Below The Deck
GENDARMERIE MARITIME DE POLYNéSIE FRAN?AISE
INTERVIEW EXCERPT TWO (TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH)
Interview subject: Kai Tehau, deckhand on board Lusso di Mare charter
Interview conducted by Chief of Police Henri Robert
M Robert: And you were on watch duty that second night, is that correct?
M Tehau: That’s right, it was my turn on day two.
M Robert: And what does that entail, exactly? Your watch duty.
M Tehau: Well, on a passenger charter like this one where the guests are sleeping on board overnight, we have to do a few things on night watch.
Security checks of the vessel – looking out for any fire or trip hazards.
Making sure all our safety equipment and the tender are in the right place and functioning as they should.
Then keeping lookout – checking for any other boats that might be approaching ours, in case of collision.
And in the case of bad weather overnight, we might need to secure everything on the outer decks. That’s about it, I think.
M Robert: And that night, on your checks, everything seemed normal? Everything was as it should be?
M Tehau: Ah – mostly it was, yes. Though I suppose I did see one thing – I didn’t think too much of it at the time. Only now, looking back …
M Robert: What did you see? It’s very important that you share any relevant details with me as part of our investigation into—
M Tehau: Of course, I know that, but it didn’t seem like a big deal. It still might not be. But yeah, around two-fifteen, two-thirty a.m., I went to check the salon and the galley area. And I saw one of the guests hanging around outside the door to the galley.
M Robert: Which guest did you see?
M Tehau: Sam. It was Sam out there.
M Robert: I see. And why was that unusual?
M Tehau: Well, everyone had gone to bed a couple of hours earlier, so it was strange to see him up from his cabin.
But it wasn’t just that – sometimes, guests need something in the middle of the night, or go outside and look at the ocean if they can’t sleep.
That would have been pretty normal. But he wasn’t doing that.
He was … waiting – kind of hovering? Outside the galley.
Michaela and Johanna were in there, talking.
I don’t know what about, but I think Michaela was upset. And he was outside, just … listening.
M Robert: I see. And what did you do, when you saw him there?
M Tehau: I stayed there for a minute, keeping an eye on him.
I wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to try anything inappropriate – I knew Michaela had been getting some hassle from the guys, and I didn’t know which ones.
But then he kind of stepped back, and walked forward really quickly straight into the galley so the stewardesses saw him.
I think he was trying to pretend he’d just got there.
M Robert: And what did you make of it? What did you think about it at the time?
M Tehau: I guess I just thought it was kind of weird then. But now? After everything that’s happened … It’s hard not to think that it was all part of something bigger – something we just didn’t know about yet.
[TRANSCRIPT ENDS]