‘I need some coffee first. Let’s go and find somewhere and have five minutes sit down. Don’t know why it’s more exhausting shopping than working hard.’
‘Must be the crowds and the noise, I guess. OK, we’ll find some coffee.’
They went into a coffee shop on the high street and slumped down.
‘I’m having a piece of cake as well. Do you want some?’
‘Why not. I think we’ve earned it.’
They were both tucking into large slices of chocolate cake, when Rosie stopped eating and hissed,
‘Isn’t that Jimmy?’
Drew turned to look.
‘Yes, it is. But who is he with?’
‘Might be his brother. Looks a bit like him, only a cleaned-up version. If you know what I mean.’
‘I wonder if he could be the one we thought worked with computers. I’d love to know what they’re discussing so avidly. Obviously things are getting a little heated.’
Jimmy was thumping on the table and clearly arguing about something. His brother, if that was who it was, was telling him to be quiet. Suddenly, Jimmy noticed the two of them sitting staring and shut up immediately. He leaned forward and spoke to his ‘brother’, who turned to look at them. Giving brief nods of acknowledgement, the two men rose and left the café without speaking to the couple.
‘He doesn’t seem like the same person I’ve been working with for so long,’ said Drew thoughtfully. ‘Maybe it was him involved with trying to stop your project?’
‘Does he have any connection with the travellers?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe. Perhaps we should set some sort of trap.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. Something to lure him there and then be caught trying to wreck something. I’ll give it some thought. Now, if you’ve finished?’
‘I’ll go and settle up.’
‘It’s OK. This one’s on me.’
He rose and went to the cash desk. Rosie followed, and they went back to the car. Neither spoke much on the way back, both thinking hard about ways to establish Jimmy’s involvement in damaging her house.
Chapter 8
Rosie was driving her car, and they were almost home when her mobile rang.
‘Can you answer it?’ she asked Drew. ‘Press the green button.’
He did so and spoke into it.
‘Hallo? Rosie’s phone.’
He was silent for a few moments.
‘Yes, thanks. I see. Where will she go to stay, do you reckon?’
Another pause.
‘OK. I’ll make sure Rosie knows. Thanks for calling.’
‘So, what’s going on?’
‘It was the police. Apparently, Martha’s been let out of jail. They said they didn’t have enough evidence to charge her, so they’ve let her go.’
‘Crikey. Took them long enough. How long was she in prison?’
‘At least two months, I’d guess. They phoned to warn us to look out for her. Nobody knows what she’ll do.’
‘Poor old thing. I do feel sorry for her but there’s nothing we can do, is there?’
‘Course not. I think they were just a bit concerned she might come back to Porthcullion, and who knows where she might go?’
They arrived back at Drew’s and went inside.
‘I think I’ll just go up to the new place and make sure all is well. Oh, and I’ll feed the chickens,’ Drew announced.
‘I’ll go if you like.’
‘It’s OK. You could always make a start on supper. Unless you want to go out?’
‘I’ll cook something. Could do with a quiet evening watching TV, or something.’
Drew went off and Rosie looked to see what was in the fridge. She picked out several tired-looking vegetables and decided on a stir fry. Once she had chopped the vegetables, she looked at her furniture brochures for a while, before starting to cook. She glanced at her watch. Drew had been gone a long time. Maybe he’d found something wrong.
She went out to her car and drove the short distance up the lane, but could see no sign of him. She parked outside the house and went to the door. It was locked. She took out her keys, opened it and went inside. The house was all just as she had left it. Nobody had been inside, and there was no sign of her house-mate. Strange. She went outside to the chicken run and saw the birds hadn’t been fed. She gave them some corn and left them to it.
She pulled out her phone.
‘Drew? Where are you?’ she asked the impersonal voice of his answering service. It was all rather odd. He’d only walked up the hill and was coming to the house. Where on earth was he?
