ELENI
Stop staring at her. She’s going to clock it any minute.
From her nearby lounger, she watched as Talia pushed cubes of ice around her cocktail with a straw, occasionally looking up and staring into the distance, then back down at her glass.
Her usually immaculate hair had formed frizzy curls at the edges – a product of the briny sea air, no doubt.
And she’d clearly been picking at her hands – there was a plaster on her palm, and the edge of one of her nails was a throbbing red; it had scabbed over slightly, as if it had been bleeding.
She looked away, finally, as Rory got hastily to his feet, lifting his phone in the air and waving it around. ‘Damn poor signal – and no Wi-Fi! Can’t even read my bloody emails. How am I supposed to get anything done?’
Talia reached up and touched his arm soothingly. ‘Well, you’re meant to be on holiday, darling. Maybe it’s not the end of the world if you can’t check your messages for a few days?’
‘That’s all well and good for you to say – you’re not running a stock-listed company, are you? You’ve got no bloody idea!’ Then he stomped up the stairs to the sun deck, muttering something about finding a better signal higher up.
‘Wow,’ said Sam. ‘Somebody’s not exactly in the holiday spirit.’
Too right – and he’s not the only one. During the e-bike tour, Eleni had wanted to join Rory and Talia – but they’d been keen to take a trip alone, just the two of them.
Disappointed, she’d ridden with Lucy, Mark and Sam while Nick rested up back on the yacht after his plunge into the water that morning.
It was a strained few hours, the tension between Lucy and Mark practically tangible – the couple barely said a word to each other.
‘I think he just got a little hot on our bike ride today,’ said Talia smoothly – though her voice caught as she spoke. Eleni could empathize – she wouldn’t like her husband speaking to her so rudely in front of everyone, either.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked, offering Talia a sympathetic tilt of her head.
‘I’m fine,’ Talia snapped. ‘But I think I’ve had rather enough company for now. I’m going to lie down before the party.’ With that, she stood up and stalked across the deck to the salon’s doors and disappeared inside.
‘Whoops. What have I done wrong now?’ murmured Eleni, half to herself.
How was she ever going to get closer to Talia if she could barely say a word to the woman without inadvertently pissing her off?
Maybe it was time to change tack; try to talk to Rory alone, instead.
She turned to Nick, who was dozing next to her, then stretched and sat up.
‘Hey, I’ve finished my magazine,’ she said. ‘I think I’ll go and get my book from the cabin.’
‘Another destination thriller thing?’ he mumbled sleepily. ‘You’ve always got one of those on the go …’
‘Well, I like them,’ she replied. Nick opened his eyes.
Oops. She’d sounded snappy – she hadn’t meant to; she was rattled by the tense atmosphere and having unintentionally annoyed Talia.
‘But, you’re right, I do literally inhale one book after the other.
I promise, they’re holiday reads only.’ She laughed, gave him a kiss on the forehead and got to her feet.
‘I’ll come with you,’ he said, sitting up.
Eleni frowned. ‘Why? No need. I’ll only be a sec.’
Just then, Johanna appeared at the top of the stairs. ‘Can I get anyone another drink? Nick – a cold beer, perhaps?’
He lay back down. ‘Actually, yeah. That sounds good.’
Eleni exhaled. ‘See you in a minute, then.’ She picked up her beach bag, walked downstairs and towards the salon door. Then, checking no one was watching, she quietly reversed her steps and climbed the stairs to the sun deck.
Her boss was stretched over the railings at the bow, holding his phone precariously high in the air above the sea. ‘Rory?’
‘What is it?’ he barked, without turning to look.
‘Be careful with that phone of yours.’
He dropped his mobile back down, turned and then, when he saw her, seemed to soften.
‘Ah, Eleni – it’s you. I’m sorry for letting my temper get the better of me down there.’ He sighed, then took a few paces towards her. ‘Is everything all right?’
She smiled. ‘Don’t worry, it’s fine – it’s pretty intense here. But now that I’ve got you, can we have a chat?’
‘With my favourite land buyer? Of course.’
Rory moved towards the sofa at the bow, patting the seat next to him. ‘Come and sit down.’
Eleni nodded and took a seat beside Rory. She could feel her cheeks starting to flush now; she wondered if there was a telltale sheen of sweat above her brow.
‘So, what did you want to talk about?’
