I relaxed a little. The moon was so bright it seemed really light; I had assumed it was almost morning and was worried Dad might already be up – sometimes he was a very early riser.

I put my arms around Fred and kissed him. ‘Thanks for an amazing night,’ I said.

He shrugged. ‘It was just bowling.’

I didn’t want him to go. ‘Can we do it again?’

‘Yeah. If you like. Why not? As long as we still get to do this …’ he indicated the blanket, ‘too. Same time next week?’

I grinned. ‘Yeah. Can’t wait.’

I watched as he drove away and then crept back up to the house. I didn’t want to risk Dad hearing the front door open, so I went in the back door and tiptoed up the stairs.

I didn’t turn the light on but started stripping off my clothes as quickly as possible so that if Dad did hear something, I could say I’d been in bed for ages and had got up to go to the loo.

As I pulled the covers back to push the pillows I’d so carefully arranged earlier I nearly jumped out of my skin as the light flicked on.

Wearing just my pants and bra, I turned round to see Dad, fully clothed, standing in the doorway of my room holding a shotgun which was pointed directly at me.

Slowly, he lowered the gun.

‘Where the FUCK have you been?’

40

Stuart

22 January 2022, 23:00

The Caribbean

‘So have you ever slept with Rick?’ I ask Alice, after one of our usual sessions that evening. Unsurprisingly, there’s an odd atmosphere on board. Rick’s death has caused a lot of speculation, and not only about how he died. I’m surprised he put it around quite as much as it’s rumoured he did, as he wasn’t exactly a looker, but I suppose some people have hidden depths.

Alice swings herself up out of bed and puts on my discarded shirt.

‘We were good mates, and to be honest, all this speculation about his sex life is beginning to piss me off,’ she says. ‘I wish people would have some respect,’ she adds, not answering the question.

Hmm. Interesting. ‘I’ll take that as a yes then,’ I say.

‘It’s not a yes, it’s a none of your business,’ she replies, uncharacteristically snappy. ‘Did you? It sounds like he wasn’t that fussy,’ she adds, somewhat snidely. ‘Why are you asking anyway? I didn’t have you down as the jealous type.’

‘No reason. Just curious. Making conversation. From what I understand, he was quite a shagger. But to answer your question, even though you haven’t answered mine, I’m only into women – and one at a time at that. Unless it’s my birthday or a special occasion,’ I joke.