The telephone rang. Schmidt, of course. The sound of that fat, jolly, Father Christmas voice snapped me back into the real world. ‘Impossible,’ I said.

‘Was ist’s?’ said Schmidt.

‘I’m on my way, Schmidt.’

To judge by the image I saw in a mirror later on I must have selected clothes that were more or less coordinated, but I don’t know how I did it; I was thinking of other things.

The opposition seemed to be a lot more efficient than our group. They had fingered Ali, which was more than I had, and disposed of him without scruple or delay. Why now? I wondered. Just general tidiness, or had he been about to blow the whistle on one or all of them? He’d have to have solid evidence to do that – and they must have known he had it or they wouldn’t have taken the risk of committing murder at this stage.

Despite the record he’d managed to build up while hobnobbing with me, John wasn’t a killer. Admittedly that assessment depended to some extent on his own statements, which were far from reliable in other areas, but I was inclined to believe him. He could reasonably claim self-defence in both the examples to which I had been an eyewitness.

Or defence of me.

The phone distracted me from that uncomfortable train of thought. I didn’t bother answering, since I assumed it was Schmidt; I picked up my bag and headed out.

All prejudice aside, I couldn’t visualize John knocking Ali unconscious and holding his head underwater till he drowned. That wasn’t John’s style. Apparently he had got himself mixed up with a very nasty crowd. He had a bad habit of doing that.

Schmidt’s room was on the top deck, the sundeck, on the same side of the boat as mine. There were only four suites on that level – the choicest of all, I assumed, since Blenkiron had two of them.

Schmidt flung the door open before I could knock, and enveloped me in a huge hug. ‘At last! I was about to go in search of you. You are late.’

‘No, I’m not. We didn’t settle on a time.’

His room was a tad bigger and fancier than mine. A fixed screen separated the sitting area from the bedroom and there were two overstuffed chairs, plus a long comfortable sofa. The sliding doors stood open, admitting a cool breeze and a breathtaking view of the sunset-reddened cliffs.

‘We will sit on the balcony and admire the scenery,’ Schmidt said, bustling around with glasses and bottles. ‘It is very pleasant, nicht? I have been on many cruise boats, but never one so luxurious as this.’