The Smuggler's Daughter

by Kerry Barrett

  ‘It’s a start.’

  ‘So you said Ewan was fairly helpful? Did he come up with any bright ideas?’

  Liv nodded. ‘A couple,’ she said. ‘Do you mind collecting some glasses?’

  I looked over to where she was gesturing. One lonely empty sat on a table. ‘That one?’

  ‘Yes please.’ She turned her attention to a man who’d come up to the bar. ‘What can I get you?’

  Obediently, I slid off my stool and went to fetch the dirty glass. When I came back, Liv was in conversation with a couple who were sitting at the bar.

  ‘You need to speak to Phoebe,’ she said as I handed her the pint glass. ‘She’s been reading up about the history of the pub.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘These people are on holiday and they were wondering why the pub’s called The Moon Girl. I thought you could tell them. Phoebe’s doing some investigating,’ she told the couple. ‘She’s in the …’

  I jumped in. ‘I’m interested in history,’ I said, interrupting Liv before she could say I was a police officer. I didn’t want to talk about my “real life”. ‘The pub’s named after a girl called Emily Moon. She lived here – her mother ran the pub – and she disappeared without a trace, one night.’

  The woman was wide-eyed. ‘Was this recent?’

  I laughed. ‘God, no. Right at the end of the eighteenth century. More than two hundred years ago.’

  ‘Oh that’s a shame.’ She was disappointed. ‘I thought it was going to be like one of those true-crime mysteries.’

  ‘It is true,’ I pointed out. ‘No one knows what happened to Emily Moon.’

  ‘It’s hard to care when it all happened so long ago, though,’ the man said. ‘It’s not like Madeleine McCann or 9/11.’

  ‘9/11 isn’t a mystery,’ his wife said.

  ‘Isn’t it?’

  Inwardly rolling my eyes and feeling weirdly affronted at their dismissal of poor Emily, I spoke up. ‘It’s said that Emily’s ghost walks the cliffs on moonlit nights, crying for her lost love.’

  The man snorted.

  ‘I thought exactly the same as you,’ I said. ‘Until I heard her.’

  ‘You heard her?’ the woman breathed. ‘We both did. Me and Liv.’

  Liv nodded. ‘Wailing.’

  ‘You should do ghost tours,’ said the man. ‘We did one in Bath. It was great.’

  ‘It’s not safe on the cliffs, unfortunately,’ said Liv. ‘But do you know, it’s not a bad idea to play on the whole haunted pub thing. I might do that.’

  The couple beamed at her as she offered them drinks on the house to thank them for their idea. When they went off to find a table, she turned to me. ‘What was that about?’

  ‘Ghosts?’ I said.

  ‘No, I mean why did you interrupt me when I was about to tell them you’re in the police?’

  I made a face. ‘Not sure. I’ve not told anyone here. It feels a bit raw. I don’t want to talk about what I do, and maybe have them remember what happened to Ciara. She was big news for a while – people could easily put two and two together. I’m not ready to chat about it.’

  Liv looked thoughtful. ‘That’s understandable.’

  ‘I told Ewan I worked in TV.’

  ‘Ohhh,’ she said, realisation on her face. ‘I wondered what he was banging on about when he mentioned locations. That was you?’

  ‘Afraid so.’

  She grinned. ‘Fair enough. If you want to keep it quiet, I’m happy to go along with it.’ She bit her lip. ‘It’s probably for the best, and anyway, you’re not officially in the police down here are you?’

  ‘Exactly,’ I said. Though I was actually. I may have been an officer with the Met but police were police in the UK.

  ‘It’s not a bad idea, though,’ Liv was saying. ‘The whole ghost thing. We can big it up. Get some spook hunters down here.’

  ‘You’re amazing,’ I said. ‘You see a business opportunity everywhere you go.’

  ‘Maybe we can become one of those true-crime internet stories if we include the case of the missing Watson family,’ Liv said, clearly enjoying herself. She put on a film trailer voice. ‘What made Mike Watson and his family vanish without a trace one summer’s night, leaving their possessions behind?’

  ‘That reminds me – did you find out any more about them? Get an address or anything?’

