chapter 10

I was relieved when Abigail and Vernon moved off into the kitchen, still bickering. Quickly, I left reception and ran up the stairs to Carolyn's room. I don't know why it bothered me so much that Vernon was Abigail's father, but the fact that they hid it from me just added to the uneasy feelings I had about my employers and the doctor knowing a lot more than she was letting on. I looked at Carolyn, laid on her side snoring quietly, so beautiful in the early morning light, and asked myself what I had got her involved with. I thought back to the other women I had shipped off in the past; they had never done me any wrong but I sold them on to who knew what fate.

I walked quietly across to Carolyn and gently shook her shoulder to wake her. She blinked at me and muttered something, before closing her eyes and resuming the gentle snoring. With more urgency I shook her again and this time she pushed me away and sat up, angrily demanding to know what I was doing.

"Just listen to me, please," I whispered. "Something isn't right here and I think we - particularly you - are in some sort of danger." Carolyn frowned at me and then looked in disbelief.

"Get dressed, get your bags and we'll get out of her," I said.

"You're going nowhere, mate," said Vernon from the doorway. I felt my heart leap into my mouth and started stammering, trying to think of a reason for leaving, but Vernon just laughed at my discomfort. "Not until after you've had breakfast, anyway," he added with a grin and wheeled in a small trolley with a bowl of cereal and a couple of rounds of toast.

"It's just a little one," he said. "You'll be flying to the island on a small aircraft and it's not like one of those jumbo jets! You'll feel every bump in that thing, so you don't want to eat too much or you'll be chundering your guts up!"

Once Vernon had left, I once again told Carolyn that I was concerned for her well-being, but she just laughed at me, lit a cigarette and told me I was being paranoid.

"I don't know why you don't want me to go to this island now," she said. "You spent all week telling me how great it was and how it would be a perfect romantic getaway for us." I could not deny this, and she leaned across and laid her head on my shoulder.

"I understand you getting cold feet," she said, gently taking my arm and sliding it round her back. "It's a big step going on holiday together after a few weeks, but this will be the beginning of our real relationship."

She smiled up at me and I forgot all my worries. Of course my employers would not do anything to Carolyn if I were there. Abigail had obviously been to the island before and she was fine. I pulled Carolyn close and kissed her, and took the opportunity of the embrace to give her waist an innocent squeeze.

Shortly afterwards, we were on the road to a small airfield and there Abigail, Carolyn and I climbed onto a small plane. The doctor did not even acknowledge Vernon apart from a brief thank you for driving us around. I began to wonder if I had imagined her calling him dad. Was it a remnant of dream mixing with the real world in my half asleep state? I was pulled out of these thoughts by the conversation I overheard.

"I am not wishing to offend. This is purely a medical concern," said Abigail to Carolyn. "You previously told me that you struggle to maintain a healthy weight, and when I measured you in Shanghai, I noticed there had been a slight increase in the size of your waist; it was relatively small and that could have been due to any number of factors. However, now you are seated, I can see that you have definitely gained a layer of visceral fat."

Carolyn looked confused. "Visceral fat?"

Abigail smiled. "In layman terms, you have the beginning of a pot belly."

Carolyn looked sad. "I know I have been eating a bit more than usual, but I am on vacation," she said. "And I have been smoking more, as you advised."

Abigail looked as though she wanted to laugh. "That's good," she replied. "I think that is why your gain is barely noticeable to most people. Don't forget, I do have a trained eye."

For the rest of the flight, Abigail and Carolyn discussed calories, diet plans and structured exercise programmes, designed to ensure that any weight lost would not be regained. I only half listened as secretly, I was incredibly disappointed that Carolyn was going to lose that soft layer of fat which she had gained over the last few weeks. I was, however, excited by the fact that Abigail was arranging the programme to begin once we were home from the island, which reassured me that Carolyn would be coming back with me and we could build a life together.

