Images flashed in front of my eyes. Mum calling from Disney World, not understanding why I didn’t answer . . . why I hadn’t called back . . . Jam and my sisters . . . all drowned . . . their bodies sinking in this sea. Annie losing all of us . . . A sob rose up inside me. No. I couldn’t let myself think about it.
My eyes stung from the salt but I strained them, looking for some landmark to head for. The moon came out from behind a cloud and, for the first time, I saw the pale beach spread out in front of me.
I started swimming towards it. I had no idea how far away it was. The current swirled around me, pulling me sideways as well as towards the shore. I struggled against the sideways motion. I had to keep that beach in my sights. It was horseshoe-shaped – a bay set into high cliffs that rose out of the land and seemed to loom above me: dark and smooth and sinister.
The current tugged at my legs. It was strong and I felt weak. Weak from lack of food. Weak from fear. Would I make it to the shore? Could I possibly survive this long, cold, terrifying swim?
Freezing waves slapped against my face. As I pushed myself on, all my focus on the undulating coastline ahead, a human figure rose up from the sand.
My heart constricted in my chest.
There was someone on the beach.
24
Trapped
I stopped swimming for a second. Immediately I felt the current tug at me, threatening to sweep me sideways, out of the bay and into the dark sea beyond.
The deep chill was seeping through my bones. If you stay in the water you will die. The thought was as clear as the cold all around me. I kicked my legs against it, pushing on to the shore.
Better to face whoever was on the beach than to die in the sea.
I pulled my arms through the waves. Another stroke. Another kick. Another. For a few terrifying seconds, it felt like I was only treading water – that the shore was as far away as when Cooper had tipped me off the boat – and then I clawed at the water and kicked and my foot touched the bottom. Another few strokes and the seabed was properly under my feet. I stood up, water rushing off me. The wind was fierce on my skin, but the sea only came up to my thighs. I pushed on, letting the waves break against the backs of my legs. I was still some distance from the shore. The figure on the beach was standing directly in front of me – a dark smudge against the sand.
‘Lauren! Is that you?’ The voice was faint, battling against the crash of the waves and the rush of the wind, but it was as familiar to me as my own.
Relief surged through me.
‘Jam!’ I tried to call back, but my voice croaked with exhaustion.
I waded on. The going was easier now, despite the cold wind that whipped around me, plastering my clothes and hair to my body.
Jam stood at the edge of the sea, waiting for me. I forced my legs on, through the water. And at last I was there, stumbling through the last stretch of sea and onto the damp sand. I sank into Jam’s arms and he hugged me fiercely back.
‘Thank goodness you’re all right,’ he said.
‘Where’s Madison?’ I gasped. ‘What about Shelby?’
‘Madison’s over there asleep.’ Jam pointed across the beach to where the cliff jutted out, offering a little shelter from the wind. ‘Shelby’s still back at Cooper’s house. Didn’t you see her?’
‘No.’ Tears of relief rushed into my eyes. It was bad that Shelby wasn’t here too, but at least I had Jam and Madison back – and now we could get home . . . go to the police . . . which meant Jam and I wouldn’t have to hold everything together for too much longer.
‘Oh, Jam. Please don’t leave me. Please don’t go.’ The words came from nowhere, sobbing out of me.
He pulled away from me so he could see my face.
‘Leave you?’ he frowned. ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
‘Nothing.’ I looked down, suddenly embarrassed that I’d sounded so desperate.
Everything’s going to be OK now.
I fixed my gaze on the damp sand at my feet. Jam’s hand curled under my chin, lifting it up.
Jam’s hair was plastered against his forehead, his clothes wet, his body shivering. I looked at the strong lines of his face and his eyes, all warm with concern, and I felt a rush of love for him, as strong as the love I felt for Madison.
‘What did you mean?’ Jam said. ‘Why did you think I might leave you?’
Oh, man. ‘I wasn’t sure how you felt any more,’ I stuttered, through chattering teeth. ‘I’ve messed up so badly and got you into so much danger . . .’
