Page 17 of Waylaid in Whittier (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #5)

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. Standing on the other side was a small cluster of people.

An older woman with thick oval glasses and ringlets of white hair springing up all over her head shuffled forward. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you to whoever rescued us,” Millie said.

“It was me. I figured this old relic was getting ready to break down,” she said. “It’s Saturday, after all.”

“What does Saturday have to do with the elevator breaking down?”

“Old Ellie. That’s our nickname for her, is on a regular schedule. She breaks down on Saturdays and Wednesdays.”

“Almost always on those days,” the man standing behind her added. “Although Ellie is occasionally ahead of schedule.”

“We’ve learned how to fix her. All you have to do is press a certain sequence of buttons and voila. She’s back in action.” The elderly woman stepped into the elevator. “Do you still want to go up?”

“Yes please. To the fifth floor,” Sharky said.

“That’s where I’m going. I live on five.” She pressed the button and waited for the doors to close. “You’re not from around here. Are you visiting friends?”

Millie and Sharky exchanged a quick glance. “Actually, we’re here to find out more about a resident. Do you know Wanda Tillman?”

“Wanda lives across the hall and down from me,” she said. “She was attacked the other night by a friend of hers.”

“Elvira Cobb,” Sharky said. “We’re friends. Not Wanda’s friend, but Elvira’s.”

A flicker of confusion flitted across her face. “You don’t say.”

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and the doors opened.

“Wanda and Elvira seemed to hit it off. At least that’s what Wanda told me last time I talked to her.”

“Elvira didn’t attack her. We’re trying to figure out who did.” Millie pointed to herself. “I’m Millie and this is Sharky. We work on board the cruise ship that docked this morning.”

“Oh, yes. Your ship is beautiful. The big cruise ships dock every Saturday in the summer. Sometimes they leave the same day, while other times they stay overnight.”

“We’ll be in port overnight,” Millie said. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Because I didn’t give it to you.” She lowered her voice. “My children keep warning me bad people prey on older adults. I promised them I wouldn’t share personal information about myself with strangers.”

“I suppose that’s a good idea. We live in different times these days.”

“I guess this means you aren’t willing to share information about Wanda, who she associated with, if you knew anyone who may have had a reason to attack her,” Sharky said.

“I don’t mind talking about Wanda. She’s been busy lately, hardly ever at home and always on the go. I finally stopped her last week to ask her what she was up to. That’s when she told me she was working with a production company, the one who is filming a show about gold mining.”

Millie’s heart skipped a beat. “She and Elvira were part of the same group. I believe a few others in the group are locals. From what we were told, they’re wrapping things up for the season.”

Wanda’s no-name neighbor coyly placed her hand on her hip. “She’s been busy entertaining at least two of them at her place. I’ve seen them come and go.”

“Do you remember what they looked like?”

The woman described Alex, the producer and Carter Morley to a ‘t.’ “Wanda is a looker. Why, she’s had plenty of boyfriends, but I’ve never seen her juggling two at the same time.”

While No-name talked, Sharky stepped off to the side and began tapping the top of his phone. He motioned toward Wanda’s neighbor. “Our friend forwarded me a photo of the gold mining team. I was wondering if you could confirm these are the men you saw.”

The woman pressed on the bridge of her glasses. “I’ll try.”

Sharky held up his phone and turned it toward her.

No-name squinted her eyes and studied the photo. “It’s a bit small. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be.”

“Let me make it bigger.” Sharky double-clicked on the photo and turned the screen back around.

“Yes. I believe I recognize the two men standing in the front.”

Sharky glanced at the photo and tucked his phone back inside his pocket. “Thank you, Miss…Wanda’s neighbor.”

“You’re welcome.” She shifted her purse to her other arm. “I should run along now. It’s almost five and time for my early evening news show to come on.”

“Almost five?” Millie glanced at her watch. “We need to get going.”

“Don’t you want to look at Wanda’s unit?”

“The Flamethrower can get us back to the ship on time, even if we hang around for a few more minutes,” Sharky said.

“And the elevator doesn’t break down again.”

“Ellie shouldn’t strand anyone until Wednesday. Like we said, she’s on a regular routine.” No-name continued talking as she walked down the hall. She stopped in front of the door with the number “504” on the front of it. “This is Wanda’s apartment.”

“And from your place you noticed the men coming and going?” Millie asked.

“Yes. Now, don’t think I’m a nosy neighbor who was spying on her. The reason I noticed them was because they were talking loudly, like this.” The woman made a loud honking sound. “It was blah, blah, honk. Of course, my hearing isn’t the greatest at my age, so I don’t know what they were saying.”

“Is there anything else you can recall about Wanda, anything that seems out of character or unusual for her?”

“No. Wanda is a good person, not to mention a great neighbor. I’m relieved to hear she’s going to be all right.”

“So are we.” Millie thanked No-name for the information and she and Sharky backtracked down the hall to the bank of elevators.

The woman stood watching while Sharky jabbed the down button.

“She’s waiting until we’re gone before going into her apartment,” Sharky whispered.

“No-name is taking her children’s don’t give out personal information advice seriously,” Millie whispered back.

The elevator made a grinding sound. It took another thirty seconds for the doors to open.

She hesitated. “I’m getting a bad feeling.”

“So am I,” Sharky said. “We have eight minutes to get back to the ship. I say we don’t risk getting stuck in Ellie and take the stairs.”

