Chapter 27
We’re safe – as in, on dry land. I’m shivering and shaking all over, and I feel like I might never again draw a full breath.
A wave crashes against the little dinghy, sending it towards the breakwater at the mouth of the cave.
There’s a sharp splitting noise as its wooden hull loses the battle with the sharp rocks.
Whatever happens, we won’t be escaping by sea.
But we’re not the only ones in need of a safe port.
Cliff’s boat is still beyond the breakers, but there’s no sign of Will – is he even now lying on deck bleeding out from the gunshot wound?
I want to scream his name; I want to wait here until he miraculously appears and I know that he’s OK.
But I don’t have the luxury to do either.
The inflatable boat piloted by Ollie is adrift and coming near to the cave.
The refugees are screaming and praying. Shivering in the bow of the boat, Alex tries to quiet them without success.
They’ve given up their money and homeland to find freedom and a better life.
They deserve better than this. But unless we get ourselves to safety, we can’t help them.
Darkness and mayhem are now our best and only friends.
‘I see them!’ Ollie yells.
‘Where?’ Alex shouts.
‘In the cave. And they’re not getting away this time.’
I picture Ollie’s face in the moment before he kissed me. His eyes soft, his body deliciously firm. Would he really hurt me – or worse? And Connor and Med? He has a gun and he’s already shot at Will. Plus, he has a boatload of people who are anything but safe.
He’s a ruthless bastard. I’m not taking any chances.
I jump to my feet, pulling Connor and Med up.
‘Come on,’ I say. ‘We’ve got to get away.’ I take out my phone from the pocket of my soaked jeans, and miraculously, it powers on. I’ve got no signal, but enough battery for the torch. ‘We’ll have to go through the tunnels – I hope you know the way.’
I don’t have to ask twice. As the inflatable boat enters the cave, the boys are already running towards the steep rock wall that leads to the main passage.
I’ve almost reached them, blending into the darkness, when Alex, damn him, calls out. ‘There – I see them. They’re going into the tunnels.’
Ollie’s reply sends a chill down my spine.
‘Luckily, I know them like the back of my hand. Tie up the boat and let’s go.’
Oh God. Oh God. I rush over the uneven ground, scrambling upwards over the rocks that lead to the old mine workings. Connor and Med are already at the top, waiting by the entrance to the little side alcove where I found the food and sleeping roll.
‘Is there a way out through there?’ I point into the space.
‘No,’ Med says. ‘We must go through main passage.’
‘But how do we get out?’ I say. I know very little about the cave system, but Ollie supposedly sealed off the hole in the cellar wall. Maybe he lied, but I don’t want to find out that it’s true and end up getting trapped. ‘The cellar wall is sealed off,’ I call out. ‘Can we go a different way?’
But Connor shakes his head. ‘No, Mum. It’s high tide. Some of the branch tunnels flood.’
‘I’m not even going to ask how you know that.’
He shrugs. ‘Med’s been hiding out down here for almost two months. I trust him.’
Two months! I can’t imagine wanting to be down here for two minutes, though there’s little choice.
Ahead of us, Ahmed stops. ‘We must go up to the pirate cave,’ he says.
‘Are you sure?’ I say.
‘Yes.’ Med shows no sign of hesitation. Two months. Who am I to argue with that sort of experience?
We continue on through the low passage, the ground uneven underfoot. Then, in the darkness, I collide with a large object at the side of the passage, crying out as I fall over it, head over heels.
‘Wait!’ I say to the two boys who are ahead of me.
‘Mum?’ Connor says. ‘Are you OK?’
‘I think so.’ I stand up, risking the light from my phone screen for a second. It’s one of Cliff’s bootleg casks. I feel momentarily offended – not for myself but for the Cross Keys. It didn’t ask to be involved in so many nefarious deeds, surely! Once we get to safety, I’ll put a stop to it… If…
I get to my feet and hurry forward, following the sound of the boys’ footsteps. In the distance, I hear a shout: ‘This way!’ – Alex or Ollie – I’m not sure which, but my pulse jolts in terror and I stumble a little faster.
Eventually, I reach the stone steps that lead up to the pirate cave. I can hear Connor and Med’s loud whispers – they’re already up there and almost to safety. But then I hear Connor say, ‘You know where the key is, right?’
And Ahmed’s response: ‘No. I do not. Usually, it is open.’
My chest tightens with panic as I realise the implication. The door from the cave to the museum is locked.
And this time, there’s nowhere to run.
I continue to the top of the steps and into the cave. In the glow of the single orange security light, I round the corner and run headlong into a toothy rogue brandishing a knife. I stifle a scream; it’s a wax figure – I know that. But knowing doesn’t make it any less disturbing.
And seeing the pirate gives me an idea.
‘Quick!’ I yell to Med and Connor. ‘They’re coming. We have to hide.’
‘Hide where?’ Connor says. ‘The door’s locked.’
‘Yeah, so just… blend in.’
Connor’s eyes spark with a memory – of the very first night we came to the Cross Keys. When the exhibition came to life and we were shot at by a real, flesh and blood pirate who was hiding in plain sight.
‘OK, Mum,’ he says. ‘Good idea.’
Voices come from the bottom of the steps. We have seconds – maybe a minute, tops.
I go over to the Bess tableau – the wax figure is lying in a bed with blood dripping in a puddle around her.
On the fake windowsill is a ship in a bottle that looks old and fragile.
I go over to the woman, jerk the covers off her, shove her dust cap onto my head, and roll her off the side.
I see Connor stifle a laugh but he runs over to one of the pirate figures and grabs a hat, neckerchief and cutlass, and Med does the same.
They wedge themselves in between two of the wax figures, looking slightly away from the viewing place.
Although their clothes are modern, they’re dripping wet, and dishevelled.
They leer piratically, standing as still as statues.
Most people see what they expect to see. It will have to be enough.
I keep my eyes affixed on the model ship as footsteps run towards us and stop. Even in the dim light, I feel naked and exposed as Ollie rushes into the cave, followed by Alex. The tiny part of me that isn’t terrified can’t wait to say I told you so when I next see Bridget.
If we live to tell the tale.
Alex goes to the door and tries it, finding it locked. He turns back to Ollie. ‘They can’t have got out that way,’ he says. ‘And there’s no one here. Let’s go back, boss. This place is way creepy. They must have gone down another passage.’
‘No,’ Ollie growls. ‘They’re here somewhere.’
‘Well, I don’t see—’
Ollie takes out his gun and cocks the trigger. My heart is pounding so loudly – Connor and Med… how will they be able to stand the sheer terror of knowing that we’re—
‘There!’
It all happens in a second. Ollie spots the boys and lunges towards them.
The gun goes off, a bullet whizzing just over my head.
It hits the ship in a bottle; the glass shatters, the shards raining in all directions.
I scream. Someone cries out. The sounds echo on and on.
Something thunks to the floor of the cave.
But it’s not my son or his friend… It’s Ollie.
With a cutlass jammed into his side.