Cruise Control (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 6)

by Hope Callaghan

She hoped he would like her last minute gift…the spa massage.

  Millie straightened her jacket, smoothed her hair and tapped lightly on the bridge door. When no one answered, she tried again. This time she tapped hard. There was still no answer.

  Millie pulled her keycard from her pocket, swiped it through the slot and waited for the green light.

  The light never lit so she twisted the handle. The door was locked. She tried swiping her card a second time. Again, there was no green light and the door wouldn’t budge.

  Millie pounded on the outside as alarm bells sounded in her head. She had visited the bridge many times and never in all those times had her key card not worked.

  Had something happened? What if Captain Armati changed his mind and decided to reset the card access?

  It was futile. No one was going to answer the door and let her in.

  Millie, her shoulders slumped, turned on her heel and shuffled down the hall.

  She climbed one flight of stairs and stepped out onto the open deck. When she reached the rail, she ran her hand along the top absentmindedly.

  Had the captain forgotten about their dinner date? How could he forget? He had just invited her the day before!

  She tapped the tip of his birthday card on the railing. What if the kiss the day before had been a test and now he thought she was a wanton woman…a floozy who was desperate to have a man in her life again? But he had been the one who initiated the kiss, not her!

  Millie knew she was grasping at straws. Nothing was making sense.

  She began walking aimlessly, her thoughts bouncing back and forth between the captain changing his mind and standing her up to thinking perhaps something was wrong.

  Millie stopped abruptly when she realized she was standing outside the Sky Chapel, one of her favorite spots onboard the ship.

  She opened the door and stepped into the quiet, dark sanctuary. Her eyes were drawn to the beautiful stained glass wall and the cross, front and center.

  She shuffled to the front pew, eased onto the seat and clasped her hands tightly in her lap. Perhaps it wasn’t God’s plan for Millie to love again. Maybe she was meant to be alone.

  A tear trickled down Millie’s cheek and she angrily swiped it away. This is not the time for a pity party.

  A Bible verse popped into Millie’s head, one she had memorized when she’d gone through the darkest days of her divorce from Roger:

  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4 NIV

  She sucked in a deep breath and blinked rapidly. Surely, there was some reason the captain had stood her up!

  Millie jumped at the sound of Andy’s voice booming over the ship’s speakers. “Millie Sanders, please report to guest services.”

  Something about the tone of Andy’s voice caught her attention. Millie abruptly stood and strode out of the sanctuary.

  She picked up the pace as she headed down to deck five.

  Andy was waiting for her – more like pacing the floor – when she reached the atrium. “Follow me.” He waved Millie out the side doors.

  “Have you seen the captain?” he asked as soon as they were alone.

  “No.” Millie shook her head. “He invited me to dinner at six but when I got there, the bridge door was locked and my keycard wouldn’t work. I don’t understand.”

  Andy pointed at the water. “We’re not moving, Millie. The ship has stopped. I just spoke to Dave Patterson. No one is answering in the bridge and no one is answering the phones or door in the engine room.”

  Millie’s hand flew to her chest. The news was a mixed blessing. Perhaps the captain hadn’t stood her up, after all.

  He went on. “We tried to call ship to shore but we can’t get through. We’re trying to use cell phones to reach shore but so far aren’t able.”

  “I hoped you had talked to him.” Andy’s eyes scanned the horizon. “Something is going on.”

  “There you are.” Purser Donovan Sweeney stepped out onto the deck and stopped on the other side of Andy. “Nikki said you two were out here.” He turned to Millie. “Have you seen Captain Armati?”

  Millie shook her head and told him the same thing she’d told Andy…that the captain had invited her to dinner in his apartment at six o’clock and when she got to the bridge, her keycard wouldn’t work and no one answered the door.

  “It’s his birthday, too, although I didn’t know it until Annette told me.” She tapped the edge of his birthday card on the rail. “I got him a gift and everything.” Courtesy of Andy, she silently added.

