Vanishing Vacationers (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 5) Read online

  She wondered who came up with the crazy trivia and where they got their answers. She congratulated two winners, who tied for first place and awarded them their prizes – two free entries into the casino slot tournament.

  Millie shuffled the papers, placed them back inside the folder and set the folder inside the cabinet.

  She was running behind schedule and it was time to head up to lido and check on the “sea day stride,” a fast-paced, mid-morning stroll around the ship. She had never actually participated but it looked fun. It seemed like the perfect activity to start a relaxing day at sea.

  She made it to deck 14 and the jogging track where she ran into Danielle and the Kingman boys, Nathan and Brandon. Nathan’s face lit up when he spied Millie. He ran over. “Guess what?”

  She smiled at him. “What?”

  “We’re gonna get off in Kiriban tomorrow morning and search the island!”

  Millie lifted her gaze and settled it on Danielle.

  Danielle shrugged. “What? I told you we were getting off on the island.”

  Brandon dropped the soccer ball he was holding and nudged it with his foot. “Danielle said we’re gonna search for people who went missing and there might be some sort of reward if we find them.”

  “We might even go zip lining.” Brandon motioned his younger brother and the two of them headed into the sports arena. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

  Millie waited until the boys were out of earshot. “You better not,” she warned.

  Danielle dismissed Millie with the wave of her arm. “There’s no harm in doing a little poking around. Besides, the boys are excited.”

  “What about the grandmother and granddaughter, Courtney?”

  Danielle shrugged. “They’re on the fence. They said something about not being fond of spiders and snakes.”

  Millie wasn’t fond of spiders or snakes, either. She wondered what kinds of creepy, crawly, slithering creatures inhabited a remote island. “Danielle, this is a bad idea!”

  “Danielle!” Brandon jogged over to the fence. “Are you ready?”

  Without saying a word, Danielle grinned and stepped into the sports arena.

  Millie turned her attention to the jogging track, packed with guests. Millie joined them for one trip around the track before she took the side stairs and headed down one level to the mini golf course.

  She glanced over at Ocean Oasis, the nickname she had given the small retreat Captain Armati had constructed and surprised her with not long ago. It was a place Scout, Captain Armati’s dog, and she enjoyed immensely.

  A small lump lodged in her throat. Millie missed Scout. She missed Captain Armati. She wondered if they were enjoying their break and if they missed her, too.

  By the time the captain returned, Millie would be preparing for her leave. They would pass like two ships in the night…

  Millie finished her morning rounds and then made a beeline for the computer center. It was time to do a little research on the Roush family and the island of Kiriban.

  Millie stepped into the computer center and settled into a station near the back. She was relieved she was the only one there. It would give her a chance to concentrate on the investigation.

  Time was money when using the ship’s computers. Each crewmember was allotted an hour of free internet per week. Millie typically used her free time to do her online banking and check her email, which was the highlight of her week.

  Her daughter, Beth, was faithful about messaging her mom each week. She kept her up-to-date on her grandkids’ activities.

  Millie’s son, Blake, was another story. She hardly ever heard from him. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his mother. He was busy with work and Millie suspected he had a new girlfriend.

  Blake was the quiet one. Beth was the outgoing one.

  She quickly checked her bank accounts, read her email and then began her search. She started with the family first. Millie tapped the keys with the tips of her fingers. She typed “Roush” and “Majestic Cruise Lines” in the search bar.

  A small, one paragraph article popped up first. The man’s name was Simon Roush. He was fifty-five years old. She glanced at the article’s date. It was a year old, which made him fifty-six. The story explained he had recently sold the majority of his shares of Majestic Cruise Lines stock and retired. End of article.

  Millie clicked on the next article. This one was a gossip column. Apparently, Mr. Roush had caused a stir in the swanky enclave of South Beach when he married Bianca Solomon, runway model and former beauty queen, “Miss Miami.”

  She brought to the marriage a six-year old son, Anthony, from a previous relationship.

