Page 64 of Tiki Hut Tragedy
“It might have had I not come up with a plan before I fell asleep.” Millie outlined her idea.
Sharky began shaking his head. “No can do. I made a promise to Patterson, and I intend to keep it.”
“Which is why I asked Annette to meet me here. She can monitor the RFID movements while I’m in the casino tonight. We’re running out of time.”
“I dunno.”
“C’mon,” Millie coaxed. “It will be a one and done.”
His eyes flitted from her to Annette.
“How does a nice, juicy, medium-rare ribeye sound?” she enticed.
Sharky gulped loudly. “I haven’t had steak in a while.”
“With a loaded baked potato, corn on the cob, and macaroni and cheese with extra cheese.” Annette could see he was contemplating her offer. “I’ll even throw in bacon bits.”
“Aww…man, you’re killing me here,” Sharky groaned. “I’ve been dreaming about a ribeye steak.”
“I thought Mexican was your favorite food,” Millie teased.
“Who says you can’t have more than one?” He placed both hands on his head. “Okay. Maybe just this once.”
Millie flung her arms around his neck. “You’re the best.”
“Of course, I am. But only this once,” Sharky warned.
“Absolutely. The last thing I want to do is get you in trouble,” Millie said. “On the plus side, you’ve mentioned her specifically a couple of times.”
“I have. There’s something about her I can’t quite put my finger on.”
“I gotta get going,” Annette said. “What time do you need me here?”
“Based on what we’ve discovered, Astrid spends time in the casino between ten and midnight. You could meet Sharky down here at quarter ‘til ten.”
“Done.” Annette gave them a thumbs up. “Why don’t you bring Cat along with you? Two sets of eyes are better than one.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Millie thanked Sharky again, and the women went their separate ways, with Millie making a beeline for her morning meeting. A South Seas Cay port day meant splitting her entertainment team.
She put Felix, her right-hand man, in charge of island entertainment. As soon as their morning meeting ended, he assembled his team and headed out, promising Millie they would be ready to roll by the time the first passengers stepped foot on shore.
Leaving a skeleton crew behind, Millie knew it would be tricky covering events. The good news was most passengers would get off—to enjoy a beachside barbecue, snorkeling, the thrills and chills water park or simply veg out in a loungechair, tropical drink in hand and stare out at the ocean.
With the meeting out of the way, she dove into her day, hustling from one event to the next. On her way past Guest Services, she made a quick stop to make sure there wasn’t another anonymous note waiting for her.
Although Nikki wasn’t around, the supervisor on duty confirmed there was no mail for her—or for Patterson. The morning flew by, and because her schedule was jam-packed, an RTG ready-to-go lunch was all Millie had time to fit in.
With her on-the-go lunch eaten, she had enough time to swing by Ocean Treasures. She tracked down Cat and waited until she was free to pull her aside. “How’s business?”
“Busy. It’s our last day of the gold-by-the-inch blowout sale, which means nonstop shopping,” Cat said. “How’s it going in your world?”
“Same. Most of my crew is onshore, so we’re spread a little thin.” Millie filled her in on the current plan. “Annette has agreed to help me track Astrid’s movements tonight to see if she shows up at the casino. Either Sharky’s monitoring software is wrong or I somehow missed seeing her, which is why I stopped by.”
“You want me to go with you.”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. What time?”
