Page 74 of The Path to the Last House Before the Sea

She took a deep breath, and her voice shook when she said: ‘Ollie died. He was already in a fragile state and was unable to tolerate the dosage of medication he received.’

Jack wanted to reach out his hand and touch Alyssa but he was frightened she would stop speaking. So he sat still and asked: ‘What happened next?’

‘The consultant apologised and was sanctioned for his mistake.’

‘A mistake that wasn’t yours.’

‘But it was. The mistake was also mine because I didn’t listen to my instincts and I allowed myself to be cowed by a man who thought he knew everything about medicine. So much so, he didn’t listen to anyone who might have spotted that he wasn’t infallible after all.’

Alyssa was taking on far too much responsibility for a dreadful error. But Jack knew that telling her so right now would be pointless. She needed to get her story out and telling it here, into the darkness of this subterranean storeroom, was easier than facing up to it in the bright light of day.

‘So,’ he asked. ‘What did you do after the investigation was over?’

‘I ran.’ Alyssa stifled a sob. ‘I ran from my job and my life and came back to Devon, which had felt safe as a child, and feels safe now. This village gives me the same sort of comfort that reciting pi gives to you. It provides stability and order amidst the chaos.’

‘And you’ve turned to myths and legends while you’re here, rather than nursing or science.’

‘Yes, there’s a comfort in the distant past, in the stories that have been passed down for generations and the ways in which those stories have interpreted the truth and made it… magical.’

‘More magical than cold, hard reality?’

‘Exactly.’ Alyssa paused, her face pale. ‘So now you know the truth about me.’

Jack nodded. He not only knew the truth about Alyssa’s past, he could also now understand why she was so inclined to follow her instincts – whether her instincts told her Charity and Jeremiah’s story wasn’t as it seemed, or encouraged her to rush headlong into a dangerous smugglers’ tunnel.

Though he had played a part in landing them in this dire situation, with his newly found sense of adventure. Alyssa had wanted them to turn back, but he’d been keen to press on.

When he sighed, Alyssa asked quietly: ‘Are you shocked and horrified about me?’

‘God, no.’ Jack leaned towards her until their arms were touching. ‘I feel terribly sad about what happened to Ollie and sorry that you’ve had to deal with such a terrible situation on your own. What about your family and friends?’

‘My parents are wrapped up in their own lives and I’ve lost touch with my friends and everyone really, apart from Ben. I stopped talking to anyone after what happened.’

‘But now you’ve talked to me,’ said Jack softly, trying to ignore the creaks and low rumbles that constantly laced the air around them. It sounded as if the tunnel was shifting.

Alyssa gave a wry smile. ‘There’s something about being stuck underground, with your life in peril, that loosens the tongue.’

‘So you’d have told anyone who happened to be stuck down here with you,’ said Jack, feeling bizarrely disappointed.

‘No, I don’t think so,’ answered Alyssa quietly. ‘Only you.’

She was blinking, trying not to cry, and even by the shadowed light of his mobile phone she looked so done in, so vulnerable, Jack put his arm around her shoulder and she sank against him.

He felt honoured that she’d told him her secret, although he knew that she felt safe confiding in him because of their dire situation: he couldn’t ever spill the beans if they weren’t discovered down here until it was too late. After all, dead men didn’t tell tales.

Jack rested his cheek against Alyssa’s soft hair and glanced at the bones nearby. He shivered, wondering if Charity and Josiah had shared secrets as they lay dying.

‘We will get out of here,’ said Alyssa, sounding suddenly fierce.

‘Yes, we will,’ said Jack, pulling her closer and hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.

THIRTY-FOUR

ALYSSA

Alyssa had lost track of time. They’d been sitting like this for a while, with Jack’s cheek resting against her hair, and it felt so comforting, she didn’t want to move.

The harsh truth was she was trapped underground and wrung out after confessing her darkest secret. But here, with her head against Jack’s chest and his arm around her shoulders, she felt strangely at peace. The torchlight gloom seemed less threatening somehow, and the bones in the corner less indicative of how limited their future might be.

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