Eloise (30 page)

As I stared at Jack, incredulous, my mobile rang. It was Father Pete. The reception was faint and intermittent. I struggled to hear what he was saying.

‘They’re not at the house,’ I heard him say scratchily.

‘I know. His car’s parked up at Lantic Bay.’

‘Have you seen them yet?’

‘No, I can’t see them, but Pete, the tide’s nearly in.’

‘I’m calling the coastguard. Stay safe, don’t go on the beach – I’ll be with you as soon as I can.’

‘What in God’s name is happening?’

He hesitated. ‘I don’t want to panic you, but Ted left his front door wide open, and I found a suicide note on the kitchen table.’

I thought my heart had stopped.

‘Look, I’m on my way. I’m calling the coastguard right now and I’ll try and pick Chris up on the way.’ He rang off.

So, this was it. This was what Eloise had tried so hard to warn me about. She had charged me to protect her children. And I had failed her. I buried my head in my hands.

‘Forgive me, Ellie. Please forgive me.’

I was shaking. Jack took me in his arms.

‘Cathy,’ he said urgently, ‘what is it?’

‘Ted left a suicide note. Father Pete’s just found it at his house.’

‘Christ Almighty,’ he said. ‘Come on, we’ve got to get down there.’

I nodded and we stumbled down the path. Never had the steep descent felt so perilous. I tripped on stones and roots many times, twisting my ankle and falling to the ground. Jack helped me up and almost carried me down to the cove. The pain was excruciating, but was as nothing to the terror in my head. Then, finally, we could go no further. We stood on a rock, at the foot of the path, and watched the sea as it crept inexorably up the tiny beach.

I couldn’t see Ted or the girls, but the ocean was getting close to the cliff wall.

‘What was Father Pete saying about a cave?’ Jack asked.

‘It’s small,’ I said. ‘Going back into the cliff. It has two chambers, one at sea level, then an opening above that. But it’s very treacherous. Both caves are flooded at high tide.’

‘Where is it?’

‘Right in the middle of the cove.’

Without a word, Jack jumped down and kicked off his shoes then plunged into the sea.

‘No, Jack!’ I shouted after him. ‘It’s too dangerous!’

He didn’t reply.

I sank down onto the rock, took deep breaths. It was breezy down here. The waves weren’t huge, but vigorous, tipped with tumbling white foam. The smell of the sea was intoxicating. The whole cove felt bathed in a clean, brisk saltiness, offering a tantalizing promise of health and wellbeing.

Except death lurked in its depths.

Jack returned, soaking and desperate.

‘They’re in the cave,’ he gasped. ‘The lower one’s already underwater, but I swam up and all three of them are perched on a ledge in the upper cave. I shouted at them. Ted just looks wild-eyed. He’s got a bottle of Scotch, half empty. He’s obviously drunk.’

‘What about the girls? How are they?’

‘Terrified. Sobbing their little hearts out. I’m going to kill the bastard.’

‘Jack? Can’t we get them out?’

‘I can’t get up to their level. There are no footholes in the rock. He must have used some kind of line, a rope to get them up there. God knows how he did it.’

But I did. ‘Jack, there’s always a rope ladder in the cave, attached to the cliff wall. It’s so people can climb up to the upper level.’

‘Well, it’s not there now. He must have pulled it up behind them. Christ, what a bastard he is. I’m going back in, Cathy. I’ll get them out somehow.’

‘It’s too dangerous.’

‘I’m a strong swimmer. Born in Cornwall, raised in Australia. I’m a champion surfer, Cathy. I can handle the ocean.’

‘No. Jack, look.’ I pointed out to sea. A bright orange dot had appeared on the horizon, rounding the headland that divided the cove from Lantic Bay. ‘It’s the inshore lifeboat. Father Pete said he would call them. They will rescue the girls.’

‘I’m not sure they’ll get here in time. I’m going back. Tell the crewmen about the cave, where I am.’

And he dived back down to the flooded beach.

*

‘Cathy!’ Chris’s voice rang out from behind me. I turned round, and he and Father Pete were scrambling down the path. Pete’s cassock was holding him up, and Chris reached my side long before the priest negotiated the rocky ground.

