Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series: Box Set: Books 1-3

by Hope Callaghan

  Now that Vitale had taken a turn for the worse, would the captain just up and fire Annette without a thorough investigation? He didn’t strike Millie as a person given to impulse, but then she didn’t know him that well.

  “We better go find Annette,” Millie told Cat.

  Her fear was that Annette would sink into the funk again and Millie wouldn’t be able to pull her out. She needn’t have worried.

  When the girls reached the kitchen, Annette was in the midst of a major culinary creation. Baking supplies covered the entire counter.

  A thin layer of flour covered everything, including the floor. Millie also spotted eggs, milk, butter, salt, about a dozen different spices, along with several large blocks of white cheese.

  They watched as Annette darted back and forth from two large kettles that were boiling on top of the stove and an enormous wooden butcher block on the edge of the stainless steel counter.

  Annette grabbed a long, sharp knife and one of the blocks of cheese. She lifted the knife above her head and brought it down in one sharp motion. Whack! Annette cut the cheese into smaller blocks before dropping the pieces into an industrial-size shredder.

  She worked like a kitchen ninja, moving so fast, Millie was afraid she was going to slice off her hand.

  She acknowledged Cat and Millie’s presence with a brief nod.

  Cat, the braver of the two, inched her way over to the crowded counter and placed an elbow on top. “Whatcha making?”

  “Just whipping up a couple pans of ravioli and fontina sauce for tomorrow night’s menu.” She glanced at her watch. “I mean tonight’s dinner menu since it’s already after midnight.”

  Millie, seeing that Annette hadn’t turned the knife on Cat, stepped closer. “Are we still on for our fact finding mission?”

  Annette paused with the knife midair. “Of course! Now that Captain Vitale is on his deathbed, it’s imperative we figure out who is out to get me.”

  Cat rolled up her sleeves. “Well, if we’re going to get this mission under way in another hour, you’ll need some help finishing this project.”

  Millie agreed. She headed to the sink to start scrubbing the mile high pile of dishes stacked inside.

  An hour later, the girls had the kitchen spic and span. The ravioli was chilling in the fridge and the sauce was in large container right next to it. It would be an easy dish for Annette to assemble later that day. If they weren’t taken into custody…

  Millie glanced at her watch: 1:35 a.m. She swallowed the lump in her throat and followed Annette and Cat out of the kitchen. She reached behind her to turn off the light and close the door.

  The ship was like a ghost town. If Millie had to guess, guests were in bed or closing down the bars, which is where Millie hoped the security staff was – far, far away from Deck 5 and Donovan’s office.

  She let out a sigh of relief that there was no one in sight.

  Annette abruptly stopped in front of the guest service’s counter. She motioned Millie ahead of her.

  Millie sucked in a breath. Here goes nothing. She flung open the half door that separated the lobby from guest services before turning back. “Got your camera cover and phones?”

  “Check.” Annette nodded and thrust the tablecloth out for her to see. With one quick look back, the three of them tiptoed down the small hall.

  Millie’s hand shook as she lifted the lanyard from her neck and approached Donovan’s door. She whispered a small prayer. “Dear God, please protect us.”

  Millie shoved the card in the slot and waited for the familiar beep.

  Annette squeezed past Millie and shoved the door open. She threw the cloth up at the camera that hung just above the door. It was a perfect throw and covered the camera completely.

  The girls rushed in, cameras at the ready.

  Annette grabbed a stack of papers and in one fell swoop, spread them out across the desk. Millie immediately started snapping pictures as quick as she could. Cat did the same while Annette kept an eye on the door.

  “Eight seconds,” Annette hissed.

  Millie’s hand shook. She was working so fast, she wasn’t sure if she was getting clear shots or not. Either way, it would have to work. “I think I got them all.”

  “Me too,” Cat said.

  Annette gathered the papers, assembled them in a neat stack and shoved them back in the tray.

  Cat bolted out the door first. Millie was right on her heels.

