She stopped and shook her head. ‘Listen, I don’t know what’s gone on between you and the captain in the past, but I can say one thing for certain: Daniel Bonhoeffer is a level-headed man of integrity. All of us have nothing but the girl’s best interests at heart, and this whole affair is just as unpleasant for him as it is for me.’

‘Sure, sure.’ Martin laughed disparagingly.

And chickens die of tooth decay.

They passed several doors on both sides of the corridor, some of which were open, allowing Martin a glimpse inside the crew cabins. Rudimentary cells with open cupboards and bunk beds like in a railway couchette car. Only narrower.

Before they’d descended into the cruise underworld, the doctor had told him that they would be passing the staff area of the first lower deck, reserved for the higher-ranking employees in the ship’s hierarchy. Chambermaids, bartenders, waiters and other service personnel. Further below, decks B and C were home to the crew members who worked in the kitchens, laundry, desalination unit or machine room. People who would never come face to face with a paying guest.

Supposedly the staff area was more comfortable than the crew area, but even on deck A Martin felt as if he were walking along a prison cell block. Behind the closed doors he could hear both male and female laughter; someone yelled something in a language he didn’t understand, and in the cabin they were just passing two men in boxer shorts were playing cards and listening to rap music.

When the half-naked men caught sight of the tall, slim doctor they stuck out their tongues and made panting noises. One of them grabbed the front of his pants.

‘Hey, Doc, fancy examining what I’ve got in my hand?’ he called out in English.

‘If you can hold it in one hand I’m not interested,’ she retorted, earning roars of laughter.

They turned into a slightly wider corridor, where a number of carts and serving trolleys were parked.

‘This is Broadway,’ she announced, pointing to an American road sign painted on the floor. ‘All the thoroughfares on the lower decks are named after the streets of Manhattan.’

‘That makes it easier to find your way around?’

‘Pretty much. At the moment we’re heading uptown towards Times Square, the entertainment hub for employees, where they play table tennis and gamble on fruit machines. If you get lost you just have to go back to Park Avenue – the one we just came down – and from there to Grand Central Station, which is where we entered this area.’

‘Idiot-proof,’ Martin said sarcastically. ‘Even a child could find their way out after a couple of months here, eh?’