The gangway was now empty with the back on board deadline having passed, except for Suharto, who stood keeping an eye out for Millie.
He met her near the exit. “Your transportation is already waiting. The driver will stay with you the entire time and return you to the dock where Sharky will be on hand to tender you and the others to the ship.” Suharto looked around. “Who is going with you?”
“Felix. He should be here any second.” Millie noticed a flash of bright color sprinting toward her. “I see him now.”
Felix, sporting neon orange running shorts, a button-down shirt with pink grapefruit splashed across the chest, and electric blue sneakers, sprinted to the door. “I got here as fast as I could.”
“You look…” Millie gave her friend the once over.
“Colorful,” Suharto said. “Like a rainbow of colors.”
“It’s the only clean non-work outfit I had. At least you won’t lose me in a crowd.”
“No, I won’t.” Millie slung her backpack over her shoulder. “Let’s get this rescue mission underway.”
“We shall see you back on board Miss Millie,” Suharto said.
“Hopefully sooner rather than later.”
As Nic had promised, the tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled, motorized mini-cab, and driver sat waiting. The duo hopped in. “We’re heading to Bay Tide Lighthouse.”
“The captain stressed time is of the essence. We will drive quickly. Hang on.” The driver stepped on the gas and sped to the end of the dock. With a quick check for traffic, they veered around the corner and onto the main road.
“Captain Armati has asked me to stay with you and return you to the port,” the driver said. “What is at the lighthouse?”
“We have passengers…friends…who are stuck inside.”
He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Stuck inside?”
“They weren’t able to make it out in time. The lighthouse worker didn’t know they were still in there, locked the door and left.”
“I know the employees and have visited the lighthouse many times. Did they not hear the warning bell?”
“They heard it and started to head down. One of them tripped and sprained her ankle. By the time they reached the bottom, it was too late.”
“I have known a person or two who ended up locked inside. It can be scary at night.”
“I bet.” Millie leaned forward. “We need to contact someone to try to get them out. Do you have any suggestions on where we might start?”
“The manager, Franklyn, lives next door to the lighthouse.”
Felix whooped loudly, giving Millie a high five. “Sounds like this won’t be as complicated as we thought.”
“I will take you there first.”
They reached an intersection and veered left, curving inland before turning onto a driveway, not much more than a dirt path. The driver slowed, jostling over the potholes until reaching a compact, single-story block house.
“We are in luck,” their driver said. “Franklyn’s golf cart is here.”
As soon as the tuk-tuk stopped, Millie and Felix jumped out and ran to the door.
A man, in his late forties or early fifties if Millie had to guess, with soft brown eyes and an easy smile sat watching them from his porch rocking chair.
“Good day, Franklyn.” The tuk-tuk driver greeted him. “These two people are from the cruise ship. They claim some of their friends are locked in the lighthouse.”
“Olna didn’t ring the bell?”
Millie briefly filled him in on what had transpired. “Olna rang the bell, but my friends didn’t make it out in time because one of them sprained her ankle.”
