Day Four (9 page)

He turned to Martha and Bin. ‘Can you deal with the other matter?’

Bin nodded.

‘Can you give me the patient’s details Ms . . .?’

‘Maddie. My name’s Maddie.’ She glared at Bin. ‘That nurse has got all her details.’

Martha mouthed ‘sorry’ at him as he grabbed his bag and followed Maddie out of the medical centre. She strode ahead and steamed up the stairs, forcing him to run to catch up with her. He kept meaning to use the gym on the ship, but hadn’t yet bothered. Now that he was off the pethidine diet, he was running to fat; he could feel the waistband of his ridiculous white trousers biting into his gut.
If only Farouka could see me now. She’d be back like a shot.
He wondered what she was doing this evening. Laughing it up in Kalk Bay, maybe. A party with friends. Her friends, who used to be their friends.

The faint sound of a cheer echoed through the ship.

‘Happy New Year,’ he muttered.

Maddie paused at the top of the third flight and looked over her shoulder. ‘Is it?’ She waited for him to puff his way up to her.

‘Not really, no. It’s been a hell of a night. How old is the patient?’

‘Celine tells everyone she’s sixty-five, but her passport says she’s ten years older.’ She gave him a fleeting smile.

‘And any history of illness? Strokes, heart attack, anything like that?’

‘No. She has bad hips, so she tends to use a wheelchair to get around. She can walk, but not far.’

‘Drinking, smoking?’

‘She likes a drink.’

Maddie bounded up the next flight, and he followed her down the corridor towards one of the VIP suites. She unlocked the door and impatiently waved him inside.

He was greeted by two elderly women, one skinny, one obese (Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, he thought uncharitably) who were sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching empty whiskey tumblers. Another woman – who had to be the patient – sat in a wheelchair next to the television, her eyes closed.

‘Is she okay?’ Maddie asked the women anxiously.

‘She seems fine,’ Aunt Spiker said in a crisp British voice. He put her at seventy, skin browned from an outdoorsy life. ‘She was sluggish when you first left, but she’s talking now.’

‘Oh my, is she talking,’ the other woman said – American, about the same age. Kind eyes, the flushed face of the hypertensive. ‘She’s been saying some really screwy things.’

‘Like what?’

‘For one, she said that she wasn’t sure if it would work.’

‘If what would work?’

‘It. That’s all she said.’

‘Celine?’ Maddie said. ‘The doctor is here.’

‘Hello, Celine,’ Jesse said. ‘I’m going to examine you, make sure you’re all shipshape.’

Celine made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a laugh. He extracted his penlight, and examined her irises. Both normal. Next, he reached into his bag for his sphyg and attached the cuff to her upper arm. ‘I’m just going to take your blood pressure, Celine.’

‘You don’t need to talk to me like I’m retarded, doc.’

‘Celine! You’re talking,’ Maddie breathed.

Celine chuckled. ‘Why wouldn’t I be talking?’

‘You’ve been . . . a bit out of it for a while. I’ve been worried about you.’

‘No need to worry.’ She waggled her fingers at the two older women. ‘I’ve been hanging out with my new friends, isn’t that right? Just us girls, getting to know each other.’

‘Any headache, weakness or numbness in your limbs, Celine?’ Jesse asked.

‘Nope. All shipshape, doc.’

He pumped up the cuff. ‘I’m just going to ask you a few questions, that okay? Let’s start with an easy one. What is your full name?’

She gave him a wide, toothy grin. ‘Celine del Ray, medium to the stars. What’s your name?’

‘Dr Zimri.’

‘Zimri. Unusual. King of Israel, am I right? And your first name, doc?’

‘Jesse.’

‘Jesse. After the outlaw?’

‘
Ja
. My father was big on Westerns.’

‘That so.’

She certainly appeared to be on the ball. ‘Can you tell me today’s date, Celine?’

‘Depends what time zone you’re in, doc.’

‘Who is the president of the United States?’

