In the lounge was a setup where you could borrow card games and books. There was no wi-fi on the ship and the connection was very unstable, so they couldn't stream a movie or surf the net. For the second time, James thought it probably had been better for Kamilla to stay behind. She would not have handled this kind of off grid living well.

  "He was acting kind of strange."

  Ernest Miller was leaving the dining hall when James turned towards Agnete. She was looking at the German ornithologist as he disappeared from their view. Then James got a crazy idea.

  "Should we follow him?"

  Her eyes got big as she studied him, trying to figure out if he was kidding or not.

  "Follow him? What do you think he'll do? The ship is the size of a matchbox. And how would we even do that?"

  "Take my arm."

  Agnete took it, already caught up in the excitement, and James led the way.

  "We'll stroll down the stairs as if nothing is happening. I'll chat up Mrs Bennett and then you'll sneak down to the cabin hallway and see what he's doing."

  But when they came down the first set of stairs, Ernest Miller was sitting next to Jennifer Bennett carrying on with all his questions. She looked like a deer caught in headlights, not really answering, just trying to look anywhere but at him. Finally, she scrambled her papers together and hurried down towards her cabin. Ernest took three big steps after her, so focused he didn't notice James and Agnete following him. At first they were strolling, still with their arms locked together, but the last couple of steps they had to jog to keep up.

  Jennifer was quick as a mouse inside her room. They only heard the click of the door when they entered the hallway. The sun had almost set, so the small overhead lamps were working overtime. Ernest had his ear against Jennifer's door, listening to her moving around inside. Agnete and James looked surprised at each other. They hadn't really expected to find anything out of the ordinary. This was strange and unnerving, not normal cruise ship behaviour at all. Ernest was so caught up in his spying he didn't see them as they stood hidden behind a large potted palm tree. Then he walked back towards the entrance and they both held their breath. He stopped in front of the Levy's cabin and took a quick glance at both sides before he leaned in to listen.

  "Ich verstehe es nicht, Ich habe hier keine Ahnung, keine Ahnung."

  He mumbled some more in German as he turned away from the Levy's door - James and Agnete were still hiding and held their breath. He walked in his own thoughts and disappeared into his cabin.

  "Well, that was odd!"

  Agnete said as they closed the door behind them.

  "I think we have stumbled into something. I'm just not sure what it is."

  James sat on the bed while Agnete was walking back and forth on the tiny path of floor between the entry and the door to the deck.

  "We have to be smart about it. Make a list of what we have found out."

  James looked around and picked up a notepad and novelty pen from the night table.

  ✽✽✽

  Agnete

  Once again, someone had transformed the simple dining hall into a romantic restaurant. This evening, they even had background music playing. Something local, Agnete guessed. The buffet looked amazing, and James loaded up on his plate.

  "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. They should have bigger plates!"

  Agnete looked at her sweet, hungry husband.

  "Luckily, you can fill up as much as you like. Just leave room for dessert."

  They’d decided back at the cabin they should sit at different tables. That way, they could listen in on more of their fellow guests. They were quite interested in figuring out what Ernest was after and wanted to talk to Jenniffer to see if she had anything to add. Unfortunately, she wasn't at dinner. Agnete overheard Chisis ask Anippe if she would bring dinner down to Ms Bennett's cabin. She was almost certain she saw Anippe roll her eyes before she reluctantly took the plate from him. The exchange made Agnete think of Kamilla at home. They had talked before they left Luxor, but it seemed like ages ago, even if it was only a couple of hours. Time worked strangely on the water. James took Agnete's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. Which was actually quite an accomplishment, as his plate was stacked dangerously high and he was balancing a glass of wine as well. Agnete gave him a peck on the cheek.

  "See you on the other side."

  She said it in a low voice, making sure he was the only one who heard her, then turned to find a seat at the table right behind her. Ezra stood up as she approached and pulled out a chair. What an old-fashioned gentleman, Agnete thought, putting her plate down in front of her. Ezra tucked the chair underneath her as she sat.

  "Thank you very much. What lovely company I'm lucky to have this evening."

  Ezra bowed his head slightly and smiled.

  "The pleasure is all mine."

  The two of them had a fascinating conversation about Ezra's new job. He just finished his degree in social science and got a job working on a big urban development project. Animated, he tried to explain down to the smallest detail how the social aspect affected every part of a new housing development.

  "But the most interesting part is…"

  He trailed off and stopped speaking mid-sentence. Agnete put her fork down and studied him. He was sitting perfectly still with his gaze on Eliza and the Captain. She could see how his jaw moved as if he was projecting all his anger into grinding his teeth. Eliza was looking uncomfortable as the Captain was leaning too close, laughing loudly. Agnete caught a fraction of the conversation and was pretty sure the Captain was talking about how Eliza's mother must have been a sexy lady in her younger days. Eliza excused herself from the table, and Ezra followed her down the stairs.

  "Young people are so fragile these days. You can't say anything without offending them. I was only paying her a compliment."

