Page 30

Arthur

“So, let me get this straight,” Dan said, as they sped down the A39. “We’re driving eighty miles to rescue your friends, who’ve gone to find a missing man who you all think stole some money and was framed for murder. But now Ash has hacked into a computer file, and you’ve discovered this missing man might actually be some kind of dangerous stalker who wants to harm Phyllis. Is that correct?”

“Yep, that’s about it,” Arthur said.

In the driver’s seat, Dan shook his head. “And there was me thinking you were just this quiet guy from my English class, Ash. I had no idea you were a secret hacker on the case of a suspected criminal with your grandpa!”

Dan chuckled, but in the passenger seat next to him, Ash was mute. The boy had been horrified when Arthur suggested they ask Dan for help, and initially outright refused to call him. He only relented when Arthur pointed out that Dan was the only person they knew with a car, and if they didn’t ask for his help then Phyllis and Nova could be the next murder victims. When Dan had come to pick them up at the cafe, Arthur had subtly insisted on sitting in the backseat so Ash could sit up front and the boys could chat. Unfortunately, he hadn’t accounted for quite how love-struck tongue-tied Ash really was. The lad could barely manage a grunt, and despite Dan’s repeated efforts to chat, every conversation ended up sliding into awkward silence.

“So, do you watch many films?” Dan asked Ash, after a question about football hadn’t elicited a response.

“Eh…sometimes,” Ash stuttered.

“What kind of stuff do you like?”

“All sorts.”

“Ash is a Star Wars fan,” Arthur interjected. He’d promised himself he’d stay quiet and leave the boys to it, but this was getting too painful to watch.

“Oh cool, I love them too,” Dan said. “I think episode IV might be my favorite, which I know is an uncool take, but I just have such happy memories of watching it with my dad. Which is your favorite?”

Arthur knew the answer to this and waited for Ash to say The Force Awakens , but instead the teenager just shrugged.

“I like them all.”

Arthur inwardly groaned. “I’ve not watched the new Star Wars films, but Ash is always telling me how much he loves them,” he said in a last-ditch attempt to get the conversation going. “He was saying that the Kylo-what’s-his-name and Rey love story is a bit like Claudio and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing , weren’t you, lad?”

Arthur couldn’t see Ash’s face, but from the way the boy was sinking down in his seat as if he wanted it to swallow him whole, Arthur wondered if he’d said the wrong thing.

“That’s cool, I hadn’t made that connection myself,” Dan said. “What made you say that?”

“Nothing, it was a stupid idea,” Ash mumbled, practically turning his back on Dan.

Arthur slumped back in his own seat, defeated. Esi had once told him that one of her favorite moments in any good romance novel was when a character realized their true feelings for their love interest and was forced to push themselves out of their comfort zone to win that person over. Like when Mr. Darcy goes chasing after Wickham and Lydia to prove his love for Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice , or when Gregory suddenly realizes he’s in love with Lucy and tries to stop her wedding in On the Way to the Wedding . Arthur had hoped this car journey to rescue Nova and Phyllis might be that moment for Ash, but clearly he’d been wrong: the poor boy made Evie from Devil in Winter look positively chatty.

They drove on in silence, and Arthur watched the scenery change outside the window as they pushed farther west. He’d been down here a few times on holidays with Esi, and he loved the wild ruggedness of this part of Cornwall. Esi loved it, too, and said she always hoped to find Ross Poldark striding over the fields toward her. At the thought of his wife, Arthur’s chest contracted. He’d not been away from home for this long in years, and he felt her absence like a physical pain.

“Satnav says we’re not far,” Dan said, as they reached a junction in the road, one way pointing to Lizard and the other to a place called Landewednack.

“I hope we’ve made it in time,” Arthur said, his thoughts swinging back to Phyllis and Nova. Had they already found Michael? Assuming the man was alone, Arthur hoped that the combined strength of Nova, Phyllis and Craddock would be enough to overpower him if he tried to hurt them. Unless he was armed, in which case…

“You need to drive faster, Dan. We have to get to them.”

“The house should be at the end of this road,” Dan said, turning onto a rough farm track that led toward the sea.

Arthur sat up in his seat, staring out the front window for any sign of the cottage from the photo. After about half a mile, Ash let out a shout.

“That’s Nova’s car!”

They pulled up behind the rusty yellow Fiat and all three of them climbed out. There was no sign of a cottage until Dan looked over the edge of the cliff.

“Bloody hell, it’s like something from Ahch-To.”

Arthur hurried to join him. Diagonally below the road was a small derelict building, looking as if it had almost been carved into the rock face itself.

“That can’t be it.”

“Maybe there’s another cottage nearby,” Dan said.

Ash, who’d been staring at his phone, shook his head. “According to Google maps, this is the only property round here.”

“How the hell did they get down there?” Arthur said. “Look, that path has fallen into the sea.”

At that moment, a terrified human shriek sounded from the cottage below.

“Nova!” Arthur and Ash cried together.

“We need to find a way of getting there!” Arthur said.

