Chapter eight

C

harlotte steered Louisa back into the office. Fortunately it was empty and she pushed her friend into a chair before sitting beside her.

‘Look, don’t get yourself in a state. I’m sure there’s a perfectly innocent explanation. Malcolm’s free to change his plans if he wants and I’m sure that’s what he’s done. Found somewhere else to go on the spur of the moment. Which would be so like him, wouldn’t it?’

Louisa blew her nose and nodded.

‘I guess so. But I don’t see why he didn’t cancel his flight to Japan. Glenn checked with the airline and they hadn’t heard from Dad, which is odd. It’s not like him to throw money away.’ She sniffed.

Charlotte couldn’t help agreeing, but didn’t want to worry Louisa further. Holding her hand she asked, ‘Has Glenn contacted other airlines which had flights that day?’

‘No, he said he can’t as they won’t divulge passenger lists except to the police and we don’t want to involve them – yet. Oh, where on earth is he? He can’t just disappear!’ Tears tracked down her cheeks, leaving black mascara trails.

‘Hey, this is not solving anything. Have you got any clients booked this evening?’

Louisa shook her head.

‘Good. Have you spoken to Paul yet?’

‘No, I…I was on my way to find him when you saw me. I’m not sure where he is…’

‘Right. You stay here and I’ll go and find him,’ Charlotte said, squeezing Louisa’s shoulder. ‘How about splashing some water on your face? You can’t let the guests see you so upset, now can you?’

Leaving Louisa to freshen up, Charlotte headed to the reception desk to ask where she could find Paul. Told he was due to finish with a client any minute, she hovered outside his therapy room while thinking what could possibly have happened to Malcolm. She could only pray he was all right for Louisa’s sake. It would be too awful for her to lose him only months after meeting him for the first time. And so soon after losing her mother…The thought reminded Charlotte of her own mother and the tests she would be undergoing in a few days. Her stomach clenched and she had to take a deep breath. So much for a chill out break. What with her mother and now Malcolm…

‘Charlotte, are you looking for me?’ Paul appeared at her shoulder and she quickly told him about Malcolm and that Louisa needed him. His eyes widened in shock and he thanked her before dashing off to the office. She thought it better to leave them alone and carried on towards the dining room, even though her appetite was gone.

After another restless night Charlotte dragged herself off to the early morning yoga session, hoping to hear from Paul that Malcolm had phoned. Unfortunately Paul hadn’t said anything and was subdued during the class and hurried away afterwards. He told Charlotte that Louisa was calmer but still concerned and was ringing Glenn again that morning. As she returned to her room to change Charlotte prayed there would soon be good news, for everyone’s sake. It was always the waiting that was hardest to bear, she thought. Once you knew what had happened, it meant you could deal with it. But when you didn’t know what you had to face it made it worse. Like not knowing whether or not her mother’s cancer had returned…Giving herself a mental shake, Charlotte made tracks for the dining room and a belated breakfast, aware, in spite of everything, she was actually hungry.

Later that morning she caught up with Louisa whose shadowed eyes bore witness to her lack of sleep.

‘Any news?’ she asked, giving Louisa a hug.

‘Not yet, but Glenn’s emailing all the major hotels in Bali to see if Dad’s staying in one of them. It’s going to be a long haul as there’s hundreds!’ She sighed wearily.

‘Oh dear. Look, I’m sure Malcolm is fine and he’d be mortified if he thought you were worrying about him. Until you find out more, isn’t it best to carry on as normal as I’m sure you’ve guests who need you, right?’ Louisa nodded. ‘How about you try and book a session with Molly, perhaps some of her hypnosis will help you relax? She helped you when you first came here, didn’t she? And I found her counselling invaluable,’ Charlotte said, forcing herself to sound more positive than she felt.

‘You’re right, I know. Paul said something similar but it’s not going to be easy. I’ll see if I can catch Molly, I think she’s in today and even a short session might help. Thanks, Charlotte, you always manage to say the right things.’ Louisa gave her a weak smile before going to check about Molly.

Charlotte was left feeling pleased she had helped but worried she had been too optimistic. Although Malcolm was a free agent and did not need to report in, she did think it strange he had not been in contact for weeks and was not keeping to his schedule. Now that was worrying.

Time crawled by for Charlotte, concern for her mother and Malcolm gnawing away at what should have been her chance to assuage her grief over her father and re-evaluate her goals. Instead, the possibility something awful may have happened to Malcolm actually reinforced her feelings of loss. And with the uncertainty about her mother’s health it was hard to focus on her own possible future. As a writer. With only two days left of her stay at La Folie she was looking forