by Maggie Finn
Noah pulled out a large flashlight and helped Eliza through the gate. It was spooky, Eliza couldn’t deny that, but at the same time it was exciting too. Without thinking, she reached out and took Noah’s hand. It seemed so natural and he didn’t pull away. Dodging around potholed puddles, they came to a tall door, a long iron bell pull to one side.
‘Would you like to do the honors?’ asked Noah.
With childish excitement, Eliza reached out and pulled. Distantly they heard the sound of a clanking bell. There was a scrape above them and they both stepped back, craning upwards.
‘Who is it?’ shouted a voice. All Eliza could see up there was a shadow.
‘It’s me, Guard Moyes, said Noah. ‘Stop being a dope and let us in.’
‘“Us”, is it? And who’ve you got down there with you, Guard?’
‘Miss Eliza Carlyle, straight over from America. Now are you going to offer us a cup of tea or not?’
There was a pause and then another scrape.
‘He’ll be grand,’ said Noah. ‘He just needs to warm up a little.’
He smiled reassuringly, but Eliza couldn’t help feeling nervous as the big door in front of them creaked open and a face peeked out. Thin and gaunt, hollow cheeks covered with white beard, matching eyebrows above dark eyes.
Exactly how a lighthouse keeper should look, thought Eliza.
‘Filthy weather, eh,’ said Noah.
‘Aye, so,’ the man agreed begrudgingly. ‘Well I guess you better come on in before you get soaked.’
He held the door open a crack and they both squeezed through.
Eliza found herself in a large circular room, unfinished brickwork and exposed beams, wooden chests and rusty storage lockers. It all looked cobwebbed and neglected. Is this where he actually lives? Thought Eliza. It must be more lonely being a lighthouse keeper than she thought.
‘Theodore Callahan,’ said Noah, ‘Meet miss Eliza Carlisle. Miss Carlisle is assisting me in my investigation.’
Lighthouse keeper looked her up and down, his lips pursed.
‘America is it?’ He said with disapproval.
‘Yes, Los Angeles.’
Theo raised one eyebrow. ‘Mmm. Seen it on the charts. San Pedro channel, eh? Deep.’
Seeming to make a decision, Theo gestured towards a steep open staircase. ‘Best come up then.’
Exchanging a look with Noah, she followed him up and found herself in the most remarkable room. In complete contrast to the entrance, it was cozy and warm. The walls were covered in framed wooden panels painted a soft blue and there were rugs and cushions everywhere. A pot-bellied stove in one corner – not really a corner, as all the walls were curved – was topped with an enamel kettle and there were cream shutters at the windows. The focal point of the room, however, was an oval wooden table in the center, covered with complicated maps and charts.
‘Here you go,’ said Theo, bending over one and tracing a thin finger across it. ‘There’s your City of Angels.’
Eliza stood next to him. ‘Gosh, that’s a lot of sea between here and there.’
‘There is that,’ said Theo. ‘And a lot of this is guesswork,’ he added, smoothing a hand across the lines indicating the inverted mountains of the seabed. ‘But here, in the port, there’s men who’ll know these waters to the inch.’
‘I saw the Angel’s Gate lighthouse once,’ said Eliza. It was true: back in the early days of their relationship, when Nic had cared about romance, they’d rowed out to see it. They’d done kooky things like that. The keeper looked at her with interest for the first time.
‘Angel’s Gate hmm? Ah, but I’m thinking that’s a magnificent sight.’
‘It is. A friend of mine took me out in boat, we got pretty close. Such a beautiful building.’
‘So it is. So it is. They say it’s the only lighthouse in the world to have an emerald lens. Never seen it, but ah… it would be grand.’
The shook his head and crossed to the stove. If Eliza hadn’t known better, she might have thought the man had been seized by emotion. The kettle boiled, he made up a tray of tea things, which he balanced on a side table to pour.
‘Now then, guard,’ he said, handing over a surprisingly dainty tea cup. ‘Will you be catching my intruder?’
‘Now that all depends, Theo,’ said Noah, looking around. ‘Where exactly did they break in?’
Theo snorted. ‘Break in here? Tchah! The door is the only way in, the walls are three foot thick and the windows? You’d need a fire engine ladder to reach them.’
