Out Of His Depth, page 8
At the opposite end to the screen, there was a raised area used for the bands that played at intervals each day. Lucy something was one of them, he remembered, quite good she was, very pretty too. The stage was empty right now and there was no room for sun loungers. He turned around to face the video screen and watched for a minute or two until he felt an arm slip around the left side of his waist and a body pressing into him from his right side as if in some sort of sideways hug. As he turned his head to see who it was, there was a blinding pain in the right side of his neck and a firm but simple push in his back that lifted him over the railings he’d been leaning on. The last thing he heard before he killed his wife was, ‘Let it go, let it go!’
Chapter 40
That’s how it should be done. Calmly and clinically. Pick the right spot, where nobody is looking and wait for him to walk around, use the knife – the right choice I think – and tip him over the railing. In truth he pretty much fell over it himself with the shock, he didn’t need much help.
And two for one was genius. I wonder if she knew in the last few seconds that her husband had killed her?
Chapter 41
Lucy was in her stateroom getting ready for her mid-day appearance on the Lido Deck when the phone rang. It was a message to tell her that her shift was cancelled because of a ‘security incident’.
“What does that mean?” she asked the caller.
“I can’t say,” replied the voice.
“Come on Caitlin, what happened?” asked Lucy, recognising the caller from the staff office.
“I don’t know for certain Lucy. I heard there was a fight, someone got stabbed. But it’s pretty serious if they’ve closed the deck. Medical have gone, all the first aiders, and the security staff.”
“And that’s it? Just the Lido Deck?”
“So far yes. There might be more but that’s all I know right now.”
“OK mate, thanks. Let me know if you find anything out.”
Lucy put the phone down and changed back into shorts and a t-shirt, putting away the outfit she’d planned to wear, when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to find Barker stood outside, frowning.
“This is becoming a habit,” he said. “Fancy a coffee?”
“I’d rather have a cocktail and some sun.”
Chapter 42
Months of experience had taught Lucy where to find the sheltered spots on deck that didn’t get the full force of the wind when the ship was mid-ocean. There were plenty if you knew where to look, usually higher up above the Lido Deck and further away from the bars, where it was harder to get the attention of a passing waiter hoping to sell you a drink. The middle of the ship below the funnels was always empty because of the noise of the exhausts sucking fumes out of the bowels of the ship. Lucy and Barker found a couple of loungers in a corner not too close to other people and sat down with the drinks they’d picked up at the bar on the deck below. Barker hadn’t said much on the walk up, general chit-chat mostly, not wanting to discuss was what on his mind too publicly. But then that’s what all the other passengers were doing.
“Another one bites the dust,” he said grimly.
“Is that police humour?” said Lucy.
“Sorry. Shouldn’t be so casual about it, but it’s getting silly now.”
“Were you there? I heard there was a fight.”
“No, I was having breakfast. People told me someone fell onto the Lido Deck. Onto a woman on a lounger.”
“Jeez, that’s bad luck.”
“I don’t know if luck’s got much to do with it. This all feels more and more planned. We need to do some digging. Can you help me find out who any of these people are?”
“Maybe. I spoke to Igor yesterday. He said he’ll try to get names from the medical records. I don’t know how he’s going to do that. I don’t want him getting sacked. Where do we start?”
“Well, security will be all over these two right now, so let’s leave them alone and try to get at the others. Find out who they were.”
“And then what?”
“Can we get in their rooms? Can you get hold of a master key or whatever?”
“Shit, John, you don’t want much do you? How am I going to do that?”
“I don’t know Lucy but we have to try. We’ve got five more days on this ship and there could be more people at risk if we don’t work out what’s going on.”
“What about back home? Haven’t you heard anything from your boss? Have you managed to tell him what’s going on?” Lucy asked.
“Nothing. I managed to get hold of him a few days ago but wouldn’t tell me anything. Ever since then the satellite signal’s been patchy – we’re in the middle of the ocean I guess – so I’ve emailed him to keep him up to date.’ Barker replied. ‘What about you? Shouldn’t you be working?”
“Yep, on the Lido Deck, right now.”
“Ah, OK,” said Barker.
“I’m on in the Wheelhouse bar later but I’d expect to be shuffled around when they start to rearrange things.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I reckon they’ll want to demonstrate that they’re in control of the situation and close a few places, even if it just makes the passengers feel a bit better. Otherwise there’s going to be a lot of nervous people around making life harder. A friend in the security team said that’s what they sometimes do.”
“Hmmm, so it might get harder to move around the ship?”
“I guess so.”
“We’d better get moving then. Can we go and find your friend Igor?”
