‘That café should be able to provide a sandwich without too much delay. Will that do?’
‘That will be fine.’
As they ate, they went over all Lowri knew and Alun added details of what had happened to him. The similarities were compelling.
‘Surely the police will re-examine the case against your father when we face them with this?’ Alun said.
Lowri shook her head. ‘I don’t think they’ll listen unless the money turns up and with Ellis dead that isn’t going to happen, is it?’
‘Why did you think the isolated hut was where you’d find some answers?’
‘I found a key to which there was no lock which someone else tried to find. At least, someone searched my room and I happened to have had it in my handbag. Then there was the man who locked me in there. Oh, I know Dic doesn’t quite believe me,’ she added quickly, ‘but I didn’t imagine having my face pushed into the earth.’ She stared at him, his blue eyes so clear and honest. ‘Do you believe me?’ she demanded.
‘I have no reason not to,’ he replied, looking straight at her, a reassuring expression in those remarkable eyes. ‘You don’t strike me as an over-fanciful person. If you say it happened, I believe it did.’
‘Thank you.’
‘What happened to the key?
‘It was taken by the man who attacked me.’
‘D’you think your father would see me if I applied for permission? The more facts I have before talking to the police the better.’
‘Mam might not be too keen. Her visits are too special to share, and besides she’s decided that to encourage him to keep on hoping for a pardon unsettles him. Better he should concentrate on getting through the sentence. I think she’s right.’
‘Then it’s just you and me.’
She stared at him and then smiled. ‘That’s right. You and me against the rest.’ She took the hand he offered and they shook solemnly.
‘First, I want you to tell me where I’ll find this hut.’
‘That’s easy. I’ll take you there. Dic will come as well. He used to go there with my father and his, when they used it to store fishing gear. They’d sleep there sometimes when they were planning to fish a very early or a late tide.’
When Alun contacted him and suggested the three of them went to look again at the hut, Dic agreed to take Alun but he insisted they went without Lowri.
‘I want to cool down the idea of Jimmy Vaughan being freed and encourage her to concentrate on today and tomorrow instead of yesterday.’
‘That makes sense to me. I would like to see the place if you’ll come with me.’
‘We’ll go when Lowri is at work.’
They set off early the following morning, Dic leaving a friend in charge of the shop, and parked near the cliff path that would lead them to the area. They walked quietly and approached the hut warily, keeping undercover of the surrounding trees and bushes until the small building came into view. Neither had discussed a need for caution but they both crouched under a covering of bushes and watched the door as though expecting someone to appear.
Minutes passed and there was no movement and with a self-deprecating grin, they moved forward towards the door. Dic had no key but, depending on what they saw inside, he was prepared to kick the door in if necessary. The door had been protected with a metal bar and padlock; there was no chance of that.
Peering through the window, the grime still showing the clear patch Lowri had made with her hand during her imprisonment, they saw that the place contained fishing equipment.
‘There’s an awful lot of it,’ Dic said.
‘More than you’d need for a short fishing trip,’ Alun agreed. ‘Someone is preparing for a long voyage. There are water carriers and a paraffin stove and boxes of stores.’
‘I don’t know what I was hoping to find, but this is clearly nothing to help us.’
‘Curious though. Will the owner tell us who is using it, and why?’
‘Several people have used the place over the years – it’s a long time since it was used by shepherds.’ Alun walked around, kicking at the stones and rubble that had collected near the walls and he bent to pick up a small key. ‘This isn’t the one Lowri lost, is it?’ Dic shook her head. ‘Unlikely, but you should show it to her anyway.’
As they walked away, Dic asked, ‘Fancy a run into Mumbles and a coffee? We might get some oysters, they used to be very good there.’
They parked the car and walked towards the beach, then continued along the road towards the pier. At the slip, where boats went out into the bay, Dic saw Marion. She was walking along holding her little girl’s hand. He pulled on Alun’s arm and stopped him. A brief explanation and they watched as the couple went on to the sand and sat down to play.
