The Great Ship Mystery

This trip was going to be epic. They had been talking about it for months. The past year was chaotic, and they needed to rest. This seemed like the perfect way to do so. Jeff had been on cruises before and had loved it, Olivia had always wanted to go. This not only gave them an opportunity to get away from all of life's craziness for a little while, but it also gave them an opportunity to just be together. For a few days it was going to be him and her on this great big, beautiful ocean. It was going to be amazing, and they were ready.

It was a wonderful clear day when Jeff and Olivia stepped on the ship. Olivia's face lit up as she looked around. She had seen cruise ship's on tv, but this was so much more. There was a huge pool, and an area you could sit and have fruity little drinks. There was a huge entertainment area for shows and a restaurant with just about anything you could want to eat. Not to mention the whole ship had an amazing view to the ocean which seemed to go on forever.

When they got to their room, it was so beautiful. There was a romantic feeling radiating throughout the walls. This lovely room, fresh air, ocean, and clear skies, it couldn't get better. Jeff and Olivia fell onto the bed, just wanting to soak it all in for a moment. They looked at each other with huge smiles on their faces. They had made it.

Their lips were just about to meet, when a loud scream echoed throughout the walls. "What the heck was that?" Olivia asked, quickly snapping out of the romantic moment that was about to happen. "I have no idea, maybe I should check it out," Jeff responded. Olivia went with him, unsure of what had just transpired. Whatever it had been, they were in this together.

As soon as they stepped out into the hallway, they were met with an older lady, about seventy, screaming. "My antique diamonds are gone! They were my grandmother's, worth thousands, and they are gone!" Just glancing at her, they could tell that this lady had money. She was dressed in a fancy dress with diamond earrings. She topped it off with the classic Karen haircut, which she had dyed blonde. "I knew I shouldn't have come here, I'm sure someone was just waiting for me to turn my back for a moment so that they could get their hands on my beautiful diamonds. I'm going to see to it that somebody pays. I'll sue the entire cruise line," she ranted.

There was already a security guard, as well as the captain trying to calm the lady down while trying to get the facts on what had happened. The lady was so upset, it was almost impossible to understand her. Meanwhile, Jeff and Olivia watched in astonishment. Was this seriously happening? It couldn't be, a jewel thief on the ship? It was like a movie. Slowly, they stepped closer to the commotion, with hopes that somehow they might could help. Even though this was their vacation, they still liked to help others.

"What's going on?" Jeff asked. "I'll tell you. I came on this cruise to take a rest. I put down my diamond necklace for just a moment while I stepped out. That necklace is over a hundred years old. It's priceless. Someone took it." "Is there any way that it could have just gotten misplaced somehow?" Olivia asked. The lady was adamant, it had been taken.

They had just boarded the ship, so there hadn't been much opportunity for someone to go in and take it, much less getting very far with it. There were security cameras, and the key fob showed who had come in and out. As the footage was looked at, it showed the housekeeper come in to straighten up. It also showed room service bringing up a bottle of champagne and a fruit basket, nothing out of the ordinary from someone of this lady's status. "Someone has it," she insisted. The security started going through purses, luggage, drawers, anywhere they could think of. They had to find this necklace.

Two days, passed. Jeff and Olivia did what they could to help in the search, talking to people trying to find out if they had seen anything strange. Nobody had witnessed anything. It was a puzzling mystery. One day, a man had leaned over the balcony to get a good look at the ocean. Suddenly, he saw something flashy. A closer look showed it to be diamonds. He immediately took it to the captain who showed it to the lady. "My Necklace!!!," she exclaimed. Turns out the first day when she was looking overboard, the clasp came apart, causing it to fall off her neck. Luckily, it had gotten stuck on the side of the ship.

When finding out about the recovery of the necklace, Jeff and Olivia was relieved. It would have been terrible if there had been a jewel thief on board. But they couldn't help but laugh some too. Suddenly, they found themselves standing at the balcony. The sun had gone down, to be replaced by an amazing sight of the moon and stars shining on the ocean. Looking into each other's eyes, their lips met. At last, it was time for their vacation to finally begin.