Onboard Deception

by Liz Turner

  onboard

  Deceptions

  a cozy cruise ship mystery

  Liz turner

  Copyright © 2020 by Liz Turner.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Contents

  Prologue Strange Beginnings

  Chapter 1 Baby Blues

  Chapter 2 Unhappy Campers

  Chapter 3 Unhappy Diners

  Chapter 4 Fishy Findings

  Chapter 5 Uprising

  Chapter 6 Lockdown

  Chapter 7 False Hope

  Chapter 8 False Accusations

  Chapter 9 Treason

  Chapter 10 Canine Victory

  Epilogue A New Chapter

  Prologue

  Strange Beginnings

  “What are you watching?” a snarky voice asked as a blond woman stalked into the room.

  “The news. You should try it sometime,” the man responded with little effort to hide the sarcasm in his voice. His eyes remained fixed on the news reporter. “This is some scary stuff.” He gestured towards the television with the remote.

  “Out,” the woman ordered. “I need to make a phone call.”

  “Don’t we have plenty of unoccupied rooms in this mansion for you to use?” the man said, his eyes still focused on the flat screen.

  “Sure. But the point is, this is my mansion, so I can choose whichever room I want.”

  “Yeah, but you need my money to keep the place running.”

  The woman glowered, letting him know he would pay for his insolence for the rest of his life unless he backed down.

  “Fine,” he groaned, muting the television and exiting the room.

  The blonde waited for a few minutes, switching the channel and raising the volume to ensure she wouldn’t be overheard. “Sebastian, darling,” she droned as he answered her call, “it’s so good to hear your voice. Where are you?”

  “How did you get this number?” Sebastian demanded.

  “Oh, I have my ways…”

  “Why are you calling me? I thought I made myself clear about things being over between us!”

  “Yes, but that’s the part I don’t quite understand,” the woman whined, twirling a strand of golden hair around her finger.

  “I left you and I’ve moved on. It’s that simple.”

  “But I still love you! We were so good together…”

  “No, we weren’t,” Sebastian scoffed. “Besides, you cheated on me the first chance you got.”

  “I was weak, and you were working so hard. I got lonely…”

  “I was working hard for us. You were the one who forced me into that job so I could afford your lavish lifestyle, but still be out of the picture so you could do whatever you wanted while I was away. You used and manipulated me!”

  “Well, you were the one who quit your job and signed up as some common laborer on a cruise ship! I mean, how could you do that to me?”

  “I had already left you by then. So what I do in my private life is none of your business!”

  “Oh, Seb—you make me sound so awful! I’m sorry I pushed you so hard,” the woman cried, giving a dramatic sniff. “Will you ever forgive me?”

  Sebastian could practically hear the manipulative flutter of her eyelashes on the other end of the line. He took a deep breath. “I’ve already forgiven you. I just don’t want you back.”

  “Sebastian, don’t be so cruel! I’m a changed woman now, and I promise I’ll behave if you give me a second chance!”

  “Tell me, is he still there?” Sebastian asked after a pause.

  “Of course not, darling. I’m not that kind of woman! I just made one stupid mistake, that’s all.”

  The door swung open and the man from earlier poked his head back inside and asked loudly, “Are you done yet, babe?”

  She clutched her scarlet-clawed hand over the phone’s receiver and signaled with less than kind gestures for the man to get out.

  “Sebastian, darling, are you still there? Hello? Sebastian!” she screamed into the dead phone. In a fit of rage, she threw the phone against the wall and watched with satisfaction as it shattered. Moments later, her eyes snapped back to the television screen, where she saw a woman holding her baby for the first time with the father standing anxiously next to her hospital bed. “Ugh,” she scoffed in disgust before turning off the flat screen.

  The man stepped back inside the room. “Everything okay?”

  “I think we need a vacation, my love.” The woman gave him a seductive stare. “You know, to patch things up between us.”

  “You got anything in particular in mind?” he asked, immediately suspicious of her kindness.

  “I think a long cruise would do us good. Just think of being out in the warm sun, hopping from island to island. It’s just what we need.” She fluttered her false eyelashes.

  “A cruise ship, huh?” He scratched his chin. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with your ex-fiancé running away, would it??”

  The woman giggled, grabbing a handful of his shirt and pulling him closer to her. “Of course not, my love,” she said innocently before planting a kiss on his lips.

  Chapter 1

  Baby Blues

  Gabriella Fischer groaned. The ship she was so used to swayed violently beneath her. She dipped her head back over the toilet bowl and retched violently, but there was nothing left to come out.

  Gabriella had been trapped in the bathroom resting her head on the toilet seat for fifteen minutes, waiting for the next wave of nausea. Convinced it was over, she flushed the toilet and slumped against the bathroom wall, her hot skin finding relief in the cold floor tiles.

  “Are you okay in there, hun?” Nick’s voice filtered through the door. “You’ve been in there a while.”

  A stubborn Gabriella quickly drew herself up off the floor, but had to grab the wash basin to steady herself. She glimpsed the pale corpse staring back at her in the mirror. In that moment, she realized there was no fooling her observant husband. “I’m not feeling too well,” she admitted.

