Mango Chili Cruiser: A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery (Dolphin Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 6)

by Leena Clover

  Neither of them spoke for a minute. Cassie swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat at the mention of Jojo.

  “I promised her dad I would take care of her.” The anguish in Millicent’s voice was genuine. “I failed.”

  “Jojo always looked up to you,” Cassie consoled. “You were the closest thing she had to a sister.”

  “No, no. That was you. I was more of a governess, really. The strict martinet who ruined the mood and was a buzzkill.”

  Cassie was surprised. Millicent was known to be aggressive. It wasn’t like her to be self deprecating.

  “It’s been a long day, Milli.”

  “Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

  Cassie waited for her to continue.

  “Jojo mentioned something about your mother being an amateur sleuth somewhere up north.”

  “My mom runs a café in Dolphin Bay,” Cassie sighed. “It’s actually a café attached to a bookstore. She bakes cupcakes. You should come and taste some, Milli.”

  The woman blushed.

  “I guess Jojo was just pulling my leg. You know she loved doing that.”

  Cassie relented.

  “She wasn’t entirely wrong, Milli. My mom got pulled into solving a few murders. But she’s not a detective or anything.”

  Millicent’s face lit up.

  “Do you think your mother will help me, Cassie? To be honest, I don’t believe Jojo took her life. And I also don’t agree that she just fell off that balcony. But that security guy won’t pay any attention to me.”

  Cassie wasn’t going to tell her she had just spent an hour with said security guy.

  “What makes you think he’ll be any different with me?”

  “Your mom’s older and she must be used to dealing with the police. I spoke to Freddie earlier today. He wants to find out what happened to Jojo. We have the family’s support, Cassie.”

  Cassie wasn’t sure what Anna would say.

  “I can’t promise anything, Milli. I will have to talk to her first.”

  Millicent told her she couldn’t ask for more.

  Cassie decided to skip the elevator and climb down one set of stairs to their suite. Meg was sleeping soundly in her bed. So was Julie. Anna wasn’t in the room.

  Cassie slipped out quietly and decided to track down her mother. She wondered where Gino had taken her.

  She went to the atrium on Deck 6 and looked around. A few people lingered in the café, sipping hot drinks and chatting quietly. The girl at the guest relations desk wasn’t any help.

  Cassie went down one more deck and looked into the theater. The show had ended long ago and some girls were rehearsing on stage. Cassie wondered if the crew ever got any shut eye.

  Then she remembered Anna telling them about the pizza place that was open 24 hours. It was past midnight and several hours had passed since they had dinner. Cassie went back to the atrium to ask the guest relations girl where the pizza restaurant was.

  Her efforts were rewarded when she saw Anna and Gino sitting at a table by the water, about to bite into a piping hot pizza pie.

  “You are one elusive lady, Mom.” Cassie flopped down in a chair and caught her breath. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  Anna tensed.

  “What’s the matter, Cassie? Why aren’t you in bed?”

  Cassie told her about running into Millicent.

  “I just wanted to let you know we have the family’s blessing now. We can ramp up our efforts.”

  She tried to sneak a glance at Gino. Anna wouldn’t want to irk him.

  “Don’t you know your mother?” Gino smiled in his mustache. “We just finished talking about this.”

  “So what do you say, Mom? Are you willing to look into what happened to Jojo?”

  Anna pulled a slice of pizza, marveling at the stringy mozzarella and the robust sauce bursting with flavors of basil and oregano. She took a bite before answering her daughter.

  “I’ve given this some thought. We need to find out who was in the Empress Suite that night and talk to them.”

  “Ricky told me he went in there with Jojo. But he fell asleep almost immediately. No one was around when he woke up. He scrambled out and went to his own cabin.”

  “But was he the only one who went there that night?” Gino mused.

  A group of young girls walked in and headed to the counter to place an order. Judging by their attire, they had spent the evening at the dance club. One of the giggling girls peeled away from the crowd and came over to talk to Cassie.

