Chapter 29
“IS THIS WRITING IN YELLOW marker?” Lacey bent and studied the scrawls on the light walnut paneling of the bathroom stall. “Who brings a highlighter on a Caribbean cruise?”
“Sorry to call you here before your shift starts.” Nadia wrung her hands. “I know it’s not that important, but I wasn’t sure whether to show Mr. Kapoor or clean it off without saying anything.”
Lacey placed an arm around her and squeezed. “Your message came at the perfect time.” She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and took several pictures of the cuss words. “Did you check the other stalls?”
Nadia’s eyes rounded like life preservers. “I didn’t. Do you think there’s more?”
It was a small restroom, three stalls total, on the far side of the dining room. Each was fully enclosed with a slatted wooden door. Nadia took the stall in the middle, and Lacey checked the one by the wall.
“Oh no,” Nadia wailed.
Lacey hurried to the middle stall. Nadia pointed to the bottom half of the wall near the toilet. A tiny smiley face leered at them with a speech bubble containing a rude phrase. Lacey took another picture.
“Go ahead and clean it off.” She tucked the phone in her pocket. “I’ll report this to Mr. Kapoor. It may have been a fluke. Let’s wait and see if it happens again.”
Nadia nodded. “Sorry.”
Lacey shook her head. “If anything else pops up, and I mean anything, call me.”
She exited the bathroom and wound through the tables. If there was one place that guaranteed customer satisfaction, it was here. Diners talked and laughed as they enjoyed the MS Buckingham’s world-class culinary offerings. The scent of roasted duck with savory garlic mashed potatoes drifted by her nose. She hadn’t eaten much at dinner.
“Lacey-bell!”
Lacey’s gaze snapped to the entrance. Her father and mother stood in line at the front doors, waiting to be seated.
“What are you doing here?” She hurried over. “We already ate together.”
Her father rubbed his stomach. “It’s not often I get to eat this good. I want to enjoy it while I can.”
Lacey glanced at her mother. “Are you still hungry, Mom?”
She looked at her husband. “I can drink a cup of coffee while your father eats.”
The man at the front desk approached. “Are these your parents, Lacey? I’ll give them a table by the window.”
“Thank you, Dennis.”
“Good evening, sir.” He bowed to her father. “I don’t know what we’d do without your daughter. She makes sure everything on this ship is perfect, whether it’s in her job description or not.”
“I expect nothing less from my little girl.” Ronald Anderson nodded. “Don’t you take advantage of her.”
Jon’s voice came from behind them. “Did I hear these are Lacey’s parents?” He approached the group—impressive in his dress white uniform with black-and-gold epaulets on the shoulders.
Dennis introduced him. “This is our cruise director, Jonathan King.”
Jon reached out. “It’s an honor to meet you both.” His warm tone welcomed them. He shook hands with Lacey’s father and mother.
Lacey stiffened from her knees to her earlobes. Her brain spun. How could she separate them before it was too late?
“You’re the cruise director?” Ronald leaned forward. “I had a question about the entertainment.”
“Not now, Dad.” She jumped in. “I need to discuss a matter with Mr. King. You and Mom enjoy your second dinner.” Lacey grabbed Jon’s arm and hauled him away from the pair. Dragging him from the dining room, she whispered, “I told you not to meet my parents.”
“They don’t know who I am,” he whispered back. “To them, I’m simply the cruise director.”
Lacey steered him to the elevator and pressed the button. The doors opened, and a noisy group spilled out of the car. She stepped aside to let them pass.
A man with a head-to-toe sunburn spotted them. The space where his sunglasses had sat gleamed white. “Hey, buddy.” He slapped Jon on the back. “I’m loving this cruise.”
“So glad we’re doing our jobs.” Jon returned the slap. “Be sure to use real sunblock, not the spray-on kind.”
The sunburned man guffawed. “You got me. I’ll remember that next time.”
