A Dangerous Arrangement

by Lee Christine

  Vlad hooked a thumb in her direction. ‘She’d be the first off.’

  ‘I need to go to my cabin,’ said Eli, opening the door leading to the stern. ‘I’ll see you guys in the bar. Coming, Marina?’

  She waved to the others then followed Eli into the long passageway of Deck C. A service trolley, piled high with fresh towels and chocolates, was parked off to one side. Energetic staff members buzzed in and out of rooms doing the nightly turn-down service.

  Eli shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to look at her. ‘It’s coming together now, isn’t it?’

  Marina glanced at the young man beside her. The quieter twin, he was by far the stronger musician. ‘It takes a while to gel. Vlad and I always find it easy. We studied together in Vienna. Elena too. It’s where they met.’

  ‘Vlad told us. It must be nice to play together again after so many years.’

  ‘It is. I’ve really enjoyed the last two days.’

  Only when she spoke the words aloud did Marina realise how true it was. She had enjoyed herself, despite the constant worry of her wrist, her father’s impending eye surgery and Dean Logan’s awful predicament at the hands of her former flatmate.

  ‘It must be strange after playing in the symphony?’

  ‘Yes.’ They stopped outside Marina’s cabin and she dug around in her purse for her room key. ‘It’s nice to see the guests enjoying it though.’

  ‘Especially the dude who started conducting.’ He laughed, looking so much like his brother, Marina pointed an index finger at him.

  ‘Right then you could have been Harmon. Are you guys playing tricks on me again?’

  Eli shook his head and gazed at the floor. ‘No, it’s me.’

  Marina hesitated, her hand on the doorknob. She needed to ice her wrist, but she sensed he wanted to say something.

  He looked up. ‘Marina?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You’re amazing. I’m so grateful I got the chance to play with you.’

  She flushed, opened her mouth to brush aside the compliment then pulled herself up, Vlad’s words from the other day echoing in her head. When are you going to believe it, Marina? You’re twice as talented as anyone I know …’

  She smiled. ‘Thank you, Eli.’

  While physically identical to his twin, personality-wise they couldn’t have been more different.

  He raised a hand in farewell. ‘See you in the morning.’

  ‘Yeah. See you.’

  Inside the cabin, Marina slid her bag from her shoulder and tossed it on the end of her bed. The staff had folded back the covers and left two chocolates wrapped in gold paper on her pillow. A gentle sea breeze drifted into the cabin, cooling her skin.

  The sliding door leading to the balcony was open, the drapes pushed back as far as they could go. A full moon glowed like a lantern in the night sky, illuminating the rise and fall of the dark ocean before the swell rose up and slapped against the ship’s massive hull.

  Marina’s stomach lurched.

  Reaching for the doorhandle, she pulled the sliding door closed and drew the curtains across the glass. Then she surveyed the cabin in the muted light from the bedside lamp. If not for the distant hum of the ship’s engines far below, she could almost fool herself into believing she wasn’t on a boat.

  She kicked off her shoes and lowered the zipper on her skirt. As it fell around her ankles her thoughts shifted to Dean Logan, as they’d been inclined to do ever since she’d met him. Was there a Mrs Logan? He hadn’t worn a ring, but that didn’t signify anything. The fact she’d noticed said more about her than it did about him.

  Go on admit it! You liked him the instant you saw him. Before you heard his Australian accent and decided getting to know him was a bad idea.

  Marina pulled the black lace blouse over her head and hung both garments in the closet. He was certain to have a special lady friend of some description.

  She sighed as an image of an exercise-addicted, spray tanned supermodel formed in her mind. Why was she even thinking about this? They couldn’t be more different. If not for the Taiwanese cybercriminal who’d duped them both, their paths would never have crossed. Music was like oxygen to her—and Dean had salt water in his veins.

  Deciding to make a cup of coffee, she changed into a light shift and pushed her feet into a pair of flat pumps. Key in hand, she left the cabin and made her way to the small lounge which serviced Deck C.

