The Island Angel

by Alex Slorra

  Pushing herself up, she fetched a pair of pliers from Anna’s junk drawer in the kitchen. On her return, she pinched the pipe back into shape, hoping it wouldn’t split. With the pliers tucked in her back pocket, she headed inside.

  In the kitchen, she reset the heating and turned on the tap. She heard the boiler fire up and felt the water change from cold to warm and then become too hot to keep her fingers under.

  “That was easier than I thought.” She laughed, pleased Anna could now have a hot bath for her birthday. Jessica pulled the pliers out of her pocket to put them away and, as she did, an envelope fell out. It was the one David had given her. She picked it up and was surprised to find it contained a hundred pounds with a scrawled note.

  Thought we should give you some of the money from our gig. If you want to be part of the band, give me a call, Jay. Thanks again.

  It was the first time in weeks she’d had actual money. Even though it was a small amount, she felt the loosening of the vice-like tension that had been crushing her ribs into her lungs. She remembered Anna’s watch and removed it from her jeans. She placed it on the kitchen table, before darting up to the bedroom.

  After she’d slipped on clean clothes, she dashed down the stairs with the gig money in her hand.

  The house keys were in the bowl beside the door. Jessica grabbed them and, once the door was locked, hurried towards the village. She’d have enough time to get Anna a card and present. But— Her pace slowed. Luck like this doesn’t happen to me without something going wrong.

  ANNA ARRIVED HOME at eleven, an hour early. The tide chart she’d read in the morning indicated noon would be the latest she could cross. While waiting for her appointment at the clinic, she checked the chart again, realising she’d been looking at the wrong day and the tide was due in much sooner. She raced back to the causeway, crossing it with the waves lapping the edge of the tarmac—an occurrence that seemed to happen more often than not whenever she went to the mainland.

  “What a horrible birthday present,” she muttered, pulling in beside a black Audi sports car. With her forehead pressed against her steering wheel, she gathered her strength. “He’d better not have a fucking present for me.”

  She fought to unfasten her seatbelt. The button for the buckle had broken a month before, and now it took a delicate touch to get it to disconnect. Her fifteen-year-old Ford Fiesta was definitely on its last legs. She took a deep breath and gently coaxed the belt to release her. She got out and slammed the door, instantly regretting the action; she couldn’t afford any more expenses.

  Inside the house, she found John sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee and tapping on his phone with the thumb of his right hand. On the table, a bunch of flowers was in a measuring jug filled with water.

  Waves of annoyance flashed between her temples until they distilled into quiet indifference. If he can help me in any way, dealing with him will be worth it.

  He hadn’t changed much, perhaps put on a few pounds, but he still looked very much the dapper English gentleman, dressed in smart cords and a white, striped shirt without a tie. On his wrist was a Yachtmaster Rolex.

  “When did you get here?” Anna asked, popping her handbag on the countertop.

  “About an hour ago. Sorry, I let myself in. You still have the spare key in the tool shed.” He stood. “It’s good to see you again, you look—”

  Anna held up her hand with her palm facing him. “Let’s keep this professional. I’m glad you’ve come to help Jessica.”

  “I’ll do what I can.” He slipped the flowers forward, before shoving his hands into his pockets. “Happy birth—”

  She frowned, trying to control her anger. “Professional, please.” She thought she was over it, his affair, his lies, but the rage still gnawed at her insides. “I need a coffee. Do you want a refill?”

  “Sure. Thanks.” John handed over his cup. “So where is this Jessica?”

  “She must be outside.” Anna flicked the mixer lever forward on the sink to fill the kettle and gasped. “The water’s hot!” She turned and looked at John. “The boiler’s working? Did you do this?”

  John approached her.

  Anna saw her sister’s watch on the table and snatched it up. She closed her fingers around it and held it tightly against her chest. “You found this as well?” A tear broke free, and she wiped it away. Anna’s mind was racing. Dots were connecting, but she felt the wrong shape was emerging.

  Before she could stop him, he wrapped her into a hug.

