by L K Harcourt
By now, John was aroused and Louise guided his erect length into her. John pushed her legs back against her shoulders and penetrated her deeply. Louise had never felt him so big inside her before, it was like a great piece of rock being rammed into her. John channelled all his pent-up anxiety, stress and fear into rough, painful thrusting. Louise gasped at the brutality of it. His savage jabbing repeatedly caught her clitoris sending a wave of pleasure through her.
Louise let out a bloodcurdling scream as she climaxed and John, more discreetly, moaned in ecstasy and relief as his testicles were finally milked dry, shooting burst after burst inside her.
Dan, halfway across the beach, smiled and shook his head as he heard Louise’s cry. Most of Porthlevnack must have heard, too. That deranged yell alone might have brought the boys in blue down, fearing someone was being attacked on the seashore. Odd in a way, that the police hadn’t shown up already. Perhaps they were too busy feasting on Emma and would devour him and John for breakfast tomorrow.
Yes, that was the most likely explanation. Dan looked ahead at the lights of the village twinkling in a long, friendly line down the shore. The moon and the stars, not to be outdone, were providing their own show high up in the firmament. It was an entrancing sight; it should have been the best moment ever – quiet contemplation of going back to Oxford with his adorable girlfriend on his arm, another year of student life and this time, on the cusp of receiving a fortune. Instead, it was all a smoking ruin. Well not quite, he reminded himself – he still had the love of Emma and that was worth more than anything.
Emma, poor Emma, he yearned to be with her and to share her pain. That’s what made this so cruel, that she had felt the need to be alone and do this. He would gladly have gone with her once he knew that her mind was made up. They could have given each other strength and faced the police together.
Dan burned to know how she was. He toyed with the mobile phone in his pocket. Should he call her, or text her? No, that wasn’t fair, she might take it as interference. She might well have had her phone confiscated by now anyway. He must resist the temptation – Emma would contact him when she was ready.
And then his phone rang! It buzzed against his hand. He pulled it out and the display was flashing brightly – it was Emma. Her name was coming up! That must mean she still had her phone, or at least, that the police had given it her back.
Dan’s fingers shook as he answered. He was both delighted that she had called and utterly dreading what she would have to say.
‘Emma, are you ok?’ he said, almost in a whisper.
‘I’m ok,’ she replied. Her voice sounded worn and tense. ‘Can you come and meet me at the police station? I won’t be coming back tonight.’
Dan felt himself go cold. ‘Just me, or all three of us?’ he asked.
‘Just you,’ she said.
‘I’ll come right away. Oh Emma, I’m so sorry,’ said Dan, struggling to keep his emotions in check.
‘Please get here as soon as you can,’ she said.
Dan walked briskly back to the cove. It was almost dark now and the flames of the fire were bathing the rocky cliffs all around in a strange, pulsating orange glow. He called softly to Louise and John, not wishing to interrupt their intimate activities but having little choice.
He could dimly see them lying on the rugs, their bodies entwined. They appeared to have fallen asleep.
‘I’m sorry to disturb you,’ he whispered, ‘but ‘I’ve had a phone call from Emma. She wants me to go and meet her in St Perro.’
‘We’ll all come,’ said John, half asleep.
‘I think she just wants me to go,’ said Dan. ‘She’s asked me to meet her at the police station and says she’s not coming home tonight. Do you mind if I borrow your car, Louise?’
‘Erm, er, no that’s fine,’ said Louise, a bit groggily. ‘Hang on, I’ll get the keys for you.’
Louise lifted herself up and walked over to the beach tent, her naked body olive-gold in the firelight. Dan couldn’t help but look, she was beautiful and clearly quite unashamed at him seeing her. Louise scrabbled about in the tent and then emerged with her keys.
‘Make sure you don’t crash it, cos I think you’ll only be covered third party, not that it’s worth much,’ she mumbled and then went and flopped back down with John.
John was sitting upright now, and, somewhat more modestly, had pulled his trousers on.
