Chapter 38
GOLDENWYCH, PRESENT DAY
The four women burst into the auditorium of the theatre, causing the small group by the stage to turn in surprise.
Suki, Vicki and Judy paused in their conversation; George and Lee hurried towards the women.
Caitlin and Lee exchanged an understanding look and he moved towards his father, whispering in his ear.
The door creaked again and Edward entered, shaking water from his umbrella. ‘I’ve checked the church and the graveyard again, there’s still no sign of him out there,’ he said. ‘His car’s in the car park, but it’s locked.’
Rachel ran towards him and hugged him. Edward froze.
‘They know and they’re good with it,’ she whispered.
‘I told you they would be,’ he said, kissing her.
Suki and George looked at their eldest son in shock.
‘Not the moment to answer questions though,’ said Gillian as Alan opened his mouth in astonishment. ‘We’ll explain later.’
‘Have you heard from Dad since you called us?’ asked Caitlin.
‘No,’ Lee replied. ‘Dad’s rung the pub and he isn’t there either.’
‘We didn’t expect you all to be together,’ said Alan, eyeing the sisters with interest.
‘Caitlin called an intervention,’ said Rachel. ‘We had issues to resolve. We’re friends again. All of us.’ She included Sindy in her sweeping gaze.
Lee looked at Caitlin curiously, but before she could speak, George said, ‘We know he’s not at your house, Gilly, could he have gone elsewhere? Maybe to your cottage, Caity? It’s the closest.’
‘We checked my place on the way and Rachel rang Pete. He isn’t at either of them,’ Caitlin replied. ‘Could he be at yours, Lee?’
‘Why would he be there?’ asked Vicki.
‘He might have forgotten he’s moved out,’ said Sindy.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Judy.
The sisters exchanged a glance and Caitlin, deciding to follow Rachel’s lead, slipped her hand into Lee’s before saying, ‘Lee found paperwork concerning Dad’s health at his house.
He may have told you, Uncle George.’ The older man nodded.
‘We think Dad has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and this is why his behaviour has been even more erratic than usual. ’
‘Girls, no,’ gasped Suki, walking forward to offer a maternal hug.
‘If he’s been gone for two hours and he’s confused, we have to find him,’ said Gillian, her voice cracking.
A flash of lightning cast an eerie blue light across the windows, followed by a roll of thunder.
‘Give me ten minutes to check he hasn’t gone back to mine,’ said Lee.
‘Ring as soon as you know,’ said Alan. ‘If he isn’t there, I’ll begin organising a search party. No one should be out in this weather, least of all a confused old man.’
* * *
Within half an hour of Alan posting messages on the Players’ various social media accounts concerning Larry’s disappearance, a small crowd began to gather in the theatre.
They had agreed this was not the place to announce Larry’s diagnosis, so Alan had phrased the message carefully, citing the intensifying storm as the reason for their concern.
Gillian, Rachel, Caitlin and Sindy, the daughters of Larry King, stood in front of the stage, accompanied by Alan, Lee, Edward, Suki, George, Vicki and her partner Ted Littleton.
‘Thank you all for responding to the message and for leaving the comfort of your homes on such a treacherous night,’ said Alan, who had taken charge.
‘Larry hasn’t been missing for long but in this weather, we think it’s best to search rather than wait for him to return in case he’s had a fall or injured himself in some way.
We’ve checked the pub and the homes of his family with no luck.
His car is in the car park however he left his wallet and phone here, so he can’t have called a cab.
Therefore, we must assume he’s on foot. Before we brave the tempest: has anyone else seen or heard from him? ’
There were general murmurs in the negative and shakes of heads.
‘It was worth asking,’ said Alan. ‘For those of you who are willing to risk the deluge on foot: George, Ted, Edward, Sindy and Gillian will lead teams; Caitlin, Lee, Rachel and Vicki will be driving. Suki, Judy, Barbara and Annie will remain here to co-ordinate. Those willing to walk, please go to the left, those preferring to drive to the right, please.’
There were nods and movement as people offered their services.
Lee hurried over to Caitlin, ‘How are you?’
‘Scared, for Dad,’ she replied.
‘I know but we’ll find him. How did Bean and Rabbit take the news?’
‘Shocked,’ she said. ‘We told Sindy, too.’
Lee’s eyes widened. ‘And you’re all alive?’
Caitlin was grateful for the small spark of humour in such a bleak moment.
‘We’ve discussed everything and, once we’ve explained it to Rosie, Emelia and Porcelain, we’ll slowly let people know the truth about Sindy’s parentage,’ she said.
