“It’s not him,” I whispered. “It’s not my Charles.”
I looked once more at the body in front of me. How could I have been so stupid? How did I not know? My tears flowed as I grasped the reality of what was happening.
“What have I done?”
John placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s not your fault Liz, you couldn’t have known, you’d been drugged remember. This was staged, you were meant to think it was Charles. Someone went to a lot of trouble to set this up.”
“But Charles was here, he was, we both were and he was hurt, his breathing.” I paused taking a deep breath before I continued. “His breathing was bad and I passed out,” I sobbed.
I needed to get the words out. I needed to say them.
“When I woke his breathing had stopped. He was cold.”
I lost control then and guilt consumed me.
“What did I do? It’s all my fault. I fell asleep. It was Me.”
“Liz, this is not your fault do you hear me?”
I’d never heard John use such a harsh tone. It shocked me and I looked up at him.
“It wasn’t your fault,” he said a little softer. “Come on, get up. He’s not here. We need to get back to the ship.”
I looked down at the pretend body and shook my head.
“I can’t. Charles is here somewhere and I’m going to find him. I’m not leaving John. I’m not.”
An unknown strength had taken over me. I had failed Charles when I passed out. I wouldn’t fail him again. He was here somewhere and I was going to find him. I was going to bring him home and give him the proper burial he deserved.
“Let’s get back to the ship. We can think about what to do next when we get there.”
“I’m not leaving John. Charles was here and I’m going to find him.”
“Liz, you need to think. You need time to process all of this.”
“Stop,” I shouted. “I’m not leaving here. You go if you want to, but my Charles is here somewhere and I’m going to find him.”
I was losing it. My body was shaking, with what, I don’t know, fear, pain, adrenaline, or maybe it was hope. It wasn’t Charles’ body so maybe he was still alive and he could be hurt. I jumped to my feet, a surge of energy flowing through me.
“What if he’s still alive John? What if he’s hurt? I have to look; I have to be sure.”
John looked worried. I could tell he didn’t believe me. He thought I was crazy. I knew that look, I’d seen it before after my parents died. The doctors looked at me like that.
“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not crazy,” I shouted.
John’s face paled. “I’m sorry Liz. This is all just too familiar for me. Susan, she….”
“I’m not Susan and I’m not crazy,” I said cutting him off. “Now you can help me or go home. The choice is yours.”
I don’t know where the strength came from but I started to walk towards the trees. I remembered them. I’d hidden behind them when the so-called pirates had arrived on the beach.
“Wait, Liz, you’ve no idea where you’re going,” John said running to catch up with me. “We don’t know this island,” he said putting his hand on my shoulder to stop me.
I turned and looked at him. My tears were rolling down my cheeks again.
“I know,” I sobbed. “But I have to do something, I can’t just leave.”
John looked at me, really looked at me. “Fine, but I think we need to contact the authorities. They need to know what is going on. I’ll help you search for Charles, but only if you let me call for backup.”
I nodded giving my permission as I tried to come up with a plan. Charles had been injured. I knew that much. His shirt had been stained with blood. Even if he did manage to move away from me, he wouldn’t have gotten far.
While I waited for John to finish the call he was making to the police, another thought that filled me with dread took control. What if Charles had meant to leave me? What if this was planned and he left me here to die?
Don’t be silly, Charles loves you. He’d never leave you.
So, did my parents I thought. They loved me, said they’d never leave and they did. They left me alone with no one. They chose to abandon me because I’m not worth it. I’m broken and I can’t be fixed. Only Charles could fix me and maybe he got sick of me too. My constant need for approval, my fear of him leaving. Maybe he sank the boat on purpose and drugged me. Maybe he did leave me here to die.
I sank to my knees, the soft sand cushioning my fall. I was sobbing uncontrollably.
“It’ll be fine Liz. Don’t you worry,” John said sinking to his knees beside me.
He pulled me into his chest and cradled my head on his shoulder as I let the tears flow.
“What if Charles did all this? What if he left me here to die?” I whispered.
“Shush, don’t think like that. We’ll find him, you wait and see.”
I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve John, but at that moment I knew I would be lost without him. He was the strength I needed to carry on.
Once my tears stopped and I managed to get control of myself I looked up at John.
“What do we do?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve been thinking. No one's been here since the men the other day and they didn’t get the chance to explore or look around because you went a little psycho on them,” he grinned. “There could be some clues here that might tell us what happened to Charles.”
“I didn’t move around or explore either,” I said. “The furthest I went was to the trees and that was to hide from the others.”
“Didn’t pan out too well, though,” John smirked and for the first time in days, I felt a smile creep across my face.
“Come on, let’s make a start. The police should be here in a couple of hours, maybe by then we’ll have more information to give them.”
I stared up at this man who was willing to help me.
“What are we looking for?”
