Curse of the Arctic Star by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

her makeup back in her purse. “We don’t want Alan to worry.”
    I was disappointed. My friends are always good at helping me figure things out, and I really wanted to talk about possible motives and suspects. But another woman was already coming in, and I realized our private moment was over.
    “Let’s go,” I agreed with a sigh.
    The bathroom was located in a hallway between the dining room and the stairwell. As we headed toward the former, we passed a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY . It was standing slightly ajar, and I could hear angry voices coming from inside.
    I paused, a little surprised. All the ship’s employeesseemed to make a point of staying polite and cheerful anywhere passengers might hear. But whatever was going on just inside that door sounded anything but polite or cheerful. Most of it was too muffled to make out, though it sounded like two men arguing. Then one of them raised his voice.
    “Drop it, John!” he said sharply. “Or I’ll make sure you never make it to Anchorage!”
    My eyes widened. That sounded pretty ominous.
    “Hey,” I called to my friends, who were a few steps ahead. “Hang on, I want to—”
    “Ladies!” A loud, jovial voice interrupted me. Turning, I saw Marcelo, Becca’s boss, hurrying up behind me, a broad smile on his handsome face. “I hope you’re not lost. Can I have the honor of accompanying you back to the dining room?”
    “Sure,” Bess said with a smile.
    I glanced helplessly at the door. But it was too late. The voices had stopped, so I had little choice but to allow the cruise director to sweep us all back into the dining room.

CHAPTER FIVE

Dangerous Games
    “YOU’RE UP EARLY,” I SAID AS I WALKED into the main room of the suite the next morning.
    Bess glanced up with a smile. She was sitting at the glass-topped coffee table, stirring milk into a steaming mug of tea.
    “You too,” she said. “Luckily, Max the butler gets up even earlier. He brought us these.” She waved a hand at the platter of bagels, doughnuts, and other pastries on the table in front of her.
    “Great.” I grabbed a glazed doughnut and took a bite. Then I wandered toward the balcony. Theglass doors were open, offering a spectacular view of the shoreline we were passing as the ship made its way from Vancouver to our first shore stop in Ketchikan. Low hills draped in thick forests of pine and spruce tumbled to meet the sparkling deep-blue water, while in the distance, snow-capped peaks rose to meet the sky.
    “Nice scenery, huh?” Bess said. “I could stare at that view all day.”
    I shot her a rueful look. “Me too. Unfortunately we don’t have time,” I said. “Have you seen George yet?”
    Bess snorted. “What do you think? She’s not exactly a morning person, remember?”
    I grinned. “Understatement of the year. What about Alan?”
    “Haven’t seen him yet either. I guess he’s still asleep.”
    “Good. Let’s get George and get out of here before he wakes up,” I said. “This could be our best chance to talk freely.”
    Shooting one last glance at the scenery, I turned and led the way toward the bedrooms. We tiptoed pastAlan’s door. The sound of loud snoring was coming from inside.
    Even louder snoring was coming from George’s room. We let ourselves in. She was curled up on her side, with her back to us.
    Bess leaned over and poked her cousin in the shoulder. “Rise and shine,” she whispered loudly.
    There was no response. I grabbed George’s foot and tickled it. She shot up into a sitting position.
    “Hey!” she blurted out.
    “Shh!” Bess and I hissed.
    George blinked stupidly for a moment, then glared at us. “What time is it?” she mumbled, making a move to lie down again.
    But Bess was too fast for her. Grabbing her cousin’s arm, she gave a yank that almost pulled her out of bed. “Get up,” she ordered. “We need to get out of here before Alan wakes up. Nancy wants to talk.”
    It took a little more persuading, but finally we got her