Lacey and Jon entered the elevator. She pressed the button and then crossed her arms, her body angled away.
He ducked his head to see her expression. “Why is this such a big deal? All I did was introduce myself.”
She turned to him. “Do you have a good relationship with your father?”
One side of Jon’s mouth twisted in a bemused smile. “He’s my best friend.”
“Then you can’t relate.” Lacey drew closer and took his hand in both of hers. “Take my word for it—the less time you spend with my dad, the better. Please avoid him for the rest of the voyage.”
“Can you at least tell me why—”
She let go and faced the doors. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
The elevator dinged and opened. A woman in a burgundy sequined dress stumbled in. The smell told them she’d been enjoying the open bar for a while. She met them with a wide-mouthed grin. “Hi, y’all.” The lady grasped a box of popcorn as she swayed. She giggled at Jon and held out the box. “You want some?”
The popcorn tottered back and forth with its owner.
“Sure.” He grabbed a couple pieces and tossed the kernels in his mouth. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it, cutie. How ’bout you?” She waved the box at Lacey.
“Um … sure. Thank you.” Lacey grabbed a single piece of popcorn and raised it to her lips.
The elevator dinged again, and Jon and Lacey got off on the promenade deck. He pointed at a trash can as the door closed behind them.
“What?” she asked.
“You can throw it away now. I know you didn’t eat the popcorn.”
“You must think you’ve got me figured out.” Lacey hid her arms behind her.
“Ah-ah.” Jon grabbed at her hand. “Don’t try and get rid of the evidence.”
She spun around, but he enveloped her body and grabbed her fist. They feinted and dodged, and the weight of their earlier conversation dissipated. Teasing was easy. Family problems were hard. Better to put them off until later.
The Shippers watched with glee as their favorite couple bickered good-naturedly. Jon grabbed Lacey in a headlock. He received an elbow to the gut as they made their way out of sight.
Emily gave a thumbs-up to her crew. “This looks promising.”
“Good ol’ roughhousing.” Althea chuckled. “Definitely an improvement.”
Gerry agreed. “Their mood is friendlier.”
“My second husband and I were friendly like that a lot.” Althea nudged Daisy as the Shippers started down the hall. “That’s why we had six kids.”
“Althea, please.” Daisy’s cheeks colored, and she fiddled with the brooch at the neckline of her black lace blouse.
“Nothing wrong with a little horseplay. Keeps the relationship spicy.”
The ladies walked to a side lounge at the end of the deck and settled at an empty table.
“I agree with Althea.” Gerry slid her laptop out of her tote bag and opened it. “Every good romance novel throws in the PC when things start to heat up.”
Daisy’s smooth brow wrinkled. “Politically correct?”
Gerry locked her fingers together and whispered, “Physical contact.”
Emily laid her hand on the table near the computer. “It’s about time we saw forward movement. Gerry, make a note of this in the log. We’ll observe them for the next few days and see if this flirtatious atmosphere continues.”
“I wonder what changed.” Gerry typed away. “Did anyone notice a catalyst? We might be able to use the same tactic in future cases.”
Emily tapped the spot between her eyebrows with a finger. “He played the rescuing knight on Nevis when we were stuck in that gymnasium. But Lacey appeared colder than ever on the ride to the ship the next morning. I doubt she said two words to him.”
“I can’t figure our girl out.” Althea fluffed the hair around her ears. “If a man did that for me, I’d melt at his feet in a puddle of goo.”
“When you love deep and hurt deeper, it’s hard to let people in.” Emily pulled her fuzzy knit cardigan tight as the air-conditioning kicked on. “That’s why our help is so crucial.”
“She appears to be thawing,” Althea said. “I hope it lasts.”
“What if it doesn’t?” Daisy asked. “Suppose they have a falling-out again?”
Emily leaned back on her chair. “Then we’ll find another closet to lock them in.”
Daisy cringed.
Althea laughed.
And Gerry took out her book.