Chapter Twenty-Five
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Lily got dressed as fast as Superman and ran downstairs to where Sam was pacing up and down the hallway.
Elspeth was also there and Lily discovered that Sam had called her after finding Morven’s room empty and no sign of her in the house. He’d gone back to double check her bedroom when Lily woke up.
His aunt was now on the landline, sounding panicked. ‘No sign of them at all? … OK. Thanks … Yes, she probably has … Yes, I’ll call back if I hear anything.’
Sam looked disappointed. ‘Not at Rowena’s, then?’
‘No. Her mum says Row spoke to her on FaceTime but that was much earlier, probably when Morven took the pudding up to her room.’
Sam burst out: ‘Where the hell is she in this weather?’
For the first time, Lily registered the rain blowing against the windows. The mayhem inside the house had blotted it out.
‘What about her friend Damon – might she have gone to his?’ Lily suggested.
Elspeth shook her head. ‘Already tried his house. He’s out fishing with his brother now, though his mother reckons he was in all night before that, “for a change”. She thinks he’s got a secret girlfriend.’
‘And that could be Morven?’ Lily said.
‘I don’t know about that,’ Elspeth said. ‘They’re thick as thieves but I’ve never seen them canoodling. They seem more like brother and sister – or a gangster and his moll, always plotting something.’
Lily’s cogs whirred. ‘So, Damon’s been out a lot at night … I could be way off here, and please don’t be offended, but have you thought that he – or Morven – could have had something to do with the intruders on Stark?’
‘Yes, and I dismissed the idea,’ Sam said, then grimaced. ‘I’d assumed she couldn’t get across there on her own but …’
‘She wouldn’t dare go that far!’ Elspeth cut in, sounding horrified. ‘Sailing over to Stark and trying to scare you? I can’t imagine why.’
‘I can,’ Lily said. ‘In fact, someone left a very specific message on my terrace.’
‘What?’ said Elspeth. ‘You never mentioned that.’
‘It said LEAVE – very neatly spelled out in pebbles. It could have been framed as a collage to be honest.’
Elspeth clapped her hands to her face. ‘Oh, I hope it wasn’t Morven! It’s so dangerous crossing to Stark.’
‘Yet Damon was brought up on the islands,’ Sam murmured. ‘He has access to a boat and he’s been out a lot with his brother so he knows the coastline well. Maybe they’re both on Stark now.’
‘Unless they’ve run away together and I’ve been completely wrong,’ Elspeth said. ‘Should we check the flights and ferries?’
‘They don’t have the money to book flights and go off together,’ Sam said. ‘As far as I know.’
‘And if he’s been in all night, he can’t have run off with Morven,’ Elspeth said. ‘Listen to that rain. Oh, God, what if she’s come to harm?’
The colour drained out of Sam’s face. ‘Nate … I have to let him know she’s missing.’
Elspeth squealed, ‘Oh, no. Don’t. Can’t we hang on a bit?’
‘She’s his daughter. I can’t keep a thing like this from him.’
Lily stood by feeling helpless and unwilling to voice something that had been niggling her … yet she had to get it off her chest.
‘Look, I apologise in advance if this is unhelpful, but if she is the culprit then maybe she’s gone to Stark again. She was pretty upset last night. I wasn’t going to tell you, but she – um – had a go at me.’
Sam pressed his lips tightly together before murmuring, ‘What did she say?’
‘She was annoyed because she thought I was taking over, at the retreat and the craft fair … I think it was the last straw when she saw me in her own home too.’
He closed his eyes briefly. ‘I didn’t realise she was that upset. I should have realised.’
‘I think she may not even recognise how upset she is herself,’ Lily said gently.
Elspeth sat down heavily on the oak bench in the hall. ‘This is Nate’s fault.’
‘No, it’s mine, for not listening or seeing the signs. If anything has happened to her or she’s done anything …’ Sam said ‘… I’ll never forgive myself as long as I live. I have to tell Nate and now.’
He marched off to the study.
Elspeth leaned back against the wall. ‘I won’t forgive myself either. I should have realised the state she was in. I know she can be awkward but it’s out of character for her to do something so daft as trying to scare you off Stark – or take the risk of going over there without Sam.’
