Page 29 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe you should slow down. We might be missing something important.”
“Good point.” Sharky eased off the throttle. The PRV slowed to a crawl.
Making a wide turn, he circled back.
“It’s a water bottle.” Sharky swooped down and scooped it up. “Trash. I’ll never understand why people pay big bucks to visit these beautiful islands and then turn right around and pollute them.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Millie took the half-empty bottle and placed it in the storage pouch for safekeeping. “Which way are we going?”
“Over there, to the pile of rocks.”
She squinted her eyes. “I see it now.”
Moving at a steady pace, Sharky and Millie continued along the shoreline.
“We can’t get too close.” He steered right and cruised alongside it. “I don’t see anything.”
“Me either. Maybe whatever it was sank.”
“Let’s keep looking.” Sharky accelerated, and they began picking up speed. Behind them, Siren of the Seas became smaller and smaller until the only thing visible was the smokestack.
“I think we’ve gone far enough.” He leaned left, turning the handlebars and making a wide sweep. “Check it out.”
“Check what out?”
“Look down.”
Scooching sideways, Millie peered into the sparkling, crystal-clear water. “I see fish.”
“We must be close to the barrier reef.” He pressed lightly on the throttle, bringing them closer to the jetty. “I know where we are. Governor’s Beach, one of the best beaches on the island, isn’t far from here.”
Millie shaded her eyes. “I see a parrotfish.”
“Me too. Look over there.”
She peered into the water, watching as a stingray gracefully glided along the smooth sandy bottom. “I want to go snorkeling next time we visit Grand Turk.”
“It doesn’t get much better than this.” Sharky tapped the throttle. “We had better keep moving.”
While he guided the PRV into the open water, Millie spotted another pile of rocks, a jetty she hadn’t noticed earlier, smaller than the previous one. “I see another jetty.”
“Me too.” Sharky picked up speed, and as they drew closer, she noticed the sandy ocean floor gave way to clusters of rocks.
“I’m noticing more rocks.”
“Me too. We’ll need to be careful.” He slowed. “There’s something over there.”
Millie leaned to the side. Sure enough, tucked in between a pile of rocks was a splash of bright blue. “I can’t tell what it is.”
Sharky unclipped a retractable rod from the side of the PRV. “I need to check the depth.” Extending the rod, he dipped it into the water. “Just what I thought. It’s shallow right here.”
“We could radio Patterson to let him know we found something but aren’t able to reach it.”
“Or better yet.” Sharky handed her the ignition key and swung his leg over the side. “I’ll swim over and check it out.”
“Are you sure you want to...”
