Page 28 of Below the Deck

‘Yup, they can, but you’ll need me and Kai to ride with you. You need a licence to ride a jet ski – unless any of you fellas have one?’

Sam shook his head. ‘Nah, never been on one of these bad boys before.’

‘Me neither,’ said Nick.

‘Well, we’re in luck then – I did my training in the Caribbean,’ said Rory, a smug grin lighting up his face. ‘Drove all around the private island we hired.’

‘You’ve got your watercraft proficiency?’ Noah clarified.

‘Oh, yes. I’m an expert water sportsman, I think you’ll find. I’m sure I’ve got the paperwork somewhere in my emails …’

Sam rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. Noah chewed on the side of his lip for a second, scanned the three of them, then nodded. ‘No need, your word is enough for me. In that case, I’ll ride with Sam. Rory and Nick, you two hop on together. Sound good?’

‘Works for me,’ said Nick.

Sam frowned. He’d really rather the crew had checked Rory’s credentials. He wouldn’t trust Rory behind the wheels of a kid’s tricycle, let alone the aquatic version of a motorbike.

‘You sure?’ he asked Nick. ‘I’m more than happy to sit this out, so you can go with Noah …’

‘Ah, come on now, Sam,’ said Rory, a mocking glint in his eye. ‘Scared I’ll go too fast for Nick, are you?’

Sam noticed a muscle twitch in Nick’s jaw.

‘Rory,’ Nick said curtly. ‘Trust me, you can go as fast as you like.’

Clambering aboard the jet ski, helmets and life jackets strapped on, Noah instructed Sam to hold onto the handles behind him. With a violent growl, the jet ski roared to life in the bosun’s hands, and quickly picked up speed across the water.Sam laughed – the wind whipping past his ears, the scattering of salt water onto his arms – this was exhilarating, exactly the kind of thing he’d come on this trip for.

He looked over at the other jet ski. Rory was driving much faster than Noah – and much more recklessly. Sam caught Nick’s voice from across the water – yelling something Sam couldn’t make out – his voice was drowned out as Rory’s engine roared louder. It looked like Rory was revving up the acceleration and at the same time jerking the vessel in sharp, dizzying circles, whooping and shrieking as he went. Sam could see Nick’s back bumping against the rear handlebars, his pelvis hitting the seat hard as they skimmed and thudded back down on the waves.

‘Hey – slow down – Rory! SLOW DOWN!’ Noah yelled across the water. It was pointless; Rory either couldn’t hear him, or was pretending he couldn’t. Rory steered sharply again to the right, the jet ski falling almost flat, making Nick dip precariously close to the surface of the water, his hands grasping to hold firm on the spray-covered handle behind him.

‘That’s too fast – it’s too low – he’s going to fall – STOP!’ Sam was screaming at the top of his lungs now, Noah was slowing their jet ski and still yelling at Rory too, but their words blew away with the salt spray of the ocean; Rory was driving like a maniac, turning in opposing directions with nauseating speed.

At one more brutal twist of the jet ski, Sam watched helplessly as Nick’s hands lost their grip and he lurched violently to the right, off the seat and into the air.

And then he was flying, flying, so fast, so far, and time was slowing down, it seemed to last for ever even though it couldonly have been milliseconds, because gravity couldn’t hold him for long, and Nick began to fall, fall, fall …

Until he crashed face-first onto the surface of the sea.

GENDARMERIE MARITIME DE POLYNÉSIE FRANÇAISE

CASE NUMBER: 247849

POLICE EXHIBIT FOUR

Excerpt from log of Captain Sophie Taylor, 09/06/26

06:23:Alerted to on-board Wi-Fi disruption by First Officer on waking.

07:55: Crew morale appears low again this morning. Michaela continues to report to me privately that she wishes to end the charter early; that she has been subjected to inappropriate behaviour and harassment by a male guest. I plan to remove her from service involving guest interaction as far as possible and keep her on laundry/below deck duties. However, her report of a guest entering the crew quarters on two separate occasions is concerning.

10:06: Enquiries into Wi-Fi connectivity issues made ahead of sail to Raiatea. Guests satisfied that we are doing all we can to resolve issue.

11.24: Guest has fallen from jet ski during ride with primary. Deck crew report primary at helm, executing repeated tight turns at unsafe velocity. Urgent medical assistance requested to attend vessel.

11.36: Tension within guest group appears to be escalating. In light of rising potential for impact on guest and crew welfare, I am reassured that additional security measures have been put in place to safeguard all on board. I will continue monitoring closely.

ELENI