Page 56 of And Then There Was You

Forty-Eight Zach

I’m loading the delivery van when I see her. Not wanting another confrontation, I try my best to hide behind the van door, but it’s too late.

Ruthie has seen me and is bearing down like a thunderstorm.

‘Oi! Surf dude!’ Her voice shatters the stillness of the street. ‘I want a word with you!’

What is she even doing out here at five-thirty in the morning?

She’s too early to start work at Merryn’s place and she doesn’t strike me as someone who gets up before it’s absolutely necessary.

She has a bag slung over her shoulder and is wearing blue denim dungarees with the bottoms rolled up to calf height, a red and white striped T-shirt beneath and white platform sneakers slapping against the cobbles – looking like an angry yet stylish pirate.

Thank goodness she has no cutlass. My head would be rolling under the van in one stroke.

‘Hey,’ I reply, knowing she won’t be pacified by my attempt at friendliness.

‘Why haven’t you been to see Merryn?’

I can only gawp back at her.

She folds her arms and stares me down. ‘Well?’

‘She asked me to leave, after the fight.’

‘And you listened?’

‘I did what she wanted.’

‘You trashed her piano! What did you expect her to say?’

I have had nowhere near enough caffeine to deal with this yet. ‘She threw me out. I took that as a pretty big hint.’

‘Don’t be cute with me,’ she hisses.

‘I wasn’t trying to be.’

‘She’s alone.’

‘She has Seth.’

‘She told Seth she doesn’t want him around,’ Ruthie returns.

‘That’s between them.’

‘Well, I’m talkin’ about you, you blockhead. You left her, when she needed you most. She’s been kicked by that bleddy news story and abandoned by you. And then she found out Luke did the dirty on her, knowin’ where that fella was all the time.’

‘I know, I quit my job at Pengelly’s when I found out.’

‘Well, Big Woop for you.’

I shake my head, wishing this conversation would go away. ‘Look, I know you mean well, but I have a van to pack and I’m already late for my round.’

‘Go and see her.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Make it right. You hurt her. Merryn’s been an angel to me and I see when she’s hurtin’. So you and Seth need to get over your shit and put her first for a change.’

She says it like it’s the easiest fix in the world. Like it’s nothing.

‘I told Seth to look after her. The rest doesn’t concern me.’

‘Doesn’t it?’ Ruthie groans. ‘Idiots, the pair of you. Maybe she needs you both? So bin your bleddy pride, grab him by the scruff of his thick neck and make this right!’

And then she’s gone, leaving me dazed by the van, her words ringing in my ears.

I set off on my delivery round, Ruthie’s words a frustrating soundtrack stuck on repeat.

When I’ve done my final stop, I pull into a layby at the top of a hill and get out of the van.

There’s a gate across a lush green paddock, the land dropping away to a thin ribbon of blue, sparkling sea.

Reception is good here, so I call Zanna.

‘Zach? Is everything okay?’

‘Hi Zan. Yes – well, no. Can I ask a question about when you and Merryn went to Mariner’s?’

‘Sure, fire away.’

‘Did you get the impression that Graham Jacobs knew more about where Grant is than he told you?’

There’s a pause, the sound of bleating sheep and a rising skylark rushing in from the landscape surrounding me. Then, a soft sigh. ‘Actually, I did. I wanted to push it when we got back, but my editor’s on the warpath so I had to lay low.’

‘What did Graham say, exactly?’

‘That Grant had wanted to leave and he’d given him a week’s wages as a goodwill gesture.’

Goodwill gesture my arse. ‘Do you think Graham paid him off?’

‘I don’t know. But he tried his best to dissuade us from looking for Grant. He insisted the bloke had changed his name to Guy Henson and left the county. We hit a dead end. I did wonder if maybe Graham’s nephew had expressed a desire for Grant not to be found. Merryn told me he was her ex.’

I grimace against the phone. Knowing Luke, I wouldn’t put it past him, but how would I ever prove it? ‘Doesn’t say much for Grant that he’d rather take the money and run than meet the woman who was looking for him.’

‘Depends on how much money we’re talking,’ Zanna says. ‘People do all kinds of things if they’re desperate for cash. Also, you don’t know what kind of pressure Graham or his son put on Grant. What if they convinced him that meeting Merryn would do more harm to her than good?’

I can see that happening. ‘Can you talk to your editor? Ask him to let you dig a bit deeper?’

‘I’d love to, Zach, but my hands are tied.

Frank won’t budge, and Graham spends a lot of money advertising with the Daily News – too much to risk losing it.

Frank’s threatening to demote me to Community Pages for taking Merryn to Mariner’s.

Believe me, if I could find another way to get to Graham without it jeopardising the paper’s income, I would. ’

That’s when it hits me: a way forward that keeps Zanna’s job safe and gets us straight to the people that matter. But I can’t do it alone. There’s someone I need back on my side.

*

‘Back for more, Trevelyan?’

It’s the kind of reception I was expecting, walking back into Pengelly’s like I’d be welcome.

But I’m convinced this is the only way to make things right for Merryn.

And if it means butting heads with the cheating, devious owner of the restaurant, so be it.

Besides, I have something he won’t be expecting.

And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad I have Seth Hartley beside me.

I wasn’t certain he’d come. But when I told him what Luke had said – and what else I know – any hostility he might have had towards me vanished.

‘Let’s go and get the bastard . . .’

‘Bring a friend, did you?’ Luke asks now, eyeing Seth. ‘How sweet.’

‘Tell us where Grant Henderson is,’ I state, keeping my voice as steady as I can.

‘I told you, I don’t know.’

‘Let me put it another way, Pengelly,’ Seth seethes beside me. ‘You’re going to tell us where Grant is.’

‘Ooh, are you going to make me, Hartley?’

‘If necessary.’

Some of the diners are staring now. Luke’s eyes flick to them.

‘Out the back.’

‘Here is fine.’

‘Please?’ He’s squirming now. It’s rewarding to see.

‘I’ve got a better idea,’ I say, Seth’s nod confirmation that he’s with me. ‘Why don’t you come with us?’

‘No can do, boys. I have a restaurant to run . . .’

‘We’re fine here, boss,’ Hen calls from the bar. I want to hug her.

He’s flushed now, clearly wanting us gone but not wishing to cause a scene. ‘If you have something to say . . .’

‘Oh, we do. I’m just wondering if you’re happy for your customers to hear where you source your spirits from. And your uncle over in Carbis Bay. Lovely red delivery van . . .’

I see the whites of his eyes, the colour draining from his face.

‘Where?’ he croaks.

‘Wherever you’ve stashed Grant,’ Seth growls, happy to play henchman. ‘Get your keys, Lukey-boy. You’re driving.’