Afraid Knot (Paperback)

Experience a thrilling adventure on the high seas with Olivia and her talking parrot Chico.

Olivia’s glamorous life as an entertainer on a cruise ship takes a hard turn when the ship’s youth counselor goes missing and she and her friends Hayley and Rachel must spend their cruise corralling kiddos instead of sipping cocktails by the pool.

When a staff member is found dead, Olivia and her talkative parrot Chico must use their quick wits and sharp detective skills to solve the case. With danger lurking around every corner and plenty of twists and turns, Olivia must stay one step ahead and solve the mystery before it's too late.

A shadow passed over Olivia, Hayley, and Rachel. Olivia shivered and shaded her eyes with her hand. She looked up to see what was blocking the sun.

“Tristan?” Olivia sat up, grabbed her coverup, and pulled it over her head.

Hayley flipped over, stretched, and grinned at Tristan. “Hey, there. You leading pool games?”

“I thought Nigel was doing pool games. Is he okay?” Rachel adjusted her towel and looked around the pool.

“Nigel is fine and yes, he is doing pool games. He should be here shortly.” Tristan sat down on the end of Hayley’s lounge chair and rested his hand on her tanned calf. “I have a situation and I was wondering if you ladies could help me out.”

“Sure.” Hayley pulled on her bikini strap, looked at her tanned skin and reached into her bag. She handed Tristan her sunblock. “Can you put this on my back?”

“My pleasure.” Tristan squirted sunblock in his hand and slathered it on Hayley’s back.

“What kind of help do you need?” Olivia asked.

“Did you all meet the Youth Counselor who was on the ship last week? Emerald?”

Hayley and Rachel shook their heads no.

“I met her.” Olivia cleaned her sunglasses off with her coverup and slipped them back on. “She asked me to bring Chico by the Kid’s Club last cruise so the kids could meet him.”

A smile flicked across Tristan’s face. “Really? I didn’t know that.”

Olivia frowned. “Is that alright? Should I have run it by you?”

“Oh, no! It is wonderful that you did that for the kids. How did it go?”

Olivia shrugged. “It went alright. There weren’t a lot of kids onboard last week. The five or six children that were in the Kid’s Club enjoyed meeting Chico. They said they’d never seen a parrot up close like that before.”

“Lovely, did Chico enjoy the children?”

Olivia shrugged. “You know Chico, he loves attention.”

“That’s perfect. So glad it went well.”

“Okay,” Olivia cocked her head and squinted. “Glad you’re happy.”

Hayley swiveled towards Tristan. “Why all the questions about the kids’ activities?”

Tristan shifted on the lounge chair and took a deep breath. “So, here’s the situation. The parents’ Meet and Greet was right after the lifeboat drill in the Kid’s Club. I got contacted about a quarter past the hour that no one was in the Kid’s Club with the parents. They were all waiting for a youth staff member to show up and no one did.”

“You checked her cabin?”

“Of course. We contacted her roommate, Nell, and have put out a watch for her with security.” Tristan shook his head. “This isn’t like her. Emerald has worked for us on school breaks and over the summer for the past few seasons. She’s very responsible.”

Olivia’s brows knit together. “Emerald is really nice. She even popped some unsalted popcorn for Chico in that popcorn maker they have for the kids when they play movies. She sent a bag home with us after we talked to the kids.”

“That sounds like something she would do. She is good with the children and handles their parents, which isn’t always the easiest task,” Tristan swallowed. “I’m quite concerned about her. She’s a lovely gal.”

“I’m sure they’ll find her soon.” Hayley squeezed Tristan’s hand.

Olivia leaned in. “Do you need us to help you look for her? We could start up here on Pool Deck and work our way down to B Deck. Do you know which deck her cabin is on?” She slid her feet into her sandals.

Tristan waved her off. “No, I don’t need help looking for her. Alex and his security team have that covered. They are checking the manifest to make sure she didn’t sign off early without telling me, too”

Olivia slouched. “Oh. Sounds like he has it handled, then.”

Hayley looked at Tristan through narrowed eyes. “What exactly does Emerald going missing have to do with us, then?” She nodded towards Olivia and Rachel. “You said you need our help.”

Tristan cleared his throat. “Here’s the situation. We have families who are on board expecting the Kid’s Club to be open for their children and we don’t have anyone to staff it.”

“That stinks.” Hayley laid back down on her lounge chair.

“Yes, quite.” Tristan shifted on the lounge chair. “I was wondering if you ladies would help me out in the Kid’s Club until we can either track down Emerald or get another youth staff member flown out to join the cruise.”

Hayley bolted upright, “Help you with children?”

Tristan nodded.

“Yeah. I’m afraid not. Have you met me?” Hayley raised her sunglasses and glared at Tristan. “No watching kids for me. I spent my childhood raising my brother and sister. I’ve watched enough kids to last me the rest of my life.”

Tristan’s shoulders sagged.

Hayley’s voice raised. “And why are you asking us? Because we’re women?”