  Annette was last. She reached up, grabbed the cloth that covered the camera and jerked the door shut behind her.

  Millie’s heart raced as they scurried through the half door that separated guest services from the lobby.

  When they reached the lobby, the girls slowed their pace and nonchalantly strolled across the gleaming tile floor as they made their way down the stairs to the crew quarters.

  No one spoke a word. Annette stopped in front of her cabin door, inserted her keycard and pushed the door open. The girls stepped inside.

  Cat closed the door behind them.

  Millie exhaled the breath she had been holding.

  Annette rubbed her hands together. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

  Cat turned her camera to the “on” position and switched it to the picture screen then handed it to Annette.

  Annette slipped her reading glasses on and slid her finger across the screen. “Cat, not a single one of these pictures turned out.” She handed the phone back to Cat, who pulled the screen close and shook her head. “Oh no! I think I was so nervous my thumb got in the way!”

  She dropped her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry, Annette.”

  “I took the same shots.” Millie turned her phone on and scrolled to the pictures. She let out a sigh of relief. The first one appeared a bit blurry but at least she could see something. She handed the phone to Annette.

  Annette studied the photos. “Hmm. I see a couple names I don’t recognize.” She lifted her head. “Is there any way to make the picture bigger?”

  Millie nodded. She grabbed the phone, tapped the screen and handed it back.

  Annette lifted it to her face. “Much better.” She slowly shook her head. “Well, will you look at that?”

  Cat and Millie leaned forward. “What?”

  “I see Amit’s application, Raj’s application, Suri’s application, and this last one. My, my, my, what a surprise…”

  She looked up. Her eyes narrowed. “My little pal, Noel Kalani, applied for my job!”

  Chapter 9

  Millie wasn’t surprised that Amit had applied or even Suri, but she was surprised at Noel’s application. Noel was new and didn’t strike Millie as having that go-getter, I’m-in-charge-and-the-boss personality.

  “What about Veronica Chang?” That was the one Millie was putting her money on. There was something about that woman that didn’t set right with Millie. Her radar went up every time she was around Veronica.

  It was as if Veronica studied, dissected and somehow catalogued everyone she met as friend or foe.

  Annette shook her head. “Nope. I don’t see hers.”

  Millie frowned. That didn’t necessarily clear her, but then it didn’t really give the woman a motive, unless she just didn’t like Annette for some reason.

  Of course, maybe she had another strategy. Skip the kitchen and go right for Donovan, the man who controlled the money.

  There was also the possibility that Millie had her all wrong.

  “So now what?” Cat lifted her arms above her head and yawned. Her shirt became untucked and Millie caught a glimpse of the long, angry scar that ran from Cat’s side and slashed across her abdomen.

  Annette had told Millie not to mention the scar, but Millie couldn’t help herself. “Cat, where on earth did you get such a horrible scar?”

  Cat immediately dropped her arms and tugged at the bottom of her blouse. “Oh, that old thing.”

  “That is a serious scar,” Millie said. “I mean, I don’t want to be nosy but I guess I am.”
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  Annette turned her gaze to Cat, curious to see what answer Cat would give.

  Cat lifted her meticulously manicured nails as if to inspect them up close. She picked at the edge. “It was a parting gift from my ex-husband,” she admitted.

  Millie gasped. Her horrified gazed dropped to the scar, now hidden beneath the silky pink fabric.

  Annette rose from the chair. She gently sat down on the other side of Cat. “Oh, dear.”

  “I’ve never told anyone about it,” Cat confessed, “at least, not anyone here on the ship.”

  Millie placed a hand on her arm. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.” She pointed at Annette. “We’re your friends and we care about you, that’s all.”

  Cat folded her hands in her lap. She gazed up at Millie, her eyes shined brightly. She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Two lone tears trickled down her cheeks. “I-I…”

  Annette placed an arm around her shoulder. “Take your time.”