  Mr. Roush was the father of 17-year old daughter, Yolanda Roush. Millie guessed Yolanda was the sullen girl in the photograph Andy had shared. Millie wondered if the family was still alive, and if so, what had happened to them.

  She clicked on another article, this one more recent. It told how the family had simply vanished on the island of Kiriban. A follow-up blurb released two days earlier told how not only the family vanished, but the private investigators hired to find the family had vanished, as well.

  Had the investigators stumbled on something and been murdered? A shiver crept down Millie’s spine. If she decided to “poke around” to see what she could find out, would she “disappear” too?

  It certainly wasn’t safe for Danielle to drag an innocent family into unknown dangers. In fact, it was downright irresponsible. Danielle could take care of herself, but what about the others?

  Millie switched off the computer. It was time to track down G’ma Rae and Courtney to see if they planned to wander off with Danielle and the boys. Maybe Danielle hadn’t mentioned it to the women. It was a possibility. Danielle was sneaky. Millie wouldn’t put anything past her!

  She searched the pool deck, the lido deck and then the sun deck. She also zipped by the buffet area before she wound her way toward the back where Millie caught a glimpse of the back of Courtney’s brown hair. The teenager was standing in front of the pizza station. Her grandmother stood off to one side.

  Mrs. Kingman smiled when Millie approached.

  Courtney met up with her grandmother at the exact same moment, her plate loaded with slices of fresh-from-the-oven pizza.

  “Can’t decide which one to try?” Millie teased.

  Courtney, grinned, the dimples in her cheeks deepening. “Yeah. I figured this way I wouldn’t have to keep going back.” She balanced her plate and sipped her soda. She glanced at her grandmother.

  G’ma Rae groaned. “We call her the pizza pirate. She loves pizza and Chinese food.”

  Millie pointed toward the outer deck. “I guess you’ve already checked out Bamboo Wok, the made-to-order Asian station near the back of the lido deck.”

  Bamboo Wok was one of the most popular spots on the ship. The lines were always long but the food was worth the wait.

  Guests loaded large bowls with noodles, along with a variety of goodies, which included water chestnuts, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, green beans and baby corn.

  After loading the goodies in their bowls, they chose their main ingredient…beef, chicken or shrimp. The chefs then poured a generous helping of sauce in the wok, added the meat and after the meat cooked, added the chosen toppings.

  Courtney’s mouth dropped open. It was apparent she hadn’t stumbled upon it yet. “G’ma Rae!”

  “We still have plenty of days to check it out,” her grandmother replied.

  Millie’s favorite sauce was the black bean. It was not too spicy but had a wonderful smoky flavor. Of course, Millie loved pizza, too, and her stomach grumbled. She eyed the pepperoni that topped Courtney’s tower of pizza.

  Millie followed the grandmother and granddaughter as they made their way to the alfresco dining area behind the buffet. She waited until they settled into seats before taking a seat across from them.

  Millie was uncertain on how to broach the subject of the family’s plan to get off in Kiriban. She swip
ed at a crumb on the table. “The ship is docking in St. Parrot, the port town on the island of Kiriban, tomorrow morning. Do you plan to go ashore?”

  G’ma Rae lifted a slice of cheese pizza and bit the end. She nodded. “Yes. Danielle was kind enough to offer to take the boys on an island adventure. Courtney and I plan to do a little souvenir shopping near the ship.”

  Millie lifted her glass of ice water and sipped. It was time to play dumb. “Oh really? What kind of adventure?”

  Courtney placed her napkin in her lap, rearranged her pizza slices and pulled out the one loaded with chunks of ham and mushroom. She reached for the shaker of parmesan. “Something about a treasure hunt in the jungle.”

  A stab of fear pierced Millie’s heart. Danielle intended to drag the boys along with her when she searched for the missing family!

  What if Danielle was mentally imbalanced? It made perfect sense to Millie. After all, who in their right mind would do something like that?

