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Annalise nodded. ‘That sounds cool. Business is in my blood, especially the travel industry. I’ve worked for Pioneer for the past three years. Not quite as long as Patty, but still.’
‘She’s quite the force of nature.’
‘I mean, she’s literally spent her whole working life at Pioneer. She and her husband worked their butts off building the Toronto branch from the ground up. Poor guy. Who even uses travel agencies any more? Especially after Covid? I think a serious shake-up is coming. Take all the money Pioneer spent on this ship. Cutler ordered a total refit. Why?’
Olivia frowned. She knew why. Cutler was trying to sell the cruise ship arm of his business to a mystery buyer, for a large sum – the showcase was part of the package, something unique to draw passengers to the line. But Annalise didn’t appear to know anything about it, and it wasn’t Olivia’s place to say.
Annalise continued. ‘To be honest, I was kind of dreading coming on board. I don’t exactly relish spending this much time in close proximity to him.’ Olivia wasn’t sure who she was referring to, but there was a bitterness in her tone that made her wary to ask. ThenAnnalise shrugged. ‘Still, Patty is like my second mom. It’s nice to be able to support her. And so far it’s been cool.’ She nodded out of the porthole, at the ice drifting past their window.
‘Quite literally. Shame Patty couldn’t bring her husband on this trip.’
At that, Annalise winced.
Olivia frowned. ‘What did I say?’
‘It’s not really my place. It’s still really raw and I don’t think she’s dealing with it that well. But her husband passed away a couple of months ago.’
‘But the way she was talking about him made it seem like …’
‘I know. Like I said – she’s not doing well. Probably not great to bring it up.’
‘Jesus. I had no idea,’ said Olivia.
Annalise put her finger to her lips as Patty walked into the library.
‘There you guys are! I’ve been looking for you.’ Patty dropped into one of the armchairs, as Janine perched against one of the computer tables. She looked closely at Olivia’s forehead. ‘I see you got your bandage replaced. Did you find out why they needed the chopper?’ Patty leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
‘We’re not all about to catch some terrible variant of norovirus, are we?’ muttered Annalise.
Olivia hesitated. She didn’t want to become the source of a rumour that could spread throughout the ship, seeding panic. But she didn’t want to lie to her cabinmates either. She glanced around her. They were the only ones in the room; there was no one to overhear. ‘No, it wasn’t food poisoning. But I do know it was twopeople affected. The honeymooners. They were flown back to Ushuaia so the cause of their … illness could be investigated.’
Patty’s expression became more sombre. ‘Oh dear. I hope they’re OK. Christa was such a sweetheart.’
‘At least they dealt with it quickly,’ said Annalise. ‘It would be a PR nightmare if there was an outbreak of some virus onboard. Remember the “poop cruise”, Patty?’
She grimaced. ‘How could I forget?’
‘I studied that whole incident for my dissertation.’
‘So they’re OK? They just needed medical assistance?’ asked Janine.
Olivia didn’t trust herself to say anything, so she just nodded.
‘Well, lucky for them that it happened so early, while there was a chance of rescue. The further south we get, that would become impossible,’ said Patty.
Rescue. Olivia didn’t want to correct Patty. You couldn’t rescue people who were already dead.
‘I wonder what happened?’ Annalise mused.
‘They think maybe the couple brought something on board themselves that they ingested,’ said Olivia.
‘Like drugs? God, some people,’ muttered Patty. ‘She didn’t seem like the type but you never know these days. If anyone was going to bring drugs on board, I would have expected one of those rich art types. Am I right, Olivia?’
‘Think the cops will get involved?’ asked Annalise.
She skirted around Patty’s question and only answered Annalise. ‘No idea. I guess it will depend whether the Argentinian authorities have jurisdiction in these waters.’
‘I’m sure the doctors back in Ushuaia can help.’ Patty reached over to pat Olivia’s knee. ‘Don’t be too worried. I mean, maybe that’s why they were so insistent on being together? You never know.’