There was a waterproof shelter attached to the deck, a kind of awning that had been left unzipped. She pushed it aside and stepped on board, seeing that the hatch was ajar. Quickly she descended the steps into the saloon, and there, by the light of the torch on her phone, she saw the form of a man, slumped and bloody on the floor of the small galley.

“Sam Douglas?” He was facedown, his body twisted, one arm at an unnatural angle. She crouched and put her fingers at the side of neck. A pulse, but very weak.

Joanna looked around the inside of the boat. There were books thrown everywhere, cushions on the floor, everything turned out of the drawers and cupboards. There wasn’t anything Harper could see that belonged to Ruby. Except … she reached out and pulled on a small furry thing sticking out from under a heap of papers. She held up the child’s teddy bear in the shaft of light from her phone. They’d been here, she was sure. But so had Gregor.

Harper’s mind was racing. Had he taken them? Were they injured, dead?

From the floor of the boat, the man let out a soft groan.

“Sam? Can you hear me?” She knelt over him, willed him to look at her. His eyelids flickered open.

“Jo?” The voice was breathy, almost inaudible. The fact that he recognized her was a good sign, though; they hadn’t seen each other in years.

“Who did this to you, Sam?”

Sam started to cough, and she thought he might choke. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Listen. Don’t try to talk. Just blink once for yes, twice for no. Was Ruby here when this happened?”

Sam blinked twice.

Joanna felt a wave of relief. She hadn’t been caught. But how long ago had she left? And where was she headed to?

Blood had dried on the floorboards and cupboards where it had splashed. The attack on Sam must have been many hours ago.

“Do you know where she is now?”

One blink.

“And did you tell him where she was going?”

Two blinks. A tear ran down his cheek. He tried to say something, but it was so quiet that she couldn’t hear what it was. She leaned closer and could barely make out the words.

“He already knew.”

CHAPTER

48

NOW

The Injured Man

Thursday, December 27