Page 34 of Waylaid in Whittier

“I wasn’t saying you didn’t work hard. All I was saying is being married to the ship’s captain must have its advantages.”

Thankfully, Felix was wrapping up his speech.

Millie pointedly sidestepped him. “If you’ll excuse me.”

She called the rest of the group to her office, allowing them a brief look inside before leading them up several decks to the bridge. During the walk, Millie radioed her husband, giving the bridge crew a heads up she was bringing a group through.

Nic, always eager to welcome guests to the bridge, invited them to gather around the controls. She stood near the back, beaming with pride as he shared snippets of what it was like being captain. It was clear he loved what he did, loved the people, the ship, and his crew.

She glanced at her watch. The tour was wrapping up, and not a moment too soon. Millie needed to head down to the gangway to meet Sharky.

She took a group photo with Nic front and center, and the guests gathered around him. Zevron slipped away and marched over to where Millie stood snapping photos. “Are we touring the captain’s quarters?”

“No. We’ve suspended tours of this area.”

Zevron’s eyes narrowed. “I thought we were gonna get to see where the captain lives.”

“It wasn’t on the schedule, nor mentioned at any point, so I’m not sure where you got the impression you would tour his private quarters.”

“S-someone online mentioned touring the captain’s apartment,” he blustered. “Why not?”

“Because it’s currently not available to view.” Millie’s answer was only partially true. Depending on her mood, she sometimes invited the guests in. Zevron’s combative attitude had helped her decide the apartment was off limits.

“That’s disappointing.” He stalked off.

Millie positioned herself near the door. “This concludes the tour of the ship. We’ll be returning to the atrium. A complimentary photo of your group and the ship’s captain will be delivered to your stateroom before the ship docks at the end of our cruise.”

She herded the group out of the bridge, holding the door until the last guest had exited. Millie caught Nic’s eye. He winked. She blew him a kiss and slipped out.

It was a quick jaunt back to their starting point. Millie thanked them for accompanying her on the tour. She answereda few questions. One by one, the passengers drifted away. Everyone except for Zevron.

“Thank you for the tour, Millie.”

“You’re welcome. I love Siren of the Seas and I love showing it off to guests,” she said sincerely.

“I want to apologize if I offended you about…well, suggesting you got your job because of the captain. My wife has already planned our entire week—all the shows, trivia, bingo, shore excursions.” Zevron told her his wife had finished cancer treatments, and the cruise was their way of celebrating. “She was so excited to meet you in person. I guess when I found out you weren’t hosting the tour, I got a little cranked up about it.”

Millie touched his arm. “I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I’ll add her to my prayer list.”

“Thanks. She’s gonna be okay. I just…thank you for being understanding.”

“I hope you have a wonderful cruise and you have many years left together.” Millie could feel tears burn the back of her eyes as Zevron made his way over to his wife, a woman she had chatted with several times during the tour.

“You never know what battles people are fighting,” she whispered under her breath. “Always…keep your cool.”

With a final glance at the couple, who rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, Millie hurried back to the apartment to swap out her work uniform for street clothes. It was time to figure out if they had a shot at clearing Elvira’s name.

Chapter 13

“What are we waiting for?” Millie anxiously glanced at the tunnel burrowing straight through the mountain, the only way to get from the port area to their meeting spot and the gold mining group’s camp on the other side.

Sharky scratched his head. “I think I read somewhere this tunnel is used by the railroad and for vehicle traffic, so we gotta take turns. I see a light coming in our direction.”

Millie leaned to the side, looking past Sharky. Sure enough, a round beam of bright light grew even brighter.

Clickety-clack. Toot…toot.A massive locomotive appeared, barreling out of the tunnel and veering left along the tracks. Railcar after railcar emerged.

The minutes ticked past. Finally, Millie, Sharky, and the long line of vehicles behind them started to move. Not only move, but move at a brisk clip.

---