  Liv looked briefly disappointed that I wasn’t running with her true-crime fun, but then she nodded. ‘I didn’t get an address but I did find out more. Des the regional manager said Mike’s mother was in a car accident, so they had to go and be with her. They thought she was going to die, so that’s why they all went in such a hurry. But she’s fine now, though she’s going to be out of action for a while. So they decided to stay.’

  I made a face. ‘Weird.’

  ‘That’s what he said.’ Liv screwed her nose up. ‘Who knows what goes on in families, eh?’

  ‘Who knows?’

  ‘Look lively,’ Liv said, her attention taken by the pub door opening. ‘Your mate’s here.’

  ‘My mate?’ But already I felt my face growing hot as Jed appeared, looking handsome as ever. I was quite pleased to see he was on his own, not trailing after Ewan or with Mark by his side, but then – obviously – the door opened again and in they came. Jed nodded to me and I nodded back, trying to look casual. Ewan raised a hand to wave at Liv and she gave him a smile – a slightly odd smile, I noticed. It didn’t quite reach her eyes. He pointed to a table by the window that overlooked the beach, and he and Jed went to sit there while Mark came to the bar. Within seconds, Jed and Ewan were deep in conversation. Jed was clearly explaining something to Ewan, with the help of beer mats and his phone.

  I felt ridiculously and foolishly disappointed that Jed hadn’t come to talk to me. God it was like being back at school with me getting myself in a tizz over a boy. But suddenly, the pub felt claustrophobic. I couldn’t sit there with Jed over in the corner, paying me no attention. I had to look like I wasn’t bothered.

  I glanced out of the window and, pleased to see it was still light and it wasn’t raining, I told Liv I was going for a walk and headed outside. With no destination in mind, I headed out on to the clifftop path and sat down on the grass, looking out over the sea. The sun was setting now and the sky had gone a deep blue while the water was a soft grey. I could see fishing boats heading out from Kirrinporth, and the lights going on along the coastline.

  It was lovely, sitting out there. It was warmer than it had been for ages and the breeze felt smooth on my bare arms. I had to get outside more, I thought. It was good for me and my mental health. Sandra had often stressed how important it was for me to be out in the fresh air and had encouraged me to go running. I should dig out my trainers. It would be so invigorating to run along these clifftops with the sea crashing down below and the wind in my hair.

  ‘Looking for Emily?’ The voice made me jump and then, as I realised it was Jed, made my heart beat a little bit quicker.

  ‘Just looking generally,’ I said, turning to smile at him as he walked up beside me. My mood had been lifted by the scenery, and I found I was absurdly pleased to see him. ‘Fancy joining me in my looking?’

  He sat down next to me. I could feel the warmth of his thigh through my light summer dress and I liked it. ‘What have you seen?’

  ‘Fishing boats,’ I said. ‘That’s about it. But it’s nice out here.’

  ‘It is,’ he agreed. ‘I find it very calming to be near the water.’

  ‘It’s funny to think that this is the same view that Emily would have seen from up here, all those years ago.’

  Jed looked at me. ‘You’re really into this Emily thing, aren’t you?’

  I shrugged. ‘I’ve got to be honest, if I didn’t have her to distract me, I think I’d be bored stiff. This isn’t how I imagined the summer in Cornwall was going to be.’

  ‘You thought it was all blond surfers?’

  ‘Blond surfers, posh stude
nts, nice middle-class families taking a house for the summer …’

  ‘Yeah, that’s the north coast,’ Jed said with a grin. ‘Rock, Padstow, Newquay.’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘And Poldark’s too far away too?’

  ‘Not that far. But not quite near enough.’

  I snorted. ‘Well, Poldark or not, Liv doesn’t need me as much as I thought she would. But I’m not ready to go back to London. Emily’s keeping me interested.’

  Jed glanced at me. ‘I’m glad.’

  I smiled, keeping my eyes fixed on the horizon. ‘Me too.’

  ‘I like when people visit the real Cornwall,’ he said, sounding like a travel documentary. ‘There’s a lot more here than surfers.’

  ‘I like surfers,’ I said sulkily, annoyed that I’d misinterpreted his gladness as being about me rather than his beloved Cornwall. I didn’t look at him but I got the impression he was smiling. And that made me prickly too.

  ‘I should go back inside,’ I said.

  This time Jed did look at me. ‘Or you could stay.’

  I turned my head so I was looking at him too. Our faces were quite close together. ‘Why?’

