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

Millie’s scalp tingled. “Elvira is missing?”

“Missing and Dernice is freaked out. She was supposed to call her last night to hash out a problem involving one of the EC Security Services jobs. She never called.”

“Has Dernice tried reaching her again this morning?”

“Yeah. She’s convinced something bad has happened,” Sharky said. “I left Patterson a message. I’m hoping he knows someone in Whittier who can try to track her down.”

“We’ll be docking there tomorrow morning,” Millie said. “If no one has heard from her by then, we’ll get off the ship and search ourselves.”

“I’m worried,” Sharky said. “This isn’t like her. Something is wrong.”

“Elvira is tough. I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she struck gold, is way out in the middle of nowhere and doesn’t have cell phone reception.”

“Maybe, but I doubt it.”

Millie made him promise to let her know when he got an update and ended the call. She made a beeline for the security services office. The lights were on and the door was ajar.

She gave it a light rap and stuck her head around the corner. “Good morning, Patterson.”

“Good morning, Millie, or should I call you snow bunny,” he teased.

“Very funny.” She tapped the top of her watch. “You got a minute?”

“For you, I have two. What’s up?”

“I just talked to Sharky. His girlfriend Elvira is in Whittier and MIA.”

Patterson’s expression sobered. “I’ve already reached out to the Whittier PD. I gave them the name of the group Elvira was working with. The person I spoke to promised to look into it, to see if they could locate her.”

“Thank you.” Millie pressed her hand to her chest. “She was supposed to check in with her sister, who is running her businesses while she’s up here and hasn’t.”

“What about your friend, the woman who lives in Savannah? I think her name was Garlucci. Maybe Elvira has touched base with her.”

“Carlita Garlucci-Taylor. I’m sure Dernice has already spoken with her,” Millie said. “I guess we’ll have to wait to find out what the Whittier authorities come up with.”

“She could surface. If she’s out in the boondocks searching for gold, it’s possible she doesn’t have cell phone reception.”

“Which is what I told Sharky. Unfortunately, Elvira’s a city slicker. I’m not sure how well she would do being stuck out in the wilderness overnight.” Visions of the woman lost…or worse yet…injured and unable to get help flitted through Millie’s head.

“We can only do so much. I hope Sharky doesn’t decide to go search for her and end up in trouble, too.”

“I suppose if we don’t have an update by tomorrow, he and I can get off the ship and go look for her.”

“But not in the wilderness,” Patterson said.

“No. We’ll stay in town and ask around,” Millie promised. “On an entirely different subject, I have a question. Do you know Jose Juan something, something Hernandez? He recently returned to Siren of the Seas and works in the IT department.”

Patterson drummed his fingers on his desk. “The name sounds vaguely familiar. Why?”

“I’m just curious.”

“Curious in a good way?”

“He hit my radar. He hit Danielle’s and Amit’s radars, too.”

“Are you trying to make a mystery out of a new employee?”

Millie bristled at the comment. “Of course not. When was the last time I did that?”

“Let me think.” He tapped the bottom of his chin. “A couple months ago, when you reported one of the stevedores who was unloading at the Ketchikan port.”

“Because he kept going back and forth but wasn’t moving pallets,” she said. “Hey, you never know when a dock worker is going to go rogue and do bad things.”

“As you recall, he was in training.”

“Okay.” Millie sighed. “I’ll admit, I occasionally have an overactive imagination.”

“Which is why you’re great at solving mysteries. I don’t know this Hernandez employee.”

“Good. I suppose this is a good thing,” she said. “As far as Elvira goes…”

“Hopefully, we’ll hear something about Sharky’s girlfriend soon.”

Millie thanked him and exited his office. An uneasy feeling settled over her. Elvira could very well be in trouble. She hoped not because there was no way she or Sharky were equipped to search for her in Alaska’s wilderness.

*****

Millie dove into her work schedule, hopscotching from event to event, hosting activities, and even handling a minor crisis involving a bingo game dispute.