  Slowly, haltingly, Cat told them that as a love-struck teenager she had married, Rick, her high school sweetheart. They had been young and very much in love.

  Rick had worked his way through college to become a police officer, something he was proud of but something that scared Cat to death.

  To make ends meet, she waited tables at the only restaurant in their small town of Gunner. The couple had been married just over a year when Cat found out she was pregnant. Although money would be tight, the young couple was over the moon when they found out.

  Cat sucked in a shaky breath. Her tears began to flow. Annette ducked into the bathroom and returned with a box of Kleenex. She handed a tissue to Cat and the girls waited for her to blow her nose.

  “Rick worked nights. All of the rookies did. Anyways, one night after work, I came home and fixed supper. It was meatloaf, Rick’s favorite. I remember putting it in the fridge with a note on top that said, ‘I love you’ and then went to bed.”

  Cat twisted the tissue between her fingers. “I fell right asleep. Of course, being pregnant I was exhausted all of the time.”

  Cat sucked in a deep, jagged breath. “I woke to the sound of someone pounding on the front door. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window. When I peeked through the curtains, I saw a patrol car and Rick’s partner, Mike, standing out front. I knew right then that Rick was gone.”

  Millie felt tears burn the back of her eyes. She glanced over at Annette, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Cat leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Her voice was raw. “It’s like it happened yesterday,” she whispered.

  Millie wondered about the baby.

  “I lost the baby less than a week after I lost Rick. The stress and trauma of his death was too much,” she said.

  The girls sat in silence for a long time. Millie felt horrible that she had mentioned the scar. She wondered if the scar had something to do with the baby…

  Cat lowered her head and stared blankly at the wall on the other side of the room. “For years I was an empty shell. I had lost the most important person in the world. I planned to spend the rest of my life alone. No one could replace Rick. No one.”

  “Then one day, about 12 years ago, I stopped by the car dealer in nearby Drayton to have my car repaired. That is where I met, Jay. He was charming. He was funny. I fell hard and fast.” Cat shrugged. “After all of those years alone, I guess I was finally ready to let someone in my life again.”

  Cat abruptly stood and started to pace the floor. Back and forth. The tears were gone, replaced by anger.

  “We married a few short weeks after we met. It was so romantic. We jetted off to Vegas and Elvis married us.” She smiled wryly. “The honeymoon lasted about as long as the courtship.”

  Cat went on to tell the girls that for almost ten years, Jay physically and emotionally abused her. She explained how he would not allow her to work, that he rarely allowed her to even step outside their home and then it was only if Jay was with her.

  “Jay began to drink hard liquor. He would stumble home most nights, too drunk even to walk. He called me a tramp and accused me of running around on him. I never did.”

  Cat took a deep breath and continued. “The beatings kept getting worse. The day he brought a gun home, I knew I had to find a way to escape, to disappear. He often threatened that if I ever tried to leave, he would track me down and kill me.”

  She laughed but it was hollow and emotionless. “I knew that even if I stayed he would kill me.”

  She stopped in the middle of the floor and turned to face her friends. “I waited too long. One night, he came home in a fit of rage like I’d never seen. I thought for sure he was going to shoot me but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled a knife from the knife rack. The biggest one we had.”

  Cat started to pace again, her words tumbled from her lips. “I tried to escape. I made it as far as the front door. Jay grabbed a handful of my long hair and dragged me back into the kitchen.”

  “He threw me to the floor and plunged the knife into my side.” Cat lifted her blouse and pointed to the edge of the scar. “He started here and sliced all the way across my stomach, all the while screaming at me to die. That I was nothing but a…”

  Millie jumped from the bed and darted over to Cat. She wrapped her arms around her anguished friend. Cat sobbed for several long moments. Her sobs were painful and grief-filled ones that wracked her thin frame.

  Annette came around the other side and the two women consoled Cat as a torrent of pent up emotions finally found an escape.

  Cat’s sobs subsided. She reached over, grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.

