Page 62 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
They chatted briefly, and then Millie headed upstairs to pop in and check on karaoke. Up next was an introductory chat about all South Seas had to offer.
Ten o’clock finally rolled around. Millie slipped inside the casino and searched for Brody. She found him standing near the ATM machine.
“You’re here to see if you can spot the elusive Belly Buster’s host,” he teased.
“Something like that. Sharky swears his information is accurate, and Astrid has been here every night between ten and twelve.”
A group of boisterous passengers passed by, strolling over to the baccarat table. “Time for me tomake my rounds. Good luck.” Brody took off, and Millie continued making her way up and down the aisles.
The longer she hung around, the more crowded the casino became, to the point where she had to wiggle her way through certain sections.
She checked the tables, the sports booking section and every slot. For two hours, Millie searched for the woman. At a quarter past twelve, she finally gave up.
Brody caught up with her on her way out. “Well? Did you see her?”
“Nope. Maybe she decided to skip the casino.”
“Or maybe Sharky’s information was wrong and she hasn’t been here.”
“Either way, you’re still on your game and didn’t miss her.” Millie playfully punched him in the arm. “I have a few more stops to make before calling it a day. Stay safe.”
“Always.”
With a final check from stem to stern, Millie was almost home when Sharky called, asking if she’d had any luck.
“Astrid never showed. Maybe she took the night off.”
A clicking sound ensued on the other end of the line.
“What are you doing?”
“Deciding if I’m gonna break my promise to Patterson and take a quick look at the RFID tracker.”
“I don’t want you to do that. Are you in your office?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll come down and check it out.”
“You sure? It’s late.”
“I won’t be able to sleep unless I confirm for myself,” Millie said. “You’re positive the…information is accurate?”
“One thousand percent. I would bet my life on it.”
“I’m on my way.” Millie signed off and picked up the pace, making it to the maintenance department’s office in record time.
Sharky stood in the hallway, waiting for her. He ushered her inside and closed the door behind them. “Reef’s on duty. I sent him to the engine room so we would have some privacy.”
“I heard the propulsion system is still glitchy.”
“And starting to make me nervous. We got ten minutes, maybe fifteen tops, to check out the you-know-what.” Sharky patted the top of the laptop. “I have everything all set and ready to roll.”
“Thanks.” Millie settled in at the desk. She slipped her reading glasses on and logged into the passenger portal. With a few quick clicks, shelocated Astrid’s folio number. Copy and paste, and she was back in the RFID system. “I just noticed this has a timeframe range.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sharky said. “You don’t need to wade through all the other tracking activity. It can pull up exactly what you need.”
“I like it.” Millie typed in the date and drilled down to an exact timeframe, from nine until twelve fifteen. She pressed the enter button.
