“Absolutely,” Rafe said. “You can use the main cabin.”

The Chinese man smiled. “See you at eight,” he said. He leaped from the boat to the pier, then walked briskly away.

Willy Tong was pleased. He knew Ned Kelly would be too. The only weak part of the whole plan had been the problem of getting the women to the outer reef. Now that seemed assured. He entered The Crab, a pub along the waterfront, and ordered an amber. He hadn’t had a chance to finish his beer when Ned showed up.

“How’d it go, mate?” Ned asked as he hopped onto a barstool.

“Smooth as silk,” Willy said. He told Ned the details.

“Perfect!” Ned said. “I didn’t have any trouble either. I rented one of those big powerboats that have enough engine to drive a supertanker. Come on, finish your beer. We got to go buy bait. A lot of bait.”

The Hamilton Island Resort had so many ethnic restaurants to choose from, Marissa and Wendy had trouble making up their minds. They eventually settled on Polynesian, thinking it was the closest thing to local. To get into the mood they had purchased bright floral-print sarongs in the hotel’s gift shop.

Having concluded the arrangements for the following day’s diving, Marissa and Wendy had spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around the pool, soaking up the warm tropical sun. Although it hadn’t been crowded, there had been enough sunbathers poolside to make people-watching interesting. They’d even struck up a conversation with several single men who were intrigued to discover the women hailed from Boston.

Marissa was amazed at the number of Australians who had visited the States. Many had made it to Boston. Australia seemed to be a land of travelers. The six weeks’ holiday they got every year had to be a boon to the adventurous.

“Let’s order some champagne to celebrate being here,” Wendy suggested. “I’m so excited about tomorrow, I can’t stand it.”

The food was “interesting,” as Wendy had put it, but pork wasn’t Marissa’s favorite. And eating off large tropical leaves didn’t strike her as appetizing.

While they were waiting for dessert, Marissa looked at Wendy. “Have you been thinking much about Gustave?” she asked.

“Of course,” Wendy said. “Be hard not to, even though I’m trying. Have you been thinking about Robert?”

Marissa admitted that she had. “It started on the plane,” she said. “Do you think I ought to call? I may have overreacted about Donna.”

“Go ahead and give him a call,” Wendy said. “If it’s on your mind, I think you should do it. Maybe I should call Gustave.”

The dessert arrived. It was called Coconut Extravaganza. They both tried it. Wendy said she thought it was so-so. She put down her spoon. “I don’t think it’s worth the calories.”