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wait for his contact at the Royal Bahamas Police Force to call him back before he proceeded. He needed to find out what the FBI knew about the missing girl before he made his final decision.

CHAPTER 11
     
    A fter the interview with Amber’s parents and her friends, Drake and Phipps split up and tackled the interviews with crew members. Right away, Drake realized that most of the crew wouldn’t be very helpful. Either they were too scared of losing their jobs to say anything or they truly hadn’t seen anything that would be helpful to the case.
    The last person Rachel and Drake interviewed was a cabin steward assigned to the penthouse floor. She served only the four luxury suites and assisted the assigned butler if needed. She was believed to have been the last person who saw Josh and Amber. Consuela Rodriguez was a petite woman with dark hair and eyes. She wore the same uniform with the SeaStar logo that Josh was wearing on the videotapes.
    Rachel and Drake had decided that she would interview Consuela. Drake noticed that women responded better to Rachel than to him or any other law enforcement person.
    “Hi, Consuela, I’m Rachel. We’re here to help find the missing girl, Amber Knowles. She was staying in cabin one-o-one C.” Rachel handed the steward a photo. “Here’s her picture. Can you tell me about the last time you saw her?”
    “Last night,” Consuela said in a thick accent. “I was delivering room service to another cabin and saw her walking with Josh.”
    “What time was this?” Rachel looked at Drake. He nodded his head for her to continue.
    Consuela answered, “Late.” She paused, licking her lips. “Definitely after midnight.” Her answer matched the time stamp on the videotape.
    “Did you see Josh walk inside the cabin with Amber?” Rachel asked.
    “Yes.” Consuela answered. She picked at an invisible piece of lint on her uniform.
    “Do you remember what she was wearing?”
    Consuela shifted in her seat. “A dress. Pink, I think. It was short and shiny.”
    This was the dress that Rachel had seen discarded on Amber’s bed. So she had definitely changed when she got back.
    “Did Amber or Josh say anything to you?”
    “Josh said hello. That’s all.”
    “How did she seem to you?” Rachel asked.
    Consuela seemed to be confused by the question. “What do you mean?”
    “Did she act upset or mad?”
    “No. But I think she was sick. Josh was holding on to her.” Consuela pursed her lips.
    Rachel thought Consuela might be worried that she was telling them too much.
    “Anything that you can remember would be helpful, Consuela. We need to find her,” Rachel coaxed quietly.
    “I just saw Josh helping her walk. The girl looked a little pale. That’s all I remember,” Consuela replied.
    Rachel looked over at Drake for help.
    He asked Consuela, “Have you seen Josh since?”
    “No,” she replied.
    “Thank you, Consuela. If you remember anything else, please call me,” Drake said, handing her his card.
    Consuela took the card and put it in the front pocket of her uniform. She looked at Rachel for a minute.
    “Is there anything else you want to add?” Rachel asked her.
    She shook her head no and walked out of the room.
    Rachel and Drake sat in silence for a few seconds.
    “She knows something, doesn’t she?” Rachel picked up the picture of Amber.
    “I think she knows more than what she told us,” Drake agreed.
    “So now what?”
    “We wait. Let’s hope her conscience kicks in and she calls me.”

     
    Consuela left the conference room with a sigh of relief. She headed down the elevator to the crew’s quarters to shower and take a quick nap before her next shift started.
    She had learned one important thing early on in her career aboard the SeaStar : Keep your head down and mind your own business. No curiosity—that was a requirement of keeping a job here. And she wanted the job, even though she worked sixteen-hour shifts with no overtime pay and few benefits. She