Page 56 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
“I appreciate the offer, but I try to limit my spicy food intake, especially on sea days when I’m busy and breaks are few and far between.” Millie waitedwhile Sharky sampled the dishes, deeming each one better than the last.
Plowing through until the very end, he ate exactly half of each before packing them up and placing them off to the side. Sharky reached for the bag of tortilla chips and eased the lid off the atomic salsa. “I love this stuff.”
“Annette wanted me to warn you this batch is off the charts.”
“Sweet,” he whooped. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Hang on.” Millie removed the container of milk from the tote and set it next to him. “You might need this.”
“I hope so.” Sharky dipped a chip in the salsa, scooping up a generous amount of the atomic sauce. He shoved the entire chip into his mouth and began chewing. It took only a few seconds for his face to turn bright red. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and chin.
“Are you…are you all right?”
Sharky clenched his fist and pounded on the desk.
Fin, startled by the banging, made a hissing sound and jumped down. He stalked across the floor and curled up on his bed. Sharky’s sidekick shot him an annoyed look before closing his eyes.
“You scared Fin.”
He made a puffing sound. Grabbing hold of the milk carton, he chugged half of it. “Ahhh…much better.”
“Maybe you should water the salsa down,” Millie suggested.
“And ruin the heat? No way.” Sharky sprang from his chair and sprinted over to Fin’s bed. “Sorry, buddy. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Fin opened one eye and promptly closed it, purring loudly as he dozed off.
“I think it’s safe to say he’s forgiven you.”
“He knows I didn’t do it on purpose. When the heat takes over, I can’t see straight.” Sharky returned to his chair and reached for another chip.
“You’re a glutton for punishment,” she teased.
“Only one more and then I’ll put them away.” He scooped up another sizeable dollop of hot sauce and devoured it. His face, still red from the previous tasting, turned an even deeper shade.
Finishing off the milk, he clipped the bag of chips and placed it on top of the stack of food. The salsa—or what was left of it—went directly into the fridge. “Now that I’m full, I can focus on your favor. Based on the level of goodies you delivered, it must be a biggie.”
“I would like to spy on a few members of the Belly Buster’s group. I’ve done some research about RFID, how keycards can track and record movement.”
“On every passenger aboard this ship. The technology has come a long way. The downside isI’ve heard some chatter and complaints about how the Federal Trade Commission is weighing in on whether it’s an invasion of privacy.”
“So, for example, we could track Wendy Jorgensen’s activity.”
“Correct.” Sharky held a finger to his lips. “What I’m about to tell you needs to be kept between you and me. Promise?”
Millie made an “x” across her chest. “Promise.”
“Majestic Cruise Lines created a master map for each of the ships. The RFID cards are able to track all movements. It’s even advanced enough to name the location.” He went into a long spiel, tossing out terms like “polarity alignment,” and “RF wave transmittal.”
“This sounds like it’s exactly what I’m looking for.” Millie rubbed her palms together. “How does it work?”
“You enter the RFID card number associated with the passenger. With a couple of quick clicks, itcreates a report hour by hour of the exact location the card, person, has visited…basically a printout.”
“Starting from the moment they first got their keycard?”
“Yep. All the way up until a few minutes ago,” Sharky said.
“If you ran a report on Wendy, it would list every spot she’s been? What about in port?”