She worked through her early break. By the time the lunch hour rolled around, things had settled down, giving her an opportunity to head home and check on Scout.

Nic must’ve been watching out for her. He caught up with his wife near the hallway leading to their apartment. “You look stressed out.”

“It’s been a busy morning.”

“I heard you being summoned on the radio and figured you had your hands full.”

“More like overflowing.” Millie pressed her finger to her lips. “I’m thinking only positive thoughts. The rest of the day will be easy breezy.”

“At the very least, lunch will be. I ordered room service, hoping you would swing by. Our food is in the fridge.”

Millie waited for him to swipe his keycard and open the apartment door. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“Maybe a time or two, but I never tire of hearing it.” Nic closed the door behind them and sneaked in a kiss. “Has my planning scored me a few brownie points?”

“Uh-oh. I knew there was a catch,” she joked. “What do you want?”

Nic set his lanyard on the table and pulled her into his arms. “A few moments of my wife’s undivided attention.” He kissed her soundly. “Is that too much to ask?”

“Not at all.” Millie snuggled closer. “I’m yours until I have to clock back in.”

He kissed her again, this time a long, lingering kiss. “Something tells me the rest of your day is going to get a lot better.”

“It already has.” Millie kicked her shoes off and tilted her head. “I live such a blessed life.”

“ We live a blessed life.” Nic released his grip. “Unfortunately, I’m on a tight schedule as well. Rest assured, I have a romantic evening planned.”

Millie arched her eyebrow. “What sort of romantic evening?”

“One that will have to wait for a few more days. But for now…” He led her into the dining room and escorted her to an empty chair. “Let’s enjoy what little time we have.”

While they ate, Millie filled Nic in on Sharky’s crisis and then shared her concerns about Jose. “Do you know or remember him from before? He works in the IT department.”

Nic thought about it. “No. His name doesn’t ring a bell, but then a lot of employees have come and gone.”

“I’m sure.” Millie toyed with her food. “Patterson thinks I’m making something out of nothing.”

Nic feigned shock. “My wife, jumping to conclusions?”

She playfully punched his arm. “Very funny. You have to admit, I have an uncanny ability of picking out the bad guys.”

“It’s true. The fact you remember him after all these years is amazing,” her husband marveled.

“I remember a few details about those first days on board. I was terrified I would mess up; certain Andy would fire me at any moment and I would end up returning home to Michigan with my tail between my legs.”

“But it didn’t work out that way, did it?” Nic asked. “Instead, here you are, living your best life, traveling around the world with your husband and friends.”

“The only thing missing is seeing more of my kids and grandkids.” She fed a small scrap of turkey to Scout, who sat patiently waiting and watching their every move. “I need to get going. I’ll be working on a new activity schedule for when we head back to the warmer Caribbean climate. What are our first ports?”

“One of your favorites…St. Kitts, along with the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.” Nic rolled the “r” around on his tongue. “Siren of the Seas hasn’t stopped there in a long time.”

“I don’t recall ever docking in Puerto Rico. I’ll have to check out the sights.”

“Maybe we can plan a day and go together.”

“I would like that.” Millie pushed her chair back. “Thank you for lunch.”

“You’re welcome.” Nic carried their empty plates into the kitchen. “I’ll take Scout with me to the bridge.”

Millie tracked down the pup’s co-captain’s hat and placed it on top of his head. “He’s ready to help navigate.”

After Nic left, Millie finished cleaning up. She was halfway to her office when Sharky radioed.

“Millie, do you copy?”

“I’m here, Sharky. Go ahead.”

“Where are you?”

“Heading to my office.”

Sharky signed off, promising he was on his way.

He must have been in the vicinity because she found him waiting outside her door when she arrived, a look of concern etched on his face.

Millie’s heart plummeted. “You have news.”

“Dernice finally called me back. There’s a reason we haven’t heard from Elvira.”