‘Do you have a key?’
Dan stopped the car and pulled the handbrake up. ‘Kind of.’
Naomi was confused. ‘How does anyone kind of have a key?’
Dan dragged a black canvas bag off the back seat and leant over to gently kiss her lips. ‘Come on.’
Naomi got out of the car. A house over the wall next door had a light on in an upstairs room. They didn’t speak as Dan led her round the back of the house to a large outhouse. Dan pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked a solid wooden door and flicked on a light. Naomi stepped into a warm room and her mouth fell open.
‘Whoa.’
‘Amazing, isn’t it?’
Naomi was looking at a small swimming pool. Undisturbed. Glassy green, maybe fifteen metres long and half that in width. It was a windowless room with a huge domed skylight directly over the pool.
‘I don’t like water,’ she said.
‘The planet is two thirds covered in it,’ Dan said.
‘I still don’t like it.’
‘I know.’ Dan smiled and produced a black swimming costume from his bag. ‘Remember this?’
She laughed. ‘How could I forget?’
‘There’s a bathroom over there,’ he said, pointing to the far side of the pool. ‘Put it on.’
‘No, Dan.’
‘Naomi, do you want to live your life in fear, or do want to kick some demons into touch?’
Her heart had started thumping. ‘I can’t go out of my depth.’
‘Can you swim?’
‘Only in shallow water.’
‘You can either swim or you can’t. See you in the pool in two minutes.’ Dan turned his back on her and stripped off his coat and top and started to undo his jeans. Naomi tore her eyes away and hurried to the bathroom.
Dan was swimming underwater when she emerged. He did a full length and popped up close to where she was hovering, arms crossed. He stood up. The water came to his waist. He pushed his hair back and held out his hand.
‘See? Shallow end,’ he said. ‘Come on.’
She sat at the edge of the pool and submerged her legs. The water was lukewarm, pleasant. Dan took hold of her waist and lifted her into the pool.
‘Dan!’
‘Trust me, would you?’ Naomi found the bottom and stood stiffly, unsure what to do. ‘What is it about deep water that terrifies you?’
‘I don’t know,’ she said, edging to the side of the pool. The water lapped at her chest. ‘I suppose the thought of having nothing beneath me that I can stand on.’
‘But you can already swim.’
‘But it’s the thought of my face being pushed into water with no air.’
‘Are you OK if your face gets splashed?’
‘It depends how bad the splashing is.’
‘So splash your own face. Come on, get yourself wet. Get used to the feel of the water on your face. Don’t avoid it, just do it here while your feet are planted. Take your time.’
Dan disappeared underwater for another length of swimming and Naomi sprinkled water on her face and tried to show willing. Dan swam up and down for five minutes while Naomi put her head back in the water and did her best to look wet.
Dan had black swimming shorts on. She could see him heading for her legs, and tensed. He popped up just in front of her and wiped his eyes.
‘OK, I’m going to lift you up. Don’t panic. I promise I won’t let the water touch your face, OK?’
She nodded. He lifted her and tipped her at a right angle until she was in the floating position on her back. His hands supported her.
‘Have you ever floated before?’
‘No. Please don’t let go.’
‘Just do as I say,’ Dan said in a calm tone. ‘Spread your arms and legs like a star shape. Close your eyes and relax.’
She spread her limbs and closed her eyes and saw spots of lights behind closed lids. Her ears submerged and brought a kind of underwater peace. With concentration, she could hear a faint tinkling, like little cymbals. ‘Don’t let go.’ Her voice sounded odd.
‘Don’t panic.’ Dan’s voice was dull and distant. ‘Now take a deep breath and fill your lungs with air.’ She did. ‘If I let go now –’
‘Don’t.’ She opened her eyes.
Dan smiled down. ‘I said if! If I let go now, you would float, as long as you didn’t panic. Can we try?’
‘No.’
‘How about I let go with one hand, and if you’re sinking I’ll hold you with both.’
Naomi’s pulse was driving hard. She felt ridiculous. ‘OK, just one hand then.’
