Death by Celebration: Galactic Cruise Lines Cozy Mysteries, #5

By Jo Carey

Food poisoning, contaminated lip gloss, and a bomb. What else can go wrong before Kat walks down the aisle?

Galactic Cruise Lines presents Celebrate, a party cruise and competition between two event planners.

Trying to juggle her onboard duties, train her replacement, and plan her wedding to Chief Sleuthhound Baudwin Llewellyn is pushing Kat to the brink. Can she stay out of trouble long enough to make it to the altar?

Death by Celebration is the fifth book in the Galactic Cruise Lines series – a science fiction adventure set in the League of Planetary Systems. 174 pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jo Carey
• Release date: Apr 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386206774

Jo Carey

Jo Carey grew up in the Midwest but her curiosity and gypsy-spirit has kept her on the move. She's lived in eight US states and spent three years living in Ireland. She has always loved creature movies, so creatures and bugs often show up in her books. Jo, a former information security compliance guru, writes fast-paced, character-driven stories in a variety of genres from medical thrillers to space operas and cozy mysteries. Her novels are filled with humor, romance, and sometimes creatures or aliens, or maybe even all of the above. She often builds her stories around a strong female lead character surrounded by plenty of hunky male heroes. Jo's been under fire on a golf course and climbed out the roof of an elevator in the Netherlands. Life hasn't been boring. Now residing in Texas, setting often plays a huge role in her stories. Jo was intrigued by the League of Planetary Systems, a world her husband, Frank, created for his science fiction books, and she now writes mysteries and other types of tales sets in that world. Jo was bitten by a cat, a fire ant, and a snake, before succumbing to the bite of the writing bug.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Hi, Phyllis. Welcome aboard, I said, as I met my replacement in the lobby of the SS Malpais. In just a few weeks, I'd be leaving the ship and my position as the assistant cruise director, but before that happened there was a lot to do. Phyllis Steen had worked for GCL as their social medial person in the central office. We first met when she was brought in during the STYLE competition to post on social media about our competition. It was a precaution GCL took in an attempt to offset any negative social media content from the fashion bloggers that were on board. The blogger problem had first reared its head during the BAKE competition, and GCL had learned the importance of social media these days.

I'm glad to be here, Phyllis said. It's been a whirlwind since I gave my notice at headquarters. I've spent the last week training the new social media person.

I'll show you to your quarters so you can drop your stuff. I'm sorry I won't be here for your first few days, but Stone will take good care of you.

Are you excited to meet your fiancé’s parents?

Nervous and excited, but I'm happy to have a few days to spend with Baudwin. We both travel a lot in our jobs, so we haven't been able to spend much time together.

I showed Phyllis the few quirks I'd found about the Malpais' crew quarters, and she dropped her bag on the bed.

I'll unpack later. Stone said he'd get me started with herding the passengers to their excursions.

One of the busiest times on the ship is when we dock and have to get all the passengers to the meeting points for the excursions they signed up for, I said. The chaos only lasts a few minutes.

What are the popular excursions on Ventos Prime? Phyllis asked.

There are lots of activity-based tours that are forest related, tree climbing is really popular along with zip-lining. There are lots of museums and the castle tour is a huge draw.

I explained that what I had tried to do when I first started as the assistant cruise director was to take in one excursion each time we docked on a planet. It made it easier to recommend things to the passengers or steer them away from something inappropriate for their interests or ability levels.

Hi, Stone. Here's your new assistant, I said as Phyllis stepped up to shake hands with her new boss. She still seemed a little nervous around Stone. I wasn't sure if that was because he was the boss or just because of his intimidating stature. Stone, is a male Goranthi who's well over six feet tall and very rugged looking, but he'd become my BFF on the Malpais and there isn't a sweeter, more caring guy around.

Welcome aboard. We'll have time to talk later, but right now, I need your help with the excursions. Kat is anxious to spend every possible minute with her fiancé, Stone said, pulling Phyllis into his office and sliding a datapad across the desk to her.

