Page 23 of After the Accident
The guy offering cheap car hire was standing in front of a small but clearly empty car park. He said the cards had been more popular than he’d expected, which I guess was self-evident. He told me there would be cars returning late morning, or in the afternoon, and that he’d save the best one for me. I probably rolled my eyes in the way you do when someone’s calling you ‘pretty lady’ and making promises. I said I’d go back later and turned to go.
That’s when I saw Scott for the first time in nine years.
Scott Lee (son of Alan Lee, former business partner of Geoffrey McGinley):We saw each other at the same time. Emma had been talking to the guy at the car hire place and turned around just as I was walking past.
I’d not seen her in nine years, but I recognised her straight away. I don’t think it was the obvious stuff, like her hair colour or anything like that; it was the way she stood. There was a time when we were really close and, when you’re like that, you know everything about a person. You can tell who they are from streets away. You know who they are from behind. Their shadow, their gait, the shape of their hands, the way they tilt their head. It’s not like you actively think about any of those things, it’s that they become intrinsic. You just know – and I knew Emma the moment I saw her.
Emma:There’s one very important thing you need to know about Scott and his thinking at this point.
Scott:Her dad killed my dad.
Emma:It wasn’t just that he thought my dad killed his, it’s that he was driven by it.
Scott:I wouldn’t use the word ‘driven’. It makes it sound worse than it was. I didn’t stay up all night with a map of the resort and a length of string, while trying to measure distances and comparing them to the angle of a sunset. I had a normal job and a normal life. I went to the football on a weekend and did a big shop every Monday night. Life was very normal… it’s just that Geoff McGinley killed my dad and I wasn’t prepared to forget it.
Emma:I didn’t know what to say. It was enough thatIwas back on the island – but he was there, too. A big reunion that none of us planned or wanted.
It felt like a whole bunch of thoughts were rushing at me all together. It was less than an hour ago that I’d seenhisdad’s name on that driving licence withmydad’s photo. Then there was one burning thought I couldn’t get rid of.
Scott pushed my dad off the cliff.
Scott:I didn’t push her dad off the cliff.
Emma:No one had a better motive. Scott had spent nine years believing my dad killed his and then, suddenly, he’s up on the cliffs and he sees that man standing on the edge. It was so clear in my mind that it was as if I was watching it happen.
Scott:I was nowhere near those cliffs when her dad fell.
Emma:I was so focused on Scott that I didn’t even notice who was walking directly behind him.
Paul:I think I probably waved at Emma, although I’d have been trying to play it cool because I wouldn’t have wanted the rest of the team to see. We had that great night together and then I’d not heard from her the whole of the next day. It’s not like we swapped numbers, or made promises – but I’d been keeping an eye out for her around the hotel and village, hoping I’d see her.
Then, all of a sudden, there she was.
Emma:I knew Paul was making a documentary about Alan, but I didn’t realise that documentary actually involved Scott being on the island. Worlds were colliding.
Paul:We were doing a bit of prep for that day’s filming. Scott was walking us through the village first thing in the morning before it got too busy. We’d got a few minutes of framing shots that could be spliced in for creating a mood, plus I’d gone to the beach and recorded the sound of the waves crashing. We didn’t know if we’d need it, but it was there.
Emma:It wasn’t just Scott at the front, with Paul behind. There were four of you there and—
Sorry, I said ‘you’. Is that OK?
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This seems like a good time to explain thatAfter the Accidentbegan life as a documentary about the death of Alan Lee on the island of Galanikos.
There’s an old journalistic saying that the reporter should never be the subject of their piece. I agree wholeheartedly with this, except that, as the team from Garibaldi Media visited the island to start shooting, a larger story overtook the one on which they were working.
The story of the two falls have to be told together. Like it or not, Alan and Geoff are linked.
In addition, there would also be an enormous narrative gap without including Paul and Scott. That is why some of the transcripts you have been reading come from interviews done on the island, while others had to take place at a later date.
Emma:It wasn’t just Scott at the front, with Paul behind. There were four men there. Paul was carrying a boom mic over his shoulder and the guy behind him had a large pack on his shoulders. He looked like he was doing most of the work. The one at the back seemed to be ordering everyone around. He had a big mouth and a fat arse and a stupid walk and—
OK, he didn’t have any of those things. The truth is, I didn’t really notice the guy at the back because I was so stunned by both Paul and Scott being there.
Paul:When we first met, Emma laughed at me for goldfishing – but she was much worse. Then Scott said her name.
Scott:I’d stopped, which meant the guys had also stopped. It seemed stupid to pretend we didn’t know each other. At first I thought Emma was trying to avoid looking at me. It was much later when I found out she already knew Paul.
