by Lu Hersey
“That’s a shame. It would be so much more interesting if it was. Anyway, I get it – the rug thing must have burned in the fire. You didn’t have it in the ambulance anyway…”
I smile at him. “Thanks.”
If I’m lucky, the police won’t even ask about it.
chapter 36
“I’m afraid Mr Crawford wants to press charges against you.” The policeman looks almost apologetic.
“What? His dog practically kills me, bites my friend and my sister – and he wants to press charges?”
“Don’t worry, we know the dog is dangerous. Your father has already expressed his concern about future public safety if the animal isn’t kept under control. That’s not what this is about.”
“So what is it about?”
“Mr Crawford says you stole something from him.”
“Rubbish.”
“He said it was a valuable sealskin that he had for his taxidermy hobby. Do you know anything about this?”
I feel a flash of anger. How dare Crawford say it was his?
“He stole it off my mother in the first place. You know she was a witness at his trial years ago? He probably wanted revenge.”
“A sealskin? Why would your mother have a sealskin?”
“Her father was a fisherman. He drowned. She doesn’t have very much that he left her. So she took it to the beach closest to where his boat sank on the anniversary of his death.” So far I haven’t told a lie, but I’m having to think on my feet. It’s difficult when you’ve got a head as fuzzy as mine is this morning.
“Are you saying Mr Crawford took it from your mother?”
For some reason, tears start welling up in my eyes. “I think so. I don’t know for sure because Mum’s been in hospital since that day.”
“So where is this sealskin now?”
“Crawford threw it in the fire.” The tears spill down my face. I can’t help it. For some reason thinking about all this is bringing back the whole horrific episode. The more I think about that fire, the more I can’t believe I survived it without burning myself alive.
The policeman speaks gently. “He says you ran off with it.”
“That’s ridiculous. He’s barking mad. He even accused me of causing the fire.”
The policeman says nothing. I take that as a good sign. It’s true Crawford accused me of starting the fire and they now know he lit the bonfire himself.
“Is that all? Do you think I could go soon? I have to visit Mum in hospital.”
The policeman smiles. “You’re free to go now, Miss Lancaster. We just needed to clear that up before we proceed with our investigations. Thank you for your cooperation.”
I smile at him gratefully. “That’s okay.”
“And I hope your mother gets better soon,” he says kindly, as he switches off the voice recorder.
When we finally get out of Bodmin police station, it’s nearly lunchtime and Dad has to take Michelle to her mum’s. I’m catching a bus back to his place later when I’ve visited Mum in hospital.
I give Michelle a big hug. “Hope your arm is better soon, Shell.”
“I’m okay, Danni. Will I see you next weekend?”
“Definitely. Even if Mum’s better and we go home, I’ll be coming back to Cararth to see you and Dad at the weekend.”
“Good. I’ll look forward to it.” She grins at me.
“Me too.” I ruffle her hair and give her another squeeze before she gets in the car.
As soon as they drive off, Levi and I start walking down towards the market place. He’s arranged to meet Sarah there before he goes back to Graymouth. Now Dad’s out the way, I’m anxious to know how he got on at the police station.
“So how did your interview go?”
“It was fine. They were really nice to me. I told them you nearly killed yourself trying to get something out of the fire when Crawford threw it in, and I managed to drag you out and save your life. I’m hoping they’re going to give me a medal.”
When I look at him, he’s grinning from ear to ear.
“In your dreams.” I smile. “So when’s your train?”
“Four.”
“I’ll come to the station to see you off. What time are you meeting Sarah?”
He looks at his watch. “Five minutes.”
“Okay then – have a good time. And thanks, by the way. See you later.”
Levi starts to run, and I turn off towards the hospital.
The ward smells of flowers. That’s a first. As I approach Mum’s room, I hear voices. One of them is Mum’s.
I put my head round the door. Mum is dressed and sitting on the bed. Robert is sitting next to her. They’re deep in conversation. They both look up as I open the door wider. Mum gasps in delight when she sees me, and jumps up to give me a massive hug.
“Danni, I’m so, so sorry.”
I don’t ask why. I just hug her back, for a very long time. “That’s okay, Mum. Just try not to do it again, all right?”
She laughs. It’s the best sound in the world right now.
“I’d best leave you two to talk. Be seeing you soon, Mary.” The way Robert looks at Mum, it’s obvious how much he cares about her.
“I’ll get in touch as soon as they let me out of here.” Mum blushes. I’ve never seen her like this before.
“And thanks for this.” She picks something up from her beside table and holds it out for Robert to see. The heart-shaped stone. So it wasn’t Mamwyn who left it. Robert and Mum gaze at each other in a way that makes me feel almost uncomfortable, but I manage to smile at Robert.
“See you, Robert. And thanks for all your help, especially yesterday. You’ve been amazing.”
“Tha’s all right, girl.” Robert looks at me shyly. “I took that thing you gave me to your grandmother, just so you knows. You take care of your mother now, won’t youse?”
“I will.”
Robert’s already told Mum a lot, but we’ve still got so much to talk about, I don’t know where to start. So I ask about the one thing that’s really bothering me.