  SHE’S ALREADY HOME. Jessica walked past Anna’s red Ford and another car. Hell, and her ex is here as well. She quietly stepped into the house, tucking the carrier bag with a present and card for Anna under her arm.

  To her left, she caught a glimpse of two people hugging. A tall broad-shouldered man and Anna. It had looked a bit more than a friendly hug. Are they getting back together? Is that the real reason she asked him to come here?

  Her thoughts skipped through everything Anna had told her. Nothing had suggested this, except the phone call yesterday when she had heard Anna call him “darling.” Unsure, she drifted backwards and lifted the keys to the Saab from the bowl near the door.

  ANNA PUSHED JOHN away. “Back off. I don’t want you to touch me!”

  “Of course… I understand. I’ve not done things right. I shouldn’t have—”

  “Enough.” Anna stepped away, still holding her watch close to her heart. She examined his face carefully. Fuck… What the hell is he saying… And where’s Jessica? She swallowed.

  His face was expressionless, with no sign of blushing; his hands were unnaturally at his side as if he was on stage.

  “Where did you find my watch?” Anna asked.

  A few seconds passed, and he remained motionless. “I didn’t,” he finally answered.

  “The hot water?”

  “Not me.” John crossed his arms.

  Anna grimaced; she had assumed, if only for an instant, it had been him. Why, she wasn’t sure. She replayed what had happened and understood. Most people give off telltale signals that would provide clues. As a lawyer, John was a poker player of sorts, so he reacted in a way which would give him an advantage, independent of the truth.

  She knew it was best to be direct when dealing with his ilk. “If I hadn’t asked, would you have admitted you hadn’t done those things?”

  “I’m a lawyer, I never admit to anything. But course, I would have.”

  Anna knew his attempted joke to be a half truth. She wondered how much of her relationship with him had been misstatements that worked in his favour. The question she had now was a critical one. Will he do the right thing for Jessica?

  “Why do you want to help me?” Anna asked without emotion.

  “You asked me to come. And the case sounded intriguing. Plus, as you said, I owe you a few favours… And I suppose I wanted to see how you were doing.”

  She didn’t like his answers. She couldn’t tell which of the four were important to him and they didn’t seem to be enough of a reason for him to come. She knew how he worked. He always made things out as if he was being altruistic when that was rarely the case.

  She tapped her fingers slowly on the table, considering if she should send him away. Even if I can’t trust him, Jessica might get something useful from him. It’ll be better to get the most out of something bad then throw it away. As long as the smell doesn’t linger. She laughed out loud, then stifled it with her hand. When did I become a philosopher?

  He shifted from one foot to the other. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. Sit. I’ll find Jessica.”

  As Anna approached the front door, she noticed it was ajar. She never forgot to close it. Did Jessica come in—God! What did she see?

  Anna ran across the farmyard. It had started to rain but, midway, she realised Jessica’s Saab was not parked in its spot by the barn.

  She spun around, sped back to the house, and grabbed her keys, without a word to John.
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br />   The rain thudded against the roof of her car as her trembling hands tried to key the ignition. “For Christ’s sake!” She ducked down to see the exact alignment and rammed the key in.

  THE CAUSEWAY HAD been consumed by the sea. Jessica turned off the engine. She wasn’t sure if the tide was going out, so she waited, watching its level rise on the road sign ahead. She thought about attempting to cross, but the warning read: “DANGER! Do not proceed when—” The rest was underwater. The windscreen had started to steam up but, even through it and the heavy rain, she could tell the tide was on the way in.

  The nausea, which had started when she had left Anna, had grown exponentially. Cupping her face with her hands, she tipped her head against the driver’s window. Enough is enough. Time to turn myself in. She hadn’t expected to have a future with Anna, but it was a horrible way for it to end. She thought about Myra from when she’d been a teenager. “At least it’s not as bad as that. I’ll have to—”

  The passenger side door opened, and Anna hurled herself into the seat. Rain and a cold wind accompanied her.

  “Jessica! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Anna’s breathing came in fast gasps.

  She didn’t know what to say. Anna’s face was distorted with anger but, behind it, concern showed in her blue eyes.

