Page 54 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
“The official ruling is accidental drowning,” Patterson said. “Short of a smoking gun, the outcome of the investigation won’t change.”
“But what if someone reallydidtake Dixie out?”
“I’ll speak with the women again and ask them if they wrote the notes. I’m almost certain they’ll deny any knowledge of it.”
Millie pressed her palms together, struggling to put the pieces together. Going with the presumption that Dixie’s drowning wasn’t accidental, the most obvious suspect would be Wendy. She had opportunity and a potential motive. If Dixie was out of the picture, it increased her chances of winning the eating competition.
A lot was on the line—a pile of cash, not to mention a pilot program that could kick-start her career. It had happened to Guy Fieri, among others. The star even had a cruise ship burger joint named after him. The sky was the limit.
“I’m sure you’ve questioned Astrid Pace at length,” Millie said.
“Multiple times. She swears up and down the contestants would never murder a colleague or competitor. I suppose if anyone knows these women, it would be her.”
“You watched Sharky’s GoPro recordings when he helped pull some of the women from the water.”
“I did. He specifically mentioned Astrid and the odd vibe he got from her.”
“I watched it too. She had something in her hand when she went overboard.”
Patterson tightened his jaw, a sign Millie recognized. He had information he wasn’t sharing. “What is it?”
“Dixie’s phone is missing. I’ve requested the records. Unfortunately, it will take several days before I get copies.”
“Why would Astrid have Dixie’s cell phone?”
He shrugged. “Astrid claims she had her phone in her hand, which is also a plausible explanation.”
“Something isn’t adding up.” Millie bit her lower lip. Maybe Sharky had been right all along and there was something suspicious about Astrid. Looking back, she should have snooped around her cabin when she had the chance. “Unless we get a break in the case, we’re at a standstill.”
“Not we,me,” Patterson corrected. “The only thing I need from you is to keep your eyes and ears open when you’re with the Belly Busters and let me know if you hear or see anything.”
“Will do.” Millie snapped to attention and saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
“I mean it.” He followed her to the door. “As of right now, this is a non-investigation. It could be that someone in the group is merely trying to cause trouble.”
“Except for Dixie’s missing cell phone,” she reminded him.
“It could have been in her pocket and fallen out while she was in the water.”
“She floated quite a distance before we found her. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.” Millie told him goodbye and trudged back toward the elevator. There was a way to find out who had dropped the notes off in the comment box. It would take a little digging, but might be worth the effort.
Patterson could handle his end of the investigation. Meanwhile, she had a different plan in mind, more of a behind-the-scenes investigation, zeroing in on the one person who kept popping up on Millie’s radar.
Chapter 23
“I need to bribe Sharky.”
Annette opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. “I have a super wet burrito, enchiladas, some green chile taquitos and a whole pan of leftover tamales from last night’s Mexican fiesta.”
“I’ll take a serving of each, along with a batch of your atomic salsa.”
“Why are you bribing Sharky?”
“Remember how he said he was going to cut back on his dark web searches and stop hacking into the ship’s computer systems after he got in trouble last month?”
“Yeah.” Annette peered down her nose. “I heard Patterson gave him two days off unpaid and wrote him up.”
“Unfortunately, I might need his help.” Millie filled her in, starting with what Danielle had overheard from two of the contestants and the anonymous note she’d received.
