He turned and saw two people waiting for him at the opposite end of the pool. He swam toward them, gliding through the final few metres and anchoring himself against the side. He looked up, used his hand to shade his eyes against the sun, and saw Victoria and Jean-Michel looking down at him. Victoria had changed into a bikini top and a sarong, but her husband was still dressed in his chef’s whites.

“Jean-Michel has good news,” Victoria said.

Milton wiped the water from his face. “Go on.”

“I spoke to my brother,” Jean-Michel said. “There’s a ship leaving for Tokyo this evening.”

“That was quick.”

“You got lucky. The next one isn’t until next week.”

“Can he get us on it?”

“He can.”

Milton planted his hands on the lip of the pool and kicked up through the water, propelling himself out.

“We’d better tell Sakura,” he said.

* * *

Sakura was still stretched out on the lounger, but, while Milton had exercised, she had found a copy of Vogue and was flipping through the glossy pages. She looked up as the three of them approached and, seeing their expressions, closed the magazine and dropped it on the floor.

“Is everything okay?”

“Good news,” Milton said. “Jean-Michel has found us a ship to Japan.”

“When?”

“Tonight,” Jean-Michel said. “But there’s a wrinkle.”

Milton could guess. “Money?”

“I’m afraid so. My brother will need to bribe someone on the ship.”

“How much?”

“Not cheap,” he said, wincing in anticipation of the figure he was going to have to deliver.

“Go on.”

“Twenty thousand dollars.”

Milton shrugged. “Okay.”

“John…” Sakura protested.

“It’s okay,” Milton said, raising a hand. “It’s fine.”

“Twenty thousand cash,” Jean-Michel added.

“No problem.”

Victoria cocked an eyebrow. “You’ve got twenty grand in cash?”

“I do,” he said. “I sold a car before I flew over here. We can use that.”

Sakura stood up. “No,” she said. “I can’t let you do that.”

“It’s just money. It’s not that important to me. I travel light. I don’t have expensive tastes. The money is just sitting in my pack, doing nothing. Let me put it to a good cause. This is the safest way for you to get back to Tokyo.”

“I’ll pay you back,” she said. “I’ll find the money when we get home.”