On Deadly Tides

by Elizabeth J Duncan

  “We thought it best if they pick me up after supper this evening, after I’d had time to explain everything to you. And as I said, you’ve been very kind, and please don’t think I’m ungrateful. It’s just …”

  Penny reached out her hand and touched Louise’s. “Really, it’s fine. I understand perfectly. I’d feel the same way, I’m sure.”

  “Good. That’s settled then.” Louise looked at their untouched plates. “What should we do about these? I’m starting to feel as if I might be able to eat something.”

  “Me, too,” said Penny. “Let’s heat them up and try again. I’m a waste not, want not kind of person.”

  “So am I. Maybe we had the same kind of upbringing, even though we were on opposite sides of the world.”

  “I was raised by my grandparents, and we didn’t have much. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I understood the sacrifices they had to make to look after me.”

  Each carrying a plate, the women trooped into the kitchen and waited in front of the microwave while their food heated. When each plate was piping hot, they returned to the table, and as they tucked in, Penny asked Louise about her life in New Zealand.

  “Although we both come from Commonwealth countries, I don’t know as much about your beautiful New Zealand as I should. But I believe both our countries have something in common: stunning scenery. Mountains and glaciers and lush forests and so on.”

  Louise’s lips drew back at an attempt at a smile, but it somehow got caught on her teeth. She frowned and her head tilted to one side as she regarded Penny through thoughtful, slightly narrowed eyes.

  “When you mentioned the scenery just then, it reminded me of something that happened recently in New Zealand that sounds an awful lot like what your Colin is going through. A group of inexperienced and completely unprepared hikers went missing in a dense forest. They were lost for three days, and in harsh conditions. The story was all over the media, and fears were expressed for their safety. But somehow they managed to find a spot where they could get mobile service, and they were able to contact the authorities to let them know the group members were alive, but the problem was they were completely lost. No idea where they were, so how could they tell the searchers where to find them?”

  Penny groaned. “Oh no. What a terrible situation.”

  “Anyway, the police told one of the lost hikers to download this special app. Apparently, the whole world has been divided up into a grid, and three words are assigned to every square. So if someone in the missing group that you’re worried about can get that app and then tell the authorities their three words, the searchers can pinpoint their location and rescue them.”

  “Would it work even in remote, heavily forested areas?”

  “Yes, that’s the beauty of it. It works everywhere. Every square metre of the planet.”

  “That’s amazing! How have we not heard about this?”

  Louise shrugged. “Do you know if the group lost in Canada has access to mobile service?”

  “No,” said Penny, as a feeling of excitement began to rise within her. “I don’t know, but this is definitely worth a try. I’ll ring Bethan, and she can contact the RCMP.”

  “The who?”

  “The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They’re bound to be involved in the search at some level, and from one police force to another, I’m sure Bethan can get through quickly to the people in charge. Can you remember the name of the app?”

  “I don’t remember it exactly, but it’s to do with three words. My Three Words or something like that.”

  A few minutes later, she ended the call. “She was stunned,” Penny said. “She said considering how useful it is, it should be much better known than it is. Anyway, she’s passing on the information, and we’ll see what happens. Oh, and that app? It’s called What3words.”

  She beamed at Louise. “Thank you so much for suggesting that. I feel better now. When something goes wrong, doing what you can to try to put it right helps lighten the feeling of helplessness.”

  “Yes, it does,” Louise said softly.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” said Penny. “That was thoughtless of me. I didn’t think.”

  “No,” Louise replied, “it wasn’t thoughtless. It’s quite all right. Our two situations are completely different. Jessica never went missing, and I never had an anxious wait, wondering where she was or if she would be found safe. And besides, we’re going to do what we can to find out how and why Jessica died, and that’s exactly what you meant, and it is helping me enormously. And not only that, if my suggestion helps you locate someone you love, then that makes me happy.”

  Penny was struck by the word Louise had chosen: “love.” Did she love Colin? When is that moment that you realize you love someone? Or even become aware that you’re falling in love? It had been so long since she had experienced these feelings, but it was all coming back to her, the giddy swirling of emotions and the lifting in her heart whenever she thought of him.

  The two women finished their meal, and just as Penny was about to suggest coffee, a crunching of gravel outside Penny’s front window signalled the arrival of Rev. Thomas Evans and Bronwyn.

  “I don’t think we’ll stay for coffee, if that’s all right,” Bronwyn replied to Penny’s invitation. “I’ve left Robbie at home, and I don’t like being away from him for one minute longer than necessary. He gets up to mischief when he’s on his own, and I never know what I’m going to come home to.”

  “Looks like we could get some rain tonight,” Thomas remarked as he lifted Louise’s suitcases into the car. After ensuring his two passengers were settled, he said goodbye to Penny, got into the driver’s seat, and started the car. Penny waved Louise off in the care of the rector and his wife.

