Cruisin' for a Bruisin' (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 9) Read online

  Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’

  Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series

  Book 9

  Hope Callaghan

  hopecallaghan.com

  ***

  Copyright © 2017

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Although places mentioned may be real, the characters, names and incidents and all other details are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  ______________________________

  Visit my website for new releases and special offers: hopecallaghan.com

  Thank you, Peggy H., Jean P., Cindi G., Wanda D. and Barbara W. for taking the time to preview Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’, for the extra sets of eyes and for catching all my mistakes.

  A special thanks to my reader review team: Alice, Amary, Barbara, Becky, Becky B, Brinda, Cassie, Christina, Debbie, Denota, Devan, Francine, Grace, Jan, Jo-Ann, Joeline, Joyce, Jean K., Jean M., Kathy, Lynne, Megan, Melda, Kat, Linda, Lynne, Pat, Patsy, Paula, Renate, Rita, Rita P, Shelba, Tamara and Vicki.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

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  “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:37-38 KJV

  Chapter 1

  Millie Sanders watched as her boss, Andy Walker, Cruise Director of Siren of the Seas cruise ship cleared his throat and approached the makeshift podium. All available ship’s crew had been called below deck to attend a last minute meeting, which had never happened before.

  Rumors had been swirling around the ship for weeks that there was going to be a change in schedule. She’d heard they were having engine problems, that the ship’s booking schedule had dropped off dramatically and they were going to reposition the ship to a European port to attract more passengers.

  The final rumor she’d heard was that a larger cruise line – a competitor, was buying out Majestic Cruise Lines and all positions on board the ships would have to be renegotiated.

  Millie glanced at the large diamond solitaire ring Nic - Captain Armati - had given her a month ago when he proposed on a small and secluded Caribbean island.

  Millie had hinted around to Nic she’d heard the rumors but the only thing he told her was that she needn’t worry.

  She didn’t pressure him to tell her. Millie, Siren of the Seas’ Assistant Cruise Director, was treated like any other employee on board the ship, with the tiny exception of her future husband.

  Donovan Sweeney, the ship’s purser, stood next to Andy. The men exchanged a quick glance before Andy shuffled forward.

  “Attention everyone.” Andy spoke into a microphone but it wasn’t necessary. His voice was loud and booming. Even the crewmembers who couldn’t fit inside the large room and stood out in the outer hall grew silent.

  “We’ve been asked to meet with all of you today to dispel some rumors flying around the ship and to let you know when the ship docks this Saturday; we won’t be bringing on any new passengers.”

  An echo of gasps filled the packed room.

  Andy held up his hand. “Majestic Cruise Lines has not been sold, merged or filed bankruptcy. Our ship, Siren of the Seas, has been chosen for dry dock improvements. We will be in our home port of Miami for one week while workers install new guest activities on the upper decks. We also plan to renovate Waves to improve traffic flow and spruce it up.”

  Waves, the ship’s buffet, was one of the busiest areas on board. During peak hours, it was nearly impossible to move around and the lines of passengers waiting for food were long. “If the dry dock project is successful, Majestic plans to roll the program out to the other ships in the fleet.”

  One of the crewmembers raised his hand.

  “Yes.” Andy pointed at him.

  “What happens to the crew? Will we stay on board the ship?”

  Andy explained all crew would remain on board to help with the deep cleaning of all areas. Housekeeping would deep clean cabins, kitchen staff would deep clean eating areas as well as the galley, and maintenance would be responsible for painting, polishing and making minor repairs where needed.

  Annette, Millie’s close friend and the ship’s director of food and beverage, nudged her. “A week parked in Miami will give us time to shop for your wedding dress.”

  Millie was still processing the fact they were going to be sitting in the homeport for an entire week. It would be the perfect opportunity to squeeze in some wedding shopping. “Yeah. Sounds great.”

  Andy finished by explaining all crew work schedules for the various departments would be posted the next morning.

  Millie waited for the room to clear before she wandered to the front where her boss stood chatting with Donovan and Felix, one of the ship’s dancers.

  “…which will be a great time to work on the new show Waves of Wonder,” Andy told Felix. After Felix left, Millie stepped close. “So this was the big news.”

  Andy grinned. “I know you’ve been chomping at the bit to know what was going on but we just got the final word this morning it’s a go – I mean – stay. I knew something was up last month when I went over the upcoming passenger roster and noticed no one was cruising next week.”

  “So what passenger enhancements are being added?” Millie asked.

  “Workers will install a rock-climbing wall adjacent to the mini golf course and cantilevered hot tubs with see-through floors on both sides of the ship, one deck above the main pool.”

