Page 23 of Tiki Hut Tragedy (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #6)
Dixie didn’t accidentally drown. Millie read the sentence aloud. “You mentioned Patterson got the same envelope?”
“Correct.” Nikki told her there were a few other miscellaneous pieces of mail but only two with bold black letters and matching envelopes. “Someone wants you to know the woman’s death wasn’t an accident.”
“It would appear so.” Millie turned it over, studying her carefully written name and title.
“Why would someone send the note to you?” Nikki asked. “I mean, I understand why they would send it to Patterson, but you’re not part of the security team.”
“I’m the Belly Buster group’s main point of contact and host most of the events, plus I helped Sharky recover her body.” Millie briefly wondered if it was meant to rattle the contestants, hoping to upset the upcoming competition.
She remembered Danielle’s comment from the previous night, how two of the contestants were saying basically the same thing. “I need to find Patterson.”
“I believe he was on his way to his office.”
Millie thanked her friend, and she and Scout circled around to the bank of elevators. Pressing the down button, she and her pup were the only ones during the ride to the lower level of the ship.
Unlike the passenger decks, the crew-only corridor was already a beehive of activity. She reached the head of security’s office, and as Millie drew closer, she could see Patterson’s office lights were on but the door was closed.
Giving it a light rap, she twisted the knob and stuck her head around the corner. “Hey, Patterson. ”
He looked up from his computer. “Good morning, Millie. I wondered how long it would be before you showed up on my doorstep.”
“I take it you read your note.” She steered Scout’s stroller inside and eased the door shut behind her.
“Yes, and I’ve already left messages for two of the women who were part of the excursion.”
“The ones Danielle told you about?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Patterson’s face. “News travels fast, although I shouldn’t be surprised. What’s your take?”
Millie hesitated.
“Let me guess…you’ve done some poking around.”
“Because something isn’t right. Dixie and/or her cabinmate Wendy were…are taking a boatload of supplements, pills. It’s possible Dixie took too ma ny or was given too many. She became disoriented, drowsy and drowned.”
“According to several eyewitnesses, Dixie was the one who caused the panic in the first place,” Patterson reminded her.
“Maybe she had some sort of hallucination and freaked out.”
“I won’t bother asking how you know about the pills,” Patterson sighed. “For the record, the prescription drugs I found were prescribed. As far as the supplements are concerned, there’s no law prohibiting them, although I agree it seems like an excessive amount.”
“Which could be normal quantities if your goal is to eat a lot and pop pills to stretch your stomach,” Millie said. “Someone is either trying to stir the pot or give us a heads up we need to take a closer look at Dixie’s death. ”
“The official ruling is accidental drowning,” Patterson said. “Short of a smoking gun, the outcome of the investigation won’t change.”
“But what if someone really did take Dixie out?”
“I’ll speak with the women again and ask them if they wrote the notes. I’m almost certain they’ll deny any knowledge of it.”
Millie pressed her palms together, struggling to put the pieces together.
Going with the presumption that Dixie’s drowning wasn’t accidental, the most obvious suspect would be Wendy.
She had opportunity and a potential motive.
If Dixie was out of the picture, it increased her chances of winning the eating competition.
A lot was on the line—a pile of cash, not to mention a pilot program that could kick-start her career. It had happened to Guy Fieri, among others. The star even had a cruise ship burger joint named after him. The sky was the limit .
“I’m sure you’ve questioned Astrid Pace at length,” Millie said.
“Multiple times. She swears up and down the contestants would never murder a colleague or competitor. I suppose if anyone knows these women, it would be her.”
“You watched Sharky’s GoPro recordings when he helped pull some of the women from the water.”
“I did. He specifically mentioned Astrid and the odd vibe he got from her.”
“I watched it too. She had something in her hand when she went overboard.”
Patterson tightened his jaw, a sign Millie recognized. He had information he wasn’t sharing. “What is it?”
“Dixie’s phone is missing. I’ve requested the records. Unfortunately, it will take several days before I get copies.”
“Why would Astrid have Dixie’s cell phone? ”
He shrugged. “Astrid claims she had her phone in her hand, which is also a plausible explanation.”
“Something isn’t adding up.” Millie bit her lower lip. Maybe Sharky had been right all along and there was something suspicious about Astrid. Looking back, she should have snooped around her cabin when she had the chance. “Unless we get a break in the case, we’re at a standstill.”
“Not we, me ,” Patterson corrected. “The only thing I need from you is to keep your eyes and ears open when you’re with the Belly Busters and let me know if you hear or see anything.”
“Will do.” Millie snapped to attention and saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
“I mean it.” He followed her to the door. “As of right now, this is a non-investigation. It could be that someone in the group is merely trying to cause trouble.”
“Except for Dixie’s missing cell phone,” she reminded him .
“It could have been in her pocket and fallen out while she was in the water.”
“She floated quite a distance before we found her. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.” Millie told him goodbye and trudged back toward the elevator. There was a way to find out who had dropped the notes off in the comment box. It would take a little digging, but might be worth the effort.
Patterson could handle his end of the investigation. Meanwhile, she had a different plan in mind, more of a behind-the-scenes investigation, zeroing in on the one person who kept popping up on Millie’s radar.