Page 60 of The Other Lady Vanishes

There was no time to argue. He was moving much faster now that he no longer had to steer her around the treacherous tide pool rocks.

“The caves,” she said. “That’s where we want to go.”

“Right. The midnight tunnels.”

She realized she was still gripping the flashlight and that the beam was aimed straight down.

“You’ll need the flashlight,” she said.

“No. The moonlight from your shoes is all I need to see where I’m going.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hush. The monster will hear you. We’re supposed to hide.”

He was right. The vehicle she had heard a moment ago was coming to a halt up on Cliff Road. She switched off the flashlight. Sure enough, the beach was flooded with moonlight, although none of it was coming from her shoes.

“Here,” Jake declared. “The tunnel of midnight is the secret entrance to the moonlight highway. The monster can’t find you there.”

He lowered her to her feet, steadying her. She saw the black mouth of a cave. There was a pale glow of moonlight emanating from inside. But that was impossible.

It took her a couple of seconds to realize she was looking through a narrow tunnel that had been carved into the rocks by the sea. The light she saw was the moon splashing on the beach on the far side of the passage.

“Right,” she said. “Let’s go find the answers.”

Jake was already moving inside the tunnel, turning sideways so that his broad shoulders would fit. She could tell that he was transfixed by the moonlight on the other end.

She was small enough to slip easily through the entrance. Once inside, she could see that the passage widened. The rocky walls dripped with moisture and the pounding of the surf reverberated through the tunnel. When the tide was in, the cave would be flooded.

She fought the claustrophobia that threatened to engulf her. Not much farther, she told herself. Just a few more feet.

“We’re going down under the sea,” Jake announced. “It’s all right. We can breathe there.”

“That’s good to know,” Adelaide muttered.

It was a relief to reach the exit of the cave tunnel but the patch of sand on the other side was very small, almost nonexistent. A jumble of large rocks littered the beach. They would provide cover if anyone came looking for them, Adelaide thought.

Jake had stopped at the water’s edge. He stood looking out at the moonlit ocean, once again mesmerized by something only he could see.

Afraid that in his delirium he might decide to wade into the water, she put the flashlight on a nearby rock and grabbed Jake’s arm.

“It’s all right,” she said. “We’re safe now.”

“I can’t see the answers yet,” he said.

“You will,” she said.

“No answers, but I can see the monsters now.” Jake’s voice hardened abruptly. “They’re hiding behind the rocks. Give me my gun.”

There was no fear in his voice. He was the hunter who had spotted prey.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said.

She did not dare give him his gun, not when he was in the grip of the drug. He was already seeing things in the shadows. The hallucinations were getting worse.

“All right,” he said, agreeably enough. “You keep the gun. I’ll use this.”

He reached inside his dinner jacket and took out his fountain pen. She realized that to his hallucinating mind it probably appeared to be a knife.

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