The Whiskerly Sisters (39 page)

And then, on a reluctant night out to the Alternative Lifestyle Ball, he met Sly.

By the time, Fee had finished his story, a pale lemon smudge was beginning to lighten the horizon and the ship that never slept had grown quiet. The theatre in which the little group sat enthralled, had been deserted long ago by its staff, save for one night owl slumped in a corner dozing.

Sly explained that Fee had felt so strongly that he could never go back to the UK nor return to his native Latvia, that the pair had decided to simply disappear. Here in the Mediterranean, far out to sea, they felt safe. Fee could not imagine that his family would ever think to search for him here and, if they did, he could easily hide in the womb of the vast ship with its bustling, below decks village where everything was noticed and nothing ever mentioned. In the underground world of his ruthless family, his lifestyle would be despised and crushed. Nothing would ever convince Fee to return home where he felt his only choice was to submit or bleed.

The girls were silent in the face of this appalling story, churning the tale over in their individual minds as they digested the details. They looked at one another and a silent message passed between them. Sly read it and began to protest – it was too dangerous he told them, out of their league, monstrously stupid, but the dye was cast. Fee begged them to leave well alone, berating himself for his loose mouth and his lover for his powers of persuasion. He left the room in a storm of hysterical tears, swiftly followed by an anxious Sly.

Alone in the theatre, the Whiskerlies sat for a while in silence, staring glumly out of the porthole windows at the slowly rising sun and the beginning of what looked like a perfect day to explore the beautiful Emerald Coast of Sardinia, their final cruise destination.

“It has to be done,” said Celia finally.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” countered Jax, “you heard Fee. We wouldn’t be dealing with noisy neighbours or dodgy exes this time. These people sound like serious thugs to me.”

“So what?” argued Charley, furious at the cruelty that had been inflicted on her friend’s lover.

“I’m game,” said Izza, earning herself an exasperated look from her mother.

“Me too,” agreed Bex, “although not a word to David.”

“What do you think we should do?” asked Tiffany practically.

“Suggestions?” asked Bex, taking the lead as usual, but the group was tired and, in the end, it was agreed that the best plan would be to head off in search of breakfast and hot showers before meeting later to take the coach to the historic town of Tempio Pausania.

The glorious scenery was lost on the girls, who found it difficult to rally much enthusiasm for anything but discussing Fee’s incredible story and the options facing them because of it. When the travellers finally got back to the ship, Charley wasted no time finding a disconsolate Sly and told him that she thought he was right. The group had discussed it over and over, but had finally decided to leave well alone. It was too big a step for them to take on a band of Latvian thugs. Sly’s relief was palpable. Bending to give his friend a swift kiss, he ran to find Fee and tell him the news. Watching his departing back, Charley sighed to herself and, not for the first time, wished her best male friend was not gay.

Back in her cabin and preparing for their final dinner aboard, Charley informed her cabin mate that Sly had swallowed the lie. Using all her innate skill, she had convinced him that the Whiskerlies had agreed to rest in peace in the payback stakes, but the truth was that they were hooked. They had no clue how they would pull off a European sting. They knew it would be dangerous and far harder than anything they had done before, but they felt they owed it to themselves and to Fee to at least try to settle the scores.

The two conspirators looked at each other and smiled. Charley was looking forward to a new adventure and a serious dollop of fun. Bex was a little more prudent as she sketched out the first few steps in her head. No one could predict the future and it may well transpire that they were about to bite off far more than they could chew. Still, a little internet research and some crafty sleuthing couldn’t possibly do any harm.

Could it?

BB Occleshaw lives in Essex where she works as an Executive Assistant. She began writing short stories and poems as a child and went on to write pantomimes for amateur dramatic groups.

This is her first novel.

This eBook is published by

Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd

28-30 High Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3EL.

www.grosvenorhousepublishing.co.uk

All rights reserved

Copyright © BB Occleshaw, 2015

The right of BB Occleshaw to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with Section 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

The book cover image is copyright to Inmagine Corp LLC

ISBN 978-1-78148-444-9 in electronic format

ISBN 978-1-78148-894-2 in printed format

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