Everybody Mixed Up Together

Please note following warnings before reading: -

Possible spoilers for Death In Paradise season 8, Cold Feet seasons 8 and 9 and Silent Witness seasons 20-22.

Contains graphic descriptions of crime scenes and post-mortem.

Possible triggers for sensitive subjects – bereavement, cancer, PTSD, alcoholism, stillbirth, natural disaster.

Chapter 1 – A Not So Happy Holiday

As the 17:30 from London Heathrow began its descent towards Sainte-Marie airport, the 215 passengers were dismayed on looking out the window and seeing grey clouds instead of the bright sunny sky they were expecting. A steward emerged from the staff area at the front of the plane.

'Excuse me' said a young red-haired Yorkshire woman in the front row. 'Is it normal for it to be cloudy here?'

'Um…no' said the steward. 'We weren't expecting this at all. The co-pilot is trying to contact Sainte-Marie to get up to date information on the weather situation. We'll let you know'.

'Thank you' said the woman.

'Oh dear, how bad could it be?' asked the blonde woman next to her in a refined London accent.

'You don't want to know!' answered the steward, causing several passengers to appear anxious. 'To tell the truth, we can very occasionally get violent storms that cause catastrophic damage and bring about the need to evacuate people from their homes and hotels, and they can come on very quickly, but thankfully modern technology allows us to track oncoming storms and take action to reduce potential casualties. So please don't worry, the pilot will divert the plane in the unlikely event that we are in danger!'

'Hey, I didn't pay eight grand for cloudy skies, I expect a refund!' shouted a sullen older man in the row behind.

'Sorry, not my shout' the steward dismissed the man and patiently endured a barrage of expletives.

The two women exchanged glances in shock, then Tiffany, the redhead, focused on the weather again and said 'I don't like the sound of all this'. Tiffany had not noticed her neighbour until now. Having failed to get a seat next to hear fiancée due to their late check-in and being quite shy, she had spent most of the flight watching films on the screen in front of her and listening to music on her iphone.

'I'm sure we'll be fine' Nikki, the blonde woman tried to assure her. The plane suddenly shook with a bit of turbulence giving Tiffany a fright and without thinking she reached for the other woman's hand.

'Honestly, just a little bit of turbulence. It's to be expected in this kind of weather. Nothing to worry about'

'Thanks – you seem so calm! You must fly a lot, do you?'

'Not really, but let's just say I've experienced worse things than turbulence and bad weather'

Tiffany didn't enquire any further, getting the impression her companion would rather not elaborate, but she couldn't help spending the remainder of the flight wondering what kind of experiences this attractive, friendly and intelligent-sounding woman could possibly have had.

Meanwhile, back in row twenty, Tiffany's fiancée Gavin had drawn the short straw and had ended up sitting in the middle of a group of middle-aged friends who had come off the same connecting flight from Manchester as him and Tiffany, and who appeared to have some unresolved differences. Sitting next to him was an apparently carefree man with a Northern Irish accent and at the other side of this man, in the window seat, was an elegant woman who appeared to be either his wife, or quite possibly just his girlfriend as they seemed to be constantly showing each other the kind of affection couples generally display in the early stages of a relationship. The three people in the same row at the other side of the plane seemed have issues with this couple's relationship. Sitting in the window seat was a tall man who seemed to have an air of pride about him despite his unkept appearance with overgrown hair and stubble on his chin. He showed displeasure at every expression of affection that passed between the couple. A jealous love rival perhaps? The couple next to the proud man, who had obviously been together much longer, probably married, and who were less refined Mancunians, discreetly looked at one another and glanced over at the proud man whenever Gavin's closer neighbours kissed or held one another. Gavin could not imagine what was going through their heads or whose side they were actually on.

When the turbulence came, the courting couple instinctively reached for one another and gasped. Gavin was pushed towards the Irishman, bumping shoulders with him.

'Sorry' he said.

'No worries' the man assured him, quickly turning back and smiling at the woman who was now in his arms. The couple's gasps had caused their friends to look over and murmur.

'For Christ's sake, do they have to?' the proud man began to lose his temper, talking in a loud whisper to the couple beside him, clearly getting more irritated with his friends' romantic gestures.

'I can hear you, David!' the Irishman now retaliated for the first time on the flight.

'I think he's just a bit embarrassed about you makin' a noise there!' the other woman explained.

'Why, what's the problem? I thought we had agreed Karen and I could do what we liked and you'd try to accept it?!'

'Oh please don't start this again, Adam, David! There are people all around us!' Karen nudged her man and tried to reason with David and their other friends.

'Well I don't see anyone else having a problem with us!' retorted Adam, taking Karen's hand in defiance.