She walked round the building and all seemed to be well. She even looked into the garage but it was empty, apart from a few tools and cans of paint. She gave a shrug and went outside again. Maybe he’d gone down to the village instead of coming here. But why?
She carefully locked the door again and drove down to the village. She looked into the shop and stopped near the beach. The pub was the only other place. She went inside but it was empty.
‘Sorry. Just wondered if Drew was here. Not to worry. Bye.’
She felt distinctly stupid chasing after him, so went back home. She made some coffee and put on the TV. She’d wait a while more before cooking. Before long, she dozed off. It was getting dark when she opened her eyes with a start. Her coffee, now cold, was still on the table next to her.
‘Heavens,’ she muttered.
How could she have fallen asleep like that? There was still no sign of Drew and she really began to worry. He should only have been a few minutes and it seemed he had completely disappeared. She went outside and looked around once more. Nothing. She locked the door and walked up to her new place but it was all quiet, and still no sign of her friend. She walked down to the farm next door and looked by the barns. She heard a noise and turned to see what is was.
‘What you doin’?’ came a gruff voice. ‘Private property. No admittance to anyone, so gerroff.’
‘I’m was just looking for my friend. I suppose you haven’t seen him have you? I live next door.’
‘Nobody bin ’ere. Now clear off or I’ll set the dogs on ya.’
‘OK, OK. I’m going.’
She wondered who he was, this rough-looking man. He must be some sort of security guard, presumably appointed by the new purchasers.
‘Excuse me,’ she said, turning back. ‘Are you a security guard?’
‘That’s right, missus. Security guard. That’s me. And I’ve got a dog back there. So bloody well clear off. And stay away.’
‘Why do you need a security guard on the premises? I mean, it’s all pretty derelict isn’t it?’
‘Dunno what ya mean. It’s gonna be a major building site soon. Jus’ ya wait and see. Now clear off.’
He turned and went back into the farmhouse, slamming the door.
Rosie went back to her place and unlocked the door again. Still no Drew nor any sign of his having been there. She was getting more and more panicky as the night wore on, but there was still no clue. She wondered whether to call the police, then decided against it. He’ll probably be back any time soon and I’ll end up looking foolish. All the same, his van was standing outside, and he couldn’t have gone far just on foot.
She searched the street and even took out his keys to look inside the van, but it was empty of anything but his tools. She glanced at her watch. It was just turned midnight. There was quite a wind blowing and she shivered. She turned to go back inside, when she thought she heard a small sound from somewhere below her.
‘Hello,’ she called. ‘Is someone there?’
She listened hard and, hearing nothing more, turned to get in, from the weather – it was starting to spot with rain. Back inside, she hesitated with her hand on the phone. Should she ring the police or not? The doubts began to tumble round in her mind. Suppose that had been a cry for help? It sounded very feeble and rather distant.
She grabbed her mac and went out again
, this time taking one of Drew’s large torches. She walked the few yards to the cliff top and looked over. She shone the light beam down but could see nothing. She thought of the cliff on the other side of the small peninsular and went to look down that side. Again she shone the powerful beam down and saw a tiny patch of something pale-coloured, near the base of the cliff. She shouted down.
‘Is anyone there?’
A feeble cry came back to her.
‘Drew? Is that you?’
‘Help me,’ was the faint reply.
What on earth could she do? Obviously he’d fallen. She wondered how best to reach him. She’d left her mobile indoors, too.
‘I’ll get some help,’ she yelled back and ran along to the house to call 999.
‘I think he’s fallen and he’s right at the bottom of the cliff. I don’t know how to get down.’
‘I’ll call the coastguards – we may have to get the lifeboat out. You go back to the top of the cliff and please don’t attempt to climb down. Keep talking to him. Let him know help is on the way.’
‘Right. And you’ll send someone at once?’
‘Of course. Now go on. Get back to where you can see him.’
