Her father was already backing down from the misgiving he had voiced. ‘Yes, you’re right. He probably found my room by chance. And I might have misheard him. I was half asleep at the time, and in a panic. For all I knew at the time, he could have had a gun or a knife on him.’
‘What if he really was after you, though?’
‘You just said you thought it must have been chance he happened to hit on my room.’
‘I did,’ Lucy agreed, ‘but we need to consider every angle and it’s possible someone is out to get us. How did he get in?’
‘I’m not sure. If he didn’t get in through the door, then the only other possibility is the balcony, although I’m pretty sure I locked the doors.’
‘What about the missing key?’
‘What missing key? I never said anything about a missing key.’
‘I mean mum’s key to your room. She didn’t leave it behind when she went, so she must have taken it with her. What if she dropped her arm band and someone found it?’
‘No one would know which room it came from.’
‘They would if they knew whose key it was.’
Her father’s good eye opened wide in surprise.
‘Your mother would never let a stranger know the number of our room if he had taken her key. You’re letting your imagination run away with you again.’
He was tired after his disturbed night, so they arranged to meet at lunchtime and she left him to rest.
‘You should try and get some sleep yourself,’ he told Lucy before she left. ‘You were up half the night too.’
‘I’m not really tired. I think I’ll just go for a walk down on the beach.’
Her father looked apprehensive. ‘Don’t go far.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ll stay near the hotel.’
19
HER FATHER WAS SLOUCHED in a chair in the hotel lobby when Lucy returned from the beach. Catching sight of him as he started forward, she felt a flicker of hope that he was waiting to tell her Angela had returned. His face told another story.
‘Where have you been? I was worried sick about you. You’ve been gone all morning.’
‘I just went for a walk.’
She did not add that she had been ferreting through the trees and undergrowth along the beach near the hotel, vainly searching for clues to her mother’s disappearance. Her father gazed earnestly at her as he asked her to promise she would never disappear like that again without first telling him where she was going. She should have protested but he looked so vulnerable, she felt like crying instead. She gave him her word. More than ever before she was determined to find her mother.
Neither of them wanted to stay at the Garden of Eden so they walked about a quarter of a mile along the beach to the next hotel, and sat on the patio drinking lemonade and beer. They agreed it was lucky her father had woken up and disturbed the intruder before anything had been stolen. Through the mirrored sunglasses he had bought that morning his inflamed eye was invisible even at close quarters, but his bruised face distracted her whenever she looked at him. She tried to focus on his lenses but her attention kept wandering to his bruised and swollen nose, and she felt very protective of him.
‘Does it hurt?’
‘Not really. Don’t fuss, Lucy, it’ll be fine.’
As she sipped her lemonade, her father told her he was going to hand in his key for reprogramming before he went to bed that night, just in case someone had found the other key to his room. He drained his beer and went to the bar for another bottle. Lucy sipped her lemonade and waited for him to come back, formulating her plan. By the time he returned she had reached a decision.
‘Dad, hang on to your key as is. Don’t get it reprogrammed. Not yet.’
‘What? Why not? If— when your mother comes back we can sort out her key card at reception.’
‘It’s not that.’
‘What then?’
Frowning with the effort to explain, she urged her father to consider the possibility that the intruder had knowingly taken the key from Angela. At least they should not rule it out.
‘Not that again,’ he said, rubbing his forehead and frowning. ‘I thought we’d agreed it must have been a random burglar.’
‘The point is we don’t know. All I’m saying is that it’s possible, Dad. Unlikely, but possible. We have to at least try. It’s our only current lead.’
‘Lucy, I’ve got no idea what you mean.’
She leaned forward trying not to look at his bruised nose as she outlined her idea that the intruder might be in touch with her mother who had sent him to fetch some of her belongings.
‘Why would she do that?’ her father asked, screwing up his face. ‘What the blazes are you talking about?’