Am I free to go? I asked.

Sure. Go have a wonderful few days with your elf, Stone said, stepping around the desk to give me a hug.

I went back to my cabin and picked up my duffel, totebag, and purse. When I made it back to the lobby, Phyllis was already surrounded by passengers.

Kat, sorry, Stone said, walking up beside me. Can you help me with one thing before you go?

Sure, Stone. What do you need?

Stash your stuff in my office.

When I made my way back to Stone's side, he told me that the first excursion was supposed to have left fifteen minutes earlier, but one passenger was missing. She's an elderly woman traveling alone. I'm a little worried that she's gotten lost in the chaos of passengers trying to get to their excursions. Would you mind checking on her for me?

He gave me her name and cabin number, so I went back into his office and pulled up her ship's ID to get an idea what she looked like. She was an elderly Storen female. I made my way to Deck D and found her cabin. I knocked but no one answered. I tried the door, and it was unlocked. That was odd, but sometimes the elderly passengers didn't remember to check that the cabin doors latched completely when they left. I should have just pulled the door closed and headed back to Stone's office, but for some reason, I opened the door. When I did, I could see the woman I'd been looking for sitting in the chair. I called out to her, but she didn't move. I walked in for a closer look and found that she was dead. I saw no signs of injury or a struggle. It looked as though she'd sat down in the chair to rest and simply died. Sadly, my experience on the Malpais had made be very suspicious.

This can't be happening again. Not now, I thought to myself. There go my plans for time with Baudwin. I felt bad acknowledging those thoughts when this poor woman was dead, but Baudwin and I have been planning these few days together for months, and I'd seen enough dead bodies to last a lifetime. The SS Malpais is a nice ship. It was hard to understand why these horrible things kept happening on board.

Being careful not to touch anything, I closed the door so no one could overhear my conversation, pulled out my communicator, and called Ren, the Malpais' security officer. While I waited for him to show up, I called Stone and told him not to hold the excursion she'd been booked on any longer.

If this is some sort of sick joke you and Ren cooked up to keep me on board, this lady won't be the only death on the Malpais today, I said.

Really, Kat, Stone said. I am sorry to see you go, but I'm disappointed that you'd think we'd stoop to something this cruel to alter your plans. I'm sure we can clear this up quickly so you can get on with your vacation.

Should I call Baudwin to come aboard, I asked. He'll be waiting in the spaceport for me.

Wait until you talk to Ren. Maybe we can handle this without involving either you or the elf. I don't want to be responsible for ruining your big visit to Ventos Prime.

Ren showed up at the same time as Doc. Kat, I don't know how you do it, he said. Doc's initial examination of the body indicated that the woman had died from natural causes. Joking aside, Kat. This does happen from time to time on cruise ships. Many of our passengers are elderly, some of them die while they're on board. I'll still have to get OffSec involved, but if you can give me your statement now, I think you'll be free to go. I know you have big plans with the elf, Ren said. Unless, of course, you're looking for a way out. If that's the case, I can keep you on board until a thorough investigation is completed.

Ren and I had history. I choose the elf, and I'm happy with my choice, but Ren still likes to push me. He gave me one of his patented smoldering Venlanten looks.

Thanks for the offer, Ren, but I've got a special weekend planned with Baudwin, and I'm anxious to get to it.

CHAPTER TWO

I rushed back to Stone's office after giving Ren my statement, picked up my stuff, and waved to Phyllis and Stone as I headed into the arrivals hall. Baudwin was waiting with a bouquet of purple trimilion blossoms in hand.

Kat, I began to think Ren and Stone had kidnapped you to keep you on the ship, he said as he laid the flowers on top of my bag, and took me in his arms for a kiss hot enough to wilt the flowers and catch the eye of every other female in the area.

Hi, Baudwin. I can't believe I'm here.