  There was a glint in Jed’s eye. ‘Because it’s nice sitting here with you,’ he said.

  I melted, all prickliness gone. ‘Fine, I’ll stay a bit longer.’

  He grinned at me. ‘I asked around about the Watsons leaving so suddenly.’

  ‘You did? That was quick.’ I was impressed with his keenness.

  ‘Yes, apparently there was a problem with one of the kids. They had to move to be near a special school. Or a hospital. Something like that.’

  Well, that wasn’t what the regional manager had told Liv. How strange. I looked at Jed, but he didn’t seem like he was telling a deliberate untruth. Instead he was gazing out to sea, his face calm in the twilight.

  ‘Did you know there’s a beach down there?’ I said. ‘Liv and I saw it from the pub. It’s a tiny cove, tucked away underneath the cliffs. Did you know about it?’

  ‘I did,’ he said, smiling at me.

  ‘I want to go down there.’

  But he shook his head. ‘You can’t,’ he said. ‘It’s not possible. There used to be a path down the side of the cliff, many years ago. But the wind and the rain and erosion have washed it away. You can only get to it by boat now.’

  ‘Oh that’s such a shame,’ I said, genuinely disappointed.

  ‘It is,’ he said. ‘Maybe one day I’ll hire a boat and we can take a trip.’

  ‘I’d like that.’ Was I imagining it or were we closer to each other now? We were both almost lying down, leaning on our elbows with our legs outstretched.

  I turned my head so I was looking at him. Our faces were very close to each other, but I didn’t move away and nor did he.

  ‘Me too,’ he said and my pulse quickened. His expression was hard to read because it was getting darker now, but I could feel his breath on my face. He was going to kiss me. My stomach twisted just at the thought. He was going to kiss me and I wanted him to so badly it almost hurt.

  Very gently, Jed leaned forward and our lips brushed.

  ‘Phoebe,’ he said quietly. I moved a tiny bit closer and we kissed properly this time. My head was spinning. I could smell the faint scent of Jed’s aftershave and feel his stubble on my skin. It was perfect.

  And then a lorry rumbled past on the road and made us both jump, and the moment was broken. Jed sat up.

  ‘I’m so sorry, I have to go,’ he said. He pulled his phone out of his inside pocket and I noticed that his screensaver was different from earlier. It was just a standard blue wavy pattern – not the photo I’d noticed in the café. ‘Work.’

  ‘Now?’ I sat up too, trying and failing to hide my disappointment.

  ‘I’m afraid so.’

  He stood up and held his hand out to me to help me up. I got to my feet and brushed the grass from my behind. ‘I was enjoying that,’ I said.

  He looked at me and I thought he was going to say something but then he stopped. Instead he kissed me again and then groaned. ‘I really have to go.’ He turned and walked back towards the pub, his long legs meaning he moved fast.

  Slightly confused by everything that had just happened, but still floating on air after the kiss, I hugged myself. This summer had just got a whole lot more interesting, I thought with a grin. I was very glad we’d come.

  Chapter 22

  The euphoria of my kiss with Jed lasted a whole twelve hours before it all went wrong.

  Liv had been closing up when I got back to the empty pub after the clifftop kiss. She looked at me with a gleam in her eye. ‘Did Jed follow you?’

  I flopped into a chair and sighed happily. ‘He did.’

  ‘And?’

  I tried to look nonchalant. ‘What do you mean?’

  Liv threw a bar towel at me. ‘Spill,’ she said.

  ‘He kissed me,’ I said. ‘Or maybe I kissed him. I’m not sure. But we kissed.’

  ‘How was it?’

  ‘Amazing,’ I said. ‘Dreamy.’

  She grinned. ‘Drink while you tell me all the details?’

  ‘Glass of wine, please.’

  Liv poured us both a glass and came over to sit with me, checking first that the pub door was locked firmly.

  ‘Still a bit jumpy?’ I asked.

  She looked sheepish. ‘I can’t help it. It’s so remote here, isn’t it? And that wind doesn’t help. And the ghost stories creep me out, even though I know they’re ridiculous. And …’ She trailed off.

  ‘And?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘You said and.’

  ‘Did I?’ She gave me a broad smile. ‘I’m losing my marbles. I can’t remember what I was going to say.’ She slurped her wine. ‘So tell me everything that happened with Jed. He’s blooming gorgeous.’