  Millie narrowed her eyes as she thought about the new additions. “The workers will be able to get all that done, including cleaning and renovating Waves, in a week?”

  “It’s an ambitious plan,” Donovan said. “That’s why we’re the guinea pigs, to see if we can actually pull it off.”

  “And if we can’t?”

  “Failure is not an option,” Andy said. “Siren of the Sea
s is sold out for the following week and we’re already advertising the ship’s new features.”

  Donovan slapped Andy on the back. “Thanks for handling the announcement. I need to get back upstairs.”

  After Donovan exited the dining room, Andy motioned her to follow him into the hall. “We will have shifts of crewmembers working ‘round the clock to get the job done, which means Dave Patterson and his men, along with some outside security personnel, will be working ‘round the clock, too.”

  “To keep an eye on the temporary workers?” Millie asked.

  “Yes. We’ll have a lot of new faces around the dock area and in many areas of the ship.”

  Millie’s mind raced as she wondered what she would be doing – her…their job was to entertain guests and if there were no guests, there was no work.

  They slowly strolled down the ship’s main corridor, nicknamed I-95 for its size and length. It ran from stern to bow and was the crew’s main travel path. It connected crew quarters to crew common areas like the dining room, crew laundry area and even the lounge area where crewmembers hung out during their precious free time.

  Andy glanced at his watch. “I’m on my way to the theater to chat with the rest of the entertainment staff who weren’t able to make it to the meeting. I want to head off the rumors before they get out of hand.”

  Millie and Andy parted ways at the stairwell. It was time for Millie to host the Mix and Mingle singles afternoon painting party, which she’d never done before. Mainly because of Danielle, Millie’s cabin mate, who also happened to be part of the entertainment staff and typically hosted the event.

  The painting party was Danielle’s favorite activity. She’d brought home all of her works of art, ranging from floral arrangements to mountain scenes. The artwork filled Danielle’s entire bunk area and started to creep down the wall toward Millie’s bunk. Her most recent masterpiece was a painting of Siren of the Seas.

  Danielle had recently come down with a bad cold and Millie offered to cover her shift so she could rest.

  The remainder of the day was a blur as Millie hustled from one end of the ship to the other to host the scheduled events.

  Thankfully, Danielle was feeling better by later that evening and insisted she could pick up her shift the following day. Millie relayed the information on the upcoming dry dock.

  “I bet Andy is going to make us work our tails off. This is gonna be the worst week of my life,” Danielle moaned.

  “It won’t be that bad,” Millie said. “Besides, why does it matter what we do?”

  The next couple of days flew by and the ship’s crew began preparing for the upcoming week. It was so hectic; Millie only had time to squeeze in a quick visit to Captain Armati, who also seemed preoccupied with the upcoming week in port.

  A nagging sense of uneasiness had settled over Millie and she chalked it up to the change in schedule.

  By the time Millie felt the familiar shudder of the ship as it docked in Miami early Saturday morning, her uneasy feeling had turned into a deep sense of foreboding.

  She hadn’t been able to sleep a wink so she crawled out of bed, dressed for the day and made her way to an upper deck to admire the lights of the city as they drew close to their home port.

  The massive cruise ship inched its way into the channel. Off in the distance Millie could see flashing lights. As they drew closer, she noticed one of them was an ambulance and the other a police car. They were parked in front of the dock where Siren of the Seas berthed.

  A chill ran up Millie’s spine. They were waiting for Siren of the Seas to dock.

  Chapter 2

  Millie leaned over the railing and glanced in the direction of the bridge house and the section that extended over the side. She caught a glimpse of several shadowy figures standing inside the bridge and was certain one of them was Captain Armati.

  The water whirled in fast swirls as the ship began to shudder and ease into the open spot. Millie watched the ship’s crew throw the mooring lines to the men waiting on the dock. The men dragged the thick ropes to the bollards and secured the lines.

  After the ship was secure, two workers rolled the ramp into place and the ship’s gangway door opened.

  Two police officers climbed out of the patrol car, joined the ambulance driver and EMT who were standing next to a stretcher and approached the ramp.

  “Whatcha’ looking at?”

  Millie gasped as she spun around, clutching her chest. Cat, Millie’s friend, stood behind her. “You scared me half to death.”

  “Sorry. I couldn’t sleep.” Cat shivered. “I’m all wound up about us being in port for a week.”

  “Are you worried about Jay?”

  Jay Beck was Cat’s ex-husband. He was in prison for attempted murder - Cat’s attempted murder - not once but twice.

