Chapter 2
TWO
JACK
Two weeks later
He didn’t believe him. Even as the captain ordered the Code Oscar alert, mobilising the crew to turn the ship around, there was a wariness in his eyes that told Jack he thought he had something to do with his wife’s disappearance.
‘And you don’t know whereabouts she was on the ship?
’ he asked again, looking him over narrowly.
‘No idea what deck she might have been on, or what time approximately she went missing? It would help if we could pinpoint the area in order to alert nearby vessels.’
Wiping the sweat from his face, Jack shook his head.
‘None,’ he said, his gaze shifting to someone coming into the office area.
The crew member he’d been told was trained in evidence collection and investigation techniques, he realised, who was in charge of the situation until the local authorities took over.
‘Anything?’ The captain’s gaze travelled to him.
‘Nothing,’ the man said with a weary sigh.
Jack stared at him, incredulous. ‘But surely one of the CCTV cameras would have picked her up?’ he asked, sounding as desperate as he felt.
‘I’m afraid there’s no evidence to say she’s jumped.’ The man sighed again apologetically. ‘The ship’s security cameras, located at various points on all decks, haven’t picked up anyone climbing the rails.’
Jack closed his eyes and swallowed back the hard lump in his throat.
‘Are you positive she couldn’t have jumped from your balcony?’ the man asked.
Jack pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and repeated what he’d already said. ‘My daughter was in the cabin. She would have noticed if Natalia had gone back there.’
‘Was she definitely on board, Mr Conley?’ the captain picked up. ‘You do seem somewhat confused about her movements.’
‘Of course I’m bloody sure,’ Jack snapped in frustration. ‘I told you, she reboarded at Antigua. Her identity bracelet was picked up, wasn’t it, meaning she had to have been on board.’
He watched the two men exchange glances. Presumably they couldn’t argue with that fact.
The captain looked back to him. ‘We’ve notified the local authorities.
Depending on what happens, the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch will take over at some point.
Can you go over the sequence of events one more time?
’ he asked, his penetrating gaze full of unmistakable suspicion.
‘Just to be sure I have all the facts down correctly.’
Kneading his temples, Jack cautioned himself to try to stay calm. ‘Our daughter wasn’t well. Something she’d eaten at one of the harbour restaurants disagreed with her. I brought her back to the ship. Natalia came back on her own.’ He repeated what he’d already said in complete exasperation.
The captain looked as sceptical as he had when Jack had had to admit he hadn’t seen or spoken to his wife since they’d departed Antigua. ‘And your daughter didn’t have any contact with her either?’ he asked.
‘She was sleeping. Natalia’s unpredictable.’ Jack tried again to explain, careful to use the present tense lest they start making assumptions.
‘Prone to wander off.’ The captain repeated what Jack had also already told him.
Jack noted the facetiousness in his voice and it grated.
He was bone-weary with exhaustion and worried sick about Evie.
She and her mother had been at loggerheads before all of this, Natalia accusing Evie of being antisocial, uncommunicative and moody, spending hours on social media and excluding the people around her.
Evie’s response had been swift and aggressive.
‘Take a look at your own behaviour,’ she’d snarled.
‘If anyone’s moody around here, it’s you!
I have no idea how Dad puts up with you. You’re a fucking nightmare!’
Jack needed to be with her. She had no clue what was happening.
She’d retreated into herself. As far as he could see, she hadn’t gone on social media at all.
She hadn’t spoken to anyone on her phone.
She wasn’t speaking full stop, and it scared him.
Could the people firing endless questions at him not realise she would be traumatised?
‘Did you and your wife argue, Mr Conley?’ the guy leading the investigation picked up. ‘I’m sorry to ask, but I’m sure you understand why we would need to establish the facts.’
Jack drew in a breath. Held it. He couldn’t tell them everything.
Couldn’t have them questioning his daughter.
‘I can’t do this,’ he said instead, his voice ragged.
Sinking into the chair he’d declined to sit in until now, he buried his head in his hands.
‘Can you not just stop with the questions and put some resources into finding my wife?’ he asked.
They didn’t believe him. They suspected him, he could feel it, and he was scared. If they decided to launch a full-scale investigation, how would that impact on Evie?