Page 103 of Midnight
Melissa furrowed her brow. ‘Don’t worry about that right now. What happened?’
‘It was Janine. She … she killed Aaron before he could get on the ship. Then she murdered the couple in cabin sixteen thinking it was me, and Stefan, and Liam …’
‘Janine?’ Melissa gasped. ‘But why?’
‘She blamed me for her boyfriend’s death. He’s the artist from the showcase.’
‘My God.’ Melissa gripped the edge of the sofa. ‘We need to get a message to the captain. Let’s get you back to the lounge and find you a warm drink. Then we can sort everything out.’
Olivia nodded, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders.
‘Wait, Melissa … how is Cutler? And what about Patty?’
Melissa turned her face away, so Olivia couldn’t read her expression. ‘Cutler will live. Patty … she’s the only one still unaccounted for on the mainland. It’s too dangerous for us to cross the water again, but when we can, we’ll look for her again.’
In the lounge, Pierre was sitting on one of his sofas, staring at his laptop. He looked every inch the billionaire explorer in his black turtleneck and khaki slacks. He smoothed down his silver hair as she entered. ‘Please,come sit. I have hot cocoa on the table for you. And an excellent whisky if you would prefer that.’
‘Janine?’ she asked.
Pierre shook his head. ‘We spotted blood on the hull. There has been no sign of anyone on the surface. We think she must have hit her head on the way down. Besides, it’s been far too long now. She is gone.’
Olivia closed her eyes, and for the first time allowed herself to cry. She knew how it must look, crying for someone who had tried to kill her. But before that Janine had been her friend. The shock was too great to reconcile.
Sergei stepped into the room. ‘The rest of the passengers are warming up in the galley. Mr Hughes’s condition is stable, but he will need further medical assistance.’
‘And your leg?’ asked Pierre.
Sergei grimaced at Olivia as he spoke. ‘It will heal.’
‘I … I’m sorry for being so suspicious of you,’ said Olivia. ‘But after I saw you in Ushuaia and then later on the ship …’
‘Sergei works for me,’ said Pierre. ‘Initially I wanted a man on board theVigilto keep an eye on Cutler for me. You know LUJO is set to acquire the Pioneer fleet? Anyway, it was a good thing he did. Aaron was supposed to keep me informed on all the details of the showcase, so when I didn’t hear from him on the day of the ship’s departure, I was concerned. Then Sergei sent a message back that Aaron hadn’t even made it on to the ship.
‘My suspicions were confirmed when the police found Aaron’s body a few days after the ship’s departure.’
‘What … what did Janine do to him?’ Olivia could hardly bear to ask, but she had to know.
‘She was clever, I give her that. She’d rented a room and asked them not to disturb or clean it for the duration of the stay. The hotel found him when the room was supposed to be handed over. The police determined he had been poisoned. Injected with something.’
‘Liquid MDMA?’
‘How did you know?’
‘That’s what she spiked the champagne with, which killed the couple who I had switched cabins with.’
‘I knew then that you were in truly grave danger. And since you hadn’t responded to my radio call or any of my emails—’
Olivia blinked. ‘But I didn’t receive anything. In fact, I sentyouemails. Several.’
‘I know, I received them,’ said Pierre. ‘But it was clear that you were not getting my replies. That’s why I realized perhaps you were in even more danger than I previously suspected. I asked Sergei to keep an eye on you from a distance. I didn’t want to alarm you. But I set sail for the continent immediately, hoping I could intercept you before it was too late.’
‘Why didn’t you just come straight to me and tell me all this?’ she asked Sergei.
‘I told him not to,’ said Pierre. ‘Until we knew who was behind the attacks; it felt pointless to panic you. And if your attacker knew you were being watched, they might have changed their plans, and then she would have got away with it all. I couldn’t have that.’
‘I only realized it was Janine when I was back on board theClarissa II,’ said Sergei.
‘Yes, look at this.’ Pierre pressed a discreet button chiselled into the wooden top of the coffee table. On the farwall one of the walnut panels slid open to reveal a high-definition television.
