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29
Lettie
Lettie shivered as she stood on the beach, looking across the cove. The steel-grey sea was the same colour as the sky, and there were no tourists on the sand. They’d all been frightened away by the great British summer weather. The storm last night had been fierce but short-lived, but today’s looked set in. At least the rain had eased for a while as she and the rest of Heaven’s Cove, it seemed, searched for Claude’s missing dog.
She’d planned to catch the bus to Exeter, to visit the library and museum and search for information about Heaven’s Cove’s past. But she’d been waylaid by Belinda at the bus stop and had put her plans on hold as soon as she’d heard the news. Poor Claude. He’d just lost the love of his life all over again and now his dog was gone too. It was so sad.
‘Look at that sky! I think we’d better give our walk a miss and head for the pub,’ urged Simon, who’d joined her in looking for Buster, though he kept suggesting going for a drink instead.
‘I’d like to look for a little longer. It’s going to get dark earlier than usual today with that sky and I hate to think of Buster out there on his own for a second night.’
‘He’s a dog, Lettie. He’ll be all right.’
‘I hope so. Claude will be lost without him.’
‘The dog’s probably home already, laughing at us suckers who are still out in this filthy weather looking for him.’
‘I get the feeling you’re not much of a dog person.’
‘I love all animals,’ protested Simon. ‘Even daft dogs who run off and cause a lot of trouble.’
‘He was frightened by fireworks.’
What did Simon say under his breath? It sounded like ‘wimp’. Lettie looked across the heaving ocean and shuddered. How many skeletons of boats were lying beneath the waves, how many bones of people who’d drowned, gasping for air as their lungs burned?
‘Do you want my coat if you’re cold?’ asked Simon, though he made no move to take off his jacket.
‘No, you’re all right. Thanks, though.’
‘So are we going to the pub for a quick one and then maybe…?’ Simon brushed Lettie’s cheek with the side of his finger. ‘What do you reckon? Don’t worry. The dog’ll turn up.’
So Simon was interested in her, rather than just seeing her as an information source. Daisy would be delighted at the hint of a relationship, but Lettie wasn’t keen and, anyway, she was too cold and miserable to care. All she could think about was Claude desperately searching for the dog he loved.
‘I’ll look for a while longer. I might try the village again.’
She was just turning away from the wind-whipped beach when her attention was caught by a dark smudge at the base of the cliffs that edged one side of the cove. The foot of the cliffs were exposed when the water level dropped but were covered at high tide.
‘What’s that?’ she asked, shielding her face against the spits of rain that were starting to fall.
‘I can’t see anything.’ Simon pulled at her hand but she dug her feet into the sand.
‘Over there. Just a little way out from the shore. Where the tide is coming in. Oh my God.’
Suddenly she knew exactly what she could see. Huddled on the rocks, with waves sweeping towards him, was an animal.
‘It’s Buster,’ she shouted, above the wind which was whipping up the water and blowing gritty sand into her face.
The dog’s terrified yelps suddenly carried across the cove.
‘How did the stupid dog get over there?’ shouted Simon, pulling up the hood of his jacket.
‘He must have been at the bottom of the cliff before the tide came in, and now he’s trapped.’ Lettie looked desperately up and down the beach but there was no one around. Liam’s farm was just up the road, but the tide was rising and the dog would drown before they got there and back with help. Liam and his parents would have left for the hotel already, anyway. ‘We have to do something, Simon.’
‘What can we do? It’s really sad but, at the end of the day, it’s just a dog.’
‘It’s Buster, Claude’s dog. His companion.’
‘He can get another one. Dogs don’t last for ever.’
