Nikki watched as Millie emptied her tray and set the empty tray off to the side. “You sure know how to spice things up around here.”
Millie rolled her eyes and reached for a fry. “You heard.”
“All of the crew on board has heard. Apparently, Mr. Sanders, your ex, was down at guest services causing a ruckus, demanding they arrest you.”
The tips of Millie’s ears burned. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” Nikki shook her head. “I wasn’t there but Anna, one of the other workers, told me about it.”
“What happened?” Millie placed the half-eaten fry on her plate. Her appetite had vanished.
“I heard security arrived as soon as he started yelling and they led him away.”
Sarah reached over and patted Millie’s arm. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll clear your name soon.”
“I hope so.” Millie stared at the food on her plate.
“You better eat, Millie,” Sarah urged. “You can’t let this get you down. We all know you had nothing to do with the woman’s death. From what I heard, she was a real trip.”
“She was.” Nikki lifted her drink glass and sipped. “She came down to guest services yesterday at least twice that I know of, complaining about the pillows, the air conditioning. She even complained about the television channels.”
“I’m so distracted I almost forgot to pray.” Millie lowered her head and whispered a small prayer of thanks before she picked up her hot dog and bit the end. She forced herself to eat the food and listened as Nikki and Sarah attempted to distract her with tales of ridiculous passenger complaints.
Millie finished her food but the hot dog sat in the pit of her stomach, threatening to come back up. All she could think was someone was going to get away with murder and she was on the hook for Delilah’s death.
Chapter 5
Millie peeked around the corner of the hall wall in the direction of her daughter and family’s cabin. The coast was clear and the hall empty so Millie hurried to their cabin.
She tapped lightly on the door but no one answered. Millie fumbled inside her jacket pocket, pulled one of the pads of paper and pens she’d used for the trivia game from her pocket and jotted a quick note to Beth, asking her to contact guest services and have her paged when she returned to her room.
Millie folded the small piece of paper in half and shoved it under the door.
“You!” Millie froze at the sound of her ex-husband’s voice. “You should be in jail. What are you doing here?” he growled.
Millie straightened her back and slowly turned to face the man she had once loved but now loathed. “I am looking for my daughter and, in case you forgot, I work on this ship. What I’d really like to know is what are you doing here?”
All of the unhappy moments her ex-husband had put her through came flooding back. She was about to unload on him when she caught a glimpse of Beth, hurrying down the hall.
Beth stepped between her parents in an attempt to defuse a tense situation. “This is not the time or the place.” Beth tugged on her mother’s arm and led her down the hall, out a side door and onto the open deck.
Millie sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
“Dad is upset right now. He’s convinced someone intentionally gave Delilah a peanut product. Delilah had told him about your confrontation earlier and now he’s convinced someone helped you taint her food.”
“Does he really believe I’m a killer?” Millie asked. “I was married to your father for many years and now all of the sudden he thinks I’m capable of murder.”
“Well, not exactly.” Beth clasped her hands. “He thinks you tried to get back at her but it went too far and ended up killing her.”
“How exactly was I supposed to know she had allergies? Has he thought about that?” Millie began to pace back and forth.
“The chef cards were given to their room steward and also to the wait staff,” Beth said. “He thinks you were in cahoots with them.”
“And also the crew who delivered the room service,” Millie added.
“Yeah.” Beth sucked in a deep breath. “He’s not thinking rationally right now.”
“He hasn’t for a long time,” Millie muttered. “I know I didn’t give her tainted food, which leads me to believe someone close to her had it in for her.”
“She is, I mean was, rather unpleasant,” Beth admitted. “Not that I wished her dead or anything.”
“I know.” Millie squeezed Beth’s arm. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this, sorry your dad had the dumb idea to board this ship and shove his nuptials in my face, but it’s too late now.”
“I agree,” Beth said.
“If I didn’t give Delilah tainted food and you didn’t give Delilah tainted food, someone else did. We have to figure out whom and you might be able to help.” Millie glanced at her watch. “I’ve got another 45 minutes before I have to head to the theater to host bingo. Let’s go to the library where we can sit down and I can jot a few notes.”
Mother and daughter headed back inside, and down to the Atlantic deck where the library was located. A group of guests sat near the window playing cards.
Beth and Millie headed to the opposite end of the room where they settled in at a table for two near the back.
Millie pulled the pad of paper and ink pen from her pocket. “Besides your father, Delilah, David, Noah and Bella, who else is on board?”
“Delilah’s daughter, Linda, and her husband, Mike.”
“Anyone else?” Millie asked as she jotted Mike’s name on the paper.
“Her sister, Dixie, who acts just like her. Next is Dixie’s husband, Elroy. He did not get along with Delilah at all.” Beth plucked her cell phone from her pocket. “Before the…incident…I took a picture of Dixie and her husband.”
Millie studied the picture Beth had taken. In the picture was an unsmiling Roger, a beaming Delilah, a woman who looked a lot like Delilah and another man. “I see the resemblance.”
“There’s another couple in the group,” Beth said. “They’re kind of odd.”
Millie handed the phone back to her daughter and picked up her pen. “What do you mean by ‘odd’?”
