Page 68 of Sun, Sea & Strawberry Shortcake
‘The jury’s out for me on the subject of the paranormal.’ Igrin at her. ‘I do like the thought of your lovely dad still being here,though.’
She chuckles softly. ‘Me, too. I’ve felt his spirit herethis week and it’s been a real comfort. I’ve spent a long time, sitting on thatbench at the clifftop, staring out over the sea and thinking about my life. Ishould have come back here long ago. I don’t know why I left it so long.’
‘And what have you decided? About your life?’
She smiles. ‘You know what? I’ve decided that it’s high timeI came out of the shadows and fully embraced life. I reached a milestonebirthday and realised I wasn’t getting any younger, and I had to think aboutthe charity and what will happen to it after I’ve gone.’
I nod. ‘It’s quite a responsibility.’
‘It is, Jaz. And since I have no biological children toinherit, I made the decision to search for my little Anna.’ She sighs. ‘She’sprobably forgotten all about me by now. She was only six when we were parted.But I’ve thought about that child every day since then, wondering how she’sdoing, and I just had to try and find her. I wouldn’t have had the courage todo it before now.’ She smiles. ‘But reaching sixty sharpens the focus somewhat.You realise you need to get on and do the things you need to do. Time isprecious and you no longer have the option of dithering about! What I reallyneed is someone to take charge of the charity alongside me, and theneventually, when I pop off, they’ll inherit everything.’
‘Wow. I really hope you find Anna. How’s the search going?’
She purses her lips. ‘Not terribly well so far. My lovelyneighbour suggested her son, Mitch, would help me find her. He’s an accountantbut he wants to be a private investigator, apparently. Lovely man. Greataccountant. But between you and me, I’m not entirely sure he’s cut out to be aP.I.’ She smiles. ‘He thought he had a lead and went all the way up to Scotland– Aberdeen, in fact – and spent ages there, trying to find a particular housethat turned out to have never even existed. He’d been sent on a wild goose chaseby my sole surviving relative, who clearly fancied her chances of inheriting theestate herself.’
‘Really? But that’s shocking.’
She nods. ‘It was my fault. I should never have told Mitchabout her and where she was living. Then he would have concentrated his searchon finding Anna.’
‘So did he look for Anna eventually?’
‘Yes, he did. After realising he’d been duped, he thenvisited my old house – where I lived with Anna all those years ago – and hespoke to the man who lives there now. He said he was looking for someone calledAnna who’d lived there briefly, long ago. And amazingly, the old man told Mitchthat a young woman had knocked on their door the previous summer and asked ifthey knew the couple who used to live there.’
My eyes widen. ‘You think that might have beenAnna,looking foryou?’
‘Maybe. But the man couldn’t remember her name.’
‘How frustrating.’
She sighs. ‘I know. All he could remember was that shementioned Port Castleton... that she’d been here on holidayand loved it so much that she was thinking about coming to live there.’
‘Wow. So Mitch came here and he’s been camped out in thelane most of the week, trying to find her?’
She nods. ‘He’s actually been watching the holiday cottageof that distant cousin I mentioned, who lives in Surrey. I gave him her nameand asked him to search for her as well. We lost contact long ago when hermother died. But I need an heir for this place – I’ve no other living relativesexcept her – and I thought that if Mitch couldn’t find Anna or it turned outthat she didn’t want to know me, then I’d have to get in touch with mylong-lost cousin three-times-removed.’ She shrugs. ‘Who else could I leaveeverything to?’
‘But you’d much rather find Anna, and leave everything toher?’
She nods sadly. ‘I would. But it’s all a bit pie in thesky.’
‘Hang on, you said your relative lives in Surrey. What’s shedoing in the village?’
Emerald raises one eyebrow. ‘Well, exactly. It’s all a bitsuspicious.’
‘But why haven’t you been to see your cousin? If you knowwhere she is now?’
Emerald frowns. ‘The thing is, it was she who sent Mitch ona false mission to Aberdeen. He went to see her and told her everything...about how I was looking for my foster daughter but that if he couldn’t find herfor me, that she would be the one who’d inherit the family wealth.’
‘I’m not sure that was a wise thing to do,’ I say slowly.
‘No,’ she says shortly. ‘She obviously told Mitch a load oflies, making up an address in Aberdeen that was a complete fabrication – Isuppose so that he’d go up to Scotland and waste time looking for Anna there.’
‘But when he realised she must have lied to him, Mitch cameback and went to visit your old house and spoke to that man?’
She nods. ‘Which is when he found out about Anna havingplans to move here.’
‘So he came here looking for her. Did he find out what yourcousin is doing here?’
‘Well, Mitch had this theory that if he watched hermovements, she would eventually lead him to Anna.’
