The Drowned Village, page 10
‘Good old Gran, eh?’
Laura smiled. ‘Absolutely. And it’s worked out really well for both of us. She saves on her care costs and I live rent-free. Actually, it was her idea I came up here for a holiday. She thought I needed one, and she was right, I did. I’d had no time off since ending things with Stuart. I’d thought it would be best to throw myself into my job but my work can be stressful at times.’
‘You needed the healing power of the fells.’ Tom nodded sagely, and paused a moment to gaze around him at the magnificent view. ‘It works wonders, doesn’t it?’
‘Certainly does.’
They were on the ridge now, following a path that wound its way over the rocks, sometimes requiring them to use hands as well as feet. There were views to both left and right into side valleys that branched off Brackendale. The one on the left held a small tarn, its waters seriously depleted. A waterfall trickled pathetically into it, and Laura recognised the path beside it as the descent route they were planning to take. The valley on the right was filled with shrubs and bracken, its sides steep, rocky and inaccessible.
‘You wouldn’t want to fall down that side,’ Laura commented.
‘No. Looks pretty steep, doesn’t it?’
As they stood gazing at the view, Laura noticed a large bird of prey wheeling around in the thermal updraughts. ‘Look! What’s that?’
Tom shaded his eyes and looked where she was pointing. ‘Apparently there are a pair of golden eagles that nest somewhere around here. Wonder if that’s one of them?’
‘Eagles? Really? In the Lake District?’ Laura knew there were eagles in Scotland, rare but monitored and protected. But here in England? She watched the bird as it circled, coming lower and lower and finally landing on a crag halfway up the right-hand valley side. Once it was amongst the rocks and heather she could no longer pick it out.
‘That must be where its nest is. Either that or it spotted some poor creature who’s destined to be dinner,’ Tom commented.
‘I had no idea there were eagles here. I feel so privileged to have seen it.’ Laura was still staring across the valley to where she’d seen it last, wishing she had some binoculars.
‘There’s only this one pair, here. And I believe they’re quite elderly so who knows how long they’ll last.’ Tom looked at his watch and pulled out his phone to make a note. ‘There’s a website where you can report sightings of them. I’ll do that later, when we’re in the pub.’
Laura smiled to herself at that mention of ‘we’ and the assumption that they’d spend the evening together in the pub again. After a tough walk she’d want a big pub dinner rather than something cooked on her little stove, and his company was definitely a big draw. She pulled her own phone out to take a few photos, although the eagle could no longer be seen. There was a little envelope icon showing she had two new texts. She opened up the first and sighed – another one from Stuart. Where are you, babe? Called round to your Gran’s but she said you were away and wouldn’t tell me where. Want to see you & apologise.
Apologise? Like a simple ‘Sorry, love’ would put it all right? Martine must have dumped him. It was the only explanation for him to want her back. Well, he wasn’t going to get her back. Not now, or ever.
The second text was from Martine. It’s all over now between me and Stuart. Can’t believe I did that to you. So sorry, hon. Will understand if you never forgive me. M.
‘Bloody hell.’ Laura shook her head. Could she ever forgive Martine? She would never be able to fully trust her again, and surely that was the point of friendships? She missed Martine but knew they’d never again be close. It’d take her some time to think about how or even if to respond.
‘Everything all right?’ Tom asked.
‘Yes, all OK. Just heard that my ex and my friend have split up. Both are asking my forgiveness. Not quite sure how I feel about it.’
‘Hmm. Tricky. Do you want either of them back in your life?’ Tom’s expression was one of sympathy.
‘I don’t know.’ She shook her head. ‘I’ll need some time to think about it all.’
‘Yes, it takes a long time to get over that kind of betrayal.’ He stared into the distance, then turned towards her as though he’d made a decision. ‘Something like that once happened to me, too. About three years ago, I was engaged. We lived together.’ He broke off and gazed across the valley where they’d seen the eagle.
‘What happened?’ Laura asked gently.