‘Well, that’s true . . .’ Jam raised his eyebrows.
I laughed and cried and shivered all at once. ‘And . . . and before that,’ I stammered, remembering how he’d pulled away from our kiss before. ‘Well, I wasn’t sure if you really wanted to be with me.’
Jam’s eyes widened. ‘I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be with me,’ he said. ‘Sometimes you act like you don’t care, Lauren.’ He paused. ‘Not just with me. With everyone.’
Was that true?
I guess sometimes I did pull away from people. It was part of being strong and independent. Wasn’t it?
‘I’m sorry,’ I said.
Jam hugged me again. ‘You are the stupidest person I’ve ever met,’ he whispered. ‘I’m not going to leave you. Don’t you know that I love you?’
I whispered the words back, forgetting everything else, even how cold I was.
Jam pulled back and looked at me again. ‘Anyway, I can’t leave you,’ he said, his lips stretching into a rueful smile. ‘We’re stuck on this beach.’
‘What?’ I looked round, taking in the little bay properly for the first time. The rocks that rose out of the beach were certainly sheer, but surely there must be some way to climb them.
‘I’ve been right round the bay,’ Jam explained. ‘Cooper knew what he was doing, dumping us here. All the rocks are straight up and down. No footholds.’
‘You mean the only way out of the bay is through the sea?’ I said.
Jam looked out across the water. He lowered his voice. ‘I haven’t said anything to Madison, obviously, but I’m really worried. We’re wet and cold. None of us have had anything to eat or drink since this morning. And the current’s too strong for us to swim round the bay.’
I nodded. All this was true.
‘Maybe we can signal to a passing ship when it’s daylight,’ I said.
We walked across the beach towards the spot where Madison lay. As we drew closer to the cliff face, I could see that Jam was right. The rocks rising up from the beach were tall and smooth – there was no way to climb any of them.
‘What about Shelby?’ I said. ‘Why does Cooper still have her?’
‘I guess he thinks Duchovny’s bluffing about not paying a ransom,’ Jam said. ‘He’s probably going to ask for money again.’
‘But I stole the painting . . . the Stutter,’ I protested. ‘That’s worth millions, it must be.’
Jam shrugged. ‘Maybe it’s not as valuable as you thought. Or maybe it wasn’t a Stutter.’
I frowned. I was sure I’d been right about that.
We reached Madison. She was lying on the sand, curled up and fast asleep. I dropped to my knees and touched her hand. She was frozen. I pulled her to me, hoping my body heat – not that there was much of that – would warm her up. As I moved her, she opened her eyes.
‘Hey, Lauren.’ She smiled up at me. ‘Me and Jam swam to the beach.’
I glanced at Jam. I could only imagine how close they had come to drowning. I had no doubt that, on her own, Madison would certainly not have made it.
‘I know, sweetheart,’ I whispered. ‘Everything’s going to be OK now. We’ll get away from here when it’s daylight and we’ll take you to Mommy and get the police to rescue Shelby.’
Madison put her arms around me and I held her close. She was shivering badly so I rubbed her arms to warm her up.
‘Come and sit with us, Jam,’ I said. ‘We can keep each other warm.??
?
Jam sat on Madison’s other side and the three of us huddled together on the damp sand. The way the rock stuck out in front stopped the worst of the wind, but a fierce breeze still blew round it, piercing right through us. I was soaking wet and the cliff at my back was cold and hard. After a few minutes, Madison stopped shivering. That was something. Having Jam and I on either side of her was clearly helping keep some of the cold out.
‘This is just like two years ago,’ she said softly. ‘When Jam rescued us off Sonia Holtwood’s boat.’
I cast my mind back to that horrible night and how we’d nearly drowned.
‘But who’s going to rescue us now?’ Madison went on.
‘We’ll wait ’til it’s light, then we’ll wave at the ships that go by. One of them’s bound to see us,’ I said.
‘Yeah, the sea round here is like Piccadilly Circus,’ Jam added with fake cheeriness. ‘In the daytime you can’t move for all the boats.’