  ‘Isn’t he?’ I groaned. ‘We had a good chat, and we were kind of lying on the grass, watching the sea and it just happened.’

  ‘Did you …’

  ‘No,’ I shrieked. ‘We were in plain view of the road.’

  Liv gave a Sid-James-style guffaw. ‘So what happened after that?’

  I groaned. ‘Then a massive truck roared past and made us both jump, and he remembered he had to be at work.’

  ‘Ah that’s annoying.’

  ‘I know, just when it was all going well he ups and disappears.’

  ‘Like Emily Moon,’ said Liv in a spooky voice.

  I glared at her and she stuck her tongue out at me.

  ‘What job does he do?’ she asked. ‘Why did he have to go to work at this time of night?’

  My stomach plummeted into my flip-flops. ‘He’s a delivery driver,’ I said in a small voice.

  Liv blinked. She didn’t say anything but I could tell what she was thinking because I was thinking it too. Delivery drivers, unlike pub managers and police officers, generally didn’t work into the night.

  ‘Maybe he’s doing some distribution stuff,’ Liv said vaguely. ‘Getting things where they need to be overnight.’

  ‘Maybe he’s married?’

  Don’t be so dramatic,’ Liv said. ‘Of course he’s not married. There are loads of reasons for him to go to work at this time. He doesn’t wear a wedding ring, does he?’

  I thought of Jed’s large, strong hands and shook my head. ‘No ring.’

  ‘Message him.’

  ‘Now? He’s only just left. I don’t want to look like I’m too keen.’

  Liv snorted. ‘Tomorrow then.’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Ewan was here when he went outside tonight. I made some comment about there being no prizes for guessing where he’d gone and Ewan laughed. Surely he’d have said then if Jed had a wife hidden away at home?’

  ‘They all bloody stick together though, don’t they? Men.’

  Liv laughed. ‘Do you want me to ask him? Ask Ewan if Jed’s married?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘No.’

  ‘Which?’
>
  ‘Yes. But subtly. Not in a “my mate fancies your mate” way.’

  ‘Oh I’m brilliant at subtle,’ Liv said. She leaned back in her chair, looking happier than she had when I first came back from my romantic clifftop encounter. ‘I am the queen of subtle.’

  ‘You’re anything but,’ I teased. ‘Remember when I fancied Justin Blake at school? And you wrote it on the whiteboard, so everyone saw it?’

  ‘That wasn’t me,’ Liv protested. ‘Was it? Anyway, didn’t you snog him at the Christmas disco when you were dressed as an elf?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘So it had a happy ending.’

  I laughed. ‘I suppose so.’

  ‘I’ll find out more,’ she said. ‘Leave it with me.’

  ‘So you’re seeing Ewan again soon are you?’ I said, ultra-casually.

  ‘Not like that!’ Liv looked horrified.

  ‘I didn’t mean in a romantic way,’ I said. ‘I meant for business. Do you really think he can help increase the pub’s takings.’

  She frowned. ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘Do you think he’s dodgy?’

  Liv sighed. ‘No, I don’t, Phoebe. You’re doing it again.’

  ‘You just sounded like you had doubts.’

  ‘I don’t have doubts.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Phoebe, I’ve been running pubs for a long time. I know what I’m doing.’

  ‘So why do you need Ewan?’

  ‘Because I don’t know Cornwall and he’s offering to help.’

  ‘And he doesn’t want anything in return?’

  ‘Give it a rest,’ she said. ‘I told you, he’s a fixer. He gets stuff done and obviously he gets stuff in return – he’ll take a commission or I’ll pay him for his time. But it’s fine. It’s above board. I checked with Des, remember?’

  I nodded. ‘Sorry,’ I said.

  The next morning I woke up early, before Liv, which was unusual. I lay in bed, listening to her regular breathing and thinking about Jed. That kiss had been amazing. But the more I thought about him running off, the more I thought how strange it was. Maybe he was married or had a girlfriend. Maybe he just wasn’t that into me. It was hard to tell because I didn’t trust my own judgement about anything any more. I’d made a mistake with Ciara James and she’d lost her life. I’d missed the little puddle-jumping girl’s mother keeping a close eye on her. Who’s to say I’d not misjudged Jed too?