She shook her head. The theory made no sense without the suspicion that her mother had left deliberately. Somehow she did not think her father would be receptive to that suggestion.
‘OK, forget that. It was a stupid thought. But let’s suppose for a moment the intruder kidnapped her for a ransom. It would explain how he got in. He got the key from Mum, then used it to try and rob you.’
‘I thought your new theory was that he was going to demand a ransom?’
‘Yes, but he might have wanted to get his hands on some cash in the meantime.’
‘Lucy, I don’t think that sounds very likely—’
‘All I’m saying is we should think about it. Because if it’s true, then the intruder could lead us to where Mum is. If we can find him, that is.’
When her father replied, she heard her own desperate hope reflected in his voice. ‘You really think he might know where she is?’
‘I’ve no idea, but it’s worth a shot, isn’t it? I mean, what have we got to lose? Apart from another night’s sleep.’
Her plan was simple. They would not change the key code. That night they would wait in George’s room. If the intruder returned, they would be ready for him. George did not want to involve Lucy in implementing the plan but she insisted on staying with him. He suggested they rope in one of the security guards. It seemed like a sensible idea but they were not sure who to trust. In the end they agreed that Lucy should ask Adrian to pass the night with them in George’s room. They had to be sure of overpowering the intruder if he returned. It was not merely a question of their own safety; Angela’s life might depend on the success of their night’s vigil.
Lucy knew Adrian was likely to go to the bar for a drink after work and waited for him. After about half an hour he appeared. She went up to the bar.
‘Let me buy you a drink.’
Something in her manner must have alerted him because he grinned and asked her what she was after.
‘Is it that obvious?’ she replied, smiling. ‘Come and sit down and I’ll tell you about it.’
He nearly choked on his beer when she told him she wanted him to spend the night with her. Laughing, she added that her father would be there as well.
‘A chaperone? Lucy, what the hell are we talking about here?’
First she swore him to secrecy and only after he had given his word did she explain her request.
‘We know it’s a long shot,’ she concluded, ‘but we’re desperate, Adrian. We can’t ignore any possible lead, and we’re going to do this whether you help us or not.’
He looked sceptical. ‘Honestly, Lucy, what are the chances that this burglar has got anything to do with your mother? And even if he is implicated in her disappearance, is he likely to come back to your father’s room tonight, especially after your father gave him a thrashing last night?’ He drained his glass and pulled a face at her. ‘Thanks for the beer, but I have to say this all sounds daft to me. If you want my opinion, you should leave this to the police. It’s their job to find your mother.’
‘I wasn’t asking for your opinion,’ she snapped, standing up, her face flushed with emotion. ‘I was asking for your help.’
She spun on her heel and stalked away.
At ten o’clock, Lucy and
her father went to his room and made themselves comfortable. Just after half past ten there was a soft tap at the door. Lucy watched anxiously as her father asked who was there. She struggled to control a wild hope that her mother had returned. If she had not been disappointed, she would have been pleased to hear Adrian’s voice. Clutching a carrier bag, he had a blanket over his arm. Her father ushered him in, smiling and thanking him for joining them. Adrian emptied the contents of his bag onto the table: six bottles of beer, a ball of green garden twine and two torches.
‘What’s the string for?’ Lucy asked.
‘If anyone breaks in, we’ll want to tie him up,’ Adrian answered.
They opened three of the bottles and sat, her father on the bed, Lucy and Adrian on chairs by the window, drinking and talking in muted tones. Adrian apologised that he had not brought them a torch each. Her father insisted that Lucy take the second one.
‘If you need to, whack him over the head with it,’ he said, more animated than she had seen him look since her mother had disappeared.
‘We should turn the light out,’ her father said at last. ‘If he’s going to come back, he’ll wait until he thinks I’m asleep.’
