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

  Cruise Control

  Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery Series

  Book 6

  Hope Callaghan

  hopecallaghan.com

  Copyright © 2016

  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 Hyndman, Jean Pilch and Cindi Graham for taking the time to preview Cruise Control, for the extra sets of eyes and for catching all my mistakes.

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  Meet the Author

  Hope Callaghan is an author who loves to write Christian books, especially Christian Mystery and Cozy Mystery books. She has written more than 40 mystery books (and counting) in four series.

  Born and raised in a small town in West Michigan, she now lives in Florida with her husband.

  She is the proud mother of one daughter and a stepdaughter and stepson. When she's not doing the thing she loves best - writing books - she enjoys cooking, traveling and reading books.

  Click Here For A Complete List Of Books By Hope Callaghan

  Hope loves to connect with her readers! Connect with her today!

  Visit hopecallaghan.com for special offers, free books, and soon-to-be-released books!

  Email: [email protected]

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  Foreword

  Dear Reader,

  I would like to personally thank you for purchasing this book and also to let you know that a portion of all my book sales go to support missions which proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

  My prayer is that you will be blessed by reading my stories and knowing that you are helping to spread the Gospel of the Lord.

  With more than thirty mystery books (and counting) in four series published, I hope you will have as much fun reading them as I have writing them!

  May God Bless You!

  Sincerely,

  Author Hope Callaghan

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Free Cozy Mysteries Newsletter

  Meet the Author

  Foreword

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

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  Creamy Bacon Potato Salad

  Chapter One

  Millie Sanders, Assistant Cruise Director aboard the mega cruise ship, Siren of the Seas, glanced at her watch. “Forty-five minutes and counting.”

  Andy Walker, Siren of the Seas Cruise Director and Millie’s boss, wrinkled his brow and crossed his arms. “I don’t know what you’re so nervous about, Millie. You should be thrilled that your cousins and their friends are joining us for the next seven days.”

  Andy was right. Millie should be happy she would get to spend time with her cousins, Gloria Rutherford-Kennedy and Liz Applegate. She was excited…and nervous. Her cousin, super sleuth, Gloria, had a penchant for getting into some real humdinger situations. Millie just hoped the next week would be calm and uneventful.

  “I’m thrilled to see family, although Gloria seems to have a cloud of criminal activity that follows her wherever she goes.”

  “Hmm,” Andy chuckled. “That trait obviously runs in the family.”

  It was true. It seemed that since Millie had joined the crew of Siren of the Seas, it had been one calamity after another, the most recent being a family that had gone missing on the remote island of Kiriban. “I can’t help it if this ship has had a run of bad luck with crazed killers and sketchy crew,” she argued.

  “I’ll be right back.” Millie left Andy standing near the gangway and made her way over to the guest services desk to chat with Nikki, one of the younger crew who was also Millie’s friend. “Did you happen to see if Captain Armati made it back onboard yet?”

  Nikki had a bird’s-eye view of all crew who had boarded since the ship docked a few hours earlier in their home port of Miami. She would be one of the first to know if the captain had returned from his extended leave. Millie was anxious to see him and his sidekick, Scout, a teacup Yorkie.

  He had been gone longer than originally planned; Millie feared that perhaps he wouldn’t return to Siren of the Seas, although he had assured her he had signed another contract and would be back.

  “Yep. Scout and he stopped by here first thing this morning to say hi. He and Purser Donovan Sweeney went into his office and closed the door. I’m not sure what that was all about.” Nikki glanced behind her and then leaned forward. “He had a serious look on his face when he came out. So did Donovan.”

  Millie tapped her fingernails on the countertop. Donovan was in charge of all monetary exchanges on board the ship. Not only that, but he handled crew pay and tips, and was the final say in new hires. “Maybe they fired Danielle Kneldon,” she joked.

  Danielle was Millie’s roommate and at times, a royal pain in the rear. She was young and full of energy, and always managing to land smack dab in sticky situations, all self-inflicted, of course.

  Last week Andy had put Danielle in charge of “Teen Scene,” the new name he had picked out for the fourteen-to-eighteen-year-old passengers’ group, and instructed her to “spice it up” with new activities to keep the teenagers entertained.

  Danielle had come up with, in her words, a “brilliant” idea that morphed into a mob of fifty or so kids who descended on the “Adults Only” pool area carrying garbage bags filled with water balloons where they proceeded to terrorize the adults in the area.

  Danielle claimed ignorance and said she hadn’t realized it was an adults-only area, although big bold signs were plastered to the front of the doors leading into the area stating no one under the age of twenty-one was allowed.