Rosie ran out, grabbing a thicker coat on her way. It was quite chilly – she worried about Drew, lying injured many feet below. She rushed back to get him a coat for when he was back on the top of the cliff and then remembered to lock the door. If only I’d looked over before, she thought. If she’d seen or heard him while it was still light, it would have been so much easier for everyone. She reached the point where she could call down to him and began to yell.
‘Drew? Someone’s coming! They won’t be long!’
But the wind blew her words away and she knew he couldn’t hear her. She flashed the light down the cliff again, at least he could see that. She called her message again and hoped the light had alerted him. She seemed to be there on her own for hours, but a glance at her watch suggested it had only been twenty minutes. At last, she saw lights coming along the lane and up onto the cliff top. She had never been so pleased as she was at that minute, seeing four large, red-clad men get out of the Landrover.
‘He’s lying almost at the bottom. I can’t believe he’s still alive after a fall like that.’
The leader of the rescuers took charge.
‘Right, well, we’ll see what we can do.’
They each had large flashlights and shone them down.
‘Blimey, you’re right, miss. What do you think, Sam? Do you think it’s climbable?’
‘I reckon we can give it a try. Though how the heck we’ll get him up, I’m not sure.’
‘Let’s get down and see what his injuries are. The lifeboat’s coming round from St Anne’s. They’ll take some time to get here, though.’
‘Thank you all so much,’ whispered Rosie, her voice weak with the emotion of it all.
‘Save thanking us till we have a result. Can you back the vehicle over here? We’ll fix some spotlights to shine down the cliff. It’ll help with the climb. Who’s going, then?’
‘I’ll go,’ volunteered Sam.
‘So will I, said another; this one called Joe.
Rosie watched as they took out ropes and put on lightweight gloves. The spotlights were rigged and she peered down to see if Drew was moving at all. He lay very still and she feared the worst. Suppose he’s dead? They’d all be risking their lives for nothing.
But, sensibly, she kept her fears to herself and almost began to pray. She had abandoned religion as a teenager and felt guilty, even trying to think about it now. How the hell had he fallen down there? It was a steep overhang and he could only been seen when you stood a little way off. Steep granite cliffs like this went right along the coast in the area. If you wanted to go to the beach it meant a long climb down a very steep path, or a drive round, along the narrow lane. The beach was on the other side of this headland and nobody could possibly walk round the point, even at the lowest tide. She held her breath anxiously as the two men began the slow climb down. It was painful to watch but they needed to be as careful as possible.
Sam was leading, with Joe following slowly behind, paying out the rope as he descended. Suddenly, he slipped on the now damp rocks. Luckily, Joe was in a safe place and he held on to the ropes tightly.
‘OK?’ he called.
‘Fine now. A somewhat slippery bit there. Watch it when you get there. Right?’
He stopped for a moment, holding onto the rope as Joe slowly made his way down. When Joe reached the same level, Sam set off again with Joe holding tightly to the rope‘It’s called “belaying”,’ one of the two others told her. ‘One person stays in one place while the other climbs and then it changes. The ropes stay hanging from the top of the climb so they have help coming back. Pitons are rarely used on these cliffs. Those’re the sort of pegs that you knock into the rock crevices to tie the ropes onto.’
‘Thanks for explaining that,’ said Rosie. She looked up.
‘Oh, there’s someone else coming along the lane.’
The lights heralded the arrival of a police car.
‘You all coping?’ asked the officer.
‘I think so. Haven’t quite reached him yet. I think the lifeboat will have to pick him up. We’ll never get him back up here. It’s much too rugged a cliff to bring him up that way. No point getting the helicopter out, either, as he’s so close in.’
The policemen looked down and saw the steady progress of the climbers.
‘You got your radio?’ he asked.
‘Yes. Weve called the hospital to send ambulance. We’ll wait to see where it will need to collect him.’
‘Right. Anything we can do?’
‘Not really. I’ll give you a call when we’re done if you like.’
