A Long Way Back (Unfinished Business #2) - Barbara Elsborg Page 0,137
bag behind the cool box held sun cream, books, phones, camera, snorkelling equipment and a few other items. Forty minutes ago, they’d boarded a boat at their resort and had been transported to this tiny, uninhabited Indonesian island. They’d been set up for four hours’ survival, assuming there was no tsunami, and been left to their own devices.
“This is the life,” Tay said with a groan. “Sun, sand, sea and sex.”
“You put sex at the end? Surely it’s sex, sun, sex, sand, sex, sea and then sex.”
“In four hours?”
“Oh yeah, you’re a lot older than me. I keep forgetting.”
Tay growled.
“There’s definitely food in that box, isn’t there?” Ink asked. “Because I’m not sure I’d be any good at chasing wildlife and killing it. What sort of wildlife do you think there might be?”
“The resort said there was nothing dangerous.”
Ink snorted out a laugh and so did Tay. When they’d arrived just over a week ago to stay in a bungalow supported on stilts over the water, with a private deck and huge bath tub, steps leading down to what felt like their own private pristine ocean, the welcome pack on the table was topped by a sheet of paper holding a list of warnings.
By the time they’d read about the sea wasp jellyfish, the blue-ringed octopus, needlefish, cone shells and sea snakes, sharks seemed the least of their worries.
“Whose idea was it to come here?” they both said at the same time.
But they’d be flying home in two days and the only problem they’d had was the temptation to drink too much alcohol.
“It’s so peaceful,” Ink whispered. “I feel like I have to whisper, but who am I going to disturb if I shout?”
“Me?”
“You don’t count.”
“We’ve never been as relaxed.” Tay stretched out on the lounger.
Which was why Ink had wanted this break. His conviction had been overturned but the case had attracted so much interest that they needed to get away. The parents of Wes were threatening to sue everyone they could think of. Ink wanted to be sorry Wes was dead, but so much of this was his fault. The press had been relentless, wanting to speak to everyone who was involved and had even tried to get to speak to Aunt Nessa. It was a story everyone wanted. A mad aunt, a crazy kidnapping, and a boy unfairly imprisoned for all of his teenage years.
Ink had given Vicki the story that Carter had wanted—well not quite because Carter had always believed him guilty—and her book had already been part of a bidding war which had effectively scuppered Carter’s plans for his book. The money she’d wanted to give Ink was going to a human rights charity.
“I was surprised how quickly we slipped into doing fuck all,” Ink said. “I don’t feel guilty that I’m not reading my book on toxicological emergencies and you’re not feeling pressured to answer your emails.”
“Sure you didn’t want to go down the pop star route?”
Ink laughed. “A bit of interest from an A&R guy does not mean I’d make it as a pop star. And if I did choose a career in music, how would I know it was down to my voice and guitar rather than because I’d been wrongfully sent to prison? Nope, I’m happy to be a paramedic, but I’m currently happy here where we can drink cocktails with stupid names and not feel a twat ordering them. Yes, I’d love a Flaming Gorilla and my boyfriend will have a Fuzzy Dick. Everyone here smiles, no matter what daft request you throw at them. Nothing is too much trouble. And I have a naked guy who runs me a bath every night before he gets in with me, and he washes me all over. Particularly my important bits.”
“You didn’t tell me about him.”
“He’s part of the package. He comes after you’ve gone to bed, Grandpa.”
Tay reached over and pinched his nipple.
“Ouch.”
Ink had been given a lot of money for the miscarriage of justice. Because he’d been locked up for just over ten years, in some ways the most precious years of his life, because the police had not done a thorough job in fully investigating what had happened, because his solicitor and barrister hadn’t worked well enough on his behalf—he’d been given the maximum amount. A million pounds. An unimaginable sum. One that still made him swallow hard. Nothing could put right what had happened, but he wasn’t going to turn the money down.