Chapter 26
Finn and Callum, accompanied by Angus and Hamish who were with them, and Declan, who to Finn’s surprise had joined them at the last minute, had just paused on the cliff path for a break.
‘I’m beginning to think this is bloody hopeless,’ Callum said. ‘It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. She could be anywhere.’
‘Aye.’ Angus and Hamish exchanged glances. ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Angus muttered.
‘That she’s already gone over the edge?’ Hamish asked. ‘Aye, I’m beginning to think that. We’d have seen her, wouldn’t we, if she was just running aboot up here?’
Finn hadn’t wanted to put it into words, but now someone else had, he felt his heart sink. ‘Dogs are survivors.’
‘Some dogs are,’ Declan said unhelpfully. ‘That spoiled mutt has never had to live off its wits, has it? It’s been mollycoddled all its life.’
‘She’s a she,’ Finn said icily.
‘OK. But it’s not like she’ – Declan over-emphasised the word in a voice laced with sarcasm – ‘is a terrier, is it. Tough little dogs, terriers. Whippets are good for hunting and racing. Not much else. Their bones are too fragile. She wouldn’t last a single night out here on her own.’
Finn turned on him angrily. ‘Not helpful.’
Callum’s brows drew into a frown too and Declan put his hands up in front of him in a defensive gesture. ‘I’m just saying. OK?’
For a moment no one moved or spoke. The summer’s day darkened as if a shadow had passed over the sun.
Then, as if by some tacit agreement, all five men moved off the coast path and towards the edge of the cliff.
They were on a particularly steep bit. Sheer rock face dropped away from the edge with barely a ledge to break it and on downwards to the narrow strip of yellow sand, hundreds of metres below.
Finn shielded his eyes and looked downwards. ‘We can’t give up. She’s Ben’s dog. God only knows how he’s feeling. We need to keep looking. But maybe we should be paying more attention to the cliffs.’
‘I’m not up for climbing over there,’ Angus muttered. ‘Not without ropes and proper kit anyway.’
‘And not dressed like this,’ Hamish said, lifting an eyebrow. None of them had changed out of their kilts.
‘Not on a whim,’ Callum agreed.
‘I don’t mean we should climb over on a whim.’ Finn pulled out his phone. ‘We’d need a proper sighting first.’
‘Will you go over there if we get one?’ Callum asked him.
‘I’d rather not.’ Finn shot him a look. ‘But then if she’d gone over here she’d never have survived the fall.’
He was keenly aware that Declan was a short distance away from him and he clenched his hands into fists.
Dark thoughts about his brother tumbling over a nice steep cliff swirled around in his head and he blinked them away.
He was mildly surprised to realise he didn’t want his sibling dead, however irritating he was.
Although maybe that was just because today was supposed to be his wedding day, and he still had a modicum of hope deep down that they could rescue the situation.
That somehow they’d manage to find Chocko and get back on track and get married after all.
He dared not think about Jade. She’d been planning this day for months. She and Sarah had agonised over every detail. Their schedule had been pinned down. Every contingency had been covered and given a back-up plan. Well, almost every contingency had been covered.
‘Finn’s right,’ Callum said, his voice measured. ‘I think we should head back towards the hotel. I don’t think the cliff’s so steep further back. It might be a good idea to focus on the cliffside there. Everyone in agreement?’
Everyone nodded.
Finn got out his phone and called Ursula and then relayed what she’d said to the other guys.
‘No news yet, I’m afraid.’
Back in Clara’s office, Zoe was speaking in an impossibly bright voice.
‘The good news is that the celebrant doesn’t have another wedding today, so he’s flexible. He’s very sympathetic to the situation and he’s happy to marry you all later in the day. So we don’t need to worry about that.’
‘And the catering staff?’ Jade asked. ‘How flexible are they?’
‘Mr B is a little stressed.’ The slight panic that flashed through Zoe’s eyes told Jade that Zoe was a master of understatement.
Having met the eccentric chef and knowing how proud he was of his culinary creations, she could imagine only too well what Mr B was doing.
By now he’d probably run out of elaborate swear words and was hurling plates at the kitchen walls, if not his unfortunate staff.
‘You can leave Mr B to me,’ Clara intervened swiftly. ‘I’ve appraised him of the situation and he completely understands. We all like dogs.’
Jade nodded. ‘Thank you.’
‘I know it’s a little unorthodox,’ Zoe continued, ‘but Mr B has suggested that perhaps we could have the wedding breakfast before the wedding. That’s if you don’t mind.’ She smiled a bright smile but her eyes were pleading.
Jade nodded. ‘Sarah and I were thinking the same. We know that food can’t necessarily wait without spoiling.’
‘Thank you so much.’ Zoe looked as though she was about to collapse with relief.
Even Clara looked slightly less strained and Jade wondered who truly called the shots at the Bluebell Cliff. Maybe things were different at their wedding events. Or maybe prima donna chefs always called the shots behind the scenes.
Clara took over. ‘The next thing we’d need to do would be to get word to the guests.
Ideally, if we could get most of the top table guests in place and as many of the other guests who are available, that would work.
We were wondering if some of our staff could take their place in the search for Chocko?
