Portside Peril (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 2) by Hope Callaghan Read Free Book Online

her voice.  “Cat said the friends of the couple were in the store this morning.  She said to stop by when we had time.  She might have something.”
    That was promising.  A lead! Millie turned to go.  “I’ll head up there now.”
    “Without me?” Annette seemed so disappointed; Millie relented and told her she would wait.  That they would go together.
    Millie left the kitchen promising Annette they’d run by there when she took her afternoon break at three. She had half an hour before the first round of trivia started.  Millie decided it would be best to avoid the gift shop since it would be too tempting to swing on in there.
    Instead, she decided to take a shortcut through the casino, which was directly across from the shops.  She made a beeline down the center aisle when something – actually, someone – caught her attention.
    There, sitting at a row of machines near the door, was the couple that had been on the deck when Kyle went overboard: Courtney and Kyle’s friends.  They were engrossed in play and didn’t notice Millie as she slowed to a stroll and pretended to study the machines. 
    The girl picked up a half-empty beer bottle and took a sip.
    The whole thing was a bit odd.  The two of them didn’t appear to be distraught over the sudden death of their supposed friends.  Shouldn’t they be a bit more somber, more subdued? 
    The guy leaned over and whispered something in the woman’s ear.  She laughed and went back to playing her machine.  With friends like that, who needs enemies? Millie thought to herself. 
    The woman glanced up at Millie.  Her eyes narrowed as they traveled up Millie’s uniform and settled on her nametag. She grabbed her beer off the ledge and tapped the man’s leg.  “C’mon.  Let’s get out of here.”
    The two abruptly rose from their seats and exited the casino.  Millie watched them as they headed to the elevators.  Maybe they thought she was following them. 
    Millie shrugged and went in the opposite direction, toward the trivia area.  She spent the next hour engaging a large group of passengers.  This trivia contest was a bit different from the others she had hosted so far.  Millie played clips of hit songs and the guests had to guess the artist and song name.
    It was harder than it seemed and no one got them all right, although one couple came close.  Millie was excited with the prize this time.  It was a buy-one, get one-free coupon for bingo. 
    She was wrapping up the trivia, putting the folder in the cupboard and locking the door when Annette careened around the corner.  “You didn’t see Cat yet?”
    “Nope.” Millie shook her head.  “We’re going together, remember?”
    The two women picked up the pace as they made their way into the gift shop.  Cat was waiting on customers so Millie and Annette wandered around, inspecting the what-nots inside.  After the customers left, Millie and Annette headed to the cash register near the back. 
    Cat skipped the small talk.  “The couple came back in.  You know, the specialty products purchasers.”
    She patted the top of her head, waved to someone through the plate glass window, then leaned forward.  “They seemed pretty shook up about their friends.”
    The complete opposite of what Millie had just experienced.  “Go on.”
    “Well, the girl had said Courtney was getting threatening notes and she felt like she was being stalked.”
    “And?”
    “Well, I said. ‘How can that be? You think someone on board the cruise ship was out to get them?’”
    “Then the girl said that Zack.  You know, Zack Smythe, had dated Courtney and had some sort of serious obsession with her.”
    Zack had been in the area when young Kyle went overboard.  Was Zack there when Courtney died?  He wouldn’t have access to guests cabins, unlike Millie who had a master key.  Of course, Courtney could have let him in, let someone in her room that she knew.
    Things were not looking good for Zack, at least