Tonight, Millie and I had an invitation to join the Captain for dinner, courtesy of Benson. We approached the maitre d', and I handed him our invitation to sit at the Captain's table that evening. The guys held our hands as the maitre d' escorted us to the Captain's table. It was a small table that sat four. He looked at the guys with a confused face and then at the invitation.

"We're not staying," Sam informed him. The maitre d' bowed, told us to enjoy our meals, and returned to his station to help other guests.

The guys kissed our cheeks, pulled out our chairs, and we sat. They pushed in our chairs, and we smiled and thanked our guys.

Sam bent over and quietly spoke into my ear. The familiar tingle went down my spine as his sweet breath tickled my neck. "I can't wait for dinner to be over. I want to take you dancing tonight, to feel your body against mine."

With that, he was gone, and I felt the familiar heat in my cheeks, feeling like a blushing schoolgirl. I saw the Captain near the table. He smiled down at me, then Millie, and sat beside me. Perfect.

"Hello," he said as he introduced himself. "I'm Captain John Swaid. I'm pleased to have such beautiful VIP ladies to enjoy dinner with this evening."

"Thank you for having us," Millie said.

"Yes, thank you," I added.

"I wish all of my guests were as attractive as you two young ladies. It does this old sea dog's heart well. So tell me about you. How do you know Benson Easton?" He smiles as he takes a roll and begins to butter it. Millie and I each follow his lead and grab a roll.

I raised my eyebrow with surprise. "Wait, you know Benson Easton?"

"I asked you first." He smiles at me, and there's a cute twinkle of mischief in his eye.

I grinned and explained, "I'm Cindy from San Diego, and I've worked as Benson's assistant since graduating college. He gifted me this cruise for my ten years of service, and this is my friend, Millie."

He looks at Millie, and she takes it as her cue to answer his question. "I'm also from San Diego. Cindy and I are old college roommates, and she was kind enough to let me tag along. I teach 4th grade at Washington Elementary School."

He smiles politely at Millie before turning his attention back to me. "So you're the amazing assistant Benson couldn't run his business without?"

I smiled shyly, then boldly reminded him of my question. "And how do you know Benson?"

He chuckled. It was a deep, jolly sound. "Benson's father and I go way back. I was the best man at his parent's wedding. I'm also Benson's Godfather."

It couldn't get any better. I already have a connection with the Captain and feel at ease with him. I decide to wait until after dinner to discuss the two missing women.

Conversation flows nicely throughout our dinner of lobster tail, asparagus, and mashed potatoes au gratin. The Captain asks us how we're enjoying our vacation and what excursions we've experienced. Of course, we gush about his ship, the Norwegian Bliss, and the service. We told him all about the tour we took. The Captain proudly beams as he suggests several excursions at the next ports of call and tells us about his favorite restaurants on the ship.

We have dessert, and I take this opportunity to bring up the ladies. "Have you heard anything from your staff about two female passengers missing the first twenty-four hours of this cruise?"

He stops his fork full of cheesecake halfway to his mouth and looks at me incredulously. "I'm sorry, what?"

I repeat my comment. The Captain lays his fork down and rubs his stubbly chin. "No, I haven't heard about this at all." His neck gets red in anger. "Please tell me everything that you know."

I had given Sam a nod to let him know that I had begun to speak to the Captain about the missing women. The men approach as Millie puts the last bite of flan into her mouth.

"If you do not mind, sir, my friend, Detective Sam Kidwell, is also a passenger on this ship.  We want to discuss this subject together with you."

The guys arrived right on cue. Pete reaches for Millie's hand. She turns and smiles sweetly towards the Captain, "Thank you again for dining with us. It will be one of the highlights of my trip."

The Captain stands. "The pleasure has been all mine, thank you. Enjoy the rest of your cruise."

Pete and Millie walk away as the Captain sits, and Sam takes the seat Millie had just vacated. Sam stuck his hand out towards Captain Swaid. "Sam Kidwell, it's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Swaid. I wish it were under different circumstances."

Captain Swaid firmly shakes Sam's hand. "It's nice to meet you, too. I agree; I wish that it was under very different circumstances."

I sat back and let Sam take the lead. "As you've most likely heard from Cindy." He grins at me, and I melt. "Two female passengers went missing in the first 24 hours of the cruise."

A waiter comes over to fill our waters. The Captain waved him away and gave him a look that said not to bother us again. He turned to Sam. "Yes, Cindy has told me as much. I asked her to give me the details when you came over."

Sam nods and begins the story. "Cindy and I overheard a conversation between two female passengers regarding their other traveling companions. They had not heard from their friends since the day before. The ladies didn't want to report it too soon for fear that their friends had hooked up with some men. They didn't want to embarrass them. They decided that if they didn't hear from either one by this morning, they would report them missing."

Captain Swaid interjects, "Did they report it this morning? I haven't heard a damn thing about this from my staff."

I took over. "Yes. When we returned from our excursion, I stopped by the women's stateroom and invited them to lunch. At lunch, they informed us they had gone to the Guest Services desk and spoke to a purser named Will Grant. He told them it was too early into the cruise to report someone as missing."

The Captain raises his eyebrows, and I again see his neck turn red. "That's bull shit!"

"There's more." Sam jumps back in. The Captain indicated with his hand to have Sam continue. "It looks as if the first female went missing after speaking to someone on your staff at the bar by the pool. The second female went missing after telling her friends she would find that staff member and ask him about her friend."

Captain Swaid buries his face into his hands. "You have got to be kidding me."

*****