‘Dan I understand she just wants to see you but we’ll be on tenterhooks here – can you give us a bit of a briefing as soon as you can, let us know what’s happening,’ he said.
‘Yes of course,’ said Dan. ‘As soon as possible, I’ll phone you.’
Dan clambered over the rocks and back down onto the main beach heading for Louise’s car on the jetty. He would certainly endeavour not to crash it, he thought to himself as he got inside. A road accident really would be the last thing they needed.
A thought struck him – shouldn’t he have got Emma a change of clothing or a toothbrush or something? He hadn’t even asked. And what about himself? Would he be coming home? Would the police take the opportunity to detain him as well?
CHAPTER 31
Dan pulled out onto the scenic road to St Perro. There were few cars about. The tourist season was all but over and Cornwall seemed cloaked in a strange tranquillity. He found his mind emptying as he drove the 20 minutes or so it took to get there, as if all thinking and agonising had been done and all possible outcomes explored. Dan just wanted to see Emma and hold her in his arms, and kiss and comfort her.
It was surprisingly easy to park at that time in the evening and Dan left his car down a road off the main high street close to the dreaded police station. As he walked away from the car his legs felt like they would give way. Get a grip, he told himself. He had to be strong for Emma’s sake – she would be fragile, distraught, inconsolable, and frightened. Yes, above all, frightened. She was not a strong, confident character like Louise with plenty of brass neck to get her through life. Emma was a sensitive soul capable of great courage but without the self assurance to underpin it.
He presumed she would be in police custody but permitted to see visitors. But to his surprise, when he rounded the corner onto the high street and looked up with foreboding at the police building on the other side, he saw a slim, blonde-haired figure standing outside, looking very much like Emma.
It was Emma! His heart leapt. They must have released her on bail! That was something to be grateful for. At least they were not keeping her caged like an animal. That was good, they would be able to go somewhere and talk. Dan crossed the high street and walked slowly towards her, resisting the temptation to run. It might scare her, he had to appear calm, even if he didn’t feel it.
She had seen him! A weak smile crossed her face. She did not approach, but waited patiently until he reached her. Neither said anything as they were reunited. Words somehow, were not sufficient. Dan flung his arms around her and hugged her tight.
‘Oh Emma my love, I am here now, I will always be by your side, no matter what happens,’ he said, finally, whispering into her ear. ‘Remember what I said earlier, I don’t care what happens to the treasure or job or degree course or any of it. So long as I have you, you are the only treasure I need and we will come through this.’ He reached his hand up and stroked her hair and looked down into her eyes, those lovely, watery blue eyes. Come on, let me get you away from here. We can go can’t we – have they released you on bail? Oh Emma you must have been so frightened,’ said Dan.
She broke away from him slightly and stared at the towering police HQ frowning down on them.
‘Look at it Dan,’ she said softly. ‘Look at that great ugly, menacing place. Think how horrible it is to end up inside there, locked in the cells, plonked down in interview rooms, monitored, tape recorded, filmed, fingerprinted, forced to empty one’s pockets; one’s hopes and dreams in life draining away by the minute.’
Emma clasped his arm as she spoke, and could feel it
trembling. ‘You are afraid Dan, I can feel the fear inside you. I know that you will have felt that fear all afternoon with the others as I did here. Now let us share that emotion. Let’s both stand and look up at that terrible building and be frightened together.’
Dan did as she asked. It was like a monster of bricks and mortar, ready to pounce on them.
‘And now let’s walk away,’ said Emma, ‘and learn from today – lessons that we’ll never forget. Come on, let’s go.’
Dan’s eyes were still locked as if in a trance on the formidable building. Suddenly the main doors opened and a police officer walked out. He noticed the pair of them gazing up in wonder at his workplace. It wasn’t every day that happened.
‘Tourists?’ he said with a grin. ‘You can always tell a tourist cos they’re the ones standing around looking upwards. It’s a dead giveaway – watch you don’t get mugged. Mind you, it’s a grand old place isn’t it, rather wonderful gothic architecture, like an old-fashioned asylum. They knew how to build ’em in Victorian times. Beats the modern copshops any day. Enjoy your stay,’ he added, with a wink, and walked off.
