‘The through and the what now?’ Shaun knits his eyebrows together.
‘What’s the link? The motive? What do the words actually mean?’ Jackson asks. ‘Who was the napkin intended for?’
‘Um, well…’ Shaun is rapidly losing confidence in the face of Jackson, who seems more expert in these matters than all of us put together.
‘Are you suggesting we are looking for an accomplice? Multiple motives?’
Shaun opens and closes his mouth several times before giving up and handing the napkin back to Jackson. He has gone up against an alpha male, lost spectacularly and will now have to do the walk of shame back to the bar to continue serving drinks and being useful.
Throughout this exchange of words, I’m deeply perturbed to see the policeman is screwing his eyes at me, watching my reactions attentively, waiting for me to reveal my guilt.
I feel sick to my stomach. ‘Okay,’ I say, holding up my hands. ‘I can explain, but please don’t leap to conclusions.’
Jackson rolls his eyes as he exhales audibly. I don’t appear to be making his job any easier.
‘They’re chess moves. The writing is mine. It’s an old napkin from the other day when I was playing chess with Emir.’ I omit that it was when I was playing chess with Emir and Mehmet. I feel that may complicate matters.
‘Okay. Fine. Fair enough. It doesn’t explain why it is now being used to wrap up a potentially fake Rolex watch.’
‘Not fake!’ shouts the policeman, regarding me suspiciously before whipping the napkin back from Jackson and marching away to fetch his colleague.
‘Ask Emir if he had anything to do with the watch turning up in the apron,’ I whisper to Jackson, stepping back towards him. ‘It’ll look too suspicious if I go over.’
He whispers back, his breath tickling my ear, sending sparks shooting down my arms and the hairs to stand on end, ‘Care to explain why?’
‘Because he may have stolen it. He stole all the other jewellery. Plus, he did want revenge on Garry for being mean, didn’t he?’
Jackson expels another delicious current of electricity down my spine before moving away from me. I watch him approach Emir and his family. They greet him warmly as Emir introduces him enthusiastically. Emir stops every now and then to look my way and wave.
‘Back to work!’ booms Shaun, obviously disgruntled that his attempt to discredit me and solve the case has not come to anything concrete just yet. Rather than try to convince him otherwise, I get busy serving a whole array of sweet treats, baklava and Turkish delights of every flavour and colour. At least it is distracting the guests from the fact that we may be stranded at sea unless Garry turns up soon.
* * *
Finally, after what seems like hours of staying out of the way, Jackson and the captain come to find me down in the kitchen, reloading skewers of sizzling meat kebabs onto hotplates. I’m nothing short of a sweaty mess.
‘I have news,’ Jackson says, a serious look on his face.
My stomach drops, causing me to flop against the bench in defeat. I’m going to jail for a crime I didn’t commit. It’s my mother’s worst nightmare coming true. She warned me. And I didn’t listen. Suddenly, I feel a searing heat sensation in my hip. I yelp, leaping away from the hotplate, causing the tray of skewers that one of the chefs is holding to slip from his grasp.
We watch it clatter to the floor, meat splatting everywhere. He lets out an almighty barrage of what I assume are swear words.
‘Come on. Let’s get out of here,’ says Jackson. ‘We need to speak to you urgently.’
The captain hurries us to his quarters and shuts the door, standing guard as though I might try to escape. And go where? Swim the twenty miles to Greece?
‘The police have finished their checks of the cabins and their interviews with the guests and the remaining staff,’ the captain informs me. ‘Your cabin was very interesting.’
‘I can explain everything—’ I say, but Jackson cuts me off.
‘They didn’t find anything.’
‘But the jewellery, the money, the gold chains and bracelets? At least tell me they found all the evidence of Garry overcharging, the receipts and ledgers?’
‘Nothing at all. Even though Tiffany also testified that she saw you stuffing money in your drawer, it was empty.’
‘But the police do want to know why all of your clothes were packed and ready to go.’ The captain frowns. ‘As if you intended to leave the boat tonight. This looks very suspicious, no?’
Jackson gives me a reassuring look. ‘I asked her to do that.’ The captain looks surprised. ‘I had intended to remove Maddie from her duties tonight and start her at head office tomorrow.’
