Laura Marlin Mysteries 2: Kidnap in the Caribbean (5 page)

‘CALM DOWN, ROWENNA
. Calm down. Everything is fine. Tariq is safely here with us. Skye is on board too. Yes, I know the ship has set sail. Believe me, I’m all too aware of that. I’m terribly sorry for the short notice, but there’s been a last minute change of plan. Tariq and Skye will be coming on holiday with us after all. Would you mind getting in touch with Tariq’s foster parents and letting them know when we’ll be back. In the meantime, why don’t you enjoy a well-earned break? You certainly deserve it.’

Calvin Redfern hung up, mouth set in a grim line. ‘I’m trying hard not to be furious with the pair of you. What were you thinking? How am I going to explain to the captain that the
Ocean Empress
has ended up with a couple of stowaways?’

Footsteps rang on the steps above. Before they could answer, he said quickly: ‘Never mind about that now. I need your help to get back to my cabin.’

He tried to stand and collapsed with a yelp, his face grey with pain.

Laura was worried sick. She regretted promising not to go for help.

Tariq, who’d promised nothing, said: ‘Sir, please let me call a doctor.’

‘No!’ Calvin Redfern’s face was contorted with pain, but he was adamant. ‘You have to give me your word, both of you. I feel foolish enough as it is without being made to feel like an invalid by some over-zealous ship’s quack. Nothing he or she could do anyway. Rest is the best cure. Let’s say no more about it. Now, could you possibly lend me a hand?’

With the aid of Tariq, Laura and especially Skye, who he used as a furry crutch, he managed to half crawl, half drag himself into cabin 135. It was every bit as luxurious as the brochure promised, its walls papered in baby blue. A navy and white candy-striped duvet cover lent a nautical touch to the bed. There was a lamp with a ship in a bottle for a base, and, beside the porthole window, a print of a yacht on high seas.

The children helped Calvin Redfern remove his boots – a distressing job because it was agony for him – and eased him onto the bed. While Laura arranged his pillows and made him as comfortable as she could, Tariq followed his instructions on treating severely sprained ankles.

‘Put a pillow under my feet so that my – ow – ankles are above the height of my heart. Thanks, Tariq. Now take a small towel from the bathroom. See that fridge over there? Check if there’s any ice in it. There is? Miracles never cease. Right, empty an icetray into the towel, wrap up the cubes and rest the whole thing on my ankles. The ice will help the swelling to go down. Thanks, son. You’ve done a great job.’

Tariq glowed with pride. He had the greatest possible respect for Calvin Redfern, to whom he felt he owed his life, and was wracked with guilt that he’d made him angry and caused him anxiety by coming aboard the ship.

Calvin Redfern collapsed into his pillows, beads of sweat on his upper lip. ‘Laura,’ he said weakly, ‘would you be kind enough to look in the front pocket of my suitcase? You’ll find a First Aid kit in there. A couple of painkillers and a glass of water would be very welcome right now.’

Mission accomplished, Laura was finally able to ask: ‘Uncle Calvin, how did you manage to sprain both ankles? What happened?’

‘An accident, pure and simple. I was on my way down the steps when the passage light went off and I was plunged into darkness. Unfortunately, I was in mid-step at the time. My foot caught on a carpet string or something and I tripped. That’s the last I remember until I woke up with Skye licking my face.’

He grimaced. ‘Good thing I have a whole week to recover before we get to the Caribbean. I’m really sorry, Laura, but I’m likely to be laid up and no fun at all for the best part of the voyage.’

Laura hugged him. ‘Don’t worry about anything except getting better. We’ll go now and let you sleep. Call if you need us.’

‘Not so fast,’ ordered her uncle in the closest he ever came to a stern tone. ‘I’m still waiting for an explanation from the pair of you. Have you any idea how much trouble we’re in? How are we going to afford to pay for Tariq’s cruise, accommodation and flights, Laura? What are the Antigua authorities going to say when we turn up with a dog with no papers and a boy with no passport, Tariq? I suspect that we’ll be put on the next flight home. Holiday over.’

