I Trust You (3 page)

Chapter 4

T
he sloping garden of the house was full of guests. Luckily, the line of tall conifers were providing some protection from the unforgiving glare of the midday sun.

              Marisa wore a cream dress with a scooping neckline. Although her hair was fair in colour, her eyes were a deep, dark blue. Like the deepest tropical ocean, her husband always said.

              The Colemans held these lunch parties quite often. The people who bought or rented their luxury yachts were predominantly wealthy types who appreciated being wined and dined. Marisa always brought in a local catering firm to provide the food. The lady who ran it had become a good friend.

              On this occasion, Marisa’s parents had decided to attend. Roger and Trudy were touring their motorhome around the south coast and happened to be staying at a campsite along the road at Lyme Regis this particular weekend.  

              Roger led his wife by the arm around his daughter and son-in-law’s impressive lawn. The fact it gently sloped down to the cliffs below didn’t detract from its charm but actually enhanced it. The house looked directly out onto the sea. The property was a part of the natural landscape it inhabited.

              The couple found their daughter helping the waitresses to place more bottles of champagne on the trestle tables which lined the inside of the marquee.

‘Not working too hard I hope, darling!’ Trudy Lawson placed a kiss on Marisa’s cheek.

‘Not really, Mum. Just lending a hand.’

Trudy ran her eyes up and down the young woman stood before them. ‘I hope you’re looking after yourself. Stop and have something from the buffet table. I bet you’ve not eaten yet. You look as if the hint of a breeze would blow you away.’

Roger crinkled his full face into a frown. ‘You can’t say things like that to girls these days, Trude. You’ll give Marisa a complex. She looks as beautiful as ever.’

Marisa smiled, slipping an arm around her father’s broad girth. ‘Thanks, Dad. You both look well too.’

Roger chuckled. ‘We’ve been walking a lot on this holiday but eating just as much.’ He patted his ample belly. ‘It was a cream tea for every few miles travelled in Cornwall. We’re going to return to Bristol twice the size we set out.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Trudy responded sharply. She automatically patted her sculpted bob and smoothed down her floral party dress, vintage in style and likely hoarded in a wardrobe somewhere since the fifties themselves. Marisa’s mother was a petit woman and although she had a curvier figure than her daughter, she remained attractively slim.

They strolled out of the tent into the full glare of the sunlight. Marisa put a hand up to shield her face, wondering where she had left her sunglasses. There were groups of guests positioned around the garden, each holding glasses of bubbly and nibbling the canapés being expertly distributed on trays by the remaining staff.

‘Where’s Eliot?’ Trudy enquired, without any hint of reproach.

‘He’s talking to one of his major clients in the kitchen,’ Marisa explained. ‘This party is really a work thing.’

‘But it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to catch up.’ Roger steered his daughter towards the buffet table and began surreptitiously filling her a plate. Marisa’s father had spent his career as a solicitor in one of the big firms in Bristol. He’d retired a couple of years before, which was when the Lawsons bought their motorhome. Since then, they’d been all round Europe in it.

Trudy was passed the full plate by her husband. In turn, she placed it firmly in Marisa’s hands. ‘There you go, eat up!’

Roger narrowed his eyes with concern as they watched their daughter pick at the food like a bird. ‘Mum and I were wondering if you’d like to come and stay with us for a bit, when we get back home to Bedminster. We could visit your Gran together, take her out while the weather’s still good.’

Marisa glanced up. ‘What about Eliot? I can’t go without him.’

Trudy placed a hand on her arm. ‘This is a very busy time at the boat yard, isn’t it? Eliot will be working long hours and you’ll be in this great big house on your own. It might be nice to have some company for a week or so.’

Marisa was puzzled. Her parents had barely remained a week in their own three bed semi for the past eighteen months. It was as if her Dad’s retirement had unleashed a wanderlust in her parents she barely knew had even existed. ‘But it’s the summer, that’s when you get the best use out of the mobile home. You’ve told me that dozens of times.’

Trudy shrugged. ‘Globe-trotting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes it’s pleasant to have a bit of
family time
.’

She examined her mother’s face closely. Trudy didn’t appear totally convinced by her own words. Marisa glanced down at the bone china plate in her hands, piled high with potato salad and roast chicken. ‘Why are you both being so solicitous? Has somebody told you I’m ill?’

              Her parents shook their heads in unison, Trudy very nearly put her meticulous hairdo out of place. ‘Of course not! Can’t we look after our little girl without needing a reason? Oh, Marisa, you make us sound
awful
.’

