BooksBarbecue
Back The Cruise
Chapters (97)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Michael has never …
  4. Prologue
  5. PART ONE
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. PART TWO
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. PART THREE
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. PART FOUR
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. PART FIVE
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. PART SIX
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. PART SEVEN
  64. 53
  65. 54
  66. 55
  67. PART EIGHT
  68. 56
  69. 57
  70. 58
  71. 59
  72. PART NINE
  73. 60
  74. 61
  75. 62
  76. 63
  77. 64
  78. 65
  79. 66
  80. 67
  81. 68
  82. 69
  83. 70
  84. 71
  85. 72
  86. 73
  87. 74
  88. 75
  89. PART TEN
  90. 76
  91. Epilogue
  92. Acknowledgements
  93. Keep Reading …
  94. 1
  95. About the Author
  96. By Catherine Cooper
  97. About the Publisher

Oh God. She’s going to be livid. This was not part of her plan. But I did this for her. She’ll understand that. Won’t she?

62

Lola

5 February 2022, 12:30

The Caribbean

‘You did what?’ I cry.

Jesse is shaking and snivelling and really pissing me off. ‘I know, Lola, I’m sorry, I panicked. When he said that there was DNA of a relative of mine, I was so scared he knew you were here, still alive, and that you killed Rick and …’

‘For God’s sake!’ I shout. ‘I left you the jumpers for that very reason as a precaution – I knew the police would be involved at some point. I didn’t expect all this stupid crew DNA testing though! And it sounds like Stuart was more worried about your mental health than about whether I might have come back from the dead! And quite rightly so, given what you’ve done! What the fuck did you have to brain him for?’

‘I know – I’m sorry …’

‘And now we’ve got a dead body on our hands! God, Jesse, you’ve completely fucked this up. Can you see why I didn’t tell you what I was doing from the outset? I’m starting to regret involving you. I should have found someone I could rely on properly.’ I am utterly fuming. I can barely see straight, I’m so angry. This was definitely not part of my plan. It was all perfectly arranged and now Jesse’s gone and messed it all up.

He grabs my hand, but I snatch it away. ‘Please Lola, don’t be like that. I can fix it. I know I can. He might not even be dead …’

What? ‘Don’t you see?’ I interrupt. ‘If he’s not dead that’s even worse. Then you’d have to come up with an explanation for why you battered him over the head for no reason!’

‘I can … I can say …’ he stutters.

‘Stop it, Jesse, I need to think,’ I snap. ‘You need to go back and check if he’s dead. Right now. If he’s not, you need to finish him off. That’s the only way out of this. And then either way, you need to get rid of the body. This risks messing up everything – you do realize that, don’t you?’

‘I know,’ he mutters. I see tears coming to his eyes. He needs to hold it together. I can’t have him spoiling everything, not when I’ve come this far. ‘Oh God, Lola, I don’t think I can do it,’ he whines. ‘Can you come with me? I’ve never seen a dead body before.’