Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Cat and Jodie both turned to see Nessa Sharpe standing in the middle of the pathway resting a box of fresh vegetables on her hip.
‘Gone where?’ Cat asked. She looked back at the house and then at Nessa.
‘No idea. All I know is I saw him as I was on my way down to the greengrocer. He was locking the front door. He looked, I don’t know … preoccupied.’
‘Was anyone with him?’
‘Not sure. There was a young woman in her twenties, dark chin-length hair, just getting into a black BMW at the end of the road. He could have been with her. But, no, that doesn’t make any sense, does it? Weren’t you supposed to be picking him up?’
‘We were, and no it doesn’t,’ Cat said irritably. What the hell was going on?
‘When we turned up at Truro to pick him up, someone had beaten us to it,’ Jodie began to explain. ‘We were told he left with a woman, so it’s probably the same one. We thought we might catch him up but goodness knows where he’s gone now.’
‘Well, he did stop for a brief word with Davy Penneck. He was on his way to The Smugglers when they passed each other. You could try him; he might know something.’
‘Thanks, Nessa,’ Jodie said, and tugging on Cat’s sleeve she guided her along the cobbled pathway towards the lane leading to the pub.
When they entered the place was full of its normal lunchtime drinkers clustered around the bar, and a smattering of tourists having lunch in the small restaurant area. Davy was sitting in the corner with his pint and a newspaper in front of him.
‘Just passed the time of day with him,’ he said with a shrug. ‘He said he’d been released on bail. Looked to be in a bit of a rush.’
They both thanked him and were about to leave when Jed Burrows, the landlord, called out to them.
‘A woman was in here earlier,’ he said as he finished pulling a pint for one of the fishermen.
‘Mid-twenties, dark hair. Kinda pretty. Seems she’d heard Luke had been arrested.
Wanted to know where they’d taken him. I told her she could find him at Truro Police Station.
She didn’t say who she was,’ he added, ‘s’pose I should have asked. If she comes back shall I …’
‘No, that’s fine, Jed, you’ve been very helpful,’ Jodie thanked him, pulling a despondent Cat towards the door.
Leaving the pub they moved on down the High Street, stopping at the mini-mart, once more drawing blanks. As they were making their way back to the car, Cat’s mobile rang and she stopped to pull it from her bag.
‘Who’s this?’ She frowned at the number on the screen before taking the call. ‘Hello? Luke?’ She gave Jodie a relieved smile. ‘Where’ve you been? I’ve been so worried. Jodie and I came to collect you but …’ Her voice trailed away as she listened to what he was saying.
‘Why? What’s happened? Luke, you’re not making any sense. Is it anything to do with that …’ She pulled the phone away from her ear angrily. ‘He rang off,’ she said, looking across at Jodie, her eyes spiking with moisture.
‘What did he say?’ Jodie asked quietly, her concerned expression indicating she realised something was wrong.
‘He’s sorry to have missed me but there’s some business he has to take care of before we can meet,’ Cat said, staring at her phone.
‘He says he’ll be in the club this evening around nine and he’ll explain everything then.
’ She looked up at Jodie. ‘He sounded serious, Jodie. It has to do with that woman, doesn’t it?
Why is she here? What the hell is going on? ’
‘I don’t know. I only wish I did,’ Jodie replied. ‘It’s probably not what you think though.’
‘I don’t know what to think,’ Cat said, shoving her mobile back into her bag and wiping her eyes, her emotional moment over.
‘Do you know, when he confessed what had gone on with Marika and the lies he’d told to cover himself, I asked him if there was anything else in his past that might affect our relationship.
He swore there wasn’t and promised he would never lie to me again.
But he has.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘How could he do that to me?’
A couple of miles out of Carrenporth, Luke found a pub with a garden overlooking the sea. He ordered lunch, white wine for Tanya and a beer for himself, and they settled on a wide wooden terrace decorated with colourful hanging baskets and tubs.
‘So,’ he said, stretching out and enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face. ‘How did you discover what had happened to me?’
‘Believe it or not, you made the national papers,’ she said, sipping her wine.
‘I couldn’t believe someone like you could have killed anyone.
When we were in Bali, out of all the guys there you were the best,’ she added.
‘So I drove down here; called into the local pub and they told me where to find you.’
‘You went to The Smugglers?’
