Page 76 of Below the Deck

Lucy took a deep breath.I promised him: no more lies.She wanted to be honest with him. But how would he ever understand? Mark, as good and decent as he was, was still a man. He could never truly get what it was like to suffer, as a woman, in the ways that Eleni and Talia both had at Nick’s hands.No; she had to keep this one last secret from him.

‘It’s unbelievable,’ she agreed. ‘I’m in shock too. But it’s not the only thing Sam’s done this week.’ She relayed everythingEleni had told her about Sam’s blackmail of their boss. ‘If it gets out, Rory will never come back from it. This is the best leverage I could ever have hoped to get – and I didn’t even have to get it myself. Talia’s going to send all the evidence to me. And I’m going to use it to get justice for Alfie, for Mum – for all the families.’

Mark stared at her, a mixture of shock and something that looked like pride in his eyes. Then he shook his head slowly. ‘I can’t say I like the idea of you using something like this. But I get it – and I’ve got your back, with everything. Always.’

‘Thank you,’ Lucy breathed. She moved towards him and let him wrap his arms around her; she melted into them.Cuddling – remember this?

‘I love you,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry. I should have told you everything. I shouldn’t have kept all this from you. And sorry for being all … weird and secretive.’

‘It’s all right, love. Really – it’s forgiven.’

A relief as warm and heavy as a weighted blanket enveloped her, and she sobbed – all the tears she’d held back every day as she got on the Tube in the morning and crunched numbers in front of a screen at Ashworth. Everything she’d done; all the ways she and Mark had suffered. Everything she’d been through to try to make things right for her family. It would all be worth it now. For the first time in more than two years, the power was in her hands.

ELENI

Eleni’s heart drummed a marching beat in her chest as the gendarmerie boarded the boat just off Uturoa, Raiatea’s main port.

Keep calm. They think it was Sam.

There’s nothing to arouse suspicion – at least, not of me.

They were gathered under the awning – even Rory, still nursing the wound to his face, had been forced to leave the treatment room and join them. There they all sat, pale with shock and speechless, as the four uniformed officers swept across the main deck.

‘Captain, please confirm the vessel is seaworthy before we proceed to the interior?’ one of them barked.

‘Yes, you’re safe to proceed,’ she replied.

He responded with a brisk nod. ‘Everyone must remain here on this deck please, together and in one place, while we recover the body. Captain, can you confirm the deceased’s location?’

‘Yes, it’s below the deck – the first cabin on the right-hand side,’ she said.

‘And the suspect?’

‘He’s locked inside my quarters next to the control room, one deck up from here – you can see the entrance to it, look.’ She pointed to the bridge, then handed him her key.

The officer gave her a curt nod. ‘Please be aware, everyone, that the whole vessel is being treated as a major crime scene, and we will be securing it as such. I’d ask you all not to return indoors and risk further contaminating any potential evidence. As soon as the body is recovered and the suspect has been restrained, we will escort you by tender to Raiatea – from there, you’ll be required to travel to Papeete immediately to meet with our chief of police.’

With that, the officers marched through to the door to the salon.

Eleni swallowed down the lump at the back of her throat. This odd mixture of feelings was familiar somehow. She realized:it reminds me of Dad.

When her father had finally passed away, after months of a gruelling battle with cancer, she’d been struck by a strange sensation. A terrible, aching grief – the pain of knowing she’d lost a man she’d loved for so long – and at the same time, a deep, all-encompassing sense of beingreleased. His release, yes, but hers too. She’d no longer have to suffer through the misery of his decline. She’d be free of it.

It was this same complicated blend that began to seep through her shock now. She’d loved this man; she’d married him, built a life with him; he’d given her two beautiful, perfect children. But God –oh God– she was so fucking glad he was dead.

‘Well, this is all a dreadful shock,’ murmured Rory. ‘I can’tquite believe it. Sam – a murderer! And your husband, the victim – and all because of Sam’s bizarre infatuation with you. Eleni, I’m very sorry for your loss.’ Eleni dipped her head. They’d agreed, the three women, that Rory didn’t need to know the truth of Nick’s character; that there was no need for him to learn about Talia’s affair.

Talia sniffed. Rory reached a hand towards her; she pulled away.

‘No – Rory, no. Please don’t,’ she said. ‘I don’t want you to touch me. Ever again!’

‘What? You’re in shock, Talia, darling. You don’t mean that. You’ve just witnessed something horrendous – you’re not thinking straight.’

‘Oh, but I do mean it. Just before this happened, I saw the emails –Sam’semails!’ Talia’s voice shook with fury. ‘I know all about what you’ve been doing to your co-workers – youryoung, femaleco-workers,’ she hissed. ‘I’ll never trust you again. We arefinished.’

Rory gaped at her for a long moment, his expression morphing from shock, to confusion, then despair – and finally, defeat. He sagged in his chair, shoulders low, head dropping downwards. ‘I see,’ he said softly.

He glanced at Eleni, then Lucy and Mark. ‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance of the rest of you keeping this quiet, is there?’ he murmured.