  Andy stared at the card in Millie’s hand. “It’s not Captain Armati’s birthday. His birthday is Christmas Eve. He was home and on leave for his birthday.”

  “But Annette…Annette was sending a birthday cake to the bridge because she received a special request.”

  Perhaps Annette had been confused. She went on. “I wish we could figure out what is going on in the bridge and the engine room. What about the cameras?”

  After the last incident where someone went overboard near the VIP deck, Captain Armati and Dave Patterson agreed it was time to install extra cameras not only in some of the more isolated areas of the ship, but also the bridge, engine room and Purser Sweeney’s office. “All but two of the ship’s cameras are working. The ones outside the bridge and outside the engine room are not. We have maintenance checking on them now.”

  A sudden thought occurred to Millie. “There is a way to see into the bridge. Not the whole bridge but the part that hangs over the side. My cousin, Gloria, and her friends, their suite is near the front of the ship and one deck above the bridge. From their balcony, you can see the part of the bridge that sticks out.”

  “What suite are they in?” Andy asked.

  “Panorama eleven two one something.” Millie shrugged. “I’ll know it when we get there.” She led the way as the trio hurried along the outer deck and to the steps near the front of the ship.

  When they stepped back inside, Purser Sweeney headed to the bank of elevators.

  “No!” Millie said. “What if the elevators stop working?” It was a stretch, but the last thing Millie wanted was to be stuck inside an elevator.

  “True.” Donovan Sweeney, Andy and Millie climbed the stairs until they reached deck eleven.

  The men followed Millie to the front of the ship and stopped in front of Gloria’s suite. “This is it,” she announced and then lightly tapped on the outer door. No one answered.

  She lifted her hand to try again. “Oh! I completely forgot! They had dinner reservations at The Vine at six o’clock. They won’t finish dinner for at least another hour.”

  Andy plucked his keycard from his pocket. “I hate to do this to your family, Millie, but we need to get out onto the balcony.”

  “Gloria won’t mind.” At least Millie hoped she wouldn’t mind.

  She stepped to the side and waited while Andy swiped his access card through the slot and opened the door.

  One of the interior lights was on, along with the television, giving them enough light to cross the spacious suite and make their way to the balcony doors.

  Andy unlocked the slider, slid it open and waited while Millie, followed Donovan Sweeney, stepped out onto the balcony.

  “There.” Millie leaned over the rail and pointed to the left. “That’s the bridge.”

  Andy and Donovan stood next to Millie as they leaned over and peered down. They were able to make out a few blinking lights and slight movement inside the bridge.

  “The windows are tinted so it’s hard to see inside,” Donovan said. “Too bad we can’t scope out the other end of the bridge.”

  “We can,” Millie said. “My other cousin, Liz, and her friend are in the cabin across the hall and at dinner, as well.”

  They stepped off the balcony and into the suite. “How many family members are on this cruise?” Donovan Sweeney asked.

  “Just t
wo. My cousins, Gloria and Liz, but they are cruising with friends.” Millie did a mental calculation. “Six friends so a total of eight women.”

  Andy shook his head. “Whew! If they’re anything like you, heaven help us.”

  Millie frowned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Andy and she waited in the hall while Donovan swiped his access card and opened the door to Liz’s suite. Bright lights illuminated the interior.

  The place was a disaster. Piles of dirty dishes filled every inch of available space on the make-up counter.

  A path of discarded clothes dotted the floor, as if the owner had changed and dropped what they were wearing wherever they happened to be standing.

  Shopping bags covered the top of the coffee table while several more were crammed underneath. Scattered across the sofa and both beds was an array of magazines and paperback books.

  “Holy smokes! Did someone break into this cabin, too?” Andy gasped.

  Despite the gravity of the situation, Millie laughed. “No. My cousin, Liz, is somewhat of a slob. This is normal,” she reassured him.

  Millie tiptoed around the items strewn across the floor as she made her way to the balcony. She opened the door and stepped outside. Andy and Donovan followed her.

