Fatal Flirtation: A Cruise Ship Mystery (Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries Book 13)

by Hope Callaghan

  Nadia turned to her husband. “I hope it misses St. Martin.”

  “I hope so, too.” Regan reached for his wife’s hand. “We can’t control the storm, Nadia. All we can do is pray it will change course.”

  “Let’s pray it turns and heads out to sea.” Millie briefly ran down the evening’s events. “You have a standing invitation to the Captain’s Table, even if Nic can’t make it. Dinner starts at 6:45 in the Blue Seas dining room.”

  “Thanks, Millie. Despite the gloom and doom forecast, I predict this is going to be our best vacation ever.”

  Regan patted his wife’s shoulder. “You worry too much. We’ve weathered many storms in the past. Even if the hurricane hits, we’ve done everything we can to prepare our staff and crew. Simon is more than capable of handling whatever comes our way.”

  “Who is Simon?” Millie asked.

  “Simon is my cousin,” Regan explained. “We’re like brothers. He recently retired and lives on the nearby island of Anguilla. He offered to keep an eye on things while we’re gone since Nadia is such a worry-wort.”

  “I am not,” Nadia said. “Everyone on the island is concerned about this monster storm.”

  “And we prepared to the best of our ability,” Regan said.

  Millie was curious. “How exactly do you prepare for a hurricane?”

  “There’s actually a great deal of preparation.” Regan explained each of the windows in the resort was fitted with hurricane shutters. “We also installed solar panels as well as generators to power the resort in the event of widespread outages.”

  “After our last storm a couple of years back, we invested in a desalination system to convert saltwater into drinking water. It works great. The biggest issue is it’s a bare bones system and isn’t capable of generating all of the water needed if the resort was booked to capacity,” Nadia said. “Because of the impending storm, we got a bunch of cancellations and early check-outs. There aren’t many guests left who plan to ride out the storm.”

  “Regardless of whether or not St. Martin takes a direct hit, it’s in for some heavy winds, torrential rain, flooding, power outages and downed power lines,” Regan added.

  Nadia rolled her eyes. “And let’s not forget about the long lines at the gas pumps, not to mention empty store shelves. Loaves of bread, canned goods and water were flying off the shelves.”

  Millie’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t know how to start to prepare for a hurricane. It’s a good thing riding out a hurricane isn’t on my bucket list.”

  “You’re scaring Millie,” Regan chided. “The island and islanders will survive. We’re a hearty bunch. The best case scenario is it skirts to the east and damage is minimal.”

  “Nic and I are thrilled you didn’t cancel. I promise to make this the best vacation ever; despite what may be a few days of rough seas. Now I’ll get out of your hair so you can finish unpacking.”

  “Wait!” Nadia held out her hand. “Before you go, we wanted to tell you that we’re sorry to hear about the crewmember they took off the ship right before we left port.”

  “Yes. Such a sad situation. I hope he’ll be all right,” Millie replied.

  Nadia and Regan exchanged a quick glance and then Regan spoke. “Just before you got here, Nic told us the crewmember died on the way to the hospital.”

  Chapter 6

  “Oh my gosh!” Millie’s hand flew to her mouth. “That’s terrible. I had no idea.”

  “I’m sorry, Millie.” Nadia hesitated. “Were you close to the employee?”

  “No. I knew of him. What a terrible tragedy.” Millie reached into her pocket and pulled out two cards. “Nic and I wanted to give you these gift cards to The Vine restaurant on deck twelve. They serve Italian cuisine and the chef, Massimo Ricci, is a Michelin star chef. He’s new to the Siren of the Seas. Nic and I haven’t dined there since he joined us, but we’re getting great feedback from our guests.”

  Nadia’s face brightened. “Oh, I love Italian food.” She took the cards and studied the front. “Perhaps we could hang onto them and you and Nic could join us.”

  “As wonderful as that sounds, our plan is for you two to have a romantic dinner alone. Go enjoy. You can join us at the Captain’s Table some other night.”