  “You’re crap at keeping promises! And if you think something is going on between me and John, you’re crazy!” Anna closed her eyes. A few seconds passed, and when she spoke again, her tone was filled with sadness. “You know, I moved here because I thought the tide would help to protect me from Abbie’s father. But I didn’t know it would also keep the person I love from leaving me.”

  Jessica’s eyes found Anna’s. They were filled with tears.

  “If you must leave, at least do it in the morning so I can say goodbye.” Her words had turned to sobs. A stream of rain from the gap in the soft-top poured onto her shoulder, soaking her ivory sweater.

  Reaching out, Jessica grabbed the side of Anna’s jumper and yanked her desperately towards her. She tucked her head close so their cheeks were pressed against each other. “I’m sorry. I’m just messed up.”

  “I know. But how do I get you to understand? How…? I love you, and I need you to stay. Please.” After a minute, Anna pulled away and stared at her. “So?”

  Jessica let her tears fall. She tried to say the words but couldn’t. It would end with too much pain. The last time she had spoken them, so many years ago, Myra had been nearly beaten to death.

  “I see,” Anna said, her voice trembling. She twisted in the passenger seat, pulled the latch on the door, and flung it open.

  “Anna, wait!”

  Anna looked over her shoulder towards Jessica.

  “I love you,” Jessica blurted out. Her whole body shook, and the words were almost lost in the sound of the rain.

  “Then come home.” Anna slammed the door closed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ANNA DROPPED DOWN onto the bed, muffling her sobs with a pillow. Jessica had become entwined into the fabric of her being in the most intimate way, and she couldn’t face losing her.

  “Why is it so damn hard for her to understand?” She grabbed a pillow and dragged it over her head. She knew Jessica would come back. But will she stay? What the hell is wrong with her? She flipped onto her back with the pillow pulled tightly against her face. What is the point of asking bedsheets these questions!

  She thought about phoning Sarah, but what would she say to her friend? She’s leaving me because she thinks… What is Jessica thinking? She doesn’t tell me anything.

  The sound of the bath being filled caught her ear, and she rolled, slipping her legs off the end of the bed. Only then did she feel the throbbing pain in her thigh. The bedroom door opened, and Jessica padded in. Without saying a word, she sat down beside Anna and put an arm around her waist.

  “Why do you always try to leave?” Anna’s voice trembled with sadness. She thought maybe this was being too direct. But it was her way and the part of herself she didn’t want to change.

  Jessica’s eyes flicked down to the rug covering the planked floor. “I’m afraid.”

  “Of what? Prison? That’s not going to happen.”

  “No. I thought it was that, but it’s something else.”

  “Talk to me.” Anna used two fingers to push Jessica’s hair around her ears. “Tell me, or this will be a world of pain for both of us.”

  Jessica’s eyelashes fluttered before she rubbed them with her free hand. “I think it’s to do with my first relationship. And it’s why I stopped playing the guitar. Something happened, and it was my fault. So, for me, every silver lining has a cloud. And it seems when I find something I love, it gets taken from me.”

  Anna gave Jessica her best stern stare, the one she used to encourage Abbie to admit she had eaten four cookies before dinner. “Tell me again. But replace all the somethings with the actual things. It’s me, remember. I’m not some stranger in a pub.”

  Pressing her chin to her collarbone, Jessica started to speak. “Myra Bedi. She was the first person I came out to and told I loved. I was sixteen, playing in our local pub, and after, we went to get a Chinese takeaway a few doors down. While we were waiting for the order, a guy from the pub came in as I was kissing her, said something about needing to show us what a man was really like. I told him to fuck off, and he punched me in the jaw. When I woke, I was in an ambulance. I couldn’t see Myra, and no one would tell me what had happened to her.”

  Anna hadn’t expected this. She’d thought it would be just a broken heart. But this sounded sickening. The lack of emotion in Jessica’s delivery added to her dread. It was as if she was reading a news story; she seemed to have disconnected herself from the events. Anna rubbed the back of Jessica’s neck as she continued.