Eleni took a deep breath. ‘Nick’s … fall this morning from the jet ski. I want you to know, there’s no hard feelings. I know you’d never do something like that on purpose. But – how did it happen, exactly?’
‘Ah, yes. I did wonder if you’d bring that up.’ Rory sighed. ‘And I’m afraid the simple answer is: I was being an idiot. I wanted to show a strapping young fellow like your husband that I’ve still got it, I suppose. I’m sorry – really, I am.’
Eleni nodded. That did make sense; it was the kind of thing she could imagine him doing. ‘It’s okay – no harm done. Accidents happen, and Nick’s fine.’
‘Of course he is. With the size of the muscles on your policeman husband? It’d take a lot more than that to bring him down.’ Rory laughed and nudged Eleni in the side. She offered him her most winning smile.
‘He is quite the catch, isn’t he?’ she said. ‘And not just because of the muscles. I’m very lucky.’ She examined her fingernails. ‘You are too, of course. Talia’s wonderful.’
‘Indeed,’ said Rory, closing his eyes for a beat, almost in reverence. ‘Some would say she’s rather out of my league.’
‘Not at all,’ exclaimed Eleni. ‘You’re a perfect match. And it’s great, the four of us spending time together, isn’t it?’ She paused; her racing heartbeat was painfully loud. Could Rory hear it? ‘Actually, thinking about it, wouldn’t it be nice if we—’
A soft thud sounded, close to the edge of the steps. Eleni glanced towards the stairwell to check whether someone was coming up. Maybe Nick was looking for her – she’d said she’d only be a minute. There was no one there.
At least, no one she could see. But still, the cold, creeping sensation crawled from the nape of Eleni’s neck to the base of her spine, with horrible familiarity.
That feeling again. Someone’s watching me – someone’s watching both of us.
Her eyes darted around the deck; she turned her head and peered around the bow. She craned her neck to get a clear view down towards the stern.
Did something just move over there? Is someone out there, halfway up the stairs – watching us, listening to us?
‘Eleni?’ said Rory, sounding baffled. ‘Earth to Eleni! Whatever’s the matter with you?’
Eleni forced her gaze away from the empty doorway and shook her head. ‘Sorry – I thought … I just had this weird feeling. But no – it’s nothing.’ Eleni’s throat had gone dry; her words emerged sounding cracked and rasping. ‘Sorry – what was I saying?’
Rory frowned. ‘Ah – something about how nice it is to all spend time together. And I couldn’t agree more, by the way. You know, Nick reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger—’
But his words were cut short: Sam strode onto the sun deck.
He saw the two of them and laughed. ‘Thought you said you were going to get your book? Had to stop for a bit of a chinwag with the boss first, by the looks of it. Or maybe you’re planning to coordinate your outfits for this evening! Anything I need to know about?’
Eleni blinked. His glib tone was so at odds with her current state of mind, it was jarring. Has he been standing near the stairwell this whole time? Is that why I felt like someone was watching us?
‘Did you just come up here now?’ she asked.
The grin disappeared from Sam’s face. ‘Er … yeah. Only walked up the stairs this minute.’ He shrugged. ‘Why?’
Is he lying? Nothing in his expression was giving anything away. But Sam had appeared like this before, hadn’t he, loitering at the edges of their conversations? Happening to be nearby at exactly the right moment? And the constant checking in: are you okay? Are you sure? Do you need anything?
‘Can I grab either of you a drink?’ Sam asked, pointing to the bar on the deck. ‘I’ve just started on some James Bond-themed cocktails, and even Lucy’s got herself a Prosecco …’
Eleni felt suddenly ridiculous. I’m being paranoid. He’s a nice guy. He’s not up to anything weird.
‘Not for me,’ said Rory briskly. He got to his feet. ‘I’ll see if I can have any more luck getting a signal over at the stern. See you later, Eleni.’ He gave her a paternal pat on the head and walked away.
‘Well, I should actually go and get that book,’ Eleni told Sam. She got up and started towards the stairs.
‘Ah – actually, Eleni?’
She turned back. ‘Yeah?’ Sam was staring at her, his eyebrows drawing together.
‘You’re okay, Eleni, aren’t you?’
She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, is there anything that’s worrying you – or has anything upset you?’
Eleni felt a flash of unexpected anxiety.
