Arthur
“So, let me get this straight,” Dan said, as they sped down the A39. “We’re driving eighty miles to rescue your friends, who’ve gone to find a missing man who you all think stole some money and was framed for murder. But now Ash has hacked into a computer file, and you’ve discovered this missing man might actually be some kind of dangerous stalker who wants to harm Phyllis. Is that correct?”
“Yep, that’s about it,” Arthur said.
In the driver’s seat, Dan shook his head. “And there was me thinking you were just this quiet guy from my English class, Ash. I had no idea you were a secret hacker on the case of a suspected criminal with your grandpa!”
Dan chuckled, but in the passenger seat next to him, Ash was mute. The boy had been horrified when Arthur suggested they ask Dan for help, and initially outright refused to call him. He only relented when Arthur pointed out that Dan was the only person they knew with a car, and if they didn’t ask for his help then Phyllis and Nova could be the next murder victims. When Dan had come to pick them up at the cafe, Arthur had subtly insisted on sitting in thebackseat so Ash could sit up front and the boys could chat. Unfortunately, he hadn’t accounted for quite how love-struck tongue-tied Ash really was. The lad could barely manage a grunt, and despite Dan’s repeated efforts to chat, every conversation ended up sliding into awkward silence.
“So, do you watch many films?” Dan asked Ash, after a question about football hadn’t elicited a response.
“Eh…sometimes,” Ash stuttered.
“What kind of stuff do you like?”
“All sorts.”
“Ash is a Star Wars fan,” Arthur interjected. He’d promised himself he’d stay quiet and leave the boys to it, but this was getting too painful to watch.
“Oh cool, I love them too,” Dan said. “I think episode IV might be my favorite, which I know is an uncool take, but I just have such happy memories of watching it with my dad. Which is your favorite?”
Arthur knew the answer to this and waited for Ash to sayThe Force Awakens, but instead the teenager just shrugged.
“I like them all.”
Arthur inwardly groaned. “I’ve not watched the new Star Wars films, but Ash is always telling me how much he loves them,” he said in a last-ditch attempt to get the conversation going. “He was saying that the Kylo-what’s-his-name and Rey love story is a bit like Claudio and Hero inMuch Ado About Nothing, weren’t you, lad?”
Arthur couldn’t see Ash’s face, but from the way the boy was sinking down in his seat as if he wanted it to swallow him whole, Arthur wondered if he’d said the wrong thing.
“That’s cool, I hadn’t made that connection myself,” Dan said. “What made you say that?”
“Nothing, it was a stupid idea,” Ash mumbled, practically turning his back on Dan.
Arthur slumped back in his own seat, defeated. Esi had once told him that one of her favorite moments in any good romance novel was when a character realized their true feelings for their love interest and was forced to push themselves out of their comfort zone to win that person over. Like when Mr. Darcy goes chasing after Wickham and Lydia to prove his love for Elizabeth inPride and Prejudice, or when Gregory suddenly realizes he’s in love with Lucy and tries to stop her wedding inOn the Way to the Wedding. Arthur had hoped this car journey to rescue Nova and Phyllis might be that moment for Ash, but clearly he’d been wrong: the poor boy made Evie fromDevil in Winterlook positively chatty.
They drove on in silence, and Arthur watched the scenery change outside the window as they pushed farther west. He’d been down here a few times on holidays with Esi, and he loved the wild ruggedness of this part of Cornwall. Esi loved it, too, and said she always hoped to find Ross Poldark striding over the fields toward her. At the thought of his wife, Arthur’s chest contracted. He’d not been away from home for this long in years, and he felt her absence like a physical pain.
“Satnav says we’re not far,” Dan said, as they reached a junction in the road, one way pointing to Lizard and the other to a place called Landewednack.
“I hope we’ve made it in time,” Arthur said, his thoughts swinging back to Phyllis and Nova. Had they already found Michael? Assuming the man was alone, Arthur hoped that the combined strength of Nova, Phyllis and Craddock would be enough to overpower him if he tried to hurt them. Unless he was armed, in which case…
“You need to drive faster, Dan. We have to get to them.”
“The house should be at the end of this road,” Dan said, turning onto a rough farm track that led toward the sea.
Arthur sat up in his seat, staring out the front window for any sign of the cottage from the photo. After about half a mile, Ash let out a shout.
“That’s Nova’s car!”
They pulled up behind the rusty yellow Fiat and all three of them climbed out. There was no sign of a cottage until Dan looked over the edge of the cliff.
“Bloody hell, it’s like something from Ahch-To.”
Arthur hurried to join him. Diagonally below the road was a small derelict building, looking as if it had almost been carved into the rock face itself.
“That can’t be it.”
“Maybe there’s another cottage nearby,” Dan said.
