Page 5 of Tiki Hut Tragedy (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #6)

Taking a shortcut through the center of the ship, Millie passed by Guest Services. She slowed when she noticed an unusually long line. It snaked past the columns, almost reaching the stairs on the opposite side.

She caught the eye of Nikki, her friend who was also the supervisor, a look of anxiety mingled with frustration on her face as she spoke with a passenger.

Changing directions, Millie crept alongside the counter to eavesdrop.

“…a migraine headache. I’m not sure who is in charge of the entertainment and music, but they need to be fired,” the man said in a loud voice .

Squaring her shoulders, Millie approached the counter. “Is there something I can help you with?” She introduced herself.

The man swung around. “Turn that horrible, screeching song off.” He jabbed his finger toward the speakers. “Not only does the singer not know how to sing, but he’s giving all of us a headache.”

Millie apologized, explaining she was on her way to the sound booth to find out why the song was looping, playing over and over. “I am so sorry. I don’t know if there’s a glitch in the music track, but I intend to find out. It should end shortly.”

“And not a moment too soon,” the woman behind him snapped.

After issuing another apology, Millie picked up the pace, making a quick trip to the sound booth. She knocked on the door. No one answered. She called Cameron, the sound tech supervisor’s name. Still no answer .

Using her keycard, she let herself into the small studio. “Cameron? Are you in here?”

The lights were on, but no one was around.

I’m suuuuperrrr heeeeerowwwww strong .

Millie covered her ears, struggling to concentrate while the singer screeched loudly. “How do I turn this thing off?”

Cat, the manager of Ocean Treasure’s gift shop, who was also Millie’s friend, appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Millie.”

“Hey, Cat.” Millie grimaced at the next chorus, even louder and more off-key than the previous one, if that was possible.

“Is Cameron around?”

“No.” Millie leaned in, studying the large black panel of blinking buttons. “I’m trying to figure out how to get this song to stop playing.”

“It’s horrible.” Cat wrinkled her nose. “This has to be the worst song ever recorded. ”

“Let me try tracking Cameron down.” Millie unclipped her radio. “Cameron, do you copy?”

No reply.

“Crud. He’s not answering. I could wing it and start pushing buttons until the song stops.”

Cat squeezed in next to her. “Go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We’re about to find out.” Millie noticed a button labeled “ST.” Thinking this might be an abbreviation for “Stop,” she flicked the button.

The annoying song continued.

“That wasn’t it.” She tried another button. The song played on.

“I wonder if this one will do the trick.” Cat flipped the switch. The studio went pitch black. “Uh-oh.”

“Great,” Millie groaned. “I can’t see a thing.”

“Sorry. ”

Removing her cell phone from her pocket, Millie turned the flashlight on and beamed it at the panel. “They all look the same.” She flipped a switch. A loud buzzing sound ensued. She quickly shut it off.

“I think this one controls the lights.” Cat gritted her teeth and pushed the button. The lights came back on. “Much better.”

“Hey.” Cameron appeared in the doorway. He wasn’t alone. Donovan, the ship’s purser, stood by his side. “What’s going on?”

“Cat and I are trying to turn the Superhero super annoying song off.”

“I’m here for the same reason,” Donovan said. “Passengers are lining up down at Guest Services complaining about the music.”

“I swung by there on my way here. We have a lot of unhappy campers, and for good reason,” Millie said. “We need to shut it off and pretty darn quick. ”

“I thought.” Cameron scratched his forehead. “You didn’t request this song to play on repeat, Millie?”

“No way.” It dawned on her what had happened. “Don’t tell me Hannah from the Belly Busters tracked you down and told you I asked you to play this.”

Cameron began sifting through the papers on his desk. “Here it is.” He handed Millie a slip of paper with the ship’s logo at the top. It was a handwritten note requesting the annoying song to be played every fifteen minutes.

“I didn’t write this.”

“I…uh…it was taped to the door when I got back from my break a couple of hours ago. I thought about radioing you to ask why, but then I got busy, so I just added it to the lineup.” Cameron told them he wasn’t a fan either. “I didn’t realize it would irritate so many people.”

“Well, it has, and it does,” Donovan said .

Cameron flipped a switch. The song stopped. “Sorry about the confusion.”

“Who would have done such a thing?”

“Hannah from the Belly Busters group. I’ll go chat with her.” Millie cleared her throat and spun around.

“Hang on.” Donovan stopped her. “Aside from being annoying, it was a harmless prank. The Belly Busters paid big bucks for this cruise, scheduling a whole host of events we’re charging them extra for. We need to handle the situation with kid gloves.”

