Millie’s Cruise Ship Mysteries (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #7)

Chapter 1

Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

Millie’s eyes flew open. She bolted upright, her heart pounding in her chest at the emergency warning blaring from the overhead speaker.

“What the…” Nic, her husband and Siren of the Seas’ captain, threw back the covers and jumped out of bed, already reaching for his pants that were draped on the back of the nearby chair.

She flipped the light switch on, listening in horror as a nasally voice began mimicking the emergency signal…

seven short blasts followed by one long blast. There was only one problem, and it was a biggie.

Millie suspected it was a crew member who had been instigating trouble for several days now. She wasn’t the only one.

“It’s him again.” Nic slipped his shoes on and grabbed his jacket on the way out of the bedroom.

Millie, now wide awake, ran down the steps behind him. “I hope they get him this time.”

The ship’s security team had begun staking out every PA system, hoping to catch the mischief-maker who had been using it to issue random announcements. A few made zero sense, and a couple were merely nonsensical noises.

Before she reached the bottom step, a familiar voice began speaking. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption. The ship is safe. There is no need to go to your muster stations. Again, the ship is safe and there is no emergency at this time.”

Dave Patterson, the head of security’s voice: calm, cool, and collected, repeated his announcement. Following Nic to the door, she peeked out, catching a glimpse of the bridge, now a flurry of activity.

Thinking passengers might need additional reassurance, Millie threw her work clothes on and rushed out of the apartment. She had almost reached the muster station deck when she heard loud, frantic voices.

Taking the final step, she came to a quick halt, her heart plummeting at the chaotic scene. Security guards, crew members and a sea of passengers, all wearing life jackets, stood crammed together.

In the midst of the chaos, Suharto, the head of gangway security, struggled to get the passenger’s attention. Unfortunately, Millie only caught snippets of what he was trying to say.

Danielle appeared at her side, life jacket in hand. “Can you believe it? The troublemaker outdid himself this time.”

“What a nightmare,” Millie groaned, frantically trying to come up with a plan to address the panicked passengers.

“Please be calm,” Suharto desperately pleaded.

“They’re not listening.”

“We need to get their attention.” Millie’s eyes were drawn to Danielle’s life jacket, sporting a reflective strip and beacon light. “Use your whistle.”

“Good idea.” Danielle stuck the whistle in her mouth. Sucking in a breath, she blew as hard as she could.

A shrill screech cut through the noise. The lobby grew quiet, all eyes turning to the women.

Suharto forced his way through the sea of people and joined them on the bottom step. “Ladies and gentlemen, the abandon ship call was a false alarm. You. Are. Safe. Please return to your cabins.”

“May I?”

Suharto handed Millie his bullhorn. “I know you are all a little freaked out, and I apologize for the confusion. As Suharto said, you are safe. The ship is safe. We will be returning to the Miami port at the scheduled time.” She glanced at her watch.

“Siren of the Seas will dock in approximately three hours, at seven a.m., at which time we will wait for clearance and you’ll be allowed to disembark. ”

Finally, thankfully, it appeared the message started to sink in and the deck cleared. Several passengers passed by, grumbling about the false alarm. Meanwhile she, Suharto and Danielle continued apologizing profusely.

Millie noticed a small group had gathered near the stairwell, talking in low voices. She handed Suharto the bullhorn and approached them. “You can return to your cabins.”

A woman, her eyes filled with fear, shook her head. “Not on your life. I’ll never forget reading about the Costa Concordia. Those passengers were told to return to their cabins and some of them died because they listened to the captain.”

A man placed a protective arm around her shoulders. “My wife is right. I don’t feel safe returning to our cabin.”

“It’s unfortunate you feel this way. All public areas are available for you to use.” Millie apologized for the umpteenth time. “It appears an unauthorized individual somehow gained access to the PA system and decided to pull a prank.”

“Clearly, Captain Armati is not in control of his vessel,” a woman haughtily replied.

“We’ll figure this out on our own.” The man motioned the others away and began talking again, glancing every so often in their direction.

“What do you think they’re plotting?” Danielle whispered.

“Making a list of attorneys they plan to contact claiming emotional distress,” Millie sighed.

“I fear you may be right.” Suharto’s radio blared. Dave Patterson called him to his office.

“I must go.”

“We’ll keep an eye on these guys.”

