A Sense of Discovery(a Gripping Psychological Suspense Novel)

by Peter Martin

  ‘Wow, he’s a film star Grandad.’

  He rushed over to Lena unable to take his eyes off her friend.

  ‘Yes, Adam, you know who this good friend of mine is, don’t you? Come and meet him and shake hands?’ Lena suggested.

  Adam, suddenly lost for words, gazed into the face of Greg Faye, star of several big budget action films, and more recently Boxer. He timidly raised his little hand, which Greg took saying, ‘Hallo there, young man, I’m glad to make your acquaintance – I’ve heard so much about you.’

  ‘You have?’ Adam said, his eyes opened wide in amazement.

  ‘Why certainly. Lena has told me all about how you enjoyed my last film, Boxer. And it just happens that I have a little something from the film itself, especially for you.’

  What followed next were whoops of delight as Adam looked inside the package Greg had taken from the leather holdall he was carrying. It contained a toy replica of the boxer dog featured in the film and a DVD of the film, the sleeve to which was signed by all the members of the cast. There was even a paw mark purported to be from the actual dog in the picture.

  ‘This is brill– are they really all for me?’

  ‘Of course, they are.’ but all Adam could say was ‘Wow’ before sitting on the floor to take a better look at his presents.

  Lena then introduced Greg to the family.

  They spent the latter part of the afternoon sitting outside so everyone could get to know Greg. After a couple of hours, however, Lena suggested everyone should go back to their rooms to freshen up as dinner would be served shortly at six thirty. Once again the meal was scrumptious, the escalope of pork extremely tender. And after having a dessert followed by coffee and biscuits they were quite full.

  When Lena stood up at the top of the table, Garry guessed she was about to make a suggestion.

  ‘I was wondering if you’d like to go to a private beach not far from here,’ she said ‘It’s still quite warm, and I thought we could take a dip in the sea, it won’t get dark for a number of hours yet.’

  Straight away Adam shouted, ‘Yes. I’ll bring my bucket and spade.’

  With such enthusiasm how could anyone refuse?

  ‘I take it we’re all agreed.’ Lena said laughing. ‘Right, we’ll meet on the front drive in ten minutes. It’s only a couple of miles away, and I’ll get Benson to take us in the people carrier.’

  The beach itself was an inlet of about five hundred yards in length, consisting of clean fine white sand that led to crystal clear seawater lapping gently in. The beach was devoid of any buildings save for six wooden beach huts which were used as changing rooms.

  Delia emerged in a one-piece blue swimsuit which, despite being a little conservative, did show up her still attractive figure. Garry gazed at her in admiration.

  He couldn’t help but wonder what costume Lena might wear. When she finally came out of the hut, he was quite shocked if not embarrassed. The minute pink bikini she wore would have suited someone half her age. Yet admittedly she looked damn good for a great-grandmother. She could have easily passed for someone in her thirties. She smiled and waved before turning her attention to Greg Faye, her boyfriend, lean, strong and handsome, every bit the person he was on screen.

  ‘Come on then you lot!’ she shouted to her guests. ‘Why don’t we go for a dip in the sea? It’s quite safe here, the water’s shallow and normally warm.’

  As if to encourage them, Lena ran into the sea first, followed closely behind by Greg. Garry marvelled at how fleet of foot Lena was; she must be into keep fit, as well as having had a dose of cosmetic surgery, he thought. She waded in until it was deep enough to swim, then suddenly dived underneath the water and Greg followed. They both emerged on the surface a few seconds later, waving to everyone on the beach, once again urging them to come and join in.

  Delia had confided in Garry that she felt ill at ease in her swimsuit so they were the last to venture into the sea, choosing to stay by their grandson so his parents could enjoy the evening.

  As the tide started to go out it was impossible to swim in the shallow sea, and so everyone came out of the water to dry off. And once they were dressed Benson fetched a hamper from the car containing light refreshments and a couple of bottles of champagne. What an invigorating and enjoyable evening it had been. Now, sitting on the sands sipping the last of the champagne, the sun low in the sky sending its rays over the sea. Soon it would be dark, and they’d have to start back. As Garry gathered a few of their things together he noticed Lena kissing Greg, totally besotted by him, she rarely left his side. She was acting like a teenager might, and in front of his family too. He felt uncomfortable – his adoptive mum and his mother really were complete opposites.