“Mum, you must have known what was going to happen to me. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
She buries her face in her hands for a moment. “I kept putting it off, Danni. At first it was because I’d never told your dad anything about my past and I wanted to keep you away from Ancrows because of what happened to me. Then as you got older it got more and more difficult to go back on it. To suddenly tell you about your grandmother and everything.”
“But what about the changing? When were you thinking of telling me about that?”
She takes her hands away from her face and sighs deeply. “I know it was wrong not to say anything. I was half waiting to see if you got any of the symptoms, secretly hoping that if I just encouraged you to keep swimming, it might not happen. I thought spending so much time in water might be enough. I realise how mad that must sound now. As you got older I worried more and more. And I felt so guilty that I hadn’t told you anything, not even about my family.”
She looks at me. “I know none of this is any excuse. You must have completely freaked when it started.” Her eyes well up and her voice goes all shaky. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know if you can ever forgive me. All I can say is I genuinely didn’t know I wasn’t going to be there for you when it happened.”
I give her another hug. “Look, I understand, Mum. It’s not your fault you weren’t around. Crawford saw to that. I just wish you’d told me earlier, that’s all.”
We spend the next hour going through everything that’s happened to me while she’s been in hospital, and she tells me lots of stuff about her childhood. I get the feeling it’s a relief for her to be able to talk about it. She’s kept everything bottled up for so long. Finally we get round to talking about the day she went missing.
“It’s hard for me to admit it, Danni – but I’ve always blamed Mam for not saving my father. I knew she was angry with him after he sided with Crawford and became one of
the Chosen, but I couldn’t believe she was so angry that she didn’t go and save him.”
I nod. I don’t tell her I’ve already read her diary, so I know about her parents arguing all the time.
“Then I found the key in the wreck. It must have been round his neck when he drowned. I knew instantly what it meant. I was so shocked. And I felt so bad about Mam, the way I’ve treated her all these years.”
“So how come you ended up on the beach?”
“That I don’t know, I’m afraid. After I found the chain, I don’t remember anything until I woke up in hospital. I guess I must have hit my head on something.”
I don’t say anything for a moment. I don’t want to ask if she remembers Crawford finding her on the beach. I hope not. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.
I’m startled out of my reverie by a quiet tapping on the door. I jump up to open it, expecting a nurse or Dr Murphy.
“Mamwyn!”
“Is it all right for me to come in?” Mamwyn sounds anxious and my heart goes out to her.
“There’s no one I’d rather see,” I say, and I mean it. We smile at each other.
“I called my grandmother Mamwyn too,” says Mum, her voice catching with emotion. Tears start spilling down her face. “Oh, Mam, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I kept you two apart.”
Mamwyn’s eyes well up too. She sniffs and pulls a tissue out of her pocket. She hands one to Mum. “Dry your eyes, Mary love. It was never your fault, I know that.”
Looking at them together, I realize they need time to talk to each other. They’ve a lot of years to make up for.
“Mum, I’ve got to leave in a minute – I want to see Levi before he goes back to Graymouth. I owe him big time for yesterday.”
She nods. “From what you’ve told me, it sounds like I do, too.”
I smile. “I’ll come back and see you both later. But before I go – there’s one thing that’s been really puzzling me. Why was Crawford waiting for the spring tide at the equinox before he tried to burn the sealskin? I couldn’t work it out.”
Mamwyn doesn’t hesitate. “It’s the highest tide of the year and the time when the connection between the sea and the land is closest. Though I’m not sure how he’d know that.”
“Beryl would have told him, I expect,” says Mum. “She’s always hated me. She’d know it was a very powerful time and probably their best chance to send the skin back where it came from.”
“I’m guessing she just didn’t allow for Danni being there,” says Mamwyn thoughtfully. “I’m only sorry I didn’t make it there in time to help you myself. I knew something was up, but I went to Porthenys to look for Crawford. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to get to the fire in time.”
I shiver when I think back to the fire. “I couldn’t have saved it without Levi, Mamwyn. And Robert’s charm was incredible, you should have seen the way the weather changed!”
“Yes, but it was you who pulled the skin out of the flames. You could only do that because you were at your most powerful, like the tide. We are sea people, water is part of who we are. It protects us.”
I remember the faint smell of brine and seaweed at the heart of the fire.
“That helps explain why I didn’t get burned. Levi couldn’t believe it.”
“Water is a powerful force. Stronger even than fire,” says Mamwyn.
Mum rubs her arms thoughtfully. “If you hadn’t saved it, I’d still be stuck in that limbo place. Maybe for ever.”
I stare at her a moment. “It’s kind of surreal talking like this, Mum. We never used to talk about anything more important than what shift you were working at the supermarket and what we were going to eat for tea later!”
Mum’s eyes fill with tears. Again.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Nothing, Danni. I just can’t believe we got through this. I’m so lucky.” She insists on squeezing me in another hug, sort of laughing and crying at the same time.
“I hope you’ll come and see me again soon as well, Danni.” Mamwyn smiles at me.
“Of course I will. Can’t wait!”
