All Inclusive (31 page)

‘Um . . . well she sort of
has
been saying, hasn't she? All along?' Ned ventured. Beth kicked him under the table. ‘Sorry,' he said. ‘A bit insensitive.'

‘Huh?' Gina gave him a puzzled look. ‘Ah no! She hasn't gone, like
gone
gone. She's not dead. At least, not 'til I catch up with her anyway. No, I mean she's left the hotel. I called down to reception when I'd found her room empty and they said she'd checked out. She didn't even leave a note, just her death outfit, all laid out on the bed, shoes too. How selfish is that?' Gina was getting more furious by the minute. Jim brought her another drink.

‘Checked out? What, like she's just taken it into her head to go home?' Lesley asked. ‘Maybe she had a message from someone and had to leave. She'd have told you though, surely.'

‘She hasn't gone home, apparently,' Gina explained, stopping for a second for another big gulp from her glass. ‘She took a cab to the airport, they said, to catch a flight to Miami. And she hasn't gone by herself,' She looked at Delilah. ‘You won't believe this, honey, and I'm really sorry to be the one to tell you, but she's taken that young Sam with her.'

The airport was hot, crowded and sweaty. The check-in lines were slow, and Delilah, as ever when things weren't moving fast enough, was getting impatient.

‘We should have got here earlier,' she whined. ‘There won't be time for any last-minute shopping.'

There was still the queue to pay the airport tax after check-in, and then only one X-ray machine on the way to the departure lounge. She fancied some duty-free vodka. If she could get away with it, she could just about afford a really big bottle of the cheaper sort. It was time she organized another party. Sukinder had a large house – her parents were always going out to visit various family members. There was sure to be a night near Christmas when she'd have a free house and they could ask a few people round. Delilah might even consider getting to know Oliver Willis a bit better. Perhaps they could try something unusual this time, something called ‘conversation'.

‘Next year . . .' Ned said to Beth as they inched their baggage trolley forward in the line, being careful not to run into Lesley's legs. ‘Next year, where would you . . .'

‘Where would I like to go? I'm not sure. But I tell you one thing, it'll be anywhere but here,' she told him. ‘Actually . . . a month or so ago, on one of those TV holiday programmes I saw a fabulous place, a sort of spa and sport type of thing, a bit like the Mango but all being newly done. We could go there, I'll look it up as soon as we're back.'

‘Great idea. A lovely relaxing place where we don't know anyone,' Ned said.

‘Exactly,' Beth agreed. ‘The Seychelles it is then.'

THE END

Judy Astley was born in Lancashire but has lived for most of her life in Twickenham. She has been a dress designer and painter before writing her first novel,
Just for the Summer
, in 1994. She has now written twelve novels, all published by Black Swan. She has two grown-up daughters and lives with her husband in Twickenham and Cornwall.

JUST FOR THE SUMMER

PLEASANT VICES

SEVEN FOR A SECRET

MUDDY WATERS

EVERY GOOD GIRL

THE RIGHT THING

EXCESS BAGGAGE

NO PLACE FOR A MAN

UNCHAINED MELANIE

AWAY FROM IT ALL

SIZE MATTERS

and published by Black Swan

TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
A Random House Group Company
www.transworldbooks.co.uk

ALL INCLUSIVE

A BLACK SWAN BOOK: 9780552771863
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN: 9781446437841

First publication in Great Britain

PRINTING HISTORY

Black Swan edition published 2005

5 7 9 10 8 6 4

Copyright © Judy Astley 2005

The right of Judy Astley to be identified as the author

of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77

and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All the characters in this book are fictitious,

and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

is purely coincidental.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Addresses for Random House Group Ltd companies outside the UK can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk
The Random House Group Ltd Reg. No. 954009