Page 14 of Waylaid in Whittier (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #5)

Elvira, with a brown cowboy hat perched atop her head, climbed out of the truck. Her ripped jeans had seen better days. A long-sleeved flannel shirt hung loosely over her hips. She strutted across the road, her steel-toed work boots kicking up dust as she walked.

“Elvira meets the Wild West,” Annette whispered under her breath.

Millie said the first thing that popped into her head. “You look…rugged.”

“No sense in wearing nice clothes when you’re digging in the dirt.” She tapped the rim of her hat. “Besides, it’s important to blend in with the locals. It helps when you’re trying to get a foothold in the mining business.”

“You don’t look any worse for the wear as far as sitting in jail,” Cat said.

“You remember my friends.” Millie introduced Elvira to Brody, Annette and Cat.

“It’s nice to see you again.” Elvira politely shook hands. “Thanks for offering to help me.”

“You’re welcome,” Annette said. “We’re kind of tight on time. Millie already filled us in. The bottom line is you think you found gold. So did this other miner, Wanda. You argued at the local bar. After she left, she was attacked.”

“In a nutshell,” Elvira said. “I didn’t do it.”

“Do you think it was someone who found out about your promising dig location?” Cat asked.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Wanda and I are…were friends. She got a little too curious about my honey hole. I warned her to back off. She caught me off guard, that’s all.”

Millie started to pace. “She was attacked, but not robbed.”

“Correct,” Elvira confirmed. “If you visit the bar, you’ll see it’s in the heart of town, meaning it was easily accessible to whoever attacked her.”

“Millie and I already swung by there and spoke with one of the bartenders. He told us Wanda lives in Valley Shore Apartments. Have you ever heard of the place?”

“Sure. Everyone in Whittier knows Valley Shores. In fact, most of the residents live there or in the Begich building. If you’re thinking about stopping by, I have a word of warning. At least a few of the locals aren’t keen on chatting with outsiders.” Elvira tugged on her shirt. “Another reason I’m wearing these carefully selected duds.”

“The guy working at the bar didn’t seem to mind chatting,” Millie said.

“I’m only telling you what I know.” Elvira turned to Brody. “You drove up to the potential site and looked around?”

“We did.” Annette turned her cell phone on and showed Elvira a photo of the dig site. “Someone has been up there.”

“I figured it was only a matter of time.” Elvira scowled. “Are you sure you were in the right place?”

“We went by the map you drew.”

Elvira fished her keys from her pocket. “I had better take another look at the original drawing. My coordinates may have been off.”

“Which camper is yours?” Sharky spun in a slow circle.

“The little one on the end. The one that looks like a bubble.” Elvira led them across the open field to the smallest RV. The group gathered at the door, watching as she stuck the key in the lock. “It looks like someone scratched the lock.”

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Millie’s stomach as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

“Great.”

“Let me guess. Someone broke in,” Millie said.

“Yeah. And they tore my place apart.”

She stuck her head around the corner and peered inside the camper. Sure enough, the place was a mess. Cupboard doors and cabinet drawers were open. Utensils, dish towels and papers were strewn across the bench seat. The bed’s mattress stood on end.

Elvira began frantically digging through the kitchen cabinets. “It’s gone.”

“The map?” Sharky asked.

“Is missing. Hang on. I remember now.” She dropped to her knees, wiggled the register’s cover from the floor and removed a folded sheet of paper. “Whew. For a minute there I was freaking out.” Elvira rocked back on her heels. “Someone broke into my RV while I was sitting in jail. They had to have been looking for my map.”

“How on earth did they know it was here?” Millie eased past Sharky. “Did you tell anyone about it?”

“I may have mentioned it to Wanda, although I guess by then she already knew the location.”

Millie began poking around the kitchen area. “Is there any chance Wanda broke in here?”

“No way.” Elvira told her she was late arriving at the bar because she got caught up exploring Mount Baldie. As soon as she finished, she ran home to shower and meet the others. “Wanda was already there. Besides, she didn’t need a map. Like I said, she already knew how to get to my special spot.”

“And then she was attacked,” Millie said. “We can cross her off the list.”

“I usually keep it with me, but decided to leave it behind,” Elvira said. “Someone must’ve come here looking for it.”

“Came looking for it and made a mess.” Millie ran her hand along the counter. “Maybe someone is spying on you.”

