Page 106 of Meet me at the Seaside Cottages

‘I’m sorry,’ says Lowell. ‘I thought it was best. Janey . . . she’s a wonderful girl. She’s just . . . she’s so amazing with Verity and . . . I mean, it’s been lovely having her come in here.’

Janey is speechless. ‘Thank you,’ she says finally. ‘Thanks.’

And then, finally, the phone rings. Not her phone. Lowell’s.

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Janey is completely furious once more as Lowell picks up.

‘Where are you?’

‘Hiding in a hayloft. Long story.’

‘Did you get it?’

Essie fingers the deeds to the cottages. ‘I did.’

‘Good. Now we need to let the Land Registry know. You’ve got a cooling-off period. It should just make it. And very, very quickly, before the police start going through the paperwork.’

‘You can’t call them,’ says Janey, staring at the website disconsolately. ‘You can’t email them either. There’s a form. It needs a signature. And then a copy of the deeds, initialled. That’s the withdrawal procedure.’

‘You need Dwight to sign a formandinitial the original deeds?’

‘That’s what it says here.’

There’s a pause.

‘But we don’t havetime!’ says Essie, in agony.

‘Can’t we get Dwight down there?’

‘There isn’t another flight today,’ says Janey in a low voice.

‘Bring the deeds back here,’ says Lowell. ‘Can you make the return?’

‘If I run,’ says Essie.

‘Well, do that. We’ll figure it out from here. It’s already good you’ve got the deeds.’

‘Okay,’ says Essie, then hears a siren in the distance and abruptly hangs up the phone.

‘So if we have the deeds, and withdraw the property transfer instruction from the Land Registry . . . ’

‘It might work,’ says Lowell. ‘Unless they realise it’s missing from a police point of view first. In which case it will go into the bankruptcy pot . . . ’

‘And pay the earliest investors back first.’

He makes a noise of agreement.

Janey stares down solemnly. ‘Oh, Christ. Come on, Essie.’ She looks up at him. ‘And you recommended she do this?’

‘No!’ says Lowell immediately. ‘She was absolutely going anyway. Her plan was to punch everyone in the face. I just suggested . . . something that might be more useful.’

Janey searches his kind, shrewd, unapologetic face. ‘But won’t they track her down?’

‘Why would they? Nobody knows the deeds were there except for Tristan, who will be expensively advised not to say a word, and Dwight, who won’t if he knows what’s good for him. If the withdrawal note is in and we have the deeds, it won’t be worth their while to chase it down.’

‘I need to get to Dwight.’

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