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But when Sara answered, she swore she hadn’t seen or heard from Aaron since the previous morning.
Panic well and truly set in, her nerves afire.What could have happened?She could imagine Aaron’s alarm at the sight of the ship pulling away from the harbour. Watching his hard work disappear into the horizon. His potentially life-changing deal down the drain. She shook her head. There was no way he would miss it intentionally. That meant …
She glanced down at her phone for what felt like the millionth time. Already the signal was down to a single bar – soon she would be cut off completely. She’d been looking forward to that aspect of the trip. No phone, limited Wi-Fi, just her and Aaron and the artwork.
Now it was a nightmare.
Then there was the fact she was on a ship heading out to sea for the first time in almost fifteen years. And she was alone. She pushed that thought to the very deepest recess of her mind.
Elisabet had disappeared into her office, and the moment she returned to the desk, Olivia jumped forward. ‘Any luck?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m so sorry. I contacted the hotel as well. They did see him this afternoon but he collected a note from behind the desk and then left. They haven’t seen him since.’
‘He wouldn’t miss this on purpose,’ Olivia said,repeating herself for what felt like the hundredth time. ‘Something must be wrong.’
Elisabet nodded, her head tilted to one side in sympathy. ‘I understand. I’ve asked Sara to let us know if she hears anything in town. I will try another announcement in a few minutes, in case he missed the first one, and I have also put an alert out to all our staff to radio me if they come across him.’
Olivia’s hands were shaking. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She wished she had gone with him. ‘Wait. If he didn’t get on board, he’ll be doing everything possible to get here. The ship has a helipad, right? Could Aaron fly here to rejoin the ship?’
‘If he gets in touch within the next couple of hours, before we enter the Drake Passage, there is a short window for flying in to us. After that, it’s not safe.’
‘What about me? Can I fly back to Ushuaia? I don’t want to be here if Aaron’s not.’
Elisabet reached out and touched Olivia’s arm. ‘I know this is an awful position to be in. But you’re on the ship now. We’ll be back in Ushuaia in two weeks, and you can be reunited with your boyfriend. This is supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. Besides, who will help to run the showcase in his absence? But I think he will still turn up on board. Why don’t you go up on deck, have a cup of tea … I’ll have someone find you immediately if I hear any news.’
‘Look, I don’t want tea. I want to find my boyfriend. My phone doesn’t have much reception, but can I use yours to call the gallery back in London? That’s where the emergency message came from. Maybe they know something.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Elisabet’s voice was annoyingly calm for how frustrated Olivia was feeling. ‘You can do it from my office – it might be more comfortable for you.’
She led Olivia behind the desk to a small but cluttered room. It was Olivia’s first glimpse of what the ship might have looked like before the renovation – with more clinical linoleum flooring and plastic worktops. There were lists and spreadsheets everywhere – it almost took her back to her day job. There were lanyards hanging from hooks above two computer screens, chargers for radios, and two desk phones.
‘The phone should work using our Starlink connection. It will give you a decent line back to London. Please take your time.’
‘Thank you so much.’ Olivia sat in one of the high-backed office chairs and pulled the number of the gallery from her contacts list on her phone. It took a few moments to connect, but eventually someone picked up.
‘Hunt Gallery, Mayfair, how can I help you?’
‘Hi, Yelena. Is Jules around? It’s Olivia.’
‘I think he’s in a meeting …’
‘I need to speak to him urgently. Please can you get him on the line? Tell him it’s about Aaron.’
‘Just a moment.’
After a few more rings, Olivia was put through to Jules, one of the gallery curators. She sat up straighter when she heard his deep voice. ‘Yes?’
‘Jules, have you heard from Aaron?’
‘Isn’t he with you, off on his polar adventure?’ There was something in his tone that Olivia couldn’t interpret.
‘Well, a few hours ago he got a message from you that there was an emergency to do with Bertrand. I just needto know how long your video call lasted for, and if you know where he was when he did it.’
There was a pause on the other end of the line. ‘There’s been no emergency here – except that one of our curators has run off to the end of the world taking one of our top-performing artist portfolios with him.’
‘But—’
‘I’m sorry, I haven’t heard from Aaron today – or for the past few months, in fact. Anything else?’