by Linda Huber
‘What are you talking about? You know she wasn’t with us, she hates the rock pools,’ said Colin, his voice rising. ‘She was with you.’
Maggie’s stomach lurched painfully.
‘But she went across to you about twenty minutes ago, maybe. Or less, I don’t know. We built a sandcastle and then she didn’t want to play here anymore, and I said she could go and join you! Oh my God!’
She struggled to her feet, staring around wildly, legs buckling after sitting so long. The beach was still devoid of people. There was nobody here to distract Olivia or take her to play behind some rock. Nothing was moving over at the rock pools; no pink and white t-shirt was running around between the rocks.
‘You let her go by herself?’
Colin’s tone was accusing, and Maggie snapped back.
‘Well the beach was bloody deserted, wasn’t it? She couldn’t have got lost... ’
‘Mum?’
Joe’s voice was small and afraid, and Maggie hugged him to her side. Colin leapt out of the ring.
‘She must have gone back to the cottage. I’ll go up. You search down here.’
He raced off towards the cliff path and Maggie stood still for a moment, forcing back the panic. This was her fault. What had she been thinking, sending Livvy across the beach by herself? She’d been annoyed, that was what, miffed because a three-year-old had wanted to join her father and brother instead of making sand pies with her mum. Christ, how pathetic.
Maggie pressed her lips together. There would be time to worry about her own inadequacies later, right now they had to find Livvy. Had she gone back up the cliff path? It didn’t sound likely, but there was nowhere else...
Except... Livvy wouldn’t have gone into the water, they could be sure of that. She wasn’t a fan of the breakers that crashed up the beach. But the waves weren’t big today, the sea looked relatively calm. Yet back up the path seemed equally unlikely. The steps zigzagging steeply through a crevice in the cliff face were hard work for three-year-old legs. What on earth could have tempted Livvy to go back up all by herself?
Frantically, Maggie looked from left to right along the beach, horror swirling into her head when she saw that both caves were filled with water now. If Olivia had gone into one of them...
Swallowing her panic, Maggie tried to focus her thoughts, forcing herself to think clearly. When Olivia left she had been sitting in the ring drinking coffee, facing in that direction. She would have seen her if she’d run down to the caves. So she must have gone the other way, towards the cliff path and the rock pools. Or had she gone further along the beach? Maggie stood on tiptoe. The rocks and their pools were the remains of what had once been another headland, a couple of centuries ago. Beyond was another beach, part of it belonging to the old hotel, the rest stretching back towards town.
Grabbing Joe’s hand, Maggie ran as fast as she could in the irritating, sliding sand. Past the cliff path, around the rocks. More than half of them were under water now, and Maggie shaded her eyes, straining to see anything that might be a pink and white t-shirt amongst the waves.
Nothing. Thank God.
Keeping a tight hold of Joe, she ran on, searching round crevices in the cliff.
Nothing. The beach was shrinking rapidly, waves licking round the sandcastle she and Olivia had built.
‘Look, Mummy! Isn’t it beautiful? We’ll put shells round the top and that can be the princess’ tower. I’m the princess and you’re my servant girl. Joe can be boot boy and Daddy’s the king, of course.’
Maggie swallowed painfully. At the time she’d been hurt. It was one of those ridiculous little knife-thrusts that kids attack their parents with so expertly. Daddy was the king and she herself was a servant girl. It had taken a moment before she’d been able to smile; she could remember thinking that it might have been worse, she could have been the wicked witch. And now Olivia could be lying unconscious among the rocks. She could have fallen and banged her head. And the tide was creeping up and up...
Quickly, Maggie climbed up a rock and gazed over to the hotel beach, where a row of brightly painted beach huts stood at the edge of the sands. Was it even remotely possible that her daughter had clambered all the way over there?
But if Livvy had been there Colin would have noticed her as he went back up. It was only the section of beach right underneath the cliff that you couldn’t see from the path and she’d just run all the way along it. So Livvy must have gone up to the cottage.
