Chapter 2
Two
The cabin was great.
Wes could truly appreciate their accommodations. He hadn’t cruised nearly as much as Chloe, but his parents had longed for
vacations, too. However, they’d usually had pretty tiny interior cabins. That hadn’t mattered too much. His folks had used
what they had on their shore excursions and some of them had been terrific.
Nope.
There was no denying that this would be a great time if . . . if he was only on the ship to have a great time.
But, of course, they weren’t.
They’d determined that they’d spend the hour or so before their dinnertime in the cabin once again studying the information
they had on their suspects.
It was difficult at times not to wonder if they weren’t just chasing their tails.
There was no definitive proof that any of the people they were following was guilty.
And it was strange. Brothers? Was one guilty and one not?
A married couple? Again, one guilty, one not, or perhaps a conspiracy . . .
To what end?
Chloe emerged onto the balcony. He gave her a sheepish sigh and shook his head. “No answers here,” he said.
“Wow. I wasn’t exactly expecting any yet. But it’s about that time, dinnertime, rise and shine and check out what our tech
people have done from hundreds of miles away.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re at the captain’s table tonight. Captain Archibald Millbrook, known to his friends as ‘Archie.’ Apparently, a man respected
and loved and experienced in sailing these seas. But, of course, Archie isn’t our target.”
“Who is at our table?” Wes asked her.
“Celia Henderson and her husband, Jeff. They’re running a few of the classes that cruise director and the Milestones people
have put together. Also, we have the big man himself, Mr. Edward Thompson.”
“Vice president of Milestones and their rep on this cruise, giving lots of speeches, hosting parties along classes,” Wes said.
“You should get up,” she told him. “We don’t want to be late. Hm, hold on. Let me assess this situation. You might want to
change!”
“Into what? A gorgon?” he teased.
But yes, she had changed again. The halter dress she wore now fell sleekly to the floor; it was a soft velvetlike emerald-green, a color
that matched her eyes. And, of course, naturally, the darkness of her hair seemed to emphasize the richness of the color as
well.
Okay, so she did appear elegant.
“It’s a cruise!” he protested.
“That’s right. No stuffy business suit. And come on, it’s the captain’s dinner!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Give me a minute,” he begged.
“A minute! We have our table, but we need to choose the right seats!” she reminded him.
“There won’t be any wrong seats,” he assured her, heading in from the balcony.
She was probably right about that. They needed to observe everyone on board and their interactions with the tech event onboard.
He had brought a casual amber suit. With the vest, it gave him a bit of a dinner-attire look, and minus a tie, it remained
proper for him to be casually elegant.
He stepped out of the suite’s large bathroom and pirouetted for Chloe as if he was a model on the runway before pausing and
arching a brow.
“You’ll do,” she told him.
“Wow, careful! Compliments like that will go to my head,” he told her.
She just raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “I believe you’re well aware that ‘you’ll do’ under just about any circumstances.
So, darling, let’s head out, shall we?”
Their very nice cabin was on one of the upper decks, just down a hallway to the elegant—or higher priced—dining room. A meal
here was extra, but could be part of one of the cruise’s executive packages.
Such a package had been bought for them. Taxpayer dollars at work, he thought dryly, except that someone in a powerful position had probably spoken with someone else in a powerful position
and it was unlikely that they had paid what those traveling for sheer pleasure—or artful murder—had paid.
Chloe slipped her arm through his as they entered the dining room. “Captain’s table is up by the stage, and I think that he
says a few words tonight,” she murmured.
“I see the table,” Wes murmured. “And I see the lovely people we’re about to get to know!”
The table seated eight, he saw. There was himself and Chloe and the captain. He recognized Celia and Jeff Henderson from their
case studies, just as he recognized the Milestones VP, Edward Thompson.
Thompson looked like an executive; he was dressed in a suit and tie, and his dignified air was being aided by the iron-gray
hair that was neatly cropped atop his head. He stood as he saw them coming, as did the captain—and the Henderson couple. But
even as they walked up and shook hands all around, the last twosome to join them at the table arrived. The first was a handsome
young man with a lock of dark hair over his forehead. He had warm brown eyes and what appeared to be an eternal smile. The
second was an older man, bald as a buzzard, as the saying went, with bright blue eyes and a smile that matched that of the
young to a tee. They quickly learned that the younger man, Billy Cliffton, was one of the current cruise directors while the
second man was his grandfather, Elijah, retired from the chain that owned the cruise lines and on board for the fun of it—and
to learn more about navigating his computer.