  Andy gave Danielle a stern lecture and every affected – aka wet - adult passenger received a twenty-five dollar onboard credit, which cost the cruise ship nearly a thousand dollars in comps.

  Nikki shook her head. “Nope. Danielle stopped by a short time ago and said she was on break and heading back to the cabin.”

  Millie thanked Nikki for the information. She made her way across the lounge area and resumed her position next to Andy. They were now only minutes away from allowing the first wave of passengers, the priority passengers, to board.

  Since
Gloria, Liz and their friends had booked suites, they would be among the first wave of passengers allowed to board.

  “Here they come,” Andy announced.

  Millie studied the faces as Andy and she smiled and greeted the boarding passengers. She answered several questions and the passengers’ number one question was to ask where lunch was being served. She passed out several ship maps and even greeted a few of the “regulars” by name.

  A familiar smile slowly emerged from the sea of faces. It was Millie’s cousin, Gloria. Right behind Gloria was her other cousin, Liz, and behind the two of them were several other women.

  They made their way over and gathered around. “Millie! Oh my gosh! Look at you.” Gloria Kennedy hugged her cousin and quickly released her grip. “You look wonderful.”

  Millie smoothed the front of her jacket. The salty ocean air and warm tropical climate had been good to Millie. She’d lost a few pounds, now sported a nice golden tan and was more relaxed and at ease than she’d been in years. “Thanks. You look wonderful, too. Married life agrees with you.”

  Gloria had always been an attractive woman but now she positively glowed. “Thanks.”

  Millie turned her attention to her other cousin, Liz. Liz was the older sibling, affectionately known as the drama queen. “Liz. You look fabulous too. I love your haircut.”

  Liz patted her hair. “Thanks Millie.”

  Millie touched Andy’s arm. “This is my boss and the man in charge of all the fun, Andy Walker, Cruise Director.”

  Gloria and Liz shook Andy’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Hopefully, we can stay out of trouble this week.”

  Gloria turned to the women hovering behind her. “These are our friends. Lucy, Margaret, Dot, Andrea, Ruth and Frances.”

  One by one, the girls shook hands with Millie and Andy. Millie vaguely recalled meeting one or two of them eons ago. “Some of your faces are familiar but it has been so long,” she confessed.

  “Why don’t you show the girls to their suites?” Andy suggested. “I can hold down the fort for a few minutes.”

  Millie nodded. “If you don’t mind. I’ll be right back.” She turned to the women. “What are your suite numbers?”

  Gloria unfolded the piece of paper she was holding in her hand. “We’re in suite 11212 and the others are right next door or across the hall…I think.”

  “Follow me.” Millie led them to the bank of glass elevators and pushed the up button on the wall beside them. “Take this elevator to deck eleven and I’ll meet you there.” She left them by the elevator and headed to the stairs.

  Millie was waiting for them when the elevator doors opened and they followed her down a long hall toward the front of the ship. They stopped in front of a door with the numbers 11212 etched on the front of a tropical turquoise plaque.

  “This is it,” Millie announced. “What are the other numbers?” The girls recited the numbers. Margaret, Dot and Ruth were in the suite next door to Gloria, Andrea and Lucy. Frances and Liz were directly across the hall.

  Frances and Liz headed to their suite across the hall while Margaret opened the door to their suite and Margaret, along with Dot and Ruth, disappeared inside.

  Gloria inserted her key card. The door beeped. She grasped the handle and pushed the door open.

  “Wow!” She stepped inside and slowly inspected the spacious suite. Near the entrance door and to the right were a set of doors. She opened one of the doors and peeked in. “What a roomy closet,” she reported.

  Andrea eased around Gloria and opened the door on the left. “The bathroom.” She opened the door wider and stepped inside. “Not too shabby.”

  Millie followed the trio inside. She had never been inside one of the suites; there had never been a need and she was curious to see what the luxurious cabins looked like.

  The bathroom was large, almost as large as Millie and Danielle’s entire shared cabin. On one wall was a large jetted tub. On the other wall, and in a separate room was the toilet. Two double sinks separated the tub from the toilet. “I’m gonna come stay with you guys this week,” Millie joked.

  The women made their way into the main cabin. Off to one side were double beds and across from the beds a long vanity and large mirror. Beyond the beds was another room.

  Inside the room was a sitting area, complete with full size couch, coffee table and side chair. On the opposite wall was a flat screen television.

  Two sets of sliding glass doors led to a balcony.

  “Let’s check out the balcony,” Lucy said excitedly.

  The girls stepped out onto the balcony, which faced the cruise ship terminal.

