CHAPTER 66
New Orleans, LA Sunday, July 11, 2021
THEY WAITED NERVOUSLY IN THE LINE OF PASSENGERS PREPARING TO board The Emerald Lady. He had bent and unbent the top of the boarding pass protruding from his passport so many times that the corner was a withered mess. Meghan reached over and gently pulled his hand away to stop his fidgeting. There were only a few things his level of anxiety could relay: He was nervous about climbing onto a cruise ship for fear of it sinking. Or he was apprehensive about tropical storm Bartholomew, which was swirling in the eastern Caribbean, and which meteorologists were predicting would twist its way into the Gulf of Mexico. It was too early in the season for hurricane concerns, but the storm promised a deluge of rain and rough waters. Either supposition was better than the truth—that he was uneasy because he was fleeing the country under an alias, and if caught was facing years in prison.
He stemmed the fidgeting just in time to come face to face with the pretty, young deckhand dressed in a crisp white uniform that sported gold stripes on the shoulders as if she carried some level of military rank. She smiled warmly at them, expecting the same in return. After all, every passenger she encountered this morning was about to embark on an epic vacation cruising the open waters of the Caribbean and visiting its fabulous islands, which included Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Cozumel, Belize, and Roatán in Central America. What was there not to be happy and excited about? He and Meghan smiled back at her.
“Passport and boarding pass, please,” the woman said.
Meghan took the lead, handing over her information. Her papers were real, and there was no worry as she confidently waited while the deckhand scanned the document. The woman smiled a moment later and handed the passport back to Meghan.
“Ms. Cobb, welcome aboard The Emerald Lady.”
“Thank you,” Meghan said.
With a subtle tremor to his grip, the man handed over his documents. If things were going to fall apart, the scanning of his doctored passport would be the start of it. But all that happened after the woman placed the document facedown on the scanning machine was that a pleasant ring sounded and a green light brightened on the podium.
“Mr. Holland, welcome aboard The Emerald Lady.”
“Thank you,” Aaron Holland responded with a barely audible stutter in his throat.
“You’re in cabin thirty-three-eighteen. How many bags will each of you be carrying?”
“Just one for each of us,” Meghan said.
“Very good,” the woman said, looping an Emerald Lady tag around the handle of each suitcase.
“You can leave your bags here.” She pointed to the growing collection of luggage that was organized off to the side. “It will be delivered to your cabin shortly.”
Aaron Holland and Meghan Cobb smiled and deposited their bags with the others.
“Carlos will escort you to your quarters. Enjoy your stay.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Holland said in a considerably more relaxed tone than just a few minutes earlier.
They followed Carlos to cabin 3318. The first obstacle had been cleared. Many more waited. So far, Claire was batting a thousand.