Free Portside Peril (Cruise Ship Christian Cozy Mysteries Series Book 2) by Hope Callaghan Page A

attack!”
    “You’re younger than me,” Millie pointed out.
    “True,” Andy admitted.  “So what did happen?”
    “I have a new sidekick.  Scout.”
    “Scout?” Andy was confused.  He knew the name of every single crew and staff on the ship.  There was no one by the name of “Scout.”
    “It’s Captain Armati’s dog.  A Teacup Yorkie to be precise.”
    For the second time, Andy’s mouth fell open.  “There’s a dog on the ship?”  He had heard rumors – hints of a dog on board - but he’d never seen an animal.  To him, it was always nothing more than a bunch of gossip. 
    Millie nodded.  “He’s about this big.”   She held out her hands.
    Andy leaned back in the chair. He crossed his arms.  “So you’re saying Captain Armati has a dog, the dog is on this ship and he put you in charge of this Scout?”
    “Yep.  Starting later today.  I pick Scout up at 4:00 to make our first rounds together.”
    Andy Walker had heard it all.  His eyes narrowed as he studied Millie.  This woman had been on the ship just a short amount of time.  So far, there had been a murder, a man overboard, a suicide and now there was a dog on the ship?  It was almost as if no matter where Millie went, something crazy happened.
    He couldn’t really call it a “black cloud” following her around.  More like a microburst of cosmic energy that surrounded her.  In all his years working with Captain Armati, he couldn’t remember the captain confiding in any of the staff.  For him to single Millie out to take care of his pet was a bit unbelievable.
    He leaned forward.  “How do you do it?”
    “Do what?”
    “I dunno.  Get people to…” He waved his hand in the air.  “Take for example, Cat.  She doesn’t like anyone on board the ship and now you two are best buds.”
    “We weren’t in the beginning,” Millie pointed out.  “Yeah, I guess she does like me.  Maybe I’m not a threat.  You know, more like a grandmotherly-type.”
    “Hmm.” Andy leaned back in his chair. Maybe Millie was right.  She wasn’t threatening.  She did have that grandmother look about her.  In addition to that, she was nice, even if she was a bit on the nosy side. 
    Andy remembered Millie mentioning her ex-husband. How lonely she had been after he left her.  It was one of the reasons she’d applied for the assistant cruise director job in the first place. 
    Well, as long as Millie wasn’t after his job, she could watch the do and walk the dog. He changed the subject. “How’s the investigation going?”
    Millie mentioned the friends that were in the cabin on the other side of Courtney and Kyle’s.   
    “Let me guess.  “You’re going to talk to them.”
    Millie nodded.  “After I pick up Scout.”
    Andy stood. 
    “You want me to bring Scout by?” she asked.
    Andy nodded.  “Sure.  I can’t wait to see a broken company policy live and in action,” he said wryly.
    Millie’s brows furrowed.  “Captain Armati said he had permission.” 
    Millie would feel terrible if she got Captain Armati in trouble.  She was having second thoughts about taking the dog out in public, but the captain was the one that told her to do just that. 
    The rest of the afternoon dragged by.  Millie was anxious to start her dog sitting duties.  She hadn’t realized how much she missed Daisy.  Hopefully, Scout and she wouldn’t become too attached to each other.  If something happened and Scout had to leave the ship, she would feel terrible.
    Millie shoved her fears aside and wandered back to the cabin.  Sarah was inside, getting ready for her shift.  She brushed her hair as she glanced at Millie in the mirror.  “Did you know there were two more deaths on board the ship?”
    “Yeah.  Hard to believe.” Millie unclipped the two-way radio from her hip and set it on top of her bed.  “Such a sad situation.  They’re calling it murder/suicide.”
    Sarah tilted her head and ran her fingers through her