  “Hello over there.” Dot’s head peeked around the corner of a partition on the far side of their balcony.

  “Watch this.” Millie stepped over to the frosted glass door. She pulled a set of keys from her front pocket, inserted the key in a small slot off to one side, and the connecting door swung open. “You can leave this open if you want.”

  Millie looked around and quickly realized the suites were located in the front of the ship. She shaded her eyes and gazed down at the corner of the bridge. “That’s the ship’s bridge,” she told the girls. “Look. You can catch a glimpse of the interior through the corner of the windows.”

  Liz, who had finished her own suite inspection, wandered out onto the balcony and peered over Millie’s shoulder. “That’s the outboard bridge wing,” she informed them. “There’s a glass pane in the floor for the captain and crew to visually navigate the ship when docking or leaving port.”

  Millie had never noticed a glass pane in the bridge floor. “Well, I’ll be darned. I had no idea. I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in the bridge, maybe when I give you a tour.”

  She glanced at her watch. “I better get back to work,” she said. “Lunch is being served out on the lido deck and also in Waves, the buffet area. Both are on this floor and located in the back of the ship.”

  She left the girls on the balcony and headed back down to deck five. A large group of guests crowded around Andy. Millie hurried over to help her boss, answering questions and directing passengers.

  Two men, who were wearing black suits and had serious expressions on their faces, passed by. Millie watched as they stepped over to the guest services desk.

  She had never seen the men before and wondered what they were doing. They definitely weren’t passengers. “I wonder what that’s all about.”

  Millie nodded her head in that direction and Andy followed her gaze. “I have no idea,” he said.

  She remembered Nikki mentioning Captain Armati had gone into Donovan Sweeney’s office. When they emerged, they wore serious expressions on their faces, not unlike these men.

  Nikki strode out from behind the desk and led the men in the dark suits through the atrium and out of sight. Millie could’ve sworn she caught a glimpse of a gun hidden under one of the men’s jackets. “I think I saw a gun,” she whispered to Andy. He didn’t have time to reply as a fresh wave of passengers descended on them.

  It was another two hours before the crew finally closed the door and removed the massive glass and brass passenger ramp.

  “Whew! I’m starving.” Millie swiped a stray strand of hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. “I think I’ll grab a bite to eat.”

  Andy nodded. “I’ll meet you in Waves in a few minutes. I want to stop by the bridge to welcome Captain Armati back first.”

  Millie would have loved to do the same, but it wasn’t her place. She would have time later, after the ship set sail. She was sure the captain had his hands full trying to get up to speed, not to mention navigate the ship out of port and into open water.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Millie watched Andy head to the bank of elevators while she made her way over to talk to Nikki. Luckily, no passengers were at the guest services desk. Nikki looked up when Millie got close.

  She didn’t bother beating around the bush. “So what was up with the suits?” Millie asked.
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  Nikki closed the black book in front of her, folded her hands and set them on top. “One of them flashed a badge and said his name was Johnson and Captain Armati was expecting him so I called up to the bridge and the captain told me to bring them up.”

  She frowned. “It was odd. When we got there, the captain took them into the bridge and then asked me to wait outside, that they wouldn’t be long. So I hung around and not twenty minutes later, the men emerged and I escorted them to the exit.”

  “The men left the ship?” Millie asked.

  “Yep.” Nikki nodded. “They weren’t much for conversation. I tried to talk to one of them but he looked at me like I was stupid so I shut up.”

  Millie thanked Nikki for the information and headed to the buffet area. The kitchen crew had switched up the menu and today’s lunch theme was “A Taste of Tuscany,” which included a tempting variety of Italian dishes.

  Millie, who had missed breakfast, loaded her plate with lasagna, pepperoni pizza and parmesan chicken. She even managed to make room for a couple garlic bread knots.

  She headed to a corner table where she eased into a seat facing the buffet so she could keep an eye out for Andy. Millie tried to eat in the same spot to make it easier for Andy and her friends to find her if they happened to share the same breaks.

  Millie spied the top of Andy’s bright red hair and then caught his eye. She wondered if Captain Armati had told him who the mysterious men in the suits were.

  Andy set his tray of food on the table, pulled out the chair opposite Millie and plopped down. He placed his napkin in his lap and leaned his elbows on the table. “The ship is on extra security alert,” he said.

  Chapter Two

  Millie set her fork on her plate, her full attention on Andy. “What makes you say that?” She had a sneaky suspicion it had something to do with the men in the dark suits.

  “Because Captain Armati told me they were bringing a few extra security guards onboard to cover more of the passenger areas.”