‘Ah, so you’re the?—’
‘Please don’t call me an idiot,’ she cut in, smiling.
‘I was going to say the woman who can’t tell the time. You tourists do like to do whatever you can to keep me in a job, don’t you?’
‘I don’t like the label, but I have to admit Iamfeeling a bit of an idiot.’
‘There are some idiots who attempt to drive the causeway for fun but there are some genuine mistakes.’
‘And are you for or against automatic barriers?’
‘I keep out of the island’s politics.’ He grinned.
‘Probably the best way.’ Verity noticed the sign at the entrance of the garage and laughed. ‘Is that the garage’s motto – “Wheel be all right!”? But the question is, will my van?’
‘There she is.’ Nathan pointed. Hetty was parked at the side of the garage. All of her doors were wide open and the bonnet was propped open too.
‘It’s going to be a sunny day, so I suggest you take out the mattress and so on and any belongings that could dry out in the sun. There’s even a washing line there to hang up any clothes or duvets.’
‘A garage with a washing line. I’ve never seen that before.’
‘It’s an essential piece of kit, believe me. It comes in handy in situations like yours.’
They walked over to the van.
‘Have you got the results of the post mortem? I’m assuming it’s not going to be good with water in the engine?’ Verity crossed her fingers. ‘I’ve put so much work into this van. It should have been my travelling home for the next six months.’
‘A small amount of water in the intake cylinders won’t harm anything as long as it isn’t enough to hydrolock the engine.’
‘Which means?’
Nathan smiled. ‘That means the water can’t take up more space than is left when the piston gets to the top.’
Verity knew she had a look of confusion on her face. She had no clue what any of that meant. ‘And again, in idiot’s language that means?’
‘Water won’t compress, so the result is physical damage. But if the damage is minor, I can restore the engine with a new set of spark plugs and a change of fluids and oils. There is a possibility, if the engine has suffered from severe hydrolocking, it will require more in-depth repairs. You’re next on my list so it shouldn’t be too long before I have answers. I’ll just finish off the car I’m working on. Feel free to hang up anything you wish. There’s cleaning products and clean cloths on that shelf over there.’
‘Thank you.’
Nathan soon had his head back under the bonnet of the car inside the workshop. Verity stepped inside the van and looked around. She was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be. The water hadn’t reached the height of the bed and the mattress was still dry. Water had seeped in through the doors and some food items in the bottom cupboards had been ruined but everything else didn’t seem that bad. She just prayed the engine wasn’t badly damaged.
Taking a mop and bucket, Verity began to mop up the excess water on the van’s floor then moved on to the lower cupboards, throwing away the spoiled food.
* * *
An hour later, she sat down on one of the chairs. ‘Have you always lived on the island?’ she asked Nathan, who still had his head under the car’s bonnet.
‘Ten years now. My grandparents used to bring me on day trips from Sea’s End and I was obsessed with all the boats in the harbour. I was always a tinkerer. Taking things apart and putting them back together. One summer I took apart my dad’s lawn mower and couldn’t put it back together so he got me a job in the local boathouse to keep me from destroying anything else, and I worked there until an opportunity came up at this place. I took an apprenticeship and when the gaffer retired ten years ago, I bought him out and moved into his place on the island while he retired to the South of France.’
‘Very nice,’ replied Verity. ‘This place is so beautiful and working up here… I mean, look at that view.’
Nathan stood up and looked out across the sea. ‘I couldn’t think of working or living anywhere else.’
‘You’re very lucky. It must feel like you’re constantly on holiday.’
‘It did when I first moved onto the island, even though I had been working here for years and the islanders had already adopted me as one of their own.’
‘That’s lovely,’ replied Verity. ‘What’s that building next to you?’