‘What are you talking about?’ said Lee.
Caitlin stared at him in surprise. ‘I thought you’d know, that your parents would have told you. Sindy is our half-sister. She’s Dad’s daughter.’
‘Sindy is your… what?’
‘Lee, Caitlin, when you’re ready,’ called Alan, beckoning them over before she could reply. ‘We’ve divided the village into routes so we can cover as much ground as efficiently as possible.’
‘I’ll tell you later,’ she promised and, with Lee following in bemusement, hurried to take the photocopied map from Alan. It contained the list of roads and areas for her to search. Lee took his, murmuring something to his mother, who raised her eyebrows and nodded, a look of surprise on her face.
‘Keep in touch,’ said Alan. ‘We’ll put updates on the Players’ Facebook and Insta pages every quarter of an hour.’
‘Come on,’ Lee said, his own map clutched in his hand as they headed out into the lashing rain.
When they stepped outside, Caitlin gasped.
The car park was packed with people and cars, and two of the men from the Players were wearing the hi-viz jackets that were usually used on show nights to organise the car park.
They were carrying huge torches and were calming frayed nerves as they guided the searchers in the cars out into the night.
‘This is astonishing,’ said Caitlin, staring at all the people who were willing to search for her father on such a terrible night.
As Martha and her mother passed, dressed from head-to-foot in wet weather gear, they hugged her with promises not to worry, they would find him, before they disappeared into the rain-sodden night.
‘People love your dad,’ Lee said, kissing her. ‘Keep in touch.’ And he ran towards his car.
Caitlin jumped into her SUV, slamming her door and shutting out the hubbub from the car park. She felt very alone as she glanced at the list of places she had been assigned to search.
‘He’s safe,’ she murmured to herself as she clipped in her seatbelt. ‘He’s safe, he’s safe. I’ll find him.’ She was ushered out into the lane, her windscreen wipers on their fastest setting. ‘Although how I’m going to see Dad in this weather is a mystery.’
The thunderstorm raged as Caitlin drove through the dark, rain-soaked streets of Goldenwych. Up and down she went, slowing to a crawl when she was able, sweeping her headlights as far as possible into dark corners but every road was empty of her father.
‘Where are you, Dad?’ she whispered, her knuckles white as her hands gripped the steering wheel.
Images of Larry lying alone, soaking wet, unable to call for help, flashed across her mind.
Endless tragic scenarios played out as she turned into each new lane: Larry collapsed from another TIA or a full-blown stroke, huddled somewhere with a broken leg where he might have fallen, or confused and wandering onto a main road.
‘No!’ she shouted, scaring herself. ‘He’ll be fine. Any minute now, the phone will ring and he’ll have been sulking at a friend’s house all along.’
But her phone remained silent, and outside, the weather intensified. After another quarter of an hour, she stopped to check the apps hoping he had been found, but there were no sightings. She was about to turn back, to regroup at the theatre, when, to her delight, her phone rang.
‘Alan,’ she said, ‘have you found him?’
‘No,’ her brother-in-law replied and her hopes plummeted, ‘George has suggested we try the stone circle.’
‘Why?’ said Caitlin. ‘The circle is quite a long walk out of the village, especially in this weather.’
‘Apparently it was where your father proposed to your mother,’ Alan said. ‘George claims Larry was muttering, “Our revels now are ended. These our actors, as I foretold were all spirits and are melted in air.” George didn’t recognise it at first, but he’s looked it up and it’s from The Tempest.’
‘Mum’s play,’ exclaimed Caitlin. ‘Miranda, she was named after the female lead and her maiden name was Tempest. Of course. I’ll head straight there now. Send a few others, too, it’s a big area to search.’
She hung up, did a three-point turn and put her foot down as she sped towards the stone circle, certain her father would be waiting there.
* * *
‘Dad!’ Caitlin shouted as she made her way past the Three Sisters. The stones glistened black in the rain and the wind stole her cries for her father, tossing them high in the air, ridiculing her efforts to have dominion over the wilds of nature.
Above her, a streak of lightning flashed, illuminating the sky with an other-worldly silvery-white glow.
She instinctively ducked, raising her hands protectively above her head, recoiling at the force of its energy.
When, seconds later, the boom of thunder filled the air, it was so close she felt it reverberating through her solar plexus.
Battling against the wind, she hung onto one of the Three Sisters and shone her torch into the pitch darkness.
Despite the power of the light’s beam, the density of the rain shortened its range and she realised it would be quicker to walk the perimeter of the circle to see if her father was sheltering against one of the stones.