Undercover Mission

by Sharon Dunn

“I’ve been watching those bulletins up on the newsfeed. I hope you catch the predator who has made it unsafe for women to be alone on the ship.” Juanita drew her attention to Maya and Sarge. “Looks like you have some help with your search. Would your dog like a treat?”

  David smiled at the offer. Juanita had treats for everyone of every age and species.

  “It’s better that the dog not have anything right now,” Maya said. Sarge sat down beside her and looked up at Juanita.

  The older woman studied Maya and then glanced in David’s direction. Juanita was not dumb. She’d probably figured out that Maya wasn’t just a passenger with a service dog. “You’ve done a good job, David, at not triggering panic but keeping passengers safe.”

  The compliment warmed him all the way to the marrow. “Thank you, Juanita. Which brings me to the reason we’re here. We need to check on cabin vacancies in the crew quarters.”

  “I don’t have to look. I can tell you right now that there are no vacancies in the crew quarters. Some have only one person when there is room for two. We were full up when we left Seattle. We had only one person quit last minute.”

  That one employee must be the woman who broke up with Joel. “Can I get her name and contact information?”

  “Sure.” Juanita bustled to her keyboard.

  “Maybe it would be worth it to make a ship to shore call to the ex-girlfriend. She might be able to shed light on where Joel would be hiding.”

  The older woman handed David a printout. “When you’re less busy, we’ll have to grab a bite. See you at church on Sunday.”

  David took the printout. “Thanks, Juanita. For sure, we’ll get a coffee or something soon.”

  As they left the office, Maya piped up. “They have a church on the ship?”

  “It’s kind of informal. There are about thirty of us who meet in the all-purpose conference room. We have a guitar player and Juanita has a beautiful singing voice.”

  “That’s neat. You do have fellowship. Here I thought you were some sort of lone ranger Christian.”

  David laughed. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

  “And Juanita is kind of like your shipboard mom.” Maya’s voice got quieter. “You have a nice life here.”

  Had Maya come to a place of acceptance that there couldn’t be anything between them? Somehow that made him really sad. The turmoil he felt caused his stomach to twist into a knot. “Maybe when all this is over, and Joel is behind bars, you can take a cruise and actually enjoy yourself.”

  “That sounds fun. I’d like that. If I can engineer some time off work and save the money.”

  “I think as a thank-you I might be able to talk the owner into comping you.”

  Maya stopped walking and faced David. “I’m not sure why you’re inviting me?”

  He was quick with his answer, realizing how misleading the offer had sounded. “As a friend and as a thank-you for all your help.” At the same time, there was a part of him that wanted a chance to see her again once the case was wrapped up and things calmed down. He clenched his jaw. It felt like his emotions were swinging one way and then the other, making it seem like he was teasing Maya, which hadn’t been his intent at all.

  Before she could respond, David’s radio buzzed. He pushed the talk button. “Go ahead, Noah.”

  “I’ve searched all the possibilities in crew headquarters, laundry, storage, even the dining hall and kitchen. There was some evidence in one of the linen storage closets that someone may have slept in there, but no one, including the roommate, has seen any sign of him. However, all the other crew members know to be on the lookout for Joel.”

  “I doubt he’ll come back to that linen closet now.” David took a deep breath to stave off the mounting frustration. “Look you must be tired. Why don’t you get some shut-eye?”

  “I just need an hour or so and then I’ll come back on duty.”

  “Let me know when you are rested and ready. Over and out.” David put his radio back on his belt. He stared at the piece of paper Juanita had given him and read the name Tiffany Swarthout. He’d seen the name before when they’d been looking to see if any employees had quit. “Let’s make this phone call. Right now, it’s our only lead for finding Joel before it’s too late.”

  * * *

  As David, Maya and Sarge returned to the security office to make the call to Joel’s ex-girlfriend, Maya found herself wrestling with confusion about David. He’d invited her back to the ship when things would be more relaxed while making it clear that the invitation was purely platonic in nature. Given her feelings, she wasn’t sure if she could just be his friend. It led only to heartache to hold out hope that when a man said he wanted to be friends that perhaps it could turn into something more.

  When they entered the security office, Hans was still watching the screens.

  “You look wiped. Why don’t you take a break?”

  “Good idea.” Hans rubbed the back of his neck and turned his head side to side. “So do you have any new leads?”

  David held up his phone. “I’m hoping this phone call might help us narrow down our search. It’s Joel’s ex-girlfriend. We think she might be the reason he went off the deep end and started attacking women.”

  Hans nodded. “Let me know what you two come up with.” He retreated to the back room and closed the door.

  David sat down and placed the phone on the counter. “I’ll put her on speaker so you can hear the conversation.”

  Maya took a chair, determined to stop thinking about David in a romantic way and focus on catching Joel. She hadn’t come on board the ship to fall for someone—she’d been hired to do a job and she needed to get it done.

  David punched in the number. He set the phone down on the counter by the security screens.

  She did a quick study of the security screens, still hoping that Joel would make an appearance.

  After three rings, a voice came on the line. “Hello?”