After he left, Millie and Danielle circled the corridor, a square configuration consisting of the Blue Seas dining room, the art gallery, a bank of elevators and the Kickstart Comedy Den.

“Whoever it is found a way to get into the main booth,” Danielle said. “The previous pranks were bad enough, but this took it to a whole new level.”

It was true. During the past several days, the person or persons had pulled several stunts, including stealing liquor from behind the bars and draining the hot tubs.

Tink. Millie’s cell phone chimed. It was Felix, her close friend and a member of the entertainment staff, asking her to call him.

Millie promptly dialed his number.

“Hey, Millie. Where are you?”

“Danielle and I are circling deck six trying to convince passengers to return to their cabins.”

“Same up here on the lido.” Felix’s voice faded before growing louder. “I’m sending you a photo.”

Tink.

Millie clicked on the panoramic shot of the pool area, swarming with passengers all wearing their life jackets, sprawled out on deck chairs, sitting at the tables, standing near the railings.

“Did you get it?”

“Yep. The passengers are scared, thinking we’re not telling the truth.” Millie briefly closed her eyes.

“They’re not going anywhere until they see the Miami skyline for themselves.”

While they talked, Millie slipped outside, noticing a similar scene—the deck chairs all occupied by passengers wearing life vests. “I hope Patterson caught this person.”

“It won’t be because he hasn’t tried.”

“There’s nothing we can say to convince them,” Danielle said. “Let’s go find out if they finally nailed this guy.”

Returning inside, Millie and Danielle made their way to the main PA sound booth where they found a cluster of ship’s security staff had congregated. Standing nearby was a crew member she didn’t recognize, being handcuffed and escorted to the bank of elevators.

Another crew member who, based on his appearance, could have been his twin brother, stood arguing with Oscar Horvuth, the ship’s director of security.

“Thank the Good Lord they caught someone,” Millie said.

“Too bad it wasn’t before they got the entire ship in an uproar.”

The women crept closer. “…has a mental imbalance without proper medication. I assure you he meant no harm.”

“Meant no harm?” Oscar frowned. “He has been causing disruptions for days and will be escorted off the ship the minute we arrive in port.”

“And sent home? I was told if an employee is fired, the cruise line pays for their trip home.”

“Because of the severity of the circumstances, he will be turned over to the authorities.”

“But you don’t understand.”

Oscar stepped closer and jabbed his finger in his face.

“Majestic Cruise Lines will not tolerate such actions. Your brother called abandon ship in the middle of the night, causing a panic on board. Passengers are sleeping on the decks in their life jackets. How long do you think it will take before they demand compensation?”

The man ignored the question. “Do you plan to press charges?”

Millie had to hand it to the guy. He had guts, going to bat for his family member who clearly had mental issues.

“It will be up to corporate, but I believe it’s safe to say they will.”

The man turned to go, to follow the guards.

“Will you be leaving the ship as well?”

Millie was too far away to hear his answer. He jogged off, catching the elevator right before the doors closed.

Oscar, now alone, stood near the sound booth, cell phone in hand.

She slipped in next to him, listening to his conversation with Patterson. “We got ‘em boss. The crew member is being taken to the brig as we speak.”

“There’s only one?” Patterson asked.

“It appears so. His name is Angelo Bautista. He and his twin brother, Arturo were hired at the same time.” Oscar motioned to Millie and tapped the speaker button so she could listen in. “We have no grounds to fire Arturo as it appears Angelo acted alone.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’m on my way to question him.”

Millie watched Oscar slide his phone into his pocket. “This guy, Angelo, was causing chaos on his own?”

“We believe so. The brothers have only worked on board for a short amount of time. We have been monitoring Angelo for a couple of days because we suspected he might be behind the booth break-ins. I’m sure you heard Arturo trying to explain his brother’s behavior.

” Oscar twirled his finger next to his forehead.

“Sadly, it appears he has some mental health issues. Regardless, the incident and call to abandon ship will not be taken lightly.”

“It’s a mess,” Millie said. “Cue the lawsuits although, in my opinion, emotional distress would be a stretch.”

“Which is what I fear will most likely happen.”

She yawned loudly, watching as a group of passengers wearing life jackets squeezed into an elevator. “It’s going to be a long night.”

“What’s left of it,” Danielle grimaced.