As they began building a sandcastle, Dic chuckled. ‘Talk about Lowri being obsessed! I’m as bad as she is! Marion and Sandra playing sand castles. What can I find suspicious in that?’
‘The way she’s looking around as though she’s expecting someone?’ Alun observed.
A few minutes later, a rowing boat came towards the shore and Marion and the child waded out amid much laughter and climbed on board. The rower kept his head turned away as he helped them on board and as he was heavily dressed, it was impossible to see his face. The boat was brought around and rowed out to where a sleek, cabin cruiser was anchored. The group was too far away to be recognized. They wouldn’t even have known it was Marion if they hadn’t seen her earlier, the distance was too great and the man was wearing a padded coat with a hood over his head. With the boat towed behind, the powerful twin-engined boat took off towards Gower.
‘I wonder who it was?’
‘I don’t know but I do know that boat,’ Alun said. ‘She’s The Sunflower and she’s been in Jake’s yard for maintenance.’
‘Can you find out who owns her?’
‘I know who owned her when Jake worked on her – a man called James Harry, but he died a few weeks ago. I could ask if his widow still owns it.’
‘We’re being stupid, aren’t we?’
‘Almost certainly. Marion is being given a little treat by a wealthy friend. And we’re a couple of old women! No harm in finding out a bit more though.’
Instead of stopping for coffee, they went to Cwm Derw in time to meet Lowri at lunchtime.
‘What are you two doing here?’ she asked, smiling as they walked towards her.
‘We’ve come to take you out to lunch.’
‘Something really exciting, like chips in the café?’
‘Better than that. Fish and chips from Gwennie Flint’s chip shop. I’ll go and get them, you get the table set. OK?’
As they ate, they explained where they had been and told her about Marion’s boat trip. Alun showed her the key which she recognized as the one she had lost. She slipped it into her handbag.
‘So much for encouraging her to forget it,’ Alun teased, when Lowri went to make more tea.
‘So, you couldn’t get into the hut?’ She frowned as she returned to her seat. ‘Why did you want to if you didn’t believe someone attacked me?’
‘We do believe you,’ Dic assured her.
‘I wanted to see the place and Dic came with me,’ Alun explained. ‘We both thought it wiser for you to stay away. If someone is looking for something you might have, it’s best you avoid being in the wrong place again.’
‘Please, Lowri, stay well away from there,’ Dic added. ‘Anyway, it’s padlocked and being used by someone to store boat equipment.’
‘Ellis loved boats.’
‘Don’t, Lowri,’ Dic pleaded. ‘There’s nothing to be done except support your parents and help them through this.’
Later that day, Alun went to see the widow of James Harry and learned that she had sold the boat, The Sunflower, to Marion Lewis. Could it be linked with Ellis? Had he survived the sea on that day, to enjoy his wealth with Marion and her child? That, he decided with a wry smile, was truly fantastic. He talked to Dic and although they were bot
h unconvinced, they admitted to being curious.
‘Where could someone who does a bit of housework get the money to buy such a beautiful boat?’ Dic wondered. ‘If only we could watch Marion and follow her for a while, we might find out who this man of hers actually is. But we’re probably no better than nosy old women looking for a bit of gossip.’
‘You can’t follow her, you have the children and the business, but I can,’ Alun said. ‘I’m only casually employed by Jake to keep the yard clear and the office relatively clean. It’s probably a waste of time and, as you say, we’d be accused of being inexcusably nosy if we were caught, but I want to try.’
‘If we find out he’s a cowardly little man who’s leaving a wife for a younger woman, that will be gossip and we’ll let it go, but even the slender chance of finding some connection with Ellis Owen at the end of it makes it worth trying, doesn’t it?’
‘And helping Lowri.’
‘Yes,’ Dic admitted, ‘that most of all.’
‘Someone must have the money and from what you tell me, it doesn’t appear to be his widow. There has to be someone else.’