Adrian wanted to know what time the intruder had broken in the previous night but her father could not remember. Lucy thought it had been about one in the morning when she had overheard the fight. She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was nearly midnight. The time had passed surprisingly quickly since Adrian had arrived. They agreed to take shifts. There was no point in the three of them staying awake all night. Adrian offered to take the first watch. He said he was not tired. He would watch from midnight to two, then wake Lucy who would take the next two hours, waking her father at four.
‘If I’m asleep,’ he said.
None of them expected to get much sleep but Lucy must have nodded off in her chair because she was fast asleep when Adrian shook her shoulder. Muzzy headed, she peered about her in darkness.
‘It’s nearly four,’ he whispered.
His voice sounded close to her ear and she felt his breath brush her cheek.
‘You were supposed to wake me at two.’
‘I tried but you were so fast asleep I didn’t have the heart to disturb you.’
There had been no sign of anyone trying to enter the room. Charging her to wake him at the first sign of any intrusion, Adrian said he would get some kip. She nodded into the darkness.
At first everything was pitch black but as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness she made out the shape of the bed, and a faint glow through the curtains that seemed to grow brighter as she watched. The darkness in the room seemed to make the silence more intense, apart from the distant murmur of the ocean, and a creaking in the walls. Somewhere nearby a car door slammed. A long way off, a dog began to bark. Several times she felt her head jerk upright as she stopped herself falling asleep.
When she had conceived her plan to keep watch over night she had been relieved to be doing something, as though just by taking action they would bring her mother back. Now she had nothing to do but listen, and no idea where her mother was, or if she had left them voluntarily. In the darkness, she could no longer distract herself from the fear that she might never see her mother again. All her life she had taken her mother’s quiet help for granted. Other than occasional vague anxieties about her parents dying, which she never dwelled on, it had never occurred to her to worry that her mother might suddenly vanish from her life. She promised herself that she would make a conscious effort to express her appreciation of her mother’s support in future, if she had the chance.
A noise. In the room. Someone was shuffling across the floor, trying not to make a sound. She reached out and pinched Adrian’s arm, surprised to feel the hardness of his muscles even when he was resting. A door opened and closed.
‘What?’
‘Shh.’ She leaned towards him. ‘I heard something.’
She blinked at the sudden bright shaft of light from his torch.
‘Dad?’
There was no answer. She could barely breathe for fear.
‘Come on,’ Adrian said, no longer bothering to whisper.
Lucy switched her torch on and they swept the room with beams of bright light. There was no one there.
Lucy and Adrian looked at one another in consternation, and then the toilet flushed. She felt like a fool as her father emerged from the bathroom, blinking in the torchlight.
‘Is he here?’ he asked, peering around.
Lucy began to giggle uncontrollably as they settled down again. It was nearly five o’clock, so her father took over the watch, but they all knew it was futile. No one was likely to break in now. Other than George’s visit to the bathroom, there had been no disturbance during the night.
Lucy woke up with a neck stiff from sleeping in a chair.
‘That’s that then,’ she said wretchedly as her father thanked Adrian again for turning out to help them.
‘At least we know who we can trust,’ he said.
Lucy nodded. Turning to gaze out of the window at her father’s unrestricted view of the sea she wondered whether her father was right, and if they had been wise to share their plan with Adrian. Perhaps the intruder had been warned about their night time vigil. Only Adrian had known about the plan, Adrian who had been present when she had almost drowned. She became aware that her father was calling her.
‘Aren’t you going to thank Adrian?’
‘Yes, sorry, I was half asleep. Thank you very much.’
She smiled weakly at Adrian who bowed his head in acknowledgement.
20
TIRED AFTER HIS DISTURBED night, George had told Lucy he would not be rising early that morning. They had agreed to meet for breakfast just before ten. Lucy had gone to bed at six but had not been able to sleep. Adrian had gone home at the conclusion of their night’s vigil and had probably not yet arrived back at the hotel. Too agitated about her mother to sit around doing nothing while she waited for her father, Lucy decided to go for a walk along the beach. The fishermen were bound to talk to local people as they shared or sold their daily catch. No doubt they enjoyed a gossip. Her father had told her that no one could keep a secret for long on the island. One of the fishermen might have heard a rumour about a fair-haired woman staying on the island by herself.