  She took a deep breath of evening air, then stepped back inside her cottage, locked the front door, and set about tidying up the kitchen and laying out her breakfast things ready for the morning. She opened the back door to let out her cat, Harrison, and then sank into the sofa for one last browse of Canadian media websites. Of course there’s no news, she scolded herself. It’s too soon. But with a bit of luck, maybe by morning. She leaned her head against the back of sofa and let out a long sigh of exhaustion mixed with relief. As much as she liked Louise—admired her even—she didn’t feel up to having company tonight, so it had worked out for the best that Louise had gone to stay with the Evanses. Probably better for Louise, too. The Evanses were the kindest, gentlest people Penny knew, and they could be trusted to take good care of her.

  Penny was surprised how emotionally and physically drained she felt, and in the gathering dusk, she was more than ready for an early night. Rather than switching on a lamp, she decided to just head upstairs, and after rechecking that the front door was locked on her way past, she climbed the stairs. She changed into her nightdress, and after giving her teeth the briefest of brushings and cleansing her face, she tumbled into bed and fell immediately into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  * * *

  She awoke to utter blackness and reached for her phone on the bedside table, to check the time. After groping for it and not finding it, she realized she must have left it downstairs. She switched on the bedside lamp and checked her bed. Harrison, who usually slept with her, wasn’t there. She sank back in bed and recalled the evening’s events. When she came to the part where she’d let Harrison out, she sat bolt upright. She couldn’t remember making sure he was back in the house, with the back door locked behind him.

  She swung her legs over the side of the bed, sat up, slid her feet into a pair of slippers, and walked to the top of the stairs. And then she sensed, rather than heard, a presence downstairs. She shrank back and stepped into the bathroom and stealthily closed the door. Yes. She could definitely hear soft footsteps, and with a pounding heart and her legs beginning to wobble, she heard the unmistakable creak of the bottom stair that could only have been caused by someone placing a foot on it. She lifted her bathrobe off the hook on the back of the door and slippe
d it on. As she cinched the tie around her waist, she felt marginally more in control.

  She held out her hand and touched the key in the lock of the bathroom door, but as she wrapped her fingers around its silvery coolness, she hesitated. What if turning the key made just enough noise to alert the intruder that she was in the bathroom? She withdrew her hand. The shower stall was surrounded by clear glass; there was no curtain to conceal her. She considered positioning herself behind the door in the hope that if it were opened, she’d be hidden behind it. But that carried the risk that if the intruder discovered her, she’d be trapped. So she flattened herself against the wall on the other side of the door, and if the intruder opened it, her best hope was to bolt down the stairs and make a run for it out the front door.

  She held her breath, afraid that the shallowest inhalation would signal her presence. She waited. And when a pinpoint of light pooled on the floor in front of her, and she heard the creak that came from the top step, she knew that whoever it was, they were here.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  She put her hand over her pounding heart, as if that would somehow slow it down. The beam of light showing under the bathroom door moved away as whoever was holding the torch advanced toward the bedroom where Louise would have been sleeping. Thank God, Penny thought, that Louise listened to that little voice in her head and is now safe at the rectory with Thomas and Bronwyn Evans.

  The beam of light was back, this time moving slowly in the other direction, toward Penny’s bedroom. The thought flitted through her mind that while the intruder was in there, she could try to escape. But that risked a direct confrontation, which might not end well for her. She remained frozen in place, and a few minutes later the light returned briefly, then disappeared, followed by the creak of the top step.

  She let out a long, slow exhale of the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, as the danger receded, and when her legs finally gave way, she sank slowly to the floor. And now, feeling it was safe to do so, she turned the key and locked herself in. She pulled the towels off the rail, spread them on the floor, and then lay on them, on her side, knees drawn up, and hands pressed between her knees. The towelling fabric felt both rough and comforting against her face as she gazed at the pipes under the sink.

  She strained to hear the slightest sound, but everything was quiet. And then, from somewhere in the distance, came the sound of a car engine starting up.

  She had no way of knowing what time it was or how long she’d spent in that position. Every minute was a struggle to stay in place, fighting the urge to run out of her cottage. But she told herself she had to wait until it was safe, until she was sure the intruder had left. She thought about Harrison. Was he inside the cottage, waiting for her downstairs? And then her churning thoughts turned to the intruder. What had he or she wanted? To silence Louise? To silence her? And an even more horrifying thought: to silence both of us? Or maybe it was just a burglar, here to take whatever valuables she had. Her laptop. Her phone. Her jewellery.

  Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she eased herself to a sitting position, and then, stiff and sore, she grasped the towel bar and used it to haul herself to her feet. She turned the key, grimacing at the sound it made, and waited, and when no sound came from downstairs, she eased the door open and then stepped lightly into the hallway. Without looking in the bedrooms, she crept across the landing and placed her hand on the banister. Then, one stair at a time, pausing on each one, she made her way downstairs. When she reached the entryway at the front door, she glanced into her sitting room. She couldn’t see it in the dark, but her phone, if it hadn’t been stolen, should be on the table in front of the sofa. She inched her way across the floor until she felt the table against her knee, then lowered her hand and brushed it along the table, hoping to touch her phone.

  It was there. With a huge sense of relief, she wrapped her fingers around it, then flew to the front door, unlocked it and bolted outside. As she raced down the road, she somehow controlled her trembling fingers enough to call Bethan’s private number. When the policewoman answered in a sleepy voice, Penny blurted out what had happened and where she was.