‘One day, she – Sarah – picked an argument. About nothing, really. I’d vacuumed the house, and that had meant picking up some of her stuff from the floor. Papers, books, some work stuff. I just stacked it up and put it on the table. When she found I’d moved it, she went ballistic. There was nothing important there that I’d noticed – some junkmail, the novel she was reading. But she shouted and ranted, how dare I touch her stuff, was I spying on her, who did I think I was to control her life like that.’ Tom took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. ‘I mean, she was acting as though I was some sort of monster. My mouth was hanging open. I’d done nothing – except clean the bloody house. Anyway, to cut a long story short, she escalated it out of control, then went upstairs, pulled a suitcase out of the wardrobe and left. And that was it. She was gone.’
‘Oh my God.’ Laura couldn’t quite think what to say. His words brought back uncomfortable memories of the day she’d had to pull a bag from the wardrobe and hastily pack it, while Stuart and Martine watched.
‘The thing is, the case was already packed. She’d planned to leave me. She engineered that row, from start to finish. And that wasn’t the end of it.’
‘No?’
‘Next day, she emptied our joint bank account and maxed out a credit card that was in my name.’ The eagle was wheeling around in the thermals again, and Tom watched it for a moment before continuing. ‘I got the stuff on the card stopped, but couldn’t do anything about the bank account. We’d been saving for our wedding.’
‘Bloody hell.’
‘I know. Anyway, there’s been no one in my life since. A therapist would say I’ve been finding it hard to trust. Sarah moved away. Last I heard she was living with some rich banker in Dubai.’
‘Must have hurt, though.’
‘Oh yes, it did at the time. But after a few months when I was able to look back on it with the perspective of distance, I realised that things hadn’t been right between us for a long time. We’d got engaged because everyone else seemed to be doing it, and because our families kept asking us when we were going to marry. All the wrong reasons. She was spending more and more time out with her friends, clubbing till all hours. I was finding any excuse to go climbing or walking, with my own mates. We had nothing in common. We’d met at a mutual friend’s party, hit it off, and somehow found ourselves going out together. She moved into my house when her landlord sold the flat she was renting. Our relationship became a habit. A few months after she’d gone all I felt was relief.’ Tom pulled out his water bottle and took a swig from it.
Laura smiled sympathetically at him. That sounded very similar to her own story. She realised now she had very little in common with Stuart, and they’d just fallen into living together because everyone else was doing it and it had made financial sense. She’d assumed they’d stay together, but now it was over, if she scrutinised her feelings properly, the overwhelming one was of relief, just as Tom had described.
So Tom had trust issues? Well, so did she. Another thing they had in common.
‘Yes, I think I feel more relieved than anything else as well,’ she said.
Tom replaced his water bottle. ‘Still, there’s been no one else since. It’s left me reluctant to start any new relationship.’
‘Me too,’ she replied, ignoring the pang of regret she felt at his words.
He gestured up the mountain. ‘Well. Enough of all that. Shall we continue?’
Laura nodded, and set off walking again. Now they were higher up it was cooler, the perfect day for a mountain climb. Everything felt good. Except for Stuart bugging her. But he was miles away and good old Gran was not telling him where. Neither would she herself, and she certainly wouldn’t reply to his texts. She couldn’t right now anyway – she no longer had a signal on her phone. ‘I should phone Gran again today at some point, when we’ve got reception.’
‘Yes. Find out more about this mysterious box she wants you to look for. It’s got me intrigued. I’ll help you look, or do whatever it is she wants. That’s –’ he suddenly looked uncertain – ‘that’s if you want me to, of course. Tell me if I should butt out.’
Laura regarded him solemnly for a moment, and came to a decision. He was keen to help, and she wanted him to, so he needed to know all that Gran had told her. As they walked she related everything Gran had said on the phone.
‘Oh Christ. That’s terrible about her little sister! So this tea caddy she wants you to find, that’s related to this somehow? I definitely want to help you look for it, then.’
‘I’d love you to help. But I can’t see how we could possibly find something that dates from her time in the valley.’
