Strangers on a Train (Nancy Drew Diaries #2)(3)

"He is already onshore,” Tatjana replied. "You should be able to find him on the dock once you’ve disembarked.”

"Okay, thanks,” Bess said with a smile. "Come on, guys. We’d better get in line.”

We headed across the lobby. "Look, it’s the ABCs,” Alan said, nodding toward three gray-haired women at the back of the line. Alice, Babs, and Coral were experienced cruisers who were seated at our table at dinner.

"And Tobias,” George added with considerably less enthusiasm.

I couldn’t help a slight grimace myself when I saw the eight-year-old boy. He was pulling at his mother’s hand as she and her husband chatted with the three older women.

“Looks like Coral has forgiven him for scaring her half to death with that pet tarantula of his,” Bess whispered with a smirk.

"I guess so.” I’m not scared of spiders, but I still shuddered a little as I recalled the incident. Tobias had smuggled his tarantula onto the ship, and the hairy eight-legged critter had ended up crawling over the pastries one day at lunch. "That’s only fair, though,” I added. "Vince and Lacey stole Hazel and put her on the buffet, remember? Tobias didn’t have anything to do with it.” I shrugged. “Well, unless you count sneaking the spider onboard in the first place. .

I let my voice trail off, since we’d reached the group by now. The ABCs and Tobias’s parents greeted us cheerfully. Tobias himself ignored us. That was typical. He’d made it clear from the start that he didn’t want to be on the cruise, and his attitude generally varied from sullen to downright obnoxious.

“Do you young people have some exciting shore activities planned for today?” Babs inquired.

"I guess so.” George shot a look at Alan. "You’ll have to ask our own personal event planner.”

Alan grinned and swept into a goofy bow. “At your service.”

"Are you taking that scenic train trip through the mountains?” Tobias’s mother asked. "We’re really looking forward to that, aren’t we, Tobias?”

"I guess.” Tobias shrugged, looking less than enthusiastic. "Hey, here comes Hiro. He probably wants me to go on some boring tourwith him or something.”

Sure enough, the youth activities coordinator, a young man in navy shorts and a silver-piped polo shirt, was wandering toward us. He spotted Tobias and waved.

"Have fun onshore, Tobias!” he called. “I’ll see you for movie night tonight, right?”

“Whatever.” Tobias waved back, then turned to peer at the line in front of us. "When are we getting off this stupid ship, anyway?”

" Patience, Tobias,” his mother said. “We have to wait our turn.”

Luckily, that didn’t take long. A few minutes later we were all making our way down the long gangplank together.

Bess shaded her eyes against the bright morning sun. "This place looks pretty cool.”

"Oh, it’s supposed to be wonderful,” Coral assured her. “Skagway was an important site during the Klondike gold rush in the late 1800s. The main street is supposed to look like a postcard straight out of that time. We can’t wait to see it!”

"Sounds like fun, eh, son?” Tobias’s father clapped the boy on the back. "Well, have a nice day, everyone. We’ll see you back on—”

"Sir! Excuse me, sir!”

We all turned. A young man in a tidy navy-and-silver uniform was running down the gangplank, apologizing profusely as he pushed past other passengers. He looked familiar, and when he got closer, I realized he was one of the busboys from the main dining room.

He skidded to a stop in front of Tobias’s father. “I’m so glad I caught you,” he said breathlessly, holding up a camera. "You left this in the cafe after breakfast. I’m sure you’ll want it with you today.”

Tobias’s father’s eyes widened. "I hadn’t even noticed!” he exclaimed, taking the camera. “Thank you so much, young man. You’re right, I’m sure I’ll want to take lots of pictures today.” He fished a couple of bills out of his pocket. “Thank you for tracking me down.”

“Thank you, sir.” The busboy blushed slightly, then pocketed the money. He glanced around at the rest of us. “I hope you all enjoy your day in Skagway.”

As he turned toward the gangplank, another man rushed down. "Sanchez! There you are,” he barked out, grabbing the busboy by the arm. "Come with me. Now.”

My friends were already moving down the dock, chatting with the ABCs. But something about the second man’s behavior made me curious. I took a step after him as he dragged the busboy to a quiet spot behind a trash bin.

"What is it, boss?” the busboy asked, sounding confused and a little scared.

No wonder. The second man’s face was livid. It was obvious he was trying to keep his temper under control, but he wasn’t having much luck.



“I’ll tell you what it is,” he exclaimed, jabbing a finger at the busboy’s chest. "You’re fired, that’s what!”





CHAPTER TWO




In the Line of Fire



“WHAT?” THE BUSBOY’S FACE WENT PALE. “Why? What did I do, boss?”