‘So where was the break in?’
‘Trespass, Guard. Caught the fella climbing the fence.’
‘You caught him?’
‘Not physically. If I had, I wouldn’t need you, now would I? He’d be clapped in irons.’
‘Now then Theo,’ said Noah in a warning tone. ‘I can’t condone taking the law into your own hands.’
Theo gave a sly smile.
‘I’m joking Guard, of course. I would never dream of such a thing.’
Eliza wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw Theo send a flicker of a wink in her direction.
‘So how did you catch this intruder?’
‘Technology,’ he smiled, ‘Come this way.’
Putting down their tea, they followed the keeper up another flight of stairs. This room, slightly smaller than the last, was as different from the floor below as the store-room on the ground had been to the sitting room. It was lit like day by fluorescent light and packed with a range of high-tech computers, complex radio equipment and what looked to Eliza like an actual radar. It was like the torpedo room in a submarine movie.
‘Look at this,’ said Theo, swinging into a chair in front of a polished chrome computer. In a few clicks, a window opened on the monitor and they were watching footage from a closed circuit camera.
And another, and another. Theo clicked back and forth between them, showing different angles.
‘Wow, that’s impressive.’
‘We are funded by the shipping industry, Miss,’ said Theo with a hint of pride. ‘Each of the vessels in their fleet are worth multiple millions, so they don’t skimp on protecting their investment. Now watch.’
He tapped at a few keys and suddenly on the screen they saw film of a man climbing over rocks, approaching a fence. He was wearing outdoor clothes: a waxed jacket and a flat cap pulled low, which was hiding his face.
‘That’s the west boundary,’ said Theo. ‘Fella’s come up from the coastal path. Would’ve been much easier to drive over like you did.’
As they watched, the intruder produced a camera with a long lens. Evidently frustrated by the fence, he threw a bag over the top and clambered over.
‘Where were you at the time Theo?’ Asked Noah.
‘Asleep, as if it were any business of yours,’ said the keeper irritably. ‘I can’t be alert twenty-four hours a day. It’s not like when the light was fired by whale oil. Back then, there were three keepers on shifts.’
He turned towards Eliza. ‘It’s all computerized these days, Miss. I’m just here in case anything goes wrong.’
‘You’re being modest, Mr. Callahan. I’m sure you’re much more important than that. As you say, those huge ships are like floating cities. You’re keeping all those ships and all their crews safe.’
Theo made the ‘harumph’ sound again. He fast-forwarded the footage and they watched as the intruder circled the lighthouse, taking photos – long shots of the building, but also close-ups of details such as the door and the windows.
‘He’s certainly looking closely at the place,’ said Noah. ‘But he doesn’t actually try to get in?’
‘Casing the joint,’ said Theo. ‘Isn’t that what they say in America? When robbers put a bank under surveillance before they do “the job”?’ Eliza had the feeling that Theo was attempting an impression of a movie gangster like Edward G Robinson, but it sounded a lot more like an Irish Lighthouse Keeper to her.
‘Could be he’s testing t
he security,’ said Noah. The intruder was certainly giving the impression that he knew he shouldn’t have been there, glancing around nervously and stopping to scan the road for approaching cars.
‘I was expecting something like this, actually,’ said Theo, swiveling to face them.
‘Really?’ said Eliza, ‘Why?’
He gestured to the computers. ‘As I say, it’s a serious business, so there are firewalls all over our systems. We got an alert saying that someone had been trying to access information on the lighthouse. Plans of the installation, finances, spending – that sort of thing.’
Noah nodded. ‘Clever.’
‘Why?’ asked Eliza, feeling lost. ‘Why would a burglar care about your finances?’
‘They could find out how much had been spent on security,’ said Noah. ‘Or how many keepers they have stationed here – and if there have been budget cuts they could infer that the keepers might be on a skeleton staff, that sort of thing.’
Eliza looked at Noah in amazement. She would never have thought of that – obviously she would have made a poor criminal.