‘What’s with all the questions?’ Celine pressed her fingertips to her forehead. ‘Wait . . . I’m getting . . . Someone’s stepping forward from the other side. Who’s the young woman in your life who’s crossed over, doc? There’s a sadness about her. A betrayal of some sort. And pain. Physical pain.’

Jesse blinked, the sensation of icy breath tickling the back of his neck. ‘I’m not sure what—’

‘She’s a medium,’ Maddie said.

‘I see dead people,’ Celine said with an exaggerated wink. ‘Only, as I always say, there is no death. Isn’t that right, Maddie?’

Jesse cleared his throat. ‘Any pain in your head or neck, Celine?’

She cackled. ‘No pain, no gain. You know, doc, I’ve always wanted to die holding the hand of a handsome ship’s doctor, after eating a poisoned grape.’

The British woman gasped.

‘That mean something to you?’ Jesse asked her.

‘It’s a quote. Blanche Dubois. From
A Streetcar Named Desire
.’

‘Helen sure knows her shit, don’t she?’ Celine howled in an exaggerated Uncle Tom voice that made them all wince. ‘Oh lawdy, yes she does!’

‘Celine!’ Maddie glanced at Jesse apologetically.

‘I think it’s time we left,’ Aunt Spiker – Helen – said. The two women got to their feet.

Maddie, who was still staring at Celine in a mixture of exasperation and relief, stood up to see the two women out. ‘Thanks for everything.’

‘You’re welcome, Maddie,’ Helen said stiffly. ‘Good night, Celine.’

As the women exited, Jesse heard Celine mumbling something under her breath. It sounded very much like: ‘Sleep tight, don’t let the rug-munchers bite.’ She winked at him again. ‘Do I get a clean bill of health, doc?’

‘For now. I’ll come and check on you tomorrow.’

‘Lovely. Can’t wait.’ Celine gestured at Maddie. ‘Could you get me my comb from the bathroom, Madeleine?’

‘Of course.’

Jesse packed his sphyg back into its case. ‘I think that’s it. Let me know if—’

Celine’s hand shot out and grasped his wrist. She pulled him towards her with surprising strength. ‘You’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you? Time to put things right. You’re gonna be tested again, doc. You’re all gonna be tested. Question is, will you pass or won’t you?’

The Keeper of Secrets

The girl continued to sob, her make-up running down her cheeks in muddy tracks. She picked at her hair, attempting to disentangle the devil horns stuck at an angle on her head. ‘How did it happen? Was it an accident? Did she have a fall when the ship stopped or something?’

‘It was not an accident, Ms Williams,’ Devi said, glancing at Ram for approval. His superior had instructed him to reveal as little as possible about the facts of the girl’s death.

‘Oh God. Oh no. She didn’t do herself in, did she?
Kill
herself?’

‘Is there a reason why you would jump to this conclusion, Ms Williams?’

‘Emma. My name’s Emma. No . . . God. Did she, though?’

‘No.’

‘What then? Was it . . . oh my God . . . was she murdered? What the
fuck
?’

‘No one has said it is murder, Ms Williams,’ Ram broke in. ‘It was more than likely death by misadventure.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘It is possible that she had too much to drink.’

‘What, you mean she died from alcohol poisoning?’

‘We cannot be certain until more investigation has been done.’

‘God. Kelly. Poor Kelly. She was so . . . I’ve never known anyone who died before. Except for my nan, but she was really old. So . . . when we get back to Miami, will I have to talk to the police? The FBI and that?’

Ram sighed. ‘We cannot say at this point.’

She adjusted the straps on her flimsy red dress and licked her lips, her tears forgotten. Devi could now read excitement in her eyes, and judging by the look of distaste on Ram’s face, so could he. Devi sighed inwardly. It was obvious this girl didn’t know anything. After she’d been identified as the closest associate of the deceased passenger, Ram had sent Devi to track her down. He’d eventually located her on the Tranquillity deck, perched on the wall of one of the Jacuzzis, her arm around a bare-chested man, both of them swigging from a Walgreens’ juice bottle – a favourite method for smuggling alcohol on board.

