‘And I’m meant to just believe you?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I can’t prove anything. I like Kate, I wanted to help her.’
The man exhaled and scratched his head. ‘Tell me what you know.’
‘I thought I knew something but it turns out I don’t know much at all. Did she tell you about her visit to see Archie?’
The man nodded and leaned over, running his tense fingers through his thin hair. ‘Yes. Did she tell you about the cave, that someone hurt her?’
‘Yes.’
‘How do I know it wasn’t you that tried to kill her?’
‘Please, you have to trust me. I would never hurt Kate. I wouldn’t hurt anyone.’ Her bottom lip quivered as she looked into the man’s eyes. She hoped that he could see how genuine she was.
‘If I find out that all of this is your doing, I swear—’
‘You won’t. All I want to do is help you. Look, give me a minute to get dressed properly. You’ve got a good one in Kate and those children need their mother back. I’m not the enemy here.’ She glanced at the little girls. The slightly older-looking one was comforting the younger one. ‘Do you want me to help?’ She didn’t want to assume that her presence would be welcome, not with Kate’s bracelet being found by her shop.
‘Yes, please.’
‘What time did she leave the cottage?’
The man shrugged. ‘I wish I knew. I woke up and she wasn’t there. It could have been anytime in the night. I need to find her. What if something bad has happened?’ His fingers trembled.
Natalie placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. ‘We’re going to find her. In the meantime, you should call the police, let them know what’s happened.’
A few minutes later, Natalie hurried down wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a warm coat. It was going to be a long day. As they hurried through the maze-like streets, they peered through every shop window and called Kate’s name. It was starting to feel more hopeless by the second. A fresh breeze whipped through the wind tunnel roads.
‘Grandad, I’m cold,’ the older girl said.
‘Okay, Rosie. I need you to be a brave girl as we need to find Mummy.’
‘Is she going to be okay?’
The man kneeled down while doing Rosie’s top button up. ‘Of course she is. When we find her, she’ll need a big hug from her two favourite girls.’
A lump formed in Natalie’s throat. They’d both tried to phone Kate over and over again but it looked like her phone was completely off. With her bracelet being found on the pavement, Natalie wondered if there had been a struggle. Cody’s boat had just left the harbour. Cody and Daisy, Archie, Laura, Kyle and Mary; they were the key to unlocking the secret of what happened to Jess. The cover-ups, the lies and the entwined relationships that had preserved the secret were now coming out. The threat to them was real.
‘Girls, hold each other’s hand, okay?’ Kate’s dad turned away, leaving the girls for a moment so that he could try calling his daughter again. His frustration evident in the frowning that turned his face red and blotchy.
They took the turning along the street where the Smuggler was positioned. Rosie gripped her sister’s hand as they stared through the window of a shop adorned with buckets of large shells. Natalie’s stomach turned as they got closer to the pub. There was no way she wanted to bump into Kyle again today. She glanced through the window and saw Rachel behind the bar. The girl caught her eye and looked away. A couple of customers were sitting at the bar with a breakfast that the young server had only a moment ago placed on the table. She turned and walked away. Kate wasn’t in there.
Hurrying, she reached the end of the path and waited for Kate’s father to catch up.
‘Kate, Kate.’ The man kept calling her name, frantically searching through shop windows and checking his phone. An influx of tourists walked by, some taking to stepping into the road, others entering and leaving shops. The weather wasn’t putting people off in the slightest. An elderly woman chugged along in a scooter forcing Natalie to step back. Most of all, she felt helpless. They’d been looking for nearly an hour and there had been no sign of Kate.
Kate’s dad rushed over. ‘Where next?’
‘What do you mean?’ How was Natalie supposed to know where they needed to go?
‘You know what she’s been up to more than me. She’s been talking to you, and that woman who owns a shop, Laura. No one I ask has seen her around here.’
Natalie followed Kate’s dad around the next corner, avoiding a couple with a dog.
‘We should head to Laura’s. It wasn’t open when we passed but she might be in there now.’ Natalie wanted to see Laura anyway, to see if they were okay.
‘Which way?’
