Lethal Voyage Read online

  Lethal Voyage

  A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery

  Ivy Dawson

  Copyright © 2019 by Ivy Dawson

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Afterword

  Also by Ivy Dawson

  Description

  When Shae Jordan was a child, her beloved father was brutally murdered while investigating a dangerous mobster. She swore to always live a danger-free life. Unfortunately, Shae can’t turn her back on ay type of injustice and trouble always has a way of finding her.

  While working through an ordinary day on the luxury cruise liner, The Princess Araminta, Shae unexpectedly runs into her father’s old friend. He invites her to hunt down an international jewel thief with him, and things quickly get out of hand as people start dying. It also becomes apparent that ghosts from the past are determined to haunt her. Shae comes to realize that she’s never completely healed from her father’s murder. Is this investigation what she needs?

  Will the past repeat itself? Or will Shae Jordan survive this lethal voyage?

  Chapter 1

  Living on a cruise ship comes with a few unexpected challenges. Shae Jordan sat in her dark room and glared at her snoring roommate. She groaned lightly to herself and rolled her eyes as she went through all the challenges in her head.

  You have to get used to a brutal routine that never rests for a second. You live in close proximity to your colleagues and boss. It’s not always easy to live with hundreds of guests flooding your home every week.

  Shae had been expecting some of these challenges. She knew that she’d probably have a difficult roommate. She just never expected someone like Luciana. Luci, as she was known to her friends, was a full-blown diva and a lounge singer at one of the most exclusive clubs on the ship.

  While Luci was beautiful and talented, her personality left a lot to be desired. It had a lot to do with her job. Shae tried to be a reasonable person and forgive her for any transgressions. Despite all her efforts, it was difficult when they had wildly different schedules and Luci was determined not to be reasonable or compromise.

  Luci swanned in at the early hours of the morning. She’d then switch on the light, not caring that Shae was sleeping. She then proceeded to take off her make-up and change at a leisurely pace while she sang to herself. Shae asked her a few times not to do that, but Luci never paid much attention to her roommate.

  When it was time for Shae to get up in the morning, she tried to be as considerate as possible. She went into the bathroom and made sure to keep very quiet. Unfortunately, any slight sound caused Luci to sit up and complain about whatever Shae was doing.

  Shae sat in the dimly lit room, wanting to scream out in frustration. She’d requested a room change, but the process was slow. Luci had just come back from a shift and flicked the light on in her usual frustrating manner. Ever since then, Shae hadn’t been able to sleep.

  She turned around in the bed and checked the time. It was nearly time for her shift anyway. She groaned again and got up to get dressed. As she got up, she accidentally knocked over a water bottle on the bed stand.

  Luci immediately stopped snoring, turned on her side with a huff, clicking her tongue slightly. Shae felt a wave of frustration rise up in her throat. An almost-forgotten memory jumped into her head and she heard her father’s voice as if he was in the room with her.

  “Just ignore her. Some people are determined to be a pain.”

  As usual, a sharp pain pierced her heart as she thought about her father. Ever since she started working on the Princess Araminta, she’d been having flashbacks of her father more frequently. The grief still felt fresh every time she thought of him. Sometimes it was easier to handle. Like when she was working on a murder.

  Other times, she had nothing to distract herself from the pain. She shook her head at herself, and quickly got ready for the day. Not much caring whether Luci sighed or grunted. It was too early in the morning to deal with Luci’s brand of passive-aggressiveness.

  Shae found herself going through the motions as she set up for work, mentally preparing herself for all the photos she’d have to take of happy holidaymakers. This morning, something was different.

  When she got to her booth, the ship’s eccentric doctor was waiting for her.

  Dr. Zooberg was a South African man who looked like a zany cartoon character. He had wild grey hair, an old wizened face and gigantic thick-rimmed glasses that made every frequent blink look larger than possible.

  “There you are,” he exclaimed when he saw her. “I was wondering where you were.”

  “I just got in,” she told him with a wry smile.

  Talking to Dr. Zooberg was always a gamble. Sometimes he just wanted to leave a message or ask a strange question. Other times, he babbled on for hours, taking up all her time and attention. Despite that, she deeply appreciated the old man. He’d helped her on numerous occasions and was a genuinely good person.

  “You’ll never guess what happened,” he started, and she had to stop herself from wincing. The doctor started most conversations that way. Sometimes he had news about one of her medical check-ups. Other times, he found an interesting insect and wanted to talk about it. “we found a body.”

  “Oh no,” Shae said, concerned. “what happened?”

  “We found a female in her cabin. We think it was a heart attack. No reason to suspect foul play. The only thing is that I’m not so sure about that. I don’t want to talk to Mark about it, he’ll just tell me to do my job.”

  “And so, you came to me,” Shae nodded slowly.

