“And you don’t think you imagined it? The moonlight can play tricks out on the ocean, especially after a night of drinking and dancing, maybe?”

I shook my head. “I definitely saw something.”

“Tell us exactly what you thought you saw.” He pulled up a chair beside me.

I frowned, trying to re-create what I had seen. “I was standing up on A deck, looking out to sea and I thought I saw something come out of a window farther down the ship and I watched it fall into the sea. I heard a splash and when I looked down it seemed to me that long dark hair was floating on the surface.”

“You’re sure it was a person that you saw?”

“Not at all sure. It could have been a big object. A big bundle.”

“A bundle, you say?” he asked sharply. “What made you use that word?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It just came out.”

“And when you looked down into the ocean you didn’t notice anyone struggling or splashing or calling for help?”

I shook my head. “No movement at all.”

“No white face? White limbs?”

“No. Just a dark shape and the hair floating out.”

The captain glanced across at the officer who was standing beside me.

“Would you say that whoever or whatever this was fell straight down or maybe jumped out first?”

I thought again. “I couldn’t say. I just caught movement and had an impression of something falling. Something quite large and dark.”

“And where did it fall from, do you think?”

“I believe it must have been from my level,” I said. “From A deck, quite a way to the right of where I was standing. I suppose it could have come from one deck below me, but I don’t think so.”

“Toward the stern, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“So that would be a part of A deck where there is no promenade deck. Where the cabins have windows that open directly onto the side of the ship?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Make a note of who has those cabins on the starboard side, Jones,” the captain said.

“Do you want to speak to their occupants right away, sir?”

The captain shook his head. “No, I think not. If our search doesn’t turn up anyone in the sea tonight and nobody is reported missing by morning then we’ll have to take the next step, but at this moment I don’t want to alarm the passengers unnecessarily. Brooks should be reporting back from the lifeboat any minute. Personally I think it highly unlikely that we’ll find anything. Looking for a needle in a haystack would be an easy task compared to this.”