Page 23 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
“The marine branch of the island’s police force has been called in to assist with the rescue. Sharky will continue searching until additional help arrives.” Patterson motioned toward Millie and Cat. “I need to have a private word with Mr. Zema.”
“Of course.” Millie grabbed Cat’s arm and hurried off, stopping when they were a safe distance away. “Maybe during the confusion, Dixie was knocked unconscious.”
“Or maybe she swam to shore.”
“It’s possible. I mean, the tiki hut wasn’t too far out.” Millie gave Cat a brief description of the woman. “It wouldn’t hurt for us to look around to see if we can find her.”
Starting at the far end of the beach, they worked their way back toward the dock, moving at a slow pace as they scoured the area, taking note of the beachgoers all along the water.
Returning to their starting point, Millie studied their surroundings. “Let’s check the restrooms and restaurants. Maybe we missed her.”
“Lead the way.”
Once again, the friends searched high and low for Dixie the Destroyer, to no avail.
“We aren’t the only ones looking for Dixie.” Cat pointed out a large group of the ship’s security team gathered near the water’s edge.
“Both in the water and on land.” Millie watched as another boat with some sort of emblem on the side worked its way along the coast. “Let’s keep looking.”
Doubling down on their efforts, the friends made a second sweep, hoping to find the missing woman.
An entire team of searchers joined them. As the minutes dragged past, it became increasingly clear Dixie had not reached shore.
“I hate to say it, but I need to get back to work.”
“Me too,” Cat said. “We need a miracle…a miracle Dixie somehow swam parallel to the shore and ended up farther along the beach.”
Reaching the gangway, Millie followed her friend onto the ship. She dinged her keycard, noting the somber mood of the security staff. Because of the excursion’s proximity to the ship, she knewpassengers would be wondering what had happened.
She and Cat parted ways at the stairwell with Millie heading home to swap out her shorts and sleeveless shirt for her work uniform. Stepping onto the bridge, she noticed Nic and several of the officers standing in front of the wall of windows, looking out.
While she changed, Millie thought about Zema’s comment that Dixie had seemed nervous. Perhaps she’d freaked out over nothing and inadvertently created a panic.
Based on previous interactions, she knew that not all the contestants were friendly competitors. Dixie was the reigning champion, which meant she was a serious contender, a person who had an excellent shot at winning the competition—a pile of cash, national attentionanda pilot television show which could turn into a multi-million dollar career.
A horrifying thought crept into Millie’s mind. What if someone had caused the accident, hoping to get rid of Dixie?
Wendy the Wolfette and Gail the Gobbler were also top contenders. Clearly, tensions ran high…case in point was the food fight. And then there was Hotshot Hannah, who acted like she was running the show.
But to murder a competitor to win an eating competition? Even if someone had intentionally caused the panic, there was no guarantee they would be successful in eliminating Dixie. Or maybe Dixie wasn’t the target. Maybe she was the instigator, had deliberately caused a panic and her plan backfired.
Tink.Millie snatched her phone from her pocket, glancing at the text from Danielle.Did you forget about the belly flop?
On my way.Millie darted out of the apartment. Exiting the bridge, she climbed the stairs to the lido deck. As she drew closer, she noticed the houseband playing a mixture of steel drums and calypso while passengers soaked up the bright Caribbean sun.
Danielle caught Millie’s eye and ran over. “A passenger mentioned some sort of accident. Do you know what happened?”
“It was the Belly Busters’ tiki hut excursion. Dixie the Destroyer thought something was crawling on her. Everyone panicked and ran to one side. The hut tipped, dumping everyone in the water.”
Danielle’s eyes grew round as saucers. “Oh my gosh. Are they okay?”
“Everyone but Dixie, who is still missing.”
“Missing?”
“Cat and I watched it happen. It was pretty chaotic. She may have hit her head and gone under.”
“How awful.”
