Page 69 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
Haakenson, who was seated behind his desk, looked up. Noticing who it was, he greeted her with a warm smile. “Millie. Come in.”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. For you, I have two.”
“Actually, I need more than a few minutes, more like half an hour.”
“I have plenty of time.”
She held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.”
Millie ran to the door and ushered her friends inside…Sharky, Annette, Amit, Barty, Cat, Andy, Danielle, Donovan, Brody, Nikki, Carlah, who worked in the specialty coffee shop. “He’s here.”
Walking single file, they strolled into his office with Sharky taking the lead. He set the box on the desk. “Your coffee maker is fixed and ready to brew.”
“Thank you.” A puzzled expression crossed the pastor’s face. “What’s going on?”
“We’re here to make it official and welcome you to Siren of the Seas,” Millie said.
Sudden tears welled up in the pastor’s eyes. “You’re here for me?”
“Here to say we’re glad you’re a part of the Siren of the Seas’ team.” Millie quickly introduced her friends, those the pastor hadn’t yet met.
“We need coffee.” Cat got busy brewing a pot while Amit, who had baked a cake for the special occasion, began slicing pieces and putting them on plates. “I baked my specialty, a lemon layer cake with cream cheese frosting.”
After cake and coffee were served, Millie invited the others to share one thing they loved about working on board the ship.
“The crew,” Cat said.
“The recycle center,” Sharky said.
A collective groan went up.
“Kidding. I’m kidding. My friends, of course.”
As they worked their way around the room, the theme became clear. The close-knit group was what each felt was most important.
Millie went last, summing it up perfectly. “You’re now a member of the Siren of the Seas’ family. We’re all friends. If you need something, all you have to do is call one of us and we’ll be here to help.”
The pastor’s lower lip quivered. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I’m excited about this new journey, and please know if I can help any of you, my door is always open.”
The party started to wind down. Annette was the first to mention Dixie Trent’s death. “That was a pretty interesting twist at the end, Astrid avoiding detection while gambling.”
“Although Astrid swears up and down she had nothing to do with Dixie’s death, I spoke to Patterson right before I got here. He thinks it’s only a matter of hours before she’s officially charged,” Millie said. “After running some checks, they discovered she had a prescription for pills that help with digestion. One major side effect is drowsiness.”
“It still doesn’t mean she did Dixie in,” Danielle said.
“There’s more,” Millie said. “The prescription was filled in Miami the day we left for our cruise. When Astrid was brought in for questioning, the prescription wasn’t with her. It’s possible she slipped it in Dixie’s drink before they left on the excursion and then dumped the bottle in the ocean to get rid of the evidence.”
“So the bottle could be what the GoPro recording caught Astrid holding onto,” Sharky said.
“A toxicology report will determine if the drug was in Dixie’s system,” Annette pointed out.
“I knew from the minute I laid eyes on her there was something different about the woman,” Sharky said. “I had no idea she was a hot babe. I’m kinda surprised because I can pick the hot ones out from a mile away.”
“Good grief,” Cat groaned.
“Astrid confided in Patterson that she didn’t think the women would respect her if they knew what she really looked like, not to mention how young she was so Astrid disguised herself, trying to blend in,” Millie explained.
