Page 4 of Waylaid in Whittier (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #5)

“How was your day off?” Millie watched her right-hand gal, assistant cruise director, Danielle, breeze into her office early the next morning.

“Awesome.” She flopped down in a chair across from Millie. “Brody and I hung out in my cabin. We watched a marathon of old movies and ate junk food.”

“And did you catch up on your sleep?”

“You bet. It was at the top of my to-do list before Brody showed up for our nothing to do day started.” Danielle pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes. “It was heaven.”

“Good for you. You deserved it.” Millie tapped her pen on top of her notepad, thinking about her semi-restful night, except for the stretch of time when she was wide awake worrying about Elvira, Sharky and Jose.

“I ran into Andy. He showed me the picture of you standing in the new snow shower.”

“More like getting dumped on.” Millie grinned. “I wouldn’t admit it to him, but I was honored to be the first to test it out. Me and Scout. He loved playing in the snow.”

“Did I miss anything important yesterday?”

“Elvira Cobb is in Whittier. She and Sharky got into a fight after she told him she was waiting for our ship so she could hop on board and cruise south with us.”

Danielle’s eyes grew as round as saucers. “Knowing Sharky, I’m going to guess it went over like a lead balloon.”

“He wasn’t thrilled.”

“Because he didn’t schedule time off, which means he’ll be working. I don’t know much about the woman, but something tells me she doesn’t plan on sitting in his cabin, twiddling her thumbs and waiting for him to get off work.”

“Nope. Reading between the lines, she wants to enjoy a little R&R—a free vacation courtesy of Sharky and he wasn’t having any of it,” Millie said. “I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and believe she didn’t know Sharky would need to plan well in advance to take time off.”

“Poor guy. He doesn’t have much luck with women.” Danielle absentmindedly tapped the top of her scheduling app. “I have a full day today. The mix and mingles singles party, dress the guest, two galley tours and some other hosting events.”

“Speaking of galley, you missed out on a delicious baked salmon pie yesterday.” Millie smacked her lips. “I can still taste it.”

“I need to ask Amit and Annette to teach me how to cook one of these days.”

“Annette has a new friend…or should I say, an old friend who has come back on board.” Millie made googly eyes.

Danielle perked up. “A male friend?”

“His name is Jose Juan Carlos something, something. He used to go by the name of Gary.” Millie told her how she’d met the man only hours after boarding Siren of the Seas for the very first time. “Between you and me, the guy gave me a creepster vibe.”

“Annette’s one of the smartest people I know. She would show him the door if he wasn’t a good person.”

“Or maybe he has her fooled. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll run into him eventually.”

“What does he look like?”

Millie started to describe him and could tell from the look on her friend’s face she and Jose had already crossed paths, but not in a good way. “You’ve already met him?”

“I know who you’re talking about now. I’m not a fan.”

“What…did he do?”

“He works in the IT department. I was having an issue with my personal computer. I took it in to have them look at it. Jose was the one working. He helped me figure out the issue. While he thought I wasn’t paying attention, I caught him going over my recent internet searches without my permission.”

Millie’s jaw dropped. “You took your computer in to be looked at and he started digging around in your personal information?”

“Yep. I called him out. He apologized and made some lame excuse.” Danielle twined her fingers. “Maybe it’s the new company policy, but any other time I’ve taken my computer in to be checked out, the IT guys fix it and give it back. They don’t start snooping around.”

“I wouldn’t be happy about it either.”

Danielle’s watch chimed. “Time for me to head to the Sunrise Stretch yoga class.”

“While you’re up there, check out the snow shower if you have a chance. It’s pretty cool.”

“I will.” Danielle took off, and an inkling of concern crept in as Millie stared at the empty doorway. Jose’s actions were throwing up all sorts of red flags. Why had he come back after all this time? Even more concerning…why was her friend giving him the time of day?

Thinking it wouldn’t hurt to do a little digging around, she accessed Majestic Cruise Line’s personnel website.

Millie typed Jose’s name, or as much of it as she could remember, into the search bar and hit the enter key. A link to his file appeared.

“Here goes nothing.” She double-clicked on the link, pulling up his job history. Scrolling to the top, Millie noted he’d been employed by Majestic Cruise Lines roughly a year longer than she had, working on board Siren of the Seas until around the time of her initial contract.

He transferred a couple of weeks later to another ship and then another. The job descriptions were all the same. Jose worked in the IT department.

She leaned back in her chair and studied the screen. It wasn’t unusual for crewmembers to hop from ship to ship. In fact, it was more uncommon for them to stick with one like she had done. Many of them, especially the younger ones, strategically moved to various ships, allowing them to travel around the world based on a particular itinerary.

Had Millie not met Nic and fallen in love, she might have done the same. Perhaps Jose was of the same mindset.

She skimmed a few more lines and clicked out of the screen. Despite an inkling of concern, Annette was an adult, fully capable of deciding who she wanted to be involved with, except for the fact that several years back she’d insisted she was not interested in dating and was perfectly content being single.

But that was after Jose had left the ship. Perhaps she cared more for the man than she realized and was willing to give their relationship another chance. Either way, it wasn’t any of Millie’s business.

She pushed the troubling thought aside and jumped into her morning routine. First was the Sunrise Stride’s laps around the sports court.

