Read Online The Takamaka Tree by Alexandra Thomas - Free Book Online Page A

Seychelles. He knew they planned to charter a boat to do some fishing.
    The steward was most helpful. Yes, they kept a record of all charters. Yes, of course, Daniel was welcome to look through the book to find his friends.
    The early morning sun streamed in through the window of the simple wooden room. Daniel turned the pages casually, his eye skimming down the names of the craft, all painstakingly entered in perfect copperplate writing. Suddenly he came upon the name he was looking for.
    “Ah, Sun Flyer,” he said, “isn’t that the yacht that’s missing? I heard something about it on the radio.”
    “Sad business. Disappeared without a trace. Most mysterious. I reckon they must have hit a sudden squall, or had a fire aboard. They could have been swept off course, and it wouldn’t be the first time a boat has drifted right across the Indian Ocean.”
    “But there was an air search?”
    The old sailor nodded. “But the Indian Ocean is a big place. Like trying to find a pin in a haystack.”
    Daniel glanced more carefully at the entry. Sun Flyer had been chartered by a Mr. Paul Webster. It had a crew of four—skipper, cook and two deckhands. Also on the passenger list were a Miss Gabrielle Webster and a Mr. Ralph Fellows.
    “Don’t suppose they’ll ever find out what happened,” the man went on, sucking on his pipe. “Crying shame about the young couple though. They’d only just got engaged.”
    “Miss Webster and Ralph Fellows?”
    “Yes. Pretty thing the daughter was…”
    Daniel closed the book and handed it back. “Thank you,” he said. “But my friends aren’t here.”
    He stepped outside into the sunshine. Gabrielle Webster. Was that the name of his sea waif?

Chapter Four
    It was so quiet and still that Sandy thought she must be asleep. She was in that uneasy no man’s land between sleeping and waking, when the mind is clear of dreams but not yet taking on any thoughts of the day ahead. How smooth the sheet felt on her skin.
    But the room was full of sunlight. It pricked at her eyelids and she opened them reluctantly. She lay still, seduced by the comfort of the bed, looking at the cool white and beige room, the deep pile fitted carpet, the modern unit furniture and the heavy full-length curtains, partly drawn back to admit the flood of sunshine.
    The other single bed had not been slept in. Her clothes lay in an untidy pile on the floor. She hardly remembered undressing. There was a telephone on the shelf which formed part of the bedhead.
    How strange that she should know that it was a telephone and how to use it . She stretched out a hand to a folder that lay beside the telephone. It was a description of the hotel and its various attractions and amenities.
    She read avidly, for there had been little to read on La Petite, only Daniel’s bird books. But at the same time she was frightened. All these activities sounded busy and they meant people. She did not want to meet any people.
    She swung her legs over the side of the bed, savouring the feel of the carpet between her toes. It was so soft. She ran across to the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony, saw how to slide them further apart, and went out onto the balcony. But she caught no more than a glimpse of the lawns leading down to the sand and the palms leaning thoughtfully towards the ocean, before darting back into the bedroom, clutching at the curtain to cover her nakedness.
    Daniel had already gone out, but it was not his absence which made her flinch away.
    There had been people outside, youths sweeping the grass with brooms made of spiky leaves. Not a petal or a leaf was allowed to remain on the grass, let alone a piece of litter or a ripe coconut.
    Sandy tried all the doors in the room. There were a lot of empty wardrobes, but one led to the bathroom. She touched the bright chromium fittings and pretty primrose tiles. Thick yellow towels in several sizes hung on the rails, and little wrapped packets of soap and a squashy clear