Tristan sat up straight. He glanced around the pool deck to see if any of the passengers had heard Hayley’s accusation. “Absolutely not. I’m asking you because, as entertainers, you have the most free time of the staff on board.” He gestured at them laying on the lounge chairs by the pool.

“Oh. Sorry.” Hayley winked her nose. “Can’t you get the cruise staff to take turns running the Kid’s Club?”

Tristan gestured at the crowded pool. “We’re at full capacity this cruise. They are already spread thin. I can’t cover all the activities and the Kid’s Club with my staff.”

Hayley rubbed her forehead.

“I’ve talked with Home Office. You’d be paid a stipend in addition to your entertainer salaries.”

Hayley crossed her arms. “Nope.”

“I could request a bonus as well as a stipend.”

“There is not enough money in the world, Tristan Waterson.”

Rachel leaned forward and lifted her sunglasses. “How much? I don’t make as much as these two. I’m just a dancer, not a headliner.”

Tristan told her. “And you can keep any tips and the babysitting fees.”

“That’s not too shabby. But what are you going to do when I’m dancing in the shows?”

Tristan looked at Olivia pleadingly. “Well, that’s why I hoped that the three of you would help me out. That way, one of you could cover the Kid’s Club when the other two had shows.”

Hayley rolled her eyes and looked at Olivia.

Olivia sighed. “How many kids are onboard this cruise?”

Tristan looked down at his lap and mumbled. “Forty-seven.”

Olivia leaned in and cocked her head. “How many?”

“Forty-seven.”

Rachel threw herself back on her chaise lounge. “Yeah. Not sure there’s enough money to watch forty-seven kids for a week.”

One kid playing in the pool splashed his sibling. Water shot out of the pool and sprayed Tristan. He brushed the water off of his white shorts.

Tristan took a deep breath, “But they won’t all be there at the same time. Their families will drop them off for a bit and then pick them up.”

Hayley shook her head. “We have plans in port this cruise. I have some shopping I need to do in St. Thomas. My sister is moving, and I promised I’d get her some table linens as a housewarming.”

Olivia chimed in. “And we booked an excursion already in Jamaica.”

“The kid’s club is closed when we’re in port!” Tristan pleaded.

Olivia sighed, “I want to help you out. It’s just, I don’t think it is a good idea for me to be away from Chico that much. He gets anxious if I leave him too much. Then he doesn’t perform as well in the show.”

“Bring him with you!” Tristan lit up. “You said that the kids loved him. Bring him up to the Kid’s Club with you! He’ll be a hit with the children.”

Hayley glared at Tristan. “You’re just not going to give up on this, are you?”

Tristan shook his head, “I’m sorry. I really need your help.”

“I will not wear that stupid uniform. Who thought horizontal stripes were a good idea?” Hayley rolled her eyes.

“I’ll try to round up some youth staff t-shirts. You don’t have to wear the uniform when you are off duty. I promise.”

Rachel shrugged. “I have to wear the cruise staff uniform anyway, so it doesn’t bother me.”

Hayley leaned forward, and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Rachel. “Have you seen the youth staff uniforms? They look like something a clown would wear.”

Tristan wiggled his eyebrows and patted Hayley’s leg. “I’m sure you can make the youth staff uniform look good.”

Hayley rolled her eyes.

“So you’ll help me?”

Hayley looked at Olivia and Rachel. They shrugged. “We’ll help out for a day or two, but you need to work on getting someone to replace us asap.”

Tristan exhaled and closed his eyes. “Thank you. I promise to make it up to you.”

“You’d better.”

Tristan reached into his pocket and pulled out pieces of paper. He handed one to each of them. “Here is the schedule of activities for the week in the Kid’s Club.”

Olivia looked it over and made a face. “Why does it have to start so early? We have shows at night and then we have to take down our props and pack them away. This is going to be miserable.”

“Maybe Rachel can cover the morning shift after your magic show since she’s not in it? Then you and Hayley can have a lie in after your late night.” Tristan looked at Rachel pleadingly.

Rachel shrugged. “Sure.”

Tristan looked at his watch and stood up. “I have to get going. You can work out the details. I’ll come check on you this evening.”

He turned away from them.

Hayley called to him. “Hey, Tris! Might want to change your shorts. Your boxers are showing!” She winked. “Stripes today, huh?”

Tristan ran his hand over his backside. “Good to know. Maybe the hand dryer will help.” He walked over to the bathroom near the pool and pushed the door.

The door was locked.

He walked over to the enormous blue wheeled bin of striped beach towels, picked up a beach towel, and wrapped it around his waist. “Good thing most of the passengers do not know who I am yet!”

The girls giggled as he walked towards the elevator, gripping the towel around his waist.

“If only I didn’t think he looked so darn good in his striped boxers, I could have turned him down.” Hayley’s head sank. “Ugh! What did we just agree to do?”

“It’s just for one cruise. It’ll be okay.” Olivia pulled her beach bag out from under her chair. She fished out her flip-flops. “Ready?”

“Ready might not be the right word, but I guess we have to go.” Hayley picked up her bag.