The end of the summer in Alaska meant crisp mornings and cooler days, perfect for a brisk walk. While she strolled, Millie chatted with the other walkers, while making a point of appreciating the rugged terrain as the ship anchored near Anchorage.

An orange dot skimmed across the water. It was one of the ship’s lifeboats, heading to shore to pick up supplies along with crewmembers who were boarding for the voyage south.

After finishing, Millie hosted a round of trivia and then ran downstairs to grab a bite to eat.

Thinking it was going to be a day of nonstop running, she loaded up on scrambled eggs, rye toast, and thick slices of crispy bacon, along with a bowl of mixed fruit.

Millie swung by the beverage station for a cup of coffee before searching for an empty spot. She noticed Sharky at a high top bar with his back to her and an empty chair on each side.

She zigzagged past the tables and slipped in behind him. “Mind if I join you?”

Sharky spun around. “Hey, Millie. Have a seat.” He pulled the chair out, giving her enough room to slide in.

“Thanks.” She eased her tray onto the table. “How’s it going?”

“Not good. I tried calling Elvira last night. She didn’t answer. I texted her. She hasn’t replied. I think she’s really ticked off.”

“In your defense, she made a mistake when she surprised you.” Millie unwrapped her silverware. “I wouldn’t be happy if my boyfriend planned to hop on board the ship, expecting a free vacation while I had to work.”

“I hate to say it, but it’s kinda looking that way, like maybe she’s trying to take advantage of me.” Sharky scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal. “I don’t know what it is with me and women.”

“Elvira isn’t a bad person. On the bright side, she’s nothing like Svetlana.”

“Which isn’t saying much. Svetlana was going to kill me.”

“Because you tricked her into thinking you were a bigwig at Majestic Cruise Lines, which put a target on your back,” Millie reminded him.

“True. I learned my lesson.” Sharky reached for his glass of juice. “I guess there’s not much I can do if Elvira won’t return my calls or texts.”

“Would you like me to try calling her?”

He brightened. “Would you?”

Millie picked up her cell phone. “What’s her number?”

Sharky rattled it off while she dialed the number. The call went directly to voicemail.

“Hello, Elvira. It’s Millie Armati. Please give me a call when you get a chance.” Millie left her number and ended the call.

“I hope she’s all right,” Sharky said. “I figured at the very least she would reply to my text, even if it was to tell me to go fly a kite.”

“Have you tried contacting her sister? I don’t remember her name.”

“Dernice. That’s a good idea.” Sharky polished off his oatmeal and picked up his phone. He sent a brief text, asking Elvira’s sister to call him. “I guess now we wait to see what happens.”

“If she plans on catching up with the ship in Whittier, she better let you know soon,” Millie said. “We’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Yep.” Sharky finished his breakfast and left, promising to let Millie know if Dernice called him back.

On a tight schedule, Millie wasn’t far behind. She hosted a cruise director’s Q&A in the piano bar, wrapping it up in time to make it to the theater and introduce the destination expert to a large group of passengers.

Curious about the speaker and having heard nothing but good things about him, she hung around to listen in.

The man was both knowledgeable and entertaining, sharing fun facts about Whittier, how it was renowned for being one of the premier spots to tour the glaciers. It was also home to a state-of-the-art conservation center for injured and orphaned wildlife.

According to the speaker, hiking and visiting waterfalls were popular, along with kayaking. While he talked, he showed photos of various scenery.

“There is one unique feature about Whittier most folks don’t know.” The expert motioned to the group. “Does anyone know what it might be?”

A woman seated next to Millie raised her hand. “Most Whittier residents live in one of two large apartment complexes in town.”

“Correct. One of them being Valley Shore Apartments,” he nodded. “Not only do they live there, but they shop, buy groceries, visit the post office, go to school, all in the same complex.”

A towering building with mountains in the backdrop appeared on the projector screen behind him.

Fascinated, Millie studied the photo while he elaborated on how the living and working arrangements worked. “It sounds intriguing.”

“My husband and I stumbled upon the buildings by accident a few years ago when we stayed in Whittier before boarding our cruise ship. If you ever get the chance, you should check them out. The folks who live there are friendly and aren’t at all shy about sharing what it’s like to co-exist.”

The talk ended, and Millie waited for the theater to clear. She chatted with the expert until Felix arrived to get ready for his line dancing class.

“Millie, my dear.” He sashayed across the stage and air kissed her cheeks. “Are you sticking around for my class?”

“I wish I could. Unfortunately, I need to get going.”

“I’ve been practicing a new move.”

“A new move?”

“Stand back.”

Millie took a step back.

Felix placed both hands on his hips. He tapped his toe, kicked up his heel, tapped his heel, flung his foot backward and shimmied in a circle, all while humming a catchy tune. Running through the dance move one more time, he wrapped it up with a stomp-stomp.

“Bravo.” Millie clapped enthusiastically. “I love it. You’ll have to teach it to me.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

Participants started trickling in and Millie went the opposite way. She was halfway to the atrium when Sharky called.

She stepped off to the side. “Hey, Sharky. Were you able to get ahold of Elvira or Dernice?”

“I just got off the phone with Dernice. Elvira has fallen off the face of the earth.”