“Why don’t they wear a coat and hat? When I’m cold I wear a coat and hat. Putting sheets over your head is silly, you can’t see where you’re going!”

“I expect Doctor Lister will suggest that to them, it’s a very good idea. Come on, dinner’s waiting in my cabin.”

“And chocolate?”

“Yes, and chocolate.”

The little girl walked alongside the nurse, her head bowed low. For a long time she didn’t speak, but as they approached the cabin, and idea seemed to hit her.

“Can I stay with Mrs Wernström tonight? I mean, you’re very nice, but Mrs Wernström is my friend and I haven’t seen her for ages. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind looking after me.”

“Is Mrs Wernström a friend of your dad’s?”

“No, silly! She’s my friend. And Andrea’s. I would have stayed with Andrea, but her mummy says she worked very hard to keep her cabin and she doesn’t want other people staying there.”

“What does Andrea’s mummy do?” Kiera would have liked a bigger cabin. Crew rooms were notoriously small, but so far the committee had decided to only allow former passengers to take up jobs and earn improved accommodation. The system was only just getting started, and a lot of people who had paid for impressive and expensive suites were unhappy about being “kicked out” as they saw it. There was, however, general agreement that in this new world, privileges like more space and luxury should be the reward for those who worked for the common good.

“She’s a teacher.”

“That’s a very important job. So what about Mrs Wernström? Does she have a big cabin with enough space for you?”

“She’s very rich, and she’s retired so she says she’s allowed to keep her cabin. Me and Andrea like playing with her, she tells good stories. I’m sure she would let me stay with her. Please?”

“I tell you what, once we’ve had dinner we’ll go and see Mrs Wernström and see what she says, okay?”

“Ooookaaaay,” Erica said, dragging her feet along the carpet.

“Here we go, this is us in here.”

“Good, I’m starving!”

• • •

“There is no doubt in my mind,” Lister said gravely, “this man has been decapitated. I am not an expert you understand, I deal with the living, not the dead, but the wound is very clean. This was not an accident.”

Jake listened to the doctor. He was alone on the bridge, taking the late watch as they sailed onwards. He desperately wanted to get to bed and sleep, but he had another hour and a half of sitting there watching the semi-darkness outside before Dave was due to come and replace him. The phone call from Grau was a welcome distraction, even if the news was not pleasant.

“Do you think he could have come from the raft we found? How long was he in the water?”

“It is possible, Jake, it is possible. Given the level of decomposition, he cannot have been in there more than twelve hours. There was no blood found in the raft though, no?”

“Nothing obvious, no. Maybe someone topped him and cleaned up afterwards?”

“If that is the case, where did they go?”

Jake had no answer.

“What about the fish, Grau?”

“The body looks to be in perfect health. Even so, we have to assume that the fish may have ingested blood, flesh, or both. It is unlikely that they pose any risk to human health, but I would really like to run some blood tests on our unknown victim first, to make sure he was not carrying anything nasty. I cannot clear the fish for consumption, not with a clear conscience, I’m sorry, Jake.”

“How long to run the tests?”

“Normally a few hours, but the machine is already processing the blood from a man taken ill today, a most unusual case, incidentally. I cannot test this man’s blood before tomorrow.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be happy about putting the fish into the freezer while we wait?”

“That would not be my recommendation, no. I have no doubt that the men worked hard to get the catch, but I think in this instance, the best course of action is to throw the fish overboard and start again tomorrow.”

“You really think they’re not worth the risk?”

“Do you want to eat fish that have been dining on a dead man?”

“I see your point. I’ll talk to Stieg, tell him the bad news. What do we do with the body? Throw him back in?”

“If it is alright with you, I would like to keep him in the morgue. We have space, and I would be interested to get a second opinion from Russell Vardy when the opportunity arises.”

“Sure, fine. Oh and Grau, this goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: this stays between us okay? The Swedes have been briefed; this is not broadcast news. No need to start a panic or any conspiracy theories.”

“Understood, Jake. Goodnight then, and get some rest later, doctor’s orders.”

“Goodnight, Grau.”

• • •

Kiera watched Erica polish off the last of the chocolate, a knot in her belly as another one of her favourite pleasures was lost for good.

“That was yummy, can I have some more?”

“There isn’t any more chocolate, Erica. I said you should eat it slowly, didn’t I?”

“Mrs Wernström has loads of chocolate. Can we go and see her now?”

Kiera nodded. If it kept the girl from worrying about her father, she was happy to oblige. “Come on then. Where’s her cabin?”

“Number 845. She’s not far from Andrea’s cabin. But we can’t tell Andrea we’re going there, her mummy makes her go to bed early. She gets very cross if anyone knocks on her door after dinner. Sometimes, when daddy is asleep, I go and knock on her door and run away!” Erica burst into fits of giggles, then, realising Kiera wasn’t joining in, suddenly looked very worried. “You won’t tell on me, will you?”

“No,” she smiled kindly. “Of course not. Let’s go and find Mrs Wernström.”

Despite the late hour, they had to wait in line for a lift. Since power had been restored courtesy of the Ambush, two sets of lifts were working. The remainder had been shut down as nobody was quite sure just how much electricity the submarine could provide, particularly under sail. By the time they reached deck eight, Kiera was worried that it was rather an unsociable hour to be disturbing anyone.

“Wait!” Erica shouted, and tugged on the nurse’s blouse. “We have to go to our cabin first, to get my pyjamas!”

“Of course, silly me. Lead the way then.”

The girl produced a card key from her pocket and opened the door onto a small but neat little room. Kiera was relieved to see that none of the passengers crowded into the corridor earlier appeared to have stolen anything. Theft wasn’t a problem yet, but the crew all knew it was only a matter of time. Erica located her things and stuffed them into a tiny Hello Kitty rucksack which she slung over her right shoulder.

“Ready!” she announced, and skipped outside.

Cabin 845 was towards the back of the ship where the staterooms were much larger. Kiera knocked gently on the door. There was no response. She tried again. “Mrs Wernström? Are you there?” Worried about disturbing others, she didn’t speak too loudly.

Erica had no such concern. She banged hard on the door and shouted at the top of her voice, “Mrs Wernström it’s me, Erica. I need to come in!”

“Shh! You’ll wake up half the ship!” Kiera said, looking around anxiously, expecting doors to start flying open any second. “Listen, she’s obviously not there right now. It’s getting late; you’re just going to have to come back to my room. You can have my bed, I’ll sleep on the floor or something.”

“Don’t be silly, you can’t sleep on the floor, you’re a grown up. I’ll just wait here for Mrs Wernström.”

“You can’t wait out here, Erica.”

“Duh! I’m not waiting out here! You’re silly.” Erica stuck her hand in her other trouser pocket and took out another key card which she inserted in the brass door lock.

“Where did you get that?”

“She gave it to me. I told you, she’s really nice. I haven’t seen her for days though, I expect she’ll be really happy to see me again.”