by Jules Wake
‘I’ll get security to have a good look for her. When did you last see her?’
‘She was on the dance floor.’ Angela gave a rueful smile. ‘She got her dance with Fabio and then she danced with the two girls. They were having a good time, the three of them. And then next time I noticed, she’d gone and they didn’t know where she was.’ Angela’s mouth crumpled. ‘You don’t think she could have fallen overboard, do you. You hear about people falling off ships. She didn’t seem drunk or anything.’
Richard’s face darkened.
‘Why don’t you and Phil go downstairs to the main deck and wait there while I brief the security team to go through the boat.’
He waited until their steps receded and then turned with an abrupt movement to the security woman. ‘Get James. Tell him to meet me now. Lower deck.’ He spat the staccato words with precision.
She nodded and spoke her into wrist unit. ‘Can you put me through to James? Richard needs to speak to him.’
Before she’d finished her sentence, Richard had taken Carrie’s hand and pulled her with him, taking the stairs at a brisk, determined pace. His movements economic and focused.
‘Should I be worried?’ she asked.
‘No, I doubt very much Jade has fallen overboard. As a precaution I’ll get James to put a few divers overboard. I’d like to find out where Fabio is.’
‘Fabio?’
‘Yes,’ he said, his lips firming into a forbidding slash.
‘Him. I thought we were looking for Jade.’
‘We are, but I have a hunch she’s with him somewhere on board.’ He paused at the head of the next flight of stairs, anger radiating from his rigid stance.
‘On board.’
He nodded, his mouth twisting.
James met them at the foot of the stairs, his team waiting in the shadows behind him. Unlike the pretty security people dotted around the boat and at the gangway, his ready-to- spring stance suggested a much harder edge. The black uniforms of this small group of men, Carrie realised, weren’t for show. Each of them had that quiet, watchful quality, their eyes alert, constantly on the move.
‘Sir.’
‘James, my niece has gone missing. Can you get a couple of men in the water, in case she’s gone overboard?’
James shook his head. ‘I’ve had men stationed on the lower deck all night. We’d have heard a splash, if anyone went over.’
‘I thought as much. Can you get your team to check every state room, cabin and crew cabins? I think Fabio might have decided to take a little rest with my niece.’ Taut anger shivered in the words. ‘She’s fifteen.’
‘Right, sir. I’m on it.’
With a few brief words, the group scattered.
‘Shit, I’m sorry Carrie. I should have kept a closer eye on them.’
‘Richard, you’re worrying me. Is Fabio bad news?’
‘Not seriously bad news, but he’s the love-them-and-leave them type, fine for women who know the score but not for impressionable teenagers. Jade definitely falls into the latter category.’
‘Surely he’s not going to be interested in a girl her age.’
‘Who looks about eighteen tonight,’ he observed.
‘I almost said something to Angela earlier about how old she looked, but messing with Jade, hell-bent on making an impression tonight, would have been tantamount to taking a bath with a piranha and we’d already done an awful lot of fancy footwork to get near to an age-appropriate dress.’
‘Hey, it’s not your fault. We’re in a public place. She’s perfectly safe. They’ll be necking in a corner somewhere. At the heart of it, she’s a sensible girl.’
He shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘I should have warned her that he’s a sleaze-ball with women.’
Carrie snorted. ‘That would have been the worst thing you could do, I promise you. Teenagers love nothing more than forbidden fruit.
They exchanged wry smiles.
‘Not quite how I imagined things turning out this evening.’ Richard said with a self-deprecating shrug. ‘Or how I’d hoped.’
‘Welcome to the family. Talking of which, I’d better go and check on Angela.’
Angela, determined not to make a fuss, sat with Phil on the edge of the deck, her eyes scanning the crowd, Phil sitting next to her, holding her hand.
‘Any news?’ asked Angela.
‘No, but the security people are pretty confident that no one has gone overboard. They have people stationed outside to make sure that doesn’t happen and to jump in if it does. They haven’t heard anything.’ She paused. ‘Richard is having the private areas of the boat searched.’
