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Russell turned away to the window and kept his voice low. ‘Go and make sure she’s dead and then find the other woman.’

Outside at the lagoon pool there was already a crowd lying around on sun lounges and day beds. Indolent tourists; Russell couldn’t think of anything worse than lying around with no goal for the day.

‘Yes, sir. I’ll find her.’

‘Do that. I’ll call you in an hour.’

*

Ellie opened her eyes. The cable from her headset was choking her and she reached up and yanked it off. She was hanging sideways, held in by the seatbelt that was now constricting her breathing. She turned her head slowly and the vertigo eased, but she drew in a breath as she caught sight of the water flowing through the jagged edges of the smashed canopy. The door on her side had popped out in the crash but it was above the water level. If she could get her belt undone, she could clamber up on top of the chopper and stay above the waterline.

Jock knew she’d come down and he knew where she was heading; he’d have help on the way as soon as he could locate a pilot. Ellie focused on the hole in the Perspex canopy, trying to clear her blurred vision and see how far away the riverbank was. This part of the river was a narrow waterway, and only deep in the middle. The sandbanks where the crocodiles basked in the winter sun shifted every wet season. She shivered as she looked out over the water. The riverbank was only about twenty metres away but it might as well have been two hundred. There was no way she’d wade through that.

A movement flashed in her peripheral vision; her heart jumped as she imagined a crocodile slithering at speed out of the water and through the hole in the canopy. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.

But when she slowly opened them, it was the face of a man, not a crocodile, that met her.

Henry, her difficult tourist, stood waist deep in the water, peering up at her through the hole in the canopy. She opened her mouth to yell at him to climb up on the skids, out of the water, away from danger, but the words died on her lips when she saw the knife in his hand.

‘I suppose you think you were clever, landing like you did. Not so clever now, are you?’ His tone was conversational.

‘Who are you?’ she whispered.

He laughed and the sound was chilling.

‘What are you going to do?’ Ellie was rigid with fear, her eyes fixed on the knife that was now only inches from her neck.

‘Good question. Maybe I’ll cut you out of the belt? Or perhaps I’ll cut that pretty little throat of yours first?’

Ellie whimpered and tried to shrink back away from him.

He pulled the knife back and shifted to one side as he braced his other hand on the edge of the cockpit. ‘You know, you’ve got the same eyes as your father. He looked at me just like that when I tightened the rope around his neck.’

Ellie shuddered and her chin trembled as his words sank in. Even in her dazed state, her thoughts turned to her mother and her insistence that Dad had been murdered. A heavy weight settled in Ellie’s chest. Mum had been right all along, but they hadn’t listened.

She lifted her chin, ignoring the shooting pain down her back. ‘Why are you doing this?’

‘I’m just doing my job, sweetheart.’

He lifted his hand and leaned to the left. The cold steel of the knife touched her throat with a sharp sting, and Ellie raised her hands and pulled back as far as she could. As he leaned forward again, the water behind him suddenly churned and a massive crocodile broke the surface. The huge jaws clamped down on his legs and the knife dropped, hitting the metal with a clatter as his head slammed against the roof of the cockpit. He disappeared from sight before she could take a breath. The water erupted with red foam as the crocodile rolled, its creamy white underbelly flashing in the sunlight as it flipped over.

One unearthly scream, a last splash and they disappeared below the surface.

He was gone. The water was calm again, just a quiet gurgle as it washed through the broken canopy of the helicopter. The silence was almost obscene, as Ellie imagined what was happening beneath the clear, green water.

A keening sound filled her ears and it was a few seconds before she realised that the noise was coming from her. She had to get out before other crocodiles came. The dominant male had fed, next it would be their turn.

Pushing as hard as she could against the seat, her fingers scrabbled for the catch of the seatbelt but they slipped off before she could release it.

Three times, she pushed herself as far back as she could, and three times the belt jammed. Finally with a grunt Ellie stretched her legs towards the water and arched her back, and the catch released with a loud click. Sobbing, she reached up and pulled herself out through the canopy, using the skids to lever herself to the side of the helicopter that was safely above the water. Her head spun as she stared at the sandbanks in the middle of the river. Four huge crocodiles lay watching her. As she lay on her back on the cold metal, the water churned again.

But this time it was the rotor wash from the other Makowa Lodge helicopter as it headed for the clearing at the edge of the river.

*

David craned forward as the helicopter headed towards the sandy clearing. ‘Look, down there! It’s Fairweather’s man’s vehicle. It has to be. There wouldn’t be many black Mercedes in this part of the world.’

Kane twisted to the left and looked out the other side. The river glinted silver as it snaked around a bend. His pulse sped up when he saw the red Makowa Lodge helicopter on its side in the water.