“This is amazing!” Chloe said, wide-eyed and happy as they took their seats. “Wes and I just chose this ship a ways back—second
honeymoon. And then we found out that Milestones was celebrating employees—and offering classes for everyone on board!”
“Hey,” Captain Millbrook told them, smiling, “I may even be in a few of those classes! Thought it was great fun when I heard
about it, too.”
“I hope so!” Celia Henderson said. “I’m hoping that I’m a good speaker and I give several people the help they may need.” She laughed softly, looking at her husband. “I’ve already heard from a few people who are looking forward to learning how to safely make use of dating apps!”
“And there’s a class in dating?” Wes asked, grinning.
“Well, we’re calling it Know your Social Media!” Celia told him.
Wes smiled, studying the woman. He knew she was thirty-eight and that she’d excelled in computing and data research since
high school. She might be considered a genius as far as those skills went. She was an attractive woman wearing a mini dress
well. She had a quick smile, but . . .
Something about her engaging energy seemed a bit off. And, at her side, her husband seemed much more like a listener, an obeyer,
a lackey?
Chloe laughed softly. “Captain Millbrook! So, social media—”
“Please, at this table!” he said quietly, leaning toward her and interrupting her, but doing so politely with a sheepish grin
on his face. “Please, call me Archie! Yes, yes, I know! A captain needs dignity. He’s above it all! Out on the vast seas,
a captain needs to instill confidence in his passengers and crew. But, hey, I’m at sea too much of the time. And my dear wife
passed away five years ago now. Everyone wants a little company now and then!”
Chloe gave him a sweet grin in return before assuring him. “Oh, sir! Archie. I’m willing to bet that half the people in those
classes would be delighted to give you some company.”
“One can hope!” he said. “I’m also aware that there are scams aplenty out there today and that we all need to be careful on
the internet.”
“And that’s where I come in!” Edward Thompson announced, throwing a nod toward Celia and smiling.
“Celia gets to be fun and games. I get more serious stuff. But that’s why this cruise celebration is so important to us.
We should be able to use the internet for fun and games—and be safe on it, as well.
The world has turned to business and banking online—we need to do it, too! ”
“And my grandson has done an incredible job getting the right combo of fun and games for Milestones—and a true learning experience
for the seafarers about this vessel, where they’re old codgers like me and need all the help they can get—or those on the
rise!” Elijah Cliffton said, nodding toward his grandson, Billy.
Billy moaned softly. “Gramps! Keeping the passengers happy and busy is the job and working with Edward, well, sir, it’s been
an honor!”
“Honor has been all mine,” Edward assured him.
“So!” Celia said, looking from Chloe to Wes. “I’m thinking you two aren’t looking for any help with your dating lives!”
Wes grinned, shaking his head. “No, but, hey, knowing how to use any of the apps out there is a good thing. We like to see
our families online—”
“And cute dog pictures!” Chloe put in.
“Who doesn’t love cute dog pictures?” Wes said. “I’m sure that we all need to know how to use the social media safely. We
put pics up of kids, families . . . I think we’re looking forward to crashing all kinds of classes. We came on this cruise
just to get away together and we had no idea when we planned it what a great trip it was going to be!” he said enthusiastically.
Their waiter was at the table; he’d been patiently waiting for the conversation to take enough of a pause so that he could
get their orders. There was already wine on the table, red and white, but he was happy to get them anything else and he gave
a great presentation on the dinner options that were offered that evening.
They ordered; salads and bread appeared almost instantly, and polite conversation continued around the table.
It seemed like the nicest group. The captain, in Wes’s mind, was the man he claimed he wanted to be. Friendly, approachable
and yet knowledgeable regarding any question that was broached to him about the ship.
Edward seemed the perfect VP; again, dignified, but intelligent, eloquent and approachable.
Celia was eager and sweet, and her husband . . .
Well, it seemed that he knew his place.
When dessert and coffee were served, Wes felt that they’d gotten to know the group.
And still knew nothing at all.