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Olivia thought back to the story he’d told her, about the person who had bribed him to bring the champagne aboard. ‘You don’t think it’s …’
Liam shook himself. ‘It can’t be.’ Then he turned to the rest of the group, the colour back in his cheeks. ‘It’ll be easiest if you stay in pairs – try to buddy up,’ he said. ‘Make sure you have a shovel and a bivvy sack.’
Olivia swallowed, glancing over at Delilah, who had paired up with Yara, the influencer. Delilah had been the underbidder at the London Yennin auction. She was a woman used to getting what she wanted. Did she really feel like Pierre had been informed of Yennin’s death in advance of the official news? Would that be enough to drive her to get payback in the form of poisoned champagne? Olivia felt herself shiver.
‘Excuse me.’ Ingrid pushed past Olivia to clamber into Melissa’s Zodiac. Melissa then steered it back towards the boat.
‘I think that’s another divorce incoming,’ said Annalise out of the corner of her mouth.
Olivia hadn’t realized that all her cabinmates were around her.
Patty elbowed her in the side. ‘That’s not nice.’
‘What? There’s clearly no love lost there,’ muttered Annalise.
‘She’s been through a lot today,’ said Olivia.
Janine picked up one of the big shovels.
‘Let me give you a hand with that,’ said Olivia. But Janine had already swung it over her shoulder.
‘Don’t worry, I got it.’
‘See? This is why we need young people around – to do all this heavy lifting,’ said Patty with a laugh.
‘Come on – we’d better catch up,’ said Olivia.
Liam was dragging a long red plastic pulk behind him, laden with emergency supplies. He led the group single file along the ice shelf, up a short hill to a plateau that had a clear view across the bay to the ship. From that vantage point, the blue-hulled boat seemed so small, surrounded by the majesty of the big white continent.
Olivia took a moment to catch her breath and take in the view. The sky was a deep indigo, the sun dropping ever lower. At this latitude, the sun would set for a few minutes, hovering just below the horizon. But ambient light would linger in the sky, never fully extinguishing. A white night.
There were wisps of cloud tinted yellow. She gripped the handle of the shovel tighter. Some movement close to the boat caught her eye. Melissa was steering the Zodiac back to shore. Olivia squinted. It looked as if someone was in the boat with Melissa. It was hard to tell if it was another person or just a large sack of suppliesin a black duffle. Black – not the regulation red parka or the crew blue.
She scoured the bay, wishing she had binoculars. She couldn’t see anything except the gentle white caps on the waves and the towering icebergs floating. No sign of theClarissa II. Still, just because she couldn’t see it, didn’t mean it wasn’t there. There were so many inlets and crevices where the glaciers jutted out on to the charcoal-black water. So many places where a yacht could hide.
She turned back to look at the group on the little plateau. It was hard to tell who was who with everyone wearing the same red Pioneer-branded jackets. They were like a crèche of crimson penguins. Only Liam, Melissa and Dr Vance stood out.
‘Are they trying to tire us out before bedtime or something?’ Patty huffed from behind. She dropped the shovel she’d been carrying with a thud.
‘I’ll help you with that,’ Olivia said, picking up the handle and dragging it along the ground.
‘Can you believe this? That we’re here? Karl would have given his left arm to camp on Antarctica. He’d have loved it.’ Patty took a deep breath.
Olivia touched her shoulder. ‘Was he adventurous?’
‘Oh, always. But what he loved most was getting to share that with other people. The look of excitement on his face when he booked a client on a trip and knew what a life-changing experience they were about to have … It made him so happy.’
‘He sounds like an amazing man.’
‘He was. When he passed, our business suffered too. I had to use all his life insurance and remortgage the house to keep it going during Covid and the downturn. Butwe’re steadily getting back on our feet now. Annalise really stepped up to help. She might be taciturn, but she’s whip-smart. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ran Pioneer one day.’
Olivia kept her head down, tugging her hot pink hat lower down over her ears. There wasn’t going to be a Pioneer Adventures for much longer if Cutler went through with his plan.
Liam stopped in the middle of the plateau and dropped the rope of the pulk. ‘All right, everyone, this is where we’re going to camp for the night. Time to take out your shovels and dig yourselves a hole long enough to lie down comfortably in. The sides of the hole will offer you shelter from the wind. Try to remove any stones or hard chunks of ice that might stick into your back – or else you might find it a very long night.’
‘No one told us we had to do hard labour,’ muttered Cutler. He didn’t look like a man used to doing his own digging.
Olivia set down Patty’s shovel. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you first.’