Laura’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m so sorry, Uncle Calvin. It was my idea that Tariq have a look at my cabin and this is all my fault.’

Tariq interrupted: ‘No, it was
my
idea and it’s
my
fault. Laura was only trying to do something nice for me because she knew how badly I wanted to see the ship. Punish me, but please don’t be mad at Laura.’

‘Actually,’ Calvin Redfern said, trying to hide a smile, ‘it’s my fault. If you hadn’t stopped to help me, Tariq, you’d more than likely have made it off the ship.’

Tariq said suddenly, ‘I’ve just thought of something. I have my new British passport with me. It arrived last week and my foster parents told me to keep it with me for the holidays in case I needed it for identity or something. It’s in my backpack, with all my clothes.’

Laura sniffed and said: ‘Well, at least we won’t be deported from Antigua. We’ll only be jailed for helping two stowaways.’

‘I don’t suppose you have a few thousand pounds in your backpack, Tariq?’ Calvin Redfern asked, only half joking.

There was a moment of glum silence, and then Laura said: ‘Hey, I’ve had a thought. Tariq, didn’t the purser tell Jimmy’s parents that the ship owners charged per cabin, not per person? When I won the competition, my uncle and I thought we’d be sharing a cabin. Now it turns out we have one each. Uncle Calvin, would it be okay if Tariq and Skye stayed with me – at least until we get to Antigua?’

The painkillers were taking effect and Calvin Redfern’s voice was thick with tiredness. ‘Good thinking, Laura. I did read something about that in the brochure but didn’t take any notice of it at the time because, like you, I thought we’d be sharing a cabin. Yes, it’s absolutely fine for Tariq to stay with you because you’re in a twin room with two beds. Pass me that folder on the dresser. I’ll check the hotel details for Antigua.’

A minute later he looked up. ‘We have a three-bedroom villa to ourselves so there’ll be no problem there.’

He ran a weary hand over his eyes. ‘Well, that’s a relief. There’s still Tariq’s air ticket back to London to think about, but we’ll worry about that later. From memory, I have thousands of unused Air Miles I earned through work that might take care of it. Now all we have to worry about is one very large husky. We can’t exactly hide him. He’ll go mad if he can’t exercise. Laura, when you rescued Skye, were you given any documents for him?’

‘Loads. I have his pedigree papers, his rabies and vaccination certificates, his pet passport…’

‘His pet passport?’ interrupted her uncle. ‘Why didn’t you say that in the first place?’

‘I’ve only just thought of it. Besides, it’s sitting in my bedroom at Ocean View Terrace. It’s not much use to us there.’

‘No, but we can email Rowenna and get her to scan it and send it to us. It may be that he’s covered for the Caribbean. If so, our problem is solved. Not’ – he put his cross face on – ‘that you deserve to have got off so lightly.’

‘Sorry,’ said Laura.

‘Sorry,’ added Tariq, looking sheepish.

‘Having said that, now that we have a plan and things seem to be working out, may I say how happy I am that you’re with us, Tariq – and you, Skye – especially since Laura is going to need the company.’

‘Thanks, Mr Redfern.’ Tariq gave him a huge smile. ‘I’m pretty happy about it too.’

‘So am I,’ added Laura fervently.

They really did leave then, because her uncle’s eyelids were drooping and Laura wanted him to rest and forget for a while how a broken stairwell light had ruined his voyage. She wondered if he had grounds to sue.

When they emerged from his cabin, however, they saw that the light was working perfectly. So perfectly that there was no mistaking the Hawaiian beachwear of the man and woman barrelling noisily down the corridor, their son trailing behind. Laura thought he had a lonely air about him, but when he spotted her and Tariq he gave them a cheeky grin.

‘Daylight robbery is what I call it,’ his mother was ranting. ‘Wait till I get back home. That travel agent’s life won’t be worth living.’

