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Linc grinned as he stuck his head into the cockpit; an apology was in order.

And fast.

He had to find her and explain; he realised now that she’d overheard them talking about the new plane that David had ordered for government travel. Red and white and a cumbersome shape; the poor woman had thought they were talking about her.

Oh. Jeez.

‘What are you looking so stressed about?’ Johnny looked up from the flight manifest on his lap. ‘Still worrying about finding a wife?’

‘Nothing. Or rather something I have to do. Just a misunderstanding I have to sort. I’ll catch you later. Have you got time for a drink before you head home tonight?’

‘Sounds like a plan to me. Joanna’s got a book club meeting at our house, so I was going to ask you to meet me at the hotel.’

‘Good stuff. What time does the next flight come in?’

‘I’m taking off as soon as I refuel and coming back within the hour. I’ll meet you at the bar at six. Suit you?’

‘Yeah, I’ll go to the station first and see what sort of damage Tommy’s caused today.’

‘See ya there at six.’

Linc gave Johnny a wave before heading out of the plane. He hurried across the tarmac; he wanted to make sure that he caught up with the woman and explained the misunderstanding. The apology was priority one before the station.

She was scrabbling through her bag at the customs desk. As he walked over, she bent down and tipped the contents of her bag onto the floor. A tube of lipstick rolled towards him and he bent and picked it up.

‘Bloody, bloody h—’ She muttered cutting off the last word as he crouched down beside her and held out the lipstick.

‘Everything okay?’ he asked.

‘No.’ She rifled through the papers and assorted stuff on the floor.

‘Can I help?’

After she had pushed everything back into the bag, he held out a hand to help her up, and was surprised when she took it. Her hand was cold, and it was dwarfed by his. He let go of it immediately she was upright.

Putting her bag on the counter, she ran a hand through her hair. ‘The only thing I can think of was, it fell out when my bag tipped over at Brisbane Airport.’ Her eyes were bleak as she looked up at Jennifer behind the customs desk. Linc had noticed her beauty but not how tiny this woman was when he’d first seen her in the coffee shop.

‘What have you lost?’ he asked.

‘My passport, the booking details for my holiday and all the money I had in the folder.’

His police brain kicked in. ‘Could it have been stolen? Did you leave your bag unattended at all?’

She shook her head. ‘No. I’m always careful when I travel.’

‘Okay. Look. Before I help you sort this, I have to apologise to you.’

She waved a dismissive hand. ‘You’re the least of my worries.’

‘No, please listen to me and then we’ll start again.’ Linc took a deep breath. ‘When Johnny—he’s the guy I was talking to, and the pilot of our plane—when he and I were talking, we weren’t talking about you. Honestly, I didn’t even see you there. We were talking about the red and white plane on the tarmac. You must have seen it? It’s the president’s new plane, and if there’s one thing about David, he rarely takes advice from anyone. He bought this Russian-designed plane and it’s not a good aerodynamic design.’ He grinned at her. ‘It’s heavy in the rear end.’

Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him. Then her eyes crinkled, and she burst out laughing. ‘Oh my God, I was so rude to you. You must think I’m crazy. I’m sorry I snapped at you.’

‘I don’t. I can understand how you thought that. Let’s start again.’ He held out his hand. ‘I’m Linc Martin, police chief of Deception Island.’

She took his hand and as she shook it a tingle ran up his arm. ‘Hello, Linc, I’m Jane Sullivan, a hapless tourist who was hoping to have a holiday on your beautiful island.’ Her eyes were sad as she continued. ‘But I guess without a passport or any form of ID or any money, I won’t be staying long.’ She looked up at the departures board. ‘There’s another flight in from Columbus Island in half an hour. I wonder if there’s another flight back to Brisbane tonight.’

Linc kept hold of her hand. ‘No, the next flight in is the last one for the day. There’s no return flight until tomorrow afternoon. But let’s not be hasty.’ He turned to Jennifer who was manning the custom’s desk. ‘I’m going to take Ms Sullivan into the office and try to sort this.’