‘That’s fine. You all right, miss?’
‘I suppose so. I just wish it was all over. I’m cursing that I let him go out on his own, anyway. It wasn’t really all that necessary. But I simply don’t know how he came to fall over like that.’
‘What do mean? You think he might have been pushed?’
‘Pushed? I hadn’t thought of that. But in line with all the stuff that’s been going on here, it’s not impossible.’
‘How do you mean?’ asked one of the men.
‘Oh it’s too long a story. Damage done to the house I’m building back there,’ she said indicating with her arm.
‘Bit of a serious accusation.’
‘Maybe. But someone was responsible and if they did push Drew over the cliff, they need to answer for it.’
‘I think we’ll stop this conversation right there,’ said the officer. ‘I’ll speak to you tomorrow. If there’s nothing we can do, we’ll get on our way.’
Rosie fell silent. Perhaps she had gone too far in telling the policemen she thought he’d been pushed over. But it really seemed most likely and to her, it was the only reason she could think of for him lying there.
She went to look down the cliff face once more. Sam and Joe were almost there. Then they reached him. The radio made a crackling noise and one of the two left on top heard it.
‘Hallo. You’ve reached him.’
‘Yes. Miraculously, he’s still alive. His breathing is pretty ragged and he’s not conscious. Lord knows what he’s broken. Looks like at least one of his legs, and maybe an arm. He’s got a massive gash on his head too.’ The speech was a bit broken but they all got the message.
‘The lifeboat should be with us fairly soon. Can you get him down a bit more?’
‘I think we might. If we can get him onto the sled. We’ll work on that next. At least he won’t argue with us.’
‘Tell him I love him,’ sobbed Rosie. ‘I know if he can hear, it’d be something he’d want to know.’
She turned away and found herself crying, seriously crying.
‘I can see the lifeboat coming,’ shouted the other man. ‘It’s just coming round the tip of the headland.’
‘I’m going to get the am
bulance to wait near the beach on the other side. The coastguard should be able to land there easily.’
He went back to the Landrover and dialled on a mobile. Rosie heard him giving the ambulance service all the details and telling them to go to the beach. She wondered how the residents would feel about all the dramas being enacted here on the cliff top. She shivered and pulled Drew’s coat over her own. Everyone seemed busy; too busy to speak to her. She went and sat close to the edge so she could see what was going on.
It was a small lifeboat, little more than a rubber dinghy, she thought. They had moored close to the edge where the action was, and one of its crew was climbing up to where Drew lay, now fastened onto a sort of sledge. Ropes were attached to it and the now three men began to lower it slowly down to the waiting boat. She watched as the rest of the coastguard team waited in the boat. The sledge seemed to stick and she could vaguely hear voices carrying in the wind as they tried to release it. It seemed to take an eternity and she felt so very helpless.
At last, he was aboard the lifeboat. The two climbers watched as it went away round the point. Rosie had expected them to go in the boat too, but now realised it was a little small, with the sled in it.
‘I think I might go down to the beach to see what’s happening,’ she told the cliff side team.
‘We’ll stay here till Sam and Joe get back up. We’ll drive down afterwards to make sure all is well.’
She went back to the house and collected her car keys and drove down to the beach. She saw an ambulance parked with uniformed man and woman waiting. They were looking out to sea. She parked close to the ambulance and got.
‘No sign of them yet?’ she asked.
‘Not yet. It’ll take them a few minutes to get round the head.’
‘But they’d disappeared round it before I set out.’
‘They have to go a way out to sea to make sure they miss the rocks. Who are you, anyway?’
‘I’m Rosie. I share a house with Drew.’
‘I’m Sophie and this is Charlie. So do you know what happened? It seemed a bit sketchy from what we were told.’
‘I think I heard someone say he’d got broken legs and arms. And a bash in his head. Oh goodness, I can’t bear the thought of him being so badly injured.’
The Phoenix Project Page 10