REPORTER: Is there any chance you could raise the ship?
ALI NESSER: That’s something you’d have to ask the folks who are paying for the search.
REPORTER: But is it possible?
ALI NESSER: Anything is possible. I’m not sure why you’d want to.
REPORTER: Well, as you know, many well-known people died in that disaster.
ALI NESSER: Yes, and that ship is their grave. Do you really want to disturb it?
REPORTER: I suppose that’s for someone else to decide.
ALI NESSER: I suppose so.
REPORTER: Reporting live, I’m Tyler Brewer. Jim?
Land
Dobby put his hands above his head and slowly rose from the lectern.
“I gotta stand up, please,” he pleaded. “My back is killing me.”
LeFleur kept the gun pointed, but he, too, was getting tired. The reading of the notebook had been draining. He realized this wasn’t the most well-thought-out plan, coming to the exclusion zone to pry out a confession. He had no backup. If something went wrong, he was a long way from help.
“I’m still waiting for an answer,” LeFleur said. “How did you do it? Why did you do it?”
Dobby lowered his hands to the filthy podium. He pushed some ash away with his fingers. “Look,” he said. “I don’t really want to tell you all this. But I can see it’s the only way you’re going to believe me.”
“You’re gonna say you were never on that yacht?”
“I never was. I saw it. I’d gone with Benji to Cape Verde, and I drove him to the docks the morning they loaded up. I was worried about him. He’d been through a lot, and he was acting strange. Agitated. I didn’t want him to be alone.”
“Why go to the docks?” LeFleur asked.
“This manager of Fashion X was supposed to be there. I wanted to say hello. To be honest, I was hoping he’d hire me for their next tour. That’s all. I swear.”
“So you saw the Galaxy?”
“I saw it. It was a beast, just like he wrote. A monument to greed and excess.”
“Now you sound like the man in the notebook.”
“I’m just telling the truth. The upper deck was like an outdoor theater, a stage, dozens of chairs, a massive sound system. And every guest on that yacht had a staff member assigned to take care of them. Whatever they wanted, the staff person had to provide. Drinks. Towels. An iPad in the middle of the night. That’s how that whole trip worked. At least that’s what Benji told me. He had four people to look after from start to finish. I was standing next to him when they signed in.”
“You remember who they were?”
Dobby scratched his chin and looked down. “Yeah,” he said. “Now I do.”
“Who?”
He sighed. “One was Geri, the swimmer. One was the Greek guy, Yannis. One was the Indian woman, Mrs. Laghari—I remember her, because she looked at my clothes like they were offensive, and she asked Benji to hold a pair of earrings for her—and the last was the tall British guy, I forget his name.”
“Nevin Campbell?” LeFleur said.
“Yeah. Those were Benji’s people. He was assigned to those four.”
LeFleur shook his head. “Come on. You just named four people who happened to wind up in the lifeboat?”
“I know,” Dobby replied. “And I might as well tell you the rest. I met Jean Philippe and Bernadette, too. Benji introduced me. They were nice. Funny.”
“What about Nina, the Ethiopian woman?”
“We never met. But I saw her.”
“How did you know it was Nina?”
“Trust me, you don’t forget a woman like that. She looked like Iman, that model? She waved at Benji, and I said, ‘Who’s that?’ He said, ‘Nina. She gave me this haircut.’ ”
LeFleur exhaled. This was crazy. Dobby had just rattled off nearly all the passengers in the story. It was too simple. He could easily be reciting their names, making up his own tale as he went along.
“The little girl?” LeFleur asked. “Alice?”
“Never saw her.”
“What about Jason Lambert?”
Dobby bit his lip and looked away.
“What?” LeFleur said.
“Put down the gun, Inspector. And I’ll tell you a story.”
LeFleur held steady.
“Come on,” Dobby said. “You know, in your heart, you don’t believe that notebook. Put down the gun, and I’ll explain everything.”
LeFleur rubbed his eyes with his left hand. “Why do I need a whole story? What’s the big deal about Jason Lambert?”