Page 2 of Tiki Hut Tragedy (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #6)
A woman sporting a hat that resembled an ear of corn waltzed onto the ship. Following behind were even more corn hats, one right after the other. “These must be the Belly Busters.”
“Where are the contestants from?” Danielle whispered under her breath.
“Their headquarters is in Nebraska, home of the Cornhuskers.” The ears of corn bobbed back and forth, and as the women drew closer, Millie noticed they were made of sturdy Styrofoam. “They’re clever attention-grabbers, I’ll give them that.”
The women gathered for a group photo near the railing overlooking the grand atrium, blocking the flow of oncoming passengers. “They’re in the way.” Millie approached the group and introduced herself. “Welcome to Siren of the Seas. ”
The woman taking the photo spun around. “Thank you. We’re excited to be here.” She straightened her hat and held out her hand. “I’m Dixie the Destroyer.”
“Part of the Belly Busters group,” Millie guessed.
“Yes, ma’am.” She squared her shoulders. “I’m the reigning champ and plan to keep my title, adding one more trophy to my case.”
A corn hatter muscled her way past Dixie, nudging her to the side. “Not so fast, Destroyer. The title is mine this year.”
Dixie scowled. “Wait your turn, Wolf.”
“Wolfette to you,” the woman haughtily replied. She held out her hand. “I’m Wendy, a member of the Belly Busters, too, and soon-to-be new champ.”
Millie shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. As I told your…teammate, I’m Millie Armati, the ship’s cruise director.” She introduced Danielle. “We have a lot of fun events planned for your group. ”
“Most of which involves eating.” She playfully flexed her muscles. “Chowing down and beefing up.”
“We’re thrilled to have you on board our ship,” Millie said. “Unfortunately, your group is holding up the line. Would you be so kind as to move to another location out of the flow of traffic?”
“Oh, sure. Sorry about that. I didn’t realize we were in the way.”
“No worries.” Millie watched as they circled the bank of elevators and took the main stairs one level down, making their way to the center bar. “Well? What do you think?”
“They’re a competitive bunch,” Danielle said. “I’m trying to figure out how they all stay so skinny.”
“I was wondering the same thing.” Millie pulled up her scheduling app and tapped on the Belly Buster’s events. “They have food training exercises planned every single day. ”
“I noticed you put me in charge of some of them.”
“You and Felix.” Millie clicked away, watching as Dixie frantically motioned to another woman. “I wonder which one is Astrid, the Amerifinest Foods’ host for this fun-filled foodie cruise.”
“Amerifinest Foods, the big food conglomerate that sells everything from chili to cheesecake?”
“Yep. They sponsored the cruise as a promotional gig. It’s ingenious. I guess their plan is to rack up all sorts of free publicity before the big day.”
The conversation ended when another group of passengers approached, wanting to know how to find the lunch buffet. Another hour passed, and the crowds started to dwindle.
Danielle tapped the top of her watch. “It’s time for your first official greeting of the cruise.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” Millie hustled to the sound booth.
Grabbing the mic, she started her spiel, one she knew by heart.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is your cruise director, Millie Armati. I would like to officially welcome you to the beautiful Siren of the Seas. Before our ship is allowed to leave port, each of you must watch our mandatory safety briefing, available via Majestic Cruise Lines’ app or on your cabin’s television.
After you finish watching the important safety video, please make your way to your assigned muster station.
” She wrapped up her speech, rattling off a few of the evening entertainment highlights.
Cameron, the sound technician, waited for her to sign off. “Remember the good old days when we all stood on the deck or sat in the theater with our life vests on while the safety captain droned on and on?”
Millie grinned. “Cheek to cheek, crammed in like sardines in the Florida heat. I like the new way so much better. ”
“I guess the lockdown a few years ago brought about a few positive changes.”
“Absolutely. And passengers like it too because they can start their vacation even sooner.” Millie slipped out of the studio and swung by the apartment to grab her miniature Yorkie, Scout.
Settling him into his custom stroller, she and her pup traveled stem to stern, from the tranquility deck at the top all the way down to the medical center, checking in on activities and making sure the initial hours of the cruise went smoothly.
A brief meeting with the ship’s lead entertainers rounded out Millie’s most pressing tasks. After finishing, she and Scout stopped by her office to go over the evening’s schedule and to take a quick peek at the weather forecast.