  This happened a lot. Dr. Zooberg often came to her with his suspicions and concerns. Normally, he’d have to talk to the First Officer. Unfortunately, the First Officer was a man named Mark who scared almost everyone on board. He was impossible to deal with and had an unfair amount of power on the ship.

  She dreaded talking to him about Dr. Zooberg’s suspicions but knew that she had to bring it to his attention. If there was something behind the doctor’s claims, they’d have to investigate. She hoped that the doctor was mistaken, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with Mark.

  “Why do you think something’s going on?” Shae asked slowly. He hadn’t been wrong before.

  “It’s not like a normal heart attack,” Dr. Zooberg replied, frowning as he started explaining. She knew she was in for the long haul when he started gesturing wildly. The man was insanely smart. He also didn’t know how to keep an explanation short or simple.

  As he spoke, Shae found her gaze drifting off. Guests were awake and milling around, trying to find their bearings. That was another challenge that came from living on a cruise ship. Crowds were a fact of life. Staff members were expected to serve the crowds, and it wasn’t always pleasant.

  Shae was a people watcher and enjoyed watching people to see what they did and how they would react. She found her fingers itching for her camera when she saw the potential for a good photograph.

  People came and went, flitting out of her vision as soon as they appeared. Nothing grabbed her attention until she spotted a particular man.

  He wasn’t a spectacular man. If she hadn’t recognized his profile, she wouldn’t have paid much attention to him. But she did know him. His face
was seared into her memory, and she hadn’t thought of him in years.

  “Frankie,” Shae whispered in shock.

  Her body felt frozen for a second. It was like seeing a ghost. No, it was like seeing the ghost of her father. Without thinking about it, she quickly ran after him, forgetting about the owlish doctor who was waiting for a response to his question.

  “Frankie!” she called desperately, trying to fight her way through the crowd so that she didn’t lose sight of him.

  He didn’t turn around, and Shae felt an odd panic rip through her. What if she lost sight of him? Part of her knew that she’d carry on looking for him all day until she finally found him. Shae pushed herself forward, not stopping to think that maybe she’d been mistaken.

  She couldn’t be. It had to be him.

  How could he show up so soon after she had a flashback of her father? It felt strange, like something had drawn him into her life.

  “Frankie!” she yelled, reaching out and touching his elbow with the tips of her fingers.

  The man stopped in shock and turned to her. His expression changed from surprised, to agitated, back to surprised.

  “Shae?” he asked, his mouth slightly agape. “How could it be? How long has it been?”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked at the same time.

  They both broke out into awkward laughter, and she scratched her arm nervously. It had been years since she’d seen him.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” he admitted, shaking his head slightly. “what are you doing here?”

  “I’m working on board,” she said, suddenly shy.

  “Oh,” Frankie said, frowning slightly. “I thought you were training to become a PI like your dad and I. What happened?”

  She looked down at her shoes, suddenly regretting her decision to run after him. He shook his head at himself when he saw her reaction. He knew what happened. James Jordan or JJ, Shae’s father and a bona-fide PI, was brutally murdered when his daughter was just a teenager.

  “What are you doing here?” Shae asked, moving along quickly. “I never thought I’d see you on a ship.”

  “Me neither,” he grumbled, glaring suspiciously at the railing on the deck. “I’m here for work. It’s a tough case, I sure could’ve used someone like your father on this one.”

  Frankie was the closest thing that JJ had to a best friend. They always called each other when they were facing a particularly challenging case.

  “I don’t know Shae-bee,” her father told her, running his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’ve gone over everything. I don’t know what I’m missing.”

  “I don’t know, dad,” a fifteen-year-old Shae said, shrugging her shoulders as she washed the night’s dishes. “maybe we should let the police handle this one.”

  Her father was sitting hunched over his desk, staring listlessly at a mountain of notes and pictures. He ignored her comment. It wasn’t the first time she’d broached the subject.

  “I think it’s time to call Frankie,” he said eventually, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

  “I like that idea,” she said sincerely, smiling at him.

  She was past the age where she thought that she was the only partner her dad needed. She was also past the age when she thought that her dad was a superhero who could do anything. She’d seen him get hurt too many times. She worried about the day when he got hurt too badly for her to fix.

  Calling Frankie was always a good idea. She worried about him. His cases were getting more dangerous, and she worried that he was taking on too much in this latest case.

  She got shivers down her spine every time she thought about it. Everything about the case seemed wrong.

  Shae shook her head slightly. That was the last case he ever worked on.

  “I sure could use some fresh eyes,” Frankie said, looking at her meaningfully. “it’s a real good one. An international jewel thief who I’ve been chasing for about ten years now.”

  “Ten years?” Shae said carefully. She didn’t want to address his comment, because she didn’t like saying no to Frankie.