Marisa didn’t like to mention the fact that her parents were somewhere in the Basque region of Spain when her last pregnancy had ended in an early miscarriage. Then, she might have needed their fussing and support. Now, eighteen months later, it seemed odd and ill-timed. ‘Look, I really need to do a bit of mingling. I’m very glad you’re here, but can we talk more later? - when the party’s thinned out a little?’ She turned and walked away, not waiting for a response, only taking a moment to shove her overloaded plate onto a free space on the table.

Sam Carter and his wife were standing with a group beneath one of the tallest trees, at the bottom of the garden. She made her way towards their group, painting on a beaming smile as she approached. Despite the heat of the sun, her skin felt cool and clammy.

‘Mrs Coleman!’ Sam involuntarily reached out his arms. A sign of welcome. It made Marisa feel more relaxed. ‘This is Patrick Dun, one of our most loyal clients.’

Marisa was thankful to launch into a conversation with Dun and his wife, who she knew were an established and respected couple in White Bay. Patrick was a governor of the local high school. During their conversation, however, she couldn’t prevent herself from glancing across at the Carters’ two children.

Sam and Talia had one of each – a little girl of about three and a boy of five or six. The pair were chasing one another around on the lawn and darting between the tall pines. There were several moments when neither child was visible at all. Marisa felt her stomach grip with anxiety. She wondered how Talia could possibly bear it. Then the pair burst out into the sunlight once again, tiny green pine needles sprinkled all across their light linen outfits and scattered in their blond hair.

‘What is your opinion on it, Mrs Coleman?’

Marisa turned her head. Dun was asking her a question.

‘Marisa may not have heard the gossip yet,’ Sam Carter put in quickly. He gently nudged her arm. ‘About the new holiday park they’re planning to build over the headland?’

‘Oh, yes. Well, we can hardly object to it! Similar parks are installed all along this line of the coast. The local economy could barely survive without them.’

‘Hmm,’ Dun put a veiny hand up to rub his chin. ‘But White Bay has always been a little more,
exclusive
, than the other resorts along this stretch of coast. Coleman’s Marina certainly caters for a more up-market clientele. I can’t see the caravanning classes providing much business for your husband.’ He laughed heartily.

Marisa didn’t much like the implication of the man’s words, but she was perfectly used to mixing with people of Dun’s class and outlook. ‘Maybe not for us, but for the cafés, pubs and restaurants it will be an incredible boost. It will also provide jobs for locals – particularly young school-leavers.’

This point appeared to have hit home. Mr Dun looked thoughtful. ‘I hadn’t considered that aspect. We have real problems with the youngsters in White Bay who feel they have no future in the area.’

The man launched into a monologue concerning his experiences at White Bay Comprehensive School, where he was apparently single-handedly attempting to instil traditional values into the students, with varied levels of success.

Marisa had stopped listening. The boy and girl were nowhere in sight. She’d become pre-occupied by the thought that the Carter children might wander right through the woods and emerge out onto the clifftop beyond. It would only take a matter of seconds for one of them to race towards the edge…

Patrick Dun’s words had become an intrusive background noise. Marisa glanced around her to see where Talia was. The children’s mother had joined another group and was deep in conversation, seemingly oblivious to the whereabouts of her own, tiny offspring.

Without providing any explanation, their hostess took off towards the bank of trees. She was aware that in high-heeled strappy sandals her progress down the slope must have been awkward and ungainly, but Marisa hardly cared. 

She felt the pine needles prickling her skin as she weaved between the wide trunks, the sunlight suddenly extinguished by the thick blanket of foliage. There was still no sign of the children. When Marisa emerged onto the other side of the copse, her hair was plastered to her face and she knew the delicate sundress would be ruined.

But there they were. The boy and girl were seated, cross legged on the open grassland that lay just metres from the clifftop, picking daisies and throwing them at one another, shrieking with laughter as they did so. Marisa was suddenly frozen to the spot. Beyond the Carter siblings was another child. This boy was younger, just a toddler. He was crawling away from the others, in the direction of the cliff edge.

Marisa didn’t want to alarm the youngsters and cause any panic. She gently kicked off her shoes and stalked towards the children, her eyes fixed on the little boy who was heading so swiftly towards the precipice. When she reached the young Carters, Marisa bent down and entreated the children to run back to their parents. It wasn’t safe this close to the cliffs, she rasped.

When she looked back up, the little boy was nowhere to be seen. Marisa cried out in horror. Had he gone over the edge?
Surely
the child hadn’t been close enough yet – she would have moved much faster in his direction otherwise!