  Then to top it all when Lena turned to him and said quietly, ‘Don’t you think Greg’s the most gorgeous man you’re ever likely to meet?’ He was rendered speechless. ‘We’ve been together for about six months now, and it gets better and better.’

  Whether it was the uneasy look on his face Garry didn’t know, but Lena stood up rather abruptly saying, ‘Ok, everyone, as it’s starting to get dark, it might be an idea to get back to the house. Hope you all enjoyed it down here on the beach; it’s so beautiful and good to have it to ourselves. Pop down anytime you want, but bear in mind it’s a steep climb on the way back. It’s such a pity it’s getting dark so quickly, but then, there’s always tomorrow. I don’t know how tired you are, but if you want to watch another one of my films you’re more than welcome – what do you think?’

  ‘Oh, we’ll give that a miss, Lena,’ Garry said. He for one had had enough, it had been a very long day, but continued ‘I imagine everybody’s ready for bed, eh Adam?’

  ‘Grandad!’ Adam protested. ‘I’m not tired. Can we see another film or the same film as last night?’

  Garry shook his head vigorously. ‘If you want to watch another movie, it’s up to your mother.’

  ‘Have you seen the time, Dad?’ Cassie said, pointing to her watch.

  ‘It’s nothing to do with me, it’s your decision’ Garry insisted.

  ‘We don’t want Adam getting into bad habits,’ Chris said in a serious tone of voice.

  But Cassie always a soft touch where her son was concerned said, ‘Go on, I don’t suppose it’ll hurt this time, it is a once in a lifetime holiday, something Adam will remember for years to come.’

  Chris bit his tongue, but all he said was, ‘Seems like I’m outvoted.’

  Lena seemed oblivious to the conflict between Chris and Cassie. Never having had the responsibility of bringing up a small child she probably hadn’t thought before she’d made the suggestion. But with Adam’s shout of ‘Yes!’ then rushing into his mother’s arms and hugging her, the tension eased and everyone laughed.

  Back at the house as they were getting out of the car Lena announced, ‘I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you to it tonight. I’m rather beat myself, I had to get up early to meet Greg, but I’m happy for you to go ahead and watch a film if you want.’ And looking straight at Adam said, ‘Tell me in the morning which one you decided on – all right?’

  Once again Garry remained quiet, unable to stop his thoughts, - why did she suggest watching a film, with no intention of watching it herself? Didn’t she realise the friction she’d caused between Cassie and Chris about Adam staying up late? It appeared not.

  Taking Greg’s arm, she went back into the house and straight upstairs, waving to the others before disappearing into her bedroom. It must have been obvious to everyone how totally infatuated Lena was with Greg. Yet Garry had a hunch Greg didn’t feel quite the same way - there must be a twenty-five-year age difference at least. Surely Greg could have his pick of beautiful young women. But it wasn’t any of his business Garry told himself.

  Adam and his grandad were first in the Cinema Room. Garry quickly found the switch for the lights and watched as his grandson rifled through Lena’s DVD’s, a collection that included all her films, plus hundreds of others from
classics right up to present day films. In the end, he plumped for ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, the movie he’d been talking about back home.

  And so they settled down in their seats. Garry switched on the DVD player, waited for the film to come on, and dimmed the lights. He then sat by Delia, and in the darkness of the room, took hold of her hand, gently squeezing it in a show of affection.

  The film was an enchanting tale, very funny in parts, apposite for all the family. As it progressed, Adam laughed out loud at a number of the calamities taking place on screen. Making it obvious to Garry, if not everyone in the room, that Adam thought this to be the best film ever - or at least the best he’d seen since yesterday.

  Just as it was approaching its zenith – when the Emperor was about to be duped, the screen suddenly went blank, and the lights went out.