‘What? I’ll skin her alive if she’s gone off exploring. That’s very rude.’
Carrie tried to work out the best way of phrasing her next sentence. ‘Richard thinks she might be with Fabio somewhere.’
‘I’d have thought she’d be far too young and unsophisticated for him. Wouldn’t he be more interested in someone like Savannah? It’s not as if Jade can do anything for his career.’
Carrie would have been inclined to agree with her, if she hadn’t heard Richard’s opinion of Fabio.
‘I’ll go and have a quick chat with Savannah and the two Stacey girls. Maybe they know something.’
‘That’s a good idea,’ said Angela jumping up, smoothing down her skirt and checking her handbag ready for action. ‘Shall I come with you?’
‘No you wait here, I’ve told James to come here with any news.’
‘Honestly. I have no idea where Jade is, but she must have gone with him because I haven’t seen him for ages either. I wonder where they’ve gone. It’s so naughty of Fabio. She did seem rather smitten. I did warn her he was a bit of a lad, didn’t I girls?’
The two blonde daughters of the producer nodded, although Carrie noticed one of them discreetly poke the other in the leg when she thought no one was watching.
‘I’m sure she’ll be fine. Chill, she’s spreading her wings.’ With a confiding whisper, which made Carrie want to slap her, this was her niece they were talking about, Savannah added, ‘Probably, hiding out in a corner somewhere snogging.’ She flashed her perfect cheerleader teeth. ‘We’ve all done it.’
‘Yes, but not with a Tyrannosaurus Rex in sheep’s clothing.’ Richard glared at her. ‘You know what Fabio’s like.’
Savannah coloured and ducked her head.
‘If you see him, let me know.’
As they left, Carrie muttered, ‘I think the girls might know something.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘They were too happy to let Savannah do all the talking, as if they were relieved not to have to say anything.’
‘Doesn’t mean they know anything.’
‘Richard, I teach teenage girls. Any drama, they love to be in on the act. These two seemed determined to shy away from it. That’s not normal teenage behaviour, I promise you. Besides, I saw the younger one nudge her sister.’
‘What do you want to do?’
‘Let’s wait a second and wait for Savannah to leave them. There you go.’
She approached the girl, Dorrie. ‘Have you any idea where Jade might have wanted to go?’
Dorrie spoke quickly, as if desperate to unburden herself. ‘I’ve no idea if she might have … but earlier she talked about wanting to go the VIP Rooms and asked Savannah if she’d ever been. Then Fabio said he’d been and she was asking him about it. But that was, like, hours ago. Then we were all dancing. Fabio went off with some other people. We didn’t see him again.’
‘Actually,’ the older girl spoke, ‘I did see them. They left the boat together.’ Her mouth was bitter. ‘Fabio asked me to go to the VIP Rooms with him. I said I needed to check with Dad.’ She swallowed, looking close to tears. ‘He said he didn’t want to take a daddy’s girl.’
Carrie squeezed her arm. ‘Do you know what? I think you had a lucky escape.’
The girl nodded with a tremulous attempt at a smile. ‘I’m sorry,
I should have said earlier, I was …’ her throat worked furiously and then in that candid innocent way of young girls, blurted out, ‘jealous. Really jealous. Do you think Jade will be alright?’
‘I’m sure she will. Well, until she gets home and then she’s going to be in serious trouble.’ Carrie’s fierce scowl elicited nervous giggles from the girls, which faded when she added, ‘And then I’m going to kill her.’
As they rounded the corner to join Angela, James came up.
‘One of the lads has come back from his break. Says he saw Fabio and a female leave the boat.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
‘I’m coming. The two of you need to get over yourselves. She’s my daughter, my responsibility. She’s a minx and she knows better. And you might be blaming this young man, but she knew exactly what she was up to. She’s been on about this blasted club for weeks.’
Richard put a hand up to halt her flow. ‘Fabio’s no innocent.’
With a sour smile, Angela shook her head. ‘You don’t know teenagers. She’ll have spotted him a mile off. He suited her purposes. Now, where is this club? Oh, silly me.’
The neon lights directly opposite were an obvious clue.
