M A Y H E M

  (A N D H E R R I N G)

  (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery —Book Six)

  B L A K E P I E R C E

  Blake Pierce

  Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising nineteen books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising thirteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting).

  An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

  Copyright © 2021 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Harsh Gada, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

  BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

  RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

  HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

  HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

  HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

  HER LAST FEAR (Book #4)

  HER LAST CHOICE (Book #5)

  HER LAST BREATH (Book #6)

  AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

  CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

  CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

  CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

  CITY OF GHOSTS (Book #4)

  CITY OF DEATH (Book #5)

  CITY OF VICE (Book #6)

  A YEAR IN EUROPE

  A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

  DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

  VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

  A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)

  ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

  GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)

  GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)

  GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)

  GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)

  GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)

  GIRL ERASED (Book #6)

  GIRL, FORSAKEN (Book #7)

  GIRL, TRAPPED (Book #8)

  GIRL, EXPENDABLE (Book #9)

  LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

  ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

  ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

  ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

  ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)

  ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)

  ALREADY TAKEN (Book #6)

  EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

  MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)

  DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)

  CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)

  MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)

  CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)

  MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)

  ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES

  LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)

  LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)

  LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)

  LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)

  LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)

  LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)

  LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)

  LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)

  LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)

  LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)

  LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)

  LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)

  LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)

  THE AU PAIR SERIES

  ALMOST GONE (Book#1)

  ALMOST LOST (Book #2)

  ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)

  ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES

  FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)

  FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

  FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)

  FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)

  FACE OF FURY (Book #5)

  FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)

  A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

  THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

  THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

  THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

  THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

  THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

  THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

  THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)

  THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)

  THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)

  THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)

  THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)

  THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)

  THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)

  THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)

  THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)

  THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)

  THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)

  THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)

  THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)

  CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

  NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

  A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

  CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

  SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

  HOMECOMING (Book #5)

  TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

  KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

  IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

  IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

  IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

  IF SHE HID (Book #4)

  IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

  IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

  IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

  THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

  WATCHING (Book #1)

  WAITING (Book #2)

  LURING (Book #3)

  TAKING (Book #4)

  STALKING (Book #5)

  KILLING (Book #6)

  RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

  ONCE GONE (Book #1)

  ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

  ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

  ONCE LURED (Book #4)

  ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

  ONCE PINED (Book #6)

  ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

  ONCE COLD (Book #8)

  ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

  ONCE LOST (Book #10)

  ONCE BURIED (Book #11)

  ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

  ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

  ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

  ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

  ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

  ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

  MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

  BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

  BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

  BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

  BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

  BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

  BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

  BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

  BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

  BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

  BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

  BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

  BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

  BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

  BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

  AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

  CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

  CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

  CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

  CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

  CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

  CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

  KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

  A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

  A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

  A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

  A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

  A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN<
br />
  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE

  For a stunned moment, London Rose felt as though she might faint.

  Keep it together, she told herself. Now is no time to fall apart.

  But how could she even be sure that what was happening was real?

  Is this another dream? she wondered.

  She had dreamed about this very thing happening plenty of times.

  But no, this didn’t seem at all like a dream. Besides, the woman she’d seen in her dreams still had bright red hair. The wavy, shoulder-length hair of the woman just ahead of her was snow-white.

  Even so, there was no mistaking this woman’s blue-eyed, smiling face

  It certainly seems real, London thought.

  Facing her some six feet away on a wooden dock on a small Swedish island was someone London hadn’t seen for about 20 years.

  “Mom?” London said.

  “Yes, I believe you said that before, London,” the woman said with an impish grin that London remembered from childhood. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? So are we going to hug or what?”

  London hesitated. She wasn’t sure why. Whenever she’d tried to imagine this reunion, a hug had always seemed pretty much automatic, even perfectly natural. But right now, hugging suddenly seemed almost like a weird thing to do.

  Of course, the circumstances themselves were pretty weird.

  In spite of her confusion and the garbled thoughts running through her mind, London took a few more steps forward, and so did Mom.

  They wrapped their arms around each other.

  They hugged, pulling each other close a bit clumsily and not especially warmly, as if they didn’t quite know how to go about this whole hugging business.

  It certainly feels odd, London thought.

  For one thing, she was startled that Mom seemed smaller than she’d remembered. It made sense, of course. After all, London had barely been a teenager the last time she had gotten a hug from her mother.

  At the sound of a sharp yapping bark, they broke off the hug and each stepped back a little.

  Mom looked down at the little Yorkshire Terrier there on the dock, wagging his tail and staring up at her.

  “Oh, my!” Mom said to London. “Does this adorable little beastie belong to you?”

  London nodded and said, “His name is Sir Reggie.”