“I’ve got some rope in my car, one of us could abseil down.” Dan rushed to the back of his car and pulled open his boot.

“Good idea. We should tie it round the car to anchor it.”

Dan pulled the rope out and hurried back to Arthur. Together they began to untangle it, Arthur’s heart pounding in his chest.

“Wait, where’s Ash?” Dan said.

Arthur looked up, but there was no sign of the boy. He ran back to the edge of the cliff and then let out a cry of his own. The teenager was halfway down to the cottage and had reached the point where the path disappeared. He turned to face the cliff and began to edge his way across the gap, using tiny crags in the rock as footholds.

“Jesus, he’s going to kill himself!” Arthur groaned.

Dan had already taken off after Ash, almost slipping in his haste. Arthur began to follow them, taking it slower. He’d always been nimble; a lifetime spent working around cows taught you to stay light on your feet. But he was eighty-one now, with creaking hips and dodgy knees, and he’d never had a head for heights. Still, like Anthony Bridgerton chasing after Kate Sheffield’s out-of-control carriage, he had to get to that cottage and save Nova and Phyllis from danger.

“Here, Arthur, take my hand.” Dan had reached the other side of the destroyed path, and clinging onto the rock face, he stretched out his arm toward Arthur. “You’re tall enough that you should be able to jump across.”

Arthur clasped hold of the teenager’s hand and, muttering a prayer of love to Esi, he leaped across the gap. For a second his foot met with nothing but air, and he felt his stomach drop as he started to tilt forward. But Dan had a tight grasp on his hand, and he pulled Arthur back until he was on the far side of the path.

“Thanks,” Arthur gasped, his voice shaking. “Now get down there and help Ash.”

Dan scrambled on. Up ahead, Arthur could see that Ash had reached the flat rock by the cottage and was running toward the front door. But before he got there, the door burst open, and Michael Watkins came staggering out.

The man was almost unrecognizable from the last time Arthur had seen him at the book club. His clothes were tatty and he’d visibly lost weight, although he was still broader than Ash and could easily overpower him. Arthur held his breath, waiting for the moment Michael saw Ash and flattened him. But Michael seemed momentarily disorientated, squinting in the bright sunlight, and hadn’t yet spotted the teenager. Ash had spotted him though, and Arthur watched as the teenager pulled back his right arm and threw a clumsy punch at Michael’s head. The older man let out a shout of surprise and fell to the ground as Ash leaped on top of him. For a moment the two of them struggled, then Dan rushed to join Ash, dropping to his knees and pinning Michael’s legs down. The man clearly realized he was defeated as he stopped struggling and went still.

Arthur felt his way down the last few meters of path and hurried over to the boys.

“Get inside and find them,” Ash shouted, and Arthur rushed past them into the cottage. It was dark in here, the air much cooler than outside, and there was a strong smell of salty rot.

“Nova! Phyllis!”

“Arthur?” Nova shouted back.

He followed the sound of her voice through the small kitchen and up a narrow flight of stairs to the top floor. A bedroom door was open, and he rushed inside, dreading what he was about to see.

Nova was kneeling on the floor, Craddock next to her. They were both leaning over a body.

Phyllis’s body.

“Oh my God, no!” Arthur staggered and felt tears spring to his eyes. “We tried to get here in time. I’m so sorry we’re too—”

“For goodness’ sake, what are you waffling on about?”

Phyllis’s distinctive voice emerged from the body, and Arthur gasped.

“You’re alive!”

“Of course I’m alive, you daft bugger. Now help me up, both of you.”

“I don’t think you should move yet, you had a nasty fall,” Nova said, but the old woman waved her arms in the air until Arthur and Nova helped her up.

“What happened? Did Michael hurt you?” Arthur asked as Phyllis dusted herself down. “We heard your shout, Nova.”

“He just took me by surprise,” Nova said. “Michael clearly wanted to get out in a hurry, so he pushed past me and Phyllis. And in the confusion, I stepped backward and tripped over Craddock.”

“Don’t blame the dog, you were the clumsy one who landed on top of me,” Phyllis said with a tut. “What on earth are you doing here, Arthur?”

“Ash got into the Michael folder. We think we were wrong, it wasn’t Cynthia who hired Graham Pierce. It was Michael.”

“So that’s why he knew it contained photos!” Nova said, looking at Phyllis.

“Well, what were the photos of?” Phyllis demanded. “He seemed very concerned we didn’t see them, so it’s clearly something illegal or depraved.”

Arthur’s heart was still pounding from all the adrenaline, and he took a deep breath before he answered. “They were of you.”

“What?” The woman’s voice shot up an octave. “Why would he want photos of me?”

“I don’t know, but that’s why Ash and I rushed down here. We were worried you were walking into a trap.”

“Ash is here?”

“Yes. He’s outside with his friend, Dan; they’re restraining Michael.”

“Then I think we need to go and have another little chat with our newest book club member,” Phyllis said, and she pushed past Arthur and began to march toward the stairs.