Chapter 25
What is happening? I can’t quite take it all in. I’m appalled. ‘What do you mean? Why do they think someone on board pushed him? And why me? I barely knew him. Why not someone else?’
‘Maybe because none of us had a professional grudge against him like you did?’ Astrid says, inspecting her nails to avoid my glare. ‘I mean, you literally argued over everything.’
‘And don’t get me started on the whole wooden block with the huge, dangerous nail sticking out,’ chips in Tiffany.
‘You did kind of bang on about how poorly he was running things. And he certainly didn’t appreciate you threatening to complain to head office about him,’ Shaun feels the need to add, scratching his chin as though he’s been put in charge of solving this potential murder case.
‘I’m not sure you saw eye to eye on anything at all, really. ’
Turncoats, the lot of them.
‘We did disagree on a few things.’ I twist my hands together.
Everyone is hanging off my every word. ‘But shoddy bookkeeping certainly isn’t enough of a reason to push him off the boat.
What if he simply had too much to drink last night, causing him to slip and fall overboard?
Wouldn’t that be much more logical? And I know what you’re all thinking.
’ I pause for breath. ‘That the chances of being attacked and eaten by a shark in the Aegean are relatively low, even in these deeper waters, compared to global averages, 0.3 per cent, but it is still possible.’
‘Slipped and fell?’ The captain is repeating. ‘Eaten by sharks?’
They look unconvinced.
‘Yes. I’ve heard that raki can make you temporarily blind and lead to lots of poor decision-making. Maybe he couldn’t see where he was going.’
Silence… and plenty of it.
‘Who? Who says that raki can make you temporarily blind or that it leads to lots of poor decision-making?’ Astrid would like to know. Probably because she frequently overdoes it on the shots and makes some poor decisions herself.
‘Erm, the ladies on the plane. They told me.’
More silence.
‘Which ladies? The LoveIt Holidays cabin crew?’ Jackson asks.
‘No. The lady with the giant baby and the one who was sitting next to me with the erm…’ Zip it.
Zip it right now. I’m not even sure I can finish this sentence, never mind want to.
‘The erm, torn… you know… her bits.’ Her vulva, fallopian tubes and her entire reproductive system in shreds. Absolute shreds.
‘Torn? Did you say torn bits?’ Astrid is aghast.
‘Anyway, the point I’m making is that it seems very likely that Garry was drunk, he slipped, he fell, he was eaten. I had no reason, whatsoever, to harm him. None.’
Emir tugs on my hand and reaches up on tiptoes to whisper loudly in my ear. ‘Tell them about him wanting to throttle you to death when my father gave you all the money instead of him.’
I’m too stunned to reply.
Emir continues his stage whisper. ‘And he kept calling you Clogsy, even though you kept asking him not to.’
Everyone can hear him, and they are now regarding me like some mastermind criminal hellbent on revenge.
Emir says something in Turkish to the police before proudly translating for me. ‘I told them he was not a nice man. And we didn’t like him.’
‘Maddie. Before you dig yourself into an even deeper hole, can I have a word, please?’ Jackson says stiffly. I gulp as I glance down at Emir, still clutching my hand, riveted, his eyes wide with excitement at this thrilling turn of events.
‘Sorry, Emir,’ I say. ‘I think you’ll have to stay with your brother for a while until this is all cleared up.’
He sulks, disappointed. ‘But I like solving problems. Like Scooby Doo.’
‘Exactly. You’re very good at it, aren’t you? Just like you’re good at chess. Why don’t you play a few games, and I’ll come find you later?’
‘That sounds like a very sensible idea,’ says Mehmet as he walks over to us.
‘And if you need an alibi for last night, you just let me know,’ he says, winking at me before turning his Hollywood smile on the group.
‘She was with me,’ he declares loudly. ‘Drinking raki and making poor decisions.’ His booming laughter is inappropriate at best, and I am mortified.
Absolutely, unequivocally mortified as he and Emir climb the staircase to the upper deck. What is it with men?
‘He’s talking about the cards! We played card games. Yes, there were poor decisions but absolutely no raki. None.’
To say that Shaun, Astrid and Tiffany successfully stifle their sniggers would be something of an overstatement.
‘A man is missing!’ booms the captain. ‘I suggest you all take this seriously.’
