“Do you remember who the technician was who argued with the woman?”
“I can see his face but like I said, I’m not good at names,” Brody said.
Danielle fiddled with Millie’s lanyard, tucked deep inside her pocket. “There are cameras in the casino.” Danielle was thinking aloud.
“Yeah. Everywhere. I’m sure they caught everything on camera.” Brody scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I bet they still have a copy of the malfunction ticket locked up in the casino.”
“Not to mention a shot of the worker who argued with the woman,” Danielle mused. She glanced at her watch. “It’s six-fifteen.” She lifted her gaze. “What time does the casino open?”
Brody scrunched his brows. “Casino slots open at nine. The tables open at noon. Why?”
“I’m thinking we should take a run through there, you know, check it out.” Danielle started toward the exit.
Brody trailed behind. “There’s not much to see on the floor and we don’t have clearance to go behind the counter.”
You do if you happen to have a high-level clearance card like Millie. Danielle smiled brightly. “Tell you what, you show me which machine the woman was playing and leave the investigating to me.”
Brody held the door and waited for Danielle to step through. He continued to protest as they headed to the bank of elevators. “There’s nothing to see. The machines have been turned off and it’s dark inside.”
“Even better.” Danielle stopped in front of a bank of elevators, punched the “up” button and waited for the doors to open. “All you gotta do is point out the machine the woman was playing when it malfunctioned.”
They stepped inside and Danielle pressed the button for the seventh floor. When they reached deck seven, Danielle stepped into the hall. Brody stood inside, as if weighing his options.
“Well? Are you coming?”
“Against my better judgment.” Brody lumbered out of the elevator and they made their way around the corner and into the corridor. “I’m on a tight schedule. I’m supposed to be at a safety briefing in twenty minutes.”
“We’ll work fast,” Danielle promised as she picked up the pace.
They passed by the coffee bar, packed with early morning passengers. The tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted out. “I love the gourmet coffees but they’re a little too pricey for my budget.”
“I’m a beer drinker myself,” Brody said as they passed by.
“At six thirty in the morning?” Danielle wrinkled her nose.
“No. Of course not. I usually drink prune juice with my breakfast.”
“Good for you Brody. I’m sure it keeps you regular.”
They passed by the casino bar as they entered the dark casino. Thankfully, the casino bar was closed and they slipped inside unnoticed.
There was a second entrance on the other side of the casino. Danielle walked to the other side and peered out. The corridor was empty. She headed back inside the casino where Brody stood waiting. “Where’s the machine?”
“Over here.” Brody wove his way past a bank of machines and stopped in front of an end machine, not far from the cashier counters. “This is it.” He stuck his hand on the back of the chair. “It’s a sevens machine. You have to get three or more in sequence. She got seven in a sequence and the lights started flashing but when the casino staff checked, the machine had malfunctioned.”
Brody let out a low whistle. “She freaked out, screaming at the casino staff. They offered her a complimentary dinner for two at the steakhouse but the offer ticked her off even more.”
Danielle tilted her head as she gazed at the machine. “How much did she think she won?”
“Ten grand.”
Danielle crossed her arms. “No wonder she was upset. Would you rather have ten grand or a free steak dinner?”
“True.” Brody shrugged.
Danielle shifted her gaze to the cashier counters. There were three service areas. Affixed front and center was a sign, ‘Player’s Club.’ “Where’s the door?”
“Oh no.” Brody started to shake his head. “We can’t go back there.”
Danielle pulled Millie’s keycard from her pocket, careful to keep the front covered so Brody wouldn’t see the card wasn’t hers. She strode to the other end of the long counter and spied the door leading to the back.
“You better not,” Brody warned.
Danielle ignored Brody as she slipped the keycard in the door and waited for the beep. Nothing happened. She tried again. “This stinkin’ card is useless.” She retraced her steps. “I guess we’ll have to move onto Plan B.”
“Plan B?” Brody asked. “What Plan B?”
“You’ll see.” Danielle placed both hands on top of the counter and pulled herself up. She slid forward on her stomach until she was able to grab hold of the other side.
Brody grabbed her feet, dangling off the edge. “You can’t do that.”
Danielle kicked her feet free and scrambled the rest of the way over. She slid sideways until she reached the other side of the counter and then hopped down. “Piece of cake.”
“You’re crazy,” Brody sputtered.
“I’ve been called worse.” Danielle dusted her hands off as she studied the casino cage. “Now I wonder where the recording equipment is…” She pushed a stack of binders to one side. “It has to be around here somewhere.”
“You’re going to get…” Brody was about to say “caught” when the tip of Danielle’s shoe bumped a small knob jutting out of the bottom of the cabinet. Bright red and green lights began to flash.
Danielle’s scalp began to tingle. “Uh-oh. What did I do?”
“You tripped the alarm. You’re on your own.” Brody jogged out of the dark casino and into the corridor.
“Coward,” Danielle muttered under her breath.
Within moments, the place was swarming with security.
“You’re not allowed back there.” One of the security crew, who looked vaguely familiar, took a menacing step forward.
Brody placed both hands on his hips. “I tried to tell her that but she wouldn’t listen to me.”
