Chapter 62 Jade

62 JADE

TEN HOURS LATER

“Mrs. Marlowe?”

I look up to see a woman at the door of the hospital room. “I’m Detective Sergeant Rasheed,” she says. “Are you OK to talk just now?”

I nod and sit up a little in the small bed. “Yes,” I say. “Have a seat.”

Detective Sergeant Rasheed shuts the door quietly behind her before sitting down in the plastic chair to the left of me. I’m in the main hospital on Malé, being treated for a skull fracture, a broken nose, and shock. Kate, Camilla, and I flew here last night on a seaplane. I have twenty different cuts and bruises, but I feel lucky. There were many times over the past week when I thought I wouldn’t live to see the morning.

They flew Darcy to the hospital in a separate plane. I was surprised when they said she was alive. I thought Kate had killed her on the floor of the bathroom.

“I’ve spoken with Kate Miller and Camilla Papaki,” Detective Sergeant Rasheed says, taking out a notebook. “I wanted to find out from you what happened. It seems there was friction between your husband and your friend Darcy Levitt?”

I nod. “Yes. I’m not fully sure what happened.”

“Did they know each other prior to coming to Sapphire Island?”

I shake my head, then hesitate. “Not that I’m aware of. But Rob was complaining about Darcy all the time. She really got his back up. And then, next thing I know, we’re in the gym, and Darcy comes charging in with a knife. She stabbed him.”

“You were having sex in the gym?”

I nod tearfully. “We were on our honeymoon. And I’d had a bad experience during a trip that morning so we were… I guess, trying to put it behind us.”

Detective Sergeant Rasheed writes this down.

“The diving instructor, Farug, said you went on a scuba trip.”

I nod. “That’s right.”

“He said he was worried about you. He had some concerns that Rob was violent with you. And the nurses here told us that some of the bruising they found on your body was not caused by the attack last night. That there were older injuries.”

I flick my eyes nervously at her. How much of the truth can I tell her without her implicating me in all of this?

“Yes,” I say quietly. “I hadn’t told anyone. I was on my honeymoon. It felt like a shameful thing to admit. That your new husband is abusive.”

“I understand,” she says, touching my arm. I can tell she pities me.

“Tell me what happened right after Darcy stabbed Rob.”

“I remember we chased Darcy into the villa, trying to get the knife off her.”

I watch her write this down. “How did she get into Kate’s villa? Did she have the key card?”

I hesitate. “I believe so.”

“So… you left Rob back at the gym?”

“I was in shock,” I say. “I just… ran.”

She seems to get this. “And then what happened?”

“Then Darcy admitted that she killed a guest, Antoni. I think there’s a phone recording of her saying it. And Rob came after us. He burst into the villa and attacked Darcy, but she… she killed him.” I lift a hand to my mouth, tears spilling down my face. “I saw her slit his throat. I saw him die.”

She reaches out and rests a hand on my arm. “I’m so sorry,” she says. “We’ll have you back to England very soon, with your family. This must be incredibly difficult.”

“I can’t believe I’m a widow,” I say bitterly, wiping my face. I’m not pretending fully. I’m relieved and devastated all at once. Maybe it’ll take years to process what’s happened. I adored Rob once. I was the happiest girl alive. And then he turned into someone I didn’t recognize.

“Even though he treated me badly,” I tell the detective, looking her straight in the eye, “I loved him. Everyone always said how lucky I was to have him. You can ask them yourself.”