‘Well, we’ll keep an eye out for him,’ said Noah. ‘Can you let me have a copy of the…’
‘Already done, Guard,’ said Theo pulling a flash drive from the side of a computer handing it to Noah, along with an envelope. ‘Got you a print-out of the fella in there too. Pretty hi-res, but he’s wearing that hat, so it’s not the best. I think I’d know him if I saw him again though.’
‘Me too, Theo.’ Noah waved the envelope. ‘Thanks, this has been a great help.’
Theo led them down those treacherous steps back to the lighthouse’s entrance.
‘A pleasure meeting you, Miss Carlisle,’ he said.
Eliza turned to reply, but the door was already closed.
Chapter Eleven
Noah drove Eliza slowly back to Clover Cove. Slowly, because it was dark and icy, but also because he didn’t want his time with Eliza to come to an end. He suspected she had enjoyed her day as an impromptu sheriff’s deputy, but possibly not as much as he had. Stealing another glance at her, Noah was struck once again by how pretty Eliza Carlisle was. But today he’d also been impressed by how ‘can-do’ she was. Picking Clover Cove pretty much at random, she had flown thousands of miles on her own, and within a matter of days had charmed her way into the heart of the community, helping out at the Font and accompanying the local Guard on his rounds. Not many tourists would have been brave enough to get so stuck in. And now she was sitting quietly, happy to stare out at the sea as they wound their way along the coast road. Admittedly it was a grand sight, the moon shining off the ink-black sea, but Noah had to confess the quiet unnerved him a little. Something to do with growing up on the west coast of Ireland, he supposed, where folk weren’t exactly known for their introverted nature.
‘So how was your day?’ he asked.
‘Illuminating,’ said Eliza.
‘Is that a pun? On the lighthouse?’
Eliza laughed. ‘Wasn’t meant to be. But it was certainly fascinating to see inside the lighthouse – but also a privilege to get to see you at work.’
‘You’re welcome, but doesn’t feel like work to me,’ he said. It was the truth. Noah liked being of service to the community. Duty and service weren’t particularly fashionable words these days, he knew, but they suited Noah and his personality. People in Kiln County trusted him and relied on him, but there was very little pride involved. He just did it because he couldn’t – or wouldn’t want to – do anything else.
Finally they arrived in Clover Cove and Noah reluctantly parked the car. He held the door open for Eliza and she got out, but didn’t move towards the guest house.
‘What do you think was going on there?’ she asked. ‘At the lighthouse, I mean. Who do you think that man was? Was he the burglar?’
Noah shook his head. ‘Not sure. I mean, Theo’s right: I can’t see why someone would try to get into somewhere so inaccessible.’
‘Well, Theo does have a pretty state-of-the-art computer set-up there. Those computers would be worth a lot of money.’
‘Sure, but there are easier targets,’ said Noah, thinking of Danny and Sir Charles.
‘Some sort of sabotage maybe?’
‘I suppose, but again, it’d be a lot of effort and didn’t it look… well, the fella on the film, he didn’t look terribly professional, did he?’
Eliza nodded. ‘Do you think it’s the same perp as at the Castle?’
‘Perp?’ smiled Noah.
‘It’s short for “perpetrator”, I think,’ said Eliza sheepishly. ‘I saw it on a movie once.’
‘We call them suspects. And it could be the same fella, but…’
‘You don’t think so?’
When Noah didn’t reply, Eliza looked up at him, but Noah’s attention was elsewhere. A tall man was walking towards them. It was like looking in one of those fairground mirrors that distorted things: in this case, a mirror that gave you a glimpse of how things might look in the future.
‘How are ya, son?’ said the man.
Noah nodded, but he couldn’t think what else to say. ‘Hello’ didn’t seem adequate when he hadn’t spoken to his father in months.
‘Da, this is Eliza Carlisle,’ he said finally. ‘She’s from LA. Eliza, this is my father, Niall.’
‘Los Angeles, is it?’ said the older man, shaking her hand. ‘I spent a little time up the coast in Oxnard when I was working for the navy. You’re very welcome here, Miss. Are you over for Christmas?’
‘Yes, although I was expecting snow.’
Niall Moyes chuckled.
‘Oh, it will come. It’s like clockwork here, isn’t that right Noah? I can’t remember a Christmas when there wasn’t snow.’