I felt useless. I had no idea what to do. I’d never done anything. I’d always been told what to do, how to behave. My father even told me what to study in school. I didn’t know how to make a decision on my own. I’d even let Charles’ mother make all the wedding arrangements. Even the thought of trying to figure things out had me in a panic. How was I going to be of help? What could I possibly do to help find Charles?
“Come on. We’ll start from the trees,” John said pulling me from my pity parade. “There could be tracks or something we can follow. It’s not a very big island you know?”
“It’s not?” I said feeling a shred of hope building.
He smiled. “Where were you supposed to be staying anyway?”
“I don’t know,” I frowned. “Charles planned everything, but he said the house was amazing and that I’d love it.”
“Right, well that’s our starting point so. We’ll head to the trees look for any sign of footprints and then go find this house. It could hold the answers you’ve been looking for.”
I heard something in his voice when he mentioned the house. Was there even a house? Was he thinking that Charles had brought me here to murder me? It didn’t make any sense. I had nothing so killing me didn’t achieve anything unless Charles was just tired of me and knew I wouldn’t live without him. Maybe getting rid of me was the only way he could be free? My mind was really messing with my thoughts now. Shaking them off I followed John as he headed towards the trees. I needed to remain positive. Charles was out here and he was hurt and I was going to find him.
We stopped once we reached the trees.
“How were you meant to get to your house on this island anyway?” John asked.
“I don’t know. Charles said we wouldn’t have far to walk once we docked so it can’t be too far from here.”
“Hmmm, but the yacht sank so we don’t know where you were supposed to dock. It’s a good job the island isn’t that big. It shouldn’t take us too long to find it.”
I nodded in agreement a
s I remembered the last time I crouched behind these trees. I was convinced my world had ended. We moved through the thin lining of trees and my breath stopped.
“Wow.”
John paused, “beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yes”
It was all I could manage to get out. We were standing on the top of a hill looking down at the rest of the island. It was stunning. There was a harbor and a couple of houses scattered here and there as well as a long white sandy beach that stretched along the coastline.
“Charles said our house was on the beach,” I said scanning the rooftops that were visible.
“That narrows things down. There're only two properties on the beach,” John said motioning to a root top to his left. “There’s that one to your left and another just past the harbor. Which one do you think it is Liz?”
“I don’t know,” I said looking at both. I tried to recall everything Charles had said to me.
“You’ll love it, Liz, you can walk straight from the bed to the beach,” Charles grinned. I could feel his excitement.
“Won’t people see us?”
“No, our house is totally private, there're no other properties around. We’ll have to take the jeep if we want to go anywhere. Mind you, the island isn’t that big and I’ve made sure everything we need is in the house,” he said wiggling his eyebrows at me. “You see, Mrs. Parker, there really is no need for us to leave the bedroom until it’s time to go home.”
I laughed and slapped his shoulder. He was such a tease.
“Liz, which property?” John asked bringing me back to reality.
“That one,” I said point at the lone house to the left. “Charles said there were no other houses near us.”
“Well then, let’s get moving. You keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious you hear, we’ve no idea what happened to you or why and the police won’t get here for a good while yet.”
I swallowed hard. I really didn’t want to think about that now. What I wanted was to imagine Charles sitting waiting for me inside our honeymoon house. Taking one last look at the property in the distance, I put my head down and started following John towards whatever lay in wait. It didn’t look that far and the trees were easy enough to get through. It wasn’t a dense forest or anything, just enough cover to ensure privacy.
As we reached the beach house all was quiet. There was no indication that anyone was here or had been in the past couple of days. It was quiet, too quiet, and John motioned for me to stop as he looked around.
“Stay here while I check things out.”
I stood in the safety of the palm trees as I watched him move from window to window. The beach house was impressive. Two stories high with a porch wrapping around the exterior. The outside was wrapped in wood cladding that blended neatly into the surroundings. John disappeared around the back of the house and I waited taking in the view. Such perfection. Two weeks here would be bliss. No distractions, the beach outside my door and the soft whisper of the waves ebbing and flowing onto the pure white sand. It was the honeymoon destination dreams were made of, although in my case this would be remembered as a nightmare. John appeared from the other side of the house.
“All clear,” he beckoned. “No one's home.”
I moved from the tree line and made my way towards the house that should have been my home. It felt strange to be here without Charles. I could just imagine him carrying me over the threshold, laughing and joking. I brushed a tear from my eye and chastised myself.
Pull it together, you need to get through this.
I followed John around the back of the property. The entire back of the house was made up of glass windows from floor to ceiling with a balcony opening onto the beach. It was stunning.
“The door’s unlocked,” John said. “I think we should look around, there might be something in here that will help.”