‘I assure you, Captain,’ says Jackson, stepping towards him to swiftly take charge, ‘we will take it very seriously. LoveIt Holidays will ensure the continued safety and cooperation of everyone on board this vessel. We’ll use the dining area as a holding pen while we search all the cabins, and then we’ll interview individuals in their rooms while the rest have lunch. ’
The police are nodding as though they understand him, as though all of this has been pre-agreed. How would Jackson even know where to start? His level of company protocol in a man overboard situation is beyond impressive.
As everyone disperses, Jackson’s face is unreadable. ‘Come with me, please, Maddie.’ I follow him up the stairs behind the police and try to gauge his tone. Disappointed? Dispassionate? Disapproving?
‘The good news is that this isn’t a formal police investigation for another forty-eight hours and so, as the official LoveIt Holidays senior manager, I am technically in charge until then.
The police are helping me with enquiries, so the captain says we can use his quarters while they search your cabin. Can you show me the way, please?’
‘Sure. No problem.’ I hurry through the increasingly crowded dining area towards the staff staircase.
Keeping my head down and my gaze straight ahead, I’m keen not to make eye contact with any guests.
I wonder what they must all think. I wonder what Jackson thinks.
He must know I’m innocent in all of this. Surely?
Once we’ve reached the captain’s quarters, I’m surprised to find the door already open. The captain’s cabin is clinically clean. No personal effects, no clothes strewn on the floor, his bed neatly turned down, hospital corners, the lot. It’s neat to a military degree.
For a moment, neither of us seems to know what to say.
They are understandably odd circumstances under which to be meeting each other again.
Especially considering how we left it last time.
Dry humping on the sun mattresses like horny teens.
I notice Jackson leaves the door wide open and stands next to it rather than sit beside me.
His body language speaks volumes. He peers outside in the corridor before lowering his voice. ‘How are you?’
‘I feel this is a real low point,’ I say, perching on the edge of the bed. I clasp my hands between my knees. I hope it doesn’t drive a wedge between us, spoil things. What with our working together and… possibly starting a bona fide relationship.
‘Understandable.’ His gaze sweeps over the harness and elaborate binding of ropes and clips criss-crossing my body. Tiffany has been nothing if not thorough. ‘This is hardly staying under the radar.’
‘Yes, I am fully aware of that, thank you.’
‘And that utter guff upstairs. The whole blind raki thing and the torn vaginas. This… this bondage gear. It’s like you want to draw attention to yourself.’
‘I panicked, okay. When was the last time you had to deal with police in a foreign country? And it’s not bondage gear. It’s a harness. A very tight and uncomfortable one.’
Jackson nods. ‘Remind me of how you got yourself into this situation?’ His tone is assertive, demanding and a little too sceptical for my liking.
I lower my head, embarrassed. ‘I was trying to see if Garry was hiding in the waste pipe.’
‘And where exactly is that?’
‘Outside near the bottom of the hull.’
‘Uh-huh. I see.’
‘Tiffany tied me up like this so that I could abseil down head first.’
‘Ah. And then her thinking was to leave you tied up and looking guilty, ready for the police to arrive?’
My shoulders sag. ‘I never thought of it like that.’
He blinks slowly. ‘Need some assistance to get it off?’
I nod glumly. ‘Yes, please.’
Jackson approaches me warily as I stand up to allow him to unbuckle the many hooks. His hands wander lightly over the fastenings and lengths of rope twisting around my body. I flush with mortification, heat searing from every pore as he looks on, baffled.
He clears his throat. ‘Bend over, please,’ he says with a large degree of awkwardness as he stands behind me, doggy style, his breath hot on my neck as he reaches round and underneath.
‘Huge apologies.’ His hands reluctantly follow the curve of my bottom as he gingerly pats his way underneath.
It’s like a game of Twister gone horribly wrong.
It’s clearly humiliating for both of us.
After some umming and ahhing while he’s fiddling around underneath my crotch, he reaches his conclusion.
‘I think we may have found our point of entry.’
Things could literally not be any more embarrassing, but I make eye contact with him regardless and say the first stupid thing to come to mind. ‘Enjoy.’
He takes a beat to frown at my wildly inappropriate encouragement. It seems to stretch uncomfortably on before he looks away.
After a sharp tug downwards, some thrusting and some clinking of metal, Jackson manages to simultaneously free me from my bonds and, as it turns out, perform More!’s Position of the Fortnight.
I gingerly peel the shackles from my body. ‘I guess this will affect me leaving the gulet tonight?’
‘Yeah. I’m afraid so. All the suspects… I mean, the staff and guests. Everyone needs to stay on board.’