'I'd just prefer you to be a little more…discrete while I try to come to terms with this'

'Oh, come on!' Adam started to argue again but Karen took his arm.

'Let's just stay calm and try to get on. We will have some time to ourselves while we are here'

'I guess so, Karen' Adam forced himself to calm down.

'I know it's still a bit awkward for you David' said the neutral man. 'But Karen's right. We're about to spend a fortnight together so, um…let's try an' all get along shall we?' he looked at the others, especially Adam and David.

'And I could really do with a restful break without incident after everything I've been through this year' this man's wife added.

'Fine' David opened a newspaper and minded his own business.

'Great' said Karen. 'Goodness, I hope we haven't come all this way to see the cloudy skies we left behind in Manchester!' the whole group then looked out the window, temporarily forgetting their differences.

'What a waste if this is the case!' grumbled Jenny, the neutral woman.

'It's probably a passing shower!' said her husband Pete, in an attempt to be positive. 'By tomorrow we will be on the beach!' Gavin hoped he was right as Tiffany and he had spent almost a year planning their final holiday as an unmarried couple. After this it would be wall to wall wedding planning and no more trips until their honeymoon in Mauritius which would not be for another eighteen months.

Finally, an announcement was made. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been given clearance to land in Sainte-Marie airport just forty minutes behind schedule…'

There was cheering from the passengers who feared being stuck in the sky for much longer if the flight had had to be diverted.

'…The local weather at Sainte-Marie is overcast with heavy rain…'

The atmosphere changed and everyone groaned.

'…and we have to let you know that a storm has appeared on the horizon, currently thirty kilometres to the north of the island, which is being referred to as storm Theodore…'

Several passengers became anxious. 'Don't worry!' Nikki whispered to Tiffany.

'It could hit the island during the early hours of tomorrow morning. The local met office are monitoring the situation and the local authorities are putting arrangements in place in case it becomes necessary to evacuate any homes or hotels'

'Evacuate? Really?!' Jenny was worried.

'So, what made all of you decide to come here again?! We could have landed in the Med hours ago and be soaking up the sun by now!' David looked up from his newspaper and glanced at all his friends with an accusatory look.

'You didn't have to tag along!' Adam retorted. Gavin prayed they would land quickly so that he could get away from these people.

'…In the meantime, visitors are asked to stay indoors from midnight tonight and to comply with requests from the local police and fire services. We hope the storm will pass quickly and that you will enjoy your stay on Sainte-Marie despite this'

'Oh yeah?, show me how!' screamed the man behind Tiffany.

'Quiet please!' shouted the steward. 'Everyone fasten your seatbelts please'.

Tiffany waited for Gavin at the entrance to the terminal building and was relieved to get a hug from him.

'Are you OK, darling?' he enquired.

'I hope so. Glad to have landed but I'm not liking the idea of being in the middle of a storm. I thought they came later in the autumn'.

'They usually do but it can happen in the summer too. Don't worry, we have each other and we just need to follow the guidelines we are given'

'I'm sure you're right. Gosh, see that man over there?'

'The old, grumpy one who just swore when he saw the length of the queue for passport control?'

'The very one. He was sitting behind me. Complained about everything and was even telling the steward he demanded a refund for his holiday since the weather is bad!'

'Honestly, some people. As if the airline or the travel company were responsible for the weather!'

'I know. At least there was a nice lady sitting next to me. What was her name again? Vicky? Very calm, said she'd been through worse things'

'Worse than Caribbean storms? She must be very resilient!'

'Indeed. She said was in a hurry to get through customs as she had to make an urgent phone call but I wouldn't mind bumping into her if we are going to end up in a storm evacuation shelter!'

'Well, you never know. Goodness, it sounds like you were luckier than me then. I was sitting next to that group from Manchester that were in front of us at the check-in desk this morning. There was a lot of tension between them. I don't understand why they all went on holiday together. The couple sitting beside me seemed unpopular with the others and would have been better having a holiday on their own!'

'I guess we'll never know. Oh, here we go!' the couple were called forward to show their passports.

'Welcome to Sainte-Marie!' Butterfly, the larger than life bus driver who was now working the airport, greeted Adam and Karen as they boarded her coach to go into Honore, having somehow managed to avoid being blown away in the strengthening winds.

'Thank you' answered Karen. 'Have you heard how the storm is progressing? We were told about it on the plane'

'No more news, I'm afraid. But don't worry, we're prepared!'

'Thanks for the assurance' said Adam, half sarcastically as he was not confident the people of such a remote island would know how to prepare. The couple took a seat together and had a quick kiss before Pete and Jenny sat down behind them. David then took a double seat to himself opposite them.