“I agree.” Millie stepped over to the sign labeled “emergency exit” with a picture of a set of stairs next to it. She eased the door open and waited for Sharky to follow her inside the stairwell.

They descended several flights before reaching the first floor. Taking the side exit, they circled around to the main parking lot. In a flash, they were back on the Flamethrower, speeding through town and to the ship.

Passing through security was quick and easy. They were on board with minutes to spare.

“Elvira should be checking in soon,” Millie said. “Your shift ends at ten?”

“Yep. We need a game plan. Someone from the gold mining group is behind Wanda’s attack. Now, all we need to do is figure out who.”

“The next logical step is to track down their names so I can start researching them on the internet.”

“Consider it done.” Sharky promised as soon as he heard from Elvira, he would get a list and send it to her.

“Let’s meet up in the galley at ten. By then, we should have something to go on.” Millie crossed her fingers. “At least that’s what I’m hoping.”

“If not, something tells me Elvira’s going to be stuck in Whittier for a lot longer than she wants.”

Millie took off, making her rounds, greeting guests and welcoming them. The first night of the cruise was the most exciting, at least to her…if she were to put herself in the passengers’ shoes.

A new ship, new shipmates, exploring the entertainment venues, checking out the cozy nooks and crannies, eagerly awaiting the evening’s headliner show, poring over the day’s schedule, savoring the first meal on board the ship…knowing you didn’t have to cook or clean for an entire week.

Meals from morning until late in the evening. The buffet, the formal dining room, the pizza station, the deli stand, the ice cream counter, room service. Or what was Millie’s personal favorite…coffee and croissants on her private balcony. All you had to do was hang your order on the door and it would be delivered when you wanted.

The pampering didn’t end with room service. Passengers left their cabins in the morning, beds unmade, towels hanging from the hooks, dirty dishes on the desk, only to return and find the room steward, part-magician and part-ninja, had breezed in and made it look like you had never even stepped foot inside.

The most pressing concern was what activity to attend, making sure you didn’t miss the shows—comedians, magicians, the singers and dancers. It was no wonder cruises were top vacation destinations.

She ran upstairs and grabbed Scout to help her host a pre-dinner cruise director chat in the Paradise Lounge, sharing a few of the highlights of the upcoming voyage, and thanking them for choosing Siren of the Seas.

After the talk ended, passengers hung around to thank her and greet the ship’s unofficial mascot.

Joy Turner, a server and friend of Millie’s, swung by to grab a handful of empty glasses. “Hey, Millie.”

“Hello, Joy. I haven’t seen you around lately.”

“I’ve been working in the elite passenger’s private dining room and lounge. The suites and VIP packages have been sold out for the last few cruises.”

Millie wasn’t surprised. Many of the passengers were returning guests to Siren of the Seas, with Alaska being a favorite destination. “Are you ready to head back to warmer weather?”

“Yes, and no. I’m going to miss the mountains, the glaciers. There’s so much to explore.” Joy shifted her tray. “What about you?”

“I’ll miss it, but I’m looking forward to being closer to home.” Millie helped carry a tray full of glasses to the back before swinging by guest services to chat with Nikki Tan, the supervisor, to make sure there weren’t any issues she needed to address.

Thankfully, nothing pressing had popped up, at least not yet, and she made her way downstairs for her first round of bingo. After finishing, she dropped Scout off at home and returned to the theater to introduce the headliner show.

With Felix in charge, the show went off without a hitch, the aerial acrobats floating and flying while the Siren of the Seas’ band played along. The show ended and received a rousing round of applause.

Millie returned to the stage, reminding guests they were docking overnight and would leave the following day. She also reminded them to stay on the ship’s time, knowing many of them had traveled through various time zones in order to reach Whittier.

After finishing, she grabbed a quick bite to eat and returned to the apartment. As promised, Sharky had sent the names of the people who were part of Elvira’s gold mining group. She forwarded the list to her email and printed a copy.

Yip. Scout trampled over the top of her foot, demanding her attention.

She scooped him up and scratched his ears. “It’s been a long day, huh?”

The pup pawed at her sleeve, his signal he wanted to play. She tracked down his favorite ball and played catch until he grew tired of the game.

Knock. Knock.

“I wonder who that could be.” Millie hurried down the hall. She opened the door and found Danielle standing on the other side. “Hey, Millie. I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“Not at all. I was getting ready to research the people who are in Elvira’s gold mining group.”

“I talked to Brody. He told me what happened.”

“I haven’t had a chance to tell him that Sharky and I got stuck in an elevator.”

Danielle’s eyes widened. “You got stuck in an elevator?”

“In Wanda Tillman’s apartment building.” Millie filled her in about meeting the woman’s neighbor. “I’m almost certain the person who attacked Wanda is part of the gold mining group.”

She pulled an empty chair around the table and next to hers. Starting at the top, she and Danielle began working their way down the list. “Alex Smith is the producer.” She typed his name and Gold Grade Mining Group into the search bar.

Millie clicked on the link, and a website popped up.

Danielle let out a low whistle. “This looks like a big operation.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Millie skimmed the main page before clicking on the “about us” tab. Photos and detailed profiles appeared.

Alex Smith’s was near the top. She pulled up his bio, her breath catching in her throat when she read the first paragraph. “Will you look at that?”