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I know this is a complete disaster, but I don’t want you to worry about me. Have fun. Go on the excursions. Look after the art for me. I know you can do it.
I’ll see you on the dock when you return.
Love, Aaron
Relief flooded her system. ‘Oh, thank God for that,’ she said, leaning back in her chair and running her hands through her hair.
‘What’s happened?’ asked Annalise.
‘It’s Aaron. He’s been in touch finally. Finally! He’s OK.’ She took another look at the email, reaching out and touching the screen with her finger, as if she could connect to him that way. She double-checked the email address that it came from, still unable to believe that it was him. But it was. She wouldn’t have to go to the captain after all.
Only there was something about the email that bothered her. She read it again.
Dear Olivia …
But she gave herself a shake. He was OK. Then she felt heat creep into her cheeks. Why had it taken him so long? She clicked on the button to reply, but when she tried to type anything, the cursor moved in an infuriating circle. Then the connection cut out altogether.
She took a deep breath, worried she might be tempted to break the keyboard otherwise. ‘I think I need some air. You coming?’ she asked Annalise.
‘Later.’
Olivia shrugged, then walked out of the library and towards the bow of the ship, where some crew members were serving coffee. The wind was still strong but no longer so aggressive, and while the waves were big, the ship was managing to cut a path through the water without too much disruption.
She picked up a cup, drinking it black. She spotted Patty and Janine, but she still needed a moment to herself. As the realization that Aaron was OK settled, she felt another emotion replace the relief. Anger.Have fun. Go on the excursions, he’d written. Have fun? How dare he? How could he do this to her? How could he abandon her, leave her hanging for an entire day, all alone on an expedition ship to Antarctica? She’d been so worried that something terrible had happened to him.
Now that she knew he was fine? There was no excuse for him to have missed the departure.
Then Olivia heard a noise that made her heart skip a beat. The belly-deep thwack of helicopter blades. She ran to the railings, leaning out to try to see where the helicopter was coming from. Had Aaron managed to find a way to her after all now that the weather was clearer? Was the email a decoy to surprise her? Shesearched the sky, but in among the clouds she could see no sign of it.
Then a gust of wind hit her, and she finally saw the heli. But it wasn’t arriving.
It was leaving.
14
Olivia watched the helicopter as it circled the ship, then flew off – presumably in the direction of Ushuaia. Her heart sank as it disappeared from view.
Her last opportunity to get off the ship was well and truly gone.
She jumped as someone put a hand on her back. It was Patty. She, Janine and Annalise were together now. ‘I wonder what happened?’ she asked.
‘They use the chopper for medical emergencies,’ Olivia replied. ‘Elisabet told me that.’
‘Probably one of the old people on board. Hope they had life insurance.’ Annalise shrugged, then headed inside to the dining room without waiting to see if the other three would follow.
‘That’s terrible,’ said Patty. ‘Imagine if you’d paid all that money to come all this way to Antarctica and had to be airlifted back home after one terrible night at sea. Olivia, what’s wrong?’
Only seeing Patty’s look of concern made Olivia realize how shocked she was. ‘Oh my God. I just realized. I wasn’t the only one in the medical bay last night. I overheard the doctors talking about someone else. They were discussing whether to use the helicopter or not. I guess things got so bad, they had to.’
‘Did they say why?’ Janine’s eyes opened wide.
‘All I could hear was snippets.’ She didn’t want to shareher paranoia with the two other women, but they were both staring at her so intently, she caved. ‘Someone said the word “poison” but when I questioned Doctor Ranjeed, he clarified they were talking about food poisoning.’
‘Common enough ailment on a cruise ship,’ said Patty. Her grey curls shook when she shivered. ‘But bad enough to warrant an airlift? I’ve only ever heard of that for cardiac distress or head trauma. Maybe a badly broken limb.’
Janine raised her eyebrows at Patty, who shrugged. ‘I’ve helped a lot of my clients with insurance issues. Happens more than you think on board a cruise ship. Come on. Let’s go get some breakfast. Despite all this talk of poison and illness, I’m famished. Plus, Annalise tells me you heard from your boyfriend? You must be so happy! I want to hear all about it.’
Olivia’s stomach growled too. She never thought clearly on an empty stomach. Food had been something else she’d neglected when she’d been in the worst stages of burnout.