Free Laura Marlin Mysteries 2: Kidnap in the Caribbean by Lauren St John

and a croissant and couldn’t wake him. Usually he slept with one eye open but today he was dead to the world. After five minutes of trying to rouse him Laura was sufficiently concerned to consider defying her uncle’s orders and call the ship’s doctor.
    She had the phone in her hand when he stirred and blinked sleepily at them. Seeing the time and their anxious faces, he said, ‘Sorry if I’ve overslept, but it is your fault, you know. Laura, what were you doing creeping around my cabin in the middle of the night?’
    She replaced the receiver. ‘I wasn’t.’
    A small frown creased her uncle’s brow but he was still smiling. ‘Yes, you were. I heard you opening the bathroom cabinet. I spoke to you but you didn’t answer and before I knew it I was asleep again. Were you checking up on me again?’
    The uneasy feeling returned to Laura with full force. With a quick glance at Tariq, she said: ‘Oh, I totally forgot. I had a headache and I came in to get some aspirin. In fact, I think I’ll get another couple of tablets so if I need them another time I won’t disturb you.’
    She went to the bathroom cabinet and rattled the tub of aspirin. As far as she could tell nothing had been touched, but all her senses were on red alert. Her uncle had one of the sharpest minds she’d ever known. He was not in the habit of imagining midnight visitors. If he thought he’d heard someone in his cabin, he had. And what’s more, he knew he had. Laura hadn’t fooled him with her headache excuse.
    Back in the cabin, her uncle had woken up sufficiently to read Tariq a few paragraphs from his Matt Walker book. They were both laughing. But it didn’t last long. Before he’d even finished the page, Calvin Redfern’s eyes were drooping.
    He apologised again. ‘I’m not sure why I’m so exhausted. Before I went to bed last night I was walking around my cabin and feeling so alert and ready to escape into the fresh air that I fully intended to surprise you by being dressed and ready for breakfast when you came in this morning. Now my head feels like cotton wool. Laura, would you mind making me an extra strong cup of coffee?’
    It took Laura a couple of minutes to do as he asked, but by then her uncle was already snoring softly. No amount of shaking would wake him.
    Tariq was amazed. ‘I’ve never seen anyone doze off so quickly. He fell asleep in mid-sentence. I know his hard work back in Cornwall has worn him out, but over the past few days he’s been like a caged lion, desperate to get out and start enjoying his holiday. He was laughing and joking. Now he’s an invalid again. And what was all that about you being in his cabin in the middle of the night? I didn’t hear you get up.’
    Laura smoothed the covers over her uncle. ‘I didn’t. Maybe he dreamt it, but I don’t think so. Tariq, something weird is going on with my uncle. I can’t put a finger on what it is.’
    Briefly, she told Tariq about her uncle’s mysterious 3am meeting and about the hooks on the stairs that made her think of a tripwire. He immediately wanted to see them.
    ‘They’re here,’ Laura said, leading him into the corridor and up to the second step. She stopped. ‘At least they were.’
    Not only had the hooks gone, there was nothing to indicate they’d ever been there. The paintwork was immaculate. There were a couple of specks of white on the steel of the stairs, but no way of telling how long they’d been there.
    ‘I believe you,’ Tariq said, seeing Laura’s crestfallen face, ‘especially since the light was broken at the time. Do you remember how it was working perfectly just a few minutes later? It’s almost as if someone wanted it to fail so your uncle would fall. But who would do such a thing? It doesn’t make any sense. Do you think your uncle suspected foul play?’
    ‘Let’s search his cabin while he’s sleeping,’ suggested Laura. ‘There’s bound to be a simple explanation for everything. Seriously, what are the