Emma turned to Dan and giggled. ‘Come on, before we get mugged,’ she said with a smile.
They walked arm in arm down the high street and Dan realised to his amazement that Emma was relaxed and at ease, as if a great weight had been lifted from her. She stopped a hundred yards or so down in front of a five-star hotel, the Metropole – St Perro’s finest. ‘From fear to hope,’ she said – ‘come on.’
Dan walked with her through the sturdy oak doors with their reassuringly solid brass door knobs. Emma headed for the hotel bar, an elegant, old-fashioned room of dark leather upholstery, mahogany tables and brass fixtures and fittings. It reeked of history and the comings and goings of important people.
‘I thought this might be a good place for us to talk and have a drink together,’ said Emma.
‘Oh yes, that’s fine,’ said Dan. ‘It’s a lovely place. Emma, can I say, I’m so glad the police have let you out on bail and that you’re being so upbeat and not letting all this get you down. It’s good to come somewhere cheerful. Let’s thumb our noses at doom and gloom, whatever tomorrow will bring.’
‘Tomorrow will probably bring a hangover Dan,’ she said as the waitress came over, carrying a bottle of what looked like expensive champagne in an ice bucket and two champagne flutes. Dan watched disbelievingly as the waitress undid the wire cage around the cork and expertly wiggled it out with a loud pop. She poured them both a glass and placed them down on dainty mats.
‘Join me in a toast Dan,’ instructed Emma softly, as she raised her glass. ‘This is in honour of you and what a wonderful person you are and what a bright future lies ahead. And you do have a bright future my wonderful Dan. There is something I have to tell you. I’m not particularly proud to have made this decision but I spent a long time this afternoon after you’d all gone thinking things through carefully.
‘After you left me earlier outside the police station, I went up to the main doors. I saw you glance back and then turn away and I watched you keep walking, and not looking back again. I appreciated that because you were true to your word, you put me under no pressure.
‘And so I found myself with my nose virtually pressed against the glass of the doors and I saw my reflection, looking all sad and anxious. I found myself asking why I was doing this and for whom. And I realised that I was doing it entirely for myself, to make myself feel better, the cathartic experience of unburdening myself, purging myself clean by telling the truth and facing the consequences.
‘Then I started to open the door but as I did so another door slid shut in my mind and a little voice said “wait, think about this first, it’s not just about you”. And so I walked away, and I walked for miles Dan, round and round, you should see the blisters on my feet. I know St Perro like a native now. I’ve been down to the river and back to the park and sat beneath that same lovely horse chestnut. And then I went for a coffee and tried to straighten everything out in my head. And several times I returned to the police station, right up to the doors, looking through the glass. But Dan my love, I never once went inside. I haven’t told the police a thing, and I don’t plan to.’
Dan stared deeply into his champagne flute, watching the countless bubbles rise to the surface, still unable to take in what Emma was saying to him.
‘Somehow I just couldn’t square the circle. I couldn’t separate out what I was willing to do to myself from what I would thereby inevitably do to you. And if I deserved to face the music Dan, I didn’t see why you should,’ continued Emma.
‘Your wrongdoing, such as it is, was for my benefit. You didn’t act out of self preservation, or for financial gain. You did what you did for me, because you loved me and wanted to protect me. Should your reward for that be to lose everything? Your top university course, your job prospects, your reputation, your share of the reward from treasure which would never have been found without your scholarship and perseverance?
‘So while I still feel that is what I deserved, I simply couldn’t take you down with me. What swung it, and what made me realise how special you are was that never once did you seek to dissuade me from going to the police. Louise did, several times. John did to an extent and he admitted that part of his motive for disposing of Zak was concern for the treasure. But you only wanted what’s best for me.’
Dan nodded. Unable to speak, his teary eyes and the lump in his throat did the talking for him.
