Nova

Phyllis was clearly not an experienced map reader, and she sent Nova the wrong way four times before they made it to the small village of Landewednack, just northeast of Lizard Point. Once there, she directed them down a narrow farm track, which she claimed would take them to Chy Pysk. Nova had never been this far southwest before, and as the car rumbled down the bumpy lane, she really did feel like she was at the end of England. Fields lined the lane, but beyond them Nova could see the Atlantic glistening in the autumn sunshine.

“Are you sure we’ve not gone the wrong way again, Phyllis? We’ve been on this lane for half a mile now and there are no houses anywhere.”

“Keep going. It should be at the very end, when we get to the coast.”

“This would have been so much easier with satnav,” Nova grumbled. Although in truth, she was dreading turning her phone back on and seeing the no doubt dozens of voicemails and messages from Craig.

They rounded a corner, and Nova saw the track come to an end ahead of them at the edge of the cliff. She glanced around, but there was no sign of a house anywhere.

“This can’t be right, it should be exactly here,” Phyllis said.

Nova reached for her phone to switch it back on and check the map, but Phyllis was already out of the car and striding toward the edge. Nova climbed out and ran to follow her. The wind was strong here, whipping her curls into her face, and the only sound was the roar of the waves crashing against the rocks below. Phyllis was standing on the cliff edge, looking down at the sea. Nova joined her, her stomach plummeting with vertigo as she peered over. She was expecting to see nothing but rocks and water, but to her astonishment, she saw a small stone cottage balanced on a narrow ridge about thirty meters down from where they stood.

“How is that place still standing?” Phyllis said in wonder.

“It doesn’t look like anyone’s lived there for years,” Nova said, as she took in the crooked stone walls and the slate roof, which made the St. Tredock Community Center’s look positively modern. “This can’t be the right place. I must have made a mistake with the Lizard Point bookmark.”

Phyllis didn’t reply, and when Nova turned round the woman was gone. For a horrible moment, Nova wondered if she’d toppled over the edge and fallen into the sea a hundred meters below, but then she heard a throaty bark and saw the short, squat figure of Phyllis scrambling down a narrow path toward the cottage, Craddock following behind.

“Phyllis, come back!” Nova shouted into the wind, but the woman ignored her.

Cursing, Nova set off after her. She’d always hated heights, and she clung to the rocky cliff face as she edged after Phyllis, not allowing herself to glance down at the precipitous drop below. The path was barely wide enough for her feet, and at one point Nova heard the sickening sound of rocks tumbling down the cliff. She glanced back to see a good two meters of the path had broken away and crumbled into the sea. How the hell were they going to get back up now?

Phyllis seemed to have no such concerns and had already reached the cottage, disappearing round the back of it. Finally, Nova arrived at the flat rock, too, and hurried to join her.

“My God, you’re like a mountain goat,” she said, her legs trembling as she gasped to catch her breath.

The older woman didn’t answer, studying the photo in her hand, and Nova moved next to her to see it too. This was definitely the same cottage as the young Michael and his mother were standing in front of, although the rest of the scene was unrecognizable: the pretty garden had long ago disappeared into the sea and now all that was left was rocks and the cottage itself.

Phyllis walked to the front door and gave the rusty handle a twist.

“Phyllis, stop!” Nova commanded, and to her surprise, the woman glanced back at her. “You can’t go in there; the whole thing looks like it might topple into the sea at any moment.”

“I’ve not come all the way down here to turn back now,” Phyllis said. “Michael might be inside.”

“Oh, come on, he’s not here; the place is derelict. Plus, there’s no car parked anywhere nearby.”

Phyllis looked down at Craddock, who was sniffing around at her feet. “Do you think anyone’s in here?”

Nova’s eyebrows shot up. Had Phyllis really just asked her dog a question? “Come on, let’s go. There might be traffic on the way back and I don’t want to cut it too fine for my rehearsal.”

“Craddock thinks someone’s been here recently,” Phyllis said, reaching for the door handle again.

“No Phyllis, you can’t—”

But before Nova could finish her sentence, Phyllis had twisted the knob. With an almighty creak, the door swung open, and the old woman stepped inside, followed by her dog.

Nova took a deep breath. This was ridiculous; she should never have allowed herself to be talked into coming here. But she couldn’t let Phyllis wander round the old house alone; God knows how rotten things were in there, and she or Craddock might hurt themselves. Nova hurried to the door and followed her inside.

The room Phyllis was standing in appeared to have once been a kitchen, but mother nature had long ago taken over. The floor was covered in seagull droppings and there was lichen growing on the damp walls. There was an old range on the far side of the room, under a window, its glass smashed so that the wind whistled through, filling the air with a salty mist. Small clues as to its previous life littered the room; a few mugs still sat on a crooked shelf and a broken table lay collapsed in the middle of the room.

“No one’s been here in decades.”

“Then why are you whispering?” Phyllis asked as she moved across the room.

Nova held her breath in case the rotten floorboards suddenly gave way. “This isn’t safe. We should leave now.”

“I knew it!” Phyllis was standing by the sink and she turned round, holding something in her hand. “He’s been here!”

Nova stepped closer and saw what looked like an empty crisp packet.

“Monster Munch,” Phyllis said. “Michael’s favorite.”

“That could have been from years ago.” But as Nova said this, she saw a bin bag lying by what must have once been the back door. She bent down and opened it to see more empty crisp packets, sandwich cartons and plastic water bottles inside. Those definitely didn’t look years old.

Phyllis had moved to the far end of the room and was peering through another doorway. Nova knelt down and opened the cupboard under the sink, then regretted it when a foul smell hit her. She tried the tap, but unsurprisingly no water came out.

“Maybe he’s been here recently but he’s clearly not here now,” she said, turning round, but Phyllis had left the room.

Nova moved to the door and peered through. There was a small hallway leading onto a second room, a narrow, dark staircase in between. Jesus, had Phyllis gone up there?

“For God’s sake, this staircase is rotten with damp. What are—”

But Nova never got to finish her sentence, as she was interrupted by a bark and then a bloodcurdling scream.