Chapter 3

Annie was sitting in front of the computer, working on her new book about the Mary Schultz murder, when she heard a strange beeping noise. It was a new computer—she’d taken part of her advance to purchase it. She didn’t have time to read the manual, so she had just plunged in to using it. The beep came again. What the heck was it? Was her computer freaking out? Then she saw the Skype icon light up. Ah-ha.

The screen popped up with Vera’s and Paige’s faces on it.

“Hello, hello, one-two-three, testing,” Vera said as if yelling through a megaphone.

“Okay, yes, I see and hear you,” Annie said, smiling, then waving. Amazing! Her friends were out at sea and yet she saw them on her screen. “How’s the cruise?”

Their white faces didn’t look like they had gotten any sun yet. She was expecting them to be sunburned by now.

“Sheila took a fall and has a mild concussion,” Vera said. “I’m very worried about her. She had to miss her first appointment this morning.”

“Fell?”

“Yeah,” Paige piped up. “She tripped over a dead body.”

“What?” Annie’s heart skipped a beat. They’d all had too much death in their lives the past few years. It had finally calmed down in Cumberland Creek and now Sheila trips over a body on a cruise? “How?”

They filled her in.

“Who is this person?” Annie asked. A mixture of morbid curiousity, reporter’s instincts, and concern for her friends coursed through her.

“We don’t know. They are not telling us a thing,” Vera said, eyes wide. “It’s like a big secret or something.”

“They probably don’t know who it is yet,” Paige said. “I told you that.” She said it with an edge to her voice. Paige was annoyed. “You’ve got close to two thousand people on board. There was no identification on the body.”

“I’m sure it will all come out eventually. They probably need to contact the family first. What makes them think it’s murder?” Annie asked, trying not to sound panicked.

“We have no idea,” Vera said, shrugging.

“Other than all this, how is the cruise?” Annie said. She tried to ignore the fear she felt creeping along her spine. Her friends were on a ship with a killer.

“It’s gorgeous,” said Paige. “The water. Saint Thomas was wonderful. Just so beautiful.”

“Yesterday was a lot of fun,” Vera said. “We went to a session on altered books. It’s amazing what you can do. Eric even liked it. I’ll tell you more about altered books later.”

“Eric’s there?” Annie said, surprised. She noticed Paige crossed her arms. Ah-ha. That’s what the problem is. Annie almost laughed.

Vera nodded. “He surprised me and came along.”

“Speaking of surprises . . .” Paige looked off camera and then her son, Randy, was on camera, grinning. “Hiya, Annie,” he said. “Do you mind if I steal them away for lunch?”

“Good to see you, Randy,” Annie said. She was thrilled that Paige and Randy would be spending time together without Earl, who still hadn’t fully accepted his son was gay. He was working on it, but he sure was stubborn.

“Well, ladies, we have to go or we’ll miss lunch,” Randy said.

They said their good-byes and Annie went back to work on her story. It was the most fascinating story of her career, one she’d never have known about if she hadn’t been living in Cumberland Creek. Funny how one story could lead to another. While writing about the murder of two young women, she had visited the local prison to talk with Mary about the local Mennonites. She had eventually trusted Annie enough to talk with her and agreed to allow her to write a book about her own story.

Hard to believe she’d been here five years. They’d first moved here thinking she’d retire from reporting to stay at home with her boys. But she got sucked back in because there had been several murders in Cumberland Creek and she was contacted by an editor to write about them. They had really needed the money. It wasn’t easy living on one income, even in Cumberland Creek.

The Mary Schultz book might be a big break for Annie. Mary was a young Mennonite woman who’d killed her father, after years of abuse and asking for help everywhere she could—even her church. The petite, soft-spoken Mary had finally taken matters into her own hands. With an ax. Hard to imagine how a small young woman could have the strength. It must have been the element of surprise and the adrenaline rush of finally fighting back.

Murder. It had been on Annie’s mind a lot the past few years and even more while working on this book. She swallowed hard. Several of her friends were on a ship with a murderer. She didn’t want to scare them—she was certain they were already frightened—but cruise ships remained murky when it came to the law and security. They’d been in the headlines recently because of it. Annie wondered if the crew was so secretive because of the PR problems cruise lines were having.

She sat back in her chair and, once again, wished she could have gone on the trip. But her deadline prevented it. That and the fact that tomorrow was the first day of Hanukkah. She wanted to be with her boys for the holiday.

Mike walked into their bedroom. Her husband of fifteen years wrapped his arms around her.

“How’s it going?” he said, then kissed her cheek.

“I just Skyped with Paige and Vera,” she said. “How about that?”

“Aren’t you a techie these days?” Mike teased.

“Poor Sheila fell,” she said, and then told him the story. “I feel so bad. This whole cruise is such a great opportunity. She’s finally coming into her own. I’m so proud of her. I hope she rallies.”

“I hope they find out who the killer is soon. Wouldn’t want to be on that ship,” Mike said, and shivered. “I’m glad you didn’t go, babe. How’s the book coming along?”

“Okay. I think I need to write a few more chapters, but then the first draft is done.”

He bent down and nipped at her cheek. “Care to take a break?”

She glanced at the clock. Mike had a dentist appointment in an hour.

“I might be persuaded,” she said.