Page 130 of Don't Believe A Word

CRISTY: ‘As the crow flies probably three or four miles.’

‘I think I need to remind everyone that Janina was headed for Sark View House that day, a) to avoid confusion and b) to reemphasize the fact that she was directed to a place no one seems to have heard of before – or since.’

‘Go for it.’

Once done, Cristy continued.

CRISTY: ‘We’ll hopefully see when we get there why that particular location was chosen, but I think we can assume it’s going to be precipitous and remote.’

CONNOR: ‘So what do you reckon Mia might be doing right now? Does she know what Sadie’s doing this morning?’

CRISTY: ‘I’ve no idea if Sadie told her, we can ask when we stop. As for what Mia’s doing … The woman is such an enigma, and not entirely sane. (We’ll never get away with that, but hey, what else am I supposed to say?) I wonder why she wouldn’t let Sadie into the villa this morning?’

CONNOR: ‘Maybe because she smashed the place up the last time she was there?’

CRISTY: ‘Point taken. I wonder if Mia realizes that she could be facing a full-on police investigation into what happened to Janina? If it happens, and I can’t see how it can be avoided if we can get the injunction lifted, the scandal, the loss of her reputation and even her freedom … Unless Sadie and Gabe decide they don’t want revenge and keepthe injunction in place. Making Mia pay won’t bring Janina back, will it? And it’ll probably only prolong the trauma of it all for Sadie.’

CONNOR: ‘So you think Mia and Lottie should be allowed to get away with it?’

CRISTY: ‘Not that theyshould, but I think there’s a good chance they will.’

CONNOR: ‘If that happens we’re screwed for a proper end to the series. How the fuck have we managed to walk into that?’

CRISTY: ‘Hang on, they’re pulling over … Are we still recording?’

CONNOR: ‘We are.’

CRISTY: ‘We’re coming to a stop on a scrubby patch of land – I’m guessing the road must have been rerouted sometime in the last twenty years. It runs along the back of this lookout area now, a good fifty metres from the cliff edge. There are picnic benches here, and public loos … Safety barriers and danger warnings all over the place, and the view of the other islands … Jersey in the distance, Herm and Sark nearby, would be spectacular, I’m sure, on a less grey day.’

As Cristy stepped out of the car she quickly grabbed the door as a sharp gust unsteadied her. She trapped her hair under a hat as she looked around, feeling the vulnerability of their smallness in the massive might of the landscape. She saw David and Anna battling the wind to get to where Sadie and Gabe were already standing as close to the cliff edge as the barriers would allow. Lukas and Evie joined them, huddled into their coats, and moments later Cristy and Connor were there too.

‘Hell, I had no idea it was going to be so high, or so bleak up here,’ Cristy murmured to Connor, feeling the terrifying thrill of it going up and down her spine. She was recalling what Lottie had written in her journal, that it simply wasn’t possible for someoneto survive such a fall, and she could only concur. It really wasn’t. There was nothing to break the plunge, no way of avoiding the deadly rocks at the bottom or the gushing tide. She turned to look along the rugged coastline, searching for a spot where Mia, or maybe Lottie, possibly both, might have lain in wait, but none was evident. Too much would have changed since. Nevertheless, she could almost feel the horror of that morning when Janina came into view … She must have seen a car heading straight at her, would have braked with all her might, desperate to steer away from the cliff edge. She’d have known she couldn’t make it, would probably have screamed, or prayed, or maybe covered her face as the car flew into the air, and dropped more than a hundred feet onto the rocks below.

It was sickening, heartrending, even now.

She turned back and saw that Evie was holding Sadie in a comforting embrace, while next to them Gabe and Lukas were staring down at the churning, angry waves, the brutal shoreline that had smashed Janina’s car apart before the tide had carried her body away.

Aware of Connor unpacking his holdall, Cristy pointed towards a sprawling bungalow set back in the trees. ‘I wonder if that’s Sark View House,’ she shouted over the wind. ‘Do we need to find out if the sisters ever did own it?’

Apparently not hearing, Connor said, ‘I’ve got the mics ready, but God knows how much we’ll be able to pick up in this gale.’

Feeling David’s arm going around her Cristy watched Connor fix lapel mics to Sadie, Gabe and Lukas, and wondered again if they should really be recording such an intensely private moment.

‘It’s what they all want,’ Anna reminded her when she voiced her concern. The wind had miraculously dropped, at least for now, allowing them to communicate without having to shout. ‘It’s honouring Janina,’ Anna continued, ‘letting everyone know that she was loved and is still missed.’ She looked at her friend and added, ‘Janina mattered, even if the world carried on as though she didn’t. This is Sadie’s way of making amends for that, and you’re helping her to do it.’

Admiring Anna’s loyalty and support, Cristy turned to David and smiled into his eyes. She couldn’t be sure where her feelingsof apprehension were coming from, only that they were back, as though her instincts were trying to warn her of something – and then, mercifully, they were gone again.

Connor came to give her an earpiece and, as he clamped a headset over his own ears, Evie walked over to join them. This simple farewell was all about Sadie, Gabe and Lukas, the only ones who’d actually known Janina, and loved her still.

Cristy watched their silhouettes in a sudden blaze of sunlight that broke through the clouds, Sadie between her father and uncle, their arms around her and hands on one another’s shoulders. Sadie started to speak, Cristy could hear in her earpiece and knew it was a prayer, but the connection kept dropping.

‘… God bless … be with us … love you …’

Gabe said, ‘… I tried to find you, my darling … I never … up hope … Sasha and me, we found one another …’

Lukas said, ‘… love and take care of her …’

Sadie said, ‘Ilsekis ramybeje,mamyte.’Cristy knew this meantRest quietly, Mummy,because Lukas had already told her.

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