Chapter 18
Gloria’s eyes widened. “Liz’s credit card was declined?”
“Correct,” Nikki confirmed. “As I mentioned, we’ve been trying to reach her.”
“Maybe she’s avoiding you.” Millie noted the look on her cousin’s face. “I was joking, but it might be true?”
“Who knows with Liz. What I do know is that she planned to play bingo.”
Millie checked her schedule app. “Bingo ended over an hour ago.”
Gloria polished off her club sandwich and shoved her chair back. “Liz is an afternoon napper. Maybe she’s lying down, turned her phone off and is unaware there’s an issue.”
The women cleared the table and caught up with Nikki in the corridor for the elevator ride to the deck eleven suites.
Using her keycard, Gloria unlocked the door. Stepping inside, they found the lights were off and the curtains drawn.
“She’s here.” Millie picked up a lanyard sitting on the table.
“Liz’s bedroom door is closed.” Gloria held a finger to her lips. “I’ll go get her.”
Nikki reached out to stop her. “You don’t have to wake your sister.”
“You said you left a message on her phone?”
“I did. I also left one on the suite’s phone over an hour ago.”
“Then she’s well aware of what’s going on and needs to take care of it.” Gloria kicked her shoes off and tiptoed across the room. She eased the bedroom door open and slipped inside, quietly closing it behind her.
“I hope I’m not causing a problem,” Nikki fretted.
“You mustn’t blame yourself.” Millie patted her arm. “Believe me, Liz has a habit of creating issues all on her own.”
Muffled voices echoed. Gloria nudged a bleary-eyed Liz into the living room. “Liz, this is Nikki Tan, who works at Guest Services. I’ll let her explain why she’s here.”
Nikki twined her fingers, uncomfortable at being put on the spot. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Rasmussen, but it appears the credit card you have on file has been declined.”
Liz’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”
“We tried updating your account first thing this morning and again right before I got here. We’ll need another card to replace the one we have.”
“Of course.” Now wide awake, Liz scurried to the closet. She removed her designer handbag, pulled out the matching wallet, and began rifling through the contents. “I’m sure I have plenty available on several of these. Do you know the current balance?”
“Not off the top of my head.”
“You can access your account on the television,” Millie said.
Gloria grabbed the remote, switched the television on and scrolled through the screen until she reached the accounts tab. With a few quick clicks, she accessed Liz’s shipboard account and pressed enter.
A screen full of charges appeared, along with the current balance.
“Three thousand one hundred and twenty-five dollars,” Gloria gasped. “What on earth have you been buying?”
Liz thought about it. “A few things at the gift shop.”
“And a whole lot of entertainment,” Millie added. “Most of the charges are for entertainment.”
“Bingo cards.” Gloria placed her hand on Liz’s shoulder. “Please tell me all of these entertainment charges aren’t for bingo cards.”
“Three grand is a drop in the bucket.” Liz plucked a black card from her wallet. “I’ll add my Centurion card.”
“We can take care of it right now,” Nikki said.
“Yes, let’s get Liz’s account settled,” Gloria said. “How is mine? I mean, I’m not on Liz’s account, am I?”
“We can double check when we get downstairs.”
“I need to change first.” Liz tugged at her pajama top.
“We’ll meet you there in less than five,” Gloria promised.
Nikki and Millie exited the suite, remaining silent all the way to the Guest Services desk. While they waited, Millie asked Nikki to access the accounts again, confirming Gloria’s was separate from her sister’s and with a much lower balance.
Nikki switched over to Liz’s account and began scrolling while Millie looked over her shoulder. “This bingo hobby is getting out of hand.”
“She must be buying multiple cards for each game.”
“More like multiple upon multiple.” Millie, who had been keeping an eye out for her cousins, noticed them stepping out of the elevator. She watched as a sullen Liz and a somber Gloria crossed the atrium. “I bet I missed an interesting conversation.”
“Be glad you did.” Gloria placed her hand on her sister’s back, prodding her forward. “Liz is ready to plunk down her other card.”
“Can I get a copy of the charges first?”
“Of course.” Nikki’s fingers flew over the keyboard. The printer behind her whirred and spit out several sheets of paper. She glanced at the top sheet before handing the stack to Liz.
Liz slipped her reading glasses on and studied the charges. “This does seem slightly excessive. What card do you have on file?”
Nikki gave her the last four numbers.
“That’s one of my smaller cards.” Liz held out the black card. “Put everything I currently owe plus all future charges on this one.”
Nikki ran it through the machine and handed it back. A funny look flitted across her face.
“Is there a problem?”
“The card has been declined.”
“Declined?” The color drained from Liz’s face. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Try this one.” She handed her another, with the same result. “This can’t be right. Maybe there’s a glitch in your system.”