Haven't you docked on Ventos Prime before during your time on the Malpais?

A couple of times, but it's not the same. This time is special.

It most definitely is. I have big plans, he said, taking my bag and leading me to a vehicle parked in front of the spaceport. He put my bags in the back and opened my door for me. When we were both in the vehicle, he leaned over and kissed me again, before starting the engine.

So where are we headed first? I asked.

Home. I'm so excited to see how you feel about the house. I can't wait to find out if you like it or not, he said.

As we made our way to Baudwin's home, I told him about finding the body before I left the Malpais. I thought he might insist on getting involved, but instead he said, I'm sure OffSec and Ren can handle it. This weekend is for us. I'm not going to let anything intrude on our plans.

We left the city behind and climbed into the hills. There were massive trees everywhere. As we climbed higher, the trees reached across the road from both sides meeting to form a living tunnel. It made it very dark, but rather than feeling foreboding, it felt safe. It was like the forest was giving me a hug. I really liked it.

When the vehicle came to a stop, Baudwin turned and looked at me. What do you think?

I looked out to see a gorgeous log home with a deep front porch and a welcoming door that was painted the color of the forest. Baudwin, it's beautiful, I said, and I meant it.

Let's go check out the inside.

Baudwin carried my bags up the three wide stairs to the porch and set them down so he could open the door by placing his hand on a palm scanner located under a little roof that made the modern technology less jarring to the surroundings.

That seems pretty high tech, I said as he pushed open the door and motioned me inside.

I'm away so much, I wanted to insure the house was safe. If you decide to live here with me, I'll have something even more important to protect.

I stepped into a beautiful foyer that opened to rooms on either side and a wide staircase in the center. All the floors and ceilings were natural wood, while the walls were all painted in soft earth tones. The furniture was over-sized, and it all looked very comfortable. The kitchen had all the latest appliances and beautiful stone counter tops. The house was larger than I'd expected, but Baudwin is a big elf, and it seemed to fit him perfectly.

On the first floor was the main living space, a large office protected by another scanning lock of some type. I wasn't sure what it was scanning for, but the door opened with a soft click shortly after Baudwin approached.

Is this a high crime area? I asked. You seem very concerned about security.

You know me well. I'm always concerned about security, but to answer your question, no. Ventos Prime in general has a very low crime rate. I purposely built this house in a remote location so that I didn't have to worry about the typical big-city crimes, but being remote comes with its own risks.

His office was perfect for him. There was a large ornate antique desk. Everything was neat and organized. On the walls were framed prints of the classic James Bond Movie posters.

I knew you liked the Bond films, but I didn't realize you were this big a fan, I said. On the wall across from his desk was a glass-enclosed bookshelf.

Those are signed, first edition copies of Ian Fleming’s complete James Bond series, he said.

Upstairs there were three bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, and the master suite. Before he opened the last door at the end of the hallway, he stopped and took me in his arms again. I hope you'll love this room. I've been imagining you here with me almost since we met.

It's beautiful, I said as I took in the oversized four-poster bed with plaid flannel bedding. Everything in the room was perfect for the house and the man. It all felt warm and comforting.

Baudwin, everything in your home seems so carefully thought out. Did you decorate yourself, or did you have help?

Beatrix wanted to take over, but you know her. What I like is quite different from what she'd choose. I let her help with color choices, but didn't let her convince me to have things in my home that I wouldn't enjoy. Now, that I have you, though, I'm happy to change anything that will make you feel more at home here.

After a break for more kissing, Baudwin said, So that's the grand tour. We can go for a walk outside anytime you'd like. Are you hungry? What would you like to do now?

I sat down on the loveseat that faced a massive stone fireplace. So what is our schedule for the rest of the day?

We have no social obligations until tomorrow, he said. I thought it was time we had some uninterrupted time together.

What exactly did you have in mind?

Wait here, I'll be right back.

I was a little disappointed that he left. I had expected him to wrap his arms