‘Of course I remember him. He wasn’t on duty this morning . . . Oh, good heavens. Don’t tell me he’s jumped ship, or whatever you call it?’

‘That was what we believed, when he did not report for duty this morning. It would not have surprised me; if he was responsible for the accident of the flowerpot, his guilty conscience and fear of punishment might have driven him into flight.’

That would have been bad enough, but I could tell by Hamid’s frown that it was even worse. I didn’t say anything. I suppose I had a premonition of what was coming.

‘He fell, or jumped, overboard, sometime during the night,’ Hamid said slowly. ‘The body was found a few hours ago.’

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I

I MUST HAVE looked as sick as I felt. Hamid took my arm and led me to a chair.

‘You must not blame yourself, Dr Bliss.’

‘I don’t.’ One of my less convincing lies, that one. It didn’t even convince me.

‘It was an unfortunate accident,’ Hamid said gently. ‘He must have tried to swim to shore and been seized by a cramp or something of the sort.’

The others were gathering for the afternoon tour. John was among them – with Mary, as usual, by his side.

‘Tell them to wait for me,’ I said, rising. ‘I won’t be long.’

All I could see as I ran up the stairs was that kid’s face – wet with tears as he protested his innocence, wreathed in smiles as he assured me of his appreciation for my kindness. Kindness! It couldn’t have been an accident. Either he had been bribed to drop the flowerpot and later repented, or he had seen the person responsible. They had disposed of him as coolly and callously as if he had been a mosquito.

The note I scribbled wasn’t very coherent, but I was pretty sure it would get the point across. I put it in the safe and ran back to the lobby.

The others were heading down the gangplank when I got there, but Feisal had waited for me.

‘Hamid said he had told you.’ His warm dark eyes searched my face.

‘Yes.’

‘He should not have. It has distressed you.’

‘Of course it has! What kind of monster do you think I am?’

‘I don’t think you are a monster. That is why I did not want Hamid to tell you.’ He put a supportive arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him for a moment, and his grip tightened as a violent tremor ran through me. He didn’t know I was shaking with rage, not distress.

‘There is no need to mention this unhappy business to the other passengers,’ Feisal said.

I nodded. ‘I’m all right, Feisal. Let’s go.’

‘Herr Schmidt is not yet here. He indicated his wish to accompany us.’