Free Clifton Chronicles 02 - The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer Page A

on.’
    ‘Oh – one of the passengers thought it was a Dr Wallace.’
    ‘No, Wally retired about six months ago. Sweet old thing.’
    Emma asked no more questions during the break, just drank coffee.
    ‘Why don’t you spend the rest of the morning finding your way around, so you know where you’re sending everyone,’ Peggy suggested once they’d reported back to the desk. She handed Emma a guide to the ship. ‘See you for lunch.’
    With the guidebook open, Emma began her quest on the upper deck: the dining rooms, the bars, the card room, a library, and even a ballroom with a resident jazz band. She only stopped to take a closer look when she came across the infirmary on lower deck two, tentatively opening the double doors and poking her head inside. Two neatly made, unoccupied beds stood against the wall on the far side of the room. Had Harry slept in one and Lieutenant Bradshaw in the other?
    ‘Can I help you?’ said a voice.
    Emma swung round to see a tall man in a long white coat. She immediately understood why Peggy had a crush on him.
    ‘I’ve just started on the information desk,’ she blurted out, ‘and I’m meant to be finding out where everything is.’
    ‘I’m Simon Parkinson,’ he said, giving her a friendly smile. ‘Now you’ve found out where I am, you’re most welcome to drop in at any time.’
    ‘Thank you,’ said Emma. She quickly stepped back into the corridor, closed the door behind her and hurried away. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had flirted with her, but she wished it had been Dr Wallace. She spent the rest of the morning exploring each deck until she felt she’d mastered the ship’s layout and would be able to tell any passenger where everything was with more confidence.
    She was looking forward to spending the afternoon testing out her new skills, but Peggy asked her to go over the passenger files in the same way she’d studied the ship. Emma sat alone in the back office, learning about people she would never see again in her life.
    In the evening she made an attempt to eat supper, beans on toast and a glass of lemonade, but she was back in her cabin soon afterwards, hoping to catch some sleep in case the engineer returned.
    When the door opened, the light in the corridor woke her. Emma couldn’t make out who it was that entered the cabin, but it certainly wasn’t the engineer, because his feet didn’t reach the wall. She lay awake for forty minutes, and didn’t get back to sleep until the door had opened and closed again.

    Emma quickly became accustomed to the routine of the daily work followed by the nocturnal visits. These visits didn’t vary greatly, only the men, although on one occasion the amorous visitor headed for Emma’s bunk and not Peggy’s.
    ‘Wrong girl,’ said Emma firmly.
    ‘Sorry,’ came back the reply, before he changed direction. Peggy must have assumed she had fallen asleep, because after the couple had made love, Emma could hear every word of their whispered conversation.
    ‘Do you think your friend’s available?’
    ‘Why, have you taken a shine to her?’ giggled Peggy.
    ‘No, not me, but I know someone who’d like to be the first man to unbutton Dana’s uniform.’
    ‘Not a hope. She’s got a boyfriend back home in Bristol, and I’m told even Dr Parkinson didn’t make an impression on her.’
    ‘Pity,’ said the voice.

    Peggy and Trudy often talked about the morning that nine sailors from the Devonian had been buried at sea before breakfast. With some subtle prompts, Emma was able to gain information that neither her grandfather nor Maisie could possibly have known. But with only three days left before they reached New York, she was no nearer to discovering if it was Harry or Lieutenant Bradshaw who’d survived.
    On the fifth day, Emma took charge of the desk for the first time, and there were no surprises. The surprise came on the fifth night.
    When the cabin door opened at whatever hour it was, a man once