  The pleasant space was divided into two areas. On her left, four modern desks formed a small business area where people could work in an office environment. On each desk was a laptop computer hooked into its dock. A photocopier, fax machine and shredder stood against the far wall. A bald man wearing dark-framed glasses sat at one of the laptops. Papers were spread all over the desk, and a satchel hung from the back of his chair.

  The right side of the room housed a modern kitchen equipped with fridge, coffee machine and tea-making facilities. In the unlikely event a guest should become peckish overnight, a mini buffet sat on the bench stocked with an assortment of pastries, sandwiches and muffins.

  Marina took a mug from the shelf and began preparing her coffee. Vlad and Elena had done well over the years, securing themselves this cushy little gig in what was often a difficult and unpredictable industry. She thought of how they’d coaxed, cajoled and finally insisted she come over and spend some time away from the pressures of her career. They were the only people she’d confided in. The only ones who understood her grief.

  She put the milk back in the fridge, a rush of affection for Vlad and Elena blooming in her chest. Her wrist had to hold strong. They’d worked hard to build the reputation of the quartet, and after all they’d done for her she’d hate to let them down.

  Coffee in hand, she was on her way out when the man in the glasses looked up.

  ‘Wife kicked me out. I’m keeping her awake apparently.’

  Marina paused and gave a wry smile. He’d spoken more out of politeness than anything. ‘Some holiday you’re having.’

  He nodded and went back to work.

  She was turning away when the man’s satchel caught her eye again. It was the type with a wide strap. Nothing fancy. The kind of thing every second guy carried.

  Victor owned one. It had been on the bed the night she’d knocked on the door, its flap open, a pile of disks and flash drives beside it, as if he’d upended the contents and tipped everything out in a flurry. He’d asked her what was up, and while she explained, he’d turned around and shoved the items back inside the bag.

  She remembered feeling embarrassed, and she’d turned her attention to the computer screen. Apart from the bed, it was the only substantial piece of furniture in the sparsely decorated room. Lines of programming language filled the screen, but that hadn’t raised any red flags. He was a software engineer, after all. But she remembered being taken aback when the screen changed.

  Adrenaline made her hands shake and her heart flutter. The bald guy at the computer looked up again, a quizzical expression on his face. Marina turned and hurried from the room. Two minutes later she was sitting in her cabin, icepack on her wrist, coffee mug on the table beside her.

  She brought up Dean Logan’s number on her phone, hit the call button and waited for him to pick up.

  Was he back in Australia?

  What time was it there?

  She hadn’t checked her world clock.

  She sat straighter as the call connected. It didn’t matter what time it was. He’d want to know.

  ‘Please don’t tell me you pocket-dialled me by mistake.’

  Marina blinked. She’d been expecting ‘Hello’ or a curt ‘Dean Logan’. But his greeting was a little familiar—and nice.

  ‘I didn’t. I mean, I did … mean to call you.’

  Oh God! She sounded like an inarticulate teenager.

  ‘Great.’

  There was pleasure in that one word, but she wasn’t about to read anything personal into it. He was pleased to hear from her beca
use he thought she had information that would help him.

  ‘I’ve remembered something. I’m not sure it will be of use. It’s not much.’

  ‘That’s good news. Go on.’

  She explained about the satchel, how Victor had scooped everything back into the bag, like he was trying to hide something.

  ‘I felt embarrassed that I’d walked in on him like that. It’s not something I’d normally do, but I was on my way out and running late. I needed to speak to him about a tradesman I had coming. I knocked on the door twice, but he didn’t answer. I could hear him inside, so eventually I just opened the door. He had earphones in, that’s why he didn’t hear. I definitely caught him by surprise.’

  ‘And he tried to conceal what was on the bed?’

  ‘Yes. I definitely felt like I was intruding. I was going to ask if I could see him outside, but he said ‘just a sec’. I looked away, at the computer. There was all this programming language on the screen. That didn’t strike me as odd. But then the screen changed. I can’t remember exactly what it was. But it was holding a machine gun in each hand. I felt uneasy, because the guns were pointing straight ahead, as if they were trained on the person using the computer.’