Marisa set off at full pelt to the cliff top, throwing herself to the ground when she got there, peering over the edge to see where the boy might have fallen. Marisa saw nothing. There was no sign of the child along the path either, or the slightest evidence of his poor little body on the rocks below.

Her eyes had filled with tears so that it was impossible to make out anything clearly. Marisa felt exhaustion envelope her, her body slumping further forward over the drop.

‘Mrs Coleman? Marisa?’

It was Sam Carter’s voice. She felt a warm hand touch her leg and grip the calf.    

‘Let me pull you back from the edge, Marisa. Then we can find Eliot. It’s been a tiring day. I’ll send all the guests home.’ His tone was gentle, soothing.               Marisa twisted her head. ‘I can’t. There was a child, a little boy. He was crawling towards the cliff top, but when I looked back he was gone.’ She wriggled further out, stretching to catch sight of where he’d gone – caught on a ledge, perhaps? Marisa heard a woman whimper somewhere behind them. Sam’s grip on her leg tightened.

‘Ellie and Jack are fine. They’re with Talia. There weren’t any other children at the party, Marisa. It’s very hot and you’ve been running flat out. The child you saw couldn’t have been real.’

Marisa closed her eyes tight shut, picturing the boy as she’d seen him a few minutes before. ‘He was wearing a red t-shirt, it was very distinctive.’

‘Then wouldn’t we see him now? If he’d gone over the edge or run off, we’d be able to spot him, wouldn’t we?’

Marisa shuffled backwards an inch or two. ‘Yes, that’s what I don’t understand. He’s simply disappeared – where to?’

Sam had managed to hook his left hand around the belt of her dress. He desperately hoped the flimsy material wouldn’t snap. ‘I’m going to gently pull you back in. Then we can have a proper search for him, okay?’

Marisa nodded. This made sense. The boy definitely wasn’t caught on a promontory of the cliffs. He must have crawled off back towards the woods. Children could disappear out of your sight in the blink of an eye. Her grandmother was always telling her that, to prepare her for the relentless job of motherhood.

She felt herself being dragged backwards. The stones and thistles mercilessly scratching her skin. When she was some distance from the edge, Sam Carter helped her to her feet, but he kept a firm grip on her upper arms, as if expecting Marisa to make a run for it.

The sun appeared to have been completely obscured by clouds. Marisa began to shiver uncontrollably as her body was engulfed by the sudden cold and a total blackness descended.

Chapter 5

T
he voices were drifting into her room from the landing. Marisa could tell the conversation was serious, although it was largely conducted in loud whispers. 

              A few moments later, Eliot entered. His handsome face was creased with concern. He sat on the edge of the bed and brushed the hair away from his wife’s brow. ‘How’re feeling, sweetheart?’

              ‘Tired.’ She struggled to sit up. ‘Have they found the little boy? Is he okay?’

              Eliot laid his other hand over hers. ‘Shush, darling. There’s no need to fret. We’ve had the coastal rescue lads out in force. Several of the party guests stayed to scour the area for any sign of a child. The good news is that nobody went over the cliff edge today. The tide was way out during the time you thought you saw this kid. If anyone fell, their body would have been clearly visible for several hours before the water washed it away.’

              ‘Then he’s still missing?’ There was panic in her voice.

              Eliot squeezed her hand. ‘Slow down, sweetheart. The police have been contacted in all the nearby towns. No child has been reported missing in the last twenty four hours.’

              Marisa’s face crumpled. ‘Then I don’t understand?’

              Her husband sighed. ‘The doctor’s been here since you collapsed. She’s observed you closely and taken a blood test. Dr Ford thinks you were suffering from heat exhaustion, mixed with low blood sugar. Honey, the doc doesn’t think this child was real. The Carter kids say there was never another little boy with them.’

              ‘But I
saw
him.’

              ‘I know it’s scary, but Dr Ford says it’s very common. You got yourself into a panic. Let’s be honest, it isn’t the first time it’s happened. You were worried about Ellie and Jack. When you discovered they were perfectly safe –,’

              ‘Playing within a few feet of a cliff edge, completely unsupervised.’

              Eliot carried on, unperturbed, ‘your mind was still fixated on saving someone. So it
created
a child who was apparently in danger.’

              Marisa blinked several times. ‘I don’t have some kind of super-hero complex. I ran after the Carter children because I know how close we are to the water. I assumed that Sam and Talia didn’t really understand the risk they were under. It was
our
garden and
our
party. I had a responsibility to make sure those little ones were okay. When I finally spotted them on the grass I felt only relief, not disappointment that I wouldn’t be able to take the credit for
saving
them.’