“I uh…” Think fast. “I thought I saw a spark behind the counter, could’ve been electrical. Before I called maintenance, I thought I would check it out myself.”
The security guard frowned. “Really?”
“Yeah. Uh.” Danielle smiled. “False alarm.” She hopped on top of the counter, slid across the top and dropped down in front of the security guard. “You never can be too careful with electrical equipment.”
The security guard started to open his mouth and closed it. “If we catch you back there again, we’re going to notify Dave Patterson.”
Danielle raised both hands. “I completely understand.” She hurried out of the room, but not before nudging Brody on her way out. “Traitor.”
Chapter 12
The hours seemed to drag on as Millie hovered just outside her cabin door and watched the ship’s crew and staff as they darted up and down the hall. She was bored, she was angry or maybe she was hangry. The meager breakfast she’d eaten earlier left a lot to be desired, but unless she could talk someone into bringing her some decent food, she’d have to wait until Roger and the others left the ship and she was allowed to join the others above deck.
Finally, the cabin phone rang and Millie hurried inside to answer it. “Hello?” It was Beth.
“Hi Mom. Guest services gave me the phone number to your cabin. Is everything okay?”
“I’ll talk to you when you get here. You’ll have to meet me in the crew area.” Millie briefly told her daughter how to reach the crew deck and Beth arrived at the crew area’s main entrance a short time later.
“Have you been fired?” Beth asked.
“No. Follow me.” She led her daughter to her cabin and closed the door behind them before offering her daughter the only chair in the place.
Millie briefly explained how Beth’s father had raised a stink down at guest s
ervices, insisting Millie was responsible for Delilah’s death and he wanted her arrested. “So Nic…Captain Armati asked me to keep a low profile, as in below the water line profile until your father exits the ship.”
She didn’t mention to her daughter that she’d seen her up on the lido deck the evening before, comforting Dixie, Delilah’s sister. “What do you think, I mean…how are the others taking Delilah’s death, besides your father?”
“Other than Dad, Linda seems to be taking Delilah’s death the hardest. Delilah’s sister, Dixie, is taking it hard, too. She’s also threatening to sue everyone. Sue the cruise line, sue the captain, sue the medical staff.”
“That sounds about right, especially if she and Delilah were a lot alike.” Millie remembered how Roger and Delilah had met. Delilah’s first husband had made a small fortune in investments and hid it in overseas bank accounts. When Delilah found out, she took him to the cleaners and ran off with Roger.
Millie kept quiet on her thoughts, not wanting to drag Beth’s father through the mud, the complete opposite of what he was doing to her. She wanted to leave the entire thing…and him…in the rearview mirror, or in this case, at the pier.
“What about the spouses?” Millie asked. “Delilah’s brother-in-law, son-in-law, the Boskos?”
Beth wrinkled her nose. “If they’re mourning, they’re doing it internally. I have to say that it’s odd none of them seem particularly distraught.”
Beth scooted her chair closer to her mother and the bunk. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you ahead of time and I’m sorry we’re not staying on.”
Millie leaned forward and hugged her daughter. “Don’t be sorry. You’re doing what you think is best and I know you would’ve done the same for me.”
“I better get back to the cabin to pack. The security people are going to get us and…Delilah…off the ship first.” Beth stood. “It looks like we’re going to spend the night in San Juan and fly out tomorrow morning. The cruise line booked us into a hotel right near the port. At least we got to spend time together while you were on break.”
Millie walked her daughter out of the cabin and to the crew exit door. “Oh! I did think of one thing I meant to ask you. Do you know if anyone else’s cabin has a connecting door with your father’s suite?”
Beth stopped. “I’m not certain.” She shook her head. “No. Now that I think about it, none of the cabins connected to Dad and Delilah’s suite. We’re all right in a row. David, me and the kids, Dad and Delilah, Dixie and Elroy and then Mike and Linda.”
Beth snapped her fingers. “Oh, and the Boskos are right across the hall from Dad’s suite.”
Millie held the door and waited for Beth to step into the corridor. Tears burned the back of Millie’s eyes as she wondered when she’d see her daughter again. It could be months.
Beth’s lower lip began to quiver. “I’m sorry Mom.”
Millie hugged her daughter. “We’ll see each other again, before you know it.” She mustered a small smile and when the door closed behind her daughter, Millie stifled a sob as she reminded herself this was her decision, her choice to work on board the cruise ship.
Determined to track down the room service log of orders, Millie blinked back the tears, squared her shoulders and marched down the hall to the other end of the ship and Dave Patterson’s office.
Patterson wasn’t inside, but Oscar was there. He was sitting in Patterson’s chair, his feet propped up on the desk. When he caught sight of Millie, he quickly yanked his feet of the desk and sat upright. “Miss Millie.”
“Hello Oscar.” Millie slipped inside the office. “I was hoping to talk to Patterson but you might be able to help me.”
“How?” Oscar, familiar with many of Millie’s previous unauthorized investigations, eyed her with suspicion.
“I believe Mr. Patterson has the room service order log sheet from the night Ms. Osborne died. I was wondering if I could take a quick look at it.”
