Page 64 of The Cruise

‘Try it with the saltfish,’ Anne suggested and spooned fish stew onto Kath’s plate.

‘Conk!’ the Captain called out from behind his mask and banged the table with the handle of a knife.

‘Let me help you,’ Bridgette said and, removing the Captain’s mask, served him a portion of conch curry. ‘This is his favourite,’ she told everyone. ‘Conch is the meat from the beautiful conch shell that you occasionally find washed up on the beach in the Caribbean.’

‘It should stay on the beach.’ Anne shuddered. ‘The colour is revolting.’ She nibbled on ceviche, toying with the raw salted fish and the tangy taste of limes. As she ate, Anne felt disgruntled. Dicky and his companion climbed out of a taxi to sit close by.

Dicky raised his glass to acknowledge Anne.

‘Be polite,’ Kath whispered, ‘and thankful that you didn’t sleep with him.’

Anne turned away. She couldn’t tell Kath that she wished she was sitting with Dicky. Even though he’d stood her up, she still fancied him. Just like Barry, bad boys would always be her downfall.

As they ate, the sun disappeared, and the sky clouded over. It was still hot, but the atmosphere had become clammy.

‘I have to make my way back to the ship,’ Bridgette announced, fanning her face with her hand. ‘I’m giving a talk later this afternoon.’

‘All muck and magic,’ the Captain chipped in, aware of the topic for Bridgette’s talk. He chewed the last of his curry, then glanced at his Rolex. ‘Time to be off!’

Anne smiled. ‘Let me help you,’ she said to Bridgette as the bill was settled and everyone rose. Anne took the Captain’s wheelchair and began to walk along the side of the harbour.

‘Oh, here comes the rain!’ Kath cried a few minutes later, reaching into her bag for a hat.

‘Better get our skates on,’ Bridgette said as the Captain took hold of his mask and held it over his head.

As if flicking a switch, the weather changed, and rain cascaded from the sky, ricocheting off the ground like bullets. Cruise ship passengers browsing in the shops dived for cover to shelter from the sudden storm.

‘Rats,’ Anne muttered as she ran behind the wheelchair. ‘My hair is ruined!’

What happened next was so unexpected that later, in the lounge on theDiamond Star, everyone wondered what exactly had taken place.

As Anne hurried along with the Captain, a man suddenly ran out from an alley.

Reaching Anne, he pushed her violently to one side, and, despite gripping tightly and kicking out with her feet, she slipped on the wet pathway and fell to the ground. The handles of the wheelchair were wrenched from her hands, and the Captain spun around. A man of gigantic proportions was facing him, dressed all in black, with a hoodie covering his face. He thrust out his hands as the Captain beat wildly with his mask, but in seconds the Rolex from the Captain’s wrist had gone.

Kath wrenched her bag from her shoulder and swung it as the man got away.

‘Stop thief!’ Bridgette yelled as she tried to run after the robber, but her words were lost as the rain thundered down and the man disappeared.

‘Oh, my goodness!’ Kath gasped as she helped Anne to her feet. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Traitor!’ the Captain shouted and rose from his chair, teetering perilously close to the water’s edge.

Bridgette steadied herself and battled to calm the Captain. Anne was bleeding from abrasions to her knees and stumbled as Kath took her arm. Shocked and dazed, they looked up as a couple ran towards them.

‘Holy moly!’ Kath gasped as Harold and Nancy broke into a run. They had towels pinned at the neck with plastic parrot clips, the fabric billowing like cloaks.

‘It’s Batman and Robin.’ Anne grinned.

‘Take it easy,’ Harold said as he skidded to a halt on the wet ground and Nancy, hands on hips, appeared by his side. Harold scooped Anne into his arms as Nancy hoisted Kath upright.

‘Thank God. The cavalry has arrived,’ Bridgette said as she took charge of the Captain. ‘Let’s get back to the ship,’ she shouted. ‘No use staying here. The crew will know what to do.’

As the rain continued to beat down, the bedraggled party huddled together and made their way to the comfort of theDiamond Star.

* * *

Five miles north of St John, at the heliport of V.C. Bird International Airport, Jane stood on the tarmac with Selwyn, metres from an Airbus helicopter. She stared at the giant bird-like structure and shook her head.

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