| |
“Straight to voicemail again?” Claudia huffed. She fired off a quick text telling Emily to call her immediately. Then she headed toward Emily’s room, hoping she would be able to catch her best friend alone.
She didn’t get very far.
A commotion in the hallway stopped her dead in her tracks.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Fatima exclaimed indiagnantly.
“Then why did we find stolen property in your cabin?” a stern-faced woman with harsh features and a business suit demanded. She waved a pink wallet in front of Fatima’s face. “This doesn’t belong to you, does it?”
“No. I’ve never seen it before in my life.”
“Then why was it hidden under your mattress?” Fatima’s boss wanted to know.
“I don’t know!” Fatima told her shrilly.
“This pink wallet was reported stolen. And a member of our cleaning staff found it under your mattress. Empty, of course. And hidden away, like you didn’t want anyone to find it. How did it get there if you didn’t put it there?”
“Someone else must have put it there!”
“Who would do that?”
“I don’t know. All I know is it wasn’t me.”
“Give me your nametag and keys,” the woman ordered, holding out her hand. “Right now.”
“Seriously? You’re firing me?”
“You’ve left me with no choice,” Fatima’s boss said wearily. “You know we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to theft. One strike and you’re out. The Mermaid Fantasy can’t get a reputation as a place where passengers’ belongings go missing. It’s terrible publicity.”
“But I need this job,” Fatima pleaded. “My children are teenagers now. I want to send them to good schools so they can have better opportunities than my husband and I had. And my husband! He’s going back to school. He’s already enrolled in classes. How will we afford his tuition if you fire me?”
“I’m sorry, but you should have thought of that before you stole from passengers. I’ll be stopping by your cabin first thing tomorrow morning with some paperwork to make your termination official,” Fatima’s boss advised.
“Wait,” Fatima begged. “Won’t you please reconsider?”
“Sorry, no. You should be grateful we’re not getting the police involved.”
The managerial-looking woman turned and abruptly left, nearly colliding with Claudia as she did so. Claudia was left standing in the hallway with Fatima, who was struggling not to break down. It was an awkward position to be in.
“I didn’t do it,” Fatima told Claudia, her eyes flashing with defiance. “I’m no thief.”
“Someone on this ship has been stealing from passengers,” Claudia pointed out. “There’s been a missing wallet, stolen earrings and a bracelet that vanished. And those are just the things I’ve heard about. I’m pretty sure there’s more.”
“Okay, but it wasn’t me, Fatima insisted.
“Did I hear that the stolen wallet turned up under your mattress?”
“I guess. But I don’t know how it got there. I didn’t put it there.”
“Who else would have?”
“I have no idea.”
Claudia pursed her lips. She didn’t know whether to believe Fatima. She thought it was likely the surly cruise ship employee had been stealing from passengers. But she didn't know for sure. Regardless of whether Fatima was guilty, it was plain to see she was upset.
“Do you want to sit and talk?” Claudiia offered.
Fatima’s eyes narrowed. “Why would I want to do that? Is sitting and talking going to somehow magically fix everything? Is it going to pay my bills and put my kids through school? No? Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
She pushed past Claudia and stormed off.
“Couldn't have happened to a nicer person,” Claudia grumbled under her breath.
She felt a twinge of sympathy for Fatima’s family members, who had done nothing wrong but would nonetheless face consequences. But she didn’t feel all that sorry for Fatima. Maybe she had gotten what she had coming.
Was karma real? It was anyone’s guess. But sometimes things had a way of working themselves out that made one wonder.
“Maybe karma has finally caught up with Fatima,” Claudia shrugged.
She turned and continued on her way. She still had an important matter to tend to.
