She steps back towards me. ‘I shouldn’t have said that. Sorry.’
‘But how did you know?’ Has she been following me? She is a woman and her jacket is dark. It has a hood too.
‘Everyone knows. You’re the talk of this town.’
‘Has everyone known where I’m staying from the start?’
She presses her lips together and nods. ‘The landlord of your cottage is Kyle Penrose, he owns the Smuggler with his wife. He recognised your name from theRemembering Baby Jesspage when you booked and on the day you arrived, he saw you pulling in and after a few too many drinks, he told everyone it was you. He’s such an asshat. I’m sorry he did that to you. You and your family deserve your privacy.’
‘Where were you, yesterday afternoon?’
She stares at me for a moment longer than comfortable. ‘Why?’
‘I just need to know. Please?’
The front door opens. ‘Daisy, what’s taking you so long? The beers are getting warm.’ Both Daisy and Bethany stare at me. Stepping back, I look up and down. We’re alone on this road.
‘On my way. Don’t want to be out here on a night like this.’ She turns to me. ‘I was with Bethany yesterday afternoon, wasn’t I?’
Bethany nods and grimaces. ‘Yes. Why are you asking me that?’
‘No reason, Beth.’ Daisy smiles at me. ‘Sorry I can’t be of any more help. Watch your step down that hill. It’s steep.’
‘Yes, take care,’ Bethany calls as Daisy joins her at the doorstep.
I glance back and they’re still watching as I hurry down the hill. The weight of their stares are so heavy, it feels as though they are pushing me with their eyes. A lone seagull squawks making me jump as it lands on a doorstep ahead and glares deep within me. No longer does it sound like a crying baby, it sounds like an alert. For a moment, I think that everyone’s curtains will open and they’ll stare at me.
I gather pace and run until I reach the shops. Within a few seconds, I’m passing the Old Smuggler. The orange glow from within makes me shiver out here in the rain. The fire flickers and the man I know to be Kyle is sitting at the bar. It’s his fault that everyone knows where I am and why I’m here. I hate him, I really do. His wife totters around, smiling at him and leaning in for a kiss. Her blonde hair falls over her shoulders and as she leaves him to collect a glass from a vacant table, her gaze catches mine. She smiles and waves, then her smile turns into a look of sympathy.
Hurrying away, I stop at the corner before going into the back of the cottage and take my phone from my pocket. Damien still hasn’t messaged me back.
I run along the front, past the lifeboat shop and I step onto the pier. Waves gently crash against the concrete structure and I look out to sea. In the distance, lights come and go as the boats turn and bob on the choppy sea. The vacuous blackness gives me a chill and like yesterday, I’m once again soaked through. Another shower begins to fall. Hugging myself, I stand there wondering where Archie stood on that fateful day with my sister’s sun hat. Was he here, or was he all the way at the end? I have no way of knowing exactly.
For a moment, I wonder if I want it badly enough, that I will feel her presence. Stupid, yes, but I need to believe that she is guiding me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath hoping for some sort of miracle, but as expected nothing comes and I feel silly for even thinking it might. All I hear is the rain and sea crashing against rock, but all I crave is the warmth of a cosy fire and a cuddle with the girls while we watch junk on TV with a huge bag of sweets. I want to be with Damien, too, but he’s left me.
My hand reaches for my stomach. If Jess was alive she’d be happy at my news. As I open my eyes I see two people sitting over at the other end of the beach. One woman is looking at her phone and I can see that it’s Laura. Then I glance at the other woman. It’s Natalie. Laura had to be on the phone to Natalie when she left her house. Natalie wants to tell me more, Laura wants her to keep quiet. Daisy and Bethany know something too. Everyone does. They’re all in it together, trying to conceal the truth and sending me on fools’ errands. I mean, all they have to do is waste the next few days then I leave and they get to carry on like they always have done.
I feel threatened, stupid, played with and laughed at, all at the same time. My neck and cheeks burn with rage. A part of me wants to run over and confront them both but I remain still, staring. Laura’s umbrella keeps both of them shielded from the light rain that has replaced the downpour and it looks as though they are sitting on a sheet of plastic. Laura’s playing with her phone and Natalie looks like she’s carrying the worries of the world on her shoulders. I’m hidden in the darkness. There are no lights on me. Laura prods another button on her phone.
I feel a buzz in my pocket. Grabbing my phone, I can see that I have a message. It’s a text from an unknown number. I open it and my knees wobble.
This is your last warning. Go home!
I believed Natalie. I trusted her and I thought Laura was genuine up until tonight. It seems that everyone is in on my torture. Bethany and Daisy – they knew. They must have messaged Laura as soon as I started running down that hill. Natalie – she’s been stringing me along. Kyle and Mary – they exposed me by telling everyone I was here. Laura – liar. Cody – another liar. All of them – liars.
My fists are clenched so tight, I press through the skin of my palms with my fingernail. There’s no way I’m going back to the cottage without confronting them. It’s time they were called out for what they’re doing to me.
FORTY
KATE
I hurry away from the pier and across the beach, the sand firm underfoot.
‘I thought you were helping me but all this time,’ – I point to Natalie – ‘you and her have been in this together, playing games with me. You know what happened and you send me these pathetic messages. No, I won’t go home. I don’t scare that easily and I don’t give a stuff about your warnings. Do you hear me?’
They both look up. Laura’s brows furrow. ‘Kate, what are you talking about?’
‘Like you need to ask.’ I wipe my soaking wet forehead and I know they can see that I’m trembling with anger.
