Chapter 2
Sheila sank further into the pillow. Her head ached, the room spun every time she opened her eyes, and this was her big dream vacation. She had won the free scrapbooking cruise with two free guest tickets from entering a scrapbooking design contest. Who would have thought a murder would take place among a group of two thousand scrapbookers?
She decided to not think about it. Instead she tried to focus on the good things about the cruise. Who would have thought such a devastating and cruel act could take place when they had stepped on board two days ago? Sheila could never have imagined such finery as what she saw when she’d first set foot in the atrium.
“They said it was going to be luxurious,” Paige had whispered as they all stopped in the bustling crowd to take it all in.
The somewhat worn but very excited group from Cumberland Creek had stood on the white and brown marble floors and surveyed the huge, elegant room. A crystal chandelier sparkled from five floors above them. A white baby grand piano sat in the corner. A gentleman in a tuxedo played “White Christmas” with a pleasant smile on his handsome face.
Christmas trees and poinsettias filled the hall. Tall, thin trees were lined up against the gold columns that reached from floor to the ceiling. Wreaths with glittering gold ribbons hung from the balconies of the open restaurants and bars. In the center of the room was the largest Christmas tree any of them had ever seen.
“Welcome aboard,” said a man dressed in a uniform as he came toward them. “Are you Mrs. Rogers?”
“Yes,” Sheila said.
“Our guest of honor,” he said. “I am Captain Marsten.”
Sheila beamed. “These are my friends.” She introduced Vera and Paige, who were taking advantage of the free trip. Then she introduced Eric, Vera’s boyfriend, and Randy, Paige’s son.
“What do you folks think of her?” the captain asked, opening his arms wide to indicate his ship.
“She is breathtaking,” Randy said. “Much bigger than I ever expected.”
“Ah, but turn around,” the captain replied.
And when they did so, Vera gasped out loud. Two huge spiral staircases led up to the top floor and strands of lights draped down the center of them—giving the area a glistening sheen. Vera, the dancer in the crowd, loved her sparkles.
“I love the idea of hanging lights from the ceiling like that,” she said. “Amazing.”
“The ceiling is pretty amazing, too,” Eric pointed out, looking skyward. Circular patterns etched in gold and light filled the ceiling.
“What do I smell?” Sheila asked.
“I think that’s the gingerbread,” the captain said. “We have every kind of restaurant and food shop you can think of on this ship. Right over here is one of my favorite places, our pastry shop. They are giving out gingerbread cookies right now, to welcome our guests. Please help yourselves. I really must take my leave, but I am at your service.”
Due to Sheila’s award-winning status, they’d been the first passengers allowed to board the ship, and so they were also the first to enter the pastry shop, which was exactly the opposite of the atrium in terms of atmosphere. It was cozy and quaint with dark-colored woodsy walls, ceiling, tables, and bars. Servers were dressed in red velvet shorts with suspenders over white crisp blouses, and each of them wore a Santa hat. They held up trays of spicy-scented cookies.
Sheila reached for one. “Oh my gosh, I’m going to gain ten pounds on this cruise,” she said. The cookie was still warm.
“I’m glad they took our bags,” Paige whispered, as she fussed around with her cookies.
“Why are you whispering?” Vera asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice getting a little stronger. An awestruck look came over her. “I guess if this is a dream, I don’t want to wake myself up.”
The group took their cookies and walked through the shop to the other side, where there was a smaller atrium with a fountain in the center. It glowed red and then green as the water spurted in streams.
“I really need to sit down,” Sheila said as she spied some tables and chairs in the corner. The group followed, sitting and eating their cookies.
“Not bad,” Randy said. “Could have used a bit more ginger.” Randy was a pastry chef in New York City. He’d joined his mother on the cruise because he was going through a rough breakup with his boyfriend of many years. He needed some time away from the city. And some time with his mother—they had been estranged for a while.
“Hmph,” Paige said. “I was thinking they need more sugar.”
“I think the cookies are perfect,” Sheila said.
And for two days the cruise had been perfect. Scrapbooking with people from all over the world was just the beginning of the perfection. Some of the world’s most well-known professional scrapbookers were here. And, because Sheila had won the contest, they were all introduced to her.
Everything had been perfect—until this morning.
She lay in the infirmary trying to gather her strength, keep her wits about her. Don’t panic, she kept telling herself. Think of all the good things about the cruise, of all the good things that have happened and that will happen.
But it was so hard to think between the pounding jabs in her head.