Chapter 37
Where are you, Mattie?” Nell mumbled the words under her breath as she stared out of the window of the cafe where they’d agreed to meet.
The street was gloomy and quiet, the squally weather putting people off from venturing outside unless they really had to.
She drained her second latte, having already finished the cinnamon bun she’d eaten as comfort food.
Mattie was more than an hour late now. Nell’s stomach twisted uncomfortably as her overthinking mind toyed with her.
Traffic delays? Probably. Car crash? She could go back to the office and check traffic and accident bulletins.
It would put her mind at rest but what if— Don’t go there.
Outside, she bowed her head against the wind and rain.
A sudden wave of weariness washed over her.
She’d pumped herself up for seeing Mattie again, for laying everything on the table, not just about her feelings but the abuse stuff as well.
Now she had to fight an urge to sink to the ground and cry, all of which was very unlike her.
She squinted at the car park over by the quay.
What was going on there? Two police cars with their blue lights flashing were parked next to the sea wall, and a small group of people huddled together like penguins fending off the fierce cold.
Professional curiosity won out against the desire to get back to the warmth of the office, and she cut across the puddle-strewn tarmac.
DC Oliver was peering over the mangled remains of the metal barrier that stood between the edge of the sea wall and the sloping, rocky drop to the water five metres below.
“What have you got?” she called out to him.
“Car crashed through the railings into the water, ma’am,” he said.
Fear rocketed through Nell, and it was a struggle to rein it in.
Mattie was a safe driver, a sensible one.
But could...could the car be hers? The car park was reasonably close to the cafe.
Adrenaline spiked through her system, making her heart beat rapidly.
She peered over the sea wall. Huge chunks of rock, purposely put there as part of the town’s sea defences, spread out before her.
The back end of a silver VW Golf poked out of the water, but the rest of it was wedged at a precarious angle on the rocks and completely submerged by the sea.
What brand of car did Mattie drive? “Casualties?” She barely managed to force out the single word.
“We haven’t been able to get down there yet. The underwater search team is on its way. Number plate ID shows the car is registered to a woman living at a London address.” Oliver scanned his notebook. “Matilda Elliott.”
No. No. No. She stared down at the mangled wreckage. The earth began to spin wildly off its axis.
“Ma’am?”
Nell turned and realised Oliver was staring at her curiously. “Not Mattie. It can’t be Mattie,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper, as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs.
“Is everything all right, ma’am?”
Her Mattie, trapped in that car, trying in vain to free herself in the bone-chillingly cold water.
“Ma’am, I think you should sit down.”
Her leaden legs gave way, and warmth drained from her.
Someone led her to a bench. Someone else wrapped a foil blanket around her shoulders.
Noise and movement went on around her, but it was impossible to tune into any of it.
Her hand trembled and her legs shook as her world caved in on itself. Mattie, Mattie, Mattie.
A gentle hand fell on her shoulder, and she startled at the touch. She looked up to see Oliver again.
“There’s someone here to see you,” he said.
She didn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone unless it was Mattie. And that wasn’t going to happen ever again.
“Nell?”
She snapped her head around at that voice. Now she was imagining things. An apparition in shiny silver repeated her name. “Mattie?”
“Snap.” Mattie shivered as she gestured at their matching foil blankets.
“How... Why...” Words stuck in Nell’s parched throat.
Mattie slumped onto the bench next to her. “Some bastard stole my car.”
Nell clutched at the foil blanket, needing its touch to ground her. “Thank god,” she whispered.
“That someone stole my car?”
“Yes. Because it means you’re not,” she pointed at the water, “in there.”
Mattie edged towards the gap in the metal railings and peered down. “My car!”
Nell saw the precise moment it dawned on Mattie that Nell had feared she was dead. Her features paled and fell slack. “You thought I was driving when it… That I was down there.”
“Yes.”
Mattie blinked rapidly. “Oh, sweetheart.”
Nell held Mattie’s stricken gaze. Blood, and warmth, and hope flooded her again. For long moments, she was unaware of anything except this woman. Nothing else mattered. “Are you hurt?”
“No. Just cold, and wet, and fed up. And a few other emotions I need to express but not in a public car park surrounded by your work colleagues.” Mattie gestured at their matching thermal blankets. “We must look a right pair.”
“I don’t care.” Nell’s voice still trembled. “We should get you checked out. Hypothermia is a medical emergency that–”
“I don’t have hypothermia. I just got a bit nippy, that’s all.” Mattie pulled her hand out from under the foil blanket and grasped Nell’s. “See? Warm now.” She brought their conjoined hands to her chest. “So is my heart.”
“It is,” Nell whispered.
Someone coughed and Mattie dropped Nell’s hand like it was a piece of burning wood. “Sorry. I forgot where we were for a moment and you work with these people and–”
“Are they watching us?” Nell interrupted.
Mattie flicked her eyes around surreptitiously without needing to turn her head. She groaned. “Some are, yes.”
“Good.” And with that, Nell let her heart off its leash.
She cupped both hands around Mattie’s face, pulled her closer, and kissed her on the lips.
It was tender and chaste and set her world aglow.
“I love you.” She spoke rather than whispered the words.
The whole world could hear, for all she cared.
Mattie’s eyes shone brightly. “And I love you.”
Nell’s lips dropped open in wonder. “You do?”
Mattie nodded, a bashful smile creasing her beautiful face.
Nell rested her forehead against Mattie’s. “Let’s go home.”
“Yes,” said Mattie.
The plan was immediately foiled by DC Oliver and his professional requirement to deal with red tape. She rolled her eyes at his discreet cough to get her attention. He couldn’t quite meet her eye. Ah, so he’d seen her kiss Mattie. So had others. That would get the gossip mill churning. About time.
Mattie was required to give a statement as to how and when her car got stolen. It was all Nell could do to keep a straight face when Mattie admitted to peeing in public.
“You’re not going to report me for that, are you?” Mattie asked.
Oliver’s eyes widened as he looked at Nell for guidance. Clearly, he saw her tiny shake of the head because he said, “I doubt that would be in the public interest in this case, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” said Mattie.
Nell snorted.
Mattie nudged her as they walked up to the police station so Nell could collect her car and drive them home. “Have you finished snickering at me now, chief inspector?”
“The look on your face was adorable.” Nell slowed her pace, enjoying simply walking together, not touching but close enough to be intimate. “We have so much to catch up on.”
Mattie gave her a smile that made Nell’s toes curl. “We do.”
But on the journey home to Nell’s, they talked about practical stuff. Mattie’s car was a write-off and most likely, so were her belongings inside it.
“I’ll have to contact the insurance company,” said Mattie. “And then I’ll go online and order a new laptop and phone. And some clothes.” She flared her nostrils in obvious disgust. “This hoodie’s coming off the moment we get in. It’s covered with dog hair.”
“Ah, that’s where the curious smell is emanating from.
” Nell grinned. “I’ve got a shirt you’re welcome to borrow.
It’s a bit big on you, but it has been featured on national TV.
” They laughed together, and the glorious sound filled Nell’s heart to the brim.
Right now, anything felt possible. But first, they needed to talk.