Page 31 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
Millie grimaced. “I’m not sure about my aim.”
“I have faith in you, Millster.”
“Here goes nothing.” She secured the vest, tying it tightly. “Ready when you are.”
“You want me to swim back and grab it?”
“Nah. I got this.” Millie adjusted her stance. Balancing both feet on the footrests and mindful not to rock the PRV, she ratcheted her arm back. Using all of her strength, she tossed the vest and tow rope toward Sharky.
It landed dead center on a pile of rocks a few feet away.
“Nice throw.” Sharky scrambled over the rocks and grabbed hold of it. “Easy breezy.”
Millie watched as he dragged it toward the body. He unsnapped the vest and slid her arm through the opening. Picking up the pace, he slid her second arm through and secured the snaps. “We’re ready to go. Make sure the power switch is on low before you press the button.”
“Power switch?” She studied the panel of buttons inside the rear compartment. “Which one is the power button?”
“The one with the bright red letter P.”
“I see it.” Millie flipped the button. A whirring sound ensued, and the rope started to retract.
Slowly…slowly, the woman surfaced.
“Turn it off.” Sharky frantically waved his arms.
Millie flipped the switch. “What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t gonna work. The current is too strong. She’s also caught on something I can’t see.”
Millie swallowed hard. “Do…uh…do you need me to swim over and help?”
“We can’t leave the PRV. You’ll need to call Patterson to let him know the marine rescue team will have to figure out another way to recover the body.”
Millie made the call, repeating what Sharky had said.
“I’ll let them know. Be careful coming back. Stop by my office as soon as you get here.”
“We will.” Millie hit the “end call” button and waved her phone in the air. “Patterson is workingon finding another recovery team. Do you need me to untie the rope?”
“Yeah.”
Millie untied the rope and shaded her eyes, watching while Sharky wrapped it around a rock and secured it. “She won’t be going anywhere.”
“Be careful.”
He crept to the end of the jetty, getting as close as possible to the Quadski. He dove off and was promptly sucked under by a powerful wave.
“Sharky!” Millie scrambled to the side. “Sharky!”
He popped out of the water and began swimming toward the PRV.
As soon as he got close, she reached down to give him a hand, half pulling, half dragging him back onto the rescue vehicle.
“It’s rougher out there than it looks,” he gasped.
“You could have gotten pummeled against the rocks.”
“No way.” Sharky slipped his life vest back on. “I’m a strong swimmer.”