  “It was weeks before I found out she had nearly died of internal bleeding from the beating he had given her. After that, she wouldn’t see me. Her parents wouldn’t open the door when I tried to visit her. She wouldn’t answer any of my messages. And that was it. I never saw her again.”

  As much as Anna wanted Jessica to talk more about what had happened, she knew that couldn’t be done. Her own experiences, and what her mother had gone through after the death of Emma, caused a big red warning light to flash. Jessica had packaged up the ordeal in a shoebox, and she was reading the label on the top. Now’s not the time to open it.

  Anna kissed her and pulled her in for a hug. “So, you’re a bit broken, like me. We’ll share the bits that work to make us whole. Okay?”

  Jessica gave a forlorn smile. “Sure,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  “I love you too… But I suspect the bath is overflowing, and the kitchen ceiling will collapse.”

  “Shit!” Jessica bolted to her feet, but Anna kept hold of her hand.

  “It’s okay, John’s down there. We can dig him out later,” Anna joked.

  “I was pouring the bath for you…for your birthday.” Jessica rolled her eyes and grimaced. “I got you a card. A present.”

  Anna stood. “You found my watch and fixed the hot water as well, don’t forget.”

  “I’m sorry, I’ve made your birthday hell.”

  “No!” Anna put her fingers on Jessica’s lips. “You said you loved me. That was hard for you to say and I can have a bath for the first time in a month!” She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and kissed her firmly. “Bath or Jessica? Bath or Jessica? Hmm? I think both.” She slipped her hand into hers.

  “I better go downstairs and talk to John, hadn’t I? He’ll be wondering what we’re doing.”

  Anna gave a mischievous grin. “God, that would mess with his head. I like it!” She yanked Jessica down the hall towards a cloud of steam.

  Crouching by the tub, Jessica turned off the taps with an inch to spare. The white bathroom was small, with a ceiling that followed the slope of the roof. Various seaside themed knickknacks hung on the walls. There was a driftwood mirror above the
sink and a collection of seashells in a bowl on the windowsill.

  Jessica rolled up her sleeve and pulled the plug to drain some of the water away. “John could leave,” she said, replacing the plug.

  “He won’t. I think he’s looking to get back with me, which is fucked up.” Anna undid her jeans and slipped them off. “But, thinking about it, the sooner you talk to him the sooner we can get rid of him.” She yanked her wet sweater over her head. “And, for the record, he hugged me without my permission.” Tangled in folds of her jumper, she inched towards Jessica. “Help!”

  Jessica freed a shirt button snagged in the wool of Anna’s sweater. Anna undressed. In her birthday suit, she wrapped herself around Jessica and kissed her. “Thanks for my present. Awesome sauce.” She slipped into the warm bath. Sighing with contentment, she reached for Jessica’s wrist. “Jess, I don’t trust him, obviously. But he’s an expert lawyer. You’ll need to decide if you want his help.”

  JESSICA OFFERED JOHN a coffee, which he declined. She wasn’t looking forward to the discussion.

  At the kitchen table, she dropped onto the stool opposite. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “The beginning,” he joked.

  “Well, first the universe cooled. Is that too far back?” She checked her tone, reminding herself she needed his help.

  He mimicked a politician’s smile. “Well, we are time constrained.”

  Stop messing around. You have to do this. “I suppose I’ve everything to lose,” she muttered.

  “I didn’t catch that.” His head tilted to one side.

  She forced herself to uncross her arms and straightened. “A month ago, we had an incident at the place where I work, Hokthorn. It’s a software company.” She noticed he wasn’t taking notes. “Do you need the exact dates?”

  “Not at this point. Just an overview.”

  “Well, I was woken in the early hours and told an update had gone wrong, affecting the majority of customer systems. By the time we cleaned up the mess, my company’s shares had lost most of their value. The investigation concluded that I instigated the issue by doctoring a test script, but also by changing the code to break our customer systems. The Serious Fraud Office was called in. They accused me of equity fraud.” Jessica let out a slow breath. “I had cashed in on Hokthorn options prior to the incident, and I still held stock in the previous company I worked for. A competitor. Their stock rose as a result of our bad update.”