Page 9 of Tiki Hut Tragedy (Cruise Director Millie Mysteries #6)

Things moved fast as a swarm of security staff raced to the scene. Millie clutched her gut, watching the tiki hut continue circling the water.

Several of the ship’s staff, with life buoys in hand, jumped in and began swimming toward them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Millie glimpsed a flash of yellow. It was Sharky, clad head to toe in a wetsuit, atop his “Quadski,” the ship’s personal rescue vehicle.

She held her breath as he steered closer. He plucked a woman from the water and carried her back to the tiki hut. Again and again, he rescued women from the water and returned them to the floating bar .

Meanwhile, the hut’s operator was doing what he could, dragging several of the women back on board.

Whirr…whirr…whirr. Sirens wailed loudly. Ambulances arrived, waiting for the passengers.

“Please, God. Help them get everyone safely to shore,” Millie whispered under her breath. From their vantage point on the dock, it appeared all had been rescued and sat huddled together on the tiki hut’s floor.

Long moments slowly ticked past. Finally, the watercraft returned to the dock, where workers stood waiting to tie it up. EMTs stepped onto the loading platform, assisting those who needed help. Much to Millie’s relief, no one was placed inside the ambulance.

“It looks like everyone made it back safely,” Cat said.

Astrid exited the tiki hut, soaking wet from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, with a dazed expression on her face. At first, Millie didn’t recognize her because of the tie-dyed bandana wrapped around her head she hadn’t noticed earlier.

She rushed over, handing her the beach towel she had brought with her. “Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine.” Astrid thanked her for the towel and began dabbing at her face. “For a minute there, I thought the tiki hut was sinking.”

“It looked like everyone ran to one side. What happened?”

“Dixie freaked out. She started screaming about something crawling across her foot. Next thing I know, everyone is running to one side. The extra weight tipped it, dumping everyone into the water.”

“Something crawled over her foot?” Millie’s eyes widened. “Like a lizard or mouse?”

Astrid shrugged. “I never saw it myself. I thought she said snake, so I repeated it, and that was all it took for the others to freak out. ”

Cat shuddered involuntarily. “A snake slithered onto the tiki hut?”

Millie’s mind whirled. It was possible, entirely possible, that a critter had somehow sneaked onto the tiki hut, become agitated when the women boarded and was desperately searching for an escape route. “How awful. At least everyone is okay.”

“We were at maximum capacity. I need to do a headcount.”

Cat nudged Millie’s arm. “Sharky is still circling the water. Maybe not everyone was rescued.”

“I had better find out.” Astrid hurried off.

“Let’s see if we can track down the owner, Zema.” Millie made a beeline for the tiki hut, now secured to the dock. A port authority and a couple of the ship’s security guards stood talking to a man who appeared to be in charge. She tiptoed closer and listened in on their conversation .

“…inspected the tiki hut prior to passengers boarding. I can assure you there weren’t any rodents or reptiles on board.”

“A passenger is claiming something was loose,” the port officer insisted. “Some sort of reptile or rodent.”

“I would like to talk to this person because I swear to you it wasn’t there.”

“We’ll try to find them. Don’t leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Zema turned to speak to another man, the dockhand Millie had noticed earlier.

She inched toward them. “Hello.” She offered a tentative smile. “Are you Zema?”

“That is me.”

Millie extended her hand. “I’m Millie Armati, the ship’s cruise director. I helped arrange this excursion through Isla Petersen, who handles our shore excursions. ”

“Isla. She is a good person. This excursion was booked and then overbooked, and now this. I should’ve known better.”

“What happened?”

“One of the passengers thought they felt something on their foot. The woman screamed. Next thing I knew, someone yelled, snake. The women all ran to one side, tipping the tiki hut and dumping them into the water.”

“I overheard your conversation with the port officer. You seem certain there wasn’t a rodent or reptile on board.”

“No way. I check every morning. We are in a tropical location and curious critters have been known to sneak on board, looking for a new home,” Zema explained.

“You checked before the Belly Busters boarded?”

“Thoroughly, both me and my staff. I do not need a bunch of women panicking out in the water and causing, well…causing an accident like what just happened.”

“Do you remember what the woman who was screaming looked like?”

“I do.” Zema described Dixie to a “t.” “She seemed very jittery from the moment she boarded.”

“Jittery?”

“Asking about the tiki hut’s seaworthiness, how long I have been in business, questions along those lines,” Zema said. “I’ve had passengers ask questions before, but she seemed more than merely curious.”

“What about the others? How would you describe the group?”

“Unruly, like they were competing for attention.”

“Because they are. They’re professional eaters, gearing up for a competition in Miami after the cruise ends,” Millie said .

Zema blinked rapidly. “It is all making sense to me now. They did not seem like friends. You know, people who enjoyed being together.”

“They’re more like frenemies, friendly competitors.”

Dave Patterson, the head of security, appeared, ending their brief conversation.

He introduced himself and asked Zema questions similar to those Millie had asked.

Meanwhile, Sharky continued circling in his PRV, around and around in the general vicinity of where the accident had occurred, and a funny feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong.

“Sharky is still searching. What’s going on?”

“All but one passenger has been accounted for.”

Zema’s shoulders sagged. “Not everyone was rescued?”

“Who…who is it?” Millie’s eyes were drawn to the Belly Busters clustered near the dock, talking to their rescuers and the security staff. As she studied the group, she realized one person was noticeably missing.