  Bethan, instantly awake, told her to wait by the side of the road and that she was on her way.

  A light rain was falling and the night air was earthy, with a hint of grass and flowers, as Penny stood shivering in her sleeveless cotton nightdress with just the light bathrobe over it. She rubbed her upper arms, trying to generate some warmth, and hopped lightly from one foot to the other. Her feet, shod only in thin bedroom slippers, were now wet and cold.

  After what seemed an eternity, two glowing headlights appeared in the distance, and then, as they got closer, Penny stepped out from the verge and planted herself in the middle of the road. When the police car stopped, she flung open the passenger door and threw herself inside.

  “Oh, thank God!” she cried. “I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life.”

  “You look frozen,” Bethan said, switching on the car’s heater before continuing down the lane to Penny’s cottage. She eased the car into the parking space, switched off the engine, and turned to face Penny.

  “Stay where you are,” she ordered. “I’m going to get the blanket out of the boot, but you mustn’t go into your cottage.”

  A moment later she was back. She unwrapped an airplane-style blanket from its cellophane protector, and when she’d placed it over Penny, she asked, “Where’s Louise? I thought she was staying with you. Why isn’t she with you? Don’t tell me she’s still in the cottage …” Her words evaporated into silence.

  “Oh no,” said Penny, realizing Bethan feared the worst. “She’s fine, as far as I know. She decided to stay with Thomas and Bronwyn because she didn’t feel safe here. Turns out, she was right. They picked her up after dinner and took her to the rectory.”

  “Given what happened at the Beaumaris Arms Hotel, you should have informed me there’d been a change of plan.”

  She spoke a few words into her police radio. “No emergency call logged from the rectory tonight, but I’ve sent a car over there to check on them, just in case.”

  “Oh, you’re not going to wake them up, are you?”

  “An officer will assess the scene, and we’ll take it from there. Now, tell me what happened here tonight.”

  “Someone got into in my house and came upstairs. It was terrifying. But the thing is, I’m really concerned about Harrison. Can you check and make sure he’s okay?”

  “I’ve called for backup. I can’t enter your cottage until they arrive, so we’ll have to just sit here for a few minutes. I promise you, I’ll check on Harrison the first thing I’m inside. Now, tell me everything you can.”

  Penny recounted how she’d felt utterly exhausted after Louise left, that she’d let Harrison out, and then gone upstairs for an early night and fallen asleep almost immediately. “But I think I did something really stupid.”

  “Oh, please don’t tell me you left your back door open when you let the cat out.”

  “I’m pretty sure I did. In fact, when I woke up and Harrison wasn’t with me, that’s the first thought that popped into my head. I was just about to go downstairs to look for him and check that I’d locked the door when I heard something. Or rather, I sensed that someone was down there, and then I heard a noise, so I hid in the bathroom.”

  “I’m glad you woke up when you did.”

  “I know. But please don’t say anything about the door. Don’t make me feel any worse.”

  “I’m not going to say it, Penny. People leave doors unlocked and windows open all the time, and nothing bad happens. You were just unlucky there, but in lots of other ways you were very lucky tonight. For one thing, you weren’t hurt. Home invasions don’t always end this well. And for another, Louise, who may have been the target, wasn’t here. I don’t suppose you know yet if anything’s been taken.”

  “No, I just got the hell out of there.”

  “And quite right, too. Y
ou did the sensible thing, staying where you were and then waiting until you were sure the intruder was well and truly gone before making your escape.”

  “I was desperate to get out of there, but afraid to move in case there was still someone downstairs.”

  “We have a saying in the police that in a situation like that you must wait as long as you can, and then wait some more. Your sense of time is distorted. What seems like an eternity is probably only a few minutes. In most home invasions, the goal is robbery; the intruders are there to steal whatever they can get their hands on, and they don’t want to run into anybody. Unless, of course, they need someone to tell them the combination to a safe or something like that, but usually they just want to get in, get their hands on whatever valuables are available, and get out, without bumping into anyone.

  “And I say ‘intruder,’ but there could have been more than one, in which case your chance of getting out decreases substantially. But why did you wait so long to ring me? Why didn’t you call from the bathroom? Were you afraid of being overheard?”

  “I didn’t have my phone with me. It was downstairs, on the coffee table. I grabbed it before I ran out the front door.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, that’s interesting. If they left the phone, that means they probably weren’t there to steal. So once your cottage is secure, I’m going to ask you to have a quick look around to see if you can tell if anything’s missing. But don’t touch anything. Do you have any good jewellery?”

  Penny conducted a mental inventory of the modest contents of her jewellery box. “I have a pair of custom-made earrings that I think contain precious stones, and there’s a diamond brooch in the shape of a snowflake. Both gifts from your old boss, Gareth Davies.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Asecond police are pulled up beside them, and two uniformed officers got out and approached Bethan’s side of the vehicle. She turned to Penny as the officers opened her door, and said, “You’re to wait here until I come back for you. No matter what happens, don’t leave the car.”