Page 13 of Dead in the Water

“Yes.” Joyce nodded. “We had a drink together back on the boat. Kerry and Vic were still in the galley when we went to bed, but I heard them going to bed soon after.” She swung around in her seat to face her husband. “If only I hadn’t put my earplugs in. I’m a light sleeper usually,” she said, flicking her gaze to the sergeant. “I had earplugs in and my eye mask on. Keith snores, you see.”

“You mentioned that,” the sergeant said, eyes on the notes they’d made at the scene.

“We both said when we woke up that we slept really well,” she went on, babbling away. “It must be the sea air, but we both slept deeply. Why did it have to be that night that we slept so well?”

“That last whiskey knocked me out.” Keith sighed heavily. “I wish I’d skipped it now.”

“I feel awful about all that business over selling the boat,” Joyce said and reached for yet another tissue.

“What business was that?” Flynn asked.

“Joseph wanted to sell his share of the boat,” Keith said. “We’d found a buyer – Russell, who’s travelling with us – but they couldn’t agree on a price.”

Joyce blew her nose noisily. “It caused some friction on the trip.”

“Nothing major,” Keith said. “There were a couple of uncomfortable conversations, but there wasn’t a lot we could do if they couldn’t agree on a price.”

“So Mr Whittaker changed his mind about selling?” Sergeant Proctor asked.

“No. I think he was just going to wait and see if Russell would increase the offer, or look for someone else to sell to. Like I say, it wasn’t a huge deal. Just a shame that it hadn’t been the relaxed trip we expected.”

“Joseph changed his mind about the holiday, so we were cutting the trip short and sailing back to St Ives,” Joyce added. “I just wish our last days together hadn’t involved that stress. We used to get on so well.”

“I imagine there’s always some friction when friends own a yacht together,” the sergeant said as he stood. “There’s really no sense in beating yourselves up. Thanks for speaking to us again.”

“What happens now?” Keith asked, standing.

“I spoke to Joseph’s son,” the sergeant said with a hand on the doorknob. “He wants to come over here and go through his father’s things on the boat. He’d also like to escort the body back to the mainland, so I’m waiting to hear when he can make it over.”

“We’ll have to stay longer then,” Joyce said, a hand on her husband’s arm. “We’ll stay and wait for James.” A fresh round of tears made her chest shudder. “Poor James.”

Flynn escorted them back to the reception and invited Russell Hart back to the interview room. The man was a good few years younger than the rest of the group, and sharply dressed in chinos and a short-sleeved shirt.

With his cool demeanour, he told them how he’d been staying at the Star Castle Hotel the previous evening. As the only member of the party who wasn’t an owner of the yacht, he had the smallest cabin – which was so cramped that he avoided sleeping on the boat if there was another option. He’d heard nothing about Mr Whittaker’s death until the others had informed him after the body had been found.

“We heard there’s been some dispute about you buying Mr Whittaker’s share of the boat?” Flynn asked, when Russell rounded up his account of the last twenty-four hours.

“Yes. We couldn’t agree on a price, though. He thought I was lowballing him, but the boat’s in need of some repairs and maintenance. Also, while buying in with other owners is appealing in some regards, it’s problematic in others. I like the other owners and it’s great to have like-minded people to travel with, but there’s always some tension that comes with it too. The price needed to reflect that.”

“How did you leave things?”

“He said he wouldn’t sell unless I increased the offer. I told him I wasn’t interested in buying at the price he wanted. We left it at that. To be honest, I thought that with a bit of time he’d change his mind, especially as I knew he wouldn’t get a better offer. Vic and Kerry were especially put out at having to cut the trip short. They thought Joseph should let us continue on the boat without him, but he was adamant about going back to St Ives until everything was sorted out.”

Flynn and the sergeant nodded along with his account, which matched what they’d heard from the Hugheses. After anotherfive minutes, they’d been through everything with Russell and thanked him for coming in.

Flynn’s stomach growled while Kerry and Vic Cooper went through their recollection of events. The thought of sandwiches made his mouth water, and he sipped his coffee to keep the hunger at bay.

“You both went to bed at the same time?” he asked Kerry eventually.

“Yes. I was exhausted. We both were.” Unlike Joyce, she never once looked at her husband for confirmation or reassurance. She sat ramrod straight and the tissue box was in the same state as it had been when she walked in.

“I took a sleeping pill,” her husband said, running a hand over his bald head and drawing attention to his sunspots. “So I was out like a light.”

For the first time since entering the room, Kerry’s eyes slid to her husband. Then a small smile lifted her thin lips. “I’d been on the G&Ts in the pub, and then had a whiskey back on the boat, so I was dead to the world from the moment my head hit the pillows.”

If she registered her slightly unfortunate word choice, she didn’t show it.

“What a way to go,” she said blithely. “Awful for his son, of course, but I can’t help but think he’s with his wife now. He wasn’t the same after Lisa passed away. I’m not a religious person or anything, but it’s comforting to think of them together again.”

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