Sean had hoped the picture might have elicited a smile, but Natasha remained dejected. When they arrived outside the apartment Natasha asked if Sean would like a coffee. Sean hesitated.
‘It’s just that I don’t want to go into an empty apartment today’ she said quickly.
Sean followed Natasha. They went through a small hallway, inching past a bicycle and through into the living area. She gestured for him to take a seat on the sofa.
Sean looked around. The room was bright and airy. A coffee table sat in front of the sofa. There was a TV in the corner and a sports bag peeked from behind a cupboard. A coat and scarf were draped over a white painted pine wooden chair.
‘How long have you had the bicycle?’
Natasha thought back. ‘About two years. I bought it during one of my fitness regimes. I actually used it for a month or two to get to work and back. Then the winter set in and every day I found myself having to battle through rain and the colder temperatures to work so I parked it in the hallway until the weather improves.’
She got up and walked to the kitchen, continuing the conversation. ‘Of course I never got round to using it again, but I can’t face the thought of getting rid of it.’
She had left her partly open handbag on the floor by the settee. Casually Sean leant over and widened the aperture. He saw an opened envelope that was addressed to her in Ben’s handwriting.
Quickly he withdrew the single folded sheet of paper and opened it out on the table. ‘It’s five years at least since I rode a bike’ said Sean. He took out his phone and quickly snapped a photo before putting the sheet back. ‘I had a sore bottom for two days afterwards!’
Natasha appeared with the coffee. ‘You soon get used to it’ she replied as she set the mugs on the table. She produced some cookies and placed them on a plate. ‘Have you been over to see Ben before now?’ she asked as she swirled a biscuit in her cappuccino.
‘Once or twice. Ben came over to England to see me a few times.’ He took a sip of the coffee. ‘I wondered if you could tell me a little bit about him?’ asked Sean. The police say he was driving a motorbike but I never knew he had one — I always thought he drove a car.’
‘Well, it was fairly new. He bought it last year sometime, exchanging it for his car. I remember joking with him that he was going through a mid-life crisis.’ Natasha relived the moment. ‘He loved that machine. It wasn’t anything special — not like a Harley Davidson, or anything like that. But he used to drive it all over the county at weekends.’
They were quiet for a moment. ‘Sometimes he would take me for long rides on the bike.’ Natasha reminisced.
‘Do you know what he was doing the night he was killed?’
Natasha shook her head. ‘He left a message on my phone to say he was on his way over. By the time I got back and returned his call, he must have already left.’
Sean thought about the information she had told him. Everything seemed to fit.
‘Listen, I know Ben and you work for some kind of company that’s involved in hush-hush projects. I’m not trying to pry or obtain State secrets, but just to know if he was happy in his work.’
Natasha considered her reply. ‘Yes, I think so. I didn’t often see him there. He had an office on a different floor. But yes, he seemed happy, or at least content. Recently though he was tired. I put it down to the hours he was working.’
Before Sean could reply his mobile rang. He pulled it out and listened a moment, then ended the call and put it away without saying a word.
She glanced at her watch. ‘The police are coming round later to interview me. You said they’d spoken to you at the Hospital?’
Sean made a face. ‘A detective gave me a good grilling. Unfortunately I couldn’t tell him much. I was away from Ben’s room when it all happened. When I came back I saw a man in a white coat leaning over Ben. It didn’t look right. I called out and that’s when he ran off. Later I realised that the guy was trying to murder him. It was the same man we saw earlier — the doctor who said we could go in to see Ben.’
‘What?’ Natasha held her head in her hands. ‘You mean that doctor we met was the same person who tried to kill him?’
‘Not just tried’ said Sean grimly. ‘He succeeded. He was only pretending to be a doctor — but he had me convinced.’
Sean finished his coffee. ‘I’m afraid I’ve got to go.’ He glanced down and saw the listless expression return to her face. He touched her shoulder gently. ‘Will you be OK now?’
Natasha smiled briefly. ‘Yes — thanks for being with me today.’
‘Take care Natasha — I’ll see myself out.’
At the doorway to the apartment Sean looked back at her forlorn figure. He was tempted to stay and console her. Reluctantly he closed the door gently behind him.
Chapter 5
‘Hey, Louis — get your ass down here!’ shouted the supervisor.
Louis gripped the rail firmly until his knuckles showed white. Hardly able to talk, he stared steadfast into the driving wind and spray. The corkscrew motion of the ship set off another bout of sea-sickness and Louis retched over the side.
The supervisor was known to the scientific teams as ‘Long John’ because of his full beard and a slight limp which he claimed was the result of a fight in a Dublin bar. Annoyed, he raised his voice to a shout above the wind. ‘This is the most important test so far and they need you now.’
‘I don’t fucking care!’ Louis uttered through clenched teeth.
Long John lowered his voice to show some sympathy. ‘Best get below Lou before the launch boss comes looking for you. We start the first trial in two hours — you’ll need to get your end sorted out well before then.’
Early in the voyage when the weather started to deteriorate Louis had not known how deeply ill he could feel. The catalogue of misery didn’t end there. Louis discovered that his Rolex watch was missing. A present from his daughter for his 50th birthday, it was his most treasured possession. And when they arrived on station a major system crash had forced him to work solidly for 19 hours when he should have been in bed. Since then, between bouts of sickness and diarrhoea, he had only been able to doze fitfully for a few hours at a time.
As he turned to go the wind whipped at his white coat and spray smacked against his face. He nearly lost his footing and lunged for the rail again, cursing his co-director for falling ill at the last moment. In his absence Louis was the only other person in the company with the skills needed for the job. Even then he had to be coerced to take the trip and offered a bonus for bringing it off. He remembered telling himself at the time that the money would come in useful. But that didn’t seem so important now.
He gritted his teeth and glanced aft at the cause of his misfortune. A long cylindrical shape, held in a cradle, sat shrouded in a tarpaulin. The edges of the cover flapped wildly in the gusts, trapping air underneath. But even the demented wind couldn’t obscure the cold hard lines beneath.
‘Do you need a hand?’
Louis shook his head. He knew this phase was only the beginning. There would be at least two more weeks of trials before they could all head home and the return trip would probably take another week again. With a groan he pushed himself away from the rail towards the companionway.
When he was first shown around the ship he was told that the hull had computer controlled stabilisers that could keep her deck rock steady in all weathers. At least that was what the Steward claimed. Louis had begun to hope he might manage to avoid seasickness. He solemnly promised himself he would never set foot on a ship again after this voyage.