Page 55 of Someone in the Water
Lola
28th July
‘So that conversation with your mum looked a bit intense,’ Patrick says, pushing his empty bowl away. He only had fruit and yoghurt, much more restrained than her, but Lola guesses the breakfast buffet isn’t a novelty for him. She had a healthy mushroom omelette to start, followed by two waffles covered in maple syrup.
‘Yeah. I think it’s hard for her being back here,’ she says. ‘I’m playing catch-up, because she didn’t tell me about any of this until I came to Corsica, but she carries a lot of guilt about Izzy’s death.’
‘It was ruled an accident.’
Lola hesitates. Patrick said by the pool that he knows everything, which must include the police’s theory that Izzy was reaching out to Frankie for help. But she feels weird about bringing it up. Disloyal to her mum. ‘I think it’s survivor’s guilt,’ she chooses. ‘Mum getting back to shore when Izzy didn’t.’
He nods. ‘Strange though, that she still feels so guilty after all this time.’
Lola studies him, looking for any hint of accusation, but his face drops under her scrutiny.
‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. My dad has always implied that your mum was responsible. But he can be like that, full of shit.’
A few beats of silence thrum between them. ‘Do you remember her? Izzy?’ Lola finally asks.
Patrick turns his head towards the sea. ‘I don’t know. Maybe. But it’s what happened after she died that I remember more.’
‘I guess it was hard for everyone to move on from, not just my mum.’
Patrick smiles, but sadly. ‘My grandpa moved away soon after it all happened, and I missed him a lot. I’m not sure if the two events were connected, but I’ve always put them together in my mind. And my parents seemed different after too. I guess it was the stress of dealing with the bad publicity, the lost bookings.’ He looks embarrassed suddenly.
‘What?’ Lola asks, tilting her head. ‘What’s wrong?’
He smiles sheepishly. ‘You know, seeing your mum last night reminded me of something that happened that summer, between my parents. I’d forgotten all about it until then. I think it might have been the night before Izzy died, around that time anyway and definitely not afterwards, because your mum was there.’
Lola swirls her fork in the dregs of maple syrup. ‘What happened?’
‘My parents were screaming at each other in the middle of the night. And my grandpa was there too at some point. I didn’t like it at all, so I ran away. Well, a few hundred metres down the beach. And it was your mum who found me, curled up under a sun lounger. She took me back home and they’d stopped arguing by then.’ He takes a sip of water then places the glass back down on the table. ‘What’s weird though is the other part of the memory.’
‘Oh?’
‘I think I remember telling your mum that my parents were arguing about Izzy. But why would that be?’
Lola frowns. She doesn’t know why. But Izzy’s death coming so soon after Raphael and Anna’s argument about her feels significant. Lola’s mum’s words come back to her –I was so certain that someone was trying to hurt me. I don’t understand how I got it so wrong.Could Raphael have been in the water that night? Or even Anna? Lola knows that Raphael has friends in the police – that’s how she got a crime reference number without visiting the police station – so maybe he knew he’d get away with it too.
‘Are you okay, Lola?’
‘What?’
‘You look really pale.’
Lola flicks her head, feels her hair swish around her shoulders. ‘Sorry, yes. I was miles away. So, um, are you working today?’ she asks, grabbing the salt pot to steady herself, then letting it go in case it spills.
‘Not until later. I’m on the bar from five. But I’m heading into town this morning. Apparently my grandpa left a letter for me at our family solicitor’s office to read after his death.’ He takes a deep breath and smiles at Lola. ‘You could come with me if you like? I mean, not to the solicitor’s, but you could have a wander round town, and we could meet up afterwards for a drink at the marina?’
The last time Lola was in the centre of Porto Vecchio, she was exhausted, phoneless and broke. She couldn’t wait to get away from the tourists and dusty streets. But right now, the thought of being away from this hotel – from her mum, and Raphael, and other people’s memories – feels like just what she needs. ‘Thanks, I’d love to.’
Lola
28th July
Patrick pauses outside a three-storey sandstone building with an oak front door and a golden plaque glinting in the sunshine. ‘So this is the solicitor’s,’ he says. ‘I only need to pick up the letter, but Marco is an old family friend, and I can guarantee that he won’t let me leave without having a coffee with him, so shall we meet in about half an hour?’ He turns ninety degrees and points down the hill. ‘The marina is in a direct line from here, three streets down. There’s a café on the seafront, Imelda’s, that makes the best lemonade in town. Is midday okay?’
‘Sounds great. And good luck in there.’ Without thinking, Lola gives him a kiss on the cheek, then feels her face flush. But Patrick’s smile helps to cool her skin. Then he presses the doorbell, and a moment later, disappears into the building.