‘Sure I did. They were real nice people, too … though some of them had funny accents.’ She giggled. ‘But they were really sweet. And now here we are.’
‘Tanya, I don’t know what’s prompted your decision to come here …’
‘To see you, of course, silly. I thought maybe …’
The arrival of lunch halted the conversation for a moment. ‘Mmm, this is wonderful,’ Tanya said as she tucked into her prawn sandwich. ‘Anyway, as I was saying, I thought there may be a chance you and I might get together again—’
‘I need to stop you there,’ Luke interrupted, setting his burger back on the plate and wiping his mouth with his serviette.
He’d so wished it wasn’t her reason for coming here today.
The last thing he needed on his first day of freedom was to have to untangle yet another problem.
‘Tanya,’ he said with a shake of his head, ‘it was one night and we’d both had too much to drink.
Besides, next morning you were gone leaving a one line thank you note. No explanation, nothing.’
‘I had to leave in a hurry. I had a text. There had been an accident. You remember Tash, one of the girls I arrived with? Well she had broken her leg and was concussed. I had to get to Flores in a hurry.’
‘But why didn’t you explain that in your note? Or leave your number so I could contact you?’
‘I don’t know,’ she said sadly. ‘I guess when I read the text I panicked. I’m so sorry, Luke. I realised when I got home how much I missed you. I had no idea how to find you and then, as if by magic, there you were all over the tabloids. And now I’m here it looks as if I’ve arrived too late.’
‘Something like that.’ he agreed quietly, watching her wrestle with her disappointment and unsure of what was coming next. The last thing he wanted to have to deal with was an emotional outburst in a pub garden rapidly filling up with lunchtime customers.
She sat quietly for a moment then reached for her wine and took a large mouthful.
Finding her bag and a tissue she dabbed her eyes, expelled a deep breath and pasted on a watery smile.
‘Oh, what the hell.’ She gave a shrug. ‘I took a chance coming here and it hasn’t worked out.
I’ve no one to blame but myself. I should have known someone like you wouldn’t stay single for very long.
So,’ she played with the stem of her glass, ‘who is this new woman in your life? Come on, tell me about her.’
She sat quietly as Luke told her about Cat and when he finished she simply smiled and said, ‘I’m very disappointed but glad you’re happy.’
‘Thank you.’ Luke relaxed, relieved a potential difficult situation appeared to have been avoided. ‘And now I want to hear all about you. What have you been up to since your return?’
‘Me? Oh, I’m working in London at the moment … in advertising.’
‘It must pay well. That’s a pretty expensive car out there in the car park.’
‘My dad bought it for me,’ she volunteered with an amused smile. ‘A sort of welcome home present, and he owns the company I work for, which helps.’
‘Lucky girl.’
‘Yes, I suppose I am,’ she said staring thoughtfully into her empty glass.
‘Another drink?’
‘Better not, I’m driving,’ Tanya said as she checked her watch, ‘and it’s time for me to head back to London. Thank you for lunch, it was lovely to see you again.’
Luke settled the bill and they walked slowly back to the car park.
‘I hope Cat realises how lucky she is to have someone like you,’ she said as she used her remote to unlock the car.
‘She does, and I’m lucky to have her too.’ He smiled as he climbed in beside her. ‘She’s one in a million.’
Tanya dropped Luke off at the edge of the village. Wishing her a safe journey home, he watched the BMW until it was out of sight before turning and making his way back to the cottage.
He let himself in, climbed the stairs to his bedroom and stood for a moment.
The late afternoon sun washed over the room, bringing with it warmth and light.
He realised how much he’d missed this place and gave an involuntary shudder, remembering the Spartan conditions in the custody suite.
Currently he was out on bail while the police followed up another line of enquiry, but at least he had his freedom.
Thoughts of his imprisonment reminded him he needed to catch up with Gareth to thank him. He might have walked away in the beginning but he had come good in the end.
His mobile sat on the dresser where he’d left it on charge and he automatically reached for it.
Although he wasn’t planning to make an appearance at the club until nine, now he’d said goodbye to Tanya he desperately needed to hear Cat’s voice.
To his surprise the phone was dead. Surely it should be partially charged by now?
Checking the charger, he discovered it wasn’t turned on.
Strange, he thought as he stared at it. He was sure he remembered the blue light showing on the unit before he left the room to take a shower earlier.
Oh well, no hope of ringing her now, he’d simply have to wait until he saw her later.