Page 44 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
The cabin’s countertop was empty except for a copy of the Cruise Ship Chronicles, Siren of the Seas’ daily schedule.
Millie eased the bathroom door open. She flipped the light on and stepped inside, her breath catching in her throat at what she found sitting on the bathroom counter.
Chapter 18
Millie stared at the supplements and pill bottles neatly lined up along Wendy and Dixie’s bathroom sink.
Plucking a tissue from the box, she picked up the nearest bottle.
“Hey, Millie.” Lola appeared. “How’s it going?”
“This bathroom looks like a mini pharmacy.”
“Right? I’ve never seen so many bottles in all my life.”
“No wonder Dixie wasn’t feeling well.” Millie turned her cell phone on. She tapped the camera icon and flipped it around for a wide-angle snapshot. “I wonder if these are all Dixie’s bottles or if some of them are Wendy’s, too.”
“Wendy helped Dave Patterson pack up Dixie’s stuff, so I’m guessing what’s left belongs to her,” Lola said.
“Do you recall there being even more than these?”
“Yes. Many more.”
Millie slipped her reading glasses on and studied a prescription bottle, confirming it belonged to Wendy Jorgensen. Working her way down the line, she searched for the Peppermill brand pills. “I’m looking for Peppermill pills.”
“Peppermill pills?”
“It’s a supplement made with peppermint. I think I found it.” Millie shifted a bottle and studied the label,Blue Lane Peppermill Pills.She snapped a photo of the label, making sure she had both the ingredients and warnings.
Lola nervously licked her lips. “I hate to rush you, but Wendy could come back any time.”
“I’m done.” Millie crumpled the tissue and shoved it in her pocket. “The last thing I want to do is get you into trouble.” She followed Lola out of the cabin and into the corridor. “You mentioned Astrid, who is the group host, trying to smooth things over between Wendy and Dixie. Do you remember if anyone else stopped by?”
“I do. Most of the other members of their group have cabins on this deck.” Lola mentioned one more incident. “Around the same time the women were arguing, Brody from security escorted Wendy back to her cabin. From what I overheard, there was some sort of big blowout inside the casino, and he asked them to leave.”
“I wonder if Dave Patterson knows.”
“Oh, yes. I mentioned it to him when he was here to pack up Dixie’s things,” Lola said. “He didn’t seem surprised.”
Millie tapped her foot on the floor. “You said some additional members of the Belly Buster’sgroup are staying on this deck. Are you cleaning their cabins as well?”
“My assistant and I clean many of the cabins.”
“Have you noticed any of the other women arguing?”
“No. The woman in charge, Astrid, visits them often.”
“Out of curiosity, who is Astrid’s cabinmate?”
“She has a cabin to herself,” Lola said. “She is a very private person.”
“Private person?” Millie echoed.
“At her request, I only clean her cabin once a day. It is very tidy, with nothing on the counters. I wouldn’t even know she was there except for her suitcases in the closet.”
“No personal items lying around?”
“She has clothes hanging in the closet and perfume in the bathroom along with a toothbrush and toothpaste but nothing else. Don’t get mewrong…I’m not complaining. It’s nice to have someone I don’t have to spend a lot of time picking up after, if you know what I mean.”