She pulled up a tracking site and clicked on the link, her heart plummeting when she discovered the cruise line’s dedicated meteorologist, the man who kept close tabs on the weather, had issued a statement. A potential storm was brewing, heading east toward the Caribbean. “Great.”
Andy Walker, Millie’s former boss, appeared in the doorway. “What’s great?”
“A storm could be heading our way.” Millie squinted her eyes and stared at the screen. “Based on the projected path, we might have a little rocking and rolling.”
He slipped in behind her and let out a low whistle. “It is the season. At least we didn’t have to worry about hurricanes in Alaska.”
“No, just bodies, bears and bugs.”
“And mosquitoes the size of honeybees,” he joked.
Millie shifted, giving Andy her full attention. “You’ve been quiet lately. What new and exciting project are you working on?”
He made a zipping motion across his lips. “Can’t tell. I can tell you that putting in the snow shower busted my budget. What I have in the works will have to wait.”
She grabbed a notepad and began scribbling. “Which reminds me. I’ll add a snow shower gift certificate to the list of fabulous prizes awarded to our contest winners to help get the word out.”
Millie’s radio went off. “Hey, Millie. It’s Danielle. Where are you?”
“In my office, talking to Andy. What’s up?”
“I need you over by the conference rooms ASAP.”
“On my way.” Millie clipped her radio to her belt.
“Never a dull moment.”
“You know it.” Millie, with Scout by her side, parted ways with Andy outside the theater. Although not a fan of elevators, the pup’s stroller was too bulky to drag up and down the stairs, which meant the easiest way to get around was by elevator .
As soon as they reached the upper deck, they breezed past the library, making their way to the conference center’s double doors. She barreled around the corner, nearly colliding with Danielle.
Both of them stumbled back.
“Whoops. I didn’t mean to crash into you.”
“Thanks for getting here so quickly.” Danielle lowered her voice. “We have a minor Belly Buster issue.”
“Issue?” Millie cast a wary glance toward the conference room where several women milled about.
“Hotshot Hannah. Have you met her?”
“No. What’s she doing?”
Danielle grasped Millie’s arm and dragged her across the corridor, out of earshot. “She’s demanding.”
“Demanding what?”
“This.” Danielle handed her a sheet of paper .
Millie slipped her reading glasses on and began skimming the long list. “I thought Astrid from Amerifinest Foods was in charge of the Belly Busters.”
“It appears Hannah didn’t get the memo.” Danielle lowered her voice to barely above a whisper.
“Astrid is off in the corner looking like she would rather be anywhere but near Hannah, who is bossing the others around. As soon as I introduced myself, she handed me the list. She’s given me until the end of the day to take care of the requests. ”
“Or else what?”
Danielle shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I want to find out. Based on how the others are acting, she’s accustomed to getting her way.”
Taking a closer look, Millie quickly realized the unrealistic list was not gonna happen…not by a long shot. “Have you read this?”
“Yeah. ”
“Eight cases of chilled Pellegrino per day. What’s up with that?”
“According to Hannah, it’s their preferred bottled water. It helps with digestion,” Danielle said. “There’s more.”
“No kidding. Himalayan salt and freshly ground pepper for all meals, yoga mats for each contestant, unlimited use of the steam rooms.” The list went on—ridiculous demands that weren’t negotiated prior to the Belly Busters boarding. “Is Astrid here?”
“Yeah. Last I saw her, she was cowering in the corner while Hannah attempted to browbeat me. The last one is a zinger,” Danielle said sarcastically.
Millie lowered her gaze and made a choking sound. “Superhero Strong is to be played a minimum of twelve times per day for motivation.”
“Have you ever heard the song?” Danielle started humming loudly and off-key, ending in a high-pitched crescendo .
Millie winced and covered her ears. “Awful.”
“The live version is even worse, if you can believe it.”
She folded the paper. “You said Astrid is the one standing in the corner?”
“Correct.” Danielle craned her neck and peered into the room. “Hannah is the tall, skinny redhead, the one eating the Krispy Kreme donuts. It’s her second one, if you’re counting.”
“She’s skinny as a rail. Hannah must have a super high metabolism.”
“Or she burns a lot of calories because she never stops talking,” Danielle joked. “Seriously, if she isn’t stuffing her face, she’s running her mouth.”
“I’m going to nip this in the bud.”
Danielle stopped her. “A word of warning. The food flies out of her mouth when she’s talking.”
“Lovely.” Millie briefly closed her eyes, praying for patience. Something told her Hotshot Hannah would not be happy when she gave her the bad news.