right in the eye, shook my head, and said: ‘Let him rot.’
Then I went to the breakfast buffet. Best pastries I’ve ever had.
Chapter Thirteen
THE COMPLICATED EMOTIONS THERE
Emma: It was early and hardly anyone was up. I would have still been in my running gear at that point, probably still sweating from the run. I went back to the cottage for a shower and then grabbed that envelope with the driving licence inside. I wanted to act before anyone had a chance to do anything – or, more likely, before I had a chance to talk or think myself out of it.
I still had that business card I’d been given at the pool, so went to the car hire place where the same man who’d given me the card was setting up. He greeted me like an old friend, even though that moment by the pool was the only time we’d met. He told me he was called Barak and I don’t mind admitting I was nervous about being there. It’s a long time since I’ve been anything other than a passenger in a car and that’s why I felt a twinge of relief as I spotted the problem.
The guy offering cheap car hire was standing in front of a small but clearly empty car park. He said the cards had been more popular than he’d expected, which I guess was self-evident. He told me there would be cars returning late morning, or in the afternoon, and that he’d save the best one for me. I probably rolled my eyes in the way you do when someone’s calling you ‘pretty lady’ and making promises. I said I’d go back later and turned to go.
That’s when I saw Scott for the first time in nine years.
Scott Lee (son of Alan Lee, former business partner of Geoffrey McGinley): We saw each other at the same time. Emma had been talking to the guy at the car hire place and turned around just as I was walking past.
I’d not seen her in nine years, but I recognised her straight away. I don’t think it was the obvious stuff, like her hair colour or anything like that; it was the way she stood. There was a time when we were really close and, when you’re like that, you know everything about a person. You can tell who they are from streets away. You know who they are from behind. Their shadow, their gait, the shape of their hands, the way they tilt their head. It’s not like you actively think about any of those things, it’s that they become intrinsic. You just know – and I knew Emma the moment I saw her.
Emma: There’s one very important thing you need to know about Scott and his thinking at this point.
Scott: Her dad killed my dad.
Emma: It wasn’t just that he thought my dad killed his, it’s that he was driven by it.
Scott: I wouldn’t use the word ‘driven’. It makes it sound worse than it was. I didn’t stay up all night with a map of the resort and a length of string, while trying to measure distances and comparing them to the angle of a sunset. I had a normal job and a normal life. I went to the football on a weekend and did a big shop every Monday night. Life was very normal… it’s just that Geoff McGinley killed my dad and I wasn’t prepared to forget it.
Emma: I didn’t know what to say. It was enough that I was back on the island – but he was there, too. A big reunion that none of us planned or wanted.
It felt like a whole bunch of thoughts were rushing at me all together. It was less than an hour ago that I’d seen his dad’s name on that driving licence with my dad’s photo. Then there was one burning thought I couldn’t get rid of.
Scott pushed my dad off the cliff.
Scott: I didn’t push her dad off the cliff.
Emma: No one had a better motive. Scott had spent nine years believing my dad killed his and then, suddenly, he’s up on the cliffs and he sees that man standing on the edge. It was so clear in my mind that it was as if I was watching it happen.
Scott: I was nowhere near those cliffs when her dad fell.
Emma: I was so focused on Scott that I didn’t even notice who was walking directly behind him.