Wreckers Island (romantic suspense) (22 page)

‘Louise, you have said enough already,’ he
told her. ‘It is intolerable the pressure you are putting on Emma and I won’t
stand for it any longer.’

‘Emma, listen to me,’ Dan said, turning to
her and putting his hands on her shoulders. ‘You must do whatever you think is
right. None of us should tell you what that is, including me. If what happened
will torture you and eat away at you for the rest of your life, you must deal
with it as you see fit. If you feel you have to go to the police, I will
support you. Don’t worry about John and me, we will have to account for our
wrongdoing and explain ourselves before a judge. You shouldn’t be bounced into
acting against your conscience for our sakes.’

Louise tutted and rolled her eyes angrily.
She could hardly believe the day’s turn of events. If only they had left the
courtroom promptly at the end of their inquest and not found themselves
accidentally staying for the next. What dreadful bad luck that the one
immediately after should be Zak’s!

John was thinking the same, although logic
told him that it was not so great a coincidence as it seemed, since the two
matters would inevitably have been reported to the Coroner in close succession.
The four of them fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. A coolish wind
rustled the leaves in the great horse chestnut above and blew pleasant autumn
scents into their nostrils.

Eventually, Dan spoke. ‘Emma, we are in this
together. We stand or fall together. Whatever relationships we have had amongst
the four of us, fundamentally we are the best of friends. If you wish to go to
the police station now and make a statement we will go with you and face it
together. Won’t we?’ he said to John and Louise.

The two of them knew that it was futile to
argue any further. John nodded. Louise shrugged.

‘That’s what I have to do,’ said Emma, in a
quiet monotone.

‘Shall we go,’ said Dan. They got up and
walked slowly out of the park.

‘I think the main police station is somewhere
that way,’ said Louise, pointing vaguely along the high street. Unlike the
others, she knew St Perro well and they trustingly followed her lead.

‘Hang on a minute,’ said Dan, who was
getting wise to Louise and her ways. ‘That’s the police station, the other way
to our left, across the road. You can see its blue lamp outside, quite
clearly.’

‘Sorry, I must have been mistaken,’ said
Louise, wincing with annoyance. She had hoped that by heading off in completely
the opposite direction, there might have been time for Emma to walk off her
desire to go anywhere near the place.

Emma’s tears had dried now, she seemed
calmer and more assured, as if she knew what she had to do. She halted abruptly
and turned to Louise. ‘Yet another deception!’ she said, spitting out the words
as she glared at her.

Louise replied, despairingly, ‘come on Emma,
we admire you hugely for your stance on this, but please don’t go through with
it.’

‘Leave me be, Louise. I will go to the
police station and I will go by myself. I need to do this on my own,’ said Emma.
‘Why don’t you go back to the lighthouse, and if I am let out on bail later I’ll
join you. If I’m locked up I’m sure they’ll allow me a phone call to explain.’

‘I’d rather not be at my lovely lighthouse
when the police come calling for us,’ said Louise, ‘as they no doubt will. I
don’t want that sort of experience imprinted on my brain. It will tarnish the
place forever. Why don’t the rest of us do as originally planned, go to
Gunwalloe Cove with our beach tents, light a driftwood fire and have a good
barbecue – a sort of condemned man’s last meal? The police will be able to find
us easily but hopefully by the time they do we’ll be well fed with a few beers
inside us for Dutch courage.’

John and Dan smiled wryly, while Emma looked
troubled and upset.

‘I think that is a good idea,’ agreed John.
‘We’ll take some rudimentary items to keep ourselves warm and comfortable if we
do get to stay the night along with plenty of beers and burgers. We’ve got our
little barrel barbecue in the boot of the car, we can use that. I think there
are also a couple of bags of charcoal.’

Louise and Dan nodded.

‘Right, Louise and I will head to the car and
give you and Dan a moment alone together,’ said John, considerately, to Emma,
giving her shoulder a rub. ‘I do hope things go ok, you have to do what you
think is best. Hopefully we’ll see you later this afternoon.’

With that, John grabbed Louise’s arm and
walked off with her towards the car park.

‘Emma, I’m so sorry for what’s happened,’
said Dan as he watched the others head off.

‘So am I. Give me a hug Dan, a big hug,’
replied Emma.

The couple embraced passionately in the
middle of the pavement, oblivious to the world around them. To passers-by they
would have looked like a pair of love-struck teenagers, unable to contain their
longing for each other. But here were two young people for whom the future
looked bleak: career hopes set to be dashed; education at a top university
ruined; romance torn apart; prospect of great wealth blown away. They had the
world at their feet – but within minutes, it was primed to explode.

