Love Overboard

Chapter 22

JON JABBED AT HIS NOISY phone, hoping for five more minutes of sleep, but the snooze button wasn’t working. His tired brain cleared enough to register it was a phone call and not an alarm making the sound. He grabbed his cell and answered.

“Hello?”

“Mr. King? There’s an emergency in the lobby.”

Jon bolted out of bed and started dressing before he even heard the details. “Give me five minutes. I’ll be right there.”

Four minutes and thirteen seconds later, Jon skipped the poky elevator and raced down the stairs. His shoes squished against damp carpet as he passed by the marble columns and went into the main lobby. Puddles of water gathered on every surface. An army of crew members filled the room, moving furniture and mopping. He slowed enough to keep from slipping and located the head manager, who was overseeing the group.

“What happened, Mr. Kapoor?”

The balding man wiped his shiny head with a tissue. “A sprinkler malfunctioned. Soaked everything. It’s wet as a kiddie pool in here.” He stuffed the crumpled tissue in his pocket. “At least it happened after most passengers were asleep. I called the maintenance crew and asked for volunteers from our best workers to help clean the mess before the customers wake up.”

“Are the sprinklers fixed?” Jon avoided three men pushing a grand piano out of the waterlogged lobby.

“Yes. It’s just a matter of cleanup. Move the couches. Dry the carpets. Then swap the furniture with replacements. It will take all night.”

Jon pushed his sleeves to his elbows. “Tell me what to do.”

Mr. Kapoor pointed at a huge mountain of towels. “Try to soak up what you can. We’ll bring in wet vacuums to help and also position fans at the worst areas. Hopefully, that will be enough.”

Jon grabbed a stack from the pile and searched for an empty spot to start. People crawled around the lobby on their hands and knees. A golden head caught his attention. Lacey knelt in a corner pressing a cloth along the baseboards. Her long hair was barely contained in a lopsided ponytail. She wore flannel pants and a baggy T-shirt. When she stood, the motion revealed long wet stains along the legs of her pajamas. She loaded her arms with sodden towels and carried them to a plastic trash can sitting in front of him.

“Are you waiting for an invitation?” She dumped the soppy mess in the bin and took another armful of towels. “Get to work.”

Was it weird he found her high-handed orders endearing?

He chose a location near Lacey. They pushed and soaked and cleaned and dried until the rays of morning sunlight crept through the windows. By the time early-bird passengers wandered in at six o’clock, the transformation was complete.

Lacey dragged herself out of the room and into the service elevator, Jon at her heels. As the car descended, he stretched and rubbed his spine with a groan. “I think I’ll skip the gym today. That was a workout and a half. Are you going to grab a few hours of sleep?”

Lacey pulled her phone from her pants pocket. “I have a staff meeting in twenty-two minutes. Barely enough time to get ready.”

“I’m sure they’ll give you a break after working an extra shift.”

“No thanks. I’m wide-awake.”

The elevator stopped at her floor, and she sprinted down the hall toward her cabin. Jon shook his head as the doors closed. How could anyone keep up with that kind of passion?

Lacey’s chin drooped. Her head tilted forward, and she snapped it back before it hit the plate in front of her. She scrubbed her hands over her cheeks and scoped out the staff dining room. It was easy to pinpoint the employees who’d been part of the flood patrol by their haggard faces. They looked as bad as she felt.

“I have been searching for you.” Ricardo slid onto the seat beside her and placed his breakfast on the table. “Would you like to have sushi after work tonight?”

Lacey was glad he sat at her side instead of opposite her. Easier to avoid his eyes. “No thanks. I’m exhausted after dealing with the sprinkler mess. I plan to go to bed the minute I get off.”

“My roommate told me about that.” Ricardo took a drink of his juice. “It is so wrong you had to clean it up.”

“Where were you?” Lacey peered at him.

“I had to wake early to prep the breakfast pastries.” He poured salsa over his scrambled eggs. “My sleep is important. The maintenance crew handled the job. It is shameful Mr. Kapoor made you help.”

“He didn’t make me help. I volunteered.”