‘I’m just lowering it slightly,’ Dan said as she felt one hand withdraw. ‘It’s still right under you, OK?’
She was supporting herself more or less. She stayed afloat quite easily. ‘That’s OK,’ she said.
‘Right, now take a deep breath and keep your lungs full of air. Close your eyes and relax. Imagine you’re on a warm beach with the sun blazing down. How many clouds are there in the sky?’
‘None,’ she said, eyes sealed. ‘It’s completely clear.’
‘What colour is the sand?’
‘White, no pebbles, but a few scattered shells and the beach is empty. There’s only you and me on it.’
‘I’m there, am I?’
‘Course you are. You’re wearing black shorts. Your hair is wet but there’s a patch of light on it from the sun. We’re on an island. It’s really peaceful and beautiful.’
‘I like the sound of this. What else can you see?’
‘Turquoise sea, for miles. And lots of happy palm trees.’
‘Happy?’
‘Yeah. They’re swaying in the breeze, like they’re nodding, and some birds are flying high towards a blue horizon. The sea meets the sky there, but the sea is a shade darker. The difference is subtle.’
‘I really want to go to this island of yours,’ he said. She felt his lips meet hers briefly, then his hands on her back.
‘Don’t let go, Dan.’ She opened her eyes. Dan was grinning.
‘I already did. You’ve been floating for the last minute, all by yourself.’
‘Really?’
‘My hands were right beneath you, but you didn’t need them.’ He pulled her gently upright and she found the tiled floor again. ‘Well done.’
‘I can’t believe I did it.’
‘You did.’
‘I wish my swimming teacher at school had been like you, but he was an idiot. After I learned to swim, he led me into deeper water with one of those long stick things that you can grab if you get tired. Once I was out of my depth, he withdrew the help and I panicked. Someone had to dive in and rescue me. I thought I’d die of embarrassment.’
‘That’s cruel.’
‘Like I said, he was an idiot. I refused to swim out of my depth again because I didn’t trust him.’
‘Would you say you have issues with trust?’
‘After Tom and then Nathan? Definitely.’
‘Look at me,’ Dan said, cupping her face in his hands. His eyes were the colour of the sea she’d just pictured. Small droplets of water clung to his dark lashes. There was a small line of hair on his stomach leading down to his shorts. ‘I won’t let you down. That’s a promise.’
His hands were cool against her cheeks. His lips were wet.
‘That’s what Nathan said.’
Dan’s phone signalled a text from his bag, which drew his attention. He made his way to the side of the pool.
‘Who texts at this time in the morning?’
‘My thoughts exactly,’ Dan said, hauling himself out of the pool. ‘I’d better go and check.’ He dried his hands and scanned the message and returned to the pool.
‘Who was it?’ Naomi asked.
‘No one you know. It’s nothing,’ Dan said. But his eyes said something different.
21
Henry turned into the drive at Alderley Edge and weaved down the length of the path between trees and bushes. The treehouse was t
o his left, visible through the naked foliage. Henry missed this place. He missed the space and the extra staircase and his downstairs study and his garage. He even missed Richard, his neighbour, and his much younger wife. Being in a new neighbourhood was isolating.
Henry parked close to the front door and glanced about him as he got out of the car. He missed the garden too and the way the sun swept to the back of the house late afternoon, to bathe the kitchen in soft tones and warmth.
He unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The girls’ portrait still hung in the hall. Strange that Camilla hadn’t found a space for it in the new house. Beneath it was a lamp on a timer, so that a light came on every night. The kitchen was bare, but Camilla had left a kettle and a tray beside it with essentials for making drinks.
Henry filled the kettle then drifted upstairs and into the spare room that they’d called Lorie’s. Everything was undisturbed as far as he could tell; the pictures still hung, and the curtains were as neatly arranged as the bed. He pulled the top drawer open and found some woollies. The second drawer held scattered underwear and a pair of pyjamas. The bottom drawer was mostly empty apart from a pair of jeans and a white towel.
Henry emptied the drawers and put the items on the bed before checking the wardrobe, where another half dozen things hung in one corner.
