Page 13 of Waylaid in Whittier (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #5)
“What are we waiting for?” Millie anxiously glanced at the tunnel burrowing straight through the mountain, the only way to get from the port area to their meeting spot and the gold mining group’s camp on the other side.
Sharky scratched his head. “I think I read somewhere this tunnel is used by the railroad and for vehicle traffic, so we gotta take turns. I see a light coming in our direction.”
Millie leaned to the side, looking past Sharky. Sure enough, a round beam of bright light grew even brighter.
Clickety-clack. Toot…toot. A massive locomotive appeared, barreling out of the tunnel and veering left along the tracks. Railcar after railcar emerged.
The minutes ticked past. Finally, Millie, Sharky, and the long line of vehicles behind them started to move. Not only move, but move at a brisk clip.
“I had no idea we were driving through a tunnel,” Millie said. “You know how I feel about enclosed spaces.”
“This isn’t just any tunnel,” Sharky said. “It’s the longest highway tunnel in North America. At least that’s what I read.”
“Great,” she groaned. “And knowing I’ll be in the longest tunnel is supposed to make me feel better?”
“You’ll be fine. The Flamethrower will have us on the other side before you know it.”
The pair had almost made it to the tunnel’s entrance when they came to an abrupt halt.
“Now what?”
“There’s something blocking the road.” Sharky placed his foot on the pavement. “It looks like a moose.”
“A moose?”
Bam. Bam. Bam.
A man emerged from around the side and began banging large metal discs together in an effort to get the moose to move.
Appearing utterly unfazed by the racket, the enormous creature took his time meandering past the entrance and rounding the corner.
Traffic crept forward. By the time they reached the entrance, they were once again traveling at a decent speed.
“It’s pitch black in here.” Sharky flipped his emergency flashers on, alerting the drivers behind him to the small scooter.
The farther they went, the darker it got, to the point Millie could feel her claustrophobia kicking in. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“You doing okay?” Sharky asked.
“Yes. As long as I keep my eyes closed.”
“I’ll let you know when we’re close to the other side.”
“Thanks.” She forced her thoughts to other, more pleasant things. At least Elvira was out of jail. If she didn’t board the Siren of the Seas while they were in Whittier, she would be out of luck. They were heading south…much farther south…in a matter of days.
As much as she loved Alaska, Millie was ready for new adventures. From what Nic had said, they were either going to Hawaii for the next repositioning cruise or to the Mediterranean.
Millie had never been to the Mediterranean, and she was secretly hoping it would make the cut. Visiting Greece, the islands, Italy, maybe even the French Riviera would be a dream come true.
“I see daylight up ahead.”
She opened her eyes, relieved to discover they were almost through. “Thank goodness.”
“I gotta admit, riding on the scooter through the tunnel was a little scary.” Sharky slowed. “Which way?”
Millie consulted the directions. “Turn left at the stop sign.”
“You got it.”
The route took them away from the tunnel, down a dirt road, and into a clearing. On one side of the clearing was a long, low wooden structure.
To the left was a two-story clapboard building. Beyond the buildings was an open field with a cluster of RVs arranged in a semi-circle.
Sharky let out a low whistle. “This is quite the setup.”
“Rustic living at its finest,” Millie quipped. “I see Brody, Cat and Annette over by their fancy set of wheels.”
“I see them too.” Sharky hit the gas. The scooter sped along until reaching the trio.
Annette waited for it to stop and for them to climb off. “We were wondering if you got lost.”
“We got stuck trying to get through the tunnel.” Millie unclipped her helmet and placed it on the seat. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No biggie. We’ve been here maybe ten minutes,” Cat said. “We haven’t seen Elvira.”
“Let me check on her. She was running a little behind. She might’ve gotten caught up in the same traffic jam we were in.” Sharky tapped out a quick text.
Tink. “She’s only a minute or so away.”
Brody pointed at Millie. “What’s the plan, boss lady?”
“I figured we would search Elvira’s RV for potential leads,” Millie said. “If the producer is around, maybe we can ask him a few questions. Hopefully, with Elvira out of jail, we can shift our investigation into high gear.”
“The clock is ticking,” Cat said. “We need to figure this out, and fast.”
“I see her coming now.” An old jalopy, a rusty pickup truck with a faded truck bed topper on the back, rambled down the road, rattling and clunking.
Millie shaded her eyes, watching as the truck bounced over the ruts. As it drew closer, she could see Elvira behind the wheel. But there was something different about her…something odd and out of character. “What in the world?”