  The trio leaned over the balcony and peered into the bridge. A movement caught Millie’s eye. “I think I see either Captain Armati or Staff Captain Vitale.”

  Her eyes squinted as she watched the person gaze out the bridge window.

  They all three watched in horror as someone came up behind the person, hit him in the back of the head and he crumpled to the floor.

  Millie clutched her chest. “Did you see that? Someone just knocked out one of the captains!”

  Purser Donovan Sweeney nodded grimly. “I did.”

  The attacker grasped the unconscious person under the arms and dragged him from sight.

  “Houston, we have a problem,” Andy said.

  “What are you doing in here?” A woman’s voice shrieked.

  Millie spun around and looked inside the suite. It was Liz.

  Millie eased past Andy and stepped into the room. “We needed to take a look at something out on the balcony.”

  “Oh.” Liz’s shoulders sagged like a deflated balloon. “I thought you were room service here to clean up this mess.”

  Gloria, Liz’s sister, followed her inside and surveyed the room. “This place needs a bulldozer,” she joked and then turned her attention to Millie. “There’s not much to see at night unless you’re looking into the bridge, which is pretty cool.”

  The look on Millie’s face told Gloria that was exactly what they were doing.

  Gloria’s detective radar sprang into motion and she stepped out onto the balcony. “Is something going on? The girls and I walked to the back of the ship and noticed the ship is not moving. Has something happened?”

  Millie glanced at Donovan uneasily. “Perhaps. We’re not certain.” Although watching someone whack one of the captains on the back of the head and then drag him from sight was a strong indicator of a problem.

  The other girls crowded out onto the balcony and tried to catch a glimpse of the bridge. “We can go back to our balcony and check out the bridge,” Lucy suggested.

  “Good idea.” The women headed out of Liz’s disaster zone, across the hall and into Gloria’s suite.

  “We took the liberty of borrowing your balcony, too,” Millie admitted as she trailed behind.

  Gloria waved a hand. “No biggie. So what do you think has happened?” she asked eagerly as she leaned over the railing and looked down. “All I can see are a few blinking lights. I wish I had a set of binoculars.”

  Ruth followed the others to the balcony and stood near the doorway. “I’ve got a pair in my suitcase.” She darted through the connecting door and into the suite she shared with Margaret and Dot, returning moments later with a pair of high tech binoculars.

  “These babies can get a visual up to a mile away and have XTR technology with the capability to see through a UV shield of three to five.”

  “Impressive.” Millie took the binoculars from Ruth, pressed the rubber eyecups to her eyes and adjusted the dial. With the aid of the binoculars, Millie was able to see the edge of computer equipment near the side of the bridge. She was also able to catch a glimpse of Ingrid Kozlov, one of the computer techs, who worked in the bridge.

  For some unknown reason, Ingrid did not like Millie, although Millie had never actually talked to the woman. She suspected it had something to do with Ingrid having a thing for Captain Armati and the woman was jealous.

  Millie followed Ingrid’s jerky movements as she kept glancing at something to the left and out of sight. It was too dark to see clearly and Ingrid was too far away for Millie to study the expression on the woman’s face.

  Donovan Sweeney squeezed in. “Let me see.” Millie handed him the binoculars.

  Donovan lifted the binoculars and studied the bridge before shifting them and gazing out into the open water. “There’s something out there in the water. See the light?”

  Millie followed his gaze. Sure enough, there were several small dots of light off in the distance. They had cruised from Puerto Rico hours ago and would be too far away to see lights from the island.

  Siren of the Seas was on course for the island of St. Croix, which was southeast of San Juan. After a port stop in St. Croix, they would head north to St. Thomas before sailing back to the Port of Miami.

  Andy was familiar with this route and so was Donovan. “Do you think the lights are from the Vieques Island?” Andy asked.

