Although Millie couldn’t see them, she was certain Suharto and a good number of the ship’s security department were lurking in the shadows, watching her from a distance.
She moved from event to event, mentally preparing herself for the moment when Bruce Ellis, the Southampton Strangler, popped out of the shadows and pounced on her.
The waiting was almost unbearable and, as the evening wore on, paranoia set in. Would he make a move? Perhaps he knew security was shadowing her and decided not to risk it. Or perhaps she had it all wrong. After all, the DNA under Clarissa’s fingernails didn’t belong to Bruce Ellis.
What if it was someone else—someone else in the group? But who?
Millie grabbed a quick bite to eat and then hosted a round of Killer Karaoke, followed by Blue Light bingo, a late-night bingo extravaganza. Her last stop was checking in at the Tahitian Nights Dance Club.
Still, nothing happened. No killer pounced on her from around the corner. When she reached the bridge, Suharto emerged from the shadows and joined her. “I did not see anyone following you.”
“Neither did I.” Millie slid her keycard into the slot and held the door for Suharto before they stepped onto the bridge. “Maybe I’m off. Maybe I had it all wrong, and Bruce isn’t the killer.”
“We are all wrong sometimes.”
Nic, who was standing at the center console, hurried over. “Nothing?”
“Nope. Not a peep. I was so certain.” Millie rubbed her brow. “How could I be so far off? The clues are all there.”
“It’s possible he noticed security tailing you and changed his mind.”
“Tomorrow is a new day. Unfortunately, from everything I know about the strangler, he likes to strike at night.”
By the time Millie and Suharto made up his sofa bed and let Scout out, Nic arrived home. The men stood talking in the kitchen while Millie excused herself. She trudged up the stairs and made quick work of getting ready for bed.
She and Scout had already settled in by the time Nic joined them. “I’m sorry this is dragging out.”
“Believe me, no one wants this over more than me. I didn’t have an inkling of being followed, even by the security detail. Maybe I’m losing my touch.” Millie patted the blankets, waiting for Scout to take his spot in the center of the bed. “Or maybe I’m way off base.”
Nic kissed her forehead. “I know you want to help Patterson and his men take this person down, but these things rarely go as planned.”
“True,” Millie murmured.
By the time Nic emerged from the bathroom, Millie, exhausted from being in fight-or-flight mode for hours on end, was already dozing off. She and Nic said their prayers, and the last thing she remembered before sleep took over was that Kate Moxey had remained almost silent during Millie’s chat with her and the others.
Strangely quiet.
*****
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Millie groggily swatted at her alarm clock, a low groan escaping her lips as she shut it off and rolled over. It took a few seconds for her to realize Nic’s side of the bed was empty.
She flung the covers back and climbed out. Millie flew through her morning routine in record time and arrived downstairs to find Suharto and Nic savoring an early morning cup of coffee on the balcony.
“Good morning, dear,” Nic said. “I have some wonderful news.”
“About the strangler.”
“Yes. Kate Moxey’s been arrested.” Nic told her the authorities matched the tissue found under Clarissa Sinclair’s fingernails to Kate Moxey.
“Kate.” Millie blinked rapidly, remembering how Kate had remained silent during her conversation with her, her husband, and the Ponsfords the previous evening. “How…why…”
“We don’t know all the details yet. She’s being held downstairs until we reach Bermuda where she’ll be flown back to the UK.”
“Has she confessed?”
“No. In fact, she’s insisting she’s innocent.”
“Wow. All along, I thought it was Bruce Ellis.”
Nic’s cell phone chimed. “I need to head out. Patterson is holding a meeting to update the security department.”
Suharto started to follow, and Nic stopped him. “As a precaution, I would like you to stay with Millie until we reach Bermuda, and Kate Moxey is removed from the ship.”
“Of course. I will be glad to.”
“You’re a good man.” Nic squeezed Suharto’s shoulder. “I also plan to meet with Patterson soon to discuss promoting you to level three security.”
Suharto blinked rapidly as he puffed out his chest. “I will take a new position with pride.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Nic excused himself while Millie joined Suharto for her first cup of coffee.
There was a hint of humidity in the early morning air, and Millie could’ve sworn she heard the palm trees swaying, calling her name. They were almost home, and it made her heart happy.
While they enjoyed their free moments, Millie and Suharto discussed the day’s schedule.
“You still look troubled, Miss Millie.” Suharto studied her face.
“I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy. Something doesn’t feel right.” Millie checked her watch. It was late morning in the UK. “Halbert swears he saw the strangler on more than one occasion. I’m going to call him.”
She dialed his number, and he picked up right away. “Hello, Millie.”