‘Marion couldn’t get the money to buy that grand cabin cruiser.’
‘She obviously bought it in her name but for someone else. Someone who wants his name kept out of it? At least that’s a starting point, and after all this time that’s more than we could have expected.’
*
Lowri and Ken went to the pictures the next evening, and with his arm around her shoulders and the romantic story unfolding before her, Lowri was seduced into believing that for her, love and future happiness lay with this kind and considerate companion. But, as they walked out of the warm cosy darkness into the light, hand in hand, leaving behind the artificial romance depicted on the screen, she admitted to herself that kind and considerate were not adjectives compatible with a deep and lasting love. Marion’s words returned: ‘an all consuming love, a love that makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do’. With deep regret and the frightening feeling that she was alone, she knew she had to tell him she would never love him enough to become his wife.
He took her home and stayed for coffee and toast, which she spread with a mixture of margarine and the top of the milk to make pretend butter. She felt her heart racing with anxiety as she prepared to tell him, first as they made their snack, then when they were eating it, each time failing to find the words and the moment. Then as she hesitated, she decided to wait for another day. They’d had such a good evening it was a shame to spoil it.
She admitted her cowardice and finally faced it. When he’d put on his coat and was reaching for her for a good night kiss she blurted out, ‘Ken, I’ve grown very fond of you, but I can’t marry you. I don’t think I love you. It isn’t fair to pretend it might grow. You deserve better than that. I’m very sorry.’
He was shocked, his face stunned by the unexpected end to what had been a pleasant evening.
‘Is it because of my parents?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘And you don’t love someone else?’ She shook her head.
‘Then can we go on being friends? You never know, your feelings for me might change.’
‘I want you as a friend, but I don’t want to stop you meeting someone else, someone who loves you as you deserve to be loved.’
He didn’t know what more to say and the kiss that had lingered in the air faded and he gave her a brief hug and, promising to see her soon, he left.
The house seemed more empty that she’d ever known. The low hiss of the gas light the only sound. She was too alert to sleep and she slipped a coat over her shoulders against the late evening chill and sat for a long time, thinking about Ken, and Dic and her parents and wondering if she would ever find happiness.
How much of her decision to turn Ken away was down to her foolish dream of finding the answer to her father’s problems? Being the devoted daughter and becoming a heroine? Had she become so obsessed with an impossible dream that it was ruining her life? She knew she had been stupid to believe even for a moment that Ellis was alive. No one believed her, even though Dic and Ken pretended to out of kindness. Now, in the quiet comfort of the old house, she didn’t believe it either. Was that all she could expect? Kindness? She knew it wasn’t enough. Something had to change, but what?
She touched a match to the candle to light her way upstairs when she heard a sound. A faint tapping on the glass of a window or door. She lowered the gas light to the smallest glimmer and went to the kitchen. It was impossible to see anything. Then the small white shape of a hand appeared on the glass pane and a voice called, ‘Lowri, it’s me, Marion. Can I come in?’
‘What on earth are you doing here at this time of night?’ Lowri asked as she opened the door.
‘I hurt my ankle and I can’t walk. Can I stay till morning? Then I’ll go straight to the doctor.’
Lowri couldn’t resist saying, ‘Only if you’ll tell me what’s going on.’
‘I can’t. Does that mean you won’t help me?’
‘Of course not.’ Lowri turned away, irritation rising and Marion came in and locked the door.
‘I fell off a bike.’
‘Come on, Marion, let’s have the truth for once.’ She was tempted to tell her Dic had seen her getting into a luxurious boat with her daughter, a boat she had bought, longing to face her with what she knew, but held back. She stood waiting for her to speak.
‘I don’t want my mother to see me like this.’ She turned her head and exposed her arm and Lowri gasped to see the skin on her face and upper arm grazed and red and angry, and her limbs shaking. When the light was turned up Lowri could see the unmistakable sight of blood in Marion’s hair.