‘Presumably it was well hidden somewhere. Seems important to her, from what you told me she said.’
Laura nodded. ‘Yes. I don’t understand the connection between her sister and this box she wants to find. I don’t think she knows either. Maybe there is no connection at all.’
‘But if it is important to her, we should at least have a go at finding it, while we have the chance. Once the weather changes and the reservoir refills, there could be no more opportunity for many years.’
He was right, Laura realised, and berated herself for not going back to the village today to look for it. The mountain-walking could have waited. Maybe they’d have time when they came down, to go and have a look in Gran’s old cottage. She could phone and ask her to direct them to exactly where she thought it would be – there was phone signal out in the middle of the dried-up lake. Whatever it was, Gran’s mind needed to be set at rest.
They walked on for a while, the path along the ridge taking them higher and higher. Laura barely noticed the scenery – her thoughts were bound up with Gran and the mystery of this tea caddy, with the occasional unwelcome intrusion of worries about whether Stuart would try to phone again. She really should block his number. She wanted no further contact with him.
At last they reached the end of the ridge and after a short scramble found themselves on the summit of the mountain – Bracken Fell. There was a triangulation point and a dry stone shelter that would no doubt be very useful if you arrived here on a windy day, but today the little breeze there was, from the south, was very welcome.
‘This looks like a lunch spot,’ Tom said. ‘But first, come here for a summit selfie.’
Laura grinned and stood beside him, leaning on the trig point, as he held up his phone and took a photo of the two of them. He’d put his other arm about her shoulders, and for a brief moment she had snuggled up against him, enjoying the feel of his muscular body against hers.
He tucked his phone back in his pocket and looked down at her, his arm still around her shoulders. ‘Thanks for coming up here with me. Always better to have company on a hike.’
‘Thanks for bringing me up here too.’ She smiled up at him. For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, and before she realised what she was doing, she pulled away a little. Stuart had hurt her so much. It was too soon. Anyway, Tom had said he didn’t want a new relationship.
But Tom just gave her a squeeze and then let go, turning away from her to find a suitable spot to sit down and eat his lunch. Laura found a flat stone opposite him to sit on and took out her sandwiches. They ate in companionable silence; Laura thinking about all that Tom had told her about himself, as well as about the texts from Stuart and Martine, and how she felt about it all.
By the time they’d completed the walk, over several summits and down via the tiny trickle that was all that was left of the Bere Force waterfall, Laura was exhausted. She’d run out of water and the heat of the day had intensified. All that kept her going on the final part of the descent was the hope that the ice-cream van might still be in the car park. She would buy a bottle of water and the largest-size soft ice-cream cone with at least two flakes. All thoughts of going searching in Brackendale Green for Gran’s box had evaporated in the heat – she was too tired and hot to spend time in the baking middle of the reservoir. That would have to wait for another day.
She and Tom had talked non-stop after the initial ascent, when they’d got their breath back. They’d fallen silent on the way down. He must be as tired as she was, she guessed, as she plodded on, one foot in front of the other, a tingling on her right heel warning her of a blister in the making. Just don’t stop, she told herself. Keep going, and hope the ice-cream van is there. After the last turn in the track the car park came into view.
‘The van’s still there,’ Tom said with a grin, and she realised he’d been having the same fantasies as her.
‘Thank the good Lord for that!’ They both sped up a little, and Laura twisted her rucksack round to the front so she would waste no time and could get her money out before reaching the van.
It was the best ice-cream she had ever tasted.
Chapter 10
JED
‘It were Fred Thomas. He stole the jewellery tin and told me to hide it. The police were going to search the homes of all us workers up at the big house.’ Isaac spoke quickly, shaking his head. ‘I were scared. I hid it the first place I could think of. I meant to go back and dig it up some dark night and give it back to him. I never wanted nothing of it.’
‘Fred Thomas?’ DS Theakston made a note. ‘And who is he?’