  The boys were Danielle’s ticket off the ship for the day. The best she could hope would be Danielle had enough sense and she would “accidentally” leave the boys behind. She had perfected her disappearing act, having pulled that stunt on Millie when Millie thought she was Ariana Teliar, the rich heiress!

  Millie pushed back the chair and rose to her feet. “Are you sure you want Danielle to take the boys?”

  G’ma Rae’s head shot up. Her brown eyes studied Millie carefully. “She is a ship employee. Should I be concerned?”

  Millie swallowed nervously. She didn’t want to throw Danielle under the bus, but she also didn’t want anything to happen to the boys. “I don’t know,” Millie confessed. She didn’t know. Maybe they would be fine, although Danielle lacked a stellar track record. “I’ll have a chat with her,” Millie promised.

  She pushed the chair under the table and headed up the side steps. Millie was going to make good on that promise right now!

  Chapter 8

  Millie stepped off to the side, unclipped her radio from her belt and lifted it to her lips. “Danielle, do you copy?”

  Silence.

  “Danielle, do you copy?” She hardened her tone that said, if you copy, you had better answer.

  “I’m here, Millie.”

  Millie pressed the button. “Where are you?”

  “Donovan Sweeney’s office.”

  Millie frowned at the radio. What was Danielle doing in Purser Donovan Sweeney’s office? She remembered Danielle making an offhand comment about how it didn’t seem fair for Millie to have a special key card that gave her access to almost all areas of the ship and Danielle didn’t have one.

  She had a sneaky suspicion Danielle was in Sweeney’s office trying to get a card of her own!

  “Darn you Danielle!” Millie grunted. She marched across the outer deck, down the side steps and to the guest services area.

  Nikki was behind the counter. She took one look at Millie’s face and smirked. “Guess you heard your buddy, Danielle, is trying her charms out on Donovan.”

  “If she doesn’t watch it, I’m going to sic Veronica Chang on her,” Millie retorted.

  Veronica Chang had a huge crush on Donovan Sweeney. Everyone on board Siren of the Seas knew about it. She was certain by now even Danielle had heard about it.

  Millie had to admit Danielle reminded her of herself…headstrong, stubborn, determined and curious. Maybe that was why the two of them kept butting heads. They were more alike than different!

  Millie tapped on the door. She didn’t wait for a reply and edged it open. Danielle was behind Donovan’s chair, leaning over his shoulder. She was close, too close, in Millie’s opinion. Both of them looked up when she barged in the office.

  Millie got right to the point. “You didn’t give her the access key, did you?” she demanded.

  Donovan grinned.

  Danielle had the decency to blush. She shuffled to the side and eased into the chair in front of the desk. Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about?” she asked innocently.

  Millie placed her hand on her hip. “You know darn well what I’m talking about, Danielle!”

  Donovan clasped his hands together and leaned back in his chair. “She’s trying,” he admitted.

  “Ha!” Millie focused her attention on Donovan. “You didn’t cave to her charms, did you?”

  Donovan smiled wickedly. “Nope. Not yet.”

  He turned to Danielle. “It’s company policy that staff, other than the cruise director and assistant cruise director, complete a 30 day probationary period before a full access key card is issued.”

  Danielle flung herself back in her chair and rolled her eyes. “Who made up such a ridiculous rule?” she huffed.

  Millie let out the breath she’d been holding. She had won one small battle. She wasn’t sure Danielle could stay out of trouble for 30 days. In fact, she was already heading in that direction on day number two!

  Millie fleetingly remembered she had jumped head first into a murder investigation right after joining Siren of the Seas, but she was different. She was more mature. She could handle herself.

  Danielle bolted upright. “Well, no sense in hanging around here!” She stomped over to the door and grabbed the handle. “I’ll be back on day thirty,” she vowed.

  She turned the knob and yanked the door open.

  Millie winked at Donovan and followed Danielle out.

  Millie lunged forward and grabbed Danielle’s arm. “We need to chat.”