Elvira squared her shoulders. “Not a chance. I own a PI company and can spot surveillance devices from a mile away.”

“But only if you were specifically looking for them,” Millie pointed out. “It’s a shame we don’t have a hidden device detector.”

“You mean like this?” Sharky unzipped his backpack and removed a rectangular, black box. “This little gem can detect wireless cameras, body wires, locate wiretapping devices, phone taps, GPS trackers, you name it.”

Brody admired Sharky’s gadget. “I need one of these. What kind of Gs can this track?”

“1.2G, 2.4G, all the way up to 5.8G.”

Brody rubbed his palms together. “I can’t wait to see how it works.”

“It works great. The best thing is the price. It only set me back forty bucks.”

“You’ll have to send me the link to where you bought it.”

“Will do.” Sharky handed it to Millie.

“This is slick. I’ll admit I’m curious. What do you use it for?” She answered her own question. “Never mind. I’m sure I don’t want to know.”

“Probably not. All you have to do is extend the antenna, flip the switch and start pointing it. The faster the beeps, the closer you are to a hidden device.”

“You’re wasting your time.” Elvira stuck her hands on her hips. “I’ve already checked around.”

“Only one time?”

“Yeah. When I first got here.”

“Someone may have installed a device after you checked.” Millie aimed it at the cabinets and along the bunk bed. Working her way down and right to left, she ran the detector over every nook and cranny of the main living area.

Up next was the dining room followed by the compact kitchen, comprising of a single sink, a mini fridge, a two-burner stove and tabletop microwave.

“The bathroom is on the other side of the door,” Elvira said. “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.”

Millie eased the door open, anticipating the same mess they had found in the main section, but was pleasantly surprised. The bathroom was neat and tidy. She finished her inspection and returned to where the others stood waiting. “It’s clean.”

Sharky took the detector, his attention focused on the window in front of the sink. “Your window blinds are open.”

“I leave them open most days. In case you haven’t noticed, this camper is the size of a shoebox. I like the natural light.”

While Elvira talked, Sharky turned the detector on and aimed it at the window. It beeped loudly in rapid succession. “Detecto-meter is onto something.”

His girlfriend scrambled to her feet. “Where?”

“Over here. Hold this.” He handed the device to her. Using his fingernail, he popped the screen off.

“Bingo.” Sharky began wiggling a round dot, not much bigger than a thumbtack, which was wedged inside the window frame. “Someone has been spying on you.”

Elvira took the device and turned it over in her hand. “I can’t believe I missed this. I should fire myself.”

“Again, the device could have been installed after the fact,” Annette said.

“True.” Elvira placed it back where Sharky had found it, shifting it in a slightly different angle. “They don’t know it yet, but I’m gonna spy on the spy.”

“How will you do that?”

“I have my ways.” She stood back to inspect the slightly revised angle. “I still can’t believe I didn’t see this before.”

Millie patted Elvira’s shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up too badly. You had no reason to suspect you were being spied on.”

“If you want my two cents, I believe whoever attacked Wanda also broke in here looking for your map. They couldn’t find it, so they installed a camera,” Annette said.

“It stands to reason. Perhaps Wanda has a partner,” Millie theorized. “You’ve been with this group for several days now.”

“Almost two weeks if you’re keeping track.”

“Are there any others you think could be behind the attack?” Sharky asked.

“We have the producer, Alex. Carter Morley is the co-producer. There’s Wanda, me and three other miners.” Elvira made air quotes with her fingers. “The experts.”

“How many of them live here in Alaska?”

“Wanda and the so-called experts. Alex and Carter are only here for the show. As soon as they finish taping, they’re hightailing it back to LA.” Elvira darted inside and returned with a glossy 8x10 photo. “Here’s a photo of us.”

Millie studied the group. “The goldminers are in the back. Alex and Carter, the production guys are in the front standing next to you and the other woman, I’m guessing is Wanda.”

“Correct.”

“So, potentially five suspects.” Millie shifted her gaze toward the open field and circle of travel trailers. “How many people are staying at this site?”

“I’m not sure. The RVs are all rentals. I met a few people who are here to mine. Others are hiking the Horsetail Falls Trail. I haven’t checked it out personally, but I heard there’s a glacier nearby. People from all over the world come here to stay,” Elvira said.

