Millie inched closer, catching a glimpse of the sinking vessel, now listing at a precarious angle.
Cat eased in next to her. “It looks like an expensive yacht.”
“No kidding,” Annette said. “I could be way off, but those passengers look too young to own a yacht of that caliber.”
“It looks vaguely familiar,” Millie murmured. “Like I’ve seen it before.”
Sharky tightened the straps on the Zodiac and gave it a firm pat. “They weren’t particularly appreciative of the rescue.”
“What do you mean?”
“We could hear them on the radio,” Suharto said. “They were yelling at the rescue team, demanding they hook onto the yacht and tow it.”
“Seriously?” Annette frowned. “You can’t tow a yacht with a Zodiac. It doesn’t have the horsepower.”
“Precisely. Honestly, if I was part of the rescue team, I would’ve been tempted to leave their butts on the sinking boat,” Sharky said.
Siren of the Seas passed within a few hundred feet of the vessel, tipped on its side and still taking on water.
Millie’s heart skipped a beat as she read the ship’s name…or what was still above water aloud. “Sea-nan.”
“Sea-nan,” Cat repeated.
“If the yacht is the Sea-nanigans, my cousins and I had a run-in with this group at the Yacht Club in Bimini.”
Chapter 10
“What do you mean you had a run-in with the rescued passengers from the yacht?” Cat asked.
Millie told them the story, about how she, her cousins and friends were checking out Bimini’s Yacht Club. “Before I could stop Scout, he boarded Sea-nanigans. A passenger snatched him up. I thought for a minute he was going to toss him over the side.”
Cat’s hand flew to her mouth. “Throw Scout in the water?”
“I apologized. He handed him back. He and his friends started laughing at us, mocking us,” Millie said.
“Jerks,” Annette fumed. “Maybe we should have let them fend for themselves.”
“Karma will catch up with them,” Cat predicted.
“As we were leaving the Yacht Club, a guy carrying a toolbox walked by us and boarded their boat.”
“So they were having mechanical issues,” Annette said. “If you look below the name, you’ll notice it’s from Miami.”
“Which means it could very well have been the vessel sending the distress signal Nic and the other officers intercepted on our way to Bimini.”
“You had better give Patterson a heads-up,” Annette said. “In case it’s the same bunch you ran into.”
“I hope not. We’ve had enough trouble lately, but you’re right. We might want to keep an eye on these hitchhikers.” Millie checked her schedule, confirming she still had time before her next hosting event.
Cat and Annette returned upstairs while Millie trekked down the hall to the security office. The door was wide open, and she could see the rescued passengers seated inside. Oscar, the director of security, stood near the door while Patterson sat facing them.
“…yacht cannot be salvaged. Unfortunately, it’s probably already on its way to the bottom of the ocean.”
“Your incompetent rescue crew refused to make an attempt.” The man seated near the far wall sprang to his feet, his eyes flashing with anger.
Patterson’s jaw tightened. “I’ll not allow you to speak poorly of our crew members who riskedtheirlives to save yours. Yachts can be replaced. People can’t.”
“Your dad is gonna be so mad,” the other guy said.
