Cold Cold Sea

by Linda Huber

  ‘Good, you’re awake. Do you remember what happened?’

  His throat hurt when he spoke. ‘It was a van. We were hit by a van in the car park.’

  ‘That’s right. We gave you a short anaesthetic to get you sorted. You’ve got seven stitches in your head so don’t touch it, and your leg’s broken, it might need an op but it won’t be today. You’ve got a couple of broken ribs too so lie still. Nothing dangerous, though, don’t worry. This is the orthopaedic ward. You’re in the side room at the moment but I expect they’ll move you through to the main ward soon.’

  ‘My wife and my - the children?’

  ‘I’ll go and find out for you.’

  She patted his shoulder and left, and Phillip stared after her. She couldn’t know about Hailey, or she wouldn’t have been so kind. What a mess he was in. Would he be prosecuted? Charged? Of course he would. And Jennifer, what would happen to her? And Hailey?

  The nurse would find out about that and there would be no more kindness or patted shoulders, because he had done an appalling thing. They would all despise him and they’d be right. He wouldn’t blame them. What was he going to do? There was no-one he could turn to for help. Christ, he had assisted his mad wife to abduct and hold a child, who would help him? If only he could turn the clock back.

  The nurse returned with an older woman a few minutes later. Both their faces were grave, and Phillip braced himself for contempt.

  But the news wasn’t what he was expecting.

  ‘Mr Marshall, I’m Sarah Campbell, consultant orthopaedic surgeon. I’ve been overseeing your treatment since your arrival.’

  As she spoke she was checking his pulse. The nurse stood silently to one side while the doctor sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at him. Phillip nodded, his mouth dry.

  ‘I’m afraid I have some very bad news for you. Mr Marshall, your wife was brought in with some very severe injuries, and I’m afraid we were unable to save her. Jennifer died a little while ago in the A&E department, but I can assure you she didn’t suffer. I’m very sorry.’

  He stared, then nodded, aware that panic was making his heartrate increase. Jennifer was dead. He was alone now. No Gran, no wife, no child. Tears burned hotly in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. The nurse wiped them away before giving him a tissue in his hand.

  Sarah Campbell stood up. The kind expression was still there.

  ‘We’ll leave you alone for a while now. There’s a police officer coming to see you about the girl who was with you, but that can wait a little.’

  She squeezed his hand and left, the nurse following on.

  Left alone, Phillip lay struggling to breathe calmly. Sobbing hurt his ribs. An image of his wife before Hailey had died, before the Black Patch, swam in front of his eyes. He had failed her. Her death was his fault too. If he’d got help as soon as he’d returned she would still be alive today. Hailey who was Livvy would have gone home and maybe he’d have been able to see her sometime.

  It was about fifteen minutes later when they came back, and he knew by their faces what had happened. Now they knew; someone had told them all about the child who wasn’t his daughter. The nurse didn’t meet his eyes as she checked his foot from the bottom of the bed, and the doctor spoke briskly and coldly.

  ‘The police officer’s here and I think you can manage to speak to her for a few minutes. Ring if you feel it’s too much for you.’

  The nurse handed him the usual kind of hospital bell, and both she and the doctor left the room. There was a murmur outside the door before the police officer came in.

  ‘I did it,’ he blurted out, as soon as the woman entered the room. ‘Jennifer was mad with grief when Hailey died, God help me I should never have left her alone so long but I didn’t know. When I came home she’d taken the kid and I didn’t even find out who she was. I hid her too, because if I hadn’t we could have lost the twins, and then of course because I loved her, oh God I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’

  Sobs jerked his chest and pain seared through his torso but he was glad because it was all he deserved. The policewoman stood motionless for a moment before speaking.

  ‘Phillip Marshall, I’m arresting you on suspicion of child abduction. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense, if you do not mention when questioned, something which you will later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be... ’

  The remainder of her words passed over him. When she had finished she stood silently for a moment.

  ‘Is Hailey, I mean Livvy, is she alright?’ Philip forced himself to ask.