A car was crunching the gravel. Henry had left the front door slightly ajar. He returned to the kitchen to make drinks, and shouted, ‘Come on in,’ as he heard the clink of high heels on the stone steps.’
Lorie didn’t answer.
‘I’m in the kitchen,’ Henry called, grabbing two cups. Lorie liked strong coffee without sugar, and lots of milk. He was unscrewing the coffee jar when a stranger walked in and startled him.
She stood in the doorway. ‘Knock, knock,’ she said and smiled. She was maybe early thirties, mid-length dark hair, straight and shiny with a long fringe swept to one side, covering one eye. She was wearing black jeans, a transparent burnt-orange blouse with a long open black cardigan and knee length high-heeled boots, jeans tucked in. Henry found himself swallowing.
‘Hi,’ she said. ‘Sorry, I’m Lorie’s friend. She had to go into work this morning, but didn’t want to ruin your arrangement, so she asked me to swing by and get her stuff.’
‘Ah,’ Henry said, not sure if he was disappointed. He’d looked forward to catching up with Lorie, but this friend of hers was smiling so warmly that he realised that any initial disappointment had already evaporated.
‘I’ve heard lots about you, Henry. All good of course.’
‘Thank you. Where are my manners? Come in,’ he said. ‘I was just making a drink. Lorie always had coffee –’
‘Coffee’s fine,’ she said, walking forward, holding onto a big handbag draped over her right shoulder. ‘I’m Amber.’
‘Just like your top,’ he said, naturally looking down, finding she was wearing dark underwear beneath it. He turned away, busied himself.
‘It’s my favourite colour,’ she said. ‘I love bold colours.’
‘It suits you, Amber – the name and the colour.’
‘Thank you.’ She paused a beat. ‘You have the most amazing house here, Henry. I can’t imagine why you’d want to leave it.’
A few responses crossed Henry’s mind, but he settled for none of them. ‘I didn’t want to leave,’ he finally admitted while filling two cups with boiling water. ‘But, it was for the best. Milk, sugar?’
‘Milk, no sugar. I’m sweet enough.’
Henry laughed. ‘Let’s say we outgrew it,’ he said, stirring, ‘or it outgrew us, more like. There comes a time to move on to simpler things.’
As he turned to hand her a steaming cup, she was right in front of him. She must have been five-nine. Her face was very close. She had beautifully made-up eyes and a tiny silver stud in her nose above bright orange lips. Henry was trying to drag his eyes away when she spoke.
‘You don’t look like the kind of man who’d relish a simple life, Henry. Isn’t it more exciting to add a few complications just for the fun of it?’ She raised her eyebrows and blew into her cup and slowly sipped. She watched him carefully over the rim.
Henry wasn’t sure what to say. ‘I do like to keep my mind active.’
‘Just your mind?’ she paused, sipped again, ‘Or do you work out?’
‘I play golf. Just golf really,’ he said.
She laughed. ‘But that’s a summer sport. What do you do in the winter?’
He sighed, realising he never had the energy for exercise. He felt beaten at home, defeated. He’d become an old bloke nodding off in his chair during the afternoon with nothing to do. ‘Not a great deal.’
She sipped again. ‘Join a gym, Henry. I go to Hazel Grove Recreation Centre four nights a week. They do everything. Swimming, gym, fitness classes. I like to keep in shape.’ You succeed. The words bounced into his mind before he could stop them. ‘It’s good for the soul,’ she said, eyeing him over her cup again. Henry turned away to add milk to his drink, though he didn’t need it. Good for the soul? He liked the sound of that. Besides, Camilla had been hinting that he was getting porky. Maybe it was time to shed a few pounds and boost his confidence.
A hand stretched out to the side of him and deposited a cup. Her nails were long and immaculately painted in the same orange shade. ‘Anyway, Henry. Thanks for the cuppa. I don’t want to hold you up.’
‘You’re not doing. Not at all.’
‘Shall we go up to Lorie’s room then and see what we can find?’