  The door handle turned slowly and a tall, handsome man with greying dark hair, wearing captain’s stripes, stepped inside.

  “Morning, Captain,” Gabriella said with a weak smile.

  “Aw, love, you look terrible…” He drew closer and wrapped his powerful arms around her slight frame. “This isn’t like you. You never get sick.”

  “I know,” Gabriella groaned. “I think I might have eaten something bad last night. Either that, or we’re going through an intense storm out there.”

  “Why don’t you take today off and pay the doctor a visit?”

  “But we’ve just started a new cruise and you know what the passengers are like,” Gabriella protested, drawing away from him. “They have all kinds of problems and concerns about their cabins and luggage and I have to –”

  “And we have an entire crew to assist them,” Nick interjected. “I don’t think things will fall apart if you call in sick just this once.”

  “But I’m the captain’s wife. I’m the one people seek to solve their problems.”

  “It doesn’t help anyone if you
’ve picked up some kind of bug and start passing it around on the ship.”

  Gabriella rarely had to fight to get her own way, but when her husband took a stand, she knew it was worth respecting. “Fine.” She sighed. “I’ll let Sarah know I won’t be working this morning, and I’ll make an appointment to see Nancy.”

  “Good girl.” Nick kissed her forehead. “But perhaps take a quick shower before leaving our cabin,” he added with a crinkled nose.

  “Yes, Captain,” Gabriella said with a warning glare.

  Nick chuckled and released her from his embrace. “I need to report for duty on the bridge. But please, let me know what the doctor says.”

  “Will do,” Gabriella affirmed. “I hope you have a good shift today. What are the seas like?”

  “Clear sailing, not a swell in sight.” He winked. “So stop worrying that little head of yours and get some rest.”

  ***

  After a couple hours of sleep, Gabriella woke feeling much better and thoroughly ravenous. Taking it as a sign of a speedy recovery, she devoured everything she could find in their mini-fridge and made a stop at the galley to scoff something from the kitchen on the way to the doctor.

  In her opinion, she’d acquired the rest she needed. And since she was feeling better, she donned her Fischer Cruise uniform as she’d proudly done almost every day for the last five years. The crisp, white collar shirt and blue pencil skirt were like her second skin. She smiled faintly, beaming proudly as she smoothed down the pocket bearing their cruise ship’s gold-stitched emblem—a giant swordfish encircled by a compass, leaping over the word ‘Fischer’.

  Gabriella and Nicolas Fischer had worked hard to build up their cruise line after a rather enormous inheritance by Mrs. Fischer enabled them to build the cruise boat of their dreams. It was a relatively smaller cruise ship compared to the monstrosities dominating the clear waters along the western coast of the Americas. But it suited their needs perfectly and enabled them to house over three hundred passengers on each voyage.

  Their ship offered a spectacular slice of culture, including a theatre and ballroom for operas, salsa dancing, and art classes, cooking lessons, and a range of spectacular activities to quench the thirst of every passenger.

  Also, their cruise line prided itself on generously providing delicious, affordable food, besides more exotic dishes for the experimental and adventurous passengers. Some passengers even joked that they’d booked their tickets just for the food, not the islands.

  They designed the cruise ship to be whatever a passenger wanted it to be, offering coconut drinks by the pool, a pot of earl grey in the tea room, or cocktails from an island style bar.

  What also made their cruise ship rather unique and particularly enjoyable was the sense of family between the crew members, and the genuine camaraderie between the crew and the regular residents who’d retired onboard.

  It was a welcoming and warm atmosphere that even the snobbiest passengers grew to love.

  “Gabi,” a familiar voice called from one of the coffee stations.

  She checked her watch before immediately changing her course toward Pamela Savage, an old passenger who’d lived most of the year onboard the ship. She’d grown close to Gabriella over the months, as had her service dog—an impressive rottweiler named Maximus.

  “How are you doing this afternoon, Pamela?” Gabriella said with a friendly smile. She then dropped to her knees to greet Maximus.

  Maximus was probably more intelligent than many of the human occupants abroad the ship. He also possessed a keen sense of smell because of his experience working as a police dog, sniffing out narcotics. Now, he was regularly counted on to flush out drug carriers onboard.

  He looked at Gabriella with big, brown, adoring eyes until she turned her attention back to the old woman.

  “Wow. You look stunning today, Pam! I’m guessing you have a date with Peter Newland,” Gabriella said behind her hand with a wink.

  “Oh, you wicked girl!” Pamela said with a twinkle in her eye. “This old thing is ancient.” She gestured to her dazzling sundress.

  Gabriella giggled, thrilled the old woman had found suitable, gentlemanly company onboard.

  “You don’t look very well this morning though, my dear,” Pamela said. “Is everything all right?”

  “I think I might have had eaten something that didn’t agree with me, but I feel fine now,” Gabriella replied, checking her watch again. “I do, however, have a doctor’s appointment I need to get to.”