  She stared, and he saw that she was furious. ‘What do you think? Do you have any idea what her family’s been through? You’ve got a lot of explaining to do but as you’re not going anywhere soon that can wait. I’m sorry about your wife.’

  ‘Can I see her?’

  ‘Your wife?’

  ‘No, Hai - Livvy.’

  ‘Mr Marshall, I should think that you are the last person on this earth that Olivia either wants or needs to see right now. I’ll be back tomorrow.’

  She left the room, and he shouted after her.

  ‘Tell her I’m sorry! Please! Tell her I’m so sorry.’

  The effort made him cough and the pain that reverberated through his ribcage made him dizzy. The nurse came back in and silently adjusted the drip in his arm. Phillip closed his eyes again. Everything was out in the open now. The whole story would be in the papers soon and he would be damned to hell and back in most of them. But he didn’t care. There was nothing more he could do now.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Howard Moir’s telephone buzzed, and he went through to the kitchen to answer it. Katie sat watching Olivia, cuddled on her mother’s knee, and a huge lump came into her throat. I’ll miss her, she thought. Hailey had needed her, but Olivia didn’t. Olivia had a loving, caring family. How lucky they were.

  Maggie Granger fished in her bag.

  ‘Look, Livvy, here’s Old Bear. And I think we’d better get going soon. I hope it’s not so windy now.’

  ‘You can tell us all about your helicopter ride when you come to visit,’ Katie said to Olivia, who was holding her bear and looking round, her eyes huge and solemn again.

  ‘Yes, give me your phone number, and I’ll be in touch,’ said Maggie. ‘And please, I think I might want to have a long talk soon, about Livvy’s life here, and you probably know more than anyone.’

  Katie nodded. ‘Of course. We can talk all you want.’

  She wrote her mobile number on a post-it note from the kitchen and Maggie pushed it into her bag. Watching Olivia put her coat on, Katie realised how badly she wanted to stay in touch. She wanted to hear how Olivia settled in back at home, to know that the story really did have a happy ending.

  ‘Can I say goodbye to the babies too?’ said Olivia, looking from her mother to her father to Katie.

  ‘What babies?’ asked Colin.

  ‘Jennifer Marshall had twins towards the end of October,’ said Katie, watching as bitter resentment clouded Maggie face. ‘They’re at the hospital waiting for their grandmother to come for them.’

  ‘She was expecting twins and she still took Livvy away,’ said Maggie, and the anguish in her voice told Katie a little of what the other woman had gone through.

  ‘She’s obviously a very disturbed woman,’ said Howard, appearing in the doorway.

  ‘Has your colleague been able to talk to her yet?’ Katie asked, but Howard shook his head.

  ‘She was allowed to see Phillip Marshall, very briefly. He admitted concealing Olivia here. He said to tell you he’s sorry. I gather he was trying to keep his family together.’

  ‘Keep his family... I don’t think I want to hear this,’ said Maggie, and Katie put her hand on the other woman’s shoulder.

  ‘Can I say goodbye to the babies?’ asked Olivia again, and Katie, seeing the pain in both Maggie and Colin’s faces, bent down to the little girl.

  ‘Sweetheart, it’s too late tonight. Lara and
Daniel will be fine, don’t worry. Their Grandma will be here soon and I expect she’ll take them back home with her for a while.’

  She stood up again, and smiled when Maggie mouthed ‘thanks’.

  It was difficult to take in, but five minutes later, Olivia was gone. Katie stood on the pavement with Howard, waving as the car with the Granger family set off down the road. It won’t be the same without her, thought Katie. Polpayne Castle Primary without Hailey. But how wonderful for Olivia. She would have to think very carefully about breaking the news to the other children. This was all going to be in the papers, maybe even tomorrow, and heaven knows what would be printed. It would be best to have the parents there too on Monday morning, and get psychological support for the first day or two as well. She would phone Jeanette McCallum when she got home, and start the organisation of what would undoubtedly be a very intensive time for the class.

  She turned to Howard. ‘What’ll happen now?’

