Chapter 7

Jack stared in awe at the gigantic cruise ship in front of him. It was seventeen decks high, the top six of which tapered off into the sky like a pyramid. From where Jack stood on the dockside, he could see palm trees, water slides, a climbing wall and a zipwire on the top decks. It was staggering. Hundreds of Asian-looking men and women scurried up and down each of the decks, brimming with purpose and commitment. They would wait on his parents hand and foot, making them feel like they were the most important people in the entire world—not because they cared about his parents having a good time, but because they, and their families back home, would rely almost entirely on the size of the tip left at the end of the cruise. But Jack balanced that cynical thought by wishing them all well, as he was certain how hard it must be sucking up to strangers 24/7.

This ship was taller than Jack’s apartment block and wider than the M25. It was like Vegas and Florida all rolled into one self-contained dream holiday. His parents would love it. He could see them now—they’d walk the decks each morning, drink champagne with breakfast, lose nightly in the casino and eat themselves silly.

Jack checked his ticket to the Isle of Wight for the umpteenth time. Still there. He had only loosely planned his line of questioning for Ester Freeman. He wasn’t one for being boxed in by pre-emptive thinking, and would rather let Ester’s answers guide how their meeting went. He’d be late sailing, but he had his excuse planned for when Ridley asked; he was going to say that he’d been dragged into helping the Port Authorities to control a problem passenger. Ridley wouldn’t be able to bollock him for that.

Jack’s mobile rang.

“Where are you, darling?”

“Look up, Mum. See the massive white cruise ship?” Jack joked to Penny. “Head for that.”

He smiled as he slid his mobile into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. As Charlie and Penny ambled toward him, they looked as though they hadn’t got a care in the world.

“We’re here!” Penny laughed.

There were numerous high-end restaurants in and around Southampton Docks, but Jack took his parents to a small pub. Charlie and Penny were not complicated people, and nor was the food they liked to eat.

Charlie and Jack both ordered steak and chips, and Penny ordered chicken and mushroom pie. She always ordered pie when she went out because she’d never been able to master the art of making pastry—“I like to order something I’d never have at home, otherwise, what’s the point?” They shared a bottle of red and talked and talked, but not about anything important. Nobody mentioned Charlie’s cancer, or the fact that he might never set foot on English soil again.

After they’d eaten, Jack left his parents in the pub, while he nipped to Penny’s car to collect their suitcases. Penny had parked in the long-stay car park, in the furthest space of the furthest zone—this was because she was of the firm belief that car thieves only steal from cars close to the exit in order to make a quick getaway.