‘Are you sure it was cut?’ I ask Jeffers. ‘It didn’t just snap off?’
‘There’s no way. It wasn’t worn or fraying. Someone cut it, probably with a knife.’
‘What was that?’ Milo breaks off from his conversation with Meg and leans round me to look at Jeffers. ‘You think someone deliberately cut the starter cord?’
‘Seriously?’ Meg says. ‘Who would do that and leave us stranded here?’
Jeffers shrugs. ‘I’ve got no idea.’
Honor, sitting on the other side of the fire, pulls away from Danny and turns to look towards the jungle. She runs her hands over her arms then hugs herself tightly. ‘Do you think there’s someone else here? Other people on the island?’
Jefferson shakes his head. ‘Unlikely. It’s a private island. My dad rented it for the week on the proviso that we’re the only ones staying here. The owner’s security firm will have checked it out before we arrived.’
‘But there’s a chance we’re not alone,’ I say. ‘If someone turned up after the security guys left and we arrived? We don’t even know what the other side of the island looks like, never mind whether there are other people on it.’
‘I’d be very surprised,’ Jefferson says. ‘My dad’s a stickler for getting what he pays for. He’d be straight on the phone for a refund.’
‘But what if it’s not an official booking,’ Milo says. ‘What if it’s randoms on a day trip? Or locals? Fishermen or something?’
‘Nah,’ Jefferson says. ‘The owner has prosecuted trespassers before and no one wants to end up in a Thai jail. Besides, why would someone local or a fisherman cut the cord on our boat?’
‘To freak us out? Maybe it’s a message they want us to pass on when we get back – if we get back – stay away from this island or bad shit will happen.’
‘Oh God.’ Honor presses her hands over her face and leans into Danny’s shoulder.
‘Guys,’ he says, ‘can we change the subject? You’re freaking her out.’
There’s a beat as no one speaks. Meg takes a swig of her water and sets it back on the sand, then looks at each of us in turn.
‘I think it’s more likely that one of you guys did it.’
Milo swings round to look at her. ‘What?’
She doesn’t meet his gaze. Instead she focuses on Danny. ‘You didn’t want Honor to leave. You said so last night, we all heard you. You heard him, didn’t you, Jess?’
Of course I remember but it’s a bit of a stretch, imagining that he would cut the cord on the boat and leave us all stranded here. Although I’m not sure I like the alternative much – that there’s someone else on the island with a vendetta.
‘I don’t know, Meg,’ I say vaguely. ‘I can’t really remember.’
Her face hardens. ‘No, that’s fine,’ she says. ‘You sit on the fence. But you heard him, didn’t you, Jefferson? He definitely said she wasn’t going anywhere.’
‘You did say that,’ Jeffers looks at Danny.
‘Whoa! Whoa!’ Danny holds up his hands, palms out. ‘Careful who you’re accusing, buddy. You’re the only one with a knife.’
‘Me?’ Jefferson’s jaw drops. ‘You don’t honestly think—’
‘It’s your survival week. Maybe you wanted to add a bit of edge to the experience? See how we all coped when we’re really stranded?’
‘Jess was the last one up.’ Honor points at me. ‘Did you see anything?’
‘Or maybe you did it,’ Danny says before I can answer. ‘Is that why you stayed up so late? Were you waiting for us all to fall asleep so you could creep down to the boat?’
I look from him to Honor and shake my head. This is ridiculous! Anuman is dead, we’re stranded and they’re arguing about who cut the starter cord? I look at Jefferson but he shrugs and raises his eyes to the sky. He looks as exasperated as I feel.
‘What does it matter who cut the starter cord?’ I ask. ‘If it was even cut. We’ve got more important—’
‘See,’ Danny says. ‘She’s changing the subject. Obviously guilty.’
I stare at him. ‘What possible motivation would I have for stranding us here?’
‘Who knows how your mind works? The other night you nearly broke someone’s hand with a chair leg!’
‘To help Honor out. For God’s sake, Danny. Would you listen to yourself? There’s a dead man over there,’ I point across the beach to the boat, ‘who’s never going to see his family again and you’re… you’re…’ I scrabble to my feet and walk away from the group, hands crossed over my body, gripping my arms, the sand hot and scratchy against the soles of my feet.
‘Jess.’ Milo is behind me and touches me lightly in the centre of my back, making me jump. ‘Are you OK?’
‘No, not really.’
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with everyone.’
‘They’re scared. I get it. It’s not every day you see someone… someone…’ I can’t finish my sentence and Milo puts an arm around my shoulder and pulls me into a hug. My cheek rests just beneath his collar bone and I can smell the suntan lotion and salt on his warm skin. My hands rest lightly on his back but I can’t bring myself to close my eyes and lose myself in the hug. My muscles are tensed, my mind is racing and I can hear Meg and Jefferson’s raised voices drifting over from the fire. They’re arguing about what we should do now. Meg thinks we should sit it out while Jeffers thinks we need to get help.
‘You know I didn’t do it, don’t you?’ I pull away from Milo. ‘I didn’t cut the cord.’
‘Of course you didn’t.’ His eyes search mine. ‘But someone did. I saw the end of the cord. It didn’t just snap off.’
‘But why? Who’d want to leave us marooned here? Danny can be an idiot but he’s not that stupid. And I don’t buy that Jeffers would do it.’
‘You think there’s someone else here?’
‘There could be. This island’s massive. For all we know the owner could have rented the other side out to another group and we wouldn’t have a clue. The owner pockets twice the cash and each group thinks they’ve got the place all to themselves.’
‘But why would they sneak across the island and damage our boat?’
‘For a laugh? Maybe they were pissed?’
‘We can barely get through the jungle sober, never mind drunk.’
‘Maybe they used a boat?’
‘We’d have heard it and woken up.’
‘Locals then? Fishermen? Someone who’s pissed off with the fact it’s a private island.’
I shake my head. ‘That doesn’t make sense either. Why would they cut the cord? It doesn’t get rid of us, it keeps us here.’
‘Maybe that’s what they want? To teach us a lesson.’
I shiver as I stare at the thick throng of palms, bamboo and mango trees gently swaying in the wind. The idea that there might be someone in there right now, watching us, is terrifying.