

  “What do you mean she’s in trouble?”

  “Your sister killed her husband…Well, she didn’t kill her husband. I mean, she said she didn’t kill her husband, but she’s in jail for killing her husband.” Kat was rambling, and Maggie was shaking her head, trying to understand. She was still in a fog from her sleep.

  “Kat, Kat…stop. Are you saying Trace is dead?”

  “Yes, Trace is dead.”

  “And Lisa is being accused of causing his death.”

  “Yes, and she needs you.”

  “Did she ask for me?” Maggie was confused. She was pretty sure she would never speak to her sister again.

  “Of course she asked for you, that’s why I’m calling.”

  “Okay, I’ll be on a plane as soon as I can. Tell Lisa I’m on my way.”

  Maggie stood paralyzed as she hung up the phone. Her sister was in jail…the same sister who had turned her back on Maggie five years ago. That was all in the past, and now she needed Maggie’s help.

  Whether she liked it or not, Maggie knew she would finally have to face her past.

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  Authors Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Books By This Author

  Behind The Gates

  A Maggie McFarlin Mystery-Book 1

  Banyan Tree Country Club located in Boca Raton, Florida is an unlikely setting for a murder but when Marco Escobaris found dead, an arrow burried deep in his chest, Maggie McFarlin and her two lushy friends decide to investigate.

  Even when Detective Mike Marker warns the women to stay out of the investigation, they continue their involvement exposing the motives of a colorful cast of suspects that lead the reader through several twists and turns along the way. It is a fast paced whodunnit. Can you guess who killed Marco Behind the Gates?