  There was silence at the other end.

  Marina waited, imagining Dean, dark brows pulled into a frown, brown eyes focused on one spot as he thought about what she’d said.

  ‘It wasn’t a Lego figure by any chance?’

  Lego?

  Marina frowned. ‘No, it wasn’t anything like that. It was more reptilian. Maybe even some kind of hybrid.’

  Another pause.

  ‘Okay, what happened then?’

  ‘He saw me looking at it. He told me he played computer games with people from all around the world and had even developed some himself. Since Venice, I’ve been trying to remember more physical things about him, like, maybe a tattoo I’d glimpsed. I’d forgotten all about the image.’

  ‘You’ve done well. This is good.’

  The hope in his voice brought a smile to Marina’s lips. ‘I was thinking that image could have been part of a game he was working on.’

  ‘Absolutely. How long ago was this?’

  ‘Quite soon after he moved in—roughly five months.’

  ‘This is definitely something we can follow up. If the game’s hit the market, we should be able to follow a company trail leading to Yu, or whatever his name is. Will you stay on the line while I relay it to Rask?’

  ‘Of course.’

  He put her on hold, and Marina rotated the icepack and sipped her lukewarm coffee. She wanted to help Dean Logan, help right the wrong done to him by Victor. And not only because she found Dean attractive. It ran deeper than that. Helping him took her mind off her own grim reality. He didn’t know it, but they were fighting the same battle—a battle for their livelihoods and the passions that drove them. Dean had been brought down by the actions of her flatmate. She’d been brought down by her own body. And in her heart, deep down where conviction lay, she knew which one was harder to fix.

  ‘Marina?’ He was back on the line. ‘We’ll run searches on the kinds of images you’ve described. If we email you some pictures, can you look them over, see if anything jogs your memory?’

  ‘Of course. How’s the investigation going?’

  He gave a sigh. ‘We’ve been interviewing the staff, and those who had photographs have handed them over. Most were taken on smartphones, and they’re not that good. Still, it’s better than nothing. They’ve been sent to Interpol and every airport in Australia along with the photograph we kept on file. We’re hoping facial recognition software will throw up a match with the passport he used. If he’s left the country.’

  ‘I see. Well, good luck.

  ‘Thanks.’

  A long silence stretched between them. Marina waited, giving him the chance to wrap up the conversation.

  In the end, the tension got the better of her and she felt compelled to speak. ‘Anyway …’

  ‘How’s the string quartet?’

  There was amusement in his voice, like he knew exactly what he was doing.

  It made her smile. ‘It’s going surprisingly well.’

  ‘Surprisingly? Weren’t you expecting it to go so well?’

  ‘I wasn’t sure.’

  She hadn’t been sure she’d make it through a performance.

  ‘Are you playing nicely with the others?’

  His voice had taken on that playful sexy tone he’d used in the gondola, when he’d asked if she knew the story of Casanova. When he thought she might be involved in a crime.

  Now he knew she wasn’t.

  ‘Do you mean the other passengers or the players?’

  ‘Both.’

  A delicious anticipation built inside Marina, making her heart beat faster and her skin flush with heat. She recalled what she’d told him the other day.

  My reasons for taking this gig are extremely personal. Where I go, and with whom, is entirely my business.

  She’d been trying to protect her secret, trying to get them off her case. Had she piqued Dean Logan’s interest with her words?

  ‘I always try to play nicely, Mr Logan.’ This reluctance by both of them to hang up was totally crazy. ‘But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I can be exasperating and difficult at times.’

  Oh God, why was she admitting this, and to a man she hardly knew?

  ‘And you told me you were single by choice.’

  She laughed aloud at that.

  He really was witty and charming and clever. And he was smiling too, she could hear it in his voice.