  ‘Oh no,’ Adam complained. ‘What’s happened to the picture?’

  ‘Hang on a minute,’ Garry said, getting up from his seat. ‘I’ll go and find out what’s wrong.’

  He made his way over to the light switch by the door and after flicking it on and off a couple of times, said, ‘It’s no use, there seems to have been a power cut.’ He then went to the DVD player, messed and fiddled around with the dials, eventually saying, ‘No, it’s no use there’s no power.’

  ‘Isn’t there anything you can do?’ Delia asked him.

  ‘I wish there was. It might be easy to fix, but as you know I haven’t got a clue about electrics.’

  He felt his way around the room until he got to the window. Then he drew back the curtains. There were no lights outside except for a shaft of light from the moon that dimly lit the room. He could just about see his family and make his way over to the door in the corner of the room. ‘All right everybody,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing to worry about. I suggest you stay here while I go and see if I can find someone who’ll help us. It may only be the fuse box, and if it’s a case of flicking a switch, even I can do that. So be patient, it’ll take a while to find my way about in the dark, but I’m sure the power will come on again shortly.’

  With no other choice, Garry opened the door and went into the pitch black of the hallway. Here and there a faint glimmer of light shone from two small windows enabling him to see two doors on the right-hand side and a bit further on the staircase. He gingerly tried the first and then the second door, only to find there was no reply to his, ‘Anyone there?’ plea in either of the rooms.

  A few seconds passed with no sounds or movements, just a strange eerie silence. It was hard to believe in a house this size when the electricity had failed for whatever reason, that no one was about trying to rectify the problem. Garry sighed, not knowing what to make of it. Where had everyone got to? It seemed he and his family were the only people in the house – well, downstairs anyway. Surely everybody hadn’t gone to bed already, it wasn’t that late.

  There was nothing else for it - he’d have to try upstairs. So going straight to the stairs, he held on to the handrail and in the darkness, climbed the steps. At last, he reached the gallery, but to his surprise, the first couple of bedrooms were yet again empty. He stood still in the unnerving silence not knowing what to do. But out of the quietness came a soft moaning, and instinctively he walked towards the sound. One of the doors at the far end of the landing was slightly ajar. When he cautiously pushed it open it made a loud creaking noise.

  It wasn’t so much the noise from the door which stopped him in his tracks, but the heavy breathing and moaning going on in the room. He froze on the spot. Knowing instinctively whose room he was in. And when a deep male voice demanded, ‘Who the hell’s that?’ Garry recognised it as belonging to Greg Faye.

  ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry,’ he mumbled and made to leave as swiftly as the darkness would allow.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘Garry – is that you?’ Lena asked in a puzzled tone of voice.

  ‘Yes, I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to barge in...’ He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. But in truth he felt his mother needed to grow up, she’d acted like a besotted teenager all evening, hardly able to keep her hands off Greg.

  ‘Is there a problem? Did you want something?’ She probed.

  ‘It doesn’t matter it can wait until the morning.’ Garry made to leave again.

  ‘No, it can’t. Now you’re here you may as well tell me.’

  Garry sighed. ‘Er… we seem to have had a power cut. We were in the middle of one of your films when everything went dead,’ he explained feeling his face grow hotter.

  ‘Oh, that’s nothing to worry about Garry. The power is always going off. It’s something to do with the generator not being powerful enough. I’ll have it seen to as soon as I can get round to it.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ Was all Garry could say.

  ‘Hey Garry, why don’t you piss off. Don’t you understand? We’re busy,’ Greg said clearly irritated by this unwanted intrusion.

  ‘There’s nothing I can do right now. I suggest you get everyone back to their rooms, and safely tucked up in bed,’ Lena said.

  Turning hastily around making for the door, never in his life could he remember being in such a debasing position. Not only that, they now had to go to bed, as best they could, in a total black out.

  ‘Oh, and you’ll be a little hot; the air conditioning won’t be working either.’

  ‘Right, I’ll look forward to that.’ Garry moved back towards the door.

  ‘Have a good night’s sleep, darling,’ Lena said.