Do shifts. That way people could eat without holding up the search? ’
‘I’ve already posted Chocko’s picture on our staff WhatsApp group,’ Zoe said. ‘Ursula gave it to me earlier.’
‘That’s really nice of your staff. Thank you.’ Jade thought again how lovely Zoe was. How lovely everyone was being. She found herself blinking back tears again, overwhelmed by the two women’s kindness.
‘We will find your lovely dog, I’m sure.’ Zoe touched Jade’s arm and fleetingly she thought she might break apart. Crumble into a thousand pieces. It was so odd how it was kindness that did that. You could be so brave in the face of adversity, but one touch of kindness had you on your knees.
Almost unconsciously, she straightened her back. She would not fall apart. She gripped her hands together in front of her. ‘Right. I’ll go and find Sarah and tell her what we’ve agreed. And then we can spread the word with the guests, including those out searching. We’ve all got phones.’
‘Great.’ Clara held open her office door for them both.
‘Zoe, if you could let the guests in the bar know what’s happening.
Also if you could round up the staff who aren’t already out and let them know what’s happening, I will touch base with Mr B.
’ Her face was resolute and Jade felt for her as she watched her sweep across reception.
She definitely wouldn’t have wanted to swap places with Clara.
The manager was barely out of sight when Jade saw Ben and Sarah coming into reception. She could see from their downcast expressions that Chocko hadn’t been miraculously discovered by the kennels.
She hurried across. ‘Any news from the drone man? Have you seen him?’
‘No,’ Sarah said. ‘But I’m going to do that now. He’s down the end of the hotel gardens. Ben’s going back to be with the other dogs for a bit, aren’t you, love. I promise I’ll come and get you the instant there’s any news.’
‘OK.’ Ben nodded. His eyes were tearful. But he went.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Jade told her about the contingency plans she’d just made with Clara and Zoe.
‘Sounds good to me.’ Sarah hesitated. ‘We definitely need to make the best of things. I know we’re insured but I’m not sure how happy they’ll be if we tell them we called off the wedding to look for a lost dog.’
‘Not just any lost dog,’ Jade said, but she knew in her heart Sarah was right. Their insurance company would be sympathetic up to a point, but they’d be looking at things in terms of cold hard cash, which meant cold hard facts.
Even the fact that Chocko had been carrying the rings wasn’t going to cut much ice.
Why hadn’t they used substitute rings? Why had the entire wedding party, brides included, had to abandon the day?
The insurance company might not be sympathetic at all.
Jade swallowed. She couldn’t bear to think about it at the moment.
‘On second thoughts, I think I’d better keep an eye on Ben,’ Sarah said. ‘I don’t want him abandoning his post and deciding to go back out to the cliffs alone. Can you talk to the drone man?’
‘I’m on it.’ They hugged briefly.
Then, aware that some of their guests were looking at her curiously and not wanting to have to stop and explain anything just yet, Jade fled outside.
She found Ursula and Dave at the foot of the gardens. Dave was a tall, lanky guy, even taller than Ursula, and almost as dark skinned as her, but with greying dreadlocks.
They were surrounded by a circle of wedding guests. Dorrie was amongst them and as Jade approached, the circle, all except Dorrie and Ursula, melted back so she could get through. Dorrie stepped forward and patted her shoulder.
‘It’s going to be OK, love. Dave’s a genius with that thing. He’s done a lot of the cliff already. He’s on a mission to find Chocko. We’ll get you married today, one way or another.’
Dave paused from looking at the screen in his hands to glance at Jade. ‘So is it Jade or Sarah to whom I have the pleasure?’
He had a fabulously warm and deep voice, and she found herself trusting him instinctively. ‘I’m Jade. Sarah’s the fair-haired bride.’ Suddenly aware that neither of them were actually in their wedding dresses, she amended – ‘Sarah’s wearing the cream jumpsuit. Thank you so much for coming to help.’
‘It’s not a problem, doll. Lucky I was in the area.’ His smile revealed perfect teeth, and he looked back at his drone and was almost instantly distracted.
For a few moments no one spoke. And although Jade had come out here to marshal the wedding guests into the hotel, she didn’t do it. There was something mesmerising about watching Dave’s face. His intense concentration.
She dragged her gaze away to focus on the drone which she could hear was somewhere close by and then she saw it high above them, hovering not far from a crowd of squawking seagulls in the soft blue August sky.
Jade was about to start telling her guests the plan to eat when she heard a gasp. It was Ursula, she realised, who was standing close to Dave, looking over his shoulder.
‘Oh, dear lord.’
‘What? What is it?’ The words were out of Jade’s mouth unbidden. ‘Can you see something? Is it her?’
For a moment Dave didn’t speak. The concentration on his face increased, then he gave an almost imperceptible nod. ‘I can see something. I’m not sure if it’s her. This is a thermal drone. Hang on.’
The wait was endless. A silence fell across the small gathering as the expectation heightened. Dave said nothing more, just fiddled with some settings.
‘OK.’ He paused and looked directly at Jade. ‘You must have brought the luck with you. The good news is that yes, I think it’s her.’
‘Is there some bad news?’ Jade’s whole body was stiff with tension. ‘Is she OK? Where is she?’
‘I think she’s OK. She’s moving. But there is some not so good news, yes. She’s in a precarious position. She’s halfway down a pretty steep cliff.’