Beneath an Irish Sky (Choc Lit) (30 page)

He stopped the car and stared ahead. He was tired and overwhelmingly homesick. He couldn’t – wouldn’t – run any more. The sign in front of him was strangely comforting.
Welcome to the Port of Holyhead
.

Matt entered the First Aid tent, looking anxious. Maggie had insisted he be called over the tannoy, and Jack had been too shocked by the incident to protest.

‘Jesus, Dad! What the hell happened?’

‘I was assaulted,’ mumbled Jack, slumped in a chair, holding an ice pack to his jaw.

‘Who did it?’ demanded Matt.

‘Luke.’

‘Come again?’

Jack wasn’t in the mood for going into a lot of detail. It hurt to speak. ‘Luke punched me – for no reason,’ he managed to say.

‘Actually, he punched you because of Annie,’ Maggie chimed in. ‘Apparently he was heard to say “That’s for my Mam”.’

Jack glowered at her and she shrugged. ‘All I’m saying is, that was his reason.’

Matt looked confused. And disbelieving. He most likely had Luke earmarked for sainthood, such was the relationship between the two of them. ‘But why now?’ he asked. ‘Luke’s been here a while and you’ve given him plenty cause to clock you before …’

‘Oh,
thank
you!’ snapped Jack. ‘
I’m
the injured party here, Matt. Literally.’

‘Nonsense. It was just a tap.’ Maggie pulled Jack’s hand with the ice pack away from his jaw and peered at the damage. ‘Hardly a mark. It’s your pride that’s been hurt most. That boy weighs next to nothing. He just caught you unawares.’

‘The nurse said I was lucky not to lose a tooth,’ declared Jack, but no one seemed interested.

‘Matt, find Luke,’ said Maggie. ‘Check he’s okay … Something happened to set him off. Something to do with his mother. The lad’s still grieving, you know …’

Jack hoped Maggie was being overcautious – Luke was touchy and hot-tempered but he’d not do something stupid.

Matt pulled out his mobile. ‘I’ll call Kate. She’s the first person Luke will go to.’

Five hours later there was still no sign of Luke and Kate was beside herself with worry. At first, everyone had been convinced he would contact her, but there’d been no word, no message. Driving round and round Baronsmere, she’d started to feel dizzy. Luke seemed to have vanished. Now it was getting dark and chilly and she hoped he had shelter, wherever he was.

At the village green parking area, Kate met as arranged with Tim, Matt and Al. The night sky was alight with fireworks, the May Day finale, and their worried faces glowed a ghostly green. None of them had found Luke.

‘Dad’s driving round Hadleigh and Marsham, just in case,’ Matt told them. ‘He insisted he was fit enough to do it.’

That was a long shot – Luke didn’t know either of those villages – but Kate appreciated Jack’s efforts.

‘Shall we stay here and scan the crowds as they leave after the fireworks?’ Tim suggested.

Kate gave a half-hearted nod. Luke had been so wound up that he’d punched his father. He was unlikely to be watching a firework display.

‘Do you want to go home, Kate?’ asked Matt. ‘You look done in. And Luke may go back there when he’s cooled down.’

Kate shook her head. ‘I need to be doing something, Matt. Let’s have just one last look round and then decide what to do next.’

The village green looked unfamiliar in the murky evening light. They did a quick check of the marquees where volunteers were stacking chairs and packing things in boxes. Tony Hayes waved them over. ‘Afraid the food’s all gone. How’s Jack? Reckon he’ll have quite the bruise tomorrow.’

Matt sighed. ‘That’s the least of our worries, Tony. We can’t find Luke.’

‘Sorry to hear that. I suppose he’s keeping his head down for a bit.’ Tony looked genuinely concerned. ‘Have you asked Sarah why he was so upset?’

‘My mum?’ asked Kate, startled.

‘Babs said she saw Luke talking to Sarah a few minutes before he went over and decked Jack.’

Had her mother provoked Luke into hitting Jack? At least it was something new to follow up, but the answer might be the final nail in the coffin for Sarah and Kate’s relationship.

Kate quickly roamed the rooms, but the cottage was empty.

‘I’ll make us some coffee,’ said Matt. ‘Then we’ll work out what to do next.’

Kate tried her mother’s mobile again but she still had it switched off. Sarah had left messages and texts every day since Kate had left home, but they’d gone unanswered. Perhaps Kate should have got in touch. Her mother’s tears today had seemed genuine. And Kate’s rejection had pushed Sarah into saying something upsetting to Luke – something about Jack.
That’s for my Mam.