  ‘And shut the bloody door behind you!’ Greg shouted after him.

  A huge sense of relief came over Garry, once he’d closed the door. As he made his way downstairs, he began to feel sick, hoping the atmosphere wouldn’t turn awkward after this little mishap. It had unsettled him, and Greg’s attitude hadn’t helped. Wouldn’t Garry be glad to be back with his family?

  He’d just reached the bottom stair when he heard a coughing noise followed by a soft padding coming towards him; then as if out of nowhere someone bumped into him. Garry turned to see a tall heavily built person making his way upstairs chuckling menacingly amid the coughing.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Garry shouted after the figure as he travelled up the stairs, but the figure didn’t answer. Just thud, thudding as he took one step after another, followed by a shuffling noise across the landing. Then a door was banged shut and bolted. Very odd, Garry thought as he made his way back to the others. He’d no idea who the mysterious character could be except to say he appeared to be elderly.

  The events of this evening were rather bizarre, to say the least. Now standing outside the door to the Cinema Room he placed his hand on the door handle taking deep breaths in a bid to appear normal to the rest of the family.

  ‘All right everyone, there’s been a power cut. I’ve spoken to Lena about it,’ he paused here, although the room had been pitch black and he’d seen nothing at all, in his mind’s eye, he still pictured the scene between Lena and her friend, then he continued, ‘And she says she has no idea when the power will be restored. She thinks we might as well go to bed. So let’s stick together and maybe we’ll find it easier to get back to our rooms in one piece.’

  ‘Oh, Grandad, the film was getting to a good part,’ Adam moaned at the top of his voice.

  ‘Sorry Adam, but I can’t do anything about it. Don’t fret, you can always watch the film again tomorrow,’ Garry assured him.

  Then one by one they left and, made their way up the stairs. Crossing the landing Garry was glad the ‘groaning’ of earlier had ceased. After eventually finding their way to their own bedrooms, they said good night to each other and agreed to meet up in the hall by the dining room at around nine o’clock the next morning.

  Garry and Delia were the last ones into their room. He sighed, still anxious after the night’s events.

  ‘That was a bit of an anti-climax, wasn’t it?’ Delia said. There was a trace of light from the window so she walked towards the bed, taking out her nightd
ress from under the pillow.

  ‘Just a bit,’ Garry agreed. ‘And you haven’t heard the best of it yet.’

  ‘Oh yes, and what’s that?’

  ‘I can see the funny side now, but believe me at the time, it was rather embarrassing.’ He started to smile, ‘but you know one of mum’s sayings ‘a fine kettle of fish’ well that just about fitted the bill.’

  ‘Don’t keep me waiting, tell me what happened. I want to know.’ Delia said urgently.

  ‘Well, while I was looking for someone to ask about the power cut, I stumbled into Lena’s room by accident – and I caught her and Greg at it.’

  ‘At what?’ She was sniggering.

  ‘Come on Delia, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, as far as I could tell she never batted an eyelid, although Greg Faye wasn’t amused.’

  ‘How gross. You’d have thought she’d have been past it by now.’

  ‘Evidently not. All right, so she still has a sex life, that’s her own business, but it’s not something you want to think about – your mother having sex.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ll get over it.’

  ‘Suppose I will, but how do I look her in the eye in the morning.’

  ‘I haven’t a clue, but I’d say it’s best to act as if it never happened. Anyway, let’s go to bed now, and worry about that tomorrow, seeing the power won’t be back on any time soon.’

  He agreed with her and before long they had both drifted off to sleep, shattered from the day’s events. But, a little later, Garry felt his arm being tugged and realised he wasn’t dreaming but being roughly woken up.

  ‘Garry! Garry!’ Delia whispered.

  ‘What’s the matter now?’

  ‘I thought I heard something outside the door.’

  ‘Yes, but what?’

  ‘Like someone shouting or having an argument. Please take a look. I hope it’s nothing to do with Tom or Cassie.’

  ‘It’s probably something and nothing.’ Reluctantly he swung his legs from under the covers and stood up.