Devi surreptitiously stretched his back and rubbed his eyes, which stung from lack of sleep. He’d been on duty for over twenty hours now, and had only managed to grab a sandwich and a Coke since lunchtime. Ram, as usual, showed no sign of fatigue, despite being well into his second shift. They’d already spoken to Trining Aquido, the deck steward who serviced the girl’s cabin, but she had little to add. She said that she’d fallen ill halfway through her morning shift, which explained why the body had only been discovered so late. Aquido had also insisted that Althea Trazona, the steward who’d discovered the body, had promised to take over her duties, but according to their supervisor, Trazona had denied this. Whatever the truth, Devi was certain Trazona was hiding something. He was convinced the shock on her face when she’d discovered the body was genuine, so he doubted she was covering for someone, but of all the cabins on the deck, it was too much of a coincidence that she’d chosen to check that one. For now – although he wasn’t entirely sure why – he was keeping this to himself until he had a chance to talk to her again.

There was a knock on the door and Ashgar, who was supposed to be monitoring the security cameras, poked his head inside the room and gestured to Ram. ‘May I speak with you, sahib?’ Through the half-open door, Devi caught a glimpse of Rogelio leaning against the wall in the corridor outside, and their eyes met briefly. As Damien’s second-in-command, Rogelio facilitated most of the singles group’s activities, and Ram must have called Rogelio in for questioning while Devi was searching the ship for the girl.

Ram stood up and waved at Devi to continue.

‘When did you last see Kelly Lewis, Ms Williams?’ Devi asked, relaxing slightly now that Ram was out of the room.

‘Um . . . last night. Night before, I mean.’

‘Why did you not report her missing earlier?’

She crossed her arms defensively. ‘I didn’t notice, did I?’

‘Why is that? Were you not friends travelling together?’

‘Yeah. But we weren’t, like, best mates or anything. She only came with me because Zoe dropped out at the last minute. Kelly works – worked – in our salon on reception, and when Zoe dropped out she said she’d take her place.’

‘And you were both part of the singles group?’

She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. ‘Yeah.’

‘Where did you last see her?’

‘The Sandman Lounge. Bunch of us decided to go after we got back from Cozumel. Kelly wasn’t keen, but she tagged along in the end.’

‘Had she been drinking?’

‘We all had, yeah? But not that much. Just a few cocktails and that.’

‘No roommate?’

‘No. She wanted her own cabin, although me and Zoe were planning on sharing. Kelly paid the extra and everything. I’m sharing with another girl in the group – Donna, she’s American.’

‘Was Kelly enjoying the cruise?’

‘Yeah. I guess. I dunno. She was dead excited about going, she’d never been to the States, but soon as we got on the ship, she wasn’t so keen. Said she felt a bit sick a couple of times. Didn’t always join in. I just thought . . . Does her mum know? She was always going on about her mum.’

Devi hesitated. ‘Her family will be informed as soon as possible.’ There was no point spreading the news that the satellite system was malfunctioning.

‘God. They’re going to be so upset. Do you think they’ll blame me? Cos like . . . it was only because of me she came along.’

‘Was there anyone who showed her special attention during the cruise?’

‘Who, Kelly? No. There was this one guy she quite liked at speed dating, but she didn’t hook up with anyone.’ The girl looked up at him, sniffed again. ‘Hang on . . . why are you asking me this? I thought you said she died from drinking too much?’

Devi kept his face blank. ‘I am merely wishing to know more about her background.’

‘Oh. What’s happening with the ship? They fixing it or what? Cos, like, I’ve got a flight tomorrow. Will we be back by then?’

‘The engineers are working on the problem,’ Devi said automatically, but all he knew was that the fire had disabled the cables that ran from the engine to the generators. The Beautiful Dreamer was one of the older vessels – but even so, this shouldn’t have happened with the back-up system in place. Madan, his cabin mate, was part of the fire crew, so he was certain to have more information.

‘Where is she now?’ the girl asked.