Curse of the Arctic Star Read Online Free PDF

shore excursion in Ketchikan, and I think that satisfied them.”
    “Vince and Lacey,” I said, remembering the frightened young woman and her new husband.
    “Right.” Becca smiled at me. “Good memory for names, Nancy. Maybe you should work in the cruise industry.”
    “I don’t think so,” I joked in return. “Bess and George could tell you I only remember details when they have to do with a case. Otherwise, I can’t even find my keys most of the time!”
    Becca chuckled, then glanced at her computer screen. “I don’t have much time,” she said. “But I guess I should fill you in on the latest trouble.” She picked at a chipped spot on the corner of the desk. “I just found out today about a rumor circulating among the housekeeping staff.”
    “What kind of rumor?”
    “That the company is already bankrupt, so nobody’s going to get paid.” Becca shook her head. “It’s not true, obviously. The housekeeping supervisors managed to calm everybody down for now, but nobody seems to know where the rumor started. It’s just one more thing going wrong . . . .”
    “Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” I said. “You told me about the threat to Brock’s family that made him cancel, and that some other bad stuff had happened. What’s the other stuff?”
    “Well, it started with an e-mail I got a couple of weeks ago.”
    “What did it say?”
    Becca shrugged. “Just something about how I should back out of this cruise if I knew what was good for me, or something like that. But that’s not all. There were a few incidents in the last couple of weeks. A shipment of supplies got lost in the mail and never turned up. Three of the ship’s cooks quit a week before departure. Stuff like that.”
    “Okay, the e-mail sounds weird,” I said. “But the other problems could just be ordinary bad luck or whatever, couldn’t they?”
    “Maybe. But what about the body in the pool? It takes more than bad luck to make something like that happen.”
    “Good point.” I drummed my fingers on the desk, thinking over what she’d told me. “We should try to figure out possible motives. The e-mail makes it seem like someone’s trying to scare you—maybe someone who’s envious of your cool new job. Do you have any enemies onboard or any you can think of?”
    “Not that I know of.” Becca looked alarmed. “Do you really think someone’s targeting me personally?”
    “Not necessarily,” I assured her. “I mean, for all we know other people could’ve received threatening e-mails too. Maybe someone’s after your boss—Marcelo, is it?”
    Becca looked dubious. “Everyone loves Marcelo. He’s been in the business for years and has never had an enemy that I’ve heard of.”
    “Then maybe it’s the captain,” I said. “Or Verity, orthe company as a whole. Or maybe someone we haven’t even thought of yet.”
    Becca smiled wryly. “That really narrows it down.”
    “Sorry.” I chuckled. “I’ve learned it’s better not to rule anything out without solid evidence. We need to keep thinking about motives and—”
    I cut myself off as the door flew open. A woman stood in the doorway. She was in her early thirties, tall, blond, and attractive, dressed in a navy-blue evening gown with silver jewelry.
    “There you are, Becca,” the woman said in a husky, rather brusque voice tinged with an Eastern European accent. “Marcelo’s wondering where you are—it’s nearly dinnertime, you know.”
    “Oops!” Becca glanced at her watch and jumped to her feet. “Sorry, Tatjana. I lost track of time.” She shot me an apologetic look. “I need to change into my evening clothes so I can greet guests at dinner. We’ll have to chat later.”
    Tatjana glanced at me, her gray eyes curious. “Can I help with something?”
    “No, I’m fine.” I smiled at her. She shrugged and turned to follow Becca out of the office.
    When I got back to the Hollywood Suite, I was relieved to see my suitcase