Laura groaned. ‘Just our luck to be on the same deck as them.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Tariq reassured her. ‘It’s such a massive ship, this will probably be the last we ever see of them.’

It was only when Laura unlocked the door to their cabin that she cast aside the worries of the past few days and her spirits truly lifted. While cabin 126 was a mirror image of her uncle’s in terms of decoration, it also had doors opening out onto a balcony, beyond which a limitless stretch of ocean was visible. Skye rushed over to the railings and barked at the flying spray.

Laura’s whole being flooded with happiness. Despite everything the Fates had done to prevent it she was on board a luxury cruise liner, heading for the Caribbean. Best of all, Tariq and Skye were with her. They were in the middle of the sea. What could possibly go wrong?

LAURA’S DETECTIVE HERO
, Matt Walker, had a saying: If something seems too good to be true it usually is. But she’d not found that to be the case with the ship at all. If anything, the
Ocean Empress
exceeded her expectations by about a thousand per cent.

There were so many forms of entertainment they made her head spin. On that first afternoon, when she and Tariq had explored every corner of the cruise liner, they were like kids let loose in a chocolate bazaar. Especially since they’d discovered that everything really was free – or, at least included in the prize. That meant they could try anything, do anything, or eat anything they liked.

After a delicious lunch of chips slathered with ketchup and ice cream sundaes piled high with honeycomb, banana, chocolate sprinkles and marshmallows, they went from deck to deck, mapping out their days.

‘We could have seafood tonight, curry tomorrow and fish and chips on Wednesday,’ suggested Tariq. ‘And maybe because the weather is still a bit grey and blowy, we should go ice-skating this afternoon? I’ve never tried it before. There weren’t a lot of ice rinks in Bangladesh.’

‘Ice-skating on a ship – sounds brilliant!’ agreed Laura. ‘How about going to the water park if it’s sunny tomorrow morning, followed by … ooh, I don’t know, nine holes of miniature golf. If you’re feeling brave, we could try the rock climbing wall on Wednesday.’

Tariq laughed. ‘We could have ice cream sundaes every day and in the evenings we could try the whirlpool, the sauna, or the theatre.’

Laura giggled. ‘How will we fit it all in?’ Then she felt a twinge of guilt. ‘Poor uncle Calvin. It’s so unfair that we get to enjoy ourselves while he’s trapped in his cabin.’

‘It is unfair,’ agreed Tariq, ‘but my foster father says that sometimes injuries or illnesses are nature’s way of telling people to slow down. Your uncle seems pretty exhausted from work. Besides, he’ll have lots of fun in Antigua.’

Laura smiled. ‘You could be right. He did look pretty happy when we took him the ice cream sundae, and it was a bonus finding the latest Matt Walker book in the gift shop. He could hardly wait for us to leave so he could start it.’

The highlight of the afternoon was when a pod of dolphins appeared. At the time Laura and Tariq were standing on a viewing point on the prow of the ship watching as the world they knew gave way to a shifting landscape of bold, dark blue. It parted before the white bow of the
Ocean Empress
, throwing up diamond droplets.

Laura looked down and felt almost giddy. Below that silken surface were marine worlds as teeming with life as London, New York or Rome. Thousands of leagues beneath the sea, there were creatures as enigmatic as the giant squid. There were sharks with mouths as big as doors. There were forests of pulsing coral and shipwrecks and navy submarines. And yet none of it was visible. The uniform blue of the sea was like a theatre curtain, hiding a performance.

Occasionally that curtain lifted to reveal a glimpse of the spectacle below. If whales and seals are the actors of the ocean, dolphins are the acrobats. Out of the blue, twelve of them soared to the surface on the crest of a wave and began racing the ship, performing somersaults and gravity-defying leaps at astonishing speed. They ducked and dived like quicksilver. Watching them, it was quite impossible not to feel happy. They were in love with life; glorying in their strength and freedom.