“Try running mine through,” Gloria said.
Nikki grew quiet, tapping the keys. “Yours went through right away, Mrs. Kennedy.”
“The problem isn’t the system but your cards,” her sister said.
“I’m calling the credit card companies right now.” Liz marched across the room, heading to a quiet corner.
“I wonder if Floyd found out about the bingo charges and froze the cards,” Millie muttered under her breath.
“Floyd spoils Liz rotten. She could play bingo until the cows came home and he wouldn’t bat an eye,” Gloria said. “Maybe the credit card companies suspected some sort of fraud and put a freeze on them.”
“It happens,” Nikki said. “More often than you think. She doesn’t look happy.”
Liz paced, waving her hands in the air, an aggravated look on her face. The pacing continued for long moments. She tapped the screen and started a new round of pacing. Finally, she returned. “The stupid credit card companies thought the charges were fraudulent and froze my accounts.”
“All of them?”
Liz heaved a heavy sigh. “Unfortunately, it appears I maxed out more of them than I realized.”
“You can add the charges to my account,” Gloria said. “And pay me back when we get home.”
“I spoke to a manager and explained the charges are legit. The Centurion card, as well as the original one, should be good to go.” Liz handed her the black card again.
Millie held her breath, watching as Nikki ran it through the machine a second time. “It cleared.”
“Problem solved,” Liz smugly replied. “I gave the manager a stern lecture. You won’t have another issue with the charges.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Rasmussen, and I’m sorry for having to wake you from your nap.”
“Liz is fine.” Gloria nudged her arm. “She needs to get outdoors and enjoy some sunshine and fresh air.”
“What are you two up to?” Liz slid her wallet back inside her purse.
“Actually…” Millie tapped her scheduler app. “I need to come up with an activity to replace the illusionist who is still down with the flu.”
“I’m good at brainstorming,” Gloria said. “How soon do you need the idea?”
“Like yesterday. Let’s go to my office and make a pot of coffee to get the creative juices flowing.”
“I’ve been known to come up with an idea or two,” Liz said. “Where are Lucy, Dot, Margaret and Ruth?”
“I’ll find out.” Gloria sent a group text to her friends.
Dot promptly replied, eating ice cream and figuring out our next activity.
Gloria: Meet Liz and me in Millie’s office behind the theater.
Dot: On our way.
“The Garden Girls are on the way.”
“And to the rescue.” Millie sent a text to Danielle and Felix, asking them to meet her in her office. “We can beat them if we take a shortcut.”
Stepping behind Guest Services, she led her cousins to a secret passageway she occasionally used when she was in a hurry to get to the other end of the ship.
“This is a cool corridor,” Gloria said. “More like a secret passageway.”
“I only found out about it a couple of years ago. Donovan Sweeney, the ship’s purser uses it along with a few other senior officers, when we’re in a hurry.”
The narrow walls forced them to walk single file all the way to the end to a circular set of stairs. Winding their way down, they found a metal door with a single knob at the bottom. A keypad and a small screen were directly above it.
“I’ve always wondered something.” Millie pressed her back against the wall. “One of you try using your keycard to unlock the door.”
Gloria squeezed past her and tapped the top with her card. She grasped the handle and tried turning the knob. “It’s locked.”
“I’ll try.” Liz leaned forward and tapped her keycard with the same result. “You need a special keycard to open it?”
“A master keycard.” Millie tapped her card. Waiting for the faint click, she turned the knob and eased the door open. “Only a few of the crew members, who have gone through an extensive background check, have them.”
“This is a James Bond caliber secret passage,” Gloria joked.
“Imagine sneaking in here, reaching the end and realizing there’s no way out because you don’t have the right keycard,” Liz said.
“I’m sure it’s happened.” Millie swung the door wide and waited for her cousins to clear the threshold.
“We’re here.” Gloria blinked rapidly, discovering that they were standing near the corner of the stage overlooking the theater. “I got completely turned around.”
Millie closed the door behind them. “And now you know one of Siren of the Seas’ best-kept secrets.”
“It pays to know the right people. This is even more exciting than the VIP tour you gave earlier.”
Liz perked up. “VIP tour?”
“We took some elite members on a special tour,” Millie explained.
Her cousin made an unhappy sound. “Why didn’t I get invited?”
“It was part of the ‘shadow Millie’ day,” Gloria said. “Besides, you were probably still in bed.”
Liz sniffled. “Had I known it was a VIP event, I would’ve made a point to set my alarm.”
Millie’s sneakers squeaked loudly as they crossed over to the other side, passing by the dressing room, makeup area and costume closet before arriving at her office, tucked away in the corner.
She flipped the light switch, her breath catching in her throat. There, painted in bold black letters, was the word, Cow.