Alone with Emma, Dan could have made a last-gasp
appeal for her to leave things be, for all their sakes. She was vulnerable and
afraid and it might have worked. He made no such attempt. They walked slowly,
with increasing foreboding, towards the huge entrance doors of the main police
station in St Perro.

As they got nearer Dan turned to Emma. ‘I
could come in with you, or I could wait outside.’

‘Go with the others my love,’ said Emma, brushing
his cheek tenderly. ‘I understand Dan, my wonderful Dan, why you did what you
did. You did it for the love of me and I am sure that God will forgive you.’

‘But you can’t forgive me,’ said Dan.

‘I can’t forgive myself,’ replied Emma. ‘I
must do what I know to be right.’

Dan looked at his girlfriend and noticed how
lovely she looked in the autumn sunshine, enhancing the blueness of her eyes
and giving her blonde hair extra lustre.

‘We will come through this,’ he told her. ‘I
don’t care if we find ourselves penniless, with no degree, and no job
prospects. So long as I have you I will never want for anything. If we both end
up in prison, we will count the days until we are out and can be together again.
If the right thing for you to do is to report this, I respect your decision.
You are a better person than any of us for being willing to do that and I’m
proud of you.’

‘Thank you,’ she replied, fighting back
tears. ‘Our love will give us the fortitude we’ll need in the days ahead, I
promise you.’

They embraced one last time. Dan gave Emma a
final affectionate squeeze of the arm, turned and walked away towards the car
park where John and Louise waited patiently. He stole a final glance behind him
and saw Emma walk to the main doors of the police station. The sight made him
shiver.

Dan could not bear to see her actually go inside,
into the place where their future dreams would shrivel and crumble into dust
and he turned away. Keeping his eyes firmly fixed ahead, he walked resolutely
to the others.

‘Let’s go,’ he said, sadly, as he got inside
Louise’s car. They smiled supportively at him, realising that he was hurting
more than anyone.

‘If only I hadn’t been so stupid that day,’ said Dan,
bitterly. ‘Not one but two fool’s errands – first when we were in the cave,
returning to the lighthouse to get Captain Felipe’s diary so I could place it
on his hidden shelf then later, then returning to the tunnels to retrieve it
again. Whatever was I thinking of?’

‘Now hang on,’ said John, almost angrily,
‘thank goodness for your first fool’s errand as you call it, because otherwise
you’d have been trussed up with the rest of us and Zak and Jake would have made
off with everything.’

‘Trouble is, John,’ said Dan, bitterly, that
would in many ways have been a far better outcome than the one we’re now
facing.’

John didn’t reply and nor did Louise. Dan
had a point. The three of them travelled in silence on what seemed like an
endless journey to Porthlevnack. As Louise pulled up by the jetty she had known
all her life, the place looked the same yet somehow different as if she could
now only view its charms through a prism of fear and foreboding, rather than
anticipation and hope.

John did his best to sound brisk and
cheerful as they got ready to camp on the beach at Gunwalloe Cove. Their
spirits lifted despite everything as they bought meat to put on the barbecue, a
few snacks and several bottles of their favourite beers. John and Dan collected
a great pile of driftwood to make a warming bonfire.

When it blazed up, after a couple of false
starts due to the sea breeze blowing out their matches, they looked bordering
on cheerful as they stood and watched the flames lick high into the sky. John
childishly hurled a great pile of seaweed on to make it smoke and pop.

‘That is the maritime equivalent of getting
a length of bubble wrap and bursting it again and again,’ said Dan.

‘Erm yes, I do that too at home, actually,’ admitted
John, ‘When a parcel comes I will sit there popping every single bubble until
they’re all gone – infuriates my mum – I tell you, if looks could kill.’

He faltered at that point and a grin that
had temporarily crossed his face disappeared quickly. The ‘k’ word was not one
they wanted to hear again that day. The pair of them fell silent at the
reminder of home and families.

John couldn’t help but compare the mild annoyance
he might cause his parents by popping bubble wrap to the impact of the more
sombre news he would soon have to impart – that he faced trial for attempting
to pervert the cause of justice and illegally disposing of a body, and possibly
even being considered an accessory to unlawful killing.

Oxford University would be sure to expel the
four of them, and that, plus a criminal record and likely gaol sentence would
wreck any realistic hope of a job, certainly in any kind of profession. As for
the financial reward due from the treasure, they could forget it. It would be
deemed obtained through illegal means, in breach of the law and code of conduct
governing the finding of treasure. That meant it would be forfeit.