              Eliot frowned, looking suddenly miserable.

              ‘What’s the matter?’ Marisa put a hand out to touch his face, hating to see him anything but happy.

              ‘Dr Ford’s theory made sense to me. If that doesn’t hold water, then we’re in serious trouble here, sweetheart.’

              ‘What do you mean?’ Marisa felt her stomach tighten and tears pool in her eyes.

              He moved closer, pulling her into an embrace. ‘Sam and his wife followed you into the trees. When they emerged onto the cliff path, they saw you already half way over the edge. You were about to throw yourself down, darling! Sam had to grab your legs and then talk you back in. Talia was terrified that you were going to hurl yourself onto the rocks below and take her husband with you. I know Sam Carter, he wouldn’t ever have let go of you, no matter what happened.’

              Marisa shook her head violently, the tears spilling out onto her pale cheeks. ‘I wasn’t trying to kill myself! I was looking for the boy! I didn’t know that Sam was going to attach himself to me. I was just about to manoeuvre back onto the path when he arrived. I’d already decided the child hadn’t gone over and must have crawled off into the meadow somewhere.’

              Eliot’s expression became distant, sorrowful even. ‘Sam saved your life, sweetheart. I hope that someday you will appreciate that.’

              Marisa breathed in a sob. If the Carters had kept a better eye on their children she wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. But she said nothing, knowing that this observation would only upset Eliot more and make her appear crassly ungrateful. Instead, she asked, ‘is Dr Ford still here? I’d like to talk to her.’

              ‘She’s with your parents downstairs. I can send her up, if you’re sure? Wouldn’t you rather have your mum?’

              ‘No, I’d like to speak with Gloria, please.’

*

Gloria Ford was an upright woman in her early fifties. Marisa was a long-term patient of hers and was often visiting the woman’s pleasant surgery on the outskirts of White Bay.

              Gloria pulled up one of the white wicker chairs positioned in the window bay and sat by the bed. ‘How are you feeling Mrs Coleman?’

              ‘Exhausted and confused.’

              ‘Yes, I can perfectly imagine that. It must have been a very unsettling experience. You must have complete rest for the next few days.’

              Marisa wriggled upright. ‘Eliot said you’d taken blood to run some tests.’

              Gloria narrowed her eyes. ‘Yes, I want to check your blood sugar levels and make sure you aren’t anaemic.’

              ‘But you could perform a pregnancy test at the same time?’ Marisa’s face was open and entreating.

              The doctor’s shoulders slumped. ‘Yes, I could do that, Mrs Coleman. In fact, it would be done as a matter of procedure.’

              ‘Oh, that’s good, isn’t it? When will I receive the results?’

              ‘I will call you in a couple of days.’ She clasped her hands together in her lap. ‘But I really don’t think this would be the best of times for you to consider starting a family.’

              Marisa let out a burst of laughter. ‘What? Dr Ford, you of all people know how long I’ve been trying to have a baby!
Eight years
we’ve waited! There’s no such thing as a bad time!’

              Gloria leant forward, her tone gentle. ‘You experienced an anxiety induced hallucination this afternoon. It caused you to nearly end your own life. My advice is that you take a course of counselling sessions with an excellent psychiatrist I know in Dorchester. It may also be a good idea for me to prescribe you a mood stabiliser in the meantime, something to keep your nerves on an even keel.’

              ‘
No
. I will not take any drugs.’

              The doctor sighed sadly. ‘I thought you might say that. But even if there was a baby, it wouldn’t do it any harm. A child needs a happy and well mum.’

              ‘I know the spiel Dr Ford, I’ve read every single book and article on the subject. The truth is that not even the experts are certain about the effects of anti-depressants on the development of a foetus.’

              Gloria lamented the evolution of the overly informed patient. ‘We tend to balance out the probabilities as practitioners. The bottom line is that we need to get you sorted out before we can even consider motherhood as an option.’

              ‘I’ll go for the counselling, but I refuse to take the pills.’

              ‘Fine, I’ll contact my friend in Dorchester.’ Gloria paused before adding, ‘and I will have to refer the incident to the mental health team at Dorchester General. You may receive a house call over the following few days.’

              Marisa let her head fall back against the soft pillow, feeling the fight going out of her. ‘Do what you see fit.’

              Gloria stood up to leave.

              Her patient suddenly felt a brief surge of strength and pronounced, ‘but if we do discover that I’m expecting a baby there’s no way you can persuade me to get rid of it. I don’t care if it’s the worst timing on the planet, if I get a chance to have a child, nothing will stop me.’