“Which means we might need to widen the list of suspects,” Annette said. “Especially if other gold miners are staying in these RVs.”

“I can’t see any reason they would target me or know about the spot I found, other than Wanda.”

“All roads, at least at this point, lead back to Wanda. It looks like we need to find out more about her.” Millie glimpsed a dark SUV pulling into the RV area, along with a van with lettering on the side. “Someone just pulled in.”

“That’s Alex and Carter. I’ll introduce you to them.” Elvira took off, returning less than a minute later with two men by her side.

As they drew closer, Millie noticed one was younger, in his late twenties or early thirties if she had to guess, while the second man looked closer to his mid-forties.

“Alex, Carter, these are my friends from the cruise ship, Siren of the Seas.” Elvira nudged the forty-ish man’s arm. “This is Alex, my hero, and the person who helped get me out of jail.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sharky shook their hands. “Sharky Kiveski, head of maintenance on board Siren of the Seas.”

Millie was next. “Millie Armati, cruise director.”

“Brody Rourke, night security supervisor.”

Annette held out her hand. “Annette Delacroix, in charge of the food.”

“I’m Cat. I run one of the ship’s gift shops.”

“You have an interesting group of friends,” Carter said. “I’ve never been on a cruise ship, but after talking to Elvira, she’s convinced me maybe I should try it sometime.”

The group chatted about Elvira’s incarceration and Wanda’s attack, both Alex and Carter expressing deep concern about the incident.

Millie almost mentioned someone ransacking Elvira’s RV, but caught herself before she slipped. She thought Elvira was going to tell them but didn’t. “I hope she’s going to be all right.”

“Carter and I just left the hospital. Wanda has a few staples in her head and sprained her wrist when she fell. The doctor is releasing her and has told her she should make a full recovery.”

“It probably wouldn’t hurt to be on guard,” Brody said. “Considering her attacker is still on the loose.”

Carter motioned to Elvira. “Will you be packing up and leaving to board the ship?”

“It was my original plan. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to leave Whittier pending the outcome of Wanda’s investigation,” Elvira said. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed the charges will be dropped.”

“That sucks.” Sharky frowned. “I thought it was a done deal, and you were free to leave.”

“What about all of your gear and belongings?” Carter asked. “Are you leaving everything behind?”

“Otis was kind enough to rent me his old truck cheap, way cheaper than a rental company would’ve charged me, so I’m giving some of my stuff to him,” Elvira said. “I’ll hang out here tonight. If we have any luck figuring out what happened, I can load up and move out pretty quickly.”

“We’re packing up ourselves, getting ready to head back to LA.” Alex consulted his watch. “Best of luck, Elvira. I hope you make it out of town.”

“Thanks again for everything and for helping get me out of jail. I need to run back down there and sign off on the bond papers, so I had better get going.” Elvira watched the men walk away. “Maybe it was Otis. He’s been getting chummy with me.”

“I hate to sleuth and run, but I gotta get back to the galley,” Annette said.

“I need to head back too,” Brody said. “I’ll give you and Cat a ride.”

“I guess that leaves Sharky and me to do a little poking around at the apartment complex to see what we can find out about Wanda.”

“I’ll catch up with you after I’m done,” Elvira promised. “It’s probably best you go without me. The building’s manager was a jerk to me the last time I was there.”

“What did you do?”

Her eyes slid to the side. “The details are a little fuzzy, but I may have thrown a fit when the post office wouldn’t let me mail a package, claiming the contents were hazardous.”

“The post office is near the apartment building?” Cat asked.

“Not near, but in,” Elvira said. “The store, the post office, most businesses and facilities are under the same roof, similar to the more well-known Begich building.”

“I have to see this,” Millie said.

After Elvira locked up, the group caravanned out of the RV camping area and headed back toward town. Luck was on their side when Millie noticed vehicle traffic proceeding through the tunnel.

She and Sharky were sandwiched in between Elvira’s junker and Brody’s rental. They slowed, almost clearing the yield sign, when the traffic came to a sudden halt.

“Now what?” Millie groaned. “Please tell me there isn’t an accident.”

“I’ll check it out.” Sharky hopped off the scooter and jogged toward the entrance. He approached a couple who had exited their vehicle and began waving his arms.

He motioned to Millie, nodded his head, and ran back. “We have a big problem.”

“What sort of big problem?”

“Caboose the moose.”