Chapter 15
“It looks like a tornado tore through here.” Millie plucked her cell phone from her pocket. “I had better track down Tohan.”
He promptly answered. “Good morning, Millie.”
“Good morning, Tohan. Where are you?”
“Upstairs in the buffet. I finished working out and am eating breakfast. Siren of the Seas is a beautiful ship.”
“I’m standing in front of your cabin. I came to check on you and found your door ajar.”
“Open?”
“Yes.”
“I’m positive I shut it when I left.”
“What about the other crew member, your cabinmate?”
“He’s with me. We left together. Being accustomed to getting up early, we found it impossible to sleep in.”
While she talked, Millie’s eyes traveled around the compact room. Closet doors wide open. Clothes on the floor, on the bed, even dangling from the lamp. “Your cabin seems to be in a bit of…disrepair.”
“Disrepair?”
“It’s a mess,” she bluntly replied.
“We made the beds and straightened up before we left.”
“You might want to head down here.”
Tohan told her they were on their way and ended the call.
Less than a minute later, he and the other Sea-nanigans crew member arrived. Tohan greeted Millie before easing past her.
“Like I said, we found the door ajar. We haven’t touched a thing.”
The second crew member tiptoed inside, muttering under his breath. “Someone broke into our cabin? Who would do such a thing?”
Tohan’s eyes narrowed. “Jeremy.”
“Why would Jeremy break into your cabin?” Millie asked.
“We had a disagreement last night. I insisted that we call his father to let him know what had happened. He didn’t want to, and even threatened me.”
Millie stared at him. “The senior Mr. Manning still doesn’t know the yacht sank and you had to be rescued?”
Tohan shook his head. “For whatever reason, Jeremy was adamant about waiting until this morning.”
“This is unacceptable,” she said. “I’ll be honest. He strikes me as a spoiled brat and vindictive.”
“He can be…challenging to deal with,” Tohan said. “We were to meet on the upper deck at ten for a conference call.”
“Which is half an hour from now.” She glanced at her watch. “Where?”
“On the sun deck. I’m sure I’ll be blamed for everything.”
“Do you have any idea what Jeremy may have been looking for?”
Tohan’s eyes slid to the side.
“What is it?”
“The passports.” He explained he’d been hanging onto them for each of the passengers. “Mr. Manning made me promise to keep them. Thankfully, I was able to grab them before the yacht started to sink.”
“Because…” Millie prompted.
“After we departed Bimini, we were traveling to Nassau to pick up some…supplies.”
It dawned on her what he was referring to. “Drugs.”
“Correct.” Tohan hurried on. “I had no idea we were going to Nassau. We had mechanical problems, which is why we stopped in Bimini. As soon as the repairs were made, I thought we were headed to Freeport. Jeremy told me there was a change of plans and insisted we sail to Nassau. As soon as he told me, I called his father.”
“Who had no idea about the change of plans.”
“Correct. He was not happy about the news. He didn’t come right out and admit he knew why Jeremy wanted to go there, but made me promise to take his son’s passport and accompany the passengers in all ports.”
“Basically babysit them,” Gloria summarized.
“What a mess.” Millie paced, struggling to fill in the blanks.
“Jeremy borrows Daddy’s yacht. Without his father’s knowledge or permission, he made plans to take it to Nassau to score some drugs.
Not long after leaving Miami, the yacht had mechanical issues.
You stopped in Bimini for repairs. After the repairs, you think you’re heading to Freeport. Jeremy changes the itinerary.”
“Correct. At which time I contacted Mr. Manning to let him know. He asked me to confiscate the passports.”
“I’m sure Jeremy was fit to be tied,” Millie guessed.
“He wasn’t happy. I informed him I’d spoken with his father and would be accompanying him ashore.”
“You could look at it as dodging a bullet,” Gloria said.
“I suppose in a roundabout way I did.”
“So, this morning, you’ll be letting Mr. Manning know his yacht sank.”
“Jeremy wants to fly back to Miami.”
“I think it would be best. He’s certainly not happy on this ship.”
Tohan winced.
“You don’t agree?”
“I agree. However, as I mentioned before and knowing Mr. Manning, I’m not sure this will happen.” Tohan explained that Jeremy’s credit card was funded by his father. “He keeps a small line of credit.”
“So his son doesn’t run it up,” Millie sighed.
“Between you and me, previous incidents have made this a necessity.”
Gloria wrinkled her nose. “I know this is none of my business, but does Jeremy have a job?”
“Not…one to support his lifestyle. He parks cars.”
“Working as a valet?”
Tohan nodded. “Sadly, he is the result of an overindulged upbringing.”
“I don’t disagree,” Millie said. “Meanwhile, he trashed your room, searching for his passport.”
“This would be my guess. I thought he might try finding it so I took it with me.” Tohan made a slicing motion across his neck. “If I do not follow Mr. Manning’s instructions, he will fire me.”
“Your boss has put you in a difficult position,” Gloria said. “How long have you worked for Mr. Manning?”
“For many years, starting from when Jeremy was a young child.”
“So he trusts you.”
“Implicitly,” Tohan said. “Which is why I am not looking forward to the phone call.”
Millie patted his arm. “Hang in there. Jeremy can’t lie. There are too many witnesses.”
“This is true.” Tohan thanked her for letting him know what had happened.
“Do you plan to confront Jeremy?” Gloria asked.
Tohan shrugged. “It won’t matter. Even if he confessed, there is no punishment.”
“Based on what I know about Jeremy Manning, you could be right.”
“I will ask Mr. Manning if I can give the passports back.”
“Because Jeremy isn’t going to Nassau to score his drug deal.”
“Not to mention I don’t want him tearing our cabin apart again,” Tohan said.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’ll need it.”
The women left the men to clean up the mess.
Gloria glanced over her shoulder. “This Jeremy sounds like trouble.”
“Big time,” Millie said. “I feel sorry for Tohan. I wouldn’t want to be the person making the call to let his boss know his multi-million dollar yacht is sitting at the bottom of the ocean.”