Lily heard him speaking from the study. She could hear another male voice, taut with anguish, and an American woman shouting, ‘Nate? What the actual fuck has she done now?’
‘We don’t know she has yet,’ Lily said, ‘I just have a hunch. If she wanted to hide away from us, for whatever reason, there aren’t many places she could go without money.’
The door to the study slammed shut, but they could still hear raised voices.
Elspeth sighed. ‘And now Sam and Nate are at each other’s throats. This is a disaster.’
Lily sat down next to her and patted her hand. ‘While we’re waiting for Sam, why don’t we have a think about other places Morven might have gone to – we can make a list and check those as well as Stark?’ She hoped to distract Elspeth by focusing on practical things they could do.
‘She could have got to one of the other islands … Although the passenger boats were finished by dinnertime and she must have left long after that.’
‘She’d have had to have help, then?’ Lily offered.
‘That’s what bothers me! If she isn’t around Hell Bay or on Bryher, how did she get across the water? If she even made it …’ Elspeth was now in tears.
Lily pulled a tissue from a box by the phone and offered it to her. ‘I’m sure she’ll be alright,’ she said, comforting Elspeth. ‘She seems very resourceful and smart to me.’
A couple of minutes later, Sam marched out of the study.
Elspeth pushed herself to her feet. ‘Oh, Lord, what did Nate say?’
‘He’d almost gone to bed and was in pieces when he heard. I almost wish I hadn’t FaceTimed him and seen the look on his face. I’ve never seen him so scared, but what could I do? Not tell him for hours until we find her – if we find her?’ Sam stopped speaking, frozen with anguish.
‘We will find her. And you had to tell him,’ Lily said firmly. ‘And we – I – had a thought. Do you think Morven could be on Stark right now? Even if she hasn’t been messing around on there, she might have gone now as she knows it so well. Maybe she thought she might stay in one of the cottages.’
Sam looked thoughtful. ‘That’s possible. She does have a key … I had one cut when she was going to help me with the changeovers. I don’t think I ever had it back.’
‘That’s where she’ll be then!’ Elspeth said. ‘Hiding in one of the cottages!’ She seemed so relieved, Lily hoped this was right.
‘We don’t know that for sure, Auntie Elspeth,’ Sam said gently. ‘But it’s worth a look. While we drive to the quay, can you call around a few mates?’ he said to Lily and his aunt. ‘The rowing crew will help. I’ll give you the numbers from my phone. Ask them to help in the search.’
‘Shall we ask one of them to stay on Bryher and phone the heliport and ferry terminal?’ Lily suggested. ‘And send a few more to hunt around Bryher itself and spread the word among the islanders?’
‘Yes. Good idea.’ He flared into action again. ‘Meanwhile we’ll go over to Stark. Elspeth, what do you want to do? Come with us or stay?’
‘Come with you,’ she declared. ‘I’m with Lily, I think Morven’s on Stark.’
‘I agree with you both …’ Sam said, adding with renewed energy, ‘and if she is still on the islands, and I think she has to be, we’ll find her.’
Half an hour later, most of the rowing crew and a dozen other islanders had gathered at the quayside with Sam, Lily and Elspeth. Word had spread like wildfire. Bruce was coordinating the wider search effort on Bryher. Rory took the gig crew in his boat while Sam motored off in the Hydra with Elspeth and Lily.
The boat thumped over the waves, water flying up, wipers swishing wildly. The rain was horizontal and the wind whipped up whitecaps. It was a horrible day to be outdoors.
Elspeth huddled in a corner of the cabin, holding on tight to the seat. Lily sat next to Sam, trying to ignore the jagged rocks lurking on every side.
Sam slotted the boat into the little harbour at Stark, cut the engine and leaped ashore. Ignoring the driving rain, Lily hitched the rope around the bow cleat. ‘What about the others?’
‘Rory’s moored offshore and launched his RIB. He’s brought his own radio and a spare for the search party.’
‘She could be in reception or your flat,’ Elspeth said, rushing up the path from the jetty like a woman half her age.
Penny arrived not long after, rain dripping off her yellow waterproof.
