Page 27 of Tiki Hut Tragedy (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #6)

Millie stared at the screen, struggling to connect the dots. “This isn’t making sense. I know for a fact Astrid wasn’t in the casino.”

“And this RFID tracking system is one hundred percent accurate, unless the woman gave her keycard to someone else.”

“Why would she?” Millie racked her brain, trying to remember if she’d seen others from the group playing in the casino. Even if she did, why would Astrid give her card to someone else? She needed it to enter her cabin and to make purchases. “I need to sleep on this.”

Sharky cleared the screens and shut his computer off.

Fin, who was in his usual spot on top of the desk, slowly stood .

“It’s past Fin’s bedtime,” Sharky said. “Maybe a good night’s sleep will clear the cobwebs and tomorrow we can figure out what’s going on.”

Millie thanked him for his help and headed home. While she dressed for bed, she played out every scenario. The only thing that made sense was that Astrid was there, but for whatever reason, she hadn’t seen her. True, the place was packed, but she had been specifically searching for the woman.

Nic was already in bed waiting for her when she finished getting ready. He watched her crawl under the covers. “You look like something is bothering you. I’ll take a wild guess and say it’s the anonymous note.”

“I wish I knew who sent it so I could ask them why they think Dixie’s death wasn’t an accident.” Millie scooched over, making room for Scout.

He took his usual spot, sandwiched in between their pillows, where he curled up and promptly fell asleep. “He’s all tuckered out. ”

“Scout’s not the only one.” Nic leaned over and kissed her goodnight. “Give your beautiful, busy brain a rest.”

“I’ll try.” After saying their prayers, Millie did the one thing that never failed to relax her mind—to think about all the blessings in her life. Nic, her children, her grandchildren, her friends, her health, a job she loved.

The last thought she had before she finally fell asleep was an idea, a plan on how she could figure out once and for all if Astrid was spending time inside the casino.

*****

Millie and Annette were on Sharky’s doorstep first thing the following morning.

Annette, a former employee of the NSA, the National Security Agency, knew a great deal about covert operations, how to track people and had helped Millie many times during her previous investigations .

“How much longer do we wait?” Annette checked her watch.

“Sharky should be here any second.” Millie craned her neck. “I see him now.”

The Flamethrower, Sharky’s scooter, flew down the corridor. Fin, with tufts of fur blowing, sat calmly in the front basket. The scooter came to a screeching halt only a few feet away from where the women stood. “Uh-oh. Double trouble.”

Fin leapt from the basket, landing lightly on his feet. He butted his head against Millie’s leg, purring loudly. “You’re a brave fella, riding around with Sharky when he’s driving like a maniac.”

“He loves going fast. The faster, the better.” Sharky fished a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. “Something tells me the mystery of Invisible Astrid kept you up all night.”

“It might have had I not come up with a plan before I fell asleep.” Millie outlined her idea.

Sharky began shaking his head. “No can do. I made a promise to Patterson, and I intend to keep it.”

“Which is why I asked Annette to meet me here. She can monitor the RFID movements while I’m in the casino tonight. We’re running out of time.”

“I dunno.”

“C’mon,” Millie coaxed. “It will be a one and done.”

His eyes flitted from her to Annette.

“How does a nice, juicy, medium-rare ribeye sound?” she enticed.

Sharky gulped loudly. “I haven’t had steak in a while.”

“With a loaded baked potato, corn on the cob, and macaroni and cheese with extra cheese.” Annette could see he was contemplating her offer. “I’ll even throw in bacon bits. ”

“Aww…man, you’re killing me here,” Sharky groaned. “I’ve been dreaming about a ribeye steak.”

“I thought Mexican was your favorite food,” Millie teased.

“Who says you can’t have more than one?” He placed both hands on his head. “Okay. Maybe just this once.”

Millie flung her arms around his neck. “You’re the best.”

“Of course, I am. But only this once,” Sharky warned.

“Absolutely. The last thing I want to do is get you in trouble,” Millie said. “On the plus side, you’ve mentioned her specifically a couple of times.”

“I have. There’s something about her I can’t quite put my finger on.”

“I gotta get going,” Annette said. “What time do you need me here? ”

“Based on what we’ve discovered, Astrid spends time in the casino between ten and midnight. You could meet Sharky down here at quarter ‘til ten.”

“Done.” Annette gave them a thumbs up. “Why don’t you bring Cat along with you? Two sets of eyes are better than one.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Millie thanked Sharky again, and the women went their separate ways, with Millie making a beeline for her morning meeting. A South Seas Cay port day meant splitting her entertainment team.

She put Felix, her right-hand man, in charge of island entertainment. As soon as their morning meeting ended, he assembled his team and headed out, promising Millie they would be ready to roll by the time the first passengers stepped foot on shore.

Leaving a skeleton crew behind, Millie knew it would be tricky covering events. The good news was most passengers would get off—to enjoy a beachside barbecue, snorkeling, the thrills and chills water park or simply veg out in a lounge chair, tropical drink in hand and stare out at the ocean.

With the meeting out of the way, she dove into her day, hustling from one event to the next. On her way past Guest Services, she made a quick stop to make sure there wasn’t another anonymous note waiting for her.

Although Nikki wasn’t around, the supervisor on duty confirmed there was no mail for her—or for Patterson. The morning flew by, and because her schedule was jam-packed, an RTG ready-to-go lunch was all Millie had time to fit in.

With her on-the-go lunch eaten, she had enough time to swing by Ocean Treasures. She tracked down Cat and waited until she was free to pull her aside. “How’s business?”

“Busy. It’s our last day of the gold-by-the-inch blowout sale, which means nonstop shopping,” Cat said. “How’s it going in your world? ”

“Same. Most of my crew is onshore, so we’re spread a little thin.

” Millie filled her in on the current plan.

“Annette has agreed to help me track Astrid’s movements tonight to see if she shows up at the casino.

Either Sharky’s monitoring software is wrong or I somehow missed seeing her, which is why I stopped by. ”

“You want me to go with you.”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. What time?”

“I’ll be heading there right before ten.”

“Sounds good. I’ll meet you at Lucky’s bar.”

She turned to go, and Cat stopped her. “Do you have a picture of Astrid?”

“I do.” Millie tracked down a recent snapshot and showed the photo of the plain woman with short brown hair to her friend. “Has she visited the gift shop? ”

“Oh yeah. I remember her because Astrid is a snacker. She stopped by the other day and stocked up on potato chips and pretzels.” Cat rubbed her thumb and index finger together. “We don’t sell many snacks on board seeing how they’re cheaper if you buy them in port.”

“Then you won’t have any trouble recognizing her if you see her. Thanks, Cat.”

“I hope it works.” Her friend crossed her fingers. “If anyone can track this woman down, it’s you.”

“She’s proving elusive. Something tells me we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

The hours flew by. As soon as the second headliner show was underway, Millie swung by the galley to check in with Annette.

“Were your ears ringing? I was getting ready to call you.”

“Please tell me you’re not backing out. ”

“Not a chance.” Annette darted to her office, returning moments later. “You’ll need these.”

“What is it?”

She handed her two sets of earpieces with built-in microphones. “So you, Cat and I can communicate.”

“Right. I’ll need you to monitor Astrid’s exact movements. With any luck, we’ll be able to figure out what she’s up to. We’re running out of time.”

“You work well under pressure,” Annette joked.

“I’m meeting Cat near Lucky’s bar and will give her the extra set of earpieces when I see her.”

“She knows what Astrid looks like?”

“Yep, and if she visits the casino tonight, there’s no way we’ll miss her.”