Kate’s mind kept raking over the pieces of the puzzle as she and Matt drank their coffee.

‘I feel there’s something we’re missing,’ she said. ‘Let’s look at the facts. Luke was talking to my mum, and then he went straight over to Jack and punched him, saying it was for Annie.’

‘So?’ Matt rubbed his eyes, obviously fighting to stay awake.

Kate was exhausted, too, but the thought of Luke being out there alone forced her to focus.

‘My mum must have said something that implied Jack had hurt Annie in some way.’

‘Dad wouldn’t have hurt Annie. He loved her.’

As much as Kate didn’t want to believe it, her mother would have said anything if she thought it would cause trouble for Luke. Matt said Jack loved Annie, and everything other people said – Maggie, Barbara – seemed to bear that out. Did it mean, though, that Jack was totally innocent?

‘My mum’s filing cabinet,’ she said, thoughtfully.

‘What?’

‘The filing cabinet in the study. It’s always locked.’

‘I don’t see …’

‘Neither do I, Matt! I’m clutching at straws here, but if my mum knew something about Jack, or Annie, or whatever, then maybe – just maybe – there’s a clue.’ She put down her coffee and stood up. ‘If nothing else, it’ll pass some bloody time.’

Ten minutes later, Kate still hadn’t found the keys to the filing cabinet. Only one thing for it …

‘Matt – can you force it open? Mum must have the key with her.’

He looked horrified. ‘Kate, I can’t do that …’

‘Please! I’ll take responsibility. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced she’s hiding something, Matt. Last time she was in here, I came in to talk to her and she slammed the filing cabinet shut. Looked guilty as hell. I didn’t think about it at the time, but it’s not my imagination, I know it’s not.’

‘What makes you think I can get it open?’ said Matt.

‘You can do anything.’ She gave him her best smile.

He sighed. ‘And so begins my life of crime. Where’s your tool box?’

Kate’s eyes were beginning to blur. She’d gone through the contents of the top two filing cabinet drawers and found only information about the business: invoices, bank statements, insurance files.

‘I’m very uncomfortable with this, Kate,’ called Matt from the living room, where he was keeping an eye on the driveway in case Sarah returned. If she did, Kate would just say they thought they’d heard an intruder. Sarah could believe that or not. Kate was past caring.

‘I’m on the last drawer,’ she called to him.

The bottom drawer looked more promising. Letters from Kate’s grandmother in Spain, some holiday snaps, Kate’s school reports – she’d like to look at those but now wasn’t the time. Close to the back of the drawer, she pulled out a file with ‘Jackson’ written on the cover, not a name that meant anything to her. She opened it and something fluttered to the floor. A photo of a young boy. Picking it up, Kate’s heart – and time – seemed to stop. She held the picture, staring at it in disbelief, until suddenly Matt was there. Had she called out? She didn’t know. All she knew was that her world had just collapsed. The file lay where she’d dropped it. Jackson. Jack-son.

It was the early hours of Sunday morning and the ferry was packed with Bank Holiday travellers. There wasn’t a seat to be had so Luke sat on the floor, leaning against the side of the walkway between one of the lounges and the cafeteria. He picked up a magazine from the floor and rested it against his knees but couldn’t concentrate on reading. What a cock-up. He’d left the car in Holyhead because the ferry was fully booked, except for foot-passengers. So were the ferries for the next day. Maybe flying would have been the best option, but airport security was probably tighter. He didn’t want to have to try and explain why he was carrying thirty thousand euro in cash. Not to mention a valuable necklace.

He thought about Kate and the love they’d shared. So brief but so strong. He didn’t want to forget, but it hurt too much to remember: her smile, the affectionate way she would be watching him when he woke in the morning, the habit she had of gently pushing his hair away from his face. He took out his mobile and switched it on. God, so many texts. From Kate, from Matt, from Tim. None from Jack, of course. Why did that bother him? His fingers hovered over Kate’s number. It was so tempting, but what would he say? ‘Hi Kate, sorry I took off, but I just found out you’re my sister.’

He felt sick when he thought of how they’d made love, and he wanted to spare her that. He switched the phone off again and drew his knees up tight to his chest, putting his head down and using his folded arms as a pillow. He felt wretched. Damp seeped into his sleeve, and instinctively his hand went to his face to wipe away tears. Finally, after ten years, he was crying.

It was nearly nine and the bloody church bells were ringing when Sarah arrived home. Did the vicar really expect people to turn up when they’d spent all yesterday gorging and boozing? Most of them would feel like she did – wrecked. All she wanted was to shower and sleep.