  “Are you sure there’s not perhaps another reason for your morning illness?” Pamela raised an eyebrow mischievously.

  It took Gabriella a few seconds to gather Pamela’s meaning. She recoiled in horror. “Oh no! I’m too old for that! Besides, Nick and I take precautions.”

  “You’re not too old!” the woman chuckled, her diamond earrings twinkling in the sunlight. “You don’t look a day over twenty-five. Though, judging by the amount of wisdom you carry in that head of yours, I suspect you’re older than that…”

  Gabriella laughed, appreciating the compliment. “I’m almost thirty-nine, Pam,” she said in a low voice, her eyes furtively darting around.

  “Well, even at thirty-nine, you would make a wonderful m–”

  “Stop right there!” Gabriella interrupted. “Don’t complete that sentence. Now, good day to you, Mrs. Savage!” she said and then hastily bolted away.

  ***

  “Well, you seem in good shape,” Dr. Nancy Pattison said, washing her hands. “Have you considered the possibility of being preg–”

  “Don’t say it! I’m not,” Gabriella cut in, annoyed this seemed to be the conclusion everyone kept jumping to.

  Nancy raised her hands in apology, though a knowing smile played across her lips. She took a seat opposite her friend. “Have you and Captain Nick ever considered having children?” she asked, attempting to broach the subject more tactfully.

  Gabriella sighed as she gathered her thoughts. “We’ve always spoken about it, but you know, time gets ahead of you and we sort of just stopped talking about it.”

  “It’s not too late, you know.”

  “But I’m hitting danger age,” Gabriella countered.

  “You’re young enough. Strong and healthy. And besides, modern technology has extended the years women can safely give birth.”

  “And how would I raise a child onboard a cruise ship?” Gabriella scoffed. “A baby on one hip while I attend to drunk passengers and public throw up issues?”

  “You could take time off work, Gabriella. You’re a millionaire. You own this ship. I think you can afford to invest a little time in starting a family if that’s something you and Nick want. You don’t want to wake up one day and realize you’ve missed the opportunity.”

  “I hear you. It’s just this cruise ship kind of became our baby. We’ve had our difficulties, but the success of this cruise line is because of the hard work and time we’ve invested in it.”

  Nancy nodded slowly. “That’s true, but your job comes and goes. It’s just a job. An actual child is totally different.”

  Gabriella remained silent, Nancy’s words affecting her more than she cared to admit. “So, how are things going with our favorite head of security?” she said, swiftly changing the subject.

  “Ah, I see what you did there.” Nancy laughed. “I suppose I deserved that.”

  Nancy and Billy Harlow, the chief of onboard security, had slowly hit it off on the previous cruise. Billy was known for wearing his heart on his sleeve and easily tumbling head-over-heels for pretty girls. He’d initially had set his eyes on Gabriella’s personal assistant, Sarah Lang. But as Sarah’s heart was already tied up with a new crew member, Billy sought love elsewhere.

  “Billy and I are taking things slow,” Nancy said pointedly. “And nice subject change. So subtle.”

  Gabriella winked at her friend and offered a surreptitious grin. “I didn’t think Billy had it in him to take things slowly.”

  Na
ncy sighed. “He doesn’t, but I insisted. Otherwise, we would probably be married already.”

  “Oh, wow.” Gabriella laughed. “He doesn’t waste time, does he?”

  “His heart is in the right place, but he needs to learn a little patience before jumping headlong into things.”

  “Well, I’m here if you need to talk,” Gabriella said kindly.

  “And I’m here if you give taking that pregnancy test a second thought,” Nancy restated.

  “Right.” Gabriella slid off the examination table. “Anyway, I’ve got my rounds to do.”

  “You should go home and take things easy,” Nancy insisted. “And please keep hydrated!”

  Chapter 2

  Unhappy Campers

  “Well then, find someone who can help!” an angry woman shrieked at a crew member.

  “Excuse me,” Gabriella interrupted. “Is there a problem here?”

  The woman swung round on her six-inch heels and stared down at the much shorter Gabriella. She used a finger to lower her sunglasses so she could better deliver her condescending stare. “And who are you?”

  “I’m Gabriella Fischer,” Gabriella introduced herself, her perfect smile carefully fixed in place. “And who might I be talking to?”

  The woman snapped her sunglasses back in place and flicked her blonde extensions over her shoulder. “Riley. Melissa Riley,” she stated rudely. “And if you’re the one in charge round here, I have a few complaints I’d like to make.”

  Gabriella maintained her cool, accustomed to the odd passenger making it their mission to rip apart every aspect of the cruise ship. She gave the young woman a quick look over, deducing that Ms. Riley was extremely wealthy and probably used to walking over people to get whatever she wanted.

  “If you’d like to follow me, we can find a comfortable station to record all of your complaints.” Gabriella gestured towards one of the private offices.

  “Oh.” Melissa’s eyebrows shot up, and she folded her arms. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She looked around. “That way, all these innocent people won’t be aware of all the problems on your ship!”