  Mom bent down and picked up the little animal. She rubbed her nose against his, and the little dog actually looked like he was smiling.

  “Sir Reggie, eh?” she said with a giggle. “So he’s actually been knighted! It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Reggie!”

  Sir Reggie snuggled up comfortably as Mom held him in her arms.

  I guess hugging doesn’t feel weird to him, London thought, with maybe a trace of jealousy.

  But then, Sir Reggie didn’t have the same troubled history with Mom that London did. To him, Barbara Rose was just another friendly stranger who was eager to give him attention.

  Mom smiled at London and said, “You do look surprised to see me, dear. No wonder about that, I’m sure.”

  London almost choked at Mom’s words.

  That’s like the world’s biggest understatement, she thought, as a flurry of possible rejoinders occurred to her — Oh, it’s just been most of my lifetime … A little bit unexpected after all these years … We had all wondered …

  She stopped herself from spitting out, I didn’t even know if you were still alive.

  Instead, she asked simply, “Aren’t you surprised?”

  “Well, a little, I guess,” Mom said with a shrug. “I mean, I hadn’t expected you to drop in right here in Lillberg this fine morning, at least not until a little while ago. The last I heard, you were on your way to Oslo.”

  London’s chin dropped a little.

  “How did you know … ?” she began.

  “That you were on your way to Oslo?” Mom laughed. “Oh, you’d be surprised at the things I know. I like to think of myself as very well-informed. I’ve kept track of your ship all during its voyage. But let’s go find someplace to sit down and have a snack or some coffee or something.”

  Mom set Sir Reggie down, and London and her dog followed her along the dock toward the shore.

  While she walked, London mentally replayed the events of the last hour or so, trying to bring the present moment into sharper focus.

  The cruise ship she’d been working aboard, the Nachtmusik, had left Copenhagen just yesterday. This morning the ship had been sailing smoothly along the Kattegat Sea between Denmark and Sweden. And just as Mom somehow knew, their next destination had been Oslo, Norway.

  But a dozing pilot in a small boat had accidently rammed the Nachtmusik, and the ship had sustained some damage that needed immediate attention. Instead of trying to continue on their route, they’d sailed a short distance right here to await repairs in the village of Lillberg on the island of Skittmon, just off the coast of Sweden.

  The ship had docked at a small pier, and the passengers and crew had been encouraged to go ashore and enjoy the charms of the island for as long as they were delayed here. London had just joined several people who came down the gangway onto the dock when an eerily familiar face had caught her eye. Her long-missing mom was right there among some villagers who had gathered to greet the ship.

  And even though they had hugged after a fashion and talked a bit, London was still having trouble convincing herself that this was really happening. Worse, she couldn’t collect her feelings enough to know how she really felt about this unplanned and unforeseen reunion.

  What did I expect to feel? London wondered.

  She’d surely anticipated feeling something if this ever happened. After all, she had only recently given up searching for Mom along every stop the Nachtmusik made on its tour of Europe. But right now, all she felt was jangled.

  Did I expect to be overjoyed? she wondered.

  Mom led London and Sir Reggie into a quaint little seaside café with cheerful, pastel wallpaper and pleasantly creaky wicker furniture. Fortunately, the waiter wasn’t dismayed that a dog was with them. He cheerfully led them to a little table with three chairs where London, Mom, and Sir Reggie each sat down.

  “Are you interested in some breakfast?” Mom asked.

  “I’ve already eaten,” London said.

  “And Sir Reggie too?”

  London nodded.

  “No matter,” Mom said. “It’s always time for fika here in Sweden.”

  “Fika?” London asked.

  “It’s sort of like tea-time in England, except that it can happen multiple times a day, at pretty much any hour. The Swedes can be wonderfully laid-back that way. I recommend a nice cappuccino and a mazarin.”

  With a nod toward Sir Reggie, Mom added, “Although I’m not so sure sweets are appropriate for our aristocratic friend.”

  No, probably not, London thought, remembering how sick Sir Reggie had gotten back in Copenhagen when he’d overindulged himself at a pastry festival.

  “It’s OK,” London said. “I’ve got something for him.”

  She tossed him one of the specially made dog treats that she and other passengers carried around for him, and he caught it midair and munched it eagerly.

  The waiter arrived, and Mom ordered for both of them in what sounded to London like flawless Swedish. London wished she had better mastery of Scandinavian languages.

  As they waited for their order, Mom said to London, “So. Where do we begin catching up?”

  London felt a bit lightheaded again and her mind boggled. She and Mom had only been reunited for a few minutes, but they’d already come to a hard part in their conversation.

  Where do we begin indeed? she wondered.

  CHAPTER TWO

  London realized that she had no idea how to begin the conversation. What had she thought they might say, whenever she imagined this meeting?