“Such dedication.” He applauded before taking a bite of his toast. “Your parents raised you well.”

Lacey forcefully stabbed a piece of pineapple with her fork. “I learned about hard work from my mother’s example.”

“The cruise line should give you a raise. Do you have an easy schedule today?”

“Not even close. I’m escorting a group of passengers on an island tour. We probably won’t return to the boat until sunset.”

Ricardo placed his hand on top of hers. “It hurts me you are overworked. Perhaps tomorrow we can eat sushi?”

Lacey slipped her hand from under his and grabbed her tray. Time to break up and run. She slid her chair away from the table and placed one foot to the side, ready to propel herself upward.

“I’m sorry, Ricardo. My life is too complicated right now.” She started to rise. “We should keep our friendship simple without any dating.”

He cocked his head to the side. “I do not understand you.”

“Let’s be friends.” She stood all the way. “And nothing else.”

His lips turned downward. “No sushi?”

“No sushi.” Lacey grimaced. “Sorry.”

She spun on her heel and speed-walked to the clean-up area. The different bins waited for silverware, dishes, and scraps. Her posture relaxed when she realized Ricardo wasn’t following. She sorted her items and sighed.

One more mess cleaned up.

Jon collapsed onto the desk chair, stretched his arms above his head, and moaned. It was the first time he’d rested since the unexpected sprinkler emergency.

Staff meeting, morning announcements, and half a dozen other things he couldn’t remember had kept him running. Maybe cruise director wasn’t the best cover for ferreting out a drug ring.

A pen rolled to one side, and Jon caught it before it fell off the desk. He twirled it in his fingers as he stared out the window. The water swelled in angry, white-capped waves. Charcoal-gray clouds filled the sky. Splotches of rain hit the glass in front of him.

The Caribbean island of Nevis allowed small cruise ships to dock in port, but large vessels such as the MS Buckingham had to anchor offshore and transport passengers to land in small ferries called tender boats. That meant a bumpy ride and a boatload of seasick passengers.

Jon rubbed his head. He opened his laptop, clicked on an email, and spotted the information he’d been waiting for from corporate. “Finally.”

The list was surprisingly short. Eighteen people out of the entire passenger list raised a flag in the criminal background checks. Twelve were minor offenses such as shoplifting and speeding tickets. He wrote the remaining six names on a piece of paper. A married couple on deck six had been convicted of real-estate fraud. A VIP member on the diamond deck spent eleven months in jail for insider trading. A couple of men had served short sentences for drug possession in the 1970s. And the final name had a star by it.

Luca Amante.

Three different stints in prison for robbery, money laundering, and aggravated assault. Corporate included details from the assault case. Jon’s teeth clenched as he read. This was a nasty character by anyone’s definition.

Where was he now?

Jon accessed the man’s record in the MS Buckingham database. Monarch Cruises required every passenger to take a photo for the ID card they carried around the ship. People used it to enter their staterooms, make purchases at onboard shops, and scan with security whenever they embarked or disembarked. Amante’s picture showed a hard mug with deep-set eyes, puffy lips stretched to one side in an unpleasant smirk, and thinning brows that didn’t quite match his jet-black hair. The most recent entry showed he’d boarded a tour-bus excursion of Charlestown and had been on the island for five hours. Plenty of time to make contact with a supplier. The confusion that would be caused by multiple tender boats returning in the bad weather provided a perfect cover to smuggle narcotics aboard.

Someone knocked.

“Come in.”

The white-blond head of the first mate poked around the door. “Hi, Jon.”

“Peter, what’s up?”

He winced as he entered. “The weather’s horrific. Captain says it isn’t safe to bring any more tenders back from the island. He wants you to arrange accommodations for the passengers. They might be stuck there overnight.”

Jon’s gaze switched to the window. “How many are there?”

“One busload. Sixteen people who took the Charlestown tour.” Peter wobbled from side to side with the lurching ship. “Stinks for Lacey. She’s the lone employee with that group. I’d hate to be the person to break the news.”

Jon stood and shoved past him. “I need to talk to the captain. Now.”