“No,” Hana says immediately, the first thing she’s said since they’ve sat down. “That’s not Bea’s style. She’s a planner.”
“She’s right.” Caleb nods. “And why go to all that trouble?”
A heavy silence falls, and as she looks at them, Elin notices a flush creeping up Jo’s neck. “Actually, I do think it’s possible she might have done it as a surprise,” Jo says quietly. “A gesture, maybe.”
“Gesture? I don’t get it . . .” Caleb swivels to face her.
There’s another pregnant pause that Elin knows better than to try to fill.
“When she first told me that she wasn’t coming . . .” Jo’s voice is tight, strained. “We had a rough conversation. I’d spent ages planning this. Arranging everything—it isn’t easy—and then she backs out, just like that. I was upset, it felt like she didn’t give a shit about the effort I’d gone to—”
Seth puts a hand on her arm. “Jo, not now—”
“No, it’s how I felt. When we spoke, I ended up giving her a few home truths.”
“Like what?” Hana’s voice sounds high, untethered.
“Just that she needed to get her priorities straight. Put the family first.” She hesitates. “Don’t look at me like that, Han. It’s true. She doesn’t prioritize us, Mum and Dad especially. How many family things has she canceled on? Dad’s birthday, last year . . .”
Sensing emotions running high, Elin interrupts. “So you think that her coming, it could have been to make amends?”
Jo gives a tight nod.
Elin’s about to ask another question, but she stops: Farrah’s walking toward them.
When she reaches her, Farrah leans down, murmurs in her ear. “Hate to interrupt,” she says. “But I think we might have an answer as to how Bea Leger got to the island.”
21
Giving her apologies, Elin follows Farrah to a table a few feet away, where a member of staff is waiting.
“This is Tom, one of the water sports instructors.” Farrah smiles at him encouragingly and he nods an awkward hello, ruffling a hand through his dark hair.
“Sorry, I’d have come forward earlier, but I’m not on early shift today. Sleeping in.” It’s obvious that he’s dressed hurriedly. His blue shirt is buttoned in the wrong order, the khaki shorts beltless, hanging low on his waist.
“No problem. Can you take me through what you know?”
Flipping his sunglasses to the top of his head, Tom nods. Elin mentally revises his age upward: midthirties maybe, looking at the fine lines around his eyes. “Bea and I met at uni. Same halls. She told me a few months ago that she was coming. It was a nice coincidence. I was looking forward to catching up.”
“And you were aware she’d canceled?”
“Yes. She contacted me a few weeks ago, explained that she’d had to drop the trip because of work, but said the rest of her family were still coming. I didn’t think any more of it until she messaged me early yesterday, saying she’d changed her mind. She asked if I could help, told me she wanted to turn up unannounced, surprise her family.”
Messaged him yesterday. Did it imply a last-minute decision, or did she simply not tell Tom until just before she was leaving for the island? “What exactly did she ask you to do?”
“Pick her up, sneak her in.” He glances across at Farrah, sheepish. “Crappy move, I know, but she was going to check in first thing, and as she’d booked in originally, I knew there was space . . .”
“What time did you collect her? Morning? Later?”
He wrinkles up his brow. “Evening, around eightish. I moored at one of the smaller coves, so no one would see us arrive, then we went to a meeting room in the main lodge.”
“Did she say why she didn’t want to go straight to see her family?”
“Said she’d had a long journey and wanted a drink to unwind, catch up.”
“How many did she have?”
“Not a lot. Maybe two or three? I don’t think she realized how late it had gotten.” Tom glances out to sea, his gaze automatically ticking over a group of paddleboarders with a well-practiced eye. “But she wasn’t drunk, if that’s what you mean.”
“And nothing seemed odd about her behavior?”
A shrug. “Pretty hard for me to judge. We don’t know each other well, not anymore. Uni was a long time ago. We only kept in touch occasionally, through social media.”