John nudged the door open, his watchful eyes taking everything in. I followed amazed as I took in the expansive kitchen. It was pristine. Black granite counter tops set against white gloss presses. The smell of flowers filled the air. Lilies my favorite, Charles did this for me. I walked through into the hallway checking for any signs that Charles had been here. Pausing at the teak staircase I looked up. Panic and anxiety seeped into my body as I made my way step by step.
Please don’t let me find a body, please don’t let me find his body.
I repeated the mantra till I reached the top. There were three doors to the left and another three to the right. I chose the door in front of me and pushed it open. My hand flew to my mouth as I gasped in awe. It was the master bedroom. A huge bed filled the space decorated with crisp white linen. With tears in my eyes, I stepped across the threshold as my nose was assaulted with the smell of roses. The bed was covered in little red and white petals. I couldn’t hold back the sobs that escaped as my hand clasped firmly over my mouth. I moved forward and ran my fingers through the petals that were starting to wilt. He did all this for me. I paused that the top of the bed. There was a small box sitting on the pillow to the left. The side I always slept on. I reached for it, cradling it in my hands before slowly lifting the lid. Tears fell from my eyes as I tried to focus on the delicate necklace that lay inside. A silver heart, nothing intricate, just a plain heart with a small ruby in the middle. I picked it up and smiled. He does know me so well. I turned the heart over and found an inscription that said together for eternity and both our names engraved in delicate font. I placed the box against my heart and made a promise to myself that I would find Charles no matter what.
The sound of John’s heavy footsteps coming up the stairs made me turn.
“There’s plenty of food, you hungry?” He said taking in the tears streaming down my face.
I shrugged and made my way towards him.
“He planned everything so perfectly,” I said. “I have to find him, John.”
“We will, but come on let’s grab a bite to eat and get going. There must be some clues as to what happened. The cops will be here soon and once that happens they won’t let us near the place.”
I nodded in agreement and we made our way to the kitchen. John had laid out two plates of salad along with some cold cuts and we tucked in, eating in silence.
“You done?” John asked standing to clear the plates.
I nodded, I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I started eating.
“What now?” I asked.
“Well, I was thinking. Charles’s body was taken from the beach so there must be clues somewhere and whoever took him had to have a plan. They knew you’d be here so they had to have had somewhere to stay here on the island. Down by the harbor is too busy so my guess is that there is another place nearby.”
I listened. John had given this a lot of thought and he knew what he was talking about.
“I’m thinking we search around this property and look for anything that’s out of place. If we can’t find anything we head back to the beach and wait for the cops,” He continued.
“Okay, so what exactly are we looking for?” I asked.
“You said Charles was injured so that means whoever took him had to be very strong if they carried him, or they had some sort of transport. Any tracks on the beach would be long gone now but up the hill, they’d still be visible and down here where there’s very little traffic. I say we start outside and see what we can find.”
“You believe me now?” I asked. “You believe Charles is real and that he was with me on the beach?”
“I do, I believe you, but I also think there’s a lot more to this than we know.”
“But what if he left me on that beach, what if he just wanted to be rid of me?”
“Look around Liz, the petals on the bed, the necklace, does that seem like someone who wanted to get rid of you?”
“No,” I said realizing how silly I was being.
Leaving the beach house behind, we began our search. John took the left side of the property while I made my way to the right. The groun
d was dry and dusty with white sand sprinkled all over. I walked slowly, my eyes focused on the ground, looking for anything that might seem out of place.
“Anything?” John shouted from behind.
I looked up in dismay. “Nothing,” I said.
“Okay, well I think we should keep going left. It’s a bit more secluded this way and my bet is if you were planning on taking someone you wouldn’t want to be in plain sight. The trees offer great coverage.”
I followed, my hope fading. I was beginning to lose faith. Charles had just vanished. I thought back to the petals on our bed and smiled. He didn’t leave me. He was taken. That thought alone brought me some comfort and I picked up my pace and caught up with John. There was a pathway through the trees on the other side of the beach house and I knew Charles and I would have walked this trek hand in hand with a picnic. My eyes began to water again as I thought of all the amazing things we could be doing. Instead I was alone with a man I’d only met, trying to find his body.
“Look, over here, I’ve found blood,” John stopped pointing at the ground.
“Is it Charles?”
“Now, I can’t tell that Liz, but it is something. Let’s keep going. We’re on the right track.”
As I reached his side my eyes found the blood that had stained the sand red. It wasn’t a lot just a few drops and I was grateful for that. My heart raced. We were on the right track.
I’m coming, Charles. I’m coming. Don’t give up.
With renewed hope, we continued through the trees. We followed the pathway till it opened into a small clearing. The scenery was breathtaking. We could see for miles. The cool clear Ocean and white sandy beaches stretched out in front of us. I could see yachts bobbing up and down on the water in the distance and the smell of the salt air caused me to lift my head to the sky. We stopped for a moment as John looked around for more clues.
“I don’t see anything. Let’s keep going.”
Finding Forever Page 4