  He grimaced. ‘I’m not quite sure. Phillip Marshall will be charged, of course, but Jennifer was the real offender here and I’m afraid she’s dead. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Olivia; there’ll be time enough for her to deal with that when she’s back home. Phillip will recover eventually.’

  He stared down the road where the car had disappeared. ‘Will Livvy be okay, do you think? Will she be strong enough to get over this?’

  The lump was back in Katie’s throat. ‘In one way I think she will. In a few years’ time she might not even remember very much about it, but it’ll have changed her, it must have. They’ll all have to rebuild their lives.’

  Howard nodded, pulling out his car key, and Katie turned towards her own vehicle.

  ‘Thanks for everything, Howard. You’ll come to our party at school, won’t you?’

  Howard looked round and grinned at her, and again she saw the deep satisfaction in his eyes. ‘Try and stop me,’ he said.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Two Years Later

  Phillip leaned back in his seat as the train sped through the countryside. He’d been released the previous Friday and it was so good to be a free man again. His time in prison hadn’t been easy; he hadn’t been popular with the other inmates, some of whom had even nicknamed him ‘the paedo’. He wasn’t, of course, and he knew that they’d been perfectly aware of that fact or a lot more than mere name-calling and being ostracised would have happened to him.

  It was horrible, knowing that the harrowing events that occurred after his return from LA had all been down to him. Even today the guilt was crushing. His actions had caused so much suffering, firstly to Hailey and her real family, and secondly to his own children, who had now lived the first two years of their lives with their grandmother rather than their father. And thirdly of course to Jennifer. She might be alive today if he’d got help for her straightaway.

  Well, two years in prison had paid his debt to society, and now he could make a fresh start. He owed it to the twins. He would never forget the apprehensive expressions on their little faces when he walked into Bea’s home last week. He was a stranger to them. Lara had made friends quickly, but it had taken all weekend before Phillip and his son had been ‘Daddy’ and ‘Danny’. It sounded impossible, but now he had to put the past behind him and build up a good life for the three of them.

  But before he could even begin to do that, he knew he had to see for himself that Hailey was alright. He couldn’t move on with his life without knowing, seeing, just once, that she had survived the trauma and was happy again.

  ‘Bad, bad idea, Phillip,’ Bea, his mother-in-law had said, and she was right. Phillip knew there was no way he could just approach the Grangers and ask after their child.

  The train pulled into Plymouth station and Phillip strode down the platform. Now to find the bus to Carlton Bridge. He didn’t plan to go to the Granger home, he would just wait outside the primary school and watch for Hailey when she came out. He wouldn’t speak to her, he would make sure she didn’t even notice him - but if he saw with his own eyes that she was okay, it would be enough. The downside was, of course, that he couldn’t be a hundred per cent sure that Hailey would be at school today; she might be off sick or at the dentist. But he would have to take a chance on that.

  The bus deposited him round the corner from Carlton Bridge Primary, and he walked along to the newsagent’s opposite the gates. This was perfect, he could stand here and pretend to be looking at the small ads in the window. Ten minutes should do it, and then he could go back to Bea and the twins with a lighter heart.

  After a few moments, a bell rang shrilly in the school, and soon the first children appeared, running across the playground to a little crowd of adults waiting at the gates. Eagerly, Phillip scanned the girls’ faces. He would know Hailey at once, he was sure. She’d have longer hair now, of course, and she was two years older, but she would still be the little girl he’d taken care of back then.

  The stream of children grew larger, and Phillip watched anxiously. A lot of these little girls had brown hair, and were about the right size too. But none of them were Hailey. He stood watching one girl as an older boy led her along the road. That could be her, he knew she had a brother - but wouldn’t he recognise her straightaway? Was it her? He couldn’t be sure. Or was she one of these slightly bigger girls over there? How big would she be, exactly?

  The children were chattering excitedly, some to each other and others to their waiting mothers. Phillip shrank further into the doorway. He mustn’t be seen here, and although he didn’t see Maggie Granger, that didn’t mean she wasn’t here. The expression on her face when she’d looked at him on the last day of the trial would haunt him forever.

