Page 13 of Tiki Hut Tragedy (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #6)

“Ready?”

Millie wiggled the helmet and tugged on the chinstrap, confirming it was firmly in place. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Hang on.”

“I’m hanging.” She wrapped both arms around Sharky’s middle, tightening her grip as the Quadski lurched forward. Millie squeezed her eyes shut and could feel them picking up speed.

Thump…thump…bump. Forgetting her plan to avoid watching their takeoff, her eyes flew open at the exact second the PRV launched off the ramp and became airborne.

She started screaming at Sharky to let her off. It was too late .

“Whoa!” he whooped loudly, his enthusiastic bellow blowing in the Caribbean breeze.

Bam. The PRV touched down, an impact forceful enough that it sucked the air from Millie’s lungs.

Gritting her teeth, she whispered a prayer. Millie didn’t dare look at the speedometer. She didn’t have to; certain they were traveling at warp speed. She shot a furtive glance over her shoulder at the wake and waves billowing out behind them.

Sharky jerked the handlebars, sending them careening to the left, narrowly avoiding what appeared to be a piece of plastic bobbing in the water.

“What was that?” Millie yelled.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe you should slow down. We might be missing something important.”

“Good point.” Sharky eased off the throttle. The PRV slowed to a crawl .

Making a wide turn, he circled back.

“It’s a water bottle.” Sharky swooped down and scooped it up. “Trash. I’ll never understand why people pay big bucks to visit these beautiful islands and then turn right around and pollute them.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Millie took the half-empty bottle and placed it in the storage pouch for safekeeping. “Which way are we going?”

“Over there, to the pile of rocks.”

She squinted her eyes. “I see it now.”

Moving at a steady pace, Sharky and Millie continued along the shoreline.

“We can’t get too close.” He steered right and cruised alongside it. “I don’t see anything.”

“Me either. Maybe whatever it was sank.”

“Let’s keep looking.” Sharky accelerated, and they began picking up speed. Behind them, Siren of the Seas became smaller and smaller until the only thing visible was the smokestack .

“I think we’ve gone far enough.” He leaned left, turning the handlebars and making a wide sweep. “Check it out.”

“Check what out?”

“Look down.”

Scooching sideways, Millie peered into the sparkling, crystal-clear water. “I see fish.”

“We must be close to the barrier reef.” He pressed lightly on the throttle, bringing them closer to the jetty. “I know where we are. Governor’s Beach, one of the best beaches on the island, isn’t far from here.”

Millie shaded her eyes. “I see a parrotfish.”

“Me too. Look over there.”

She peered into the water, watching as a stingray gracefully glided along the smooth sandy bottom. “I want to go snorkeling next time we visit Grand Turk. ”

“It doesn’t get much better than this.” Sharky tapped the throttle. “We had better keep moving.”

While he guided the PRV into the open water, Millie spotted another pile of rocks, a jetty she hadn’t noticed earlier, smaller than the previous one. “I see another jetty.”

“Me too.” Sharky picked up speed, and as they drew closer, she noticed the sandy ocean floor gave way to clusters of rocks.

“I’m noticing more rocks.”

“Me too. We’ll need to be careful.” He slowed. “There’s something over there.”

Millie leaned to the side. Sure enough, tucked in between a pile of rocks was a splash of bright blue. “I can’t tell what it is.”

Sharky unclipped a retractable rod from the side of the PRV. “I need to check the depth.” Extending the rod, he dipped it into the water. “Just what I thought. It’s shallow right here. ”

“We could radio Patterson to let him know we found something but aren’t able to reach it.”

“Or better yet.” Sharky handed her the ignition key and swung his leg over the side. “I’ll swim over and check it out.”

“Are you sure you want to...”

It was too late. Sharky peeled his life vest off and dove into the water. He popped back up and began swimming toward the rocks.

Millie held her breath, watching the waves lift him up and drag him toward the rocks. “Be careful.”

“It’s a little rough,” he gasped. “I’m close. This oughta be fun.”

Sharky rode the next set of waves, landing hard on top of an outer pile of rocks. He struggled to grab hold, lost his grip for a brief second and fell back until the next wave rolled in and gave him a lift .

“Please be careful,” Millie whispered under her breath.

He disappeared under the wave and then shot back up, this time landing squarely on top.

“Over there!” Millie hollered, motioning toward the blob of blue.

“I see it.” He carefully climbed over the rocky jetty until he reached the exact spot.

“What is it?”

“I think we found the missing passenger.”