Murder on the High Seas - The Devereaux CaseFiles Book 3

Chapter 12

The passengers leaving the cruise at Patmos, got off the ship at two o'clock in the afternoon, while Reed and Ayah were busy on their afternoon trip. But it wasn't the passengers leaving the ship that were drawing the attention of all those already on board, but a group of eight passengers in the seventeen that boarded. They were all men, tall and with dark features, each carrying a duffel bag and a hard case for some kind of musical instrument. One carried a guitar case, another two large square cases, one carried a violin case and another guitar, one even carried a double bass. They looked conspicuous but managed to pull off looking more like a rock band than the criminals they were.

They had just finished a rather large job in Greece the day before and were glad to be getting away from their government by joining the crew. Although they were yet to find out about Griffin's takeover of their crew, they were looking forward to starting their latest job. It was perfect timing. Most of the single women, of the right age, were batting their eyelashes and giving them smiles hoping to get in with the band and have a holiday fling. But they had no idea that none of them were interested.

Bruno and Kellen were due to meet with their leader before dinner around half past four, while Scott and Barker took a wander around the ship checking out the security. Doing all the work they were sure Cuthbert and Eddie had already undertaken. Kenrick and Palmer would unpack their belongings and their 'musical instruments' to make sure everything was in order while Halden and Carlos took a well deserved rest. They had spent most of the night on look out in case the Greek police managed to catch up with them. They were always thorough in their job but they were never so confident as to think they could always walk away Scot-free. Even if they had double checked their plan and made sure not to leave any evidence or witnesses behind.

Cops were smarter than they liked them to be and it wouldn't be impossible for anyone to notice some odd behavior going on late at night around their apartment as they made a quick exit before getting caught. "Can you believe these girls? They think that they can have a quick holiday fling with a guitarist or drummer of a famous band just because they see us walking in with the right equipment." Bruno complained to himself as they walked along the deck and took in all possible dangers. He made sure that circumstances hadn't changed since the boss had boarded with Cuthbert and Eddie. They'd had no contact with them since they had been hired for the job and so they wanted to make sure that if anything went wrong, it wasn't their fault.

"Just keep your eye on the job and it won't be a problem. It might actually be good for us later." Kellen reminded him, knowing that it would be all too easy to seduce one of the passengers and have them on their side if things went downhill. Which, they had to face it, was entirely possible. All it took was one person to recognize them from a previous job, one person to get a little too suspicious, one person to cause trouble and get themselves dealt with.

"I guess. I just can't get over how shallow they are. Look at her," Bruno pointed to a leggy blonde standing with a tall dark, admittedly handsome man, who was still undressing them with her eyes despite her companion and his arm around her waist. It was almost sickening. Not that they weren't red blooded men but they had their girlfriends and wives who knew the lives they led. A few of them were bachelors living the high life. Either way they were able to keep a one hundred percent focus on their work at all times. No pretty face was turning their head.

"She's with a guy and she's still giving us the eye. It's amazing what previous exposure to certain things can do. I mean, if they had any idea what was really in my guitar case, or your double bass, they would be running in the other direction." He sighed, making Kellen laugh at just how true it was. Any girl in their right mind would run from them but because they looked like a rock band and had the gear to prove it, they were drooling over them instead of listening to the gut instincts to get as far away from them as possible.