Chapter 43
Rebecca Collins was at the Dr. Nelio Mendonca hospital in Funchal with her in-laws Trevor and Diane, where they had spent most of the morning. There seemed to be so much time to wait and paperwork to complete, when all they wanted to do was take David home. Diane was inconsolable at the death of her only child. Trevor was stunned and said very little. They had asked Rebecca several times what had happened, but she only knew what the ship’s staff had told her – that David’s body had been found at the end of a treadmill by a woman who had been using a cross-trainer in the opposite corner of the room. She hadn’t known how long he’d been there as she was wearing headphones, but she guessed it was only a few minutes as she changed machines regularly and thought she would have noticed otherwise. Starlight’s medical staff had briefly examined David, but could only assume he’d had a heart attack as there were no obvious wounds on his body.
“But he didn’t have a heart condition,” Diane said, “Did he?” she continued, looking at Trevor.
“No, no. Fit as a fiddle, David.” Trevor replied, staring blankly into space.
“I know Diane, but these things can be hidden. It can just happen,” said Rebecca calmly. She’d had an extra day to start to comes to terms with David’s death and was trying to keep it together at least until she got home.
“What did he eat the night before? Could it have been that?” Diane questioned Rebecca again.
“No Diane, I can’t remember, I think it was fish probably.”
“Seafood? That can be bad, can’t it? Allergies.”
“Yes, possibly, but I think we’d have known sooner than the following morning. And I don’t think fish is that bad. Mussels maybe. Anyway, I’m sure they’re going to tell us sooner or later.”
Rebecca wished Diane would stop speculating. She just wanted peace. Her head ached with grief, but at the same time she didn’t want to be alone. She wanted David. She wanted to get him home so she could grieve properly at the home they’d shared for twelve years. But she understood how bad Diane and Trevor must feel to have lost their son, even though they’d not had any of their own.
“Oh, I saw Sam and Jordan on the ship, had a quick chat one day,” said Rebecca, trying to change the subject.”
“Sam & Jordan? Remind me,” said Diane.
“You know Sam, Graham’s daughter, and her husband Jordan.”
“Oh, the Smithsons? Really? That’s a coincidence. Did they have the kids with them?”
“No, left them with the grandparents. Won two tickets apparently, just for the two of them. I suppose they could have paid to take the kids, but they’ve not had a holiday on their own for years, so they took the opportunity.”
“They deserve it. Sam works hard. So Graham says anyway. Graham wants her to come and work for us, but I don’t think she’s too keen.”
“Oh, and I saw another couple that looked familiar but I couldn’t place them. Dave said they might be from your place, but I don’t know. Maybe I’ve met them on Christmas parties.”
“What did they look like?”
“Tall man, young-ish. Well, in his late thirties maybe. I spotted his wife first, in the dining room, very beautiful, and long red hair. I didn’t go and talk to them though because I wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe if we’d been there longer…”
“Mitchell. Jack Mitchell. And his wife Katie. Yes, she is very pretty” replied Diane.
A woman wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard walked around the corner into the corridor where they were waiting and said, “Mrs Collins? Rebecca Collins? Could you come with me please?”
Chapter 44
Igor was on the front desk printing. He had been asked to print a letter from the captain and head of security about their reaction to the incident by the pool. He had to print enough copies to hand out to the dozens…hundreds of people who were popping by to ask that very question. The sooner he got them done he would just have to hand out a leaflet instead. Much less stressful.
As he was helping a customer he saw Lucy in the queue with John in tow. Once he’d finished with the elderly woman who’d seemingly lost her marbles, he waved at Lucy to come to the end of the desk.
Lucy and Barker walked over to Igor looking like a couple of queue-jumpers.
“Igor, this is John. He’s a policeman…in England,” said Lucy.
“Hi John,” Igor smiled at Barker, “You are the man Lucy keeps talking about?”
“Stop it Igor. Can you help me with what we talked about yesterday? What’s this?” Lucy said, pointing to the sheets coming out of the printer.
“Ah, this is from Captain. New rules. Curfew. I have to give out to guests who come here. You will get one in your room later.”
“Can I read one now?” John asked.
“Sure,” Igor replied and slid a copy across the table towards Lucy along with a plain envelope. He looked directly at her and Lucy got the impression he wanted her to take it and not ask any more questions.
“We’ll need a key,” Lucy whispered, looking at Igor pleadingly. But Igor wasn’t impressed, shook his head and walked back to his customers.
Chapter 45
Lucy had been right about the security measures being put in place, but even she hadn’t expected them to go so far. There was to be a curfew at midnight for all passengers, and fixed dining times – two sittings – instead of having the choice of going at any time you liked. The machines normally used to scan people on and off the ship in ports would be used to monitor who was in the dining rooms, the main theatre and certain bars, the spa, the gym etc. Other public areas would be restricted as and when necessary. And the Skyscape restaurant would no longer be 24-7. Lucy knew that this didn’t mean that security had any clue what was going on, but it was an attempt to make it seem like they were in control. It would reassure people that they were safe and being watched over. Whether it would work was anyone’s guess.
“What’s in the envelope?” said Barker?