  “This guy’s a real piece of work,” Frankie said, leaning in toward her, carefully looking around to make sure that no-one was lurking around them. “he’s stolen from some seriously rich people. He’s like a ghost, Shae. They call him the Invisible Cat.”

  Shae knew why he was doing this. He felt awkward, and guilty. The last time he’d seen her, he’d just told her that her dad was dead. He’d bundled her onto a bus bound for her estranged mother. This was his way of avoiding the past.

  “You’ve gone up in the world, Frankie,” she said with a wry smile, clapping him on the back and trying to ignore his familiar scent. He smelled of smoke, ink and soap. He smelled like her childhood. “you used to deal with cheating husbands. Now you’re working with people who get robbed by international jewel thieves.”

  “It’s the way of the world,” Frankie said, regretting his words instantly.

  Shae tried not to look uncomfortable as she tried to think of a way to leave. The interaction was bringing back all sorts of memories she’d rather forget.

  “And he’s not just an international jewel thief,” Frankie said quickly. “He’s escalating. I’ve got some evidence that he murdered a woman last night.”

  “What?” Shae said in surprise. She thought back to her conversation with Dr. Zooberg. “Did it look like a heart attack?”

  “How did you know?” Frankie asked, his eyebrows skyrocketing.

  Shae felt her heart sink into her stomach. There was no way that she’d be able to stay out of the case now. She looked at the man who reminded her so much of her father and knew that she was in for a hard time.

  Chapter 2

  “What evidence do we have that this was actually a murder?” Mark asked in annoyance, leaning against the wall and tapping his foot impatiently.

  Captain Tim, the lovable but disinterested Captain of the Princess Araminta, was giving her his undivided attention. Captain Tim loved the sea too much for a normal retirement. When the time came for him to stop working, he organized a position on a luxury cruise ship instead.

  Now, he spent his days sunbathing, meeting with rich passengers who insisted on spending time with him and building little ships in bottles. It was ideal for him but meant that the surly First Officer was left in charge of most things.

  “It’s just a suspicion,” Shae admitted heavily, while Frankie looked around the office with interest. He gave Captain Tim a half-salute, and the Captain spared him a smile.

  “I don’t think we should spend our time running around chasing suspicions,” Mark said shortly. “you’ve got a lot of work. And so has Dr. Zooberg.”

  “Hold on,” Captain Tim said, looking at Mark. “this man says that there might be a dangerous criminal on board. We can’t let that information get out. Half our guests have valuables that would be of interest to this… Cat man.”

  “The Invisible Cat,” Frankie supplied helpfully.

  “I’m not saying that,” Captain Tim told him simply. “It’s ridiculous.”

  “We’ve got a professional on board who can take care of the Cat,” Mark said, his mouth twisting in distaste as he said the words. “Shae doesn’t need to join him. What evidence is there that this thief is changing his tactics? A woman died. It happens. We can’t chase imaginary ghosts every time it happens.”

  “You didn’t believe me before,” Shae reminded him. “and look how that turned out.”

  One of Shae’s previous cases involved a very agitated pastor and a pair of twins who had a terrible relationship with each other. Mark refused to help her with the case and set up every imaginable obstacle to stop her.

  In the end, it turned out that there had been a murder and Shae helped prevent another one. Ever since then, the Captain promised to support her more often. Mark made no such promise, and never apologized for his behavior.

  “You
can’t bring that up every time it suits you,” Mark snapped.

  “I’ve known this woman ever since she was a girl,” Frankie said suddenly, playing with a loose thread on the couch. “I knew her father. He helped me with a few sticky cases, and I’m sure his daughter will do the same. Don’t underestimate the Cat. He’s a dangerous man, and he’s getting worse. We need to stop him before he kills someone else.”

  “You’re confident that this man is on the ship?” Captain Tim asked in concern, causing Mark to pucker his face sourly.

  “I’m one hundred percent sure,” Frankie said firmly. “and I know he killed that woman. Trust me. It was him.”

  “Shae,” Captain Tim said, turning to her seriously. “what do you think?”

  She hesitated for a second, and looked over at Frankie. The years hadn’t been kind to him. He’d always had wrinkles and a raspy voice that was a result of his smoking addiction. He was a short man who stooped over slightly, and in a previous lifetime he was probably a little handsome. Now, his hair was thin and grey, and his hunch was more pronounced than ever.

  She knew his eyes though. Those were the same kind blue eyes that always looked at her in concern when a case got too intense. She remembered how he’d always slip her a candy bar when he came to visit. And the way he was always just a phone call away.

  He’d abandoned her. Shae’s last memory of him was when she turned around and watched him wave at her from the shelter of a bus stop while it rained.

  She felt torn. Would she judge this man on the simple fact that he didn’t know what to do with a bereaved teenage girl except send her away? For a brief moment, she nearly did. And then she remembered how relieved she was when her father called him to help with that last case.