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‘Look at him, he’s terrified.’
Without thinking it through, Lettie unbuckled her sandals and stepped onto the cool sand.
‘What are you doing?’
‘If we wade around the side of the cove, we can get to him before the tide comes fully in.’
Simon snorted. ‘There’s no way I’m getting wet for a stupid dog.’
‘Well, I can’t just watch him drown.’
Lettie ran towards the grey waves but stopped when she reached the waterline which was bubbling and white with foam. She couldn’t go in. She couldn’t.
A sudden whimper from the dog reached her. He was marooned with water all around him and too terrified to think of climbing higher up the cliff.
‘Lettie, come back!’ shouted Simon as she started wading into the water. Jeez, it was cold and the force of the waves was already catching at her legs and trying to lift them from the sand beneath her feet. When a wave splashed into her face, she tasted salt and childhood memories began to surface. She couldn’t breathe. Fear and panic bubbled over, threatening to overwhelm her as the water swirled and eddied around her.
Buster had seen her and was barking loudly now. He rushed to the edge of the rocks, so close to the water, Lettie was worried he’d be washed away. Panic was still clutching at her throat and making her knees weak, but she couldn’t abandon Claude’s dog. Not when she was so close. But the water was getting deeper so quickly.
She pushed on as the water swirled around her waist and waves threatened to knock her off her feet. Was Simon with her? She looked around her but there was nothing but churning sea and grey sky. Where the two of them had been standing was now covered by water and Simon was standing farther back, his mouth a perfect ‘o’ of horror.
But at least she’d almost reached Buster. He yapped as she got closer and growled with fear.
‘Calm down, Buster. I’m going to take you home to Claude,’ she shouted, scrabbling up the rocks and grabbing the dog by his collar. She started pulling him with her. It was going to be all right. They could climb up the cliff to safety.
But when Lettie looked up at the cliff face above her, she felt like crying. It was almost sheer, with no hand holds. There was no way she could climb that on her own, let alone with a terrified animal.
‘What are we going to do, Buster?’ She patted his damp fur, trying to keep the panic from her voice. The dog was frightened enough. ‘I need to get you home to Claude. He’d be lost without you.’
Lettie didn’t see the wave behind her but she felt the force of it as it crashed into her back and knocked her off her feet.
It was happening again. The sky and land had disappeared. All she knew was water, cold water, swirling around her and over her, and she couldn’t breathe. She mustn’t breathe or her lungs would fill with water. Instinctively, she held her breath, still hanging on to Buster’s collar as the water pushed and pulled her.
At last her head broke through the wave and into blessed air. She gulped in a huge lungful and pulled Buster towards her. She was disorientated and couldn’t work out where she was. What was it that Corey had told her? If you’re ever in trouble, float on your back.
Lettie flipped herself over and floated on her back for a moment, gazing up at the dark grey clouds above her as the waves kept on coming. And gradually her panicked, shallow breathing settled as an unexpected calm spread throughout her cold body.
I’m going to die because of a dog, she thought, picturing her family’s incomprehension. ButLettie hates the water, and she’s never shown a great liking for animals. What on earth was she thinking? Daisy would probably reckon she’d done it on purpose to get out of picking up the children.
Then she thought of Corey. He’d probably blame himself for encouraging her into the water when they’d met on the shoreline. Was that only a week ago? She pictured herself standing next to him in a calm sea, with his hand around her waist. He’d seemed so solid and sure that nothing bad would happen.
Lettie relaxed, still floating in the water, and let the waves push her and Buster, who was still paddling. Was this it, then? She’d be pulled out to sea and her bones and Iris’s key would rest for ever on sand, fathoms down. And time would pass and her death would become just another piece of Heaven’s Cove history. Like Elizabeth Allford. Like Cornelius.
A spark of indignation stirred in Lettie. This couldn’t be it. She still had so much living to do.
Suddenly she caught sight of rocks that had tumbled from the cliff and now rested at its base. They were poking above the waves like tiny islands, and she was being pushed towards them by the swelling tide. She and Buster would be dashed against them, unless… Dragging Buster with her, she began to swim for the flattest rock. The cliff face behind it was steep but there was a ledge at head height that she might be able to get to with Buster.
At last, she felt rock scrape her legs and with a huge effort she dragged herself and Buster out of the water. But they weren’t yet safe. Waves swirled over the rock, trying to pull them back into the water, and if they went back in, that was that. Violet Starcross: 1990–2019.
‘Come on, Buster,’ said Lettie, pushing the dog farther away from the rising tide. Scrambling over the rock, with Buster by her side, she climbed higher up the slippery rock face until they reached the ledge she’d seen from the water. They were above the water line here – for the moment, at least. Did the tide come up this far? Lettie looked up at the sheer rock face above them. There was nothing else she could do. Her mobile phone was still in the handbag she’d left on the sand, and it would have been ruined by now anyway if it had been in her pocket.
‘Bugger,’ said Lettie, sitting down, Buster by her side, with her elbows on her knees. ‘I’m all out of ideas.’ She scoured the beach for Simon but the seas were too high and she could no longer see the sand. She put her arm around the shivering animal and he pushed into her side, his head on her shoulder.
‘It’s OK, boy. We’re going to get out of this,’ she told him, trying not to look at the sea which swirled beneath the two of them and now almost covered the rock they’d clambered over. The sky was turning dark grey and soon the light would be gone. All that would be left was darkness and the roar of the sea.
Lettie rested her head back against the cliff and closed her eyes. What would Iris say right now if she were here? I can’t believe you were daft enough to risk your life for a dog. Maybe. I’m proud of you for pushing through your fear and going into the water. Possibly, though there wasn’t much point in conquering her fear of water if she subsequently drowned. The irony of the situation would have made her laugh if she wasn’t quite so despondent. She clasped the key around her neck, relieved that the waves hadn’t snatched it from her.
Salt spray splashed into her face and she opened her eyes. The water was getting higher and there were strands of seaweed on the ledge next to her, which didn’t bode well for the high tide level.
