The boy’s face fell, but he nodded.
“I’ll stay and help Ash,” Arthur said. “Besides, I can’t disappear off and leave Esi all day.”
“Fine, well it’s just me and Nova. Come on, let’s go.”
Phyllis grabbed Craddock’s lead and moved toward the door, but Nova stayed where she was.
“Why are you dawdling, we need to get going. It’s at least a four-hour round trip and—”
“I’m sorry, Phyllis, but I can’t come.”
“Why not?”
“I told you, I’m getting married tomorrow. My mum’s landing in a couple of hours and I have to collect her from the airport, and then we have a church rehearsal at six.”
“We’ll be back by then, and surely you can get someone else to collect your mum?”
“I promised Craig I wouldn’t risk getting into any more trouble. If he found out I’d driven all the way to the southernmost tip of Great Britain to find a murder suspect, he’d call the wedding off on the spot.”
“Well, then you don’t have to tell him you’ve gone.” Phyllis’s voice had risen in exasperation. “This is your chance to clear your name and hopefully get the stolen money back. Isn’t that more important than some silly rehearsal?”
“I’m sorry, Phyllis, but I can’t go.”
“But you’re the only one with a car. Ash and I don’t drive, and Arthur’s only got his old tractor, which isn’t going to get us very far. Without you, I can’t get there and this whole thing is over.”
Nova faltered, and then she remembered Craig’s words.No more Nancy Drew nonsense.“I really am sorry.”
She couldn’t look at the older lady, but she could sense her eyes boring into her. There was a long, drawn-out silence, the only sound Craddock’s huffing breaths.
“Come on, Phyllis, let’s go,” Arthur said.
“But Michael…” Phyllis muttered.
“I can call the police and tell them what we know; I won’t mention your name,” Arthur said. “Maybe they’ll send someone down to the cottage to check.”
The three of them shuffled outside. Nova waited for them to say good-bye, but none of them turned round as they headed down the driveway toward the road.
She shut the front door and returned to the living room, where the silk bags were waiting for her on the floor. She’d done the right thing, hadn’t she? Craig had been adamant Nova shouldn’t get involved in any more amateur sleuthing, and she couldn’t lie to the man she was about to marry. Besides, she needed to head off to the airport soon.
At the thought of her mum, Nova picked up her phone from where she’d left it on the floor with the silk bags. As she turned it over, she saw two missed calls from her mum. Nova clicked on her name and listened to the dialing tone.
“There you are!”
“Hey Mum. Sorry, I was just busy with something. How are you? How was the flight?”
“Darling, have you listened to my voicemail?”
“Not yet. What did it say?”
“Oh love, it’s been a nightmare. My internal flight to Bogotá was canceled so I’m still in Colombia.”
Nova felt a cold flash of panic. “What?”
“I’m so sorry, Nono. I didn’t tell you sooner because I didn’t want to worry you until I’d sorted out an alternative. But I’m taking a flight to Bogotá this afternoon and then I’ll fly to London overnight and get the train down to Cornwall first thing tomorrow. It’s going to be tight, but I’ll be there in time for the wedding, I promise.”
“Bloody hell.” Nova sunk back on the sofa, exhaling slowly.
“I’m really sorry. There are terrible storms here so everything’s in chaos.”