Similar thoughts were running through Dan’s
mind but he was more concerned about the torment Emma must be feeling. As for
Louise, she was angry and upset. Why, she mused, should she have to suffer for
the actions of her friends? Emma had killed Zak and John and Dan had attempted
to dispose of his body. The heads of the three of them were on the block. What
had she done? If it hadn’t been for her delaying tactics, Dan would never have
had the chance to get down to the caves, change into Captain Felipe’s old
clothes and scare off Zak and Jake.

Her conscience pricked her with a reminder
of her boorish, loud-mouthed behaviour in the pub the previous night which had
needlessly attracted attention and been the trigger for the drama the following
day. Looking at it that way round, she concluded miserably, she was primarily
to blame.

‘We’ll feel better when we’ve got some food and
beer inside us,’ said John, glancing at her glum face.

He was right. It was good to see tasty
burgers, sausages, kebabs and ribs sizzling away on the barbecue, exuding a
fragrant plume of smoke. When they came to eat, they were so tense they could
barely taste their food. But swigging strong beers helped them to relax and feel
a sense of camaraderie. They were in this mess together.

Late afternoon came and the sun slipped noticeably
towards the horizon. It was getting chillier. John and Dan threw more driftwood
onto the fire and it blazed again strongly, its dancing flames more vivid and
dramatic against a darkening seascape.

‘What do you suppose has happened to Emma?’
asked Louise as she reclined in the soft sand, allowing its grains to slowly
run through her fingers.

‘I have no idea, I haven’t received any text
or phone call from her,’ said Dan. ‘I presume she is in with the police now,
making a statement. She knows where to find us and so will they by now. My
guess is that they will come to the beach this evening and speak to us,
possibly to arrest us, once they know what is going on. When I say us, I mean
John and myself.

‘There’s no point dwelling on it. This might
be our last night together for some while – it might even be our last night of
freedom for John and me – so let’s try to enjoy it. Let’s hold on to what we’ve
got: our friendship, our relationships – me with Emma and the pair of you. I’ve
always believed in being grateful for what I’ve got, not resentful for what I
haven’t.’

‘I know Dan, that’s a good way to be, but
what we’ve currently also got is a university degree course at England’s most
prestigious university, undreamt of wealth, and a bright future ahead of us.
Only right now it is being taken away, all because Emma feels the need to do
the right thing,’ said Louise.

‘We’ve also got plenty of beer,’ chipped in John,
refusing to get too downhearted. ‘Come on, let’s have another– and he uncapped three
bottles of premium German lager and handed them out. ‘Drink your medicine everybody,
you’ll feel better.’

The three of them took their beers onto the
smooth rocks marking a low headland between Gunwalloe Cove and another, smaller
adjacent cove. The rocks formed natural seats in which they could look out on
the bay with Wreckers Island in the distance.

Twilight was coming as the clock ticked
towards 7pm – a reminder that the long days of summer had given way to shorter,
chillier ones of autumn. The fiery orange ball of the sun was sinking in the
sky behind them. They lapsed into silence once more, gazing out at the sea,
watching it hypnotically ebbing and flowing, rising and falling; waves breaking
over rocks and gurgling and hissing through the shingle. The moon began to rise,
painting a rippling line of silver across the blackening bay. With it came a
few stars, shining brightly in the evening sky.

Louise broke the spell. The danger and
stress was making her horny. ‘Dan, do you mind if John and I disappear for a while
into the tent?’

‘No, you go ahead,’ replied Dan, ‘I fancy a
stroll along the beach anyway,’ he replied, a smirk crossing his face for a
second. You certainly couldn’t fault her libido – poor John, hope he’s up to
it, he thought to himself.

‘Louise, I’m not sure I’m in the mood,’ groaned
John. ‘I’m too keyed up today.’

‘Nonsense,’ said Louise. ‘It will do you
good. You’ve had your condemned man’s last meal, now for your last shag. Well, hopefully
not, but you know what I mean.’

Without delaying further, Louise tugged down
John’s light canvas trousers and briefs. ‘Dan will be a while, let’s make love
beneath the flames of the driftwood fire.’

She got the rug and spread it out on the
sand. She stripped, leapt onto a boulder and stared out to sea with her arm
raised. ‘We will conquer!’ she cried.

It was a surreal sight in the jumping
firelight. A naked young woman with long dark hair, firm breasts and buttocks,
a striking black triangle jutting out between her bronzed legs, standing
defiantly like some mediaeval warrior princess.

