Page 43 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
“Water. They drink a lot of water.”
“I suppose it makes sense. Water helps with digestion.” Millie shifted her feet. “I’m here to ask about Dixie Trent and Wendy Jorgensen, both competitors and cabinmates.”
Lola’s expression grew grim. “I heard about Ms. Trent’s drowning. How awful.”
“It was a terrible tragedy,” Millie agreed. “Her death has been ruled an accident.”
“Dave Patterson has already been by to gather up Dixie’s belongings so they can be returned to her family.”
“How is Wendy doing? I mean, how does she seem?”
“At first, she was taking it kind of hard. I don’t think she and Dixie got along.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I spend a lot of time in this hallway cleaning cabins. Sometimes you hear things.” Lola tapped her ear. “Through the doors, when passengers are passing by in the hall.”
“You heard Wendy and Dixie?”
The room steward nodded. “They argued often and loudly. Astrid, a woman who is a part of their group, came by a couple of times to calm them down. Wendy told me that she might be moving to a different cabin.”
“Do you remember when this was?”
Lola thought about it for a moment. “It was Sunday, our first full sea day.”
“So about twenty-four hours after they boarded the ship,” Millie said.
“Correct.”
“As far as their cabin, have you noticed any odd or unusual items inside?”
Lola’s eyes slid to the side.
“You have noticed something.”
She looked away, clearly uncomfortable at Millie’s line of questioning. “Maybe. I’m not allowed to discuss what’s inside a passenger’s cabin. It is private information.”
“I understand.” Millie placed a light hand on the back of her neck. The last thing she wanted to do was put the woman on the spot.
She glanced at the cabin they were standing in front of. It was only a few doors down from Wendy and Dixie’s cabin.
A sudden thought occurred to her. “Wendy is off the ship.”
“She is. She and some others went snorkeling. I watched them leave with their beach bags a few hours ago.”
Millie tugged on her master keycard—a keycard giving her access to any cabin on board the ship. “So…if I happened to take a quick peek inside Wendy and Dixie’s cabin, I might see the unusual items?”
Lola nodded. “On the bathroom counter,” she whispered.
Shifting her gaze farther down the corridor, she noticed a second cleaning cart, one belonging to another room steward. “I’ll be right back.”
“But…”
Millie held a finger to her lips. “Turn away and pretend you never saw me.”
“Good idea.” Lola turned and began rummaging around in her cart.
Moving at a quick pace, Millie reached cabin A4312. Using her keycard, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. Lola had already tidied up the cabin. The beds were made, no dirty dishes on the stand…everything neat and clean.