  There weren’t many children left now. A boy ran towards a woman waiting beside a car just along the street from Phillip.

  ‘Jess! Why are you here? Where’s Mum?’

  ‘She had to take Slinky to the vet’s. He got a thorn stuck in his mouth,’ replied the woman, opening the passenger seat door for him. ‘So you three are staying with me in the meantime. Where’s your sister? Oh there she is, come on scally-wag! Your mum said you can give Tommy his bottle while she’s at the vet’s!’

  A dark-haired child careered along the pavement and flung her schoolbag into the back beside a baby in a car seat.

  ‘Why’s Mum at the vet’s? Hey, Tommy, that is my Old Bear! Stop dribbling on him! Jess, can I - ’

  She slammed the door shut and the car drove off. Phillip stared. The size was about right, and the hair was right too. And her face, it was delicate, like Hailey’s. But there had been nothing at all in that child’s body language or her manner that reminded him in the slightest of his quiet, shy, polite little Hailey.

  ‘Phillip? Are you okay? Bea said you were coming here, you haven’t done anything stupid, have you? Come on, get in the car.’

  It was Thea. She’d been a tower of strength to Bea these past two years, supporting her when Jennifer died, and at the trial, then helping with the twins. She’d even visited him in prison.

  He could hear the tears in his voice. ‘She wasn’t there, Thea. I didn’t see her.’

  She looked at him soberly. ‘Phillip, the child you were looking for doesn’t exist. She’s only in your head now.’

  He leaned back as she turned the car and took the road towards Torquay. Thea was right, he knew. His own Hailey was safe in his heart, and he would keep the second Hailey there too. He met Thea’s eye and she grinned cheerfully.

  Phillip took a deep, shaky breath. This was his second chance, and it was up to him to take it.

  It was time to go back to his own children now, to Lara and Danny. It was time to start again.

  If you enjoyed The Cold Cold Sea, here’s an extract from

  Linda Huber’s debut novel,

  The Paradise Trees.

  Chapter One

  Friday, 7th July

  He had found exactly the right spot in the woods. A little clearing, green and dim, encircled by tall tree
s. A magical, mystery place. He would bring his lovely Helen here, and no-one would ever find them. No-one would hear her when she screamed and begged for mercy, and no-one would come running to rescue her, like they’d tried to with the first Helen. This time it was going to be perfect. A sacrament - something holy. He was looking forward to it so much.

  He’d first noticed her in the village shop last weekend. She was buying bread and fruit, and he’d even helped her when she dropped an orange and it rolled down the aisle towards him. He’d picked it up and handed it back to her, and just for a second their eyes had met. In that brief moment he’d known. He had found another Helen. She had Helen’s brown eyes, Helen’s long dark hair; even the shape of her body was Helen. Slim, but with delicious curves in all the right places.

  Of course he hadn’t said anything then, just ‘you’re welcome’ when she smiled a quick ‘thank you’. Her eyes were dark and troubled, and a sudden rush of sweat prickled all over his body. He went and hung around behind the shelf with the soap powder until she’d paid and left, and then he asked old Mrs Mullen at the check-out who she was. Mrs Mullen was the biggest gossip in Lower Banford, and usually he was very careful not to start her off. He didn’t want to be seen chit-chatting about the village people in their local shop. Now, however, he listened gratefully as she prattled on.

  ‘That’s Alicia Bryson, Bob Logan’s daughter. She’s up for the day to see poor Bob after that last little stroke he had, his fifth one I hear and he’s not doing so well. Margaret Cairns – his sister, you know, she looks after Bob but it’s getting too much for her, she’s nearly seventy herself after all – was saying yesterday that Alicia and her little girl were coming for the summer too. I suppose... ’

  He hadn’t listened any more. Alicia Bryson? No, she was Helen... his Helen. And she’d be in Lower Banford all summer, that was all that mattered. He would find her and make her his own darling love. And there was a child, too, another Helen? Little Helen? How perfect.