  “When I came to, I was in the hospital. The doctors told me I almost died. Luckily, the neighbor in the apartment above us heard Jay screaming at me and called the police.”

  “As soon as they released me from the hospital, I hid out at a friend’s house. I found the job for the cruise ship days later and knew this would be my only chance to get away from Jay. That this would be a safe haven and that he would never find me here.”

  “Did he go to prison for attempted murder?” Millie hoped he had.

  Cat nodded. “Yes. Believe it or not, he just got out.” She balled the Kleenex in her hand. “I’m terrified he’s going to track me down,” Cat admitted.

  Annette had a thought. “Can’t the cruise line put him on some sort of blacklist?”

  “Yeah,” Cat said, “he’s on a blacklist but you don’t know Jay.” She shuddered. “I know he’s out there somewhere, looking for me right now.”

  “Is there anyone you know that can keep tabs on him?” Millie asked. “Surely there is someone who could give you a heads up if he’s coming this way.”

  Cat slumped into the desk chair. “His sister, Susie. I kept in contact with her. That’s how I found out that he’s out of prison.”

  Millie crossed her arms. “She wouldn’t rat you out, would she?”

  Cat shook her head. “No way! There is no way Susie would tell him anything. The only reason she stays in contact with him is to let me know where he is.”

  Annette patted her shoulder. “Thank you for sharing that, Cat. I know it was hard.”

  Cat agreed. “It was hard but it’s also a relief.”

  “Your secret is safe with us,” Millie reassured her.

  “I appreciate that. The only other person on board that knows anything is Donovan. I told him that I have a restraining order against my ex-husband for attempted murder.”

  Millie was curious. “Could Jay track you down by your last name?”

  Cat chewed her lower lip. “Nope. I changed my name. Catherine Wellington is not my real name.”

  She went on. “My real name is Kate Bellinger, but I go by Cat.”

  Cat – or Kate – waved her arms in the air. “Enough about me and my sob stories. We need to get back to the real crisis…saving Annette’s job!”

  “So what’s the plan?” Millie and Cat turned to Annette.

  Annette sett
led back into the chair. “Our first step is to figure out who had contact with the lobster bisque between the time I tasted it and handed it off to Amit and the time Captain Vitale ate the first spoonful.”

  “It would also be helpful if we could figure out what kind of poison was in it,” Millie added.

  Annette grabbed a pad of paper and pen from the desk. She slipped her reading glasses on and began to write. “List of Suspects” and underlined the heading.

  Amit’s name made the top of the list.

  Next, she wrote down Noel. Third was Suri’s name.

  Cat glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed. “Is there anyone else you can think of that has an axe to grind?”

  Annette tapped the pen against the sheet of paper. “Hmm.” She shook her head. “Nope!”

  Millie yawned. “I’m whupped.” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I have to be up and report to work at 6:00,” she moaned.

  Cat nodded. “Me, too. We better get going.”

  Annette walked them to the door. “What’s the plan?”

  Millie held out an index finger. “One, we talk to Noel, Suri and Amit. We need to follow the food to find out who had an opportunity to tamper with the dish.”

  “I’ll do it,” Annette volunteered.

  Millie shook her head. “You’re too close to this one, Annette. Better let me handle it.”

  Annette’s face drooped. She knew Millie was right. “Okay.”

  Annette reached the cabin door first. She swung the door open and came face-to-face with Dave Patterson, head of security. “Just the girls I was looking for.”

  He gave them a stern look and waved his hand. “Follow me.”

  Chapter 10

  Millie swallowed hard. She followed Patterson and the girls trailed behind her. She knew they’d been busted, but how?

  The operation had gone off without a hitch. Millie was certain they hadn’t been caught on camera.

  Had someone spotted them as they snuck back out? That was the only thing she could think of.

  This was exactly what she hoped wouldn’t happen! Millie knew that out of any of them, she was in the hottest of the water, what with her having the key that let them into Donovan’s office in the first place.