‘I don’t think they’ll let Angela in,’ whispered Carrie as they climbed out of the car. Angela marched with a purposeful stride, which boded ill for Jade. ‘They’re supposed to be pretty fussy.’ And she hated herself for saying it. Angela’s classic shift dress might turn a few heads in downtown Berkhamsted but here in the neon-lit, glittering evening, her non-designer, last-season’s dress didn’t cut it.
‘Don’t worry about that. They will let me in,’ he said without a trace of arrogance but with practical awareness of his VIP status.
‘I wasn’t worried about you.’
Richard grabbed a strand of her hair and tugged. ‘They’ll definitely let you in. I’d better stick with you.’
Carrie shook her hair to let it ripple down her back. Amazing what a touch of attitude could do for you. Tonight she’d felt she belonged and had been accepted, and it had nothing to do with the expensive dress, she’d just been herself.
The lengthy queue outside the nightclub snaked around the grey-washed walls filled with languid but loud partygoers, confident that they’d be let in.
Angela, ahead of them, trying to wriggle through the crowd, hoping to work her way through to the front of the queue, met with a series of disdainful and, quite frankly, rude stares. Not that she cared. With shoulders squared, ready for battle, she ploughed on, the girls in their strappy stilettos unaware that they faced the grave danger of losing a toe.
Almost as if someone had pressed a light switch, Richard straightened up, his shoulders broadening. She’d seen him transform plenty of time in recent days but this was different. Star quality and a definite swagger about him. A flurry of whispers rustled through the queue. ‘It’s him.’ ‘Richard Maddox. You know the guy from …’
He stepped in front of Angela, like Sir Walter Raleigh throwing down his cape and the magic of celebrity, parted the crowd, allowing the three of them to walk straight up to the large, rather breath-taking, bouncer, who Carrie could have sworn had a sixteen pack of ridged abs. She suspected the club employed much less attractive bouncers to do the real dirty work, if such work was required. She could imagine that might encompass the odd catfight if someone turned up with the same pair of Jimmy Choos or with last week’s cast-off boyfriend. This gorgeous specimen wouldn’t survive five minutes in a club in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham or Southampton.
With his usual easy charm, Richard chatted to the doorman, who cast a dubious look at Angela, but before he could say anything, she tapped him in the chest.
‘I’m sure you wouldn’t want it known that Richard Maddox’s underage niece was in your club.’
‘No, mademoiselle,’ he said, the cool confidence crumbling under her earnest stare.
‘Do you have sisters?’
‘Yes, mademoiselle, two.’
‘Exactly. So you understand how your mother would feel?’
‘Yes, mademoiselle.’ He stood up a little straighter, as if he’d stepped into the headmaster’s office. ‘Go right on in.’
Richard’s face made Carrie smile as she stepped aside to let him go in front of her.
‘Seems like you weren’t required after all,’ she said cheekily.
‘Are you two coming in or not?’ Angela, who’d vanished ahead of them through the door, popped back, bringing with her the sudden increase in volume of noise. ‘We’re going to have to split up to find her, it’s heaving in there.’
As soon as Carrie stepped in, it was like dropping into the underworld. The hammering bass rolled over them, the constant pounding waves, reverberating hard enough to make the hairs on her arms lift and move, like sea anemones underwater.
The driving beat and neon lights disorientated her and the constant movement of people, arms in the air, a many- headed medusa writhing in time, made the club seem alive and otherworldly. Carrie stopped, the beat pulsing in time with her heart, resisting the urge to let her hips move and join in.
Angela was off, wriggling through the dancers, uncaring of who she upset.
Richard beckoned to Carrie. ‘I have a good idea where Fabio will be.’
‘Why didn’t you say so?’
‘I’d rather extract Jade before her mother gets to her. She’s going to be embarrassed enough that we’ve tracked her down here and I’d rather Angela didn’t see the sort of activity that goes on.’ He suddenly took a lot of interest in a passing waiter with a tray full of drinks.
‘What?’ asked Carrie her voice sharp.
‘Coke, I would suspect.’
