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death.”
    “Probably not.” He’d bet Hanna Larsen hadn’t been ready.
    He remembered now where he’d heard Howard Jackson’s widow mentioned. About a year ago, she’d given five million pounds to a hospice in Yorkshire. There’d been a fuss about it because the donation was supposed to have been anonymous and, somehow, the press found out about it. It had warranted a few paragraphs on page four of one of the national newspapers.
    Dylan wondered briefly what it must be like to be able to give the odd five million pounds to the charity of your choice. It was a feeling he’d never know. Broke was his middle name.
    “I’d hate to have so many people gossiping about me when I’m dead too,” she said.
    “Are they gossiping about Hanna Larsen?” He knew they were. People seemed unable to talk about anything else at the moment.
    “I doubt much of it is based on fact,” she replied with a rueful smile. “Although she was known to quite a few people because she often travelled on this ship. She had family, a daughter someone said, in Tromsø and she used to visit her regularly. She wasn’t the only one to treat this ship like a taxi. Apparently, it’s quite common because it’s such a comfortable way to travel. Seeing this stunning coastline on a regular basis must be wonderful, mustn’t it?”
    Dylan nodded. “She had heart problems, I heard.”
    “Yes, I heard the same thing. Also, she wasn’t feeling well when she went to her cabin last night. She thought she’d eaten something that had disagreed with her. That’s probably why she was arguing with the chef.” The barman put Ruby’s gin and tonic in front of her and she took a sip. “I tend not to pay any attention to gossip. I find that, as soon as someone dies, everyone’s their best friend and knows their innermost thoughts.”
    Dylan smiled at the truth of that.
    A passenger’s mobile phone went off and Dylan checked the signal on his own. For the first time since boarding the ship, he had decent reception.
    “I can think of few things worse than being in constant contact with the world,” Ruby said. “When Laura bought me a mobile phone, I thought it was a good idea. I’d always scoffed at the notion, but Laura said it would be useful in an emergency, and she reminded me, as she does on an almost daily basis, that I’m not getting any younger. I kept it switched on for about three days and it almost drove me insane. The thing didn’t stop ringing. And it was always when I was enjoying an afternoon doze or relaxing in the garden.”
    “Ah, yes. They rarely ring at convenient times.”
    “I do have it with me, just in case I need to call someone in an emergency, but it’s never switched on. I come on holiday to get away from the world. I don’t want to bring the world with me.”
    “I see your point,” Dylan said, “but there are times when they can be lifesavers.”
    Ruby wasn’t convinced. “You sound just like Laura. Oh, look. Ships that pass in the night.”
    The Midnight Sun gave a blast of its horn to a ship that was lit up like a Christmas tree. The Midnight Sun would look equally dazzling to those passengers gazing into the darkness from the other vessel.
    “What about you, Dylan? What brings you on this cruise? What do you do? No, let me guess.” She gave him a thorough appraisal. “Policeman?”
    Sod it. Dylan hated it when people did that. He thought he’d shaken off the copper look.
    “Very impressive. I used to be a detective sergeant,” he said. “I got kicked off the force.”
    “Really? How exciting.” Her eyes shone with humour. “What for? Selling on the cocaine you seized? Sleeping with the chief constable’s wife?”
    “Nothing as exciting, I’m afraid. I was arresting a known criminal and—well, to cut a long story short, I wound up in hospital and he claimed I used unreasonable force. They were having one of their clean-up sessions and wanted to show Joe Public that complaints about their officers