  The Captain kept laughing and tried to get Ernest and Paul, now seated next to him, to join in. Ernest laughed a fake noncommittal laugh as to fit in with the Captain. Paul, lost in thought, didn't seem to have heard anything. When the Captain stared at him, he smiled a clueless smile as he scanned the other guests, looking for a sign of what was going on.

  Agnete got up to refill her plate. The food had been edible, but in no way great. She had her eye on some store-bought cheese and crackers at the buffet. No way for John to destroy them. On her way back, she glanced at the other table to see how James was holding up. She got a small scare when she saw Mrs Shortstop sitting with her eyes locked in on the Captain. By the looks of it, she was not pleased with his behaviour. Before Agnete could make anything of it, James leaned back in his chair and reached out for her.

  "Hello my darling. Enjoying your dinner?"

  Half of his meal was going cold on his plate, and he looked hungry.

  "So lovely. Just filled up with cheese and crackers."

  James' eyes got big at the mention of this, seeing a chance for an unspoiled treat.

  "That sounds great. I'll join you on that."

  Agnete walked with him back to the buffet.

  "Anything interesting going on at your table?"

  Her voice was low, and she leaned in close to him. He nodded but signalled it would have to wait. She was about to tell him about the Captain and Eliza, when Ezra and she came back up the stairs. Eliza was smiling as if she had only left to powder her nose. As soon as she returned to her seat, she started a conversation with Paul and deliberately turned her back to the Captain. Paul said little. He just continued his rotation of emptying and refilling his wineglass while Eliza carried the brunt of the talk with a smile.

  Ernest used the fake-laughing experience as an inn to question the Captain. He asked him all sorts of questions, mainly about the past and the cruise ship business. At first the Captain seemed flattered by the attention. He bragged about the top of the line computer system he'd bought for the ship that made sure everything was up to code. The system, he said, had saved him the trouble of hiring an accountant, which pleased him quite a deal. Ernest kept asking for more and more details, wanting to know how the Captain invested his money and how much profit he was making. The Captain started growing tired of the questions and began shifting in his seat, doing his best to avoid answering at all. It was the first time Agnete had seen the Captain getting annoyed. Finally, he pushed back the chair and mumbled something about the engine, and then he left the table. He went through the door leading to the bridge and Ernest followed him with his eyes, as if taking mental notes and filing them away for later use. When the door closed behind the Captain, he turned to Mr Ishaan and continued with his questions.

  After dinner, Chisis served coffee and cake in the lounge. Nava was guiding Paul towards the stairs. He was more than a little drunk and wanted to continue the evening, but Nava didn't give in. She let the kids take one piece of cake each and then they all five left for the evening. The late dining hour didn't fit well with small children. Jacques looked so tired and it was an unusually quiet boy who politely said goodnight before disappearing down the stairs. Ms Gallagher waved to the children as they left. She’d taken a special liking to the three sweet kids and had made funny faces and silly jokes throughout dinner. Béatrice had even called her Granny once or twice, to Ms Gallagher's great delight.

  Ms Gallagher, Mrs Shortstop and Agnete sat down as James poured the tea.

  "So, where did the two of you meet?"

  Ms Gallagher was looking curiously at James and Agnete as she picked up her plate and took a bite of her cake. Agnete loved telling the story. It was one of her favourite memories.

  "I was on holiday in Edinburgh with a girlfriend and one night out, this amazing man turned up. He was so charming and even though there were so many pretty girls who wanted his attention, he didn’t take his eye off me the entire night."

  She thought back to the moment she first noticed James in the crowd. His dark hair and subtle smile. He’d walked over as soon as he saw her eying him, and asked her for the time. They’d laughed about it many times since. The simple, stupid question that became the beginning of their life together. She took a sip of her tea.

  "How time flies. It's been over 20 years. It was love at first sight for both of us and it didn't take long before we were married and settle in Copenhagen, where I'm from. We always talked about moving to Edinburgh, but somehow we never did."

  James sat down next to Agnete and took her hand.

  "I grew up in Edinburg, but my grandfather had a small cottage in Brighton close to the beach where my cousins and I enjoyed our summers."

  When James mentioned Brighton, Ms Gallagher and Mrs Shortstop got all excited. They wanted to know where the cottage had been and if he knew some of the walks they enjoyed. Soon, the four of them were lost in memories. At a lull in their remembrance, they looked up and found themself alone in the dining hall. The tables were cleared, lights were out, except the cosy lamps near the lounge area, and all was quiet around them. Ms Gallagher looked behind her, as to make sure no unwelcome ears were listening in.

  "What was it with Mrs Levy and Babu? He kept talking about the Levy's honeymoon, the first time they visited the ship, but she looked so uncomfortable. You would think all wives would love to relive their honeymoon?"

  She looked at James as he’d sat between them and would have heard all of their conversation.

  "It was an interesting exchange going on between the two of them, that’s for sure. Babu looked like he enjoyed making Mrs Levy uncomfortable and she acted as if she just had to take it. He mentioned her needing to pay for the peace or something to that extent, but it didn't really make any sense."

  "She kept trying to make eye contact with the Captain. Perhaps she wanted him to notice and stop Babu? But he was busy running away from Ernest Miller."

