Page 30 of Waylaid in Whittier

“Head back into town.” Annette patted her stomach. “I don’t know about you two, but I have a hankering for a bite to eat. I noticed a fast-food joint on our way up here.”

“Food sounds good to me.” Brody swung the truck around.

“I’ll give Millie a buzz.” Annette pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed her friend’s number.

“Hey, Annette. Are you still at the dig site?”

“We just left. We’re on our way to Whittier.”

“Were you able to find anything else?”

“Nope. I have you on speaker.” Annette nudged Cat. “Cat found some fool’s gold.”

“What a joke,” she griped.

“You didn’t notice anyone lurking around?” Millie asked.

“No one was around, but someone has been there, as you can see from the photos.” Annette switched her phone to her other hand. “Where are you?”

“Sharky and I are heading back to the ship.”

“You’re done searching for clues?”

“Danielle needs help in handling a passenger issue. Sharky and I will be back on the hunt as soon as I’m done.” Millie told her they planned to check out the gold mining group’s base camp. “Do you want to meet us there?”

“Sounds perfect. It will give Brody, Cat and me a chance to grab a bite to eat.” Annette asked Millie to forward the camp’s address.

“It’s on the way.”

Annette confirmed receiving it. “How long do you think it will be before you get there?”

“I’m not sure. Danielle wasn’t specific. It has something to do with a behind-the-scenes tour I was scheduled to host this morning.” Millie told her as soon as she figured out what needed to be done, she would let her know.

“I’ll keep my phone handy.” Annette ended the call and waved her cell phone in the air. “I don’t know about you two, but a double-decker cheeseburger with a large order of French fries is calling my name.”

Chapter 12

Beep…beep…beep.

Millie watched Sharky’s oversized backpack slide into the scanning machine. She held her breath, not surprised when the crewmember flipped the switch and the machine came to a halt.

The security guard’s eyes flitted from the screen to Sharky. “Your backpack is being flagged.”

Sharky grunted. “Flagged for what?”

“You have a hacksaw, a contraband item,” the guard lectured. “You, more than anyone, should know you’re not allowed to bring weapons on the ship.”

“I’m not bringing it on,” he argued. “I’m bringing itbackon board and now I’m returning it.”

“It doesn’t matter how it got in your bag. It’s not allowed.”

“Call Patterson down here,” Sharky said. “He’ll give my backpack the a-okay clearance.”

“You know the rules.”

“We’ll see about that.” He pulled his radio from his jacket pocket and turned it on. “Dave Patterson, do you copy?”

“Go ahead Sharky.”

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