Page 22 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
“I’m not going anywhere.” Zema turned to speak to another man, the dockhand Millie had noticed earlier.
She inched toward them. “Hello.” She offered a tentative smile. “Are you Zema?”
“That is me.”
Millie extended her hand. “I’m Millie Armati, the ship’s cruise director. I helped arrange this excursion through Isla Petersen, who handles our shore excursions.”
“Isla. She is a good person. This excursion was booked and then overbooked, and now this. I should’ve known better.”
“What happened?”
“One of the passengers thought they felt something on their foot. The woman screamed. Next thing I knew, someone yelled, snake. The women all ran to one side, tipping the tiki hut and dumping them into the water.”
“I overheard your conversation with the port officer. You seem certain there wasn’t a rodent or reptile on board.”
“No way. I check every morning. We are in a tropical location and curious critters have been known to sneak on board, looking for a new home,” Zema explained.
“You checked before the Belly Busters boarded?”
“Thoroughly, both me and my staff. I do not need a bunch of women panicking out in the waterand causing, well…causing an accident like what just happened.”
“Do you remember what the woman who was screaming looked like?”
“I do.” Zema described Dixie to a “t.” “She seemed very jittery from the moment she boarded.”
“Jittery?”
“Asking about the tiki hut’s seaworthiness, how long I have been in business, questions along those lines,” Zema said. “I’ve had passengers ask questions before, but she seemed more than merely curious.”
“What about the others? How would you describe the group?”
“Unruly, like they were competing for attention.”
“Because they are. They’re professional eaters, gearing up for a competition in Miami after the cruise ends,” Millie said.
Zema blinked rapidly. “It is all making sense to me now. They did not seem like friends. You know, people who enjoyed being together.”
“They’re more like frenemies, friendly competitors.”
Dave Patterson, the head of security, appeared, ending their brief conversation. He introduced himself and asked Zema questions similar to those Millie had asked. Meanwhile, Sharky continued circling in his PRV, around and around in the general vicinity of where the accident had occurred, and a funny feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong.
“Sharky is still searching. What’s going on?”
“All but one passenger has been accounted for.”
Zema’s shoulders sagged. “Not everyone was rescued?”
“Who…who is it?” Millie’s eyes were drawn to the Belly Busters clustered near the dock, talking to their rescuers and the security staff. As she studied the group, she realized one person was noticeably missing.
Chapter 10
“It’s Dixie Trent,” Millie said. “She hasn’t been rescued.”
Dave Patterson repeated what Astrid had told her, how Dixie sounded the alarm, thinking something was crawling on her and creating a panic. “She may have hit her head and gone under.”
“How awful.” Cat pressed her hand to her chest.
“It was very chaotic,” Zema said. “I pulled a few of the women back on board. Between the rescue vehicle and others who jumped in, I thought we found them all.”
