When Night Closes in (36 page)

A mist came down suddenly over the sea and Lowri shivered, feeling damp and clammy. She got up and brushed the sand from her skirt. Some instinct made her look round and she saw a figure coming up behind her. He was hooded and she felt a sudden sense of impending danger.

She realized there was no-one she could turn to for help. She began to run towards the promenade, her feet sinking into the sand. She heard heavy breathing behind her and knew it was her worst nightmare coming true.

She tried to scream as someone caught her hair and forced her down onto her knees. Hands were around her throat and she was being dragged to the shoreline, kicking uselessly, trying to find purchase in the softness of the sand.

She felt the shock as the coldness of the sea enveloped her. She caught the rough wool covering her assailant's head and tugged with all her might. In her nightmare the face of her attacker was never revealed. Now it was.

‘Justin!' Lowri screamed. ‘What are you doing?' The moon shone through a break in the clouds and she saw her brother's expression clearly. It was twisted with anger.

‘I'm going to kill you!' he shouted. He pushed her, his hand covering her face, and she felt the water close over her. She thrashed about and managed to rise to the surface.

‘Why?' she gasped.

‘For money, what else?' He stared down at her with no hint of compassion in his eyes. ‘Oh, you persuaded Mother to leave you all her money, didn't you? Sorry, Lowri, but you leave me no choice.'

‘Justin! Listen to sense. If you want the money so badly I'll give it to you, all of it.' Her words were lost as she was plunged into the water again. The sea swept around her – she could feel the bottom and thrust against the sand, pushing upwards through the silent coldness.

‘Justin, don't do this!' She hardly had any breath left. Justin looked down at her for a long moment. He smiled, demonlike in the moonlight. ‘Goodbye, Lowri.'

She was beneath the water again, and she felt her strength ebb away. She could not fight any more. She opened her eyes once and saw the blurred shape above her. And then she lost consciousness.

Lowri opened her eyes slowly and became aware that she was lying on the cold ground of the promenade. Lainey was kneeling at her side, and with him was a paramedic. Lowri could see the flashing blue lights of an ambulance and struggled to sit up. She began to cough and Lainey held her upright, brushing her hair from her face.

‘Jim, thank God you came!' She put her arms around him and he held her close. ‘My brother was going to kill me!' She began to cry.

‘It's all right, you're safe now.' He kissed her forehead and her cheek and then lifted her in his arms. ‘Come on, you have to go to the hospital for a doctor to look at you.' He smiled down at her, and she saw in the light from the open doors of the ambulance that he was as wet as she was.

‘You were the one who rescued me!' she said, burying her face against his wet shoulder. ‘I always did feel safe with you.'

Lainey helped her into the ambulance and sat beside her, holding her hand. The paramedic hovered near by but he ignored him.

‘You've had some shocks tonight, Lowri, but you're going to have to be brave because there are a few more coming. I'm afraid Justin has been arrested – he tried to kill you, you know.' He rested his hand on her wet hair. ‘When this is all over, we have some serious talking to do.'

As the ambulance jerked into movement, her heart sank. Lainey still thought she was involved in the mess left by Jon's disappearance.

The hospital doors shed a bright light onto the forecourt and Lainey guided her down the steps of the ambulance. She shivered in the cool of the night air as she lowered herself into the waiting wheelchair. A blanket was tucked round her and she was hurried towards the entrance of the hospital.

Mr Watson was there in the corridor, his head bent. Lowri looked up at Lainey. He shook his head. As she was wheeled forward, she saw that Mr Watson was handcuffed. A policeman appeared to be in charge of him. ‘What on earth is going on?'

‘I never meant you should get hurt, Lowri, believe me,' Mr Watson said. ‘And now I see the futility of allowing this feud between Charles and me to become personal. I hated him for the way he treated your mother so I took over his crooked businesses one by one.' He sighed. ‘I wanted to ruin Charles and all he stood for.'

‘I don't understand,' Lowri said.

‘I know, I know.' Mr Watson shook his head. ‘This is a terrible shock coming so soon after you've lost your mother, but the truth is, Lowri, I'm just as much a crook as the rest of them.'

‘Mr Watson, no!' Lowri said. ‘It's all a mistake, surely?'

‘I'm afraid not, my dear.'

The police officer urged him forward and he glanced over his shoulder with difficulty. ‘Try to forgive me, Lowri, for everything.'

‘I'll come and see you, Mr Watson.' Her voice trembled. ‘I'll come and see you wherever you are.'

Lowri put her hands over her face. The events of the night had all been too much for her; she felt as though she would crack wide apart at any moment.

Lainey put his arms around her. ‘Lowri, come on, let the doctor take a look at you.'

He wheeled her into a side room and a doctor appeared almost at once, possibly due to Lainey's presence.

The doctor looked into Lowri's mouth, listened to her breathing and took her pulse. ‘I'll just check your blood pressure while I'm here,' he said easily.

Lowri sat quite still, trying to absorb all that had happened in the past hours. Within the space of one evening she had lost her mother, learned that her brother had planned to kill her, and seen her natural father taken into custody.

‘You seem to have survived your impromptu swim, Miss Richards,' the doctor said. ‘You're in remarkably good shape considering you were dunked in the cold sea at this time of night.'

‘Can I go home, then?'

‘Yes, you can go home. I take it you have transport?'

‘I'll be taking Miss Richards home,' Lainey said. ‘Come on, Lowri, the sooner we get you out of those wet things the better. Thank you for your time, doctor.'

‘You're welcome.' The doctor left the room and Lainey drew Lowri to her feet. He held her for a moment.

‘You look like a drowned rat!' he said, kissing her nose.

‘Do I?'

‘Yes, but I still love you.' Lainey tipped her face up and looked into her eyes. ‘And I am going to tell you what happens next. I'm taking you home, undressing you and together we'll have a hot shower. Then we'll hold each other until morning comes.' He kissed her mouth. ‘Then we'll make all the arrangements.'

‘What arrangements?'

‘For our wedding, silly. It'll have to be the registry office, I'm afraid!'

She looked up and saw the love in his eyes, and suddenly the nightmare receded and the world became a brighter place. ‘You're taking a lot for granted – who said I'd marry you?'

‘You'll marry me or I'll take you into police custody and you'll be my prisoner for ever and ever.'

She smiled wanly up at him, pushing back her wet hair self-consciously. ‘Do you really love me, Jim?'

‘I really love you. Now don't ask again.' He led her out of the hospital and the doors swished shut behind them. Softly the trees were coming into focus; the sky was lightening from indigo to rose. Lowri slipped her arm through Lainey's and drew a deep breath. A new day was beginning and she would share this dawn and all the other dawns for the rest of her life with the man she loved.

The End

Iris Gower was born in Swansea, where she still lives. The mother of four grown-up children, she has written over twenty bestselling novels. She received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Wales, Swansea in 1999 and has been awarded an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cardiff.

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