  Marina sobered. While it had been lovely flirting with Dean Logan, that’s all it was. All it could ever be.

  ‘I should go,’ she said honestly.

  There was another long silence, then ‘You’ll be hearing from me, Marina.’

  ‘Goodnight, Dean.’

  ‘Night.’

  She held onto the phone until the line went dead in her ear.

  Chapter Eight

  The following morning Marina disembarked the ship’s tender and stepped onto the dock at Taormina. ‘It sure feels good to be back on terra firma.’

  Vlad pulled her cap over her eyes and gave her ponytail a tug. ‘Come on you landlubber, we only have until lunchtime.’

  Marina straightened the brim of her cap and they began walking towards the exit gates.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you to the Amphitheatre?’ asked Vlad.

  ‘I’ll be fine. Once we’re off the bus it’s only a short walk, and you’ve been here dozens of times already.’

  ‘I have.’ He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the line of tenders ferrying passengers from the cruise ship to the dock ‘The twins want to see the restaurant where the actors all sit around talking like Marlon Brando in The Godfather.’

  Marina laughed. ‘Then how about I catch up with you guys after I finish my sightseeing?’

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’ Suddenly, Vlad gave a low whistle and pointed up ahead. ‘Will you take a look at that vintage Harley?’

  Marina stared at the gleaming motorcycle. It was attracting a fair bit of attention, mostly from the disembarking male passengers. A few even passed comment, and though the rider responded, he didn’t remove his black helmet.

  Marina slowed her pace as they approached the bike. There was something familiar about the rider. The broad shoulders, the long legs, the effortless balance as he sat astride the bike.

  An image of Dean flashed in her mind, his body relaxed, rising and falling with the movement of the gondola as though he were an extension of it.

  Excitement raced along her veins like an electric current.

  It couldn’t be!

  But as they drew nearer, the rider pulled off his gloves and flipped up the perspex shield revealing the upper half of his face.

  Marina blinked. There was no mistaking the keen gaze that peered at her from inside the helmet. ‘Dean?’

 
; Beside her, Vlad stopped in his tracks.

  Flustered, she turned to her friend. ‘You go on ahead. I’ll be in touch.’

  Vlad’s gaze shifted from her face to Dean and back again. ‘Are you sure?’

  Marina laid a hand on his arm, conscious of Dean watching the exchange with interest. ‘We know each other.’

  Vlad gave a silent nod and Marina watched him go. Then she turned to Dean Logan. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘We’ve had a breakthrough. Victor Yu flew out of Melbourne the day after you left Sydney. Zurich via Singapore. The police have located a rental car he dumped a couple of miles from Tullamarine Airport.’

  ‘That is good news.’ Marina ran an admiring eye over the bike, though personally she thought the man a lot more striking than the machine. ‘I was expecting the images to come in overnight.’

  His eyes flicked from her cap to her bare legs and back again. ‘I have some with me, if you wouldn’t mind taking a look.’

  ‘Of course.’ While she was excited they were finally on Victor’s trail, if she were honest, she was just as excited to discover Dean Logan was right here in Sicily.

  He swung around and took a spare helmet from the storage compartment. ‘Well, so as not to entirely ruin your morning sightseeing, I was thinking we could look through them up at the Greco-Roman Amphitheatre. Would you like a ride?’

  Marina flushed, her traitorous mind going in a completely different direction. ‘Sure.’

  She couldn’t see his mouth for the chin bar, but she could tell from the way his eyes crinkled at the corners that he was smiling.

  ‘You’ll have to loosen your ponytail to get this on. Have you been on a motorbike before?’

  She took off her cap, slid the band lower in her hair until it sat level with her nape. ‘Many times, mostly while I was studying in …’

  She pulled herself up. She’d almost said ‘while I was studying in Vienna’. But Dean Logan only knew her as a violin teacher.

  ‘Boston?’

  ‘Hmm.’

  He didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, just stowed her cap before setting the helmet carefully on her head. He lifted up the shield and looked at her. ‘That okay?’