Oscar’s eye slid to the stack of dividers off to one side. “I’m not sure he still has it.”
Millie eyed the dividers. “Mind if I take a look through his file organizers?” She didn’t wait for a reply as she leaned over the desk and began shuffling through the stack of papers.
“You shouldn’t be doing that.” Oscar lunged forward to stop her.
“Ah. I see it here.” Millie snatched the small stack of clipped papers from his reach and pulled them close to her face. She didn’t have her reading glasses with her and she squinted her eyes as she attempted to read the paper.
She quickly located Delilah’s order and then scanned the list of names. Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted an order for Julie Bosko, placed right around the same time. Side salad with ranch dressing, cookie sampler and a BLT on wheat toast.
“I think I’ve seen everything I need to see.” Millie handed the papers to Oscar who quickly shoved them back inside the organizer. “Please tell Patterson…”
“Tell Patterson what?” Dave Patterson stepped inside his office.
Millie shifted in her chair. “Have you determined a cause of death for Delilah Osborne?”
“I filed the report and it’s officially been listed as an allergic reaction and accidental ingestion.” Patterson ran a hand through his hair. “We met with Mr. Sanders and he does not agree with our determination.”
“I heard he plans to sue,” Millie said.
“Him and everyone else in his party. They’re all threatening to sue.” Patterson reached in his pocket and pulled out Millie’s keycard and lanyard. “Does this look familiar?”
“It sure does.” Millie took the lanyard from Patterson and slipped it over her head. “Danielle borrowed it early this morning without my permission. How did you find it?” She held up her hands. “Let me guess. Danielle was trying to access a restricted area of the ship.”
“Our security caught her trying to snoop behind the casino’s cashier desk and while they were questioning her, one of the guards noticed her keycard and realized it wasn’t hers so they took it.”
“Thanks.” Millie shook her head. “Danielle’s heart is in the right place and she’s only trying to help but she sure can be a handful.”
“Like someone else I know.” Patterson gave her a pointed stare. “We reprimanded her but my guess is it went in one ear and out the other.”
“Sounds about right.” Millie changed the subject. “I see the Boskos, who were in a cabin directly across the hall from Delilah’s suite, ordered room service close to the same time as Delilah. Is it possible they had something to do with Delilah’s accidental ingestion?”
“I tried to question them. They both seemed agitated and their answers were vague,” Patterson said.
Millie glanced at her watch. “I guess it doesn’t matter. In a few hours we’ll reach San Juan and my life will return to normal, whatever that is.”
As Millie slowly walked back to her cabin, something…some small clue lurked in the back of her head, but for the life of her, she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Perhaps Delilah’s death had been accidental. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had ingested a substance they were highly allergic to and then died.
Danielle was waiting outside their cabin when Millie arrived. “Well, well, well. I suppose you’re looking for this.” She fished Danielle’s lanyard out of her pocket and placed it into her outstretched hand. “Patterson gave me back my keycard, the one you borrowed without my permission.”
Danielle dropped her lanyard around her neck and hung her head. “I was only trying to help. I did find something out.” She told Millie the story Brody had told her, how Delilah had been in the casino and believed she’d hit a “jackpot” only to find out she hadn’t.
Millie interrupted. “Which is why you were snooping around behind the casino desk.”
“Yeah. A word of warning. Don’t ever go back there. They have a silent alarm and I accidentally tripped it.”
Millie grinned. “I would’ve loved to have seen
the look on your face.”
“Not funny.” Danielle punched Millie in the arm and smiled. “I bet I had that deer-in-the-headlights look.” She shrugged. “Security questioned me, found your keycard and then took it from me so I knew I was busted.”
She continued. “Did you talk to Beth?”
Millie told Danielle what Beth had said. “They’re going to be one of the first to disembark the ship. The cruise line booked rooms for them in a hotel near the port. They’re flying out tomorrow.”
“That’s cool.” Danielle flipped her blonde locks off her shoulders. “I say once they’re off the ship, we head upstairs and check out their suite to see if they left behind any clues.”
Millie closed her eyes. “I’m not sure if I’m up for it. Let me think about it.” Danielle headed to Andy’s office while Millie rambled around the crew area. She straightened the crew lounge and bar area before logging onto an employee computer to check her email and bank account.
Finally, Andy radioed to let Millie know the coast was clear and he wanted her to stop by his office.
Millie wasted no time as she hurried from the crew area. She slipped into his office behind the stage and settled into the seat across from him.
Andy pointed at her keycard. “I see you got your keycard back.”
Millie nodded. “Yeah. Although Danielle’s heart is in the right place, she just doesn’t think before she acts.” She changed the subject. “I took a look at the room service log the night Delilah was poisoned and noticed that the Boskos, friends of Delilah’s, ordered room service around the same time she did.”
Andy leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “A lot of people order room service after a night out and all of the restaurants and buffet have closed.”
“True. I also did a little snooping around on the computer and discovered the Boskos were under investigation for fraud.”
“It doesn’t mean they’re killers,” Andy pointed out. “What motive would they have for killing a friend?”
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