Love Overboard

Chapter 34

EMILY RAPPED TWICE ON THE door, paused, and knocked three more times. No one answered. She tried again, with the same result.

“They might be asleep,” Gerry said. “Like we should be.” She tugged the black hood of her jacket onto her head and leaned against the wall.

“I told them three o’clock sharp.” Emily raised her knuckles again.

The door swung open before she knocked. Althea stood before her. At least, she assumed it was Althea. The woman wore a black track-suit, leather gloves, and oversized Jackie O sunglasses. A thick scarf wrapped around her head, obscuring half her face.

With one finger, she lowered the fabric below her mouth and whispered. “Daisy refuses to get up. Once the girl is out, it’s easier to wake the Sphinx.”

Emily humphed and pushed by her. “I’ll take care of this.” She marched to the single bed closest to the bathroom and shook her friend’s delicate figure. “Daisy, it’s mission time.”

Daisy moaned and rolled away, tugging the padded white duvet over her head.

Emily poked a finger in her back. “Daisy Mae Randolph Masterson, you’re delaying the whole operation.”

“Go without me,” Daisy mumbled from underneath the covers.

Emily looked at Althea and Gerry in the doorway. They shrugged.

“I think we should leave her,” said Gerry.

“We’re all in this together.” Emily grabbed the comforter and sheets and flipped them to the end of the bed.

Daisy lay there in a black velvet housecoat.

“See,” Emily said. “You’re already dressed for the occasion. All you have to do is stand on your feet.”

Daisy curled in a tight ball and groaned. “What good would I be? It’s a crazy idea anyway.”

Emily took her hand and nudged her to an upright position. “Crazy or not, it’s for Lacey. The poor girl has had a hard week. We have to make sure the rest of her life isn’t that way. Don’t do it for me. Do it for her.”

The sleepy woman released a long-suffering sigh, swung her legs out of bed, and stuffed her feet into her tasseled slippers. Her bones creaked as she stood. She shuffled to the dressing table against the wall.

“Where are you going?” Gerry asked.

“I have to fix my hair,” Daisy drawled.

Emily grabbed a black sun hat from a hook on the wall and plopped it on her head. “There you go. You’re gorgeous. Let’s move.” She placed both hands behind Daisy’s shoulders and propelled her from the room.

The Shippers padded down the silent corridor. Not a soul in sight—most passengers were sound asleep behind the shiny wooden doors. They reached the bank of elevators and took one to the administration floor, where Jon’s office was located. Once they exited the car, they tiptoed to their destination, keeping an eye out for crew members.

Althea pointed to a security camera in the corner and gathered her scarf closer. “If they catch us, we’re done for.”

“Remind me again why we’re doing this,” Daisy said.

Emily drew a slow breath and explained one more time. “Lacey broke it off with Ricardo, and she appears much more relaxed around Jon. That’s progress. All they need is a little more one-on-one interaction. If we can change her schedule so she’s always at the same event as him, I’m sure nature will take its course.”

“His office is probably locked,” Gerry argued.

Emily slipped a key ring out of her pocket and jingled it.

Daisy gasped. “Did you steal those?”

“Of course not. One of the maids dropped it while she was cleaning this floor, and I happened to pick it up for her. I’ll return them as soon as we’re finished.”

“She stole them.” Althea cackled and slapped her on the back.

Emily cringed at the forceful love tap. “Here’s his office.”

She inserted the key in the lock. It opened easily. The four scurried inside and shut the door.

“I hope we don’t regret this,” Gerry said.

“I already do.” Daisy flopped onto the cushy chair in front of the desk and crossed her legs.

“Oooh, candy.” Althea yanked off her sunglasses, dug in a glass container on the side table, and pulled out a gold foil–covered chocolate. “I love hazelnuts.”

Emily sat behind the desk, switched on the lamp, and pressed the power button on the computer. The screen lit, and the log-in box waited.

Gerry peered over her head. “Password protected. It figures. Now what do we do?”

Emily hit a few keys, pressed Enter, and she was in.

Gerry backed away and stared. “How did you do that?”

She tilted her nose in the air. “Jon signed in when I stopped by the other day. I spied which keys his fingers were hitting.”

Althea grabbed another piece of candy and sank onto the chair beside Daisy. “You missed your calling. You should have been a secret agent. How you ever had the forethought to—What? What is it, baby?”

Emily stared at the computer, gobsmacked by what she saw.

Drugs?

The email popped up the moment she signed in. Jon must have left it open.

She reread the contents and looked at her waiting friends. “Girls, criminals might be using the MS Buckingham to smuggle cocaine.”

“What on earth?” Daisy raised her palms in horror.

Althea clicked her tongue, and Gerry took out her notebook.

“It says here”—Emily squinted as she leaned—“they arrested a crew member in Bermuda. He had the drugs hidden in his locker, but this isn’t the first time they’ve caught someone. A group is targeting Monarch vessels.”

“How dare they use our ship to move their filthy junk!” Althea thumped the armrest.

Emily held up a finger and shushed her. “What’s that noise?”

She flipped the lamp off, and the Shippers sat in the dark with only the faint light from the computer screen. The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway.

“Do you think they’ll catch us?” whispered Althea.

Daisy clapped a hand over her roommate’s mouth.

The gentle whir of the computer sounded like a jet airplane in the quiet office. Four pairs of ears listened as the heavy clomping passed by and continued down the hall. The women exhaled in unison.

“That shaved ten years off my life,” said Gerry. “And I don’t have much to spare.”

“Let’s keep the lamp off.” Emily maneuvered the mouse and clicked on the Schedules folder. “We can’t leave until we change Lacey’s assignments to match with—”

The office door flung open, and the glare from the fluorescent bulbs overhead blinded them.

The four women turned in unison.

“What are you doing in here?” A hulking security guard in a black uniform stood with his hand on the switch.

Althea whimpered as she stuck her sunglasses on her face. “Lawd, help us.”

“Amen,” said Emily.