Still dragging Joe behind her, Maggie ran back towards the cliff path, her heart thumping painfully at the unaccustomed exertion.
‘My legs won’t go any more,’ said Joe, tears tracking through sand on his face.
Maggie stopped. There was no use rushing, Colin was up there already. And there was simply no other place that Livvy could be. She made herself slow down and helped Joe along the path, her mind screaming in frustration that he couldn’t go faster.
Back on the clifftop she saw immediately that no-one was there. The car was gone.
Her breath ragged, Maggie ran down Cliff Road. Some of the neighbours would help them search. Three of the other cottages were occupied this week, but today no-one was at home. Maggie stood still for a moment, her legs shaking helplessly. What could she do? What was there left to do?
Maybe Colin had tried to phone her. Maggie ran inside and grabbed her mobile, charging in the kitchen. No new messages. So their daughter was lost and Colin was driving around searching for her. Her darling, infuriating, wonderful Olivia was missing.
At that moment their pale green Opel bounced along the uneven track and into the parking space beside the cottage. Maggie ran out to meet it.
Colin almost fell out, hope illuminating his face when he saw her, then disappearing to make way for blank fear when he realised that she and Joe were alone.
‘She’s not on the beach,’ whispered Maggie. ‘The tide’s coming in... ’
‘I went as far as the crossroads,’ said Colin. ‘She wouldn’t have got any further.’
They stared at each other, and Maggie felt the tightness in her middle expand as it shifted, burning its way up. She turned behind a nearby hydrangea bush and vomited.
‘Mummy, Mummy!’
Joe was crying now, but all Maggie could do was hold her middle and retch. Painful sobs rose from her throat as Colin, his face expressionless now, reached for his mobile and dialled 999.
Chapter Four
At the time it seemed as if the police took forever to get to Cove Cottage, but in reality they arrived just ten minutes after Colin’s call, blue lights flashing as they turned into Cliff Road. Two uniformed officers got out and walked towards them. Maggie stared. Only two policemen?
She had spent the last ten minutes hunched on a rock at the top of the cliff path, staring down at the waves rushing up the beach. Colin had binoculars trained round the cove, the sands, the cliffs. Maggie shivered. Livvy wouldn’t go into the sea, she couldn’t swim, she didn’t even enjoy the cold, salty water.
A terrible train of thought started in Maggie’s head. Maybe Livvy had gone down to the water. Maybe she’d wanted to wash the scratchy sand from her feet before joining Colin. One of those Cornish breakers might have wrapped itself round Livvy’s three foot one inch frame and swept her out to sea. A picture flashed into Maggie’s head, Olivia sprawled on anonymous rocks; waterlogged, sightless eyes empty and staring. This normal, happy-family day had turned into the biggest nightmare imaginable, the kind you tried so hard to wake up from but somehow you never could. For the first time since Livvy had existed, Maggie didn’t know where her daughter was.
And Colin had ignored her completely since making the emergency call. Maggie felt loose inside; the sour taste of sick was still in her mouth and although she could feel the sun on her neck, her arms and legs, she was cold.
Another ghastly thought crashed into Maggie’s head and she almost fell off the rock. It was the most appalling thought of all and yet so logical that she didn’t know
why she hadn’t thought it right at the start.
‘Col, you don’t think she’s been... she’s been taken, do you?’
It was the worst thought of all. She hadn’t watched Olivia this morning and in those few moments... Olivia could be in the clutches of some pervert right now and it would all be her fault.
‘Fuck,’ said Colin, staring along the road to the hotel about three hundred metres away.
Maggie raised clasped hands to her mouth. Today was Sunday, so none of the usual crew of construction workers were banging around there. The hotel was empty.
‘Mr and Mrs Granger? I’m Sergeant Craig Wilson and this is Constable Tim Davidson. Your little girl hasn’t turned up?’
‘No. We don’t know if she’s lost or taken, please, you must do something quickly, please!’
Maggie couldn’t hold her tears back. The two men glanced at each other and the younger one took Joe’s hand and spoke to Maggie.
