Page 77 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
Then suddenly Sam emerged from the edge of the drop. He was covered in mud and water and didn’t have a rope around him. It looked like he’d scrambled down by himself and had climbed back up the same way.
‘Sam!’ called Jen, stumbling into his arms. ‘You’re OK. Is Liam all right? Is he down there still?’
Sam shook his head, pushing his sopping wet, muddy hair off his face. ‘No,’ he pushed her away and bent double so he could regain his breath.
‘Give him some space,’ Lucy said, holding Jen back.
She looked up into the sky and wailed. Then Sam pulled her to him and held her tight.
‘Liam’s safe, Jen,’ he gasped. ‘Liam’s safe. He’s in my car in the village. I got him away from Alistair before he set off. He’s safe,’ he repeated.
She wept then, pressed her face into his dirty jacket and sobbed.
‘Jen,’ said Lucy gently, putting her arm around her. ‘Let’s get out of here and go find Liam.’
‘That was Alistair then,’ said Jen, ‘who they just brought up.’
‘Yes, it was. He didn’t make it, Jen. He didn’t stand a chance. Rammed right into the slip, and the car nose-dived off the cliff.’
‘Sam was first on the scene,’ said the firefighter. ‘Risked his life to get to the man.’
‘I had to,’ said Sam quietly. ‘He could have been injured, in pain,’ he shrugged. ‘I had to,’ he repeated.
They followed the ambulance down the hill, where it headed north to the hospital. Jen, Sam and Lucy returned to the village to the car to find Kate with Liam in the back seat of Sam’s car. Jen crawled in to join them, and Liam climbed onto her lap as if he were a baby. She held him tight.
‘Let’s go home,’ she said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
After a morning of police interviews and family gatherings, Liam had finally fallen asleep as the grandfather clock chimed four in the afternoon.
He hadn’t wanted to be in his bedroom. He’d wanted the sound of people around him, so Jen had made him a bed on the window seat, where he would be at the centre of the family who’d rallied around them. And only then, lulled by the comfort of his family, had he felt secure enough to relax and fall asleep.
‘You did well, Jenny,’ said Kate, coming to sit beside her. ‘It’s been a day I never want to repeat.’
‘Unfortunately it’s not over yet. The police need to see us all again to go over our statements, but for now they’re letting us be.’ She frowned and shook her head. ‘And I’m worried about Sam. He risked his life and saw Alistair’s car fall off the cliff. I can’t imagine what he’s going through.’
‘Then why don’t you find out? I saw him on the beach earlier.’
Jen glanced out the window but couldn’t see him. She stood up and craned her neck. There he was in the distance, where the waves tumbled onto the beach. ‘I think I will.’
‘Good idea,’ said Kate. She passed Jen her old liberty shawl. ‘You’ll need this. It’s quite cool outside.’
‘Thanks, Mum.’ Jen carefully disentangled herself from Liam and kissed her mother’s cheek as she took the shawl from her. ‘I don’t know how I’d have managed without you.’
‘Ably, I’m sure. Now, go get some fresh air and talk to Sam. I’ll keep an eye on Liam.’
Jen stepped outside and shivered. Tiredness, she supposed as she pulled the shawl around her, grateful for her mother’s thoughtfulness.
The storm had blown over. The sky was a bright, innocent blue, and there was not a white-flecked wave to disturb the sea. All was calm, as if nothing had happened. But it had, and everything had changed.
She suddenly felt shattered and sat down on the bench set amid the sand dunes, watching Sam, hands thrust in pockets, as he stared out to sea. He’d come to her when he was ready. As she sat there, random events of the night flashed into her mind — each one stimulating a different sense:
The vision of Alistair’s threatening silhouette standing in the kitchen.
The sound of Sam’s panicked voice calling to her through the door.
The smell of sodden earth churned up when Sam and Alistair fought each other.