I check the time quickly. “But right now, I have to go or I’ll miss Levi.”
As I walk down to the station, I mull over everything Mum and I just talked about. There’s such a massive difference between her childhood and mine. Was I really better off not knowing about Ancrows and her past?
However much she wanted to protect me, Mum must have realized she couldn’t prevent what was going to happen to me. She knew I’d need to go to Ancrows sooner or later. Surely it would have been better if I’d known from the beginning, like she did when she was growing up?
I think about Mamwyn and the gift of the changing. From now on I want to spend as much time as I can with her, learning the ways of sea people, our language and history. My only worry is how it’s going to affect my life in the everyday world, keeping such a huge secret from everyone.
Maybe Mamwyn’s right – I think too much.
I realize I’m late to meet Levi and start running. By the time I get to the station, Sarah has already left to meet up with her friends and Levi’s sitting on a bench on the platform.
He smiles at me as I plonk myself down next to him. “So how was your mum?”
“She was great. Back to her old self – no, much better in fact. Happy. I never thought of her as happy before.”
“Thank goodness for that. You’ll finally be coming back to Graymouth.”
“Yes, I guess so. Won’t be for a few days yet though. Mum needs to be let out of hospital, and she wants us to spend some time with Mamwyn. She feels really bad about the way she kept me away from her.”
“Does that mean you’ll be staying at your dad’s place more often now?”
“Definitely! I want to be here every weekend if I can.”
“Pfft! That’s just because of Elliot. What about me? What am I supposed to do?”
I push him. “Idiot. You can come too, whenever you like. I suppose I can put up with you.”
He grins. “Seriously though, how’s your mum going to feel about you being here every weekend? She hates it here.”
I shrug. “I’m pretty sure Mum’s going to feel differently now. Especially since she seems to have a bit of a thing for Robert.”
“What, the homeless guy? For real? Wow.”
“She went out with him before. Years ago. Before Crawford’s trial.”
Levi looks thoughtful for a minute. “Danni, when I spent the afternoon with Elliot, he told me a lot of stuff about his family. He had to explain about the way Ancrows used to be, and the curses and everything so I’d understand what we were looking for.” He looks at me steadily. “He told me about your family too.”
I wonder where this is leading. “What about my family?”
“Why people were afraid of you. Why his Aunty Bea and Crawford hated you. His mum used to tell him stories about the sea people.”
“What kind of stories?” Levi has my complete attention. I want to find out exactly how much Elliot knows.
“You have a reputation.”
“Thanks!”
“Not that kind of reputation.”
“So what kind then?”
“That you can change into something else.”
I attempt a laugh. “A frog? A princess?”
“A seal.”
I’m trying to hide my panic. “Oh that. Yes, I’ve heard the stories too. Do you think Elliot believes them?”
“Doubt it – he was just telling me what his mother told him.” Levi raises an eyebrow. “But that thing you pulled out of the fire…” He pauses a moment and looks up at the departures board. “Oh look, my train’s just coming.”
Thank goodness he’s veered off the subject. I want to keep it that way. “Have you got everything?”
“I think so.”
We stand up and move across the platform as the train pulls in with a squealing of brakes. The information announcement crackling
over the loudspeaker drowns everything out for a moment. Levi climbs on board, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He leans out of the door before the guard blows his whistle.
“So anyway, Danni—”
“Yes?”
“The rug thing. It was a sealskin, wasn’t it? The police said so.”
For a moment I can’t think of anything to say.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean…” I stammer.
“No, of course not. But I couldn’t help wondering.” He grins at me. “Will it be okay if I call you Flipper?”
He closes the door quickly and pulls a silly face at me from behind the safety of the glass window. I can’t help smiling. Levi was just winding me up. I stick my tongue out at him, and wave as the train moves away into the distance.
My phone beeps. It’s a message from Elliot wanting to meet up later. I leave the station and walk out into the sunshine with a big fat grin on my face.
author’s note
Deep Water reflects my interest in Celtic myth and folklore, and what I call the old ways – systems of ritual, magic and pagan belief that stretch far back into pre-history. I’m fascinated by the unwritten legacy handed down to us via oral tradition in legends and folk tales, and the clues to our past still visible in the landscape, such as ancient standing stones aligned to reflect the seasonal movements of the sun and the moon. People still use deceptively simple things to create powerful magic – sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but in a way that is very real to those who believe in it.
Folklore and magic in Deep Water
I have tried to weave some of the Cornish witchcraft and folkloric traditions uncovered in my research into the fabric of Deep Water. Poppets (like the one Aunty Bea makes), though similar in many ways to voodoo dolls, are specific to Cornwall, and you can find many real examples in the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle.
The poppets in the museum were mostly found hidden in chimneys or under floorboards – often by people doing building work in old cottages. The pierced figures (usually wax or clay) were made incorporating nail clippings or hair, presumably of the intended victim.
At one time Boscastle (Ancrows in the story) was known as a place where fishermen could buy weather charms, sold on the quayside by local “wind sellers”. Obviously any means of controlling the weather would be invaluable to those whose livelihood depended on going out to sea.