‘I’ve barely seen them,’ I admitted. ‘It’s mostly Lenny, the chief steward. He’s … not a problem.’

‘OK, good.’ Her eyes flicked back and forth between me and what I assumed was another computer, one hand occasionally shooting out to tap something manically on a keyboard. ‘And no one has been lurking in the background or taking photos or anything?’

‘Absolutely not. It’s practically a ghost ship, we barely see anyone. If it weren’t for Lenny popping up every couple of hours to make sure everything is OK, I might think this was a modern day Black Pearl.’

‘I don’t get that reference and please don’t explain it to me,’ she said. ‘You’ve got all your instructions for tomorrow?’

Holding up a printed, laminated piece of paper from the desk, I nodded.

‘Crystal Ball itinerary. We dock at lunch, the hotel is sending golf carts to collect us, Juliette has her soundcheck at five thirty, makeup will be waiting in her suite – the stylist has already delivered wardrobe, by the way – Juliette performs at half past eleven, thirty minutes onstage, we stay overnight at the hotel, then it’s back on the boat Sunday morning. I’ve confirmed and double-checked everything, carts, hotel, makeup, security, crew, all of it.’

‘Good. Make sure you remind the organisers of the event that there aren’t going to be any meet and greets,’ Sarah said, still typing furiously with one hand. ‘She’s performing and she’s leaving, that’s it. She won’t be attending the gala, she won’t be mingling, and we have an absolutely zero tolerance policy on selfies. She’s singing and that’s that.’

‘Got it,’ I replied, wondering if the policy on selfies extended to me as well.

‘She can get stressed out the night before a performance, so make sure she goes to bed at a decent time tonight, and since I’m sure she’s still drinking even though she shouldn’t be, no more than one glass of champagne,’ Sarah went on. ‘She’s got meds if she needs them, dosage amounts are on the bottle and in the bible, all the pills are locked up in your safe.’

I nodded, glancing at the black leather ring binder. I’d had to give a boss’s Pekinese worming medicine once so I was pretty sure I could convince an anxious performer to take her Xanax. I made a mental note to ask Lenny for some cubes of cheese in case I had to pull the old hidden tablet trick. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to clamp Juliette’s mouth shut and massage her throat while reassuring her that she was a good girl.

‘Any questions?’ Sarah asked.