‘Cathy, my love. I’m so, so sorry. I’ve been such a pigheaded fool. My darling, are you all right?’

I clung to him.

‘The girls. They’re in the cave with Ted. Jack saw them on the ledge in the upper chamber, but he couldn’t reach them.’

‘Where is Jack now?’

‘He’s gone back into the cave. Chris, I think it’s too late. The tide’s already flooded the lower chamber.’

Chris looked out to sea.

‘It’s all right, Cathy. The lifeboat’s here.’

The wonderful sight of the orange reinforced dinghy gave me the biggest thrill of my life. I looked at the four burly crewmen on board, and prayed that they would be able to get Rose and Violet out of the cave and away from their father. I was in shock, far too numb to remember Jack’s shattering assertion that Ted was not, in fact, their dad.

The crew saw us and shouted, ‘What’s going on here?’

Chris climbed down what was left of the rocks until he was only feet from the stationary boat.

‘There’s a madman in there, bent on killing himself. And he’s got two little girls with him. They are only five. They’ve
climbed up into the higher cave, but that will flood within minutes. And there’s also another man who’s gone into the cave to rescue them.’

‘Right,’ said the coxswain. ‘Then we’d better get going.’

What followed next was a blur. Two of the sailors jumped into the sea and disappeared as they dived down into the cave. The others stayed on board the boat, and spooled out the line that the first men had taken with them.

I stared at the boat for what seemed hours, but in reality it was only a few minutes. Then the two men reappeared beside the dinghy, each of them struggling with an extra burden. With the help of the two sailors on board, they heaved their cargo on board. Then they bent down, hidden to us, as they tended the children they’d rescued.

One of them reared up and shouted, ‘It’s OK. They’re both fine. Wet and frightened, but safe and well.’

I collapsed against Chris and sobbed, ‘Thank God, thank God. The girls have been saved.’

But Chris looked grim. ‘Where’s Jack?’ he shouted to the crew.

‘Their father?’ the oxswain yelled back. ‘You were right when you called him a madman. Fought us off and tried to push the kids under the water. He wouldn’t come with us. We’re going to radio the coastguard and get them to send divers. It’s too dangerous now for us to go back in.’

‘No,’ said Chris. ‘Not him. The guy who went in to rescue them.’

‘I don’t know. We didn’t see him.’

Dear God, I thought. Not Jack. Not brave Jack whom Eloise had loved so much, who had risked his life to save her children.

And then a shout from the crew.

‘Throw a lifebelt down. Throw a lifebelt.’

And then, the most wonderful sight. Jack, clearly tired but still swimming, bobbed up in the water. He seized the belt they’d thrown him and was hauled up into the boat.

He choked and coughed as he was hauled up out of the sea. He was safe.

Chris yelled to the lifeboat crew. ‘How fast can the diving team get here?’

‘I’ve already radioed them. They should be here in a few minutes.’

I watched Chris’s face. We both knew that would be too late.

‘We’ve got to get these kids back to Fowey,’ shouted the Cox’n. ‘They need medical attention.’

And the boat powered off. ‘What can we do, Chris?’ I asked. ‘I want to check on the girls, but we can’t just abandon Ted. We should really wait for the diving team.’

‘Don’t worry about that, Cathy,’ said Father Pete. ‘I’ll stay
here and wait for the divers. You and Chris should go to Fowey and look after the girls. I’ll call you when there’s any news.’

Chris drove us back to Fowey. We were both quiet. I could tell he was full of remorse about his refusal to believe Rose and Violet were in danger. Every so often he took his left hand off the steering wheel and draped it round my shoulder, squeezing me hard.

When we finally got to the doctor’s surgery in Fowey where the little girls were being treated, he stopped the car. Before I could get out he pinioned me in his arms.

‘Cathy, my Cathy, can you ever forgive me? All your instincts about Ted were right. I am so, so sorry my darling. I’ve behaved so badly, doubting you as I did. I was rude and arrogant, convinced I knew best and what I actually think I was doing was refusing to accept that I had only seen the surface of Ted and couldn’t believe he was so far from the man I’d thought he was for all those years when we were friends. It affronted the professionalism I pride myself on, so it was easier for me to be in denial. I’ve been so unkind to you and I love you so much – please say this hasn’t destroyed our marriage.’

