Chapter 18

Fin watched the helicopter take Ricky Prescott - and the gun - away. Would he live? Fin didn't really care.

The other three walked back to the boat, but when Dad tried to help Ella on board, she pushed him away. She went straight down to the cabin.

The wind and the waves were behind them now, throwing the boat towards the harbour. They could see someone standing near the jetty. It was Billy, looking very unhappy.

"What the hell's he doing here?" growled Dad.

"It's Sam!" yelled Billy as soon as they were close enough to hear. "He's gone missing! Everybody's out looking for him."

"Christ!" said Dad. "That's all we need!"

"Mrs Parnell told us about Ella," said Billy. "I'm really sorry."

But Mum was already running towards them, her arms open.

"My love, my love!" she cried, hugging Ella. "Thank God you're safe. But now Sam's gone missing."

"I know where he is," said Fin, running off towards the coast path. Dad called him back, but he didn't stop. The others followed him. Fin reached the lighthouse and stopped by the fence. There was no sign of Sam.

The others caught up with him.

"What makes you think he came here?" asked Mum.

"He ran off again on Tuesday night. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to get him into trouble.

"What was he doing when you saw him?" asked Mum.

"Running along the path and calling to someone to wait. Someone who wasn't there. And then..."

"Yes, Fin? What happened then?"

Fin hardly dared go on. "He... he started running towards the cliff edge. I caught him just in time..."

Mum's face went white. "Which part of the cliff?"

Fin pointed to the right of the lighthouse - "Over there."

"Wait here," said Mum. "Your father and I will go and look."

Fin watched them moving carefully towards the edge against the high wind. He looked at Ella. She was shak­ing. Her face was dark, angry, bitter. It frightened him. Mum's scream flew back on the wind.

Fin and Ella rushed forward, but already Dad was run­ning back to stop them. They pushed past him. Mum was holding her head in her hands, sobbing bitterly. Fin and Ella went to the edge and looked down. Twenty-five metres down, between two rocks, they could see a small teddy bear. Even as they watched, the wind caught it and it fell - for a long time it seemed -into the angry sea below.

Fin knew then that Sam was dead. "It's all my fault," he said as the bitter tears came. "Everything's my fault!"

"It's not your fault," snapped Ella angrily. She turned and looked at her father. "It's his fault! Tell them!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Fin and Mum stood up together. "Peter?" said Mum. "What's this all about?"

"I don't know," said Dad.

"You do!" Ella snarled. "It's punishment. I was meant to die, but Sam's paid the price instead! Ask him about Lindy Prescott!"

"Look," said Dad through dry lips. "This isn't the time to talk. We've got to get help. Sam might still be alive."

"But he's dead!" said Ella. "He's dead!"

"No, he's not," said Fin. He had just seen something move in the high grass far behind them. A small dark head. Sam must have dropped Teddy over the cliff and been so frightened that he had run away to hide. Fin rushed up to him.

"Sammy! Are you OK?"

Sam was crying. But when he saw Fin, he put his arms around him and buried his head in his brother's chest. Ella and Mum raced up and threw themselves on the ground beside him. Mum wanted to take him, but Sam would not let go of Fin.

And so they waited, Fin holding Sam, Mum holding Ella. Finally Dad walked up, watching Sam in silence, but when Ella's eyes caught his, he walked away again and stood at the edge of the cliff.

"Let's go home," said Mum, taking Ella's hand. "Can you carry Sammy, Fin? Is he ОК?

"Yes. Look at him! He's fast asleep already!" said Fin.

When they reached Dad, he turned and looked straight at Mum.

"Lindy Prescott worked at the Newquay store four­teen years ago."

She looked at him in silence for a moment. "I remember the name," she said. "But how do you know it, Ella?"

"From her son Ricky. The boy who kidnapped me." She looked at Dad angrily. "He told me everything."

"What do you mean? Lindy Prescott worked at the store in Newquay just after it opened. She was only with us a few weeks. I think she had a little boy about a year old but I don't think she had a husband. I don't know what lies she's told her son about me..."

"She didn't tell him anything," said Ella. "She died in a car accident when Ricky was six. He was with fos­ter parents all over the country till he was twelve, then he ran away and lived rough in London for three years. He finally decided to come back to Cornwall. He met a man called Kelman on a street corner in Newquay."

"That's the man Fin saw me talking to in the lane," Dad said to Mum. But she didn't look at him. "He worked in the Newquay store at the same time as Lindy Prescott. He wasn't a good worker and was often drunk. I sacked him after a couple of weeks. Whatever he told this Ricky Prescott is all lies."

Mum spoke at last, and her voice was like ice. "So it was a girl at the store. I always wondered who it was. And every time I asked you, you said there was nobody."

"There wasn't," he said, turning to walk away.

"Don't lie to me, Peter. And don't walk away! Ella's been through hell because of something you did. We want the truth!"

"All right, all right, all right," said Dad. Fin watched him closely. Sam was asleep in his arms. Ella was trembling. "I know it was wrong and I have no excuse. But you were pregnant with Ella and not very interested in me at the time. Lindy was young and pretty - and uncomplicated. And her partner had just left her."