  David leaned toward the phone. “Is this Tiffany Swarthout?”

  “Yes, what’s this about?”

  “This is David Garrison, chief of security on the Alaska Dream cruise ship out of Seattle. I understand you used to be an employee here.”

  “That’s right,” Tiffany answered.

  “May I ask why you quit?”

  There was a long pause but then she said, “I quit to get away from my then boyfriend.”

  “Joel Morris?”

  “Yes. Why do you ask? Has something happened?”

  “We have reason to believe that Joel is responsible for some attacks on women on the ship...and a murder.”

  A gasp came across the line. “I’m so sorry to hear that! I knew I had to get away from him. He scared me. But I—I had no idea he would go after other women.”

  “Why did he scare you?”

  “Joel was wonderful at first. The attention, the flattery and the gifts made me feel so special. But then if I even talked to another guy, even on the job, he would get mad. I started to see a side of him that made me afraid. He was possessive and controlling.” A tense silence filled the air. When she spoke again Tiffany’s voice was raw with pain. “But when he got physical, I knew I needed to get away fast.”

  That made sense to Maya. Joel had probably always been unstable, but it came out only in intimate relationships like a romance. “Hi Tiffany, this is Maya Rodriguez. I’m helping with the investigation. Had Joel said anything about past relationships?”

  “He had nothing but negative things to say about other women, including his mother. That should have been a red flag,” Tiffany said. “Please, if I had known he was going to hurt other women... I don’t know, maybe I should have done something.”

  “Tiffany, don’t beat yourself up,” Maya said. “Right now, we want to focus on getting Joel into custody.”

  “Thank y
ou for saying that. I want to help any way I can. It’s important that Joel not hurt anyone ever again. What can I do?”

  “Joel’s hiding somewhere on the ship. We think that you might be able to help us find him. Was there any special place he may have taken you that he might be using as a hideout?”

  Tiffany didn’t answer right away. “We used to meet on the upper deck at night after our shifts. Hardly anyone goes up there. It was private.”

  Maya thought it would be better not to tell her about the attacks and murder on the upper deck. She seemed eaten up with guilt as it was. “Anything else you can remember would be helpful, Tiffany. Even if it doesn’t seem important.”

  “I’m just trying to think of something that might be helpful,” Tiffany said. “He had worked on that ship for a long time... He knew lots of clandestine places.” The silence indicated that she was searching her memory. “Oh wait. I do remember something. You know that entertainment venue, the really big one where they have the musical reviews and concerts?”

  “On deck seven?” David’s voice held a note of hope.

  “Yes, the one with a catwalk. Anyway, Joel took me up there late at night after the venue was shut down. He knew the code to get in there through the back way where the performers enter.”

  “Tiffany, that may help us,” he said. “If you remember anything else, please get in touch with us right away.”

  “I will. I had no idea Joel was capable of killing someone.” Tiffany’s voice faltered.

  It sounded like she was feeling a lot of anguish. “Tiffany, we don’t blame you in any way. You did the right thing in protecting yourself.”

  They said their goodbyes and David clicked the phone off. “Go wake up Hans. We might need his help.”

  Maya hurried into the break room and shook Hans’s shoulder. “So sorry to disturb you. We might have a lead on where Joel is hiding out.”

  Hans sat up, blinking rapidly. “Give me just a second.”

  When she returned to the main room of the security office, David was clicking away on the computer keyboard. He stared at the screen. “The last show for that theater shut down over two hours ago. They do family-friendly stuff, so they are not going all night.” He grabbed his phone and pressed in a number. “I have a master key to get in. I just need to get the permission of the guy who manages that theater.”

  While David made the call, Hans stumbled out of the break room. Still looking a little sleepy.

  “Long night for all of us, huh?” he said, glancing toward David who had just hung up the phone. “So what’s the plan?”

  David motioned for Maya and Hans to move in closer as he pointed at the computer screen. “I’ve got a rough map of the theater that is in all the guides for the ship. It’s a big theater with two entrances for the public and two for the entertainment at the back.”

  Maya stared at the screen. In addition to the rows of seats, there was a balcony. “There must be dressing rooms, right?”

  “Yes. They are not shown but they are off to either side of the stage. Plus, there’s a costume and prop storage room here next to the women’s dressing room.”

  Hans leaned closer to the screen. “Lot of places someone could hide.”

  “Hans I want you to enter through one of the public entrances. Maya and I along with Sarge will each come through the back way.”

  “Got it,” Maya and Hans spoke in unison.

  As they got prepared to leave and head toward the theater, that familiar mixture of anticipation and fear coursed through Maya. When she worked with the rest of the K-9 team, the intensity of emotion was the same.

  As they hurried down corridors toward the theater, she wished they had guns. Even though there were three of them and only one suspect, she was keenly aware of how vulnerable she felt going into a potentially volatile situation unarmed.