“They aren’t very friendly and I get the impression they aren’t happy to be on board the ship.”
“Are they related to Delilah and Dixie?”
“I don’t think so. That’s the weird part. Delilah never formally introduced them or explained who they were,” Beth said. “When I asked Dad who they were, he shrugged and said he thought they were old friends.”
“Do you remember their names?” Millie asked.
“Ron and Julie Bosko, I think. He’s some sort of pharmaceutical rep or something. Not sure what she does,” Beth said.
Millie leaned back in her chair. “Our list of suspects. A sister who acts like Delilah. A brother-in-law who didn’t like her, Delilah’s daughter, son-in-law and two oddball friends.”
“That about sums it up.” Beth stood. “I better head back to the cabin. David took the kids to play miniature golf. I’m sure they’re done by now and wondering what happened to me.”
Millie trailed behind her daughter as they made their way to the door. “What does David think of all this?”
“He’s as freaked out by the entire thing as I am. We both know you had nothing to do with Delilah’s death.” Beth reached for the door handle. “Is it possible the crew cross contaminated the plate of food and it truly was an accident?”
“It’s possible,” Millie said. “The late night kitchen crew might not have seen the chef cards or been told about Delilah’s severe peanut allergies.” Millie paused. “You would think someone who had that extreme of an allergy would be carrying one of those pens in case of accidental ingestion.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” Beth shrugged. “Maybe she forgot it or it was too late by the time she realized she was having a severe reaction.”
They stopped near the entrance to the theater w
here the bingo session was about to begin. “Are you going to get off the ship when we reach San Juan?”
Beth grimaced. “David and I haven’t decided yet. On the one hand, we don’t want to appear callous and uncaring. Dad is taking Delilah’s death hard.”
“Yeah and he’s taking it out on me,” Millie said.
“On the other hand, we weren’t exactly close to Delilah and there’s nothing we can do. What do you think we should do?” Beth asked.
Millie chose her words carefully. “I think you should be there for your father. If he wants you to be with him, then you should.”
“I would rather stay,” Beth said. “I want to do whatever I can to help clear your name. I can’t do that if I’m on my way back to Michigan. My brain is fuzzy right now and I think I’m in shock. In the meantime, I’m going to try to pay closer attention to what the family and friends are saying and how they’re reacting.”
“Actions speak louder than words.” Millie hugged her daughter. “Thank you, Beth, for believing I had nothing to do with Delilah’s unfortunate demise. And thank David for sticking by me, too.”
Millie waited until Beth disappeared inside the elevator and the doors closed before making her way into the theater. She patted her pocket and the list of family and friends who were on board the ship with Delilah.
She hadn’t written Roger’s name on the list, but perhaps she should have. Perhaps he’d purchased a large life insurance policy in Delilah’s name.
She wondered why Elroy, Delilah’s brother-in-law, disliked her. But then again, maybe she didn’t wonder why.
There was also the odd couple, the friends, Ron and Julie something. How did they fit into the picture? Beth commented her father didn’t know them that well, but Delilah obviously knew them well enough to invite them to cruise with them and attend their intimate wedding ceremony on board the ship.
Millie had a sneaky suspicion there was more to the “friends” than met the eye. She vowed that later that evening, after she finished working her shift, she would log onto one of the ship’s computers and see if she could find anything out about the friends on social media.
She would have to move fast if she planned to do any poking around into the wedding party before they exited the ship.
Millie also needed to see if she could chat with Carmen, the crewmember who delivered the room service tray to Roger’s suite, as well as look at the order itself.
She tugged on the bottom of her uniform jacket, straightened her shoulders and marched into the theater for the first round of bingo. There was no way Millie Sanders was going to take the fall for this murder, not if she could help it.
Chapter 6
“I tell you the truth, Miss Millie,” Carmen said earnestly. “I knock on the door to suite 1027. The suite - it right near the service elevator. A blonde woman, she answer the door and take the food but she not very nice.”
“You’re sure it was suite 1027?” Millie asked.
“Yes. She very rude,” Carmen said in broken English. “She give no tip and slam the door in my face.”
“Sounds about right,” Millie muttered. “Do you remember anything else, anything at all? Was there anyone else inside the cabin?”
“I remember she place big order and also order the sweet surprise. The guests, they pay extra for that.” Carmen ticked off what it included. “It have red velvet cupcakes, frosted sugar cookie snowmen, chocolate chunk cheesecake, my favorite and also cream puffs.”
“They so good.” Carmen patted her stomach. “She take the tray so fast and shut the door, I see nothing inside.”
Millie pulled Annette’s clipboard toward her. Clipped to the front was the log sheet of late night room service orders for the previous evening. She slipped her reading glasses on. “It says here suite 1027 ordered a turkey wrap, minus mayo with extra lettuce and tomato.” She squinted her eyes. “Absolutely no onions.”
Millie shook her head. “Assorted vegetable sticks with blue cheese dressing, potato chips and the Christmas sweet surprise.” She shifted her gaze. “Does this sound correct, Carmen?”
“Yes, Miss Millie.” Carmen nodded. “I check the order before it leave the kitchen. I check all orders before delivering because sometimes they’re wrong and I have to return to the kitchen to get the right order.”
