The Case of the Fond Farewell: A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery by Cheri Baker

Author:Cheri Baker [Baker, Cheri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cruise ship mysteries kindle, cruise ship cozy mysteries, funny cozy mysteries, christian cozy mystery, clean cozy mystery
Publisher: Adventurous Ink LLC
Published: 2021-07-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

KAMERON WASN’T IN HER OFFICE. Ellie stood in the hall outside the security office and crossed her arms, looking left and right down the wide thoroughfare. She rubbed her upper arms to take the edge off the chill from the overzealous air conditioning. What was she supposed to do now?

If you’d grown up in that world, Manny had said, before he’d shut her down. No wonder Manny didn’t like talking about his family if doing so was going to get him all wound up. And what did he expect her to do with such a vague warning? Go tell the doctor and Kameron to ignore the evidence? That wasn’t going to happen!

Should she tell Kameron what Manny had said? He might deny it. But didn’t Kameron deserve to know? Anxiety rolled around in Ellie’s gut like a heavy lead ball. This was why secrets were such a terrible idea. You think you can hold them inside, but little bits leak out, and then you’re stuck sopping up the mess and doing damage control.

I should have let Kameron question Manny. This is what I get for jumping the gun. She let out a heavy sigh and stared at the security office door. It was painted the same flat gray as the hallway. If Kameron wasn’t inside, maybe she’d gone to find Roberta?

“Hey!” Ben’s voice came from far away, toward the front of the ship. She swung her cane forward and hurried toward him.

“Hey yourself!” She reached out and folded herself into his arms, squeezing him tight.

“Is everything okay? Where did you go?”

She smiled up at him. “I’m fine. I’ve been running around, and I haven’t had lunch yet. Low blood sugar.”

“I was about to go check on Kevin.” Ben put his hands on her shoulders and scrutinized her face skeptically. “But how about we feed you first? Come on. I could use a bite.”

Her shoulders relaxed as his arm went around her waist. “Have I mentioned that seeing you makes my day better, already?”

Ben’s eyes lit up along with his smile. “No. But feel free to stroke my ego as much as you like. Emily just spent forty minutes grilling me on my captaining techniques. She’s going to give me a run for my money! She’s a smart cookie. Tough, too. Way ahead of where I was when I first became captain.”

In the crew mess, Ellie loaded a tray with food from the serving line. They sat at a table for two along the back wall. The afternoon shift change was over, and the cafeteria was only lightly in use. Three men and two women in white housekeeping uniforms sat close to the front door, eating and occasionally yawning. A member of the cleaning crew wiped tables with a rag, preparing for the next rush. An ice machine hummed near the self-serve soda station, and dishes clattered in the kitchen behind the swinging metal doors.

Ellie felt much better after half a turkey sandwich. Ben wiped his mouth and set his napkin down next to the salad he’d demolished.

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