  SEVENTEEN

  As they got closer to the theater, they slowed down from a jog to a brisk walk. Though his injured leg was hurting, David relished the excitement of moving in on a suspect. He swiped the card that would open the door for Hans. He cupped the other man’s shoulder. “Go in on my command. It’s best that we all enter at the same time. Give Maya and me a few minutes to get around to the back. I’ll radio you when we’re in place. The doors have been reprogrammed so you can’t get out without a card key. If he’s in there, we can trap him.”

  Hans nodded while he held on to the door David had just swiped. He had it open less than an inch. Not enough so anyone would notice it was open. Hans gave David a quick salute. “Got it.”

  David’s heart was already pounding from the run to the theater and the anticipation of catching Joel. He led Maya to the door she was to enter and unlocked it for her. “You don’t have a radio, but I’ll step back from the door and give you a hand signal that I’m going in.”

  She nodded and gazed at him with such trust in her eyes. While Sarge stood at attention looking up at him. Maybe it was just the adrenaline coursing through his system, but he felt so drawn to her in the moment that he reached up and grazed her cheek with his fingers. “Stay safe.”

  He sprinted to the other door and unlocked it. With the door only ajar a sliver, he peered inside not seeing or hearing anything. He looked around for something to brace the door in place so he could signal Maya without losing time unlocking the door again. Just inside the door was an empty shoe box. He grabbed the top of the box to hold the door in place and then he radioed Hans. “We’re in place, give me a five count before you go in. Go slow. If he is in there, we don’t want to alarm him. Our best chance of catching him is if we can surprise him. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll be sleeping. Let’s keep radio silence for now unless you see him.”

  “Got it,” Hans said.

  David took several steps back and craned his neck. Maya was staring in his direction waiting for his signal. She must have braced her door as well.

  He lifted and dropped his hand making as big a motion as possible so she could see him in the dim light. She disappeared. David bolted toward the door and eased his way inside where it was even darker. He had come in on the side of the men’s dressing room. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw the sign on the door. The dressing room was unlocked. He eased the door open and peered inside. It was an open room with makeup tables and mirrors. Not many places to hide.

  David stepped outside into the hall that led to the backstage area. When he peered out onto the stage whose front curtain was open, he could just make out Hans as he searched the theater seats and then headed up to the balcony. David’s gaze was drawn upward to the catwalk and the rows of lights. He didn’t see movement anywhere.

  Still remaining hidden behind the back curtain, he peered across the empty stage expecting to see Maya. He waited a few seconds more before becoming worried. She should have cleared both the dressing and costume rooms by now.

  Aware that Joel could be anywhere in the theater, David slipped behind the back curtain to avoid being seen. Concerned, he hurried across the stage to check on Maya.

  * * *

  Maya cleared the women’s dressing room fairly quickly, but the costume room proved to be more of a chore. There were a hundred nooks, crannies and closets where someone could hide. Sarge sniffed around, alerting to something in the corner behind a rack of costumes.

  Even with Sarge to help her, she was keenly aware of how vulnerable she was without a weapon. Even though Joel had dropped the hunting knife, he worked in a kitchen and could have stolen one of the chef’s knives easily enough.

  She called toward where Sarge had alerted. “Ship security. Stay where you are.”

  Sarge sat back on his haunches and let out a single sharp bark. She relaxed a little. If there had been a person back there, he would have remained standing and kept barking. She hurried to where Sarge had alerted.

  When she peered behind the rack of costumes,
she found what looked like a makeshift bed fastened from some costumes and a blanket and a take-out food container. Evidence that Joel had probably been there recently. He’d have to be out by early afternoon the next day when the actors and tech people showed up to get ready for the evening shows. She was starting to get a picture of how Joel must be evading them by moving from place to place at different times of the day when he knew certain parts of the ship would be closed down. Her guess was that if he hadn’t hidden the evidence of his staying here, he hadn’t left. That meant that he was still somewhere in the theater. She tensed at the thought.

  The door burst open.

  She whirled around. Even though he was dressed in black just like she was, his stature gave David away.

  “I was worried when you didn’t show backstage.”

  “He’s been here, and I think he’s still in the theater.” She pointed to the makeshift bed.

  David stepped in to look. “Let me alert Hans.” He pulled his radio off his belt, then spoke in a whisper. “Hans, are you there? We think the suspect is on the premises.” David took his finger off the talk button. He glanced nervously at Maya. Sarge let out a yip. He spoke into the radio again. “Hans, are you there?”

  A tension-filled silence fell between them.

  “Do you think Joel got to him?”

  David shook his head. “Not sure. But if Joel did get to Hans, it means he know we’re in here looking for him.”

  “Maybe he silenced his radio because he saw Joel, and he didn’t want the noise to mess with his chances of catching him.”

  “Maybe,” David said. “We’re dealing with a bunch of unknowns. All the same, move slowly and try not to be detected. I’m sure Sarge will sound the alarm if you find Joel. I’ll get to you as fast as I can.”

  She nodded. “I’ll take stage left and work my way up to the balcony. You can take stage right. We’ll meet in the balcony.”

  David nodded. “Let’s do this.” He disappeared from sight. She could hear his feet padding softly as he hurried to the other side of the theater.