I lay my head on his shoulder. I even managed a smile.

‘No, Chris. It hasn’t destroyed our marriage. Just as long as you say we can stay in Cornwall.’

He lifted my chin.

‘Darling, we’ll stay in Cornwall for ever and ever.’

We smiled at each other, and he kissed me. A long, long kiss. I felt like a dry, drooping flower, parched of love and affection, at long last receiving the precious gift of rain.

An hour and a half later, we were at Juliana’s. I hadn’t had the chance to tell Chris that Jack said he might be the twins’ father. There would be enough time later to deal with all that.

A doctor had examined both girls, and pronounced them well. Of course, he meant physically. God knows what was going through their little heads.

Juliana hid her own shock at what had happened, cuddling the little children, making them hot chocolate before she and Annie took them upstairs to bed. They were exhausted, but otherwise seemed OK. Interestingly, they never once mentioned their father. I wondered what psychological havoc Ted’s attempt to murder them would wreak. I’d talk to Chris about it later.

Father Pete called and said the divers were still searching for Ted. I felt guilty that he was still out there on that bleak little beach, but he said he wanted to stay until the divers called it a day.

When the girls were in bed, we all drank brandy in
Juliana’s pretty sitting room. We said very little. Jack was dog-tired and didn’t want to talk. And it somehow seemed wrong to go over what had happened while Ted was still missing.

Finally, Chris and I left. There would be police and God knows what to deal with tomorrow. We should all rest, he said. And he was right. I longed to get back to my children, and to go to sleep. There was so much I didn’t understand, and I was much too tired to take it all in right now.

When we got home, the children were subdued. They had seen the local news on TV. I’d already called them to say that Chris and I were all right, but there was footage of the divers still searching for Ted, and they were grimly fascinated by the horror of it all. We ate a scrappy meal, telling the kids that we were just too exhausted to talk about it tonight, but would tell them everything tomorrow. They protested, but Chris was adamant, and we both went up to bed before they did, knowing that they would stay up for hours speculating about what had sent Ted mad.

If I dreamed that night, I don’t remember. Eloise was silent and the night was peaceful.

The phone shrilled early next morning. I groaned and turned over. Chris, however, took the call. Next thing I knew, he was bending over me, fully dressed.

‘The divers have found Ted’s body and Juliana has asked the police if I can identify it, so I’m going to Plymouth. Afterwards they want me to go back to Ted and Eloise’s house. I’ll call as soon as I know anything.’

I went straight back to sleep. For the first time in months, I felt quiet and soft. I had nothing to worry about. Not now.

When I finally got up, Jack had arrived. He looked sheepish but determined.

‘Could we go for a walk, Cathy?’ he asked. ‘I’ve got things I need to tell you.’

We walked with Sam, Tom and Evie down to the beach and once they were settled at the café with Cokes and Danish pastries, Jack and I turned back up the lane to the church.

We sank down on the grass beside Eloise’s grave. It was a couple of hours since Chris had left for Plymouth. It was a perfect Cornish early summer day. I felt relaxed, almost dozy. Honeybees buzzed around the flowers on Ellie’s grave. I felt nothing but quiet peacefulness. And, of course, burning curiosity.

‘Tell me, Jack.’

He sighed. ‘Six years ago I got divorced. I wasn’t desolate, exactly, but I was a bit lonely. When you’re divorced, you tend to go backwards to find out how you went wrong. I found I was desperate to see Cornwall again and I can’t really explain it even now. I wasn’t pining for England, or for Eloise. I just knew I wanted to come home. So I flew back to Heathrow, hired a car and drove down here.

‘I didn’t stay in Fowey. I didn’t want to risk bumping into anyone I knew from the old days, let alone Ellie. And God forbid that I should see Juliana again. I thought they all hated
me. I’d got a thirteen-year-old girl pregnant, and disappeared to Australia with my parents and the baby. I was an outcast, I knew that, but still I wanted to come home to the place I loved so much; it’s ridiculous, really, but despite all the idyllic surfing at Byron Bay, I couldn’t forget Polzeath and Daymer Bay.