Santa Cruise Read Free Page A

great time with you guys, and I definitely would enjoy spending quality time with my child and brand-new son-in-law.”
    Alvirah smiled triumphantly. She could tell that the Reillys were going to go on the cruise with them. Nora and Regan were getting excited about it already and Luke and Jack would fall in line, however reluctantly. As they toasted to sharing the Santa Cruise, Alvirah was glad she’d never brought up the fact that yesterday, at yet another charity luncheon, she’d had a reading by a psychic who had been hired as a gimmick to raise extra money. As soon as her cards were dealt, the psychic’s eyes had widened to the point that her eyelids had disappeared into her skull. “I see a tub,” she had whispered. “A large tub. You are not safe in it. Listen to me. Your body must not be surrounded by water. Until after the New Year you must only take showers.”

3
Sunday, December 25th
    U nder cover of darkness late on Christmas night, in the Port of Miami, a rowboat glided silently up to the side of the Royal Mermaid. A rope ladder was dropped from the lowest deck.
    â€œYou go first,” Bull’s-Eye Tony Pinto grunted as he grabbed the ladder and handed it over to his fellow escaping felon.
    â€œYou just want to make sure the rope is secure before you give it a whirl,” Barron Highbridge said icily, as he stood unsteadily, put one foot up, tested the ladder, and began to climb.
    â€œHurry up!” a voice urged from above.
    Larry the Creep, at the helm of the rowboat, extended a beefy hand to Bull’s-Eye Tony. “Don’t worry, Boss. We’ll be waiting for you just offshore Fishbowl Island. We’ll sneak you ashore, then you’ll be home free. Now try to relax on this cruise.”
    â€œRelax? Hiding in a stateroom with that idiotHighbridge for the next three days? I told you I didn’t want to be on the run with anyone else.”
    â€œWe were lucky to find this situation,” Larry protested. “That poor dope Commodore Weed should only know what a louse he has for a nephew! Lucky for us, though. As soon as the cops find out your wife is wearing your ankle bracelet, they’ll be swarming all over the country looking for you.”
    â€œI’ll say that nephew is a louse—he has some nerve charging me a million bucks for a three-night stay.”
    â€œHe wanted more,” Larry reminded him. “I drove a hard bargain with him.”
    Bull’s-Eye looked up. In the shadowy darkness he watched Highbridge effortlessly maneuver himself up to the deck and grasp the hand that was extended to him. His heart racing, Tony stood, grabbed the rope, and positioned his foot on the first rung. “Merry Christmas,” he muttered bitterly and turned to Larry. “If you want to give me a present, find where the Feds hid that jerk who ratted me out and whack him.”
    Larry nodded.
    â€œThat would be a really nice gift,” Bull’s-Eye emphasized.
    From above, sweating profusely, Eric watched Bull’s-Eye begin to lumber up the ladder. Eric hadbeen warned by Larry the Creep that if anything went wrong and Tony ended up in the clink, he would be swimming with the fishes.
    Then Eric stared in horror as Bull’s-Eye’s gun slipped from his pocket and fell into the water. At least that wasn’t my fault, he thought.
    For two million bucks—one million for each stowaway—Eric had been willing to take this huge risk.
    But now as a cursing, red-faced Bull’s-Eye came closer and closer, grasped the rail, and heaved his thick body over the side of the deck, Eric realized that he might have bitten off more than he could chew. The other guy he knew he could handle. I should have stuck with white-collar criminals, he thought, trying to appear in charge as he whispered in what he hoped was an authoritative tone, “Follow me.” He did not have to warn them to be silent. Most of the crew was already