Chapter 9
The captain had been up since dawn, on watch until twelve o’clock, organising the search, questioning the crew, retracing the route back to Bollene, dealing with the French police and the owners and, most demanding of all, coping with the possibility that a passenger had been lost overboard. Now, however, Voyager was securely moored, the police were in charge and the passenger list was being checked; so, as he felt there was nothing more he could do for the moment, he decided to go back to his cabin to freshen up. Despite his best intentions, when he saw his bunk in the corner he threw himself down fully clothed and was soon asleep. He was woken by the buzz of the telephone and in an automatic action, still with his eyes shut, he reached out to answer it. He had done this thousa
