Page 12 of Waylaid in Whittier (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #5)

Beep…beep…beep.

Millie watched Sharky’s oversized backpack slide into the scanning machine. She held her breath, not surprised when the crewmember flipped the switch and the machine came to a halt.

The security guard’s eyes flitted from the screen to Sharky. “Your backpack is being flagged.”

Sharky grunted. “Flagged for what?”

“You have a hacksaw, a contraband item,” the guard lectured. “You, more than anyone, should know you’re not allowed to bring weapons on the ship.”

“I’m not bringing it on,” he argued. “I’m bringing it back on board and now I’m returning it.”

“It doesn’t matter how it got in your bag. It’s not allowed.”

“Call Patterson down here,” Sharky said. “He’ll give my backpack the a-okay clearance.”

“You know the rules.”

“We’ll see about that.” He pulled his radio from his jacket pocket and turned it on. “Dave Patterson, do you copy?”

“Go ahead Sharky.”

“Millie and I are down at the gangway. My backpack is being flagged. I need you to override the confiscation and let it through.”

“Flagged for what?”

“Some stuff I thought Millie and I might need for our investigation.”

“Such as?”

“A few hand tools, binoculars, bottles of water…”

Patterson cut him off. “I’m on my way.”

Sharky clipped his radio to his belt and crossed his arms. “He’ll be here in a minute.”

The guard set the backpack on the floor and began scanning the items for the next person in line.

Millie tugged on his arm. “You know Patterson is going to lecture you,” she whispered in his ear.

“It was a chance I had to take to help my girl.”

She glanced at her watch. Millie had promised Danielle she would meet her in the atrium in less than five minutes.

“You don’t have to stay,” Sharky said. “How long before we head back out?”

“The issue involves a group who requested a behind-the-scenes tour.” Millie did a rough mental calculation. “Tours take about an hour and a half. Why don’t we meet at quarter past twelve?”

“Quarter past twelve,” he repeated. “Sounds good. I see Patterson coming now.”

Millie watched as the head of security strode across the gangway to where they stood waiting.

“Before we discuss your backpack, how is it going?” he asked.

Millie tipped her hand back and forth. “Elvira seems to think she’ll be released soon. Someone found her super-secret honey hole. The owner of the bar confirmed Elvira and the woman who was attacked argued right before the attack happened.”

“In other words, it’s not looking good for her,” Patterson summarized.

“Nope. Danielle needs help. There’s some sort of issue with a tour group I need to address, but first.” She made a sweeping motion toward the guard who was scanning bags. “Sharky needs his backpack.”

Patterson heaved a heavy sigh. “You are both fully aware of what items are not allowed on board the ship. Sharky, even more so.”

“I figured maybe security would let it slide, seeing how I was the one who took the items off in the first place.”

“Stay here.” Patterson approached the man working the scanning machine. He said something in a low voice, too low for Millie to hear.

The guard nodded and handed him Sharky’s backpack.

Patterson returned to where they stood waiting.

Millie’s eyes slid to the side, noticing several of the crewmembers were watching them to see what happened. “We have an audience.”

“Let’s go over behind the curtain.” Patterson took the lead, with Millie and Sharky trekking behind.

He set the backpack on top of the metal table and pulled the curtain around them. “Show me what you have.”

Sharky shot Millie a quick glance. He cleared his throat and unzipped the front pocket. Reaching inside, he removed two bottles of unopened water followed by a pair of binoculars which were still inside the case, a tube of sunscreen, lip balm, a plain white t-shirt, a ball cap and a bottle of Advil.

“So far, so good,” Patterson said.

“There’s more. Now, don’t freak out.” Sharky set the hacksaw on the table, along with a pair of vice grips, and a multi-purpose pocketknife. Last, but not least, was a roll of duct tape.

Patterson snatched the duct tape off the table. “What in the world did you plan to do with this?”

Sharky shrugged. “It’s a versatile, multi-purpose tool used for a variety of purposes.”

“As I said before, you know the rules,” Patterson lectured. “I could throw all these items in the trash.”

“It’s Siren of the Seas’ property. I’m not sure you want to do that.”

Patterson placed a light hand on the back of his neck, and Millie figured he was silently counting to ten. “I’m going to let it slide, but you need to promise me you won’t leave the ship again with company property.”

“Not even one more time when Millie and I head back out?”

She held her breath at the thunderous expression on Patterson’s face. “Not even one more time,” he gritted out. “If you do, I’ll write you up.”

“Fine.” Sharky began placing the items back inside. “I doubt we’ll need vice grips or the hacksaw, anyway. But I am okay with the duct tape, right? I mean, it’s not a weapon.”

