Page 19 of Waylaid in Whittier (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #5)

After everyone had assembled inside the galley, Millie brought them up to speed and laid out her plan. “We need to check out the Morley gold-mining site to search for clues.”

“And risk being shot at?” Cat pressed her hand to her chest. “The folks up here are serious about their gold and guns.”

“Morley died a year ago. From what Danielle and I could tell from looking at the satellite image, his mine is in a remote location, off the beaten path and shut down.”

“I’m in.” Sharky clapped his hands. “Creepy old mines at night in remote locations are what scary movies are made of. This is right up my alley.”

“Not mine,” Cat said. “It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Is Elvira planning to meet up with us?” Millie asked.

“I don’t know. She’s been running a bunch of errands. She’s packing up and plans to drop her gear off here. If she makes it in time, she’ll head our way.” Sharky told them Reef was expecting her and would escort her to his cabin to drop her stuff off.

“I’ll stay here and bail you out if needed,” Cat said.

“Before I forget.” Millie nudged her friend. “How is Kendra?”

“Much better. Ever since you talked to her, it’s been like night and day.”

“Kendra who works in the gift shop?” Danielle asked.

“Yeah. She’s been struggling lately.”

“What happened?”

“She’s homesick,” Millie and Cat said in unison.

“Ah. It happens to the best of us.”

“I let her use my home computer to FaceTime her family.” Millie tapped Danielle’s arm. “Back to the Morley mine trip. So far it’ll be Annette, me and Sharky, for sure. What about you?”

Brody spoke up. “I rented the truck until tomorrow. I plan on getting my money’s worth and am ready for some nighttime four-wheeling.”

“If Brody is going, count me in,” Danielle said.

“Cat will stay behind and be our backup. It’s ten-thirty now. I need to pack up a few supplies. I say we meet near the security checkpoint at eleven.”

“Sounds good.”

With a plan in place, the group split up.

Millie was one of the last to leave. Annette stopped her at the door. “Do you think it’s safe for us to go wandering around private property in Alaska’s wilderness at night?”

“I think we have a better chance of running into wildlife. The satellite photo we found is only a few months old. If someone hasn’t started the mining operations in the last couple of months, I think we’re safe.”

Annette’s cell phone rang. “I need to take this call.” She hurried over to her desk and began talking in a low voice, occasionally looking in Millie’s direction.

Finally, the conversation ended, and she returned. “Sorry. Where were we?”

“I think you were getting ready to chicken out,” Millie teased.

Annette waved dismissively. “We’ve been in sketchier situations.”

“Unless we get caught, and then it might make it to the top five.”

“True. Alaska is a long way from Miami.”

“I have no intention of getting stuck up here.” Millie motioned toward her friend’s phone. “Was that Jose?”

“Yeah. We were gonna meet up after I clocked out. I told him I would need to take a raincheck. He wanted to know what I was doing.”

“Did you tell him?”

“Nah. He’s not too enthused about me getting involved in other people’s business.”

“Even if it involves a friend who asked for your help?”

“He thinks…” Annette’s voice faded.

“He thinks I’m a bad influence.” Millie meant it as a joke, but she could tell from the look on her friend’s face she’d hit the nail on the head. “He does. He thinks I’m trouble.”

“In his defense, he doesn’t know you. Jose has only heard the rumors, how you’ve been involved in a few…in a lot of issues on board the ship.”

“But not without a reason. And, I might add, we’ve done a pretty good job of catching the bad guys, even saving Scout from being kidnapped and Sharky killed.”

“He doesn’t understand. I’m sure once he gets to know you, he’ll change his mind,” Annette said. “I need to run back to my cabin to grab a few things and will meet you out at the gangway.”

“See you soon.” Millie trudged out of the galley, her concern over her friend’s budding romance with Jose weighing heavy on her mind.

To be fair, the group of friends had been involved in some sticky situations through the years. Millie had even been written up for misconduct. But all the mysteries, all the involvement, had been for a reason.

It was possible someone was filling Jose’s head with half-truths. On the flip side, perhaps he felt threatened by Annette’s friends and was trying to drive a wedge between them.

She hoped not. Millie had been one of Annette’s closest confidants, her friend, for years now. What right did Jose have to waltz back into her life and think he could tell her who she should and shouldn’t hang around?

Something told her eventually she and Jose would clear the air. Whether it would be a positive thing or a day of reckoning remained to be seen.

*****

Millie paced. “Brody is late. Maybe he can’t make it after all.”

“There’s always the option of renting an Uber,” Annette suggested.

Sharky counted heads. “You, me, Danielle and Millie all in one vehicle being dropped off at a supposedly abandoned mining site? I’m sure it won’t raise any red flags.”

“Last I heard, he was on his way. He should be here any moment,” Danielle said. “What about Elvira?”

“She’s back at base camp, keeping an eye on the others. She told me she wasn’t ready to leave yet, and seems convinced the culprit is going to break into her RV again.”

“To steal what?” Millie asked. “I thought she was all packed up and ready to hightail it out of there.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure why,” Sharky said. “She was being slightly evasive and said something about setting some sort of trap.”

