Page 16 of Tiki Hut Tragedy (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #6)
With time to kill before the scavenger hunt ended, Millie ran home to check on Scout and grab a quick bite to eat. First things first, she fixed his lunch and set it on the floor.
She grabbed a pen and accepted his invitation. Millie promptly added it to her calendar, although she knew there was no way she would forget. Date nights were few and far between.
With time on her hands, Millie logged onto the computer and opened a new search screen. She typed in the name of the tiki hut excursion and pressed enter.
Advertisements along with reviews appeared. Zema and his team got glowing reviews, not a handful, but hundreds. Clearly, he knew how to keep guests happy and safe. In fact, several mentioned they felt safety was a priority.
A small wet nose nuzzled her leg. She leaned over and found Scout standing on her shoe staring up at her, his soft brown eyes begging for attention. “You finished your lunch already?”
Millie scooped him up and carried him out onto the balcony. “Now isn’t this much nicer than being cooped up inside?” She cuddled the pup, breathing in the salty sea air and turning so that the sun’s rays warmed her face.
She thought briefly of Pastor Haakenson’s struggle, and it made her sad.
In the busyness of daily life, she knew she missed a lot—perhaps someone who needed a word of encouragement, a warm smile, or even a sympathetic ear.
God, please make me more aware of those around me who might be in need.
I pray for peace and joy for Pastor Haakenson as he starts this new chapter in his life.
She prayed for her family, for her children and friends, along with Dixie’s family and her colleagues.
Yip. Scout squirmed, signaling he wanted down. As soon as he was on the ground, he promptly picked up his squishy ball and dropped it at her feet.
They played fetch until the pup tired of the game and flopped down. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a dog’s life,” she teased. “Eat, sleep, play. You have it rough.”
Back inside, she returned to her computer while Scout curled up on her lap to nap.
She cleared the screen and typed Belly Busters in the search bar. Several stories appeared. Millie clicked on the top one and read about their adventures, traveling from Nebraska to all four corners of the United States and even into Canada to compete.
Dixie, Wendy, Gail and even Hotshot Hannah were specifically mentioned. As she continued reading, it became increasingly clear to Millie that the handful of women enjoyed being in the spotlight.
She leaned back in her chair, staring blankly at the screen. Maybe it wasn’t Dixie who had caused the chaos leading to her death. Maybe it was someone else.
Millie finished her preliminary search and typed in peppermill pills, confirming what Wendy had mentioned, that the product was touted as a natural stimulant, to increase appetites and relax stomach muscles.
At the very bottom and in tiny print was the company’s disclaimer: the product had not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and was not intended to treat, cure, diagnose or prevent disease.
Out of curiosity, she clicked on the “buy now” button.
“Jumping peppermill pills.” Millie’s jaw dropped. “Two hundred dollars for a few tablets?”
She clicked away and promptly tracked down an online forum dedicated to the product. Over and over, the number one complaint was that it caused fatigue.
Was it possible Dixie had taken too many of the pills, been startled by something while on the tiki hut excursion and mistakenly created a panic? She fell over the side, and because she’d ingested the pills, Dixie’s reflexes were sluggish and she drowned?
Millie grabbed a yellow pad and began jotting notes:
- Who else was taking Blue Lane Peppermill pills?
- Did anyone in the group notice Dixie acting out of sorts or strangely?
- Who was wearing life vests?
After finishing, she folded the sheet and tucked it into her pocket. It was time to head back to the galley to wait for the scavenger hunters.
Not long after she arrived, the Belly Busters and Barty started trickling in, one right after another. Millie and Felix took turns going down the list and sharing the locations of where the scavenger list items could be found.
Roxanne and another woman Millie remembered chatting with briefly tied for first place. “Congratulations to the winners. The head of our food and beverage department has come up with a fitting prize.”
Annette wheeled a metal cart across the room.
“Sticking with the foodie theme, I’ve whipped up a gastronomical spread guaranteed to fill even the biggest bellies.
” She plucked the cover from the top of the cart, revealing an array of foods.
“Each dish is high in carbs, unhealthy fats and over-processed ingredients, all the good things in life.”
The trays were crammed full of flaky croissants, creamy pasta Alfredo, New York-style pizza, decadent cookies, cream cheese pastry and even a triple-tiered chocolate cake.
