‘I apologise for scaring you last night. That’s not me. I’d just had some really bad news and when you stopped me, my mind was still on it.’
I breathe a sigh of relief. ‘I’m sorry too. It must have been a bit weird, me chasing you around the streets after nearly running you over. Is your name Natalie? Have I got that right?’
‘Yes. They call me Nat the ice-cream lady, well the kids do.’ She chuckles. ‘This shop was my in-laws and my father-in-law’s parents before that. I guess it’s mine now that my husband has also passed away. I have no one to leave it to.’ Natalie’s eyes glass over and she rubs them. ‘I was thinking of packing up and starting afresh. I’ll probably need to do that once the truth comes out. I won’t be welcome here any more.’
Swallowing, I’m ready for the truth.
‘See that photo.’ She nods at it and I look as closely as I can. ‘That’s Mr Pritchard. Your family went out on his boat. He used to always wear that pirate hat to entertain the kids. The one next to Mr P belonged to Kyle and Mary Penrose, they now own the Old Smuggler. They sold the boat, bought the pub, and they keep a small boat instead. The other boat you see is Cody’s boat. I saw your family going out with him the other day. He used to work with his father, Archie.’
‘I went to see Archie earlier today.’
‘And?’ Natalie scrunches her brows and sits opposite me.
No longer worried about being in this room with her, I feel myself relaxing slightly. ‘He knew who Jessica was. He kept repeating himself, talking about the baby crying in the sea and Jess’s red hat.’
‘I went to see him the other night, with Laura. She said that you’ve been in her shop.’
‘Yes. Why did you both visit Archie?’
‘The same reason you went. We wanted to find out more. This town has lived under a shadow since that day and the article brought it all back. With you turning up, everyone has that day on their minds. But I didn’t give it much thought for years until I overheard something being said one night and I’m trusting you with this.’
‘Who said it?’ I swallow the lump in my throat, not daring to blink in case I miss a sign.
‘I didn’t see who.’ She looks away. I don’t know if Natalie can’t stand the intensity I’m projecting or she’s hiding something. ‘I couldn’t hear well enough to recognise the voice as it was so low. I heard what I heard then I hurried away, not wanting them to know I was there. I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been, let’s put it that way. Don’t ask me any more on that as you won’t get anything. My reasons for being there were personal.’
That’s not what’s important to me. Her spying on someone was none of my business. What is my business is what was said and how it will help me find out what happened to Jess. ‘Okay, what did you hear?’
She stands and walks over to the worktop, placing both hands down as she stares out of the window. Shaking her head, she stares into the washing-up bowl. ‘Archie dropped your sister’s sun hat into the sea at Banjo Pier. It must have washed up in the harbour when the tide came back in. I’m saying that Archie was involved but he may not have fully known what he was doing. He was having these episodes, these funny amnesia attacks after his car accident. Anyway, that’s what happened. I’ve read the posts on your page for ages, not knowing what to do. I wanted to tell you before but this is my home. These people are my community. This place is all I’ve ever known.’
I’m trembling. There will be no justice for Jess if I don’t get the truth. Maybe someone else was in on it and Archie was covering up for them? Maybe it was Cody? Could he have sent his father on a mission to get rid of evidence?
‘Did this person say that they saw Cody with Jess?’
She shook his head. ‘No, just the hat.’
‘So he might have killed Jess, or maybe someone else did and he was covering up for them? Maybe he was covering for his son.’ This is all too neat for me. Why would someone attack me over this? As Archie couldn’t stand trial now given his mental capacity, even if it was intentional, why would someone attack me and leave me to drown. I don’t believe it was all on Archie. He’s an easy target to lay all the blame on given his situation.
‘I don’t know, but what I do want to do is help you in any way I can. I’ve decided that this place doesn’t matter to me now. I have nothing to stay for. In fact, I want the truth to come out, wherever that might lead. I tell you what, I’ll do a bit of digging and let you know what I find out in a day or two.’ She turns around and tucks a straggly piece of hair behind her ear.
‘You don’t know how grateful I am, thank you. I only have three more days here.’
She blows out, her puffed red cheeks reducing in size as she exhales. ‘I best get a move on then.’
‘Someone has been messaging me, well not any more. They’ve gone offline. They’ve been using the name Will Wilcox. The pirate.’
‘Laura mentioned that. She told me what you said.’
‘Do you have any idea who this person might be?’
‘No, not a jot.’
‘They tried to kill me yesterday. I went to the cave at Polperro and this person followed me. They knocked me out and the tide came in. Another ten minutes, I’d have been swept out to sea.’
She shook her head and pressed her lips together. ‘That’s awful to hear.’
‘They’ve also been following me in a navy-blue car. Do you know anyone with a car of that colour?’
‘There are probably loads of people in this town with a navy-coloured car.’