“Setting a trap?” Millie folded her arms. “Maybe she’s feeding you a line. She went back to Mount Baldie, found a bunch of gold and is hoarding it in her RV until she boards Siren of the Seas.”

“Letting us do all her dirty work,” Annette added.

“You never know with Elvira. I do know one thing. She’s freaking out that she might be stuck in Whittier.”

“All the more reason she should have some skin in the game,” Danielle said. “If we get picked up for trespassing, she needs to bail us out.”

“I see Brody.”

The night security supervisor wasn’t hard to miss. A head taller than most people, the former bouncer was an intimidating figure, which made him the perfect person to accompany them on their late-night intel mission.

“Sorry if I’m late. I had a minor issue to handle upstairs in the casino. The good news is no one needed to be jailed. It’s already full.”

“Great. And this is only day one of the new passengers being on board,” Millie groaned. “Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of things to come.”

“Eh.” Brody gave them a thumbs down. “The first night is typically busy for security. Everybody is jacked up, ready for a good time. A few of them are a little rambunctious. It’ll calm down.”

“Does Patterson know where we’re going?” Annette asked.

“I didn’t mention it to him,” Millie said.

“Me either,” Danielle said.

“I haven’t seen Patterson all day,” Sharky chimed in.

“I told him we had a small errand to run,” Brody said. “When he found out it involved Millie, he told me it was probably best if he didn’t know what we were up to.”

Danielle playfully punched her friend in the arm. “He knows Millie all too well.”

“I would love to stand here and let each of you take a jab at me, but we have more important things to do.” Millie and Danielle climbed into the front seat with Brody while Annette and Sharky hopped in the back.

Using her phone’s GPS, Danielle directed Brody away from the port, through downtown, and to the other end. Beyond the main drag, the buildings became fewer and farther in between.

Bam. Brody slammed on the brakes.

Millie’s head flew forward. “Whoa.”

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I thought I saw something run across the road.”

“Was it a bear?” Sharky peered into the darkness. “Seeing a bear at night in the wild would be pretty awesome.”

“Not to me,” Millie said. “I would be perfectly fine if I never ran across a bear up close.”

Brody picked up speed again, cruising along at a decent clip. A mile past town, the road turned to gravel.

“We’re almost there.” Danielle warned Brody he needed to slow down. “Start looking for a mailbox or some sort of marking with the number 147.”

“I see something up ahead on the left,” Sharky said.

“I see it too.” Brody took his foot off the gas and coasted toward the wooden stake with the neon numbers 147 painted on it. “This is the place.”

He cranked the wheel and turned into the driveway. It was surprisingly wide and Millie suspected it was because large pieces of equipment had been transported to the mine.

Rows of pine trees lined both sides of the property. The driveway curved right. The trees cleared and opened onto a strip of flat terrain. A long, low shack with a metal roof was on one side.

Millie glimpsed the top of the structure she’d seen on the satellite image. “I think the mine is over there.”

Brody tapped the gas, moving at a snail’s pace. Clusters of thick weeds clumped together and spread out.

Judging by the condition of the driveway, vehicles still accessed the site. Hopefully, they didn’t plan on showing up anytime soon.

The farther they went, the closer they got to the rambling metal structure.

Brody reached a tree stump and shifted into park. “This is as far as we go, ladies and gent. I’ve been keeping an eye out. I don’t see any sort of surveillance equipment.”

“I didn’t either.” Millie reached for the door handle. “We’ll get in and out fast. What we need to look for is some sort of clue linking Carter Morley to Mount Baldie.”

“Even if we can prove Carter is interested in Elvira’s honey hole, how are we going to prove he may have been involved in Wanda’s attack?” Annette asked. “Short of finding the weapon.”

“Finding the weapon would be a bonus,” Millie said. “Something tells me we won’t get that lucky.”

“Unless Carter is dumb,” Sharky said. “He doesn’t strike me as being stupid.”

Millie handed out flashlights. “We need a clue to Elvira’s RV break-in or Wanda’s attack.”

Brody shined his light along the front of the structure. “I see a walkway across the water.”

“One way in and one way out. For safety’s sake, two of us should scope out the building while the others check out the shack.” Sharky puffed up his chest. “The brawn of the bunch will search the building while you lovely sleuths investigate the shed.”

Danielle patted her pocket. “Keep your cell phones close at hand in case we need to stay in touch.”

“What about this?” Sharky reached into his backpack, pulled out a whistle and whistled loudly.

Millie whacked his arm. “Sharky Kiveski. Talk about drawing attention.”

“Sorry. I mean, it’s not like anyone can hear me.”

“You hope not. Try to stay away from the water.”

“Falling in the water is the least of our worries.” Brody, with Sharky by his side, began making his way along the walkway.

Meanwhile, Millie, Danielle, and Annette turned toward the other structure.

“This place gives me the heebie-jeebies,” Danielle whispered.

“I have to say, it’s kinda creeping me out,” Annette agreed.

“I could think of worse places to search,” Millie said.

“Like where?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

“If we figure this one out, Elvira Cobb is going to owe us,” Danielle said. “Do you believe what Sharky said about her setting a trap?”

“It’s possible. Or she could be making a last ditch effort to find more gold before leaving Whittier,” Millie said. “Hopefully, whatever she’s up to doesn’t put her back in jail.”