Millie’s first thought when she woke early the next morning was about her new schedule and what time she needed to report to guest services.
Nic, who wasn’t scheduled to report to the bridge until noon, noted the glum expression on his wife’s face when she joined him for breakfast. “What’s wrong?”
“My first round of punishment begins this morning.”
“Working at guest services.”
“Yep.” Millie dumped dry cereal into her bowl and added milk. “I would rather clean toilets.”
“Seriously?” Nic chuckled.
“No, but it’s close.” Millie grabbed a spoon and plopped down in the chair. “How do I get myself into these messes?”
“By not minding your own business.” Nic sobered. “Seriously, be careful today. I still don’t know what to think about the note and the fact someone may have followed you into the stairwell.”
“Me either. At least I’m out in the public ninety-nine percent of the time.”
“It’s the other one percent we need to worry about. Since I have some time off this morning, Scout and I are going to head up to the golf center. The maintenance department has just completed some renovations and I’m eager to see what they’ve done.”
“If you run out of things to do, you can stop by guest services and make fun of me.”
“You’re a tough cookie. You’ll be fine.” Nic squeezed his wife’s hand.
After breakfast, Millie stopped by Andy’s office to check in and then hosted her first event before heading to guest services. Nikki was behind the desk and watched as Millie circled around to the back. “Are you really working here today?”
“I am. I got caught doing something I shouldn’t have, and this is one of my punishments.”
“It’s not that bad. Seriously, your shift will be over before you know it.” Nikki gave her some brief instructions on running the various software programs, which were similar to those Millie was already familiar with. The only one she struggled with was the customer complaints or comments screen. It took a few practice runs before Millie had it down.
“You can work here.” Nikki placed her at the station on the end and then motioned to the woman who was next in line.
Millie smiled as she greeted her. “Hello. How can I help you?”
“I’ve misplaced my keycard.”
“We’ll be happy to issue you a new one.”
Nikki showed Millie how to print new keycards and then walked her through the steps on how to disable the old one. “You always want to disable the lost one.”
“In case it’s found by another passenger and they try to charge items to it,” Millie guessed.
“Bingo.”
Millie finished the task and handed the woman her new card.
“Thank you. It won’t happen again. I’m running upstairs to the gift shop to buy a lanyard so I can hang it around my neck.”
The woman left, and Millie motioned for a couple waiting in line. They placed a beach bag on the counter. “We found this on the pool deck. Can we leave it with you?”
“You can.” Millie began entering the information in the system, which would enable others working in guest services to locate the item if someone reported it missing. “Pink bag, blue waves with a flamingo on the side.”
“It’s been sitting on one of the pool loungers for a few hours. Either someone forgot about it or they were saving the chair.”
Millie’s head shot up. “Did you happen to notice if a crewmember was on hand collecting unclaimed items?”
“No, ma’am.”
Millie thanked the couple and then gave Andy a quick call.
“Hello, Millie. Having fun?”
“Yes, more fun than I deserve,” she said sarcastically. “Two passengers turned in a beach bag they claim was left on a pool deck lounger for a few hours. You might want to send someone upstairs to start clearing the chairs.”
“I’m on it.”
Millie ended the call and then began rummaging through the bag. There was no form of identification, so she placed it in the nearby lost and found closet.
A familiar face appeared. It was Thomas Windsor. “Millie Armati. What are you doing here?”
“Working.” Millie mumbled a vague excuse. “Can I help you with something?”
“Yes. It appears a questionable charge has popped up on my folio.” Thomas handed Millie his cell phone, displaying a list of items charged to his account. “It’s the most recent one.”
Millie slipped her reading glasses on. “The spa charged you for a bikini wax.”
“I left my bikini at home,” Thomas quipped.
“I’m sure you did,” Millie chuckled, as she reached for her mouse. “Is there anything else that looks off?”
“Nope. We missed you at the Mix and Mingle Singles party yesterday.”
“And I missed you at the Moxey’s evening cocktail party last night.” Millie finished issuing the credit and handed Thomas a receipt.
“You attended the Moxey’s party? I didn’t peg you as that kinda gal.”
“I’m not. In fact, I guess I’m a little naïve. Something always struck me as a little odd when they showed up at the singles get-togethers, but I never put two and two together.”
Thomas leaned an elbow on the counter. “Let me guess…one of them propositioned you.”
“Nic,” Millie grinned. “They’re nice enough folks, just not my type, if you know what I mean.”
“I certainly do. Are you hosting this afternoon’s singles party?”
Millie consulted her app and scrolled through the screen. “As a matter of fact, I am. I’ll see you later?”
“You will.” After Thomas left, Millie motioned for the next person in line to join her. The hours flew by and she was surprised when her scheduler app went off, letting her know her shift had ended. “I’m heading out,” she whispered in Nikki’s ear.
“See? It wasn’t so bad.”
“You’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow, same time.” Millie hustled to her hosting event and was wrapping up her morning routine when Patterson radioed, asking her to meet him in his office.
“Your timing is impeccable. I’m on my way.” She arrived to find not only Patterson, but Nic, Donovan, and Suharto there, as well.
Millie said the first thing that popped into her head. “I didn’t do it.”
“Come in, Millie.”
“What is going on?” Her eyes traveled around the room, and her gut told her something was wrong.
“I’m assigning you a guard.”
“Assigning me a guard?”
“I’ve also placed the ship’s security team on high alert.” Patterson shifted his computer monitor and motioned for the others to gather around. “It appears the strangler may have claimed his next victim.”
Millie studied the grainy image on the screen and noticed it was near the ship’s helipad. A person, their back to the surveillance camera, dragged a bulky object to the center of the helipad and then dropped it on the “H.”
Keeping their head down and obscuring their image, the person scurried off. Millie noted the time stamp—one forty-five a.m.
“When did the crew find the victim?” Nic asked.
“Around three this morning. As you know, the helipad is in an isolated area of the ship, not even known about by most passengers,” Patterson said. “We’re reviewing all camera footage, every deck, but this could take days and then we might not find anything. We’ve sent a report to the Southampton authorities to see if this matches the strangler’s method of operating.”
Millie felt lightheaded. “The strangler killed someone on board the ship and dumped their body on the helipad.”
“I want round-the-clock security for Millie until the ship docks in Miami,” Nic said.
“Already done. Since Suharto is in charge of the gangway and we’re not stopping until we reach Bermuda, he’ll be with Millie at all times.”
Patterson continued. “We’ve been keeping an eye on the passengers linked to Clarissa Sinclair. I’m starting to suspect we’re focusing our attention on the wrong suspects.” Frustrated, Patterson abruptly stood. “I’m at a loss. We can’t follow every single passenger around this ship.”
“We have limited resources, and the strangler knows it,” Donovan said. “It’s not like we can stop off at the nearest port and call in reinforcements.”
Donovan had a point. They were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, miles away from land.
“The note I received said ‘you’re next,’ so either the strangler is throwing out false information or had a change of plans,” Millie pointed out.
“It could be either or,” Patterson said.
“A lot can happen in the next three days, before we reach Bermuda,” Donovan said.
“I trust you to do whatever is necessary to keep both the passengers and crew on board this ship as safe as possible.” Nic stepped back. “I need to head back to the bridge but would like an update as soon as you’re able to get confirmation about whether this person was another strangler victim.”
“Hold up.” Millie lifted a hand. “Whose body was found? Was it a passenger or a crewmember?”
Patterson told her the victim’s name. “And now you know why Suharto will be with you from here on out.”