“I have to agree,” Millie chimed in. “Duct tape isn’t on the contraband list.”

“Fine. Take the duct tape,” Patterson said. “But leave the rest here.”

“Aye, aye.” Sharky shoved the water back in the bag and snapped to attention, giving him a mock salute. “Your wish is my command.”

“Don’t press your luck.” Patterson strode off, looking back once before he stepped into an elevator.

Sharky waited until the doors closed. He swiped his hand across his forehead. “I have to say, it was touch and go there for a moment.”

“I wouldn’t risk it,” Millie warned. “Something tells me if you get flagged again, he’ll keep his promise.”

“No doubt.” Sharky slung the backpack over his shoulder. “See you at quarter past.”

“See you then.” To save time, Millie made a beeline for the center set of stairs, a straight climb to the atrium where Danielle told her she would be waiting. She made it with two minutes to spare before the tour was scheduled to start.

Danielle spotted her. She gave Millie a quick wave and hurried over. “Thank you for getting back here so fast.”

“You’re welcome. What’s going on? I thought the new passenger’s embarkation went off without a hitch.”

“It has until a few minutes ago. The leader of the cruise group who booked the behind-the-scenes tour isn’t happy.”

Millie frowned. “Not happy about what?”

“Here he comes now.” Danielle grew silent, waiting for the man to approach. “Hello, Mr. Zevron. I would like to introduce you to Millie Armati, our cruise director.”

“So good of you to deem our group worthy of your time,” he said sarcastically.

Millie, in no mood for rudeness, snapped back. “Every passenger on board this ship is worthy of my time. You are the reason I’m here.”

“It seems you may have forgotten that, at least momentarily,” he replied.

“I haven’t forgotten anything.” Millie forced a smile. “My job is to ensure each and every one of the people on board this ship has fun, enjoys their vacation and loves it so much they can’t wait to cruise with us again.”

“You’ve got your work cut out to convince me.”

“Please explain to me exactly what is making you so unhappy.”

“I signed our group up for a behind-the-scenes tour,” Zevron explained. “Specifically requesting at the time I made the reservation that you be the guide.”

“An emergency came up.” Millie motioned to Danielle. “Danielle has done dozens, if not hundreds, of tours. She knows this ship inside and out. Rest assured your tour will be topnotch.”

“As I’m sure you’re aware, these tours aren’t cheap. We requested and expected you.”

Millie, wisely deciding this wasn’t a battle worth fighting, lifted both hands. “Fair enough. I’m here. Shall we get started?”

Her refusal to argue appeared to have taken the wind out of Zevron’s sails. He actually looked disappointed that Millie was there and would be giving them the guided tour. She secretly suspected his next step was to raise a stink with plans to get the tour fee refunded.

“We’ll start your tour in one of the most important areas of the ship—the engine room.” While they walked, Millie rattled off some statistics. “Siren of the Seas uses between 30 and 50 gallons of fuel per mile. Of course, this figure depends on the ship’s speed, along with several other factors.”

Using her keycard, she accessed the crew-only stairwell leading down to the engine room. Reaching the designated area, Millie introduced the guests to the staff, including the chief engineer.

She stood off to the side while he greeted the group and answered questions.

Up next was a tour of the laundry facility. Rahul, the laundry center’s supervisor, shared interesting tidbits about his department, including how much laundry was washed in a day, pointed out the highlights of their conservation efforts, and answered a handful of questions.

Moving on, they trekked upstairs to the galley. Because Annette was on shore, Amit was on hand to share anecdotes about working in one of the busiest departments on board, rattling off some facts and figures, the number of eggs consumed per day, slices of bread, gallons of coffee.

The galley tours were the longest and most detailed portion, where passengers were allowed inside the refrigerators and freezers, and given a glimpse of where provisions were kept. After they left for the up close look at the inner workings of the galley, Millie stepped off to the side to check her phone.

While she was checking her messages, a new one from Sharky popped up. She’s out! Elvira has posted bond.

Millie promptly texted back. Great. Maybe we can meet her at her RV.

Sounds like a plan.

Millie’s group circled back around, returning to their starting location. Amit passed out special treats—cookies shaped like Siren of the Seas, with the ship’s initials etched in frosting, thanking them for stopping by the galley.

The tour continued downstairs and backstage, where Millie gave them a brief glimpse of the dressing room, along with a sneak peek at the props and then introduced them to Felix, who had just wrapped up a ballroom dancing class.

“What a good-looking group you have today,” he gushed. “Are you enjoying your tour so far?”

“Felix is in charge of our stage team,” Millie explained. “He’s one of our most talented dancers and performers on board Siren of the Seas.”