Carrie closed her eyes. Jade was a sensible girl most of the time but in this place, where everyone seemed so alive and happy, and hip and happening, normal rules to everyday life didn’t appear to apply. The thrum of the bass called with an enticing siren beat, once again inviting her to dance.
Richard eased his way through the heaving bodies, a task made easier by his commanding presence and the fact that most people did a double take the minute he approached and automatically stepped out of his way. Carrie had to admit it was rather impressive as she trailed in his wake.
They climbed a set of neon-lit stairs leading to an upper- level balcony, where the music sounded marginally quieter. On this level a series of half-moon-shaped leather couches in dimly lit alcoves were occupied by a mass of writhing bodies. In other circumstances, Carrie might have been amused by the sight of the acres of flesh on display, the multitude of tanned slim legs and long lean arms, reminding her of some enormous exotic octopus.
She turned away from the sight of a couple half hidden in a booth moving in a very definite rhythm, understanding exactly why Richard didn’t want Angela coming up here. The dilated eyes and wild expressions on some of the faces worried Carrie. Flushed and giddy, would these young girls even remember what they’d been up to the following morning? Nausea rose from her stomach as she saw a well-tanned older man in his sixties feeding a young woman champagne, tipping the bottle into her mouth, leaning forward to lick the liquid spilling down her front.
Richard grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
‘I don’t think I like it in here,’ said Carrie.
‘Exactly. Now you can see why I didn’t want to bring Angela up here.’
They moved through the room and then Carrie spotted a flash of lilac through the bodies.
‘There,’ she prodded Richard hard and they fought their way through to the far side of the balcony.
Jade clutched a pillar with one hand, a silly grin on her face. Next to her, a distinctly unamused Fabio tried to coax her to one of the nearby benches.
‘Come on, Jade. You wanted to come here.’
‘I … want to … go …’ She started to slide down the pillar and with a giggle, ‘oops. That thing’s moving. I … go home.’
‘Stop being a tease. It’s cost me a fortune—’
/> With one seamless move, Richard slid between the two of them and glared at Fabio.
‘Man, what are you …’ Recognition dawned in the slight second before Richard’s punch landed right on his mouth. Blood spurted and Fabio wiped at his split lip.
‘What the fuck …?’
‘The lady wants to go home, you sleaze-ball. Plus, the fact she’s fifteen. Underage.’
‘What?’ He shot a horrified look at Jade, who smiled like a dopey bloodhound up at him.
‘You’re very handsome.’
Panic filled Fabio’s eyes.
‘Seriously, she’s fifteen.’
‘Seriously. Yes,’ snarled Richard.
‘Hey man,’ Fabio rubbed his jaw. ‘How the hell was I supposed to know that? What am I supposed to do, get ID?’ He asked with a sneer.
Carrie had crossed to her side and put an arm around her to prop her up. Jade’s head dropped, halted with a bounce and lifted, only to do the same again.
‘Carrie?’ she asked, at last managing to hold her head up, her words slurred. ‘I’ve had so much fun but I wanna go home now. Can we go home?’
‘Don’t worry, we’ll take you.’ Carrie shot Fabio a filthy look. ‘Whether she’s underage or not, surely if your date gets this drunk, you’d look after her?’
He shrugged. ‘It wasn’t that much. A couple of glasses of fizz, bloody expensive too. You might as well take her, then.’ With an arrogant tilt to his head, he surveyed the crowd on the dance floor below. ‘Plenty more fish in the sea. Of age, who can handle their drink.’
Richard grabbed his shirt, hauling him upwards. ‘You really are a piece of work.’
Fabio held Richard’s gaze for a second before pulling his head back and twisting his neck to look away.
‘Look, man, she came on to me. Wanted me to show her a good time. That’s what I was doing until you guys showed up with your morality police gig.’
‘You didn’t think perhaps the responsible thing would be to take her home.’
‘Oh for Christ’s sake. She’s a nobody. If she can’t take the pace, she shouldn’t have signed up to the gig in the first place.’ He stuck his chest out, the implication clear. He was a somebody.