“You sound like Andy,” Millie joked. “Always keeping an eye on the bottom line.”

“Perhaps we can compromise and offer to play it a few times a day,” he suggested.

“Donovan…the voice of reason. I hate to get off on the wrong foot with this group. You’re right. They’ve invested a lot of money in this cruise, and I want it to go smoothly. ”

With a promise from Cameron to cut back on the number of times the song was played, Millie headed to the conference rooms, having checked the schedule and discovered the group was once again meeting there.

She hovered in the doorway, watching as servers made their rounds, offering appetizers and beverages. Millie scanned the room, finally finding Astrid standing in the corner chatting with the top contenders—Dixie, Gail and Wendy. Hannah, head and shoulders above the rest, stood front and center.

Millie zigzagged through the crowd and tapped the redhead on the shoulder.

Hannah swung around. “Hello again.”

“Hello.” Millie placed her hands behind her back. “I see the meet and greet is going well.”

“Except for the munchies.” Dixie held up a mini pizza. “Somebody skimped on the food. ”

“This is a light appetizer get-together,” Millie explained. “Early dining starts in a couple of hours.”

“How can we practice eating if you feed us tiny portions?”

Wendy elbowed Astrid. “I hope you got a decent discount on this event.”

Millie could feel the tips of her ears burn. “Again, this is a pre-dinner party, not a full-blown pig out.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped. “Are you calling us pigs?”

“Of course not. It was merely a saying. I didn’t mean to imply anything.” Millie shifted her feet. “In fact, you are all quite thin. I don’t know where you put the food, but I could use a few pointers.”

With the “alleged” insult smoothed over, she made small talk before bringing up the subject of the annoying song.

She pointedly stared at Hannah who looked away.

“I’ve met with our sound technician. We will play the requested song intermittently.

I believe once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening. ”

“Which seems reasonable to me,” Astrid said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Before heading out, she reminded them they were scheduled for a food training exercise at nine the next morning.

With the day’s events in full swing, Millie hosted a round of mini golf, followed by several announcements. Keeping an ear tuned to the music throughout the ship, she was relieved to discover the Superhero Strong song played only one other time.

Sticking to her tight schedule, Millie reached the stage shortly before the headliner show began. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I trust you’re having a fabulous first day?”

An enthusiastic round of applause ensued.

“Wonderful. We have an exciting array of activities on tap for this evening and tomorrow for our full sea day before arriving in gorgeous Grand Turk. If you choose to stick close to the ship, they have a beautiful beach only steps away from the port.” Millie rambled on about a few of the highlights and mentioned their other port stops before announcing the singers and dancers.

The team flew through a medley, a teaser of songs, before she introduced the magician who entertained the guests with a handful of clever tricks.

As soon as she wrapped up the evening show, she headed home to grab a quick bite to eat. Her pup greeted her at the door. “There’s my buddy. Are you hungry? I know I am.”

She fixed them both a plate of food before coaxing Scout out on the balcony. Having left the Miami port hours earlier, the Siren of the Seas was moving full steam ahead through the open water.

While she ate, Millie breathed in the magic of the open ocean. Nothing but balmy breezes and calm seas, at least for now .

After finishing her quick meal, she ran back downstairs to introduce the second show. Millie noticed the Belly Busters were seated in the front row VIP seating area, cell phones in hand ready to record.

The headliner show, a repeat of the first, for those who had early dining, went off without a hitch. After it ended, Millie lingered, greeting a few of the elite guests she knew on a first-name basis.

The theater cleared, and she stopped by her office to tidy up for the night.

Knock. Knock.

Millie looked up to find Felix standing in the doorway. “Got a minute?”

“For you, I have two.” She waved him in. “I was just straightening up before heading home for the night.”

They chatted briefly about the sea day schedule of events .

“I’m starting it off by spending it with my bestie,” Felix said.

“Who?”

“You.”

Millie shuffled through her papers. Sure enough, she and Felix were co-hosting the Belly Buster’s food exercise. “The Belly Busters. They’re a trip.”

“Danielle mentioned that they’re a handful.”

“Handful might be putting it mildly. We’re dealing with some real characters.” Millie told him about the annoying song playing on repeat and how the women basically railroaded over the top of Astrid, the host.

“I guess you need a powerful personality to be a big eater,” he said. “I’ve never watched an eating competition, at least not live.”

“Neither have I.” Millie logged off her computer and stood. “I can say one thing for certain about being cruise director—there’s never a dull moment.”

Little did she, or Felix, know the Belly Busters were going to keep them on their toes in more ways than one.