Lucy looked down and picked up the envelope that Igor had given her off the table they were sat by in the coffee shop. She said nothing, glanced up at Barker and slid her finger under the flap and opened it up. She unfolded the A4 sheet to find only two lines printed on it…
Mitchell 10244
Gibson 13118
“That’s not much,” Lucy said, disappointed.
“I’ve seen worse,” said Barker. “It gives us names, that’s a start.”
“So now what?”
“I’ll think of something. I’ll be in touch after you’ve finished work.”
Chapter 46
Around 7.15 p.m. Barker walked into Starlight’s main theatre at the very front of the ship and struggled to make sense of the scale of it. Apart from some parts of the Atrium it was the only space inside the ship that spanned its entire width. He stood to one side of the starboard-side staircase on the top floor of three and looked down at the stairways, aisles and row upon row of seats, enough for around a thousand people. It was hard to believe you could be inside a ship. It just didn’t seem possible to have a full-size theatre floating around in the middle of the ocean. He hadn’t been in before because musicals weren’t really his thing, but tonight there was a tribute artist on who he thought he might like and the new security measures were limiting people’s options for using the other public spaces, so it was going to be packed. He’d arrived fifteen minutes before the show was due to begin but the theatre was already half full and passengers were streaming through behind him. He thought he ought to find a seat before they all filled up and walked down the aisle a few steps, looking for a row he could join.
He found a row on his left that was filling up and sat down next to a group of four adults, leaving a few spare seats on his right-hand side for others to fill. The anticipation was building and the noise of people chatting was loud enough to be distracting. He looked around at the decor and the lighting rigs in front of the stage and at the different types of people walking in: mostly middle-aged, middle-class Europeans and Americans, talking about the events of the past day or two. He didn’t know whether this atmosphere was typical or whether it was because of the nature of the events of the past week.
The lights in the theatre went down slightly but there was still ten minutes to go before the show started. Barker felt a presence on his right side – someone filling the seat immediately next to him. A light perfume wafted over him and he turned to make a polite smile of acknowledgement as his neighbour settled into her seat. His heart bounced inside his chest as he found his smile returned by Maria Cortez, fragrant and beautiful, crossing her legs and putting her small black patent-leather clutch bag under her seat
“Good evening,” she said, in a soft, husky, Spanish-accent, looking right into his eyes.
“Evening,” Barker replied, wondering how much his expression had given away his nervousness, his heart still pounding at twice the normal rate. Breathe slowly, he thought, don’t make a fool of yourself. Look around, don’t make a big deal. What’s the problem?
“I knew it would be packed in here,” said Maria, “It’s always popular, but especially now.”
Barker turned back and looked to see Maria facing him, obviously expecting to strike up a conversation, rather than just making a throwaway comment.
“Yes,” he said nervously. “I’ve not been in before.”
“Really?! It’s my favourite place on the ship. Such an escape. So different from everyday life.”
Maria turned towards Barker and leaned on the shared armrest between them, her legs crossed towards him. Given an excuse to look directly at her, Barker was taken aback by just how beautiful she was. Intimidatingly so. Long, almost-black hair, dark brown eyes, olive-skinned, probably 5ft 10 inches tall without the four-inch black heels she was wearing. Her long black dress had thin straps revealing her shoulders and arms, and her legs came out of the long slit down the left side. His wife Laura was an attractive woman but Maria Cortez was like a supermodel and he felt like an awkward teenager talking to the most popular girl in school.
“Where are you from?” said Barker. Standard small talk but maybe he’d also get some information.
“Colombia,” Maria replied, “and you?”
“London,” said Barker, “But I live in Spain now.”
“Oh wow, Spain! I’ve never been, believe it or not.”
“It’s a bit too hot for me. I’m not used to it yet.”
“Oh, I love the heat. You’ll love it once you’re used to it,” said Maria, looking away and scanning the theatre in front of them. “They’ve handled it well don’t you think?” said Maria, nodding towards the stage.
“Sorry?” Barker replied.
“The passengers. They’ve handled the changes well. The new schedule, the security restrictions. I wondered how it would go down, but there’s been no trouble I think.”
“Well it’s my first cruise,” said Barker, “So I don’t know what they’re normally like. But I guess it’s given people a lot to talk about. Everyone is very animated.”
Barely perceptibly the lights started to dim and the chatter began to subside before a sharp-suited twenty-something bounded on to the stage to introduce the evening’s entertainment. Maria turned and flashed another smile at Barker before settling back in her seat to watch the show.
Chapter 47
Clifford was from a suburb of Manila, capital of the Philippines. He’d been on Starlight since she was launched and three other ships before that. He was one of the more experienced stateroom stewards and was hoping for a promotion at the end of his current contract. His family could do with the money – it would mean he could continue sending his children to school and pay for a few extras. He had spent the last hour turning down beds in his guest’s rooms. As he passed room 3363 he looked around and bent down as if to pick up a loose bit of litter on the floor, and slipped a blank silver disc underneath the door.
