Page 27 of She Saw What He Did

‘Christ, these lights are harsh.’

‘Honestly Ryan, how can you have a hangover at work?’

‘Easily,’ he smiled. ‘You should try it. Let your hair down. I keep telling you to come out with me one night.’

‘Did you check with Craig?’ she asked, ignoring his comment.

‘Yep, Craig confirmed that no one else had hired a boat yesterday apart from the Millers, and that all the other boats had been accounted for. Of course, he couldn’t speak for private boats.’

‘We’ll go back and see him after we’ve finished here,’ said Ellen, knocking on the door of Jared Miller’s room. The door opened, and Abby appeared.

‘I’m sorry if it’s a bad time,’ said Ellen. ‘This is Sergeant Ryan Lester. Can we ask you a few questions?’

‘I’ll be one second,’ Abby said, before going back into the room.

Ryan wiped sweat from his forehead.

‘Why are hospitals so hot?’ he asked.

‘It’s better than freezing the patients to death,’ said Ellen.

‘You’ve always got an answer,’ said Ryan.

The door opened, and Abby came out.

‘I’ve already told you everything,’ she said.

Ellen only wished she could tell them more.

Chapter Eighteen

Abby

‘When can we go home?’ I ask.

Jared lies peacefully under the white sterile sheets, his face grey.

I reach under the tubes to take his hand.

‘He’s got a fair bit of recovering to do,’ said the kind-faced doctor. ‘I’d like to keep Jared in for another twenty-four hours. It’s just a precautionary measure. He’s pretty wiped out and …’

‘We’re getting a plane to Porthaven tomorrow morning,’ I interrupt. I don’t want to stay on this island one minute longer.

‘It wouldn’t be wise to remove your husband from hospital just yet.’

Everyone had been very kind but it’s clear that no one believes me. The policewoman, Ellen, and her sidekick, Ryan Lester, are waiting outside. They are very nice, but I know they think Jared and I stupidly didn’t moor the boat properly.

‘If that were the case, then surely you would have found it by now,’ I argue.

‘Not if it drifted out,’ says Officer Lester, kindly.

I can’t tell if he’s looking at me or not. I can’t help feeling the police here are inadequate. It occurs to me I could ask to speak to a higher ranked officer but that might take time and I really want to get us both off this island as soon as possible.

‘I saw a man being beaten to death,’ I say firmly. ‘I saw it through the lens of my camera as clear as anything.’

‘We haven’t found a body,’ says Officer Burden, almost apologetically. ‘The island has been combed from top to bottom. So far no body has been unearthed. Obviously, they’ll keep looking.’

I’d shown them my photos, but they were pretty useless. The accidental close-up I’d taken was just a blur.

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