John looked at her in awe. She had a wild, pagan
streak to her, in contrast to Emma’s more conventional Christian faith. Louise loved
being outside, skyclad, surrounded by the elements of earth, fire, and water. This
spectacle was not indecent, but beautiful, defiant and intimidating.

Suddenly Louise sprang from the rocks like a
gazelle and landed on top of him, pulling him to the ground. She tore off the
rest of his clothes. By now, John was aroused and Louise quickly guided him
inside her. He penetrated her deeply, as if all his anxiety, stress and fear were
propelling his thrusts. Louise let out a bloodcurdling scream as she climaxed
and John, more discreetly, moaned in ecstasy and release.

Dan, halfway across the beach, smiled and
shook his head as he heard Louise’s cry. Most of Porthlevnack must have heard, too.
That deranged yell alone might have attracted the boys in blue, fearing someone
was being attacked on the seashore. Odd in a way, that the police hadn’t shown
up already. Perhaps they were too busy feasting on Emma and would devour him
and John for breakfast tomorrow.

Yes, that was the most likely explanation. Dan
looked ahead at the lights of the village twinkling in a long, friendly line along
the shore. The moon and the stars, not to be outdone, were providing their own
show high in the firmament.

It was an entrancing sight, it should have
been the best moment ever: quiet contemplation of going back to Oxford with his
adorable girlfriend on his arm for another fun year of student life, on the
cusp of receiving a fortune. Instead, it was a smoking ruin. In fact, not
quite, he reminded himself. He retained Emma’s unswerving devotion and that was
worth more than anything.

Emma, poor Emma, he yearned to be with her
and share her pain. That’s what made this so cruel, that she had felt the need
to be alone and do this. He would gladly have gone with her once he knew that
her mind was made up. They could have given each other strength and faced the
police together.

Dan was burning to know how she was. He
toyed with the mobile phone in his pocket. Should he call her, or text her? No,
that wasn’t fair, she might take it as interference. She might well have had
her phone confiscated by now anyway. He must resist the temptation – Emma would
contact him when she was ready.

His phone rang! It buzzed against his hand.
He pulled it out. Its amber backlight was startlingly bright – and Emma’s name
was flashing up! She must still have her phone, either that or the custody
sergeant had returned it to her. Had she been released on bail?

Dan’s fingers shook as he answered. He was
both delighted that she had called and utterly dreading what she would have to
say.

‘Emma, are you ok?’ he said, in a whisper.

‘I’m ok,’ she replied. Her voice sounded
worn and tense. ‘Can you come and meet me at the police station? I won’t be
coming back tonight.’

Dan felt himself go cold. ‘Just me, or all
three of us?’ he asked.

‘Just you,’ she said.

‘I’ll come right away. Emma, I’m so sorry,’
said Dan, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

‘Please get here as soon as you can,’ she
said.

Dan returned briskly to the cove. It was nearly
dark now and the flames of the fire were bathing the rocky cliffs in a
pulsating orange glow. He called softly to Louise and John, not wishing to
interrupt their intimate activities but having little choice. He could dimly
see them lying on the rugs, their bodies entwined. They appeared to have fallen
asleep.

‘I’m sorry to disturb you,’ he whispered,
‘but ‘I’ve had a phone call from Emma. She wants me to go and meet her in St
Perro.’

‘We’ll all come,’ said John, half asleep.

‘I think she just wants me to go,’ said Dan.
‘She’s asked me to meet her at the police station and says she’s not coming
home tonight. Do you mind if I borrow your car, Louise?’

‘Erm, er, no that’s fine,’ said Louise, groggily.
‘Hang on, I’ll get the keys for you.’

Louise lifted herself and walked over to the
beach tent, her naked body glowing olive-gold in the firelight. She was clearly
unashamed at Dan seeing her. She scrabbled about in the tent and emerged with
her keys.

‘Make sure you don’t crash it, cos I think
you’ll only be covered third party, not that it’s worth much,’ she mumbled and flopped
back down with John.

John was sitting upright now, pulling his
trousers on.

‘Dan I understand she only wants to see you
but we’ll be on tenterhooks here – can you phone to let us know what’s
happening as soon as you can,’ he said.

‘Yes of course,’ promised Dan.

Dan clambered over the rocks and onto the
main beach heading for Louise’s car on the jetty. He would certainly endeavour
not to crash it. A road accident would be the last thing they needed on top of
everything else.

A thought struck him – shouldn’t he have got
Emma a change of clothing or a toothbrush or something? He hadn’t even asked. What
about himself? Would he be coming home? Would the police take the opportunity
to detain him as well?