  Danielle pulled her arm from Millie’s grip. “About what?”

  “About those boys, Brandon and Nathan. Promise me you are not going to drag them into the jungle tomorrow to search for the Roush family.”

  Danielle lifted a brow. “Why not? Donovan told me the family is offering a fifty thousand dollar reward for finding them…dead or alive.”

  Fifty thousand dollars was a lot of money. Millie could use fifty grand!

  Danielle noted the look on Millie’s face and pressed on. “Think about it! The island isn’t large. It won’t take long to do a thorough search. Plus, I stopped by to chat with Annette. She is going to loan me a tracking device. If anything happens, we can be found.”

  “Annette said that?” At first Millie was teed off but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. If Danielle had it in her head, she was going to search for the family no matter what, it would be better for her to have some sort of device so they could locate her.

  Millie stuck out her hand. “I’ll make a deal. You give the boys the slip, leave them on board and I won’t say a word to Andy about you heading out to search for the Roush family.”

  Danielle looked at Millie’s hand. “It’s a deal.” She grasped Millie’s hand in a firm shake.

  Millie released the breath she’d been holding. It was a win-win for everyone. The boys would be safe. They would at least be able to track Danielle’s movements. It would be one less gray hair on Millie’s head.

  Danielle glanced at her watch. “Gotta run! Andy put me in charge of bingo today.” She turned on her heel, strode across the atrium and made her way to the bank of elevators.

  Millie needed to get back to work, too. She was assisting Sommelier Pierre LeBlanc with the wine tasting, being held in the Paradise Lounge this week. Andy had switched the venue to a location that could handle a larger crowd, which meant they expected record attendance for the event.

  Millie liked Pierre LeBlanc. He was a hoot to work with and the passengers loved him. His wine tasting demonstration was fast becoming one of the most popular events on board the ship.

  Pierre was already there when Millie arrived. He took center stage and grabbed the mike from the table. “Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen.” Pierre pronounced it “Ladeeezzz.”

  “We are running a special on our red wines today. Buy one bottle, pay for the second.”

  The crowd snickered.

  Millie smiled. Cruise ships were notorious for charging outrageous prices for liquor and bottles of wine
in particular.

  Millie got to work, filling small sample cups with various red wines as Pierre explained the differences in the wine and how best to pair them with a meal.

  After he finished the red wine presentation, he moved to the whites. Millie was more of a white wine girl…when she did have a glass, which wasn’t often.

  She thought about the last glass she had had. It was the evening she had dined with Captain Armati in his cabin.

  Millie mentally pushed Captain Armati out of her mind and focused on her job. If Andy had been there, he would have sampled the wines right along with the guests. Millie didn’t dare. She still had a full day ahead of her!

  The presentation ended. Several guests approached the table to ask where they might purchase the wine and Pierre directed them to the nearest bar, which, conveniently, was in the back of the room.

  A guitar player and pianist arrived and jazz music filled the air. By the time Millie stepped out of the bar, a party was in full swing with Pierre smack dab in the middle of it.

  Pierre winked and continued to work the crowd.

  Millie gave a small wave and exited the bar.

  She finished her afternoon, darting from deck to deck. When she finally had a break, she stopped by Ocean Treasures to chat with Cat.

  The store was deader than a doornail; except for one unexpected guest inside…Doctor Joseph Gundervan. He was leaning against the counter chatting with Cat.

  Millie caught a glimpse of the private exchange and began to back out of the store.

  Doctor Gundervan spun around when he noticed Cat looking over his head. “I was just leaving.” He glanced back at Cat. “See you at eight?”

  Cat nodded quietly and Gundervan slipped out of the store.

  “Cat the cougar,” Millie teased. Gundervan was several years younger than Cat, although Millie wasn’t certain of his exact age.

  During their last escapade in the rainforest, Cat had suffered a bite wound and ended up having a serious allergic reaction. She visited the ship’s medical center and Doctor Gundervan for treatment.