An Almost Purrfect Murder EBOOK

"I thought it would be overcast."

I clutched the ship's guardrail in sweating hands and wondered how I, Frankie Chandler, had allowed myself to be talked into leaving sunny, ocean-free Arizona for a floating deathtrap. The pointless comment I’d just made was an attempt to keep my brain from noticing how far we were from land. Safe, dry land.

Penny Newcombe, my best friend since first grade and the optimistic half of our friendship, snorted a laugh through her nose. "Why would you think that?"

In my view from the back of the ship—the stern if you’re a sailor and want to get picky about it—Seattle, Washington, had shrunk into a tiny, gray blob with miles of freezing cold water in between—kill-you-in-seconds-if-you-fall-in cold. Okay. Maybe minutes, but the farther north we traveled, the deadlier the water temperature would get.

"I looked it up,” I said, referring to my point about the weather. “They get so much rain in Washington that it's the suicide capital of the world."

Penny snorted again. "A state can't be a capital."

"And they breed serial killers there. I think I read that all serial killers are born in Washington. The depressing weather drives them mad. What if some of them got on the ship? We’ll be trapped for the next seven days with the Manson brothers."

Penny let loose a laugh, squeezed my shoulders, and told me I was a card. Nothing short of murder could dampen her mood. We were on one of Finlander's finest cruise ships, the Iso Kala, on our way to Alaska, and in three days, my friend would step into a white dress and walk down the aisle to become Mrs. Kemper Mohr.

The decision to hold a destination wedding had come after stressful months spent trying to decide whose family to appease; Penny's kin lived in Wisconsin, Kemper's in New York. They went through pre-Cana at their own parish, St. Norm’s in Wolf Creek, Arizona, and then, with Monsignor Robert’s permission, they contacted the Apostleship of the Sea to find out the name of the priest who would be on board the September sailing of the Iso Kala.

When asked if he would be willing to perform the ceremony, Father Basil Zimmerman responded with an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Because of the expense involved, the wedding would be an intimate affair, but afterward, the happy Mister and Missus would fly back to their home states in turn and have a reception for each set of family members and friends.

Lost in thought, I'd been staring at the white trail of turbulence that stretched out behind the ship without really seeing it, but then Penny gave a cry of joy and pointed to a school of dolphins keeping pace with us. Once again it came home to me that I was chugging through water that would be over my head should I fall in. I could swim, but so could large, carnivorous fish and creepy things that you wouldn't find in a sweet little pond, or even a lake.

"Have any of the Finlander cruise ships ever sunk?"

"No-ahhh!"

Penny's response turned into a shriek as a tall man with the same shade of blond hair as my friend wrapped his arms around her shoulders and, leaning back, lifted her off her feet. She kicked and giggled, and when he put her down, she spun to face him.

While he enveloped her in a bear hug, Robby Newcombe studied me through aqua-blue eyes. I felt my face flush. He had changed a lot in ten years. The lanky college kid who had remained in Illinois after graduation to work in banking had developed into a solid specimen with a square jaw and deep dimples.

"This can't be little, annoying Frances." All of Penny’s family, including Penny, called me by my full name instead of my nickname, Frankie.

I grinned. "In person."

He pushed Penny aside and opened his arms wide. "Move over, little sister, and make room for a huggable female who isn't related to me."

When he lifted me off my feet, my face met with a solid chest, and as the cold air blowing off the ocean had covered my skin with tiny water droplets, I snuggled in to soak up the warmth.

"Marry me, Frances," he growled. "Everything has been paid for, so we can have a double wedding, cheap."

"You goof," Penny said, punching his arm. "Release my maid of honor."

He complied. "At least you can dance with me to celebrate my little sister's matrimonial bliss. Has anybody warned Kemper what he's in for?"

"We can do that now," Penny said as she hooked her arm through Robby's. "Mom and Dad said everyone should meet on the Lido Deck."

We took the elevator to the 9th floor, and the minute I stepped out onto the carpeting, I knew I’d found my home away from home.