  “Hey Cass! You were going to meet us at the club.”

  Cassie remembered she had a date with all the bridesmaids. She hadn’t forgotten but she had assumed their plans stood cancelled. They didn’t have a wedding to celebrate.

  “I got pulled into a family thing.” Cassie produced a pout. “Tell me you guys went!”

  “Of course we did,” the girl shrieked. “And we dragged Logan along with us. That man can drink like a fish. I mean, he just got out of rehab …”

  “Logan was in rehab?” Cassie was genuinely surprised.

  He had seemed pretty stable to her, a far cry from the young man she had known all those years ago.

  “You didn’t know?” the girl’s voice grew hushed. “He went over the edge when Jojo got engaged to Ricky. She sprung him out so he could attend the wedding.”

  The gaggle of girls screamed over something and the girl went back to them.

  “Sorry about that, Mom.” Cassie turned to Anna. “What were you saying?”

  Anna and Gino had polished off the pizza. Cassie suddenly had a craving for some herself.

  “We need to find out how many people went there that night.” Anna looked at Gino.

  “I know that look,” he laughed. “You want me to talk to Bernard again.”

  “Would you?” Anna asked coyly.

  Gino told her he wasn’t going to disturb the poor man that night. But he would talk to him first thing in the morning.

  “And now,” he said. “Let me escort you ladies back to your stateroom.”

  Cassie took the arm Gino proffered and let him guide them to the elevators. She was dead on her feet and looking forward to snuggling into her memory foam bed.

  The next few days were going to be arduous but Cassie would do whatever was needed to help find Jojo’s killer.

  Chapter 11

  Anna ate her huevos rancheros, relishing every bite. She had been a bit greedy with the avocados earlier and she felt chagrinned.

  “Don’t you eat avocado toast almost every day?” Julie guffawed. “How are you not tired of eating them?”

  “They taste different here,” Anna defended herself. “Just try them, Julie.”

  “We all did,” Julie scoffed. “Because almost everything we order comes with a hefty side of guacamole or some form of that green fruit.”

  “Is it a fruit or a vegetable?” Meg interrupted cheekily.

  They were having breakfast on the top deck. The wedding coordinator had presented them with a list of activities that were available for them that day. Meg was really excited because they were spending another whole day in Cabo San Lucas.

  “We are all going to visit El Arco.” She referred to the famous limestone arches Cabo was known for. “And then we are going to this beautiful beach.”

  Anna’s attention wandered as Meg rattled on. Cassie was eating churros.

  “How can you eat so much sugar first thing in the morning?” Anna watched her dip the fried pastry in rich melted chocolate.

  Cassie ignored her and looked at Gino. He had just set his fork down and had ordered a fresh coffee.

  “When are we going to meet the security chief?”

  Meg and Julie heard her.

  “Looks like we missed out on something, Meg.” Julie glared at Anna. “Have you been playing Nancy Drew in our absence?” She frowned at Gino. “And you’re in on this?”

  Gino gave one of his shrugs.

  “An
na has a keen eye, Julie. She picked up on something everyone overlooked. I’m going to try and help in her latest mission.”

  “What have we missed?” Meg cried. “Tell us everything, Anna.”

  Julie and Meg were astonished to hear what the others had been up to the previous evening.

  “You did all this without me?” Julie cribbed.

  “I’m going to need a lot of help,” Anna assured her. “And I’m counting on you. But we can’t all go everywhere. We don’t want to scare people off.”

  “Not to mention that sour security guy would shut us down,” Cassie pointed out.

  Millicent waved at Anna from a table. She was having breakfast with Fred Gold again.

  “Are you almost done?” Anna asked Cassie. “We need to go catch Bernard before he gets too busy.”

  “They’re giving us the boot again, Meg.” Julie’s face fell.

  Anna explained what their plan was and they all agreed to meet back at their cabin before going ashore.

  Cassie and Gino accompanied Anna to Deck 3 and Chief Bernard’s office.

