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.
Chapter 2
A bleary-eyed Danielle rubbed the back of her neck. “Do you see them?”
“Not yet. Last night was a rough one.” Millie bounced on the tips of her toes, struggling to see over the sea of boarding priority passengers, eagerly searching for familiar faces: her cousins, Gloria Kennedy and Liz Rasmussen along with their tight-knit group of friends Dot, Lucy, Margaret and Ruth—akaThe Garden Girls. “Gloria texted me this morning to let me know they were waiting for the shuttle from the hotel. It’s been so long since their last cruise.”
“When a group of Russians tried hijacking our ship,” Danielle said. “Hopefully, we won’t have as exciting, or should I say terrifying, of a voyage this time around.”
“The past twelve hours were enough to last me for a very long time.” Millie crossed her fingers. “Although I have to admit, Gloria and the others have a knack for attracting trouble.”
“And finding a way out of it,” the assistant cruise director added. “That knack definitely runs in the family.”
Millie greeted guests on their way to the bank of elevators. The doors opened, and they crammed in until there wasn’t a single inch of space. She winced, anticipating what would happen next.
The doors started to close and then slid back open.
“Another overload.”
“Major.” Millie watched a man jab the panel of buttons. “Should I give them the bad news?”
“Let’s wait to see if they figure it out on their own.”
The door started to close and then opened again. Boisterous voices grew louder.