Mum slapped his face hard. "You bastard!"

Fin was shocked and Ella gasped. Dad put a hand to his face.

"I know," he said to Mum. "I'm sorry. It was wrong."

"So where does this Kelman come into the story?" she asked.

"He was in love with Lindy. She kept saying she wasn't interested but he wouldn't leave her alone. That was another of the reasons why I sacked him. Then one day Kelman stopped me in the street and showed me some photos he'd taken of me and Lindy."

Mum shook her head. "So he started blackmailing you."

"It wasn't a lot of money at first, and I didn't want to lose you."

"You mean you didn't want to lose your position in society."

"That as well. Then nine months later, Kelman told me that Lindy had given birth to a little girl."

"You fool," said Mum. "You stupid fool. So you started giving her money, too?"

"She wouldn't take money from me. But Kelman wanted more. He said he would tell the newspapers if I didn't pay. I used to meet him up here near the light­house on the first day of the month. Then one day -the first of August about eleven years ago - he was late. It was a stormy day like today, and I was sitting in the high grass, waiting for him, when I saw a little girl come running along the path. At first I thought it was Ella. She was so like you and about the same age. She had a pretty white dress on. A boy was following her, about five years old but huge for his age. He was trying to stop her going too close to the cliffs, but he was too clumsy to catch her. She kept jumping up into the air as if she was trying to catch something. The boy was very upset, but you could see that he adored her even though she was making fun of him. She ran into the grass to hide from him - and found me. I smiled at her and she smiled back. She looked so much like Ella that I couldn't believe it. Then I knew she must be Lindy's daughter Imogen. I reached out to touch her. She screamed and tried to run away. I grabbed her arm - I know that was stupid - and she panicked. She raced off through the grass towards the cliffs. I ran after her but... I was too late. She went over the cliff, hit the big rock and fell into the sea. I didn't know what to do. The boy had disappeared and there was nobody else in sight. So... I walked home."

Fin stared down at the sea. "What happened to the girl's body?"

"It was never found. There was a big fall of rocks after that storm. Perhaps her body is buried under­neath. "

"And you never told me this," said Mum bitterly.

"I was ashamed. I'm still ashamed."

"And is that it? Or is there more?"

"Kelman saw everything. He had seen Lindy Prescott further down the path and had hidden in the grass like me. Lindy had hurt her foot. That's why she wasn't with the children. They had run on ahead. I was sure Kelman would tell the police that I had done something to the little girl and then thrown her over the cliff. He wanted a lot of money this time, and I gave it to him. He stayed away for ten years, but he came back a few weeks ago. He'd probably already spoken to Ricky Prescott and told him that I had been there, hiding on the cliffs, when his sister disappeared ten years ago. He wanted more money. I told him to go away - that must have been when Fin saw him. That's the whole story," He looked at Ella. "I wish the boy had tried to kill me rather than you. I don't know why he didn't."

"He wanted to make you suffer." Ella stared at her father. "It was never about money. Before he met Kel­man, all he remembered about his family was a little sister he loved and who disappeared on the cliffs, and a mother who died a few months later. He felt terrible guilt for leaving Imogen on the cliffs. He thought it was his fault she had fallen into the sea. When he found out it wasn't, all he wanted was revenge. He always intended to kill me."

"Why didn't he?" asked Dad.

"He said my hair was just like Imogen's. He said I looked like Imogen if she had lived. Then he heard Sam's voice when he was telling Fin where to bring the money. He heard Sam talking about going to catch the storm. It was exactly what Imogen said to Ricky the day they were up here. Ricky told me about a dream he had had a few days before Imogen's death. He dreamed that a storm was coming to take her away. The storm was chasing her like a huge, terrible monster. I had the same dream when I was in the chamber. He told Imogen about his nightmare but she wasn't afraid. She said the storm wasn't going to catch her: she'd catch the storm instead. When she ran off towards the lighthouse, Ricky was terrified that she was going to die. He tried to stop her, but she just ran away and made fun of him. Jumping up and shouting “Catch the storm!' and then hiding in the grass."

Ella started to shiver. "When Ricky heard Sam using Imogen's words, he thought it was a message from Imogen to kill me in revenge. He rowed me to the island, and we talked for a long time. About his mum and sis­ter, about Kelman. About you," she said, looking at Dad. "He said he wanted you to feel guilt, and that he was going to come back in ten years and kill you, too. But he couldn't kill me. In the end, he tried to kill himself. I tried to stop him, but the gun went off. I thought he was dead."

She burst into tears. Mum held her tight. Dad walked to the edge of the cliff again and stared down.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"It's too late to be sorry!" Ella screamed. "You should have gone over the cliff, not Imogen!" Sam began to move in Fin's arms.

"Come on," said Mum, and began to walk back down the coast path. Fin turned round. His father was still standing at the edge of the cliff.

"Don't, Dad!" shouted Fin. Mr Parnell turned slow­ly back and followed his family, bent over like an old man. Walking towards them were Mr and Mrs Meade and two policemen.