Page 64 of Waylaid in Whittier

Reaching the port, Elvira parked her clunker next to Brody’s spiffy rental, and the trio trekked up the gangway. Thankfully, their bags weren’t flagged and soon they were back on board.

Millie sent a group text to Danielle, Cat, Annette and Brody, bringing them up to speed. She swapped out her jeans and shirt for her work uniform, making her rounds around the ship to check in on the final late night activities.

While she worked, a nagging clue lingered in the back of her mind. Exhausted from a long day, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

Finally, her shift ended. She met Nic at home and they turned in, knowing tomorrow would be another long day.

As Millie drifted off to sleep, the little niggling bounced around in her head.

With any luck, Elvira would be on board, in good standing with the Whittier authorities, and Siren of the Seas would embark on its final journey through the Alaska frontier.

Chapter 24

Within minutes of wrapping up her early morning staff meeting, Millie’s radio went off. “Millie, do you copy?”

“Go ahead Sharky.”

“Where are you?”

“Finishing my staff meeting. What’s up?”

“Elvira is MIA.”

“MIA on board the ship?”

“Yeah. Can you meet me at my cabin?”

“I’m on my way.” Millie took the side stairs to deck one, where the crew’s quarters and Sharky’s cabin were located.

She found him standing in his doorway, a concerned expression on his face. He quickly ushered her inside. “Thanks for getting here so fast. I can’t find Elvira.”

Millie’s eyes flitted around the cabin, taking note of Sharky’s messy living quarters. “Did someone ransack your place and kidnap her?”

“I know my cabin looks a little rough. I haven’t done my monthly cleaning and now with Elvira’s stuff here it’s even messier.”

Fin stalked over and rubbed up against Millie’s leg. She scooped him up. He promptly began purring. “Good morning, Fin.”

Sharky patted his head. “This is the calmest he’s been since Elvira got here.”

“Fin doesn’t like her?”

Sharky shrugged. “Nope. I think he might be a little jealous.”

“Poor Fin-ster,” she cooed. “You can come and stay with Scout if you want.”

“I might take you up on that. The two aren’t hitting it off.”

Millie set him on the floor. “Back to Elvira. What’s going on?”

“Remember when Reef said she was acting squirrely and secretive?” He didn’t wait for her to reply. “She offered to run down to the dining room and grab some breakfast sandwiches while I took a shower.”

“Which isn’t something I would consider out of the ordinary,” Millie pointed out.

“She left and never came back. She’s been gone for over an hour. I’ve tried calling and texting her multiple times. She’s not answering her phone.”

“Do you think something happened to her?”

“I hope not.”

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