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‘We know. From you,’ Janine said, taking several steps back from him, dragging Olivia with her.
‘Look, don’t talk any more,’ said Liam, putting himself as a barrier between the women and Sergei. ‘Pedro and the captain are on their way. Talk to them.’
‘Ask Pierre what I’m doing here.’ Sergei spoke over Liam’s shoulder, his eyes locked on Olivia. ‘He’s in Ushuaia. He will explain.’
Then Patty and Janine led her out to the hallway, and Liam closed the door to the cabin.
Olivia’s mind raced.Ask Pierre?Since Pierre’s message from the captain, she hadn’t heard anything from the billionaire – no more radio messages, no more emails.
All the evidence pointed to Sergei being a thief. He’d been watching her since before she got on board – targeting her, learning her background. Of course he would try to throw suspicion on someone else.
After a few moments, Pedro showed up, asking all of them to make their way up to the bridge. He asked Patty and Janine to wait outside, while Olivia, Sergei and Liam joined the captain inside his office.
‘Sergei, can you explain yourself?’ asked Captain Enzo, when they had all arrived. ‘Where were you between six and eight o’clock this evening?’
‘I’ve been down in the engineering room on my shift, Captain.’
‘And this ring? How did it get in your cabin?’
‘I’ve never seen it before. I have no idea how it got here.’
‘You’re new to theVigil, so I understand you might not understand the protocol. But you are not to be on guest floors unless specifically assigned.’
‘I saw him that first night,’ said Olivia again. ‘What if he’d been looking to steal from me then too, but found out I had changed cabins? How do we know he’s telling the truth? Was there anyone down there with him?’
Sergei remained tight-lipped, while the captain rubbed at his eyebrows. He turned to Olivia. ‘I’m very sorry for what has happened to you, Miss Campbell. We will confine Sergei to a different cabin, where he will remain under guard while I investigate further. I’m afraid we don’t have many options until we return to port. Then there will be a full police investigation. I will inform the Argentinian forces so they are primed and ready when we dock.’
She nodded.
‘I hope now you can put this unfortunate business behind you and get some rest. We should have a beautiful sail up to the Lemaire Channel and Neko Harbour later today.’
‘Thank you, Captain.’
When she left the office, Janine and Patty were sitting on a bench just outside, along with Annalise. They leaped to their feet when they saw her. ‘How are you? Everything OK?’
‘They’re going to keep that man locked up for the rest of the trip.’
‘Oh, thank God for that,’ said Patty. ‘I think this has to be the most eventful cruise I’ve been on in my whole life!’
‘Same,’ said Annalise.
‘As long as it doesn’t cause Pioneer a PR nightmare when we get back. Can you imagine the calls we’ll have to field?’
‘I don’t think that will be an issue,’ said Annalise.
‘Why’s that?’ Patty asked, frowning.
Janine pulled on Olivia’s arm, letting the other two go on ahead. ‘While they’re talking business, I just wanted to say thank you for coming to get me.’
‘Of course. I made a promise and Sergei would still be stalking the ship if I hadn’t. Strange how things work out.’
‘And how great that Aaron wants to propose to you! You must be so happy.’
Olivia blushed. ‘Yeah. Although I’d have preferred it if he had made the boat instead of the ring.’
‘But you have to admit, your life is kind of amazing. You’ve got a great job, this glamorous art-world boyfriend who loves you, travel to far-flung places … I want to be like you. You know, in a few years.’
Olivia let out a bitter laugh. ‘I don’t think so.’