She’d spent the night with Justin Somerville, local entrepreneur. He’d found her on the village green before she’d had a chance to completely disappear into her bottle of wine. He’d called himself her white knight and said she shouldn’t be alone on May Day. It had been so easy through the haze of alcohol to let him take charge, but back at his house, she’d not been able to block out thoughts of what she’d said to Luke so romance hadn’t exactly sparked between her and Justin.

She thought about what had happened yesterday. Surely Luke would have to leave now? But what about Kate? Would she get over Luke, or had Sarah ruined her daughter’s life? She leaned her forehead on the steering wheel, the tears close. Crying wasn’t going to help, though. She should think about the positive. Kate might not thank her now but Luke being out of her life would be best in the long run. Sarah got out of the car, looking forward to a long soak in the bath and then bed.

Walking into the kitchen, she almost fainted with fright to find Matt sitting large as life at the table. He was unshaven and looked exhausted. His expression was grim and Sarah’s stomach lurched. Dear God, don’t let something have happened to Kate. She sank into the chair opposite him. ‘What’s wrong, Matt?’

He looked at her as if she’d just crawled out from under a stone. ‘What’s wrong is what you said to Luke yesterday.’

So Luke had talked. The cat was out of the bag. How was she going to get out of this?

‘Yesterday? Did I speak to Luke? Can’t really remember. I’d had quite a lot to drink …’

‘Don’t try to kid me you don’t remember.’ Matt’s voice was cold, hard. ‘You were talking to Luke just before he punched Dad. Why did you do it, Sarah?’

Her heart was pounding. The last thing she needed was to be harassed like this in the morning. ‘It wasn’t my fault. Gavin was the one who told Luke that Kate was Jack’s daughter.’

The shocked expression on Matt’s face told her she’d just made a huge mistake. ‘You didn’t know, did you? You tricked me, you bastard. Get out.’ And he could kiss his job at the Foresters goodbye, too. She was done with the Stewarts.

Matt didn’t leave. ‘Luke’s gone, you know,’ he said quietly.

‘Well, I’m not sorry. He didn’t belong here. And he didn’t belong with Kate.’ He would think her a bitch but she didn’t care. She’d only been protecting her daughter.

‘Kate’s gone, too,’ Matt said.

‘What?’ Sarah’s stomach flipped.

‘Gone,’ Matt repeated. ‘If I were her, I’d never want to see you or speak to you again. You’ve ruined her life. She said she couldn’t live without Luke.’

Sarah felt faint. ‘Matt, what are you saying? Kate wouldn’t do anything stupid – she wouldn’t!’

‘Who knows what was going through her mind? She loves Luke. He’s gone. She’ll be very emotional right now.’

Sarah started to panic. Her baby girl was gone. ‘Get her back, Matt, get her back!’ she heard herself saying. ‘It’s not true. Jack isn’t her dad … but I told Luke he was. I didn’t want them to be together. I’m so sorry.’

‘And what about this? Are you sorry for this, too?’ Matt reached inside his jacket and pulled out a photo, which he pushed across the table to her. Oh dear God, no …

‘How … how did you get this?’ she asked.

‘More to the point, how did you get it?’ Matt asked. The way he was looking at her was more than she could bear. Like she was the scum of the earth, which maybe she was.

‘It’s Luke, isn’t it?’ said Matt.

Sarah looked at the photo in front of her, at the boy with a mass of dark curls and huge, haunted eyes, who looked remarkably similar to the man he’d grown into. Sarah opened her mouth to lie but then Matt reached into his pocket once more and put a sheet of paper on the table.

‘And this,’ he said. ‘A letter Annie sent, ten years ago, begging Claire to act on her behalf and ask my dad for help. He never saw this, and I’m guessing Claire didn’t either. How did you get it, Sarah?’

‘Has Kate seen it?’ she whispered.

‘Why do you think she’s gone?’

‘Oh, God!’

‘Tell me, dammit! How did you get hold of it?’

Sarah was shaking with nerves. Such a long time to keep this secret, it was hard to give it up.

‘Of course, I could take it to the police,’ said Matt. ‘Let them handle it. Maybe they can’t make anything stick but you’ll be ruined by the end of it all. Tell me the truth about this and it stays in the family, I promise.’

It was probably the best deal Sarah was going to get. She’d lost Jack so it didn’t really matter what he thought. But if Kate knew she’d come clean, it might help. ‘Could I have a coffee? Then I’ll tell you what happened.’