‘Lives up at Penrith now. Runs the plant nursery. Back then he were a gardener along with me.’
‘Councillor Frederick Thomas?’ Theakston said in surprise.
Isaac nodded. ‘Aye. Done well for himself.’
‘Do you have proof?’
This was where it would all come undone, Jed realised. Isaac had no proof. It was only his word, set against that of a respected man, and with an eyewitness who’d confirmed that Isaac was involved. But to his astonishment Isaac nodded.
‘He kept one piece. It were a ring. Ruby stone. He told me he were going to give it to the woman he loved, and a year later he was wed. Check his wife’s finger. See if that matches up with the description of any of the stolen pieces. It’s engraved on the inside – “Love always” or some such muck.’
Theakston looked satisfied with himself as he noted this down. ‘Thank you, Mr Walker. You have been very helpful. You may be granted immunity from prosecution if what you say turns out to be true and it was Thomas who committed the theft and put pressure on you to do his bidding and hide the proceeds. We shall see. Good day for now. I expect we may need to speak with you again.’
Jed showed them out, and returned to sit beside his father. ‘Is that true, Pa? About the ring?’
Isaac regarded Jed with rheumy eyes. ‘Aye. We’d agreed who would keep what, wrote it all down. I kept my copy of the paper with our agreement on, in the tea caddy. But then when they threatened to search our lodgings we put it all back in the tin to hide – except the ring, which Fred said was small enough to hide elsewhere until the hue and cry died down.’
Jed gasped. ‘You’d agreed to divide it up? So you were involved in the robbery as well? Oh Pa!’
Isaac shrugged. ‘Not fair when the likes of the Pendletons had so much and the likes of me had so little. We were just evening things up a bit. But look at us now – Fred Thomas in his big house in Penrith and me with only the clothes on my back sitting in your kitchen. If he gets done for this and not me that’s just payback. I took the risks, hid them jewels, or most of ’em, anyway, and never had any benefit from them, all my life. Fred moved to Penrith, went up in the world. He became “respectable”, so he said. Told me not to dig them jewels up. Told me we’d made a mistake and to let them lie. ’T’isn’t fair, it isn’t.’
Jed could only stare at him. He’d always thought of his father as an honourable man. But it seems he was a thief, and not only that, a bitter one who would betray an old friend to save himself. Even so, Isaac was his father, and Jed knew he would do everything in his power to protect him and ensure the last part of his life was as comfortable as it could be. Family was family, after all.
‘Where’s that tea caddy now? Where you put your agreement with Fred?’ Jed realised that document needed to be destroyed or at least well hidden, in case the police came searching.
‘I told you, lad. Under a loose floorboard in my bedroom, in my own cottage. Asked you to fetch it, I did, but you wouldn’t listen.’
‘I’ll fetch it now, Pa.’ Jed made sure the police had left the village, then walked up to Isaac’s old cottage. In the bedroom, he shoved the bed away from the wall and found the loose floorboard, just as Isaac had said. Underneath was an old Victorian tea caddy, decorated with pictures of Indian women picking tea. Jed prised off the lid and tipped out the contents. There was a document, as Isaac had said, but that was not the only thing inside. Clearly Pa was still not being entirely truthful. Well, the only course of action was to hide this tea caddy, and make sure the police never found it or its contents. It would be safer in his own cottage. Jed tucked it under his jacket and took it home.
There were no further visits from the police for the following week. Jed kept his ears open in the Lost Sheep for any news while keeping quiet about his Pa’s involvement, and scanned copies of the local newspaper in Mrs Perkins’ shop, but there’d been nothing printed about the case since the news of the discovery of the jewels. He avoided Susie Atkins in case seeing him made her say anything more about what she’d seen all those years ago. The exhumations came to an end, with everyone from St Isidore’s churchyard moved to Glydesdale Church. The graveyard was a forlorn place now, Jed thought, with its bare earth and empty graves that had only been roughly filled in. He’d had to keep Jessie away, frightened that she might play in the mounds of loose earth and be buried herself.