‘What’s done is done,’ said Emma. ‘And while one can be very sympathetic for Zak’s family, he did bring it upon himself. Destroying our lives, and John’s and Louise’s won’t bring him back. But we must learn from this Dan and how wrongdoing so nearly cost us dear. I hope you understand why I didn’t tell you straightaway when I called earlier and why I made you share the fear with me outside the police station. This must be a lesson to us all that we don’t forget.’
‘I totally understand, Emma. I can’t tell you how grateful I am,’ mumbled Dan, overcome with it all, and unsure what to say.
‘Hey, this stuff will go flat if we don’t drink it,’ scolded Emma with a grin. ‘Come on, let’s draw a line under everything and enjoy this vintage champagne.’
Dan smiled and took a big, long sip. He did not normally quaff champagne but this was as effervescent as a mountain stream, cold and pure, like liquid diamonds. ‘My God, that tastes good,’ he said. ‘I suddenly feel like I’ve walked out of a nightmare and into a dream.’
‘You have,’ said Emma. ‘Our dream, our dream together. Oh Dan, just think – we are students on a top degree course at England’s best university and thanks to the wealth we are coming into, our money worries are over. No more badly-paid, exhausting part-time jobs for us, this will set us up for life, and above all, we have each other.’
Dan gazed at the champagne bottle with its Grand Cru label and wished he could take that moment with Emma, push it inside the bottle and cork it forever. Every sight, every sound, every smell in that genteel, civilised place was bliss to him. He hoped he would never forget it. The rattle of cutlery and china; the murmur of conversation from other tables; the old boy in a blazer with the walrus moustache by the wall, pouring water from a small jug into his double scotch. How he would have loved a cigar to accompany his whisky in the days before the smoking ban, mused Dan. Aah yes, the fragrant waft of a sleek panatella, it would have made the atmosphere complete.
From the window, Dan saw passers-by going about their business and just a few leaves – the colour of Felipe’s gold ingots – flitting their way up and down in the light breeze, a sure sign that autumn was well underway. In the distance he could see the police station in which for all he knew, he and John might now have been detained, seated on straight-backed, thinly-upholstered metal chairs with two police officers and a whirring tape recorder.
John and Louise! They must be told straightaway. He had promised to contact them as soon as he could. ‘We must phon
e the others,’ said Dan, grasping into his pockets for his mobile phone. ‘I feel awful I’ve forgotten them.’
‘Well don’t,’ said Emma, calmly. ‘They needed to feel the fear too – as much as we did. Come on, let’s take our champagne up to our room and ring them from there.’
‘Our room?’ said Dan.
‘Yes, young man, our room,’ said Emma, smiling. ‘Look, here’s the key if you don’t believe me,’ and she took it from her pocket. ‘We have a lovely room with a wonderful en suite with a jacuzzi and you and me are going up there now to have a lovely bath together while we guzzle the rest of the bubbly. And when we’re done, we’ll put on some nice new, smart clothes that I’ve bought for us this afternoon and come down looking as sleek and shiny as new pins and go into that luxury restaurant here and have a wonderful meal. I’ve bought you a razor and some shaving foam so you’ll have smooth cheeks.
‘And when we have eaten and drunk as much as we can hold, then we simply slip away, up the stairs back to our wonderful room and jump into our amazing king-size bed. It’s all right – I’ve put it on the Visa card – now that I know I’ll be able to afford to pay it back!
‘I don’t know what to say,’ said Dan. ‘If this is a dream, I don’t want ever to wake up.’
‘Ok,’ said Emma, ‘I’ll try and avoid the temptation to pinch you. Let’s go.’
They ignored the lift and walked instead up the magnificent staircase to their room on the second floor. Dan’s eyes widened when they stepped inside.
‘What a lovely big, atmospheric room – and with a four-poster bed! I’ve never slept in one of those before. I wonder if this place is haunted, I bet it is,’ he said.
‘Maybe by the ghost of a long-lost Spanish sea captain,’ teased Emma.
Dan’s face fell slightly. He had forgotten amid everything else, what lay at the heart of their incredible adventure – Captain Felipe and the elegant, spidery writing of his diary.