  “No. We passed the island already.” Donovan lowered the binoculars. “I think it’s someone else, possibly terr…”

  Donovan shifted his gaze. “I don’t know what it is,” he said. “We may need to borrow your suite again, ladies. Dave Patterson and his men will want to check this out. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

  Gloria waved a hand. “No problem. Whatever we can do to help,” she added.

  “Thank you.” Donovan handed the binoculars to Ruth and turned to Andy. “Let’s track down Dave Patterson.”

  Andy nodded. “Millie, you’ll have to cover for me one more night and announce the headliner show in the theater.”

  “Sure. I’ll leave here in a moment and head straight down there.” At least she was dressed for the occasion.

  Andy followed Donovan to the door and then turned back. “For now passengers must not know a thing. We need to keep a tight lip.”

  Millie made a zipping motion across her lips. “Yes sir!”

  The door closed behind the men.

  “He was going to say terrorists!” Gloria blurted out after the door shut behind them.

  Chapter Nine

  Millie slumped into the desk chair and stared at the door. She was thinking the exact same thing. Donovan was going to say the word “terrorist.”

  Donovan Sweeney had a closed door meeting with Captain Armati the day before the ship set sail. Captain Armati had shared confidential information with Donovan. Had the captain told him why there was extra security on board and why there was extra security checking passengers and crew before being allowed to re-board the ship in San Juan?

  Millie thought about yesterday’s break in of Andy’s cabin and attempted break in of Donovan Sweeney’s office.

  Against her better judgment, Millie spilled the beans and told the girls all that had happened. She finished with the mysterious birthday cake delivery and then jumped out of the chair. “I’ve got to head down to host the Heart and Homes Show. Maybe I can stop back later after my shift is over and we can put our heads together.”

  Gloria walked Millie to the door. “Absolutely.” She waited for Millie to exit and then closed the door behind her. “I think it’s time to do a little investigation of our own.”

  “I’m in,” Ruth declared.

  “Me too.” Lucy rubbed her hands together.

  “Sounds like a plan,” An
drea nodded.

  “I guess I better supervise,” Margaret decided.

  “No one is leaving me behind,” Liz grumbled.

  “Me either,” Frances said.

  “This won’t end well,” Dot predicted.

  Gloria paced the floor. “We need to talk to Annette, the one who works in the galley, to find out what was up with the birthday cake and figure out if perhaps the cake was a ruse to allow someone to breach or access the bridge.”

  “I’m pretty sure I passed by the galley when I got lost earlier,” Andrea said. “The galley is on the same floor as the gift shop.”

  The girls stepped out into the hall and followed behind Andrea as they headed to a bank of elevators.

  “Stop!” Ruth blocked the elevator buttons with her hand. “If someone has managed to seize control of the ship, they may be able to control all the mechanicals, including the elevators.”

  “And the power supply, including lights,” Gloria added. “Too bad we don’t have flashlights.”

  “Be right back.” Ruth lifted her index finger and then hustled down the hall and out of sight.

  “Let me guess,” Dot said as she watched her leave. “Ruth brought flashlights.”

  “I thought she packed a little heavy for seven nights,” Margaret said.

  Ruth returned moments later and handed Gloria and Margaret each a flashlight. “Sorry. I only brought three,” she told the others.

  The women headed to the stairs and made their way down to deck seven.

  Gloria studied the passengers they passed by…happy, carefree and enjoying their vacation. She wondered if any of them had noticed the ship was no longer moving. Perhaps some of the more savvy passengers or those guests with military backgrounds had noticed.

  “Here it is.” Andrea stopped abruptly in front of a large, metal door with a round glass window. She peeked inside. “Who are we looking for?”

  “Annette,” Gloria and Lucy said in unison.

  “Although I don’t know what she looks like,” Gloria admitted. She led the way as she eased the door open and the girls shuffled in single file.

  The kitchen was massive with several long, stainless steel counters. There were tall cabinets lining the walls and off to one side was a large, stainless steel sink. Next to the sink was another, smaller room and she caught a glimpse of long shelves lined with canned goods.