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

chances of someone setting out to rob, harm or kill my uncle on a ship like the Ocean Empress ?’
    ‘Close to zero?’
    ‘That’s what I think. Besides, even if a thief did get into my uncle’s cabin he or she wouldn’t have found anything of value because Uncle Calvin’s passport and money are in the safe in ours.’
    ‘I’m sure you’re right,’ Tariq said. ‘But let’s search the cabin just in case.’

    It was Tariq who found the pot of sleeping tablets on the bedside table. The reason Laura hadn’t spotted it earlier was because the little brown container was identical to the one in which Calvin Redfern kept his pain medication. That bottle was on a shelf in the bathroom cabinet.
    Laura studied the label, which was dated a year earlier and had her uncle’s name on it. ‘Now I’m confused. On the one hand, I’m relieved because it explains why he seems drugged. It’s just that I can’t imagine him making such a silly mistake. That makes me think there really was an intruder in his cabin last night and that that person swapped the bottles.’
    Tariq looked over at Calvin Redfern, who was snoring softly. ‘But why would anyone want to keep your uncle asleep? It doesn’t make sense.’
    ‘The only other explanation is that someone wants him out of the way. And why would they want that? Who would want that?’
    ‘Maybe we should have Skye watch over your uncle,’ Tariq suggested. ‘Calvin Redfern will be glad of the company when he wakes anyway.’
    They were on their way to fetch the husky when the ship’s siren sounded and four breathless words burst from the tannoy: ‘Pirates ahoy! Pirates ahoy!’

UP ON DECK every able-bodied passenger was hanging over the side, watching a black galleon approach. Its skull and crossbones flags billowed in the wind. Black-shirted pirates toiled on board and shinned up ropes and ladders.
    ‘Is this a joke?’ Tariq asked, unsure whether to laugh or be alarmed. ‘Surely we’re not about to be captured by modern-day pirates?’
    ‘Well, there are modern-day pirates in Somalia and places like Indonesia who kidnap people all the time,’ Laura told him. ‘But from what my uncle says, they wear ordinary clothes and go about in small boats. I think these are actors.’
    The Ocean Empress put down anchor, causing the sea to boil. Laura and Tariq found a quiet area near the lifeboats, and watched as the men shinned up the side of the ship on specially lowered rope ladders. They began playacting the part of swashbuckling pirates, taking passengers hostage. There was lots of laughter, particularly when a boy who’d snatched a cutlass from an unsuspecting pirate was ‘captured’. He and the other captives were lowered down to the black galleon in a special basket.
    At one stage, a treasure chest was manhandled on board. It turned out that it was a trick chest, like a conjurer’s box, and there were gasps of amazement when a passenger who volunteered to climb into it vanished for several minutes. The pirate magician demonstrated for all to see that the chest was empty. But when he shut the lid and then reopened it, there she was, as large as life.
    ‘Mind if I go and get us a couple of milkshakes?’ Tariq wanted to know.
    ‘Ooh, great idea. I’ll have a strawberry one, please.’
    Laura had been alone for barely a minute when a voice behind her growled: ‘Ah, a lone captive!’ She turned to see a gnarled pirate with a fake moustache and a permanent sneer, who also happened to be one of the tallest men she’d ever seen in her life. Close on his heels was a small, gangly man with an eye-patch and greasy black ringlets. He was gripping the handle of a large laundry hamper on wheels.
    ‘Ever been curious to see a pirate’s lair?’ the tall man asked, flashing a gold tooth.
    ‘No,’ said Laura, ‘I haven’t. And I’m not interested in being captured. I’m only standing here while I wait for my friend.’
    The pirate chuckled. ‘I’ve got news for you.