  James lit up with an evil grin at the mentioning of the German.

  "Well, you can't really blame him. Ernest Miller is some character. I’ve wanted to run away from him on more than one occasion. As a matter of fact, I think I already have."

  He chuckled. The mood in the small lounge was familiar and friendly. The four of them continued talking about the other passengers and their odd behaviours as the moon descended on the black sky and the hours grew late. At last they said their goodnights and left for their cabins. Thinking about their luck, or the opposite, if you wanted to look at it that way, to have ended up on this mysterious cruise.

  Chapter 5

  Samesh Ishaan

  30 years earlier

  The woman sat alone by the window. From where he sat, he could only see her profile. She looked sad and beautiful, her dark hair falling casually over her shoulder. She only moved to take the occasional sip of her coffee. It must be cold by now, Samesh Ishaan thought, and took a sip of his own lukewarm tea. They were at opposite ends of the café and had been like that for an hour. She hadn’t looked at him, but he was not able to take his eyes of her. He was supposed to meet a friend for a chat. The friend never came, but Samesh stayed anyway, transfixed by the sorrowful woman.

  At last, he built up enough courage to rise from his chair and approach her. The walk across the café was unnerving and long, but the reward was equally grand. She didn’t turn him away, and soon they were deep in conversation. She was funny and kind and right there in the City Café, he decided he was going to marry her.

  Sharon King was the most interesting woman Samesh had ever met. They spent all their time together. Walked hand in hand through the streets of London, sat in Hyde Park and let the sunshine warm them, talked all night and often just continued into the early hours of the morning.

  They’d only known each other for a little over a month when he proposed. It felt right, and neither of them wanted to imagine a life without the other. But Sharon didn’t say yes, and it was not the joyous moment he’d expected. Instead, Sharon started to cry. She cried for hours and Samesh was at a loss. He did his best to comfort her. He held her and whispered sweet and kind words in her ear. At last, she confessed. She had years earlier met a man she’d thought was the one. He had overwhelmed her with compliments, flowers, and gifts. He talked about their future, their lavish wedding, what house they would buy, how many children they would have. So when Sharon found herself pregnant, she could not help be excited. She rushed to share the news with the love of her life, but he did not react the way she expected. Instead, he had been furious, yelled at her for not being more careful, and blamed her for ruining his life.

  That evening, he’d left. Just before he walked out the door, he told her he wanted nothing to do with her, or the baby, ever.

  Broken, alone and pregnant, she had turned to her parents for help and support. She knew they were old-fashioned and wanted her to be married before having children. She expected a lecture, perhaps some sort of punishment. What she didn’t expect was for them to turn their back on her and tell her the same words that had already broken her once: They never wanted to see her or her baby again.

  She didn’t handle it well and turned to drinking and partying. She was young and her life as she knew it was over. Her body couldn’t take the stress and one night out, while she was drunk and dancing, she started bleeding. The night ended with her in a hospital bed, this time truly alone. The doctors told her there had been complications and she could no longer bear children.

  This story she told Samesh as tears ran down her cheeks. She said, she would understand if he would choose a wife who would give him children, that she would not blame him and she would loved him no matter what.

  Two months later, they were married.

  Chapter 6

  James

  Monday

  They were all standing close together, surrounded by similar tour groups. The place was crowded, and it was difficult to hear Babu over the noise. He raised his voice and held up a stick with a small red cloth attached to the top.

  “We are now about to enter one of the more recent temples of ancient Egypt, the Edfu Temple, or the Temple of Horos, as some might know it. Construction began here in the 2nd century BC, when pharaohs of the Ptolemy Dynasty ruled the land. It is Egypt's best preserved temple, mainly because of its relatively young age.”

  Babu was leading the group skilfully through the many people while he talked about the history of the Temple. They had docked this morning in Edfu and were now on the guided tour through Edfu Temple. James wasn’t as interested in the backstory as Agnete, so while she stayed with Babu and the rest of the guests, he trailed behind and did a bit of exploring on his own.

  He left the crowded centre of the temple and found a more quiet route near the inside of the outer wall. He was walking in his own thoughts, thinking about his wife. She seemed to get along better than expected. At one point, he worried it had been too soon for their first trip without Kamilla. That all they would do were call home or talk about all the things they wanted her to see. In some strange way, the weirdness of the cruise had taken their minds elsewhere. He knew, and was pretty sure Agnete would agree, it was a silly game they were playing. Yes, Ernest had a somewhat abnormal behaviour, and the Captain did seem like a rather unpleasant man, but in all seriousness; he didn’t think there was more to it than that. But what harm would it do if they spiced things up, acting out their detective skills? Ms Gallagher and Mrs Shortstop appeared to enjoy it. A welcome distraction from the more dull stretches of the trip. And it’d been a nice evening last night, the four of them trying to figure out what all the other guests were up to.

  James stood admiring the hieroglyphs and drawings on the grand walls in front of him when a sound attracted his attention. He listened more carefully and moved closer. He was pretty sure it was a voice.

 

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