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CHAPTER THREE

A Sleepless Night

‘I want to open it’ said Vanessa.

‘But it’s not ours,’ said Harminda. It was one o’clock in the morning and she was in bed, trying to sleep. ‘We’ve got to be up in less than four hours if we want to get the first ferry. So please Go to sleep!’ Vanessa turned away from the briefcase and pulled the blanket over her head.

‘We couldn’t open it anyway It’s locked,’ said Shauna, getting into bed. But then she noticed Vanessa’s smile. ‘What? Why are you smiling?’

Vanessa took a clip from her hair and held it between her fingers.

‘That’ll never work,’ laughed Shauna.

‘It always works in films.’

‘Go on then’ said Shauna, ‘Do it!’

Harminda pulled the blankets over her head.

Vanessa worked on one of the locks, using her clip as a key.

‘I knew it,’ said Shauna after a few minutes, ‘I didn’t think it was going to work.’ but before she could finish her sentence there was a click and the lock opened.

Harminda sat up in bed. This didn’t seem the right thing to do. But now it was open, she wanted to know what was inside.

Vanessa soon opened the other lock. Slowly she opened the briefcase. Her eyes became big and round when she saw what was inside.

Harminda watched their shocked faces, ‘What’s in it? Show me!’

Vanessa turned the case towards her.

The briefcase was full of money.

After a few moments, Harminda said, ‘There are hundreds of thousands of euros here!’ She laughed nervously, ‘I’ve never seen so much money! There’s only one thing we can do now.’

‘What are you doing’ Vanessa said when she saw Harminda with her mobile phone in her hand.

‘I’m going to phone the police.’

‘You can’t do that! Do you realise what a difference this money could make to my. to our lives!’

‘But it’s not ours!’

‘We don’t know whose it is. There’s no label, no name. Tell her, Shauna!’

‘Shauna. you know we have to go to the police, don’t you’ said Harminda.

‘I don’t know. my fiance and I really want a honeymoon. We could go anywhere in the world with this money: the Maldives, the Caribbean, New York, San Francisco. anywhere. At the moment we’re going to stay in my parents’ caravan.’ Shauna looked into Harminda’s eyes. ‘We’ve never had a holiday together. I’m sorry, Harminda.’

Vanessa held Harminda’s hands. Her voice was soft and kind and Harminda remembered that she was an actress. ‘You said your Dad’s ill. Think about it. With this money, you could pay for the best doctors.’

Harminda’s phone started to ring. Slowly Harminda picked it up and answered. ‘Hello. oh, hello Mum. How’s Dad?’

When the phone call finished ten minutes later, her cheeks were wet with tears.

‘What is it Harminda’ asked Shauna.

‘My Dad. He’s got worse. They’re not sure if he will survive.’

Vanessa closed the briefcase. ‘Well then, you need to get there quickly. If we go to the police now, they’ll ask us questions for hours.’

‘OK,’ said Harminda quietly.

‘Maybe not until tomorrow,’ continued Vanessa.

‘I said OK! We won’t go to the police now, but when we get to London, after I’ve seen my Dad, then we’ll go. Do you all agree?’

Shauna nodded reluctantly, but Vanessa only said, ‘Let’s get a few hours’ sleep now. We don’t want to miss the next ferry.’

This time they arrived early and waited in the car. It wasn’t snowing, but it was cold and everything looked very dark.

When they started to drive onto the ferry, Harminda saw the face of the driver of the car behind her. ‘That’s strange,’ she thought. ‘It’s still dark outside but he’s wearing sunglasses.’

‘Are you OK’ asked Shauna.

‘I’m cold. that’s all’ Harminda answered. But she didn’t seem sure of what she was saying.