‘Marion! It looks very painful. How did it happen?’
‘I fell off a bike.’
‘Come on, Marion, falling off a bike wouldn’t give you those cuts and bruises. Tell me the truth!’
‘Please, Lowri, don’t ask questions.’
‘You look as though someone pushed you over a cliff!’ To her alarm, Marion burst into tears and at once Lowri was ashamed of her persistence and stepped back from her wrath. ‘I’ll help you bathe the cuts and make you a hot drink.’
‘Thank you,’ Marion said, trying to hold back her sobs.
‘Your bed’s made up. I’d better fill a hot water bottle for you, it will help you sleep.’ She bathed the extensive wounds and treated them with salve then helped her friend to undress and settle into bed, leaving a candle burning on the landing in case Marion woke in the night. Then she went to her room, confused thoughts rattling around in her head. The dangerous cliffs dropping sheer down to the sea near the hut were where rescue organizations sometimes trained for mountain and sea rescues. How could she have fallen there? She’d never mentioned an interest in rock climbing and was too sensible to risk going close to the edge.
When sleep eventually claimed her she dreamed a confusing montage of Ken chasing Ellis, Dic supporting Ken’s parents in their dislike of her, and Marion falling off a bicycle into the sea. At midnight she awoke and remembering what had happened, she looked in on Marion and went downstairs to make another hot drink. After returning to bed she slept easily and awoke refreshed.
She went down without disturbing Marion and made tea but when she knocked and went in to give Marion hers, the bed was empty. Marion had gone.
Eleven
Alun sat in a pub and quietly sipped his pint. He exchanged a few remarks with other customers but watched the doorway. The man he was waiting for didn’t know him, but Alun thought he’d be interested in what he had to say.
Finding Harold Saunders had been easy. He’d used his usual process of finding out where the policeman involved with Jimmy Vaughan’s arrest lived, guessing which of the local pubs he would use, then a few more casual questions had led him here to The Red Lion.
Harold came in at eight o’clock and by good fortune sat near Alun where he could watch the game of darts taking place. To co
mment on the course of the game began a conversation and soon the two men were chatting like friends. Then Alun introduced the subject of Ellis Owen.
‘Isn’t it near here that Jimmy Vaughan lived?’
‘Not any more. He’s in prison, for fraud.’
‘Yes, he was cheated by Ellis Owen the same as I was, yet the law allowed him to get away with it. Doesn’t that make you angry?’
‘Sorry, I don’t know what you mean?’
‘I owned a restaurant and Ellis was my accountant. He disappeared and I was left with huge debts and a reputation for robbing my own firm in the hope of claiming on insurance. Sound familiar?’
‘You have proof of this?’
‘No, but I don’t believe in coincidences like that one, do you?’
‘If you have evidence of a miscarriage of justice, why don’t you go to the police?’
‘Oh, I have, and just like Jimmy Vaughan, I begged them to believe me, but Ellis Owen is clever.’
‘Was, you mean, he drowned.’
‘Dead men don’t walk!’
It took a while but gradually his words were more and more convincing and Harold agreed to go with Alun and take his story to the police station. If it were true the coincidence was remarkable. He’d met a few nutters in his years as a constable, but Harold was tempted to believe the man partly because he wanted to. He’d always been half convinced of Jimmy’s innocence anyway. They arranged a time and Alun left, pleased with his progress.
The young constable on the desk took details but doubted there would be any action taken. ‘With the suspect dead,’ he said reasonably, ‘what do you expect us to do?’
Alun could hardly try to convince him that Ellis was alive. He would be instantly classed as a ‘nutter’ as Harold had already warned. At least the subject had been noted, he thought, and that was all he could expect at present.
Harold Saunders watched the big man walk off, still unconvinced, but already doubts were growing. He went to call on Terri, Ellis’s wife.
Terri looked hot and flustered and he said, ‘If this is an awkward time… I was just passing and thought I might scrounge a cuppa.’
False Friends Page 21