  Nadia followed Millie into the hall. “Thank you so much for everything Millie. I think Regan and I are going to freshen up and then explore the ship.”

  “Good.” Millie nodded her approval. “Relax, enjoy and give Nic and me a chance to pamper you for a change.” She impulsively hugged her friend again, a sudden lump forming in her throat.

  The sight of Nadia and Regan brought back such happy memories of her and Nic’s honeymoon. She only hoped the couple would be able to enjoy their time away from their own hectic lives.

  Millie told them good-bye and then exited the cabin area, her thoughts immediately turning to Micah Reyes. Thank goodness the two troublemakers who had caused the crew grief were off the ship.

  She thought about running up to the bridge to chat with Nic, but was certain he had his hands full. Judging by the movement of the ship, she knew they were cruising at full speed as Nic attempted to outrun the storm.

  Why would Majestic Cruise Lines make the decision to have the ship stick with the scheduled itinerary, knowing that the storm was bearing down on them?

  If it was any consolation, Millie knew they were in the same boat as many other cruise ships.

  With some time to spare before the evening’s schedule of events got underway, she decided to head to Ocean Treasures to say hello to her friend Cat, who had recently been suffering from anxiety attacks. Millie suspected they involved Cat’s ex-husband, Jay.

  The gift shop opened shortly after the ship left port and there were a few shoppers inside when Millie entered the store.

  Lila, Cat’s cabin mate and co-worker, was in the back helping a guest with swimwear. She smiled at Lila before heading to the jewelry case, where she found Cat helping a guest try on a pair of earrings.

  “Those are the perfect shade of emerald to match your eyes,” Cat complimented. “If you buy them today, you’ll receive an extra twenty-five percent off for our St. Martin special. It ends at seven.”

  “Oh, I don’t have much time.” The woman tugged her lanyard off and handed Cat her card. “It’s such a great deal, I can’t resist.”

  “As an added bonus, your in-store purchases are duty-free while on board the ship.”

  The woman squealed with delight as she trotted behind Cat and the women made their way to the cash register. “I forgot all about my purchases being duty-free. I want these for sure, but I should probably take another look around.”

  Cat caught Millie’s eye and winked.

  Millie hung back near the jewelry, waiting for her friend to finish ringing up the delighted passenger’s purchases. She joined Millie a few moments later.

  “You’re quite the saleswoman,” Millie grinned. “You almost convinced me to buy something before seven.”

  “Have a look around.” Cat waved her hand. “I’m sure your new husband will let you purchase anything you want.”

  “Oh, I have no doubt Nic will let me purchase whatever I want, but finding a place to put it would be the problem,” Millie joked. “I’m still trying to figure out where to put some of the treasures I picked up during our honeymoon.”

  Cat sobered. “I caught something on the news down in my cabin about the hurricane headed our way.”

  “Yeah. It looks like the storm has shifted and we’re moving full steam ahead to try to outrun it.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “The Bahamas, at least that’s the last I heard. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Nic. It’s been a zoo, between dealing with some troublesome passengers, greeting Regan and Nadia, making sure they’re settled in, not to mention the storm.”

  Cat lowered her voice. “I heard one of the security crewmembers was found unconscious down by the medical center and they called an ambulance to
take him off the ship.”

  Millie nodded. “I haven’t heard the official word, but rumor has it his name was Micah Reyes. Sharky in maintenance found him unconscious. He died on the way to the hospital.”

  “How awful.” Cat shook her head. “I know firsthand about the troublemakers. You’re talking about the Turner party, right?”

  “Yeah. How did you know?”

  “Several of them were next door in the liquor store, buying some of the hard stuff. They told the clerk they wanted to take it back to their cabins. When they found out the store hung onto all purchased alcohol until the last day of the cruise, they started threatening him. I had to call security.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “They started making a scene in the store, so two of the ship’s security guards escorted them out. They refused to leave the area and were harassing some of the other passengers until Patterson showed up.”