The winners grabbed a plate and began loading it with food while the others gathered around to watch.
“There’s more than enough for everyone.” Roxanne motioned to her colleagues. “Dig in.”
The women dove into the cart of food, elbowing one another, all trying to compete and beat each other at loading up their plates. In the blink of an eye, the trays were empty.
Barty’s eyes grew round as saucers. “They are very hungry.”
“No kidding.” Millie shot a quick look at the table Annette had set up for the contestants. Food was flying, but at least it wasn’t flying through the air—more like being gobbled up in record time.
Taking advantage of her captive audience, Millie made her way around the table, refilling the Belly Buster’s drink cups. “I’m sorry to hear about Dixie’s passing. I know some of you were close to her.”
Gail the Gobbler reached for her napkin and dabbed at her lips. “None of us were close to Dixie.”
Millie arched her eyebrow, gazing at Astrid, who gave a slight shake of her head. “Dixie…wasn’t the most popular.”
“She was pompous, rude, arrogant,” Hannah rattled off. “I didn’t wish her dead, but I’ll be the first to admit I won’t miss her.”
“Everyone knows you didn’t like Dixie,” Wendy said. “The feeling was mutual.”
“At least we weren’t cabinmates,” Hannah replied. “If we had been sharing the same cabin, we wouldn’t have lasted a day. ”
Millie’s heart skipped a beat. “You and Dixie were cabinmates?”
All eyes turned to Wendy. Now the center of attention, she began fiddling with her drink straw. “I mean, she wasn’t entirely bad.”
“Paint any picture you want,” Roxanne said. “We all know how you felt about Dixie, especially after what went down the other night.”
“Can we talk about something else?”
The conversation shifted to the next event scheduled for later that day, and Millie listened in, hoping to glean more clues about what had happened. Unfortunately, the subject never came back up, and the group began heading out.
Astrid started to follow them, and Millie stopped her. “I’m sorry if I upset the others. To be honest, I’m shocked at how much they disliked Dixie.”
“I hate to speak ill of the dead, but she rubbed a lot of them the wrong way. ”
“Roxanne mentioned something happened between Wendy and Dixie. Do you know what it was?”
“They were both down at the casino. Something about a slot machine Dixie was playing. She left. Wendy hopped on it and won a jackpot. Dixie came back and accused her of stealing her machine.”
“Did the security staff get involved?”
“As a matter of fact, a man—I think his name was Brady—came over and told both of them they had to leave.”
“Brody?”
“Yeah. Brody. I didn’t get all the details. By the time I heard about it, they had both left the casino. As far as I know, they patched things up.” Astrid changed the subject, reminding Millie about the next event before leaving.
Annette waited until she was gone. “Now you’re getting somewhere. ”
“My money is on Wendy,” Felix said. “She had motive and opportunity.”
“True. She’s definitely on my radar.” Millie helped Annette clean up and then took off. She strolled past the Ocean Treasures gift shop and noticed Kendra, Cat’s new employee, rearranging a shelf of Tortuga Rum Cakes. She gave a friendly wave and slipped inside.
“Hey, Millie.”
“Hello, Kendra. Are you still liking your new job?”
“I love it. I love shopping and helping other people spend their money.”
Millie grinned. “It’s cheaper that way. You make money while others spend theirs. And how are you doing?”
“I can’t remember the last time I felt homesick. I’ve made some friends and plan to get off the ship when we reach Puerto Plata. ”
“Good for you.” Millie beamed, patting her arm. “I’m glad to hear you’re settling in.”
“And seeing the world. I like the Caribbean way better than Alaska.”
“Between you and me, Alaska was gorgeous country, but I prefer the warmer climate.”
A customer arrived needing help, and Millie told her goodbye. She stepped into the corridor, thinking about the pastor’s similar situation. As soon as Pastor Haakenson’s coffee maker was fixed, he was going to get a warm Siren of the Seas’ welcome…the sooner the better.
In the meantime, she planned to invite him to accompany her off the ship in Puerto Plata.
The best medicine when feeling depressed was warm weather, mingled with sunshine and a little sightseeing.
The potential storm had fizzled out, meaning there was no excuse not to take advantage of what was forecast to be a picture-perfect day.