Annette, who had been listening in, piped up. “Did you, at any time, leave the food unattended between the time you left the kitchen and delivered it to the suite?”
“I had three other deliveries on deck ten,” Carmen said. “I leave the food cart in the service area, just outside the crew elevators, deliver the first order, come back for the second and then deliver the final order.”
“So it’s possible the tray was left unattended for a short amount of time?” Millie asked.
Carmen nodded and her eyes grew wide. “There is no way to carry them all at once.”
Millie patted Carmen’s arm. “It’s okay Carmen. We understand. We’re just trying to figure out if someone may have tampered with the tray before it reached Ms. Osborne’s suite.”
Annette rubbed the bottom of her chin thoughtfully. “Nothing on the order was even close to having peanut product.”
She turned to Carmen. “Did your paperwork note the passenger chef cards or allergies?”
“Yes.” Carmen nodded. “It was in big letters across the front of the order. I make sure to keep the ticket with the order when I deliver so I don’t mix up the delivery. I take the lid off each dish to check before delivering.”
It sounded as if Carmen had done exactly what she was supposed to. She’d checked the order before it left the kitchen, double checked the order before delivering it to Roger and Delilah’s suite and handed it off to Delilah.
Perhaps Roger had slipped the nut product into Delilah’s food. Wouldn’t that take the cake? Millie was certain Roger, a retired private investigator, was already conducting his own investigation.
Millie offered up a small prayer for Delilah, her family and even said one for Roger. A wave of guilt washed over her for all the awful thoughts she’d had since Roger and Delilah had boarded the ship.
She thought she was over the anger. For the most part, she was, but when it was right there in her face, taunting her, it was hard not to be bombarded with a slew of emotions, especially considering the fact that Roger and Delilah had intentionally boarded the ship to rub their wedding in Millie’s face, at least that was her thought.
Millie eased off the stool. “I better get back to work. It’s almost time for Pierre’s wine tasting on deck six. Thanks for stopping by to talk to us, Carmen.”
“I hope they clear your name Miss Millie. I don’t understand how they think you had anything to do with the woman’s death.”
“Me either Carmen.” She nodded to Annette and strode out of the galley. Today was a full day at sea and most of tomorrow would be, too, until they docked in San Juan the following afternoon.
It was becoming clear to Millie she would need Beth’s help if she was going to get to the bottom of Delilah’s tainted food and who might have had it in for her.
Pierre and Millie quickly assembled the wine tasting tables and tasting cups, along with an antipasto tray, which had been added to the event at Millie’s suggestion.
She eyed the tiered trays of colorful offerings, including marinated vegetables—artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers as well as salty olives, rustic artisan breads, natural deli meats, small bites of seafood delicacies and rich cheeses.
The bite size snacks had been a huge hit with the guests. Millie picked up the tongs next to the tray and rearranged the offerings.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am Pierre LeBlanc, Siren of the Seas’ Sommelier. This is my lovely assistant, Millie Sanders. Today we’re going to visit the magnificent California wine country.” There was a polite round of applause before Pierre got on a roll.
The wine tasting was one of Millie’s favorite events to host. Pierre was part sommelier a
nd part comedian and the crowd, as well as Millie, loved him. He was a smooth talking salesman, and Andy had told her they sold more bottles of wine during Pierre’s wine tasting event than they did during the first half of a weeklong cruise. She could see why. He was charming, engaging and entertaining.
After the event ended, Millie helped Pierre clear the area. She hosted another round of afternoon bingo before she ran down to the theater to help Tara and Alison, two of the ship’s dancers, with beginners tango lessons.
Millie had helped host line dancing and ballroom dancing, but she was having difficulty getting the hang of tango lessons. Maybe it was because each time she swiveled her hips, she was certain some part of her body was going to give out.
Still, she had fun working with Tara and Alison and the rest of Millie’s afternoon flew by. She was starving by the time the lesson ended and Millie started down the side steps when she spotted Beth. She hadn’t noticed her daughter sitting in the auditorium, watching.
“Hello dear. I didn’t know you were watching.”
“I didn’t know you had moves like that,” Beth teased. “Ooh la la.”
“Guess I still got a little spunk left.” Millie smiled. “So what brings you to my neck of the woods? Were you able to find anything out about our list of suspects?”
“Possibly,” Beth said. “Do you have time to chat?”
“You’re in luck. It’s my lunch hour. Let’s head up to the lido deck. Have you tried the deli yet? Their sandwiches are delicious.”
Beth told her mother she hadn’t and when they reached the deli, she ordered a smoked turkey on baguette while Millie ordered a toasted tuna melt.
“I have the perfect quiet spot. Follow me.” Millie led her daughter through the side sliders, next to the deli station and to a cluster of bistro tables overlooking the ocean. After Beth returned with glasses of ice water, the women folded their hands and prayed.
“Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for this food. We pray a special prayer for Delilah Osborne and her family, Lord. Thank you also for these precious moments I get to share with my family and for all of your blessings, my health, my friends, my job and most of all, my salvation. Amen.”
Suite Revenge (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 8) Page 4