  “I hope Patterson threw all of them off the ship,” Millie said. “They’ve been causing problems from the moment they boarded. I take that back, they were causing problems before they ever boarded.”

  “It’s a mess.”

  One of the customers approached the women. She held up a child’s t-shirt. “I was wondering if you have anything in an extra-small for my granddaughter.”

  “I’ll let you go.” Millie told Cat good-bye and then headed out of the gift shop. She circled the deck, making her way past the empty piano bar, the bustling coffee bar and the busy casino.

  She did a quick walk through the casino and continued past the casino bar where a thick cloud of cigarette smoke hung in the air.

  Millie held her breath and picked up the pace. The casino bar was one of the last places on board the ship where cruise passengers could smoke, and those smokers took full advantage of it.

  The ship had received numerous complaints regarding the smell that lingered in the area, but the cruise line continued to allow smoking. Millie could see both points of view. The smokers needed somewhere to go. The non-smokers complained they shouldn’t be subjected to the secondhand smoke.

  It was a conundrum the cruise line might never resolve, and one Millie was glad she wasn’t involved in. She had enough to worry about, which reminded her of Micah Reyes.

  Perhaps his death had been accidental or he’d died of natural causes, although Andy mentioned he thought the recent troublemakers might have been involved. Was it one of the troublemakers from the Turner party?

  She briefly considered heading to Patterson’s office to get his take, but decided against it. The man had more to worry about than Millie snooping around into Micah’s death.

  It was also time for a pre-dinner round of sports trivia, which was not Millie’s favorite. She worked hard to engage the crowd and make it entertaining, but her heart wasn’t in it.

  A couple of times during the trivia game, Millie noticed the ship was rolling more and the more it rolled, the more she wondered if they would be able to avoid a direct hit.

  Finally, the trivia ended and she headed to the theater for a round of bingo. Felix, one of the dancers, was already setting up. He smiled as Millie made her way onto the stage.

  “Hey, Millie.”

  “Hi, Felix. Haven’t seen you around at all today,” Millie said.

  “Andy had me working with the Turner Family Reunion party. They’re a lively bunch.”

  “Lively as in fun-loving?” Millie asked.

  “Oh yes. They’re definitely here for a good time.”

  “Did they give you any grief?”

  “No, not at all.” Felix handed Millie a stack of bingo cards and a clipboard. “It looks like we’re going to have a large turnout for tonight’s bingo.”

  “Yes. People are already lining up.” Millie pointed to a line of passengers waiting at the bottom of the stage steps to purchase bingo cards. “I better get to work.”

  The line grew and by the time the first round of bingo started, the bottom bowl of the theater was full. Millie let Felix take the lead and she thoroughly enjoyed working with the energetic young entertainer.

  He pulled Millie into the mix, telling the guests she was a newlywed and had just married the ship’s captain, something Millie rarely shared with guests since she was afraid it might backfire on her and she would become the official complaint department.

  Her other fear was that passengers would try to corner her for special requests, over which she had little say. She thought it best that the less the passengers knew about her private life and relationship with the captain, the better.

  Felix hosted several rounds of bingo and after the last game ended, she stayed behind to clean up and help her co-host put everything away.

  “Are you hosting any more of the Turner events?” Millie followed Felix to the storage closet in the back.

  “Yes. They are a crazy bunch.” Felix rolled his eyes. “I can’t wait to check out the frozen t-shirt competition called the ‘Big Chill,’ followed by the snack toss.”

  Millie lifted a brow. “The frozen t-shirt competition? I don’t think I want to know. What in the world is the snack toss?”

  “I dunno. It involves plastic shower caps, whipped cream and cheese puffs. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I better get a move on or I’ll be late.”

  “You go ahead, I’ll finish putting the stuff away,” Millie said.

  “Thanks, Millie.” Felix shot her a grateful smile and then jogged off the stage.

