‘Enraptured?’I glance at him in bemusement. We were talking about the work Jack has done on the barn conversion. About his daughter, and the cruise he and his wife are about to go on.
‘As if you had eyes only for him,’ Mark adds. ‘You didn’t notice me, at any rate.’
I shake my head wearily. This is obviously the alcohol talking. Mark isn’t the world’s greatest conversationalist, because he’s inherently shy – which is actually quite endearing – so I get why his feathers are ruffled, but I could do without this while on a stretch of the motorway with no overhead lights. ‘Could we not do this now, Mark?’ I ask. ‘I need to concentrate.’
‘Do what?’ he asks, now sounding hurt.
‘You’ve drunk way too much,’ I point out. ‘You’re getting this totally out of proportion.’
‘Right. His wife was too, I suppose,’ Mark responds, seeming to be spoiling for a fight. ‘I don’t think she was overly impressed with you flirting with her husband.’
‘What?’ Staggered by that comment, I shoot him a worried glance. ‘Why would she think that? Did she say something?’ I’m horrified at the thought that she might really have imagined I was flirting with Jack.
He shrugs again. ‘Just that all the bored wives make a beeline for him at social events.’
‘What?’ I stare at him, both flabbergasted and furious. ‘I did nothing of the sort. We talked, that was all. In fact, it sounds tome like it wasyouand his wife who were having the cosy tête-à-tête.’ I glance from him to the rear-view mirror, where Kai is beginning to look utterly miserable.
‘No we weren’t,’ Mark denies. ‘She just pointed out that— For Christ’s sake, Kara! Watch out!’
There’s nothing to see but the blinding high beams of headlights stabbing the mist as the truck hurtles towards us. No time to scream. No time to react as it hits us.
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 shehadto 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.