  “You again!”

  The man looked like he hadn’t slept a wink.

  Gino explained their request. “We’ll stay out of your hair, unless we find something relevant.”

  Bernard picked up a phone and talked to someone.

  “Knock yourself out,” he told them with a sigh. “But you’re not to bother a guest under any circumstances. Captain Romero will have my hide.”

  Gino promised him they would be discreet.

  “What if we come across one of the guests acting suspicious?” Cassie quizzed.

  “You come to me,” Bernard warned them.

  A man wearing a security uniform arrived to take them to the surveillance room. Anna stared at the massive screens that lined the walls. An army of men sat monitoring the feed from hundreds of cameras.

  They were taken to a small cubicle at the far end of the room. Another man in the security uniform was clicking something on a computer screen. He stood up when he saw them.

  “I have lined up the footage you wanted to see.”

  He showed them how to manipulate the video and clicked his feet.

  “I’ll be in that cubicle across the aisle. Please just holler if you need any help.”

  Anna sat in the only chair while Cassie leaned against the table. Gino stood behind Anna with his hands on the chair. The video started playing and three pairs of eyes stared at the screen, eagerly awaiting who or what they would see.

  “Is this thing on?” Cassie asked after a while. “There is no activity here.”

  Gino pointed at the timestamp.

  “This is after midnight. And this is the VIP deck. It’s not like hordes of people are going to be walking along these corridors.”

  “Midnight?” Cassie shook her head. “The bachelorette party barely began at midnight. We need to skip ahead, Gino. Start at 3 AM.”

  Anna forwarded the video to a few hours ahead. They watched the screen again without success.

  Gino let out an exclamation.

  “I think we’re staring at a wall.”

  Anna craned her neck to look at him.

  “You think someone messed with the cameras?”

  “It doesn’t seem likely that the entrance to the Empress Suite won’t be covered by the camera. Someone must have moved it.”

  “But how could they be sure?” Cassie wondered. “You think one of the security staff did it?”

  “Are you saying the killer bribed someone on the security team?” Anna was skeptical. “That suggests premeditation.”

  Gino took over the controls from Anna and fiddled with the screen.

  “I found some other cameras along that corridor. Why don’t we make a note of what we see on them?”

  Since Deck 14 had been reserved for Jojo and her family, it was not really a busy place, unlike some of the lower decks with dozens of cabins.

  “The only people who have suites over there are Uncle Fred, Logan and Milli,” Cassie told them. “Ricky’s suite is on our deck.”

  Anna guessed Fred Gold must have been in bed by midnight. She wasn’t sure about Logan or Millicent.

  “We can ask them when they turned in.”

  “Don’t forget what Bernard said about harassing guests.”

  “Logan and Milli won’t mind.” Cassie was confident. “They would have noticed any strangers lurking outside.”

  Gino had another idea. They had seen a maid with a cleaning cart in some of the security footage.

  “The cleaning crew on this ship is very efficient. Or maybe they are paying extra attention to the wedding party.”

  Anna had noted how their toiletries were replenished multiple times a day. There was a new towel animal on their bed every time they went back to their suite. She had laughed out loud when she saw a towel monkey swinging from the ceiling fan and a crane sitting on her toilet.

  “I know why that maid looked familiar. She’s the same one who cleans our suite, Mom.”

  They agreed Anna and Cassie would talk to the maid when they ran into her next.

  “And now, it’s time to change into a swimsuit and head to the shore,” Anna declared. “Meg must be getting impatient.”

  Julie and Meg had met with the wedding coordinator who was now more like a cruise director for the wedding party. She had lined up a special glass bottom boat that would directly take them to El Arco, the big limestone arches at the southernmost tip of Cabo.

  Being part of the VIP experience, they didn’t have to share the boat with anyone else. Meg’s excitement was contagious and they humored her, posing for tons of photos with the backdrop of the arch.

  They visited two beaches called Lovers Beach and Divorce Beach, one on the Sea of Cortez and the other on the Pacific Ocean.