<><><>
Nathan arrived at the roundabout in Bramhall and continued down Bramhall Lane. There was little hope of finding the house unless there was a stroke of luck. He threaded down this street, that lane, looking for clues. Anything. A recognisable car, someone at the front, the best garden in Bramhall if that failed. Not that Camilla would’ve have had time to put her stamp on a garden yet.
Nathan pulled up at the side of the road to think. If Camilla was moving, where would the stuck up cow want to live? He explored a few words: secluded, private, stocked, mature. He discounted main streets right away. Camilla’s house would be tucked away somewhere. There’d have to be a substantial garage for Henry too. Nathan signalled and pulled into the road and continued to swim around the streets, eyes everywhere. For half an hour he hunted and drew a blank.
Maybe he’d passed it already. Who knew? He stopped an old woman on the pavement who was struggling to push a giant shopping bag on wheels. Old people had too much time. They noticed things. He explained that a new family had moved into the area with two adult girls and that he’d lost the little slip of paper they’d given him with the address. It’d never occur to the old bat that people had sat navs and carried mobile phones everywhere and that no one needed to search for addresses anymore. She’d never remember his face from months ago. She shook her head and pressed on with her shopping at the pace of an old tortoise.
Nathan swore at her, but by now he’d zipped the window up and the woman was out of earshot. Where to look next? He signalled to pull out and carried on. By now he found he was passing the same houses and the same people and the same bus stops like The Truman Show.
Out of ideas and pumped with frustration, Nathan gave up. He was trying to unravel his way out of the place when Henry suddenly passed in his Jag. Nathan’s stomach flipped. There was no recognition from Henry at all. Nathan waited a few seconds and swung into a U-turn. Henry signalled right. Nathan kept his distance and followed him into the right bend just in time to see Henry disappear into a left turn. Nathan hurried to shadow him. Henry was several metres in front. It was a long lane, tree-lined. Nathan had ventured down here at least twice already. At the top, Henry signalled again and turned for the final time. Nathan didn’t follow this time, but stopped at the top of a cul-de-sac and watched Henry vanish into a private corner.
‘Got you,’ Nathan said, sighing with elation. Finally, a change of luck.
Walking down the drive of the ho
use next door, there was a man clutching a clipboard to his side with one hand. He was wearing a suit and a fake smile and a long black coat. A woman was following him, thirty, thirty-five, pink lips, cream coat. The guy turned and shook hands with her. The garden was overgrown. Black Coat looked like an estate agent. He might as well have been wearing a badge. He got into a white Audi and pulled his phone to his ear and started to talk and use a lot of hand gestures. Pink-lips got into a black Range Rover and fired the engine. It looked like the Hamiltons were getting a new neighbour.
Nathan grinned and decided it was time for home.
<><><>
Naomi’s alarm sounded for the fifth consecutive day, but she was awake already. She’d started to look forward to pool time with Dan. In four days, she’d learned to float and to tread water, and to dip her head in the water face first. All this was done in the shallow end. They’d waded a little deeper to tread water, but she could stand if she wanted to. She hadn’t been in the deep end, but she knew that Dan wanted to lure her there.
She concentrated on the achievement of the week rather than the fear of what might follow, and sprung out of bed. The icy air beyond the duvet was a shock. She peered out of the window as she pulled a thick, knitted jumper over her head, and found the nearest lamppost. The path glittered with frost beneath it. Siobhan was snoring to her left. Snugpooh, her battered bear, was unblinking, undisturbed.
She dressed and brushed her teeth and let herself into the icy morning. Her breath billowed in front of her as she hurried to the end of the path towards the promise of comfort and warmth. She could hear a car engine. As she rounded the corner, Dan was waiting by the school gates.
‘Hey!’ she said as she climbed into the car.
‘Today’s the day,’ he answered. ‘Deep end.’
‘No way!’
‘Yes way. You can do it.’
‘I feel as though you’re luring me to my death.’ She yawned.
Dan laughed, but the yawn was contagious and he caught it. ‘A bit dramatic. I’ll be right beside you. There’s nothing to fear.’
‘I haven’t felt this weird since we moved to Bramhall.’
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