Page 73 of Below the Deck
As Sam turned the handle and began to ease the door open, Lucy thrust something into his other hand, something smooth and sharp. Sam ran his fingers all the way along it: a smooth, metallic surface, cool to the touch. This was a metal sculpture of some kind, with a sharp, pointed tip.
A weapon.
‘Hang on – what’s this – and where did it come from? Why do I need a—’
‘Just take it, Sam – please. It’s all I can find, and we don’t know what he’s capable of … I don’t want you getting hurt. Now, go – Talia might be running out of time. We need you.’
At those words, as well as the frantic tone in Lucy’s voice, Sam felt his chest expand.They needed him.Wasn’t this proof of exactly what he’d been saying and doing all along? He was stronger than these women – than any woman. He was the one with the power now. And if he helped Eleni, no doubt he’d be able to use it later to his advantage in some way.
Clutching the metal sculpture in one hand, he pushed open the door to the cabin and stepped inside.
The room was almost completely in darkness; the curtains were closed and only a thin sliver of eerie red light from the passageway’s emergency panels helped him make out the shape of the bed, the wardrobe, the door to the bathroom …
But there was no Nick. No Talia. There was no attack going on …
He turned back to the doorway, where Lucy stood, cowering slightly.
‘They’re not here,’ Sam said. ‘There’s no one in the cabin.’
Lucy shook her head. ‘The bathroom … Look, can’t you see that?’
Sam peered through the doorway. Lucy was right, therewassomeone there: he could see the curve of shoulders and chest, the limbs splayed, head rolled to one side …
He took a deep breath. Heart pounding, he crept closer, the metal sculpture still clutched in his hand in case someone – Nick – jumped out at him in the dark.
He reached the bathroom door, stepped inside and knelt to the ground. Then he stretched out a slow, trembling hand; let out a whimper as his fingers touched the figure in front of him and came away wet and sticky …
This wasn’t Talia.
It wasNick. And he was … ‘What the fuck?’
The bathroom door slammed shut behind him; he turned towards it, yelled: ‘Lucy – open up – I can’t see properly—’
There was no reply.
Breathing heavily, Sam flailed as he tried to stand up. In his panic, he slipped on the wet, sticky marble and fell back down, dropping the sculpture to the floor.
Then with hideously uncanny timing, the lights came backon. Sam’s vision was flooded with a sight more horrifying than anything he could have imagined.
Nick, stabbed and lying in a deep pool of blood, his eyes rolled back in his head.Dead.
Now Sam was alone here, in the master stateroom’s en-suite bathroom, next to a sharp object and a bleeding dead body.
And then, before he’d even had time to think what to do, the door burst open.
GENDARMERIE MARITIME DE POLYNÉSIE FRANÇAISE
CASE NUMBER: 247849
DATE: 11/06/2026
INTERVIEW EXCERPT FIVE
Interview subject: Michaela Stevens, chief stewardess on boardLusso di Marecharter
Interview conducted by Chief of Police Henri Robert
M Robert: Mademoiselle Stevens, do you have any idea whose fingerprints we were able to detect on the sculpture that was used in the murder last night?