Madison giggled. ‘Hey, Lauren, I wish we had some burgers.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ I said. ‘I’d even go for one of Mommy’s carrot-stick sandwiches.’
Jam made a face. ‘I wouldn’t.’
Madison giggled again.
We sat, huddled together, for what felt like ages. After a while, Madison fell back to sleep and I told Jam everything that had happened at Duchovny’s house.
‘Do you think you could have fired that gun?’ he asked.
The wind had died down a little now, though the sound of the sea lapping at the beach seemed louder than before. I stared at the rock we were sheltering behind for a moment before replying.
‘No,’ I said. ‘I don’t think I could have done, even with everyone’s lives being at stake.’ I paused. I didn’t want Jam to think badly of my cowardice. ‘D’you think that means there’s something wrong with me?’
Jam leaned over and cupped my face with his hand. ‘No,’ he said softly. ‘I think it means there’s something right with you.’
I smiled. ‘The worst thing is that Duchovny just didn’t care about Shelby,’ I mused. ‘I mean, she’s his daughter. It’s like . . . neither Sam nor Dad are my biological fathers, but I can’t imagine them not paying a ransom for me. I mean, Sam kept looking for me for years.’
Jam shrugged. ‘Not all fathers care about their children.’
I suddenly remembered the notches Jam had carved on the back of his DS. He’d once told me they represented the number of times he’d seen his own father in the past few years. Jam hadn’t mentioned him for months.
‘When did you last see your dad?’ I asked.
‘Months ago,’ Jam said. ‘Before last Christmas.’ He disentangled himself from Madison. ‘I’m going to walk around a bit. Warm up.’
It was obvious he didn’t want to talk about his dad, but I was determined to try and find out how he felt about him.
‘Jam?’ I said as he stood up.
‘Oh my God.’ He was peering over the rock that we had sheltered behind, looking out towards the sea.
‘What?’ I left Madison on the sand and scrambled to my feet. My guts seemed to shrivel inside me as I followed Jam’s gaze.
While we had been huddled behind the rock, the tide had been coming in. The closest waves were breaking just a few metres away.
Jam glanced round at me, his eyes wide with horror.
‘The tide’s coming in,’ he breathed. ‘The water is going to rise and rise.’
I looked round at the sheer sides of the cliff shooting up from the sand. Impossible to climb.
‘And we can’t get away,’ I gasped. ‘The sea’s coming in – we’re going to drown.’
25
Rising Tide
As the realisation that we were trapped in the bay sank in, it started to rain. I was so wet already that I barely noticed the first drops, but after a few seconds the drizzle turned harder and faster and within half a minute the water was pouring down, streaming off our clothes and down our backs.
Jam and I stood side by side, staring around the bay. The tide was rising fast. Only about fifty metres of cliff remained free from the water – and the sea was relentless, gaining ground along the beach with each new wave.
‘There must be some way to climb up the cliffs,’ I said.
Jam wiped the rain off his face. ‘I told you already, I looked and there isn’t.’
‘I’m going to look again.’ I set off around the bay. It was the middle of the night but the moon, gleaming between dark clouds, gave me just enough light to see.
I walked slowly, examining every inch of the rocks surrounding us. Jam was right. The cliff face was as smooth as if someone had been polishing it. There were a few ridges and potential footholds that might have made climbing possible if we’d had a rope and proper equipment, but we had nothing with us.
I crossed the beach back to Jam. Jeez, the place where we had sheltered was already under water. Jam had picked Madison up and was holding her in his arms, leaning against another stretch of rock.
‘I can’t see a way out of this.’ His eyes were full of fear.
I stared back at him, my own panic suddenly rising. Jam had always been so solid . . . always made me feel there was hope.
‘There has to be a way,’ I insisted, forcing my anxiety down.
As I spoke, Madison stirred in Jam’s arms.
‘Lauren?’ she said.
Jam set her down on the sand and she leaned against my side.
‘What time is it, Lauren?’ Madison yawned. ‘When can we wave at the boats?’