  He’d escaped from prison not long ago and tracked Siren of the Seas to a remote island where he kidnapped his ex-wife and tried to finish what he’d started years earlier.

  It had taken Cat several months of counseling to deal with the trauma of the incident and she was just getting to the point where she was comfortable enough to leave the safety of the cruise ship.

  “Yeah. I feel vulnerable sitting in port.” She eyed the dock nervously. “Maybe I’ll just hang out here for the week. There’s no reason for me to go into the city.”

  “I was thinking of shopping for my wedding dress,” Millie said. “Won’t you at least come out for an afternoon with Annette and me?”

  Cat bit the edge of her lip. “I…we’ll have to see.” She quickly changed the subject. “What’s going on down there? I’ve never seen a cop car or ambulance waiting for the ship; of course I’m usually still in bed when we dock.”

  “Yeah. Same here.” Millie shifted her gaze.

  The ambulance driver and EMT pushed the stretcher up the ramp while the officers followed behind and they disappeared inside the ship.

  It wasn’t unheard of for an unruly, usually inebriated, passenger to get into a brawl during a cruise. If the incident were severe enough, security would place the passenger or passengers in the ship’s holding cell until they reached port.

  “Maybe it’s a passenger they’re pulling from the hoosegow,” Millie said. “Or someone got hurt during a fight in one of the bars.”

  A short time later, the ambulance driver and EMT wheeled the stretcher down the ramp. There was someone on the stretcher.

  Millie squinted her eyes. “Is that Brody?” ‘Brody’ was Brody Rourke. He had recently been promoted to head of night security on board the ship.

  “Yeah. I think it is. My money is on an unruly passenger who had a few too many and ended up attacking Brody when he tried to break up a fight,” Cat said.

  Dave Patterson, head of security, along with the police officers, followed Brody and the medical personnel onto the dock.

  “Patterson must be filing a report,” Millie said. She could see one of the officers jotting notes in a notepad as he talked to Patterson. After several moments, the officers climbed into the police car, turned the overhead lights off and sped away.

  The ambulance…and Brody, had already left.

  “Maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye,” Millie said as she shifted her gaze to the skyline and the morning sun creeping over the horizon.

  “Millie, do you copy?”

  Millie plucked her radio from her belt. “Go ahead Andy. I’m here.”

  “I’d like to see you in my office as soon as possible.”

  “10-4. I’m on my way.” Millie clipped her radio to her belt. “Andy and an early morning meeting are never good signs.”

  “Good luck,” Cat said. “I need to head back to my cabin and get dressed.”

  Millie took a closer look at her friend and a slow smile spread across her face. Cat was sporting pink plastic rollers in her hair, a paint spattered pair of jogging shorts and neon pink t-shirt which matched the hair rollers. Emblazoned on the front were the words Stay Calm and Cruise
On. “I love your shirt.”

  Cat tugged on the bottom. “Catchy huh? We just got these in. We have them in neon blue, purple, pink, yellow and green.”

  The women began walking toward the side stairs. “I’m in charge of revamping Ocean Treasures. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while but never had enough time.”

  Ocean Treasures was the ship’s gift shop. “Would it be because all of your free time is spent hanging out with the hot Doctor Gundervan?” Millie teased.

  Cat punched her friend in the arm. “Of course not.”

  “Cat.”

  “Okay. Yes. Joe and I spend more time together than we probably should. I keep telling myself we need to cool our jets and take it slow but instead of slow, I feel like we’re moving fast forward.”

  Millie didn’t know the ship’s doctor very well. Her only concern was Cat not get hurt in a shipboard romance, although Millie had no room to talk. That’s exactly what she’d done with Nic, but hers was headed toward a happy ending…the altar, at least she hoped it was.

  Corporate frowned on shipboard romances. Marriage between an officer and ship staff or crewmember was unheard of. In other words, unless Nic and Millie could figure out a way around their dilemma, Millie would have to quit her job or transfer to another ship. They could not live onboard the ship, both remain working and live their ‘happily ever after’.

  The women parted ways in the stairwell as Cat continued toward the crew quarters and Millie walked to Andy’s office, located behind the theater. She caught a glimpse of a faint glow peeking out from the bottom of Andy’s office door.

  Millie knocked softly before opening the door and stepping inside. Her boss was seated at the head of the small conference table in his usual spot, but instead of hunched over his infamous “black schedule book,” he was staring blankly into space.

  “Millie.” He snapped to attention.

  “I’m sorry. I knocked. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “It’s okay. I was just a little distracted.” Andy patted the seat next to him. “Have a seat. Danielle is on her way down.”