A Cruise to Murder (A Rachel Prince Mystery Book 1) by Dawn Brookes

Author:Dawn Brookes [Brookes, Dawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oakwood Publishing
Published: 2018-05-11T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Rachel woke at six in the morning and decided to go for a run then to the gym. She pulled on her light cotton sports trousers and a t-shirt and headed up to deck sixteen. The ship was relatively quiet with just a few people milling around. Crew were already hard at work washing down decks and putting out fresh towels. Today was a sea day, and the ship was due to arrive in Barcelona the next day.

Rachel ran around the whole of deck sixteen three times, feeling the need to clear her head. She had put the thoughts of the awful accident in perspective, but she remained concerned for Marjorie. The old lady had looked so frail the day before.

“Good morning.” She was dragged back to reality by the presence of another jogger at her side. He was a tall, thin man dressed in shorts and jogging vest with dreadlocks tied in a pony-tail.

“Good morning.” Rachel smiled back.

“It’s a great morning for a run,” he continued in his lovely Jamaican accent. “I like to get out before it gets too hot, and as you can see, I don’t need a sun tan.”

Rachel laughed politely, but remained distracted. Any other time, she would have been happy to chat with this lively man, but she stopped running when they got near the gym.

“Enjoy your run,” she said.

“Have a great day,” he replied and continued jogging.

After a forty-five minute workout, Rachel headed back to her cabin where she showered and changed into a sleeveless cotton sundress before going to deck fourteen for a buffet breakfast. By this time, people were already claiming sun loungers with towels and books before going for breakfast themselves. Children were swimming and calling out gaily to one another. The reflection from the sun created dancing shimmers of light on the sea below, and the clear blue sky promised a beautiful day ahead – very different from the day before.

Rachel was wondering how hot it was going to be today when, as if on cue, the captain’s voice came through over the loudspeaker. The sea would be calm and the temperature likely to reach 32 degrees this afternoon. There was a reminder about sun cream, then some other announcements that Rachel couldn’t hear over the noise of conversations and the clattering of dishes in the main buffet area.

Rachel helped herself to fruit and muesli and found a table by a window. She could hear a Jamaican man singing as he brought around teas and coffees, and recognised him as the happy jogger she had met earlier.

“Coffee, tea?” he would ask in between lines of a song she didn’t recognise.

“We meet again, beautiful lady,” he said as he poured her a coffee from the thermos on his trolley.

Rachel smiled at him. He was singing about sunshine as he moved away, and he certainly did bring sunshine into a room. All of the guests appeared to know him and he had short conversations with each one, complimenting the ladies and joking with the men.

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