A woman spoke up. “I saw you last time I cruised on this ship. You were phenomenal.”

Beaming at the unexpected compliment, he took a small bow. “Thank you very much.”

“I thought you might give them a quick rundown of what a headliner show entails,” Millie said.

“So much work.” Felix twirled around. “Every moment, every lyric, every song is fine-tuned until our performance is seamless, magical and, most important, memorable.”

While Felix talked, Millie sneaked off to make sure her office was tidy. She turned to find a passenger coming up behind her. It was her grumpy group host. “Hello, Mr. Zevron. Are you enjoying your tour so far?”

“The engine room visit was interesting. We could’ve skipped the laundry part. Other than that, I guess it’s okay.”

“I’m sorry you found a part of the tour not to your liking,” she apologized.

“It’s okay. I knew going into it we would see the laundry center. My wife is asking if we’ll be touring the bridge.”

“Yes. The bridge is our last stop where you’ll meet Captain Armati.”

“Captain Armati,” he repeated. “Your last name is Armati.”

“It is,” Millie confirmed. “The captain is my husband.”

“Ah.” Zevron arched his eyebrow, and she could see his wheels spinning. “No wonder you have a top job.”

“My husband has nothing to do with my position as cruise director.” Millie bit back the rest of what she wanted to say and wisely left it at that.

“No? Seems to me your relationship would work in your favor.”

It took every ounce of willpower not to want to wipe the smirk off the rude man’s face. “The employment department doesn’t function that way. For the record, each and every crewmember, officer and staff employee on board this ship works long hours to provide you with the best vacation possible, including myself.”

“I wasn’t saying you didn’t work hard. All I was saying is being married to the ship’s captain must have its advantages.”

Thankfully, Felix was wrapping up his speech.

Millie pointedly sidestepped him. “If you’ll excuse me.”

She called the rest of the group to her office, allowing them a brief look inside before leading them up several decks to the bridge. During the walk, Millie radioed her husband, giving the bridge crew a heads up she was bringing a group through.

Nic, always eager to welcome guests to the bridge, invited them to gather around the controls. She stood near the back, beaming with pride as he shared snippets of what it was like being captain. It was clear he loved what he did, loved the people, the ship, and his crew.

She glanced at her watch. The tour was wrapping up, and not a moment too soon. Millie needed to head down to the gangway to meet Sharky.

She took a group photo with Nic front and center, and the guests gathered around him. Zevron slipped away and marched over to where Millie stood snapping photos. “Are we touring the captain’s quarters?”

“No. We’ve suspended tours of this area.”

Zevron’s eyes narrowed. “I thought we were gonna get to see where the captain lives.”

“It wasn’t on the schedule, nor mentioned at any point, so I’m not sure where you got the impression you would tour his private quarters.”

“S-someone online mentioned touring the captain’s apartment,” he blustered. “Why not?”

“Because it’s currently not available to view.” Millie’s answer was only partially true. Depending on her mood, she sometimes invited the guests in. Zevron’s combative attitude had helped her decide the apartment was off limits.

“That’s disappointing.” He stalked off.

Millie positioned herself near the door. “This concludes the tour of the ship. We’ll be returning to the atrium. A complimentary photo of your group and the ship’s captain will be delivered to your stateroom before the ship docks at the end of our cruise.”

She herded the group out of the bridge, holding the door until the last guest had exited. Millie caught Nic’s eye. He winked. She blew him a kiss and slipped out.

It was a quick jaunt back to their starting point. Millie thanked them for accompanying her on the tour. She answered a few questions. One by one, the passengers drifted away. Everyone except for Zevron.

“Thank you for the tour, Millie.”

“You’re welcome. I love Siren of the Seas and I love showing it off to guests,” she said sincerely.

“I want to apologize if I offended you about…well, suggesting you got your job because of the captain. My wife has already planned our entire week—all the shows, trivia, bingo, shore excursions.” Zevron told her his wife had finished cancer treatments, and the cruise was their way of celebrating. “She was so excited to meet you in person. I guess when I found out you weren’t hosting the tour, I got a little cranked up about it.”

Millie touched his arm. “I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I’ll add her to my prayer list.”

“Thanks. She’s gonna be okay. I just…thank you for being understanding.”

“I hope you have a wonderful cruise and you have many years left together.” Millie could feel tears burn the back of her eyes as Zevron made his way over to his wife, a woman she had chatted with several times during the tour.

“You never know what battles people are fighting,” she whispered under her breath. “Always…keep your cool.”

With a final glance at the couple, who rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, Millie hurried back to the apartment to swap out her work uniform for street clothes. It was time to figure out if they had a shot at clearing Elvira’s name.