She glanced around the sun deck to make sure they were still alone, then lowered her voice.
‘I – well – I can’t think of anything … nothing specific, anyway.
I was a bit shocked by what happened to Nick on that jet ski, of course, but – sorry, why are you asking? ’
Sam was still eyeing her closely. ‘It might be nothing. It’s just … this morning, I heard something in one of the cabins. I’ve not caught you alone since then, but I wanted to ask you about it.’ He fixed her with that intense expression.
Eleni shook her head, confused. ‘You wanted to ask me about what – what did you hear?’
He swallowed. ‘Like a … shout? A cry? Someone yelling stop it! It would have been just before ten. I wouldn’t mention it, but it kind of sounded like someone was – in pain, or scared, or something …’
In pain? Scared? Eleni swept back a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail – she saw Sam watching her, expectantly.
‘I honestly don’t know, but it couldn’t have come from me.
I came up to the salon for breakfast around nine, and I only popped back to our cabin once to get my sun cream … ’
Sam nodded. ‘Was anyone else downstairs, do you know?’
She thought for a moment. ‘Gosh, now you’re asking.
I honestly can’t remember – people were up and down all morning – coming up for breakfast, going up and down the stairs.
I’m sorry.’ She tried racked her brains for another plausible explanation.
‘Are you sure it wasn’t one of the crew?
Their cabins are just down from ours, aren’t they?
Maybe one of them was just messing around … ’
‘Could have been, I suppose.’ Sam paused. ‘There is something else, though.’ He looked out to sea for a moment, as if weighing up whether or not to go on.
‘Well?’ Eleni was hot, and didn’t have long before she’d have to get ready for dinner. She’d have to get back to Nick soon, too – she’d said she’d only be a couple of minutes grabbing her book.
Sam sighed. ‘I overheard Michaela and Johanna last night. Michaela was really worried about something. She said she was scared of someone here – one of the guests. One of the men.’
Eleni swallowed. One of the men? It was oddly specific – and yet not specific enough. ‘What did she mean by that – she was scared of one of the men?’ she asked. ‘Did she mention who? And what they did to freak her out?’
Sam was shaking his head before Eleni had even finished speaking. ‘She didn’t say. All I know is that one of us men apparently approached her – intimidated her somehow – badly enough that Michaela didn’t even want to finish the charter.’
The stewardess wants to leave because of one of the guests? Eleni thought for a moment. ‘But who would have done that? We’d have noticed, wouldn’t we, if someone had been hassling her? We’re all in such a tight space! You can hardly turn around in this effing yacht without bumping into someone …’
She paused for breath. She was rambling now, in her anxiety, but she couldn’t stop her words; they kept on tumbling out of her, as fast as the thoughts racing through her brain.
‘And who do you think it was? Honestly? If you’ve got any ideas, just tell me.
’ She swallowed. ‘I assume it couldn’t have been … you?’
Sam looked shocked; he shook his head furiously.
‘No way. I’d never … and I’d hardly mention it to you, if it was me, would I?
’ Then he waited a long moment, before he spoke again, more slowly: ‘I don’t know for sure which of us.
But I have my suspicions.’ He shrugged. ‘I probably shouldn’t say.
I think it’ll all come out soon enough.’
Eleni willed herself to keep her expression impassive; she only dipped her head slightly.
‘I hope you know, Eleni, you can always talk to me, yeah?’ Sam went on. His voice was soft, empathetic. ‘Like, if you ever need to?’
Talk to him? About what? The memory struck her, suddenly, of Sam huddled up close with a woman from the sales department on a rare Thursday night work drink that she made it to – one on one, at the bar, away from the loud, boozy teams taking over the giant tables playing drinking games.
Clearly this was something he did. It should warm her to him, but somehow – after what she’d just been thinking a moment ago about his sudden appearance here – it left her cold.
‘I appreciate that and I’ll bear it in mind,’ she said. ‘See you at dinner, yeah?’
Eleni turned and headed down the stairs, still feeling Sam’s eyes on her.
Once she had stepped inside the cabin and closed the door behind her, she leaned back against the wall, trying to breathe through the sudden swell of panic in her chest. Worse than Sam blowing the first chance she’d had to talk to Rory alone, now there was the threat of someone hassling the stewardess.
And she still had the eerie feeling of being watched.
She was running out of people she could trust here.