They still could not believe what had happened barely a month after they had 'come out' to their friends about their relationship, at a time when they were all still coming to terms with it. They had decided to get away from it all and book their first holiday as a couple. Karen had found a holiday brochure among the magazines on her coffee table and found a page about Sainte-Marie folded down. Having decided it was some kind of sign, she and Adam had booked a romantic fortnight on this beautiful island on the dates where there was a special offer on, and were counting down the weeks and days. Then two weeks later, Karen's friend Jenny had just finished a round of chemotherapy for breast cancer and had received the good news that she was in remission. She appeared at Karen's door unexpectedly one afternoon, and hoping they could make progress towards restoring their long lasting friendship following Jenny's initial disapproval of her relationship with Adam, and betrayal at not having been told of their unexpected first kiss when it had happened at a music festival they were at together, Karen had invited Jenny in for a cup of tea. The conversation was still a bit stilted but they had both been making some effort at least. Then Jenny revealed the real reason for her visit – to ask if, by any chance, she had left a holiday brochure at Karen's house as she and Pete could not find it anywhere in their house. Jenny was delighted to get her brochure back with the marked page still intact. She and Pete had decided to take their minds off the last frightening few months by having a holiday of a lifetime in a part of the world they had not thought about visiting before – the island of Sainte-Marie in the Caribbean. There was a special offer on for the last fortnight in August, just before the schools went back, and they were ready to make the booking now that Jenny did not have to have any more treatment. Having not had the heart to tell her that she and Adam were going to the same place on the same dates when she was sounding so excited about her holiday with Pete, and had been through so much, the other couple did not find out until one evening when they were all at a housewarming party for David, who had just settled into the flat above the café he was now working in. Jenny and Pete were talking excitedly about their holiday, when David said 'Wait, is that not where you're going?' turning to Karen, and looking coldly at Adam, who Karen had insisted should come to the party even though he and David were not even on speaking terms at that point in time. The revelation had not gone down well and had brought back the bigger rift in the group that had initially begun when the others found out about Adam and Karen getting together. Then finally, when things had begun to settle again and he was able to tolerate Adam's company again to a greater extent, David had decided that now he was working again he could scrape the money together for a ticket for himself rather than being left out. He had also made up his mind that he was going to have a holiday romance while he was there, although he had not told any of his friends this. And so, for better or worse, it had become a rather tense group holiday.

'Excuse me, is this seat free?' Nikki, who had sat next to Tiffany on the plane, addressed David.

'Em…sure!' he moved his rucksack and Nikki sat down.

The bus was now full and Butterfly started up the engine and took off. David noticed that the woman sitting beside him was very attractive and decided to strike up a conversation with her.

'Scary business this approaching storm?' he began.

'Yes indeed, but at least they seem to know what to do'

'Really?'

'Yes. I was just speaking to the airport staff and they are constantly monitoring the situation and making wise decisions about when to stop planes approaching'

'That's good to know'.

'Yes indeed. They also have facilities set up at secure locations around the island in case they have to move people from riskier areas'

'That's reassuring, although I don't fancy having to spend my holiday in a refugee centre'.

'No, not what you expect when you book a getaway, is it?'

'Travelling alone, are we?'

'For now, yes. My boyfriend was supposed to be joining me later tonight on a flight from Washington but his flight has been cancelled as they are closing the airport at ten'

'Oh' David was disappointed that this woman was taken. 'That's a shame. Do they know when it will open again?'

'Not at the moment. It depends on the progress of the storm. My boyfriend is on standby for now so I just hope it passes quickly and he can get on another flight before I have to leave'

'I guess we just made it on time then?'

'Looks like it, whether that's a good thing or not!'

'I know - hopefully we haven't drawn the short straw being in the middle of all this'

'Yes, I hope we get to stay at our hotels. Are you staying in the centre of Honore?'

'Yes, at the Honore Palace'

'Oh yes, we looked at that one. Looked like a nice restaurant. We decided on the White Sands in the end though'

'Yes, my friends chose the Palace. The two couples over there'

'Oh well, this is my hotel. I hope you and your friends have a lovely holiday and the storm is not as bad as they think'

'Same to you – I hope your boyfriend gets here soon'

'Thank you, bye'

Nikki smiled at David in a purely platonic way as she got off the bus. He sighed as she would have been a lovely candidate for his holiday romance, but it was clear she was not interested.

Two hours later the Manchester group had all settled into their rooms and changed and were enjoying their first meal at the Honore Palace, albeit indoors rather than on the terrace overlooking the sea that they had seen in the brochure. David scoped the room for single women but didn't see any except for an octogenarian in comfortable clothes who was sitting with what could be her son and daughter-in-law.

'You trying to be me, David?' Adam teased him.

'Never!' David retorted, a little annoyed.