After a few hours, we were somewhere over the Pacific, but I had no idea where. The pilot turned and informed us that he had a visual on the island and we would be landing shortly. As we approached, we could see that our destination was an extinct volcano, covered in dense vegetation and surrounded by golden beaches. I could see that scattered around the lower slopes of the volcano were white, wooden houses with well-kept gardens which had been cleared of trees and planted with tropical flowers. The houses were connected by stone paths which cut through the forest, leading to the beach one way and up the volcano the other, all meeting at a plateau outside a cave about a third of the way up the mountainside.

The aeroplane landed on a runway which had been cleared along the Eastern side of the island, and taxied into a small area with several other private jets for refuelling and engineering checks. Once it stopped, we were all allowed to disembark and make our way to the small group of people who were waiting for us.

As we approached, several of the men broke away to take our bags, while a few of the others greeted Abigail as an old friend. One woman approached Carolyn and walked round her nodding to herself. I noticed she was very strangely dressed for the climate; she wore a Victorian bodice dress, mainly black, but with a swirling red pattern and an excess of silver buckles and buttons. She also had jet black hair, raised above her head, with just two strands hanging down to frame her pale, almost ghostly white face. She smiled at me with her thin black lips, but it was a joyless smile and I found it quite disturbing.

Only one other person was there, and again considering the heat, he was inappropriately dressed in a suit and tie. He approached me, introduced himself as Prince Khalid and shook my hand. He chatted to me politely for a while, but I could tell that he was not particularly listening to my replies. He appeared to be watching the gothic lady who was talking to Carolyn and rubbing her bum as she spoke. I could see the fear in Carolyn's eyes, and it was clear that she dare not tell this strange woman to stop for fear of repercussions. Prince Khalid also seemed more interested in the people speaking to Abigail than listening to me, so I made my excuses and walked across to rescue Carolyn. I began to introduce myself, but the gothic lady snorted and walked away without a word.

"Thanks for bringing me to psycho central," muttered Carolyn sarcastically. I just shrugged and was about to reply when one of the baggage handlers appeared with our luggage loaded onto a trolley and asked us to follow him along one of the paths by the beach and to one of the white houses.
Inside was much cooler and the decoration was functional and minimal. There were a couple of very soft, comfortable looking sofas in the living room, two bedrooms with a king sized bed in each, and a dining room with a large table. The kitchen had a fridge stocked with lots of food and drink, while outside, we could see a whole group of servants who were waiting for us to settle in before coming into the house and resuming their duties.

"Separate rooms," Carolyn reminded me. "I want to take things slowly, but I really do appreciate you bringing me here." She leaned forward and kissed me gently. Taking the cue, I put my arms around her waist pulling her towards me and took the opportunity to squeeze her bum, but Carolyn quickly backed away.

"Why do you spoil everything?" she demanded. Without looking at me, she sat on a stool by the kitchen table and lit a cigarette. "I hope the servants get in here soon," she muttered. "I only had that small breakfast, and I am starving!"

"I will go out and tell them," I replied, desperate to get back on Carolyn's good side, but as I walked out I could see that Abigail was already talking to the servants. I had missed a lot of what she said to them and I patiently waited for her to finish.

"... time to break it. In the meantime, give Carolyn everything she asks for tonight and more. Try to keep her full at all times."

Abigail turned and noticed me there, and quickly turned back to the servants adding, almost too excitedly, "because she is on holiday and we need to show her Pacific Hospitality, so let's keep her so well fed that she cannot move! Haha!" Abigail did a laugh that was not quite sincere.

"Just tonight?" asked one of the servants.

"Yes," replied Abigail. "And
for the next couple of days, keep to small portions of light meals at regular intervals. Oh - and make sure she has plenty of cigarettes!" She dismissed the servants and turned to me. I could tell by her face that she felt as though she had been caught out.

"That was some strange advice, doctor," I said. "What are you doing?"

"My job," replied Abigail, grinning widely.