‘I’ll just take your boy over here while you talk to Sergeant Wilson. What’s your name, son? Would you like to see inside the police car?’
Maggie nodded to Joe and Tim Davidson led him away.
‘I won’t say “Don’t Worry,” but nine times out of ten lost kids are exactly that, and we soon find them,’ said the sergeant.
He rattled off a few quick questions and Colin answered. Maggie relaxed slightly. This was obviously routine to the policeman, he had all the right questions at his fingertips. Surely they would soon find Livvy.
The sergeant stared at them for a few seconds and then cleared his throat.
‘Right. I’ll report all this back to the station. We’re going to need assistance. If you’ll just wait here in the meantime.’
He strode across to the car. Maggie stood motionless as Colin raised his binoculars again. Joe was sent back and he pressed himself against Maggie’s side, his face blank.
A few minutes later another car swung into Cliff Road. This time the occupants were plain-clothed: a middle-aged man with a tired, weather-beaten face and wearing a grey suit, and a younger woman clad in black.
‘Mr and Mrs Granger? I’m Detective Chief Inspector Howard Moir and this is Detective Sergeant Amanda Donnelly. A helicopter is on its way to help search for your daughter and the coastguards are out now too - look, there’s the boat coming round the headland. A land search party’s being organised as well.’
He walked a few steps to the side and spoke tersely to his uniformed colleagues, then turned back to Maggie and Colin.
‘You understand it’s most important to get the sea search going as quickly as possible.’
Maggie pressed her hands to her chest. It was a relief that something was being done, but - the sea? She watched as the coastguard boat began to move round the edge of the cove, as near to the cliffs as it could get.
A helicopter appeared further down the coast, flying towards them and then quite suddenly sweeping down low over the water, right along the beach beyond the hotel and then back out to sea again.
Maggie’s knees began to tremble and she could hardly stand up. She pressed both hands down on Joe’s small shoulders, aware that she was hyperventilating. Colin was staring at the helicopter too. He made no effort to touch her.
‘Mr Granger, I think your wife...’ started Howard Moir.
Maggie stumbled the two steps towards Colin and he hugged her to his chest. All she could hear now was Colin’s heartbeat and the thuka-thuka-thuka throb of that helicopter engine; she could feel it all the way inside her. She moved to get a tissue from her bag and Colin immediately let her go.
The next question was unexpected.
‘Have you been inside since Olivia went missing?’
‘Only to check she wasn’t there,’ said Colin, and Maggie nodded.
‘I went in for my bag. For my phone.’
‘And apart from yourselves, who saw Olivia this morning?’
Maggie froze. It sounded like something from a murder mystery.
Colin’s voice cracked with fury.
‘You cannot seriously think... ’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Howard Moir steadily. ‘I have to ask. Let’s just get it over with and go on.’
‘Colin and Livvy went into Newquay for croissants this morning,’ said Maggie dully. ‘The woman in the shop gave Livvy a biscuit.’
‘And the neighbours saw her later, when we were setting off for the beach,’ said Colin. ‘They were in their garden and we chatted for a moment.’
‘Good,’ said Howard. ‘So what happened on the beach?’
Maggie moved towards Colin but he moved away, and she folded her arms to stop her hands trembling.
Howard was looking at her, his face neutral.
‘Colin and Joe were looking round the rock pools and Livvy and I were over at the other side,’ she said, trying to keep her voice steady. ‘We played in the sand and then we went back to the rocky ring for biscuits, and Livvy wanted to go to her dad and I - I said she could... ’
It sounded so polite when she said it like that. But the guilt of those few moments was still niggling away inside her. She hadn’t been kind to Olivia.
‘I want to go to Daddy.’
The same whine for the hundredth time, and Maggie felt her patience desert her. This was her holiday too, and there was nothing in the marriage contract that said she had to be the one looking after crabby daughters all the time. Colin could do his bit now.
‘Oh, for goodness sake, on you go,’ she said, spreading her towel inside the ring. ‘But they might not be very pleased to see you, you know.’