  There were plenty of tourists around them, some in large groups on motorboats, some paddling in a kayak from shore.

  “Are you having fun, kiddo?” Cassie pulled out a cold beer from a cooler.

  The boat was stocked with drinks and snacks in case they got hungry.

  “I know I shouldn’t be happy, Mom.” Meg looked guilty. “But I can’t help it. This is like a dream vacation for me.”

  Cassie knew this was Meg’s first foray outside the country. She had never been on a real vacation until she got adopted at sixteen.

  “You have no reason to feel guilty, Meg. Life is for the living.”

  Anna placed an arm around Meg and hugged her close.

  “Your mother’s right. We all miss Jojo and we’re going to do everything we can to get justice for her.”

  Julie pointed at a few colorful parachutes that appeared in their line of sight.

  “We need to shake things up. Who’s up for a jaunt in the clouds?”

  Anna and Cassie opted to stay on the beach while Julie, Meg and Gino went parasailing. The boat took them back to the Empress Cleo where a gourmet lunch had been arranged for them.

  Anna wondered if Jojo’s killer was rejoicing at that very moment, thinking he had got away scot free.

  Chapter 12

  Lunch was an eye opener. Anna tried a hibiscus margarita and was pleasantly surprised. Gino opted for a local wine and called it research. He owned a small vineyard back in Dolphin Bay and was always interested in what the competition was offering. Meg chose freshly made clamato juice.

  Along with the omnipresent tortilla chips and guacamole, there was ceviche with jumbo shrimp from the Gulf.

  The chef came over to greet them and urged them to try the chocolate clams. They were a specialty of the region and not found anywhere else in the world.

  “I’m having tamales de pollo for my main course.” Julie read off the special menu that had been placed on their table. “Why don’t you try the fried marlin, Anna? We can share.”

  Gino chose the smoked marlin tacos. They were all going to share a platter of grilled lobster. There were many more dishes they hoped they could taste later, like the abalone
chorizo.

  Meg stood at a live counter, speaking with a dark haired man while the chef prepared her pasta.

  “Who’s Meg talking to, Mom?” Cassie whispered. “Looks old for her.”

  “That’s the guy she was dancing with that night,” Julie reported.

  “The one from Monterey?” Cassie wanted to know. “Well, well.”

  Anna told them both to stop staring.

  “You’re getting a bit too possessive, Cassie. Meg won’t like it.”

  Anna did some justice to the excellent food, asking a server for more mango salsa. She had already eaten two cupfuls of it.

  “Where are you going?” she asked when Cassie pushed back her chair and stood up. “You’re not going to interrupt them, are you? That would be so not cool.”

  Cassie frowned and told her she was going to talk to Ricky. Anna looked around and noticed the groom sitting at a table by himself.

  Anna decided to go over on the pretext of getting a fresh drink.

  “How are you holding up, Ricky?” Cassie was asking the groom.

  “Please accept our condolences.” Anna joined them and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  Ricky surprised her by getting up and opening his arms for a hug. Anna wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight as he gave a slight shudder. His grief was so palpable, she was rendered speechless for a minute.

  Cassie sat down at the table and asked a server to refresh their drinks. Anna let go of Ricky and pulled out a chair.

  “I’m sorry.” The man’s eyes were red and he looked slightly embarrassed.

  “No need to apologize,” Anna assured him. “We all miss her.”

  Dressed in faded khaki shorts and an old polo shirt, Ricky couldn’t have looked more working class. Any dreams he might have had of becoming a billionaire had been shattered by Jojo’s death.

  “Can you tell us about that night?” Cassie asked him. “What happened after we left the bachelorette party?”

  Anna insisted he eat something first and ordered some tacos and a lobster roll for him.

  “You know Jojo,” Ricky said after he had taken a few bites to appease Anna. “She just wouldn’t stop drinking. Those bridesmaids kept calling for round after round of shots. Must have been pretty late when we got out of there.”