“Why don’t we go check out the dance floor?” Frank suggested.

“That sounds like fun.” Callie stopped in front of Frank, leaned up and gave him a kiss.

When they broke apart, Frank asked, “What was that for?”

“Because I love you,” Callie said smiling.

“I’ll buy that,” Frank said returning the kiss. “Come on. The dance floor is this way.”

When they walked into the main ballroom, a slow song was playing. Standing inside the door for a few minutes, they watched the other people dancing. That’s when Frank noticed Joe in the crowd. He had his arms around a girl’s waist. Frank leaned toward Callie’s ear. “I can’t believe it. Joe’s here with some girl.”

“You’re kidding,” Callie said, surprised, looking at the crowd.

“No,” Frank said. “He’s with the girl in the short blue dress.”

“Oh, wow,” Callie said when she finally caught a glimpse of them. “Well, she obviously has Joe’s attention.”

“Who has Joe’s attention?” a voice asked from behind them.

Frank and Callie turned to see Nancy and Ned standing behind them. Frank stepped aside so they could see.

“Joe found something to keep him occupied on this cruise,” Nancy said teasingly.

“Doesn’t he always find a girl no matter where he goes?” Ned asked with a grin.

“All the time,” Frank and Callie said together, laughing. Frank continued shaking his head. “And to think I was feeling bad he might get lonely.”

“Come on,” Nancy said. “Let’s find a table.”

An hour later they were seated at a table with sodas in their hands after dancing to several fast songs. The were talking when Joe noticed them and headed toward the table.

“Hey guys,” Joe said with a wave coming over to the table with Victoria following close behind. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“It was a spur of the moment idea,” Ned said.

“Who’s this?” Callie asked with a welcoming smile.

“This is Victoria Armans,” Joe said. “This is my brother, Frank and his girlfriend Callie Shaw. And these are our good friends, Nancy Drew and Ned Nickerson.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Victoria said shyly.

“Why don’t you join us?” Callie suggested.

“Are you sure?” Victoria asked looking at Joe. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“You aren’t intruding,” Nancy said. “Please, have seat.”

“Well, just for a few minutes,” Victoria said sitting next to Callie. “We were just on our way to get some fresh air.”

“Are you here with your family?” Nancy asked.

“No. I’m here alone,” Victoria said. “I won a free cruise on a radio contest show. I needed a vacation and this came at the perfect time.”

“And you only won one ticket?” Ned asked, sounding surprised. “Most contests give away tickets in pairs.”

“That’s true,” Victoria said quickly. “A friend was supposed to join me, but just as I left for the ship, he got called in to work and had to cancel on me.” Victoria looked at Joe. “But I knew I’d meet someone on the cruise ship I could relate to.”

Joe noticed Victoria seemed a little uncomfortable with all the questions. Getting to his feet, he said, “We’ll see you later. I promised Victoria a walk on deck.”

“All right,” Frank said.

Joe and Victoria left them sitting in silence. After a few minutes, Nancy said, “There’s something about her.”

“You get that feeling too?” Frank asked looking at Nancy.

“What are you two talking about?” Callie asked. “She seems like a really nice girl.”

“She could be,” Frank said skeptically.

“Isn’t it possible for you two to take a vacation without looking for a mystery?” Ned asked.

“Nope,” Nancy said shaking her head. “But we could be wrong about her.”

“I hope so,” Frank said.

* * * * *

“Your brother seems nice,” Victoria said a few minutes later. They had just reached the bow and were looking into the water.

“He’s all right,” Joe agreed.

“I just don’t understand why he and your friend asked all those questions. I kind of felt like I was a suspect in a crime or something.”

“That’s Frank,” Joe laughed. “Frank tried to dig up a mystery wherever we go and once he asks a question, he can’t stop. I guess he gets that from our dad. He’s a retired police officer.”

Victoria turned and faced Joe. She moved closer to him and said, “You know, I’m glad we bumped into each other.”

As Victoria put her hands on Joe’s shoulders, he gently pulled back. He wanted to be faithful to Vanessa and not get involved with another girl, but there was something about Victoria that attracted him to her. Joe cleared his throat. “Why don’t we explore a little bit?”

“Good idea,” Victoria said taking a step back, slightly puzzled by his reaction. “I’m really unsure of where everything is.”

“It’s real easy to get lost on a ship like this.”

“Let’s go,” Victoria said taking Joe’s hand.

Together they walked along the deck in silence. They were almost to the stern when Joe tripped over something and fell face first to the deck.

“Joe, are you all right?”

“Yeah,” Joe said getting to his feet. “What did I trip over?”