Olivia had dashed off across the beach without a backward glance. Maggie shivered.
‘And then?’
They were looking at her, these police officers, what were they thinking? Had they noticed her guilt, seen how much she regretted what had happened?
Maggie took a deep breath.
‘I watched her start across the beach and I could see Col and Joe at the rocks, they weren’t far away. But I... ’
Her voice trembled and broke, sobs welling up in her throat.
‘I didn’t watch her all the way round. I - I sat down and had a cup of coffee!’
Sheer terror doubled her up, and she tore at her hair, hearing her own voice moaning. Was Livvy in the sea? This time Colin did take her in his arms, and she clutched the front of his t-shirt, fighting for composure.
Howard bent towards them.
‘I know how difficult this must be,’ he said quietly. ‘But we need an accurate picture of what happened. That way, we can conduct the search more efficiently.’
One of the uniformed officers approached and murmured in Amanda Donnelly’s ear.
‘We can go inside now,’ she said to Howard, and Maggie flinched.
They had been searching inside the cottage. Looking for signs that Olivia had been hurt in some way. She led the way into the tiny living room and sank down on the sofa beside Colin. Howard sat opposite, looking expectantly at them.
Maggie forced herself upright and scrabbled in her bag for another tissue. She had to talk to this man, help him find Olivia.
‘I was looking out to sea at first,’ she said, wiping her eyes. ‘I was in the rocky ring but I could see the caves. The water was just up past Borrower’s. So I know Livvy didn’t go in there.’
‘Good,’ said Howard. ‘But you couldn’t see the whole sea line from where you were sitting?’
Maggie shook her head, trying to breathe calmly. It was impossible.
‘I’d have noticed if she’d run down to the sea,’ said Colin. ‘Joe and I were wandering from pool to pool. I did see her at one point, dancing about with Maggie, and I’m sure I’d have noticed if she’d clambered over the rocks to get further along the beach. So she must have come back up here.’
‘Mmm, yes,’ said Howard, and Maggie could hear the doubt. Sadness, pity and professional police manners were mingling in his face.
‘How much time passed between you noticing Olivia on the beac
h, and realising that she was gone?’ Amanda Donnelly asked Colin.
Colin shrugged. His mouth was still white round the edges, and Maggie saw a nerve twitch repeatedly at the corner of one eye.
‘Fifteen, twenty minutes?’
Howard nodded.
‘Do you have a recent photo of Olivia?’
Maggie reached for her handbag and gave him the snap she carried in her purse. Olivia, tousle-haired and happy, beamed out at them all. A birthday girl with her cake, a ‘sea’ cake with green and blue marzipan waves and three candles. It wasn’t very recent but it was the only one she had here.
‘Thanks. What was Olivia wearing today?’
‘A pink and white t-shirt, pink shorts and blue plastic sandals. And her hair’s longer now.’
‘There are recent photos in here,’ said Colin, handing over his phone.
Maggie felt a kind of numbness start inside her. She sat back, grateful as it worked its way up her body, taking over from the pain.
The sound of cars and voices came from the end of the lane. The search party had arrived.
‘I want to go with them,’ said Colin. ‘If they find Livvy I want to be there too.’
Howard glanced at him and then at Maggie, his face expressionless. ‘You should stay here, Mrs Granger,’ he said. ‘In case she’s found elsewhere. Detective Sergeant Donnelly will stay with you.’
A grim-faced crowd had gathered, some policemen and others in ordinary clothes. Most were armed with long sticks, and stood waiting quietly for instructions. The lane was full of cars. Maggie stood in the doorway and watched as Colin strode off with the first group of searchers, hands deep in his pockets.
There was nothing to do but wait. Policemen were searching along the lane, peering into the other cottages and opening garden sheds. They had dogs and Maggie had given them Olivia’s pyjamas for the animals to sniff.
She perched on the front garden wall, massaging her middle, where the muscles were aching as if she’d done a hundred sit-ups. After a moment Joe joined her, and she hugged him close.