“Hello, Halbert. How are you doing today?”
“Very well. A dockhand gave me his old fishing rod and tackle. I’m going fishing.”
“That sounds like fun.” Millie shifted the phone to her other ear. “The strangler has been caught.”
“He has?”
“She. It’s a woman. Her name is Kate Moxey.”
“A woman?” Halbert grew silent. “They’re wrong. It’s a man. The strangler is a man. I would put my life on it.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am.”
They chatted for a few more minutes. Millie thanked Halbert, promising to talk again soon, before ending the call. She waved the phone in the air. “Halbert swears the strangler is a man.”
“We will talk to Patterson after his meeting. In the meantime, I will be with you, Millie. You will be safe.”
“Thanks, Suharto.” Millie exited the bridge, while Suharto hung back, planning to follow her from a distance.
Up first was Andy’s before-the-crack-of-dawn, early morning staff meeting. She headed to the stairwell and began making her descent, mentally ticking off the list of things she needed to discuss with him. She wondered if Patterson had cancelled her guest services desk duty and then wondered if he would leave her probation in place since her hunch had proven to be wrong.
At least she had tried.
Millie covered the sets of stairs at a quick pace. She was almost to the employee exit, adjacent to the deck four passenger corridor, when she heard a tink.
She spun around, catching a glimpse of someone behind the cutout near the fire extinguisher.
With shocking speed, the shadowy figure was on top of Millie, dragging her to a nearby exit, a crewmember shortcut to a lower deck.
She tried to scream, but there was an unbearable pressure pressing down on her windpipe. Millie fought against the pressure and pain as she pried the Viper from her jacket pocket.
Her attacker had Millie’s neck in the crook of his arm as he kicked the door open. In that moment, she realized if her attacker reached the railing, he could easily throw her over the side of the ship and into the ocean. No one—not security, not Suharto, would ever know what had happened to her.
She dug in her heels, blindly fighting back, kicking at the person who held her in a powerful grip. She began to feel lightheaded. With a burst of pure adrenaline, Millie shoved the Viper against her attacker’s arm and pulled the trigger.
ZAP.
A jolt of pure electricity transferred from the Viper and through the strangler’s long-sleeved jacket. In an instant, his death grip loosened, and Millie’s attacker fell to his knees.
Bruce Ellis’s cold-blooded black eyes—the eyes of a ruthless killer—stared back at her.
“Help!” The pressure on her windpipe made the cry for help little more than a desperate whisper.
She scrambled backward, her eyes never leaving Ellis.
As if possessed by some superhuman power, Bruce Ellis lunged forward and grabbed Millie’s ankle. She fell hard on the concrete floor and began clawing her way to the stairwell.
Ellis’s grip tightened and Millie screamed, this time louder.
A door banged shut.
“Millie!” Suharto’s voice echoed in the stairwell.
“Down here,” she wheezed.
Suharto bolted down the steps and flung himself at Millie’s attacker.
As soon as Ellis released his hold on her ankle, she twisted sideways and went after him, zapping him a second time with the powerful stun gun. He jerked back, his body stiffening as he let out a garbled breath.
Suharto grabbed his radio. “Charlie! Charlie! Charlie! Aft stairwell deck four.”
Things moved fast as security arrived on scene. Patterson was only seconds behind them.
Millie crawled to the wall and propped herself against it as she watched the security team pat Bruce Ellis down.
Patterson waited until his men cuffed the killer before joining Millie. “Are you okay?”
“I’m…I’m fine.” Millie struggled to maintain her composure as the realization she’d almost died hit her full force. “He was choking me. He tried to drag me outside, to the railing.” Her voice cracked. “He was going to throw me over the side. No one ever would’ve found me.”
“You’re safe now.”
“Yes. Yes.” The shock of what had almost occurred hit her full force, and a tear slid down her cheek. “Thank God we’re all safe now.”
*****
The head of security radioed Nic, who promised to meet them downstairs in Patterson’s office. Suharto joined Millie, and they watched as he, along with a small army of security guards, escorted the handcuffed strangler down the steps and to the ship’s holding cells.
They reached his office, and Millie’s legs trembled as she sank into an empty chair near the door.
Nic burst into the room moments later and rushed to his wife’s side. “Patterson said the strangler attacked you in the stairwell and tried to drag you outdoors.”
“It was this close.” Millie pinched her thumb and finger together. “He came out of nowhere. He was choking me and dragging me. Like I told Patterson, I would’ve vanished.”
She pulled the Viper, the police-grade stun gun, from her pocket and carefully placed it on his desk. “If not for this, I would’ve been dead. I’ve decided I’m going to put this on my Christmas list.”