  Millie finished putting the bingo supplies in the closet, switched the lights off and then swung by Andy’s office to say “hello.” His office was empty.

  Her stomach let out a low grumble, so she headed up the stairs to the buffet. She stepped inside and then noticed a commotion on the other side of the buffet where a group of passengers gathered in a half circle.

  One of the ship’s security guards ran past Millie. She picked up the pace and followed him to the other side and out the double doors. When she reached the libations bar, Millie’s breath caught in her throat.

  Danielle was straddling a heavyset female passenger, pinning her to the deck.

  Chapter 7

  At the sight of the guards, Danielle loosened her grip and rolled away while the security guards got on each side and helped the woman to her feet.

  “She attacked me!” The woman’s eyes blazed as she let loose a string of cuss words.

  Danielle was breathing heavily, her eyes sparking with anger at the woman’s rant. Millie had to hand it to her; she didn’t say a word as the security guards escorted the woman away from the scene and down the nearest set of steps.

  Millie hurried to Danielle’s side and the first thing she noticed was an angry red slash forming on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. The woman was verbally attacking another passenger sitting in the hot tub. I tried to diffuse the situation. The woman climbed out of the hot tub and got right in my face. When I tried to reason with her, she tore into me.”

  “From what I could see, you had the upper hand,” Millie said.

  “Darn right I did. That lady had no idea who she was messing with.” Danielle gingerly touched her cheek. “Yeah, that’s gonna leave a mark. I might as well head down to Patterson’s office before he calls me.”

  “I’ll go with you.” Millie slid her arm around Danielle’s tense shoulders. “So what’s worse…being attacked by a female passenger or swinging from the side of a cruise ship and falling into the ocean?”

  Danielle grimaced. “What about the time I was in the jungle, lying on top of a large stone slab, covered in red mud, being eaten alive by a swarm of angry fire ants?”

  “There’s that.” Millie smiled. “Everyone likes to tease me that I’m the one who’s always in trouble. I say you’re a close second.”

  “This one wasn’t my fault. I don’t know what’s gotten into passengers on this ship. Maybe it’s the storm. It has them on edge.”

  “I have to admit, the thought of cruising into a
hurricane has me a little nervous. It doesn’t mean I’m going to roam the ship and cause trouble,” Millie said. “I wonder if this woman is one of the Turner troublemakers.”

  “That’s a fitting name. The Turner Troublemakers.”

  The ship listed slightly and Millie grabbed the handrail. “Whoa. That was freaky.” She cast an alarmed eye skyward. There was another band of clouds moving toward them…or maybe they were moving toward the clouds. Either way, she could see heavy sheets of rain pouring straight down off in the distance.

  “It looks as if we’re going to have to start moving the ship’s activities indoors.”

  Danielle joined Millie and they cautiously made their way down the steps. “Have you had a chance to check the forecast or the ship’s new route?”

  “No. I’ve been running around since the moment the ship left port,” Millie said. “Maybe I don’t want to know what lies ahead.”

  The women entered a “crew only” corridor before descending the steps to deck two, where Dave Patterson’s office was located.

  When they reached the security office, Danielle knocked on the door and then pushed it open.

  Patterson, Felippe and the other security guard who was on the scene during Danielle’s incident were inside.

  Patterson motioned them to come in. “I was getting ready to call you. Mateo and Felippe said you had a passenger pinned down on the lido deck and now the passenger is threatening to sue.”

  “The woman was harassing another guest in the hot tub. I tried to reason with her. She came after me and attacked me first.” Danielle pointed at her cheek. “After she took a swipe, I wasn’t going to stand there and take it, so I took her down.”

  “I’m sure there were witnesses.” Patterson reached for his notepad. “Who was working the bar at the time? I’ll need to speak to the bartender.”

  “There’s also the security camera,” Felippe reminded his boss.

  “You’re right. After I finish interviewing the three of you, I’ll view the surveillance and start questioning eye witnesses.”