‘The others are on the quay but I thought I might be able to help up here. Make tea, run errands …’ she said.
‘Thanks, Penny.’
The moment Sam tried the door of the reception hub, it was clear Morven wasn’t there.
‘It was still locked,’ he said, walking inside. ‘Come on, let’s check the cottages. Elspeth, would you and Penny mind staying here on the radio, please, in case she turns up on another island? We’ll only be a minute.
‘I don’t want my aunt out in this weather,’ he said to Lily, who wondered if Sam was also worried in case they did find Morven – and not safe and well.
She shuddered at the prospect and crossed everything that nothing like that would happen. She dreaded him having to go through what she had when they’d lost Cara. However, thinking the worst would help no one, so Lily focused on the search.
Even as they approached Cowrie, her hopes faded. It looked as shut up and unoccupied as when she’d left it. The moment she tried the door, her fear was confirmed.
‘I suppose she might have been inside and left,’ Sam said while Lily unlocked it.
‘Morven!’ she called, inching open the door, longing to find the girl asleep on the bed, hair spread over the pillow, like Sleeping Beauty. ‘Are you here? It’s OK … you’re not in trouble.’
There was only silence and the stuffiness of a room that had been shut up for a day.
‘Is she here?’ Sam marched in behind her.
‘No one’s been in since we left.’
‘Nor the other cottages. As far as I can tell, everything looks the same.’
It was clear that no one had been inside the unfinished cottages and Aaron reported no sign of Morven or anyone else around the retreat area in general.
Sam despatched Fergal, Aaron and Ivanka to search the island’s coastline. Lily grew cold when he mentioned the numerous indentations, sea caves and cliffs.
‘I didn’t want my aunt to hear that,’ he said just before they went back into reception.
Elspeth was sitting on a sofa, looking exhausted and grey-faced.
At Sam’s appearance, she burst out: ‘Is she here?’
‘I’m afraid there’s no sign of her in any of the cottages.’
Elspeth let out a sob.
Penny was next to her, patting her arm. ‘It’ll be OK, Elspeth. We’ll find her.’
‘We will, I promise,’ Lily said, before she left, armed with one of Sam’s spare handsets.
‘I’m going to check the ruined cottages by the bay. There are a couple of Neolithic chambers hidden in the bracken. She could be hiding in there,’ said Sam.
‘Chambers?’ Lily shuddered, hoping he didn’t mean tombs.
‘Elspeth mentioned them. Morven takes an interest in the ancient history of the islands so I’d better check just in case.’
‘I’ll do the pest house then,’ Lily said, suppressing a shiver as the rain hammered down like stair rods.
‘OK. Lily …’ he said, touching her arm gently ‘… thank you. You didn’t ask for all this grief when you decided to come here.’
‘Thank me when I find her,’ she said, with more conviction than she felt inside.
Lily pushed the radio deep into the pocket of her waterproof and scrambled down the hill as fast as she could without tripping over hummocks and brambles. The pest house was a grey blur through the rain. Part of her couldn’t imagine anything awful happening in such a peaceful spot as Stark, yet this place had been built for death … how horrible!
She moved carefully as the paths were muddy. Occasionally, the shouts of the others drifted to her on the wind. If Morven was hiding out, she must be petrified, being hunted like prey. Unless she was enjoying all the drama. Lily fervently hoped it was the latter.
She stopped a few metres away from the pest house, listening for any sound. A shiver ran through her at the prospect of what she might find. If Morven had been here all night, even though it was mild, it was slippery and wet … what if she’d tripped and hurt herself?
Or what if she wasn’t here – or hadn’t even made it, trying to pilot a boat alone? What if she was under the cold sea, like Lily had been?
‘Morven!’
Her desperate shout echoed off the walls but was met with silence.
‘Morven! It’s Lily. I know you don’t want to be found but people are worried.’
She lingered outside the pest house, listening for any hint of another human presence: the rain was almost horizontal, soaking her face. Her legs were red and cold.
Lily shouted again in frustration: ‘Morven, for God’s sake, if you can hear me, will you come out before I die of hypothermia?’
A snort came from the interior of the house.
‘It’s always about you, isn’t it?’