'Oh, come on, admit it. You're looking to pull!' Pete backed Adam up. 'You were chatting up that blonde babe on the bus and now you're looking for talent in here since she wasn't interested!'

'OK, maybe I fancy a little romance, OK?' David blurted out. 'Why should a man like me not have that?'

'No reason' said Adam.

'Listen, I'm sorry if I've still been a bit funny about you two' he looked at Adam and Karen 'But I am trying, and I think it might help if I had someone too!'

'Well, I'm glad to hear that as we don't want fallouts on this holiday' said Jenny. 'But would you not be better to start dating at home, find someone you can have a lasting relationship with?'

'Yes, when we get back, I might think about that' he agreed. 'But for the next two weeks, would it be wrong for me to have a short romance?'

'Not at all' said Karen, 'It's just that this doesn't seem like you. But if that's what's going to make you happy and help you come to terms with us, then go for it!'

'Thank you' David calmed down. Adam turned to kiss Karen but looked over at David again, daring him to say something. 'Go on, don't mind me' he said, and Adam went ahead and kissed Karen, for the first time not getting grief from David. The whole group relaxed and tucked into their meal. The Maitre D' came over towards their corner and seated a young couple at a table for two next to them. Adam and Karen wondered why the young man looked familiar and suddenly realised it was the man who had been sitting next to them on the plane. Adam could have sworn the young man's face dropped when he saw them but he had quickly made the effort to smile and say hello to them. A young waitress, a local girl in her late teens, then came over to take the couple's order and to ask the bigger group if they would like any more drinks. Just as she was leaving, the waitress was approached by the man who had been complaining during the flight.

'Excuse me' he yelled, grabbing the girl's arm. 'I've been waitin' ten minutes for me beer!. That's simply not good enough! Where is it?!'

Stunned, the girl pulled her arm free before addressing him;

'I'm sorry Sir but as you can see we are very busy at the moment and I'm looking after a lot of guests, but I'll get your beer as soon as I've given this couple's order to the kitchen…'

'Not good enough, I want it now!' the man screamed in the girl's face.

'Oi, get a grip, why don't ye!' Gavin stood up and tried to get the man to stand back before he ended up hitting the waitress. Adam, David and Pete were all ready to intervene as well if the man didn't back down. The man scowled at the whole group and went back to his own table.

'My God, what a prick!' Adam commented and the group began a conversation with Gavin and Tiffany. The fact they had other people in their company encouraged them to avoid bringing up their grievances with one another, and it was not long before Gavin had decided that this group were not so bad after all and were in fact a good laugh. He discovered that Karen worked as a publishing editor, which was interesting since he was a journalist, and they shared stories about coming up with the correct wording when composing articles. And he could have sworn his newpaper had also used the taxi company Pete once worked for. The waitress, who was called Polly, was very attentive to all seven of them, apparently grateful for their help in dealing with the dissatisfied customer. She enjoyed gossiping about the guests and staff and seemed to know everything about everyone.

'How about we all head through to the lounge?' Pete suggested and as they were heading off Polly informed them 'Oh, just to let you know, the bar will be closing at ten tonight. The managers have decided to allow the staff time to get home before the storm makes it dangerous for them'

'Great, well I guess it's going to be an early night for everyone then' acknowledged David.

'I hope we're going to be safe?' Jenny enquired. Tiffany looked nervous.

'Oh don't worry, the police and army are keeping a constant eye on the weather!' Polly assured them all and they headed through for the short time they had.

An hour later everyone except Karen was becoming relaxed with a small amount of alcohol. Gavin had gone to the bar to get another round of drinks and Tiffany was using the restroom. The Manchester group began to speak in hushed tones to each other.

'I wonder which newspaper Gavin works for?' wondered Karen.

'Why? Worried he saw your book review and that Nina B St James is really Jenny?' Adam nudged her.

'Do you think he really could have recognised me?' wondered Jenny.

'I don't think so. He would surely have looked at ye more carefully and I didn't notice that' Pete assured her. 'I'm more worried he remembers the time we taxi drivers used to charge them journalists more than we should have, and that I was one of them!'

'Serve you right!' said David self-righteously.

'Says the only one of us who's been in prison!' Pete fired back. 'Conspiracy to fraud, wasn't it?'

David hated being reminded of this and was relieved to see Gavin walking back towards them.

'Shh, he's back!' whispered Karen who had also noticed, and they all sat back.

'Oh, thank you Gavin, the beer here tastes much better than it does at home' said Adam, taking a tall glass. Pete and David took their beers as well, Jenny her wine and Karen her water.

'Do you not drink at all Karen?' Gavin asked.

'Um…no' she said without expanding. Tiffany rejoined them and they continued to get acquainted until the bar closed at ten.