Chris CJ Jones
Millie Dunbrook—a young and unproven private investigator badly in need of steady work—has been hired to perform some exploration into a few strange yet minor incidents aboard a Caribbean cruise liner.
Jack Hauser—a man still stinging from the recent departure of his wife and daughter—is simply another passenger trying to enjoy a relaxing cruise while searching for some personal answers in hope of finding new meaning to his life.
Two other passengers have a completely different agenda, however.
Neither Millie nor Jack, in their wildest dreams or nightmares, ever expected this cruise to be the ultimate target of an improbable plot, devised to completely destroy the boat and everyone aboard if the ransom demands aren’t met. What results is an amazing nautical game of terror as the ship and passengers sail unknowingly toward an approaching death.
After a successful engineering career in the computer industry, Chris “CJ” Jones left the demanding yet rewarding life of running a high-tech business for the unknown and perceived fun of writing novels.
A renowned storyteller at his long-time employer, CJ held firm to his demonstrated creativity and determination for success, trading physics, formulas, simulations, and spreadsheets for a word processor with a spelling checker, hoping to entertain readers.
Having lived in multiple places in the Midwest, South, and Western U.S., CJ and his wife once again reside in the South, where he is writing his next suspense story of white-collar crime, while also working on his golf game and climbing other branches of his leisure tree.
Two hours later, still playing with possible alternatives regarding the identity of the woman, Millie sensed another vehicle approaching from behind her. When she first turned and saw a portion of the vehicle through her obstructed view, the sight of something on the roof made her believe it was a police car. This immediately led her to remember the fire hydrant near the side of her automobile.
As her heart skipped a beat, she fortunately realized it was another taxi instead of a law enforcement vehicle. The cab passed her and made its way to the same spot as the others before it stopped in the middle of the road. Seeing how these people parked made Millie forget momentarily about her minor disregard for the law.
A few minutes later, Nikos, his dad, and the smartly-dressed woman exited the building. Millie quickly seized her camera in her effort to get a cleaner shot of the female she didn’t know. Unfortunately, the woman and Nikos’ dad quickly piled into the back while Nikos secured the same pieces of luggage in the trunk without the help of the driver. Millie expected this cabbie wouldn’t be as happy about his tip at the end of this journey, but her thoughts didn’t linger on the subject for long. After Nikos took his spot on the passenger side of the front seat, Millie quickly started her car. She vacated her illegal spot after giving the taxi the smallest of leads.
Not completely certain where this chase would take her, she felt confident they were heading back to the port, especially since she knew Nikos’ required time for returning was fast approaching. The route wasn’t what Millie expected, but sure enough, in slightly more than twenty-five minutes, she trailed her prey along the waterfront with the huge cruise ship in her sights.
When the cab pulled into the lane reserved for public transportation, Millie considered briefly pulling onto the opposite side of the street to a spot close to where she parked earlier. But with more traffic on her side and several oncoming cars, she instead pulled to the side and parked as if she was one of the cabs. A few of the nearby cabbies, who stood by their rides and smoked, gazed harshly at her. Much to her relief, however, none of them shouted anything or approached her.
Millie’s view wasn’t as good as she would’ve liked, but with her camera in hand, she was able to see Nikos exit first and walk hurriedly toward the boat. Expecting Nikos’ dad and the woman to also exit promptly, Millie was surprised when they stayed in the parked cab.
The vehicle and passengers remained motionless for fifteen more minutes before the passenger door finally opened. Nikos’ dad got out first, and like before, he assisted his companion with her exit. Millie snapped more pictures of the scene as he reclaimed the suitcases from the trunk and spent a few moments attaching one of the smaller ones to the larger one. Then he hoisted the other small one onto his companion’s empty shoulder while her handbag occupied her other one. Without a kiss or any other indication of affection, the woman took the handle of the largest piece of luggage and pulled it behind her as she walked toward the ship.
Once Nikos’ dad reentered the cab, Millie watched with confusion as it pulled carefully from its parking spot and weaved through the growing maze of vehicles. Not certain whether she should follow Nikos’ dad or stay and watch the woman, Millie was abruptly hit with the answer.