‘I can,’ said Noah flatly. Typical of Da to forget that. There was a pause, then Niall nodded.
‘Sure,’ he said. ‘There was that once, but son…’
‘I’m just pointing out that’s not a guarantee, Da,’ said Noah quickly, ‘Wouldn’t want to get Eliza’s hopes up.’
‘No, wouldn’t want to do that, would we?’
Noah’s eyes narrowed.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?
‘Nothing, son. Not everything is meant to mean something. I was just passing the time of day.’
Noah nodded, looked away. He knew he was being both unreasonable and rude, especially in front of Eliza, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. His father was like Kryptonite to him these days.
‘Well, I think we’ll be moving along,’ said Noah, ‘Miss Carlisle was on her way back to the guest house.’
‘It was grand to meet you Eliza. I hope to see more of you’ – he looked meaningfully at Noah – ‘Of both of you – while you’re visiting.’
Noah interrupted ‘No, Da, Eliza and I aren’t…’
But Eliza jumped in.
‘Yes, I hope we’ll see more of you too Mr. Moyes.’
He took both of her hands in his, his crinkled eyes meeting hers. ‘You’re always welcome. Both of you.’
She waved as the man walked off. Noah could only stand there, feeling strangely drained.
‘Well, that was awkward,’ said Eliza.
‘Sorry you had to see that. My da’s…’
‘He seemed very charming.’
Noah closed his eyes.
‘Yes, he can be. He can that.’
‘It’s none of my business Noah,’ began Eliza, but Noah cut her off.
‘No. No, it’s not,’ he said, then immediately regretted it, seeing the hurt in her eyes.
‘Noah, I don’t know what’s happened between you, but…’
‘He’s getting married,’ he blurted out suddenly.
She blinked at him.
‘And that’s bad because…?’
He took a deep breath and let it out, watching as it clouded in the cold air, wondering what to say and coming up empty. After all, how could Eliza possibly understand?
‘My ma died
a few years ago,’ he said finally. ‘Three, actually. Just before Christmas.’
‘The Christmas it didn’t snow,’ said Eliza quietly.
Noah just nodded. ‘It seemed fitting actually. Everyone was in mourning. The whole village loved her.’
Eliza looked at him closely, as if she were trying to read his face. Noah felt uncomfortable under her gaze.
‘And you don’t approve of your Dad’s new partner?’
‘No, I don’t.’
‘Why not? Don’t you want him to be happy?’
‘He won’t be, Eliza,’ he said emphatically. ‘Lin… his fiancée. She’s a bad lot.’
Eliza paused. ‘A bad lot’?’.
The anger rose in Noah and he could feel his cheeks flare.
‘She’s not right for him,’ he snapped. ‘Let’s leave it at that.’
The disappointment he saw in Eliza’s face felt worse than if she had slapped him.
‘Fine. It’s your business, Noah,’ she said, tight-lipped. ‘But I will say this: love is a hard thing to find in the world and you can’t always choose where it comes from. But when it comes along and, I think you owe it to yourself to grab onto it with both hands.’
And when she turned and walked away, all Noah could do was watch her go.
Noah stood just inside the entrance to the church. He wasn’t exactly sure why he had come here, but after Eliza had stalked off, he just wanted to be somewhere quiet and reassuring. It smelled of candles and pine cones and wintersweet and box. Diana Brennan, for all her faults, had always insured that the church was full of flowers and plants, the stone walls and hard wooden pews softened by her arrangements, the seasonal fragrances marking the changing seasons.
He turned in the dark hallway and looked up at the stained-glass windows. Rendered in bright blues and reds, they depicted – what else in Clover Cove? – Saint Peter standing on the prow of his boat, Christ at his side, hands casually raised to calm the storm. Of course, if Noah remembered correctly, in that story, the fishermen had all been terrified. That’s how he felt right now, scared he was about to pitch head-first into dark waters, powerless to do anything about it.
He was, as the Americans put it, completely out of his comfort zone and that was all because of Eliza. That girl, she did something to him. She knocked him sideways, she unbalanced him, made feel like St. Peter in the picture. Not that Noah was any kind of saint, far from it.
