Her One Mistake(76)

Alice told her grandpa that Daddy says I make things up too and that I lie for her, and Brian doesn’t like it. She asked her grandpa if she could tell him a secret and he said she could tell him absolutely anything.

So she said that if she hides behind the sofa Brian can’t find her, and then he can’t get cross with her because she hasn’t said anything wrong.

Surely whatever happens I am doing the best thing for all of us, right?





HARRIET


I don’t understand,” I shouted to Brian. “What do you mean they’re out in the water? What have you done to them?”

Brian continued to stare out to sea from the edge of the cliff. “I haven’t done anything to them,” he said eventually.

“Then what’s going on?” My voice shook as I took a step closer to him. I wanted to grab him and shake him, scream at him to tell me where Alice and my dad were. But I also knew I’d get nothing if I did. It took every ounce of strength I had to restrain myself.

“They went out in a fishing boat. I watched them get in it. Just before you showed up,” he said, turning to me. “I followed them down to the beach and he took a boat that was tied up on a jetty by the rocks down there.” I looked in the direction he was pointing but the rocks were high in places, and from where we stood I couldn’t make out the jetty, let alone see if there was a boat tied up to it.

“You must’ve missed them by ten minutes,” he said. “I saw you running down to the beach and watched you from behind the rocks. You didn’t see me, but then you weren’t looking for me, were you, Harriet?”

I stared at Brian, wondering what he expected me to say. Of course I wasn’t looking for him.

“You were looking for Alice,” he said frankly, and it crossed my mind, not for the first time, that my husband was jealous. “And your father, of course,” he added flatly.

My dad had told me about the fishing boat, but they must’ve left hours ago now.

“The old man seemed very determined as he headed down there,” Brian said. His jaw tensed. “Holding on to my daughter’s hand as if he had every right to. It made me sick.”

I turned back to the beach. The sky had clouded over and even though the rocks were still visible, I knew there would only be another hour of daylight before the sun disappeared. Surely they’d be back before it was dark? “I still don’t understand any of this,” I said. “You’re telling me you watched them this morning. That you followed them to the beach and you let him take her in a boat and did nothing to stop them?”

“I’ve been watching the house all night, Harriet,” Brian said calmly. “I got home yesterday and found you gone. When you still weren’t back two hours later, I had a feeling you were on your way to find them. But when I got here last night, there was no sign of you.” He turned, expecting me to tell him where I was, but I didn’t answer. “I saw him though. Clear as day through the window, sitting in that armchair. I sat in my car and waited for you. All night I waited, but you didn’t show up. I was beginning to think I’d gotten it wrong,” he said.

“If you knew Alice was in the house, how could you just sit there watching it?”

“Like I said, Harriet,” he snapped. “I was waiting for you.”

I stared at him, incredulous.

“Do close your mouth up, Harriet,” he said. “I could see Alice was safe this morning. There was no need for me to rush in. Not when I was still certain you’d be along soon. And here you are,” he said, reaching out to stroke my hair. “You came in the end.”

I pulled out of his reach. He hadn’t seen his daughter in two weeks, he’d believed she’d been abducted for the most part, and yet once he knew where she was, he was happy to let her wait until he got what he wanted: me.

“I knew she was okay,” he growled, as if guessing my thoughts. “If she was in any danger I would have gotten her, so don’t try to say I’m not a good father.”

“Oh my God,” I muttered under my breath. Brian stepped closer and took hold of my wrist again. I winced as pain shot through it and up my arm from where he’d grabbed me when we ran out of the house.

“You weren’t there, Harriet,” he said, his words ice cold as his eyes flashed brightly. “And I need you to realize you can’t take our daughter away. You have to know you can’t leave me, Harriet.”

When Brian let go of me, I rubbed the tender spot on my wrist, wincing as I flexed it up and down. Who knew what damage he had done? An X-ray might show me that, but it would never tell the real story. The one that lay deep beneath the skin where the scars are invisible.

Brian began walking along the cliff top, toward the path that led down to the beach. “I don’t know why you let them get in the boat,” I called as I followed him. He ignored me, but I knew his fear of the water would stop him from going any farther. “So what did you do when they left? Why didn’t you come looking for me?”

“I waited for them to come back,” he called behind him. “I didn’t think they’d be long.” Brian started making his way down to the beach and I stayed close behind. He stopped and turned back to me. “Over five hours I waited before I came back to the house and saw you. They shouldn’t have been gone that long, right, Harriet?” he said, his eyes drifting over my face as if he wanted to see me panic.