I exchanged a look with Jam. The night sky was still pitch black. Which meant we must be at least a couple of hours away from the dawn. I looked around. The tide seemed to be rising faster and faster. Less than twenty square metres of beach remained visible.
‘It’s still very late,’ I said. ‘Or very, very early, depending on which way you look at it.’
Madison nodded seriously. ‘I think this is the latest I’ve ever been up,’ she said with a shiver. Her huge brown eyes widened as she looked up and took in the advancing waves. The water was now just a stone’s throw away.
‘The sea’s got real close,’ she said, sounding alarmed.
‘We’ll be fine.’ I stroked her arm. ‘You’re doing good, babycakes.’
The rain was falling heavily now. I touched my hair. It was tangled from the salt of the sea and the wind.
‘Guess we look like a pair of fright wigs, Mo,’ I said, trying to smile.
‘Well, you totally do.’ She threw me a cheeky grin.
I looked up. Jeez. The waves were almost at our feet. I stared, mesmerised, at the water gushing up the sand, then sucking back.
What on earth were we going to do?
‘Is that water going to reach us?’ Madison’s voice was suddenly uncertain.
‘I think so,’ I said.
Jam took off his belt. ‘When it does, we’re going to have to swim to stay up in the water,’ he said. ‘But we can keep together if we hold on to this.’
‘Swim again?’ Madison looked out at the sea. ‘OK. Sure.’
She was trying to sound brave, but I could hear the terror in her voice. I was certain she was remembering how she nearly drowned in the sea beside Sonia Holtwood’s boat. She had been reluctant to go in the water since – even swimming pools – and she wasn’t a strong swimmer. She’d already had to battle against the current to make it onto this beach; how was she going to cope in the sea a second time?
‘You won’t have to swim much, Mo,’ I said, trying to sound reassuring. ‘Just kick your legs a bit. Jam and I will hold you up.’
A sudden, strong wave rushed up the beach and licked at my toes. I stepped back, pressing myself against the smooth, chill rock behind.
Jam caught my eye. I knew that he was weighing up our chances. The odds were surely stacked against us. The sea was cold and the current was strong. We were already exhausted and hungry. Keeping ourselves afloat was going to be enough of a challenge, witho
ut having to help Madison survive the water.
‘It’ll be better than last time, Mo,’ I said. ‘I promise. That was the three of us too and we got through it.’
She nodded, but her chocolate-brown eyes glistened as she stared at the sea. Another wave lapped at my feet.
I looked out across the bay. I couldn’t see the point where the sea met the sky. The darkness was terrifying.
‘Maybe if we swim hard . . .’ Jam said. ‘Maybe we’ll be able to get around the bay . . .’
I gulped, remembering my journey from Cooper’s boat to the shore. That had been less than half the distance that we’d have to swim now – and I’d still had to fight to make it. Even without the fact that we’d be swimming against the tide and battling the current, there was no way we could survive a journey all the way round the cliffs.
I could see in Jam’s face that he knew that too.
The water swirled around my ankles. My feet were so frozen already that the sea didn’t feel particularly cold, but I knew that once we were properly immersed the chill would seep into our bones.
‘We have to keep moving,’ I said. ‘Stay as warm as possible.’
‘Right.’ Jam jumped up and down. ‘Yeah. Core temperature. Good thinking. Come on, Madison.’
Madison half-heartedly splashed in the water. Being shorter than me and Jam, it was almost up to her knees.
I closed my eyes. Please, there must be a way through this.
The water crept up my legs. Soon it would sweep my feet from under me. The others too. Then we would rise for a while, fighting the current and our own tiredness – before finally sinking.
Sinking under the water.
Unless . . .
I looked up. Rain attacked my skin like tiny knives, but I shielded my eyes with my hand and searched the rock far above our heads.
Yes. It was much bumpier and rougher up there . . . maybe uneven enough to provide handholds.
My heart beat faster as I thought it through. The sea was going to rise and we were going to rise with it. If we could manage to tread water and fight the current and stay close to the rock wall then maybe . . . just maybe . . . the water would lift us high enough to reach a ledge or some kind of foothold.