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Olivia narrowed her eyes. ‘Why?’
‘I care about my employees.’
‘Right. Your employees,’ Olivia muttered.
‘What?’
Olivia paused. ‘Nothing. She’s doing fine. As is Patty.’
‘Oh yes. Poor woman. Decent travel agent but should’ve moved on a long time ago.’
‘Moved on? She seems to really love the business. It’s rare to see anyone speak so passionately about their job.’
Cutler grunted.
‘At least the auction went well yesterday,’ said Olivia, changing the subject.
‘Yes, I think it did. Although that reminds me – I meant to speak to Stefan today about getting a final tally. I want to make sure the deal is ready to sign the moment we get back to the mainland. Have you heard from him?’
‘Not yet. I was going to find him this morning after the kayaking but then I had to get warm …’
‘Then let’s go together. Might as well hear it at the same time.’
After a few more steps, they reached the pinnacle of the small hill, where there was a crowd of passengers already. Looking inland, the continent of Antarctica stretched out for miles. For most of the trip, the ship had been glued to the coastline, and the interior had remained a mystery. It was truly epic, in all senses of the word – huge towering mountains leading to a vast desert of snow. One of the mountains had a cross at the very top of it.
‘It honours two scientists who died at one of the nearby bases,’ said Elisabet. She’d been standing at the top of the hill, waiting for the passengers with a clipboard, and followed Olivia’s gaze up to the cross. ‘They went out to climb a mountain, and never returned.’
Olivia shivered. For all its beauty, this was a brutal,inhospitable landscape. And out beyond the mountains, it was impossible to fathom how big the continent was, just snow and ice for thousands of miles, flowing in waves of sastrugi – windswept snow formations reminiscent of sand dunes. Once people were lost out there, that was it. Gone forever.
She pulled her gaze away, turning back to face the water. From this vantage point, the ship seemed so small – like a toy boat with its blue painted hull and bright red stripe, floating in a sea of glass. Despite knowing it was a hardened icebreaker, it looked fragile, dwarfed by the vastness of the landscape all around. She could see the yellow kayaks like little aphids, clustered together. The way the sea ice was broken up on the dark surface of the water made it seem as if there was a whale’s tail pattern etched into the ocean.
It was so still. So calm. So peaceful.
‘Excuse me, Elisabet?’
‘Yes?’
‘Can I borrow your binoculars?’
‘Of course.’ Elisabet unleashed the strap from around her neck and passed the binoculars over to Olivia.
She pressed them to her eyes, wincing at the cold. She cast her gaze around the bay. She focused the lenses on the kayakers, trying to make out Liam or Melissa. She spotted Liam on a double kayak with one of the Hughes boys. They were staying well away from any danger. She felt a twinge of guilt at being the reason the excursion was likely more risk-averse than normal.
She turned her attention further away from the boat. She scanned the coast, seeing nothing but miles of glacier and icy black water. She couldn’t even spot a whalespout misting the air, or a seal lounging on one of the icebergs. Definitely no sign of theClarissa II.
She heard fingers clicking in her direction. ‘Pass those binoculars over. I want to spot the kids,’ said Cutler. He’d finally caught up with her. His wife trudged on, exploring some of the top of the hill.
‘Oh, um, sure …’
Just as she passed them over her head to give to him, there was an enormous crack like a thunderclap. A chorus of screams came from the nearby hikers. Olivia turned in the direction of the sound – back towards the far shore glacier.
A huge chunk of ice calved away from the glacier as if in slow motion. It tumbled into the water as if it had been cleaved with a knife, a plume of ice and snow rising as it hit the surface. Seeing it from here was almost as terrifying as watching it from below.
Almost, but not quite.
The impact was immediate. The water swelled from where the glacier had fallen, a wave rippling out from the impact. It grew in intensity, and the worried shouts began again.
Ingrid was one of the loudest voices. ‘Matthew! Nate!’ she screamed, as if her sons had any chance of hearing her.