Lucy refused to believe her mother was lost at sea. She was far too cautious to go out swimming on her own. Her passport and credit cards were in the hotel room. The only plausible conclusion was that she must still be somewhere on the island. Since she had very little money with her, it was reasonable to suppose that someone was helping her. That meant that at least one other person on the island must know where she was. If her mother was determined not to be found, Lucy would have to track down the person sheltering her. Her theory might prove to be completely wrong, but at least it seemed logical. And if there was only the slightest chance she would find her mother, it was still a possibility worth pursuing.
The idea was not as effective in practice as it had initially appeared. For a start, it was almost impossible to make herself understood by the fishermen who spoke little or no English.
‘I’m looking for my mother.’
‘Ah, mother.’
‘She looks like me. Blonde hair.’ She pointed at her hair.
The old fisherman gave a tolerant smile. ‘You want fish?’ he asked with sudden interest.
Lucy shook her head. ‘Do you speak English?’
‘English. Ah.’ The old man beckoned a young boy over. He looked about ten.
‘I’m looking for a woman,’ Lucy explained.
The boy nodded seriously. ‘Woman,’ he repeated.
‘My mother. She has fair hair, blonde, like me.’ Again the pantomime with her hair.
The boy nodded and pointed to his own hair. ‘Hair,’ he said.
At a signal lost on Lucy, the old man and the boy turned away and hurried to help their companions who were hauling in the net. Und
er other circumstances, Lucy would have stayed to watch them, intrigued to see what they had caught. A couple of other tourists had gathered, cameras poised.
‘They caught a turtle yesterday,’ one of them told Lucy. ‘We saw it.’
‘But they threw it back,’ her companion added. ‘It’s illegal to keep them.’
‘It was beautiful. You should have seen the shell.’
Lucy turned away and began making her way back along the beach. It was just past seven o’clock, and relatively cool. Instead of turning into the hotel, she walked on. Adrian had mentioned a number of bays, all quiet. According to him, one in particular was difficult to access and so always deserted. If Lucy had wanted to disappear for a few days, she could not think of a better place to hide out. Equipped with enough provisions and plenty of water, she would not even need to rely on help from anyone else. The more she thought about it the more excited she grew. Her mother could be camping out in a little bay along the coast. The fact that the police or coastguard would probably have spotted her was not conclusive. It must at least be possible for someone to hide among the rocks for a few days without being seen. And in any case, she was not convinced the authorities had searched everywhere.
The bay she had been to with Adrian was further away than she remembered. She was tempted to turn back, but it was still early and not yet blisteringly hot. Besides, she had her phone. If she was late back, she could always call her father and tell him she had gone for a walk and would be there soon. She kept walking. This time instead of clambering over the rocks, she splashed through shallow water to reach the bay she had visited before. It was deserted and just as beautiful as she remembered it. Feeling slightly foolish, she called out quietly, ‘Mum! Mum! It’s me, Lucy.’ The only response was the gentle breaking of waves on the shore. She carried on, searching for the next sheltered spot.
Climbing over wet rocks on the far side of the bay, she nearly lost her footing. Reaching out to steady herself, she dropped her bag. It slipped between the rocks and landed on a narrow strip of sand. She snatched it up before the next wave came in. A few seconds later it would have been drenched in sea water, ruining her phone. Her heart pounded. It was time to turn back. This was not a sensible place to be exploring on her own. Besides, the police and coastguard had made a thorough search of the island. She had been an idiot to think she could find her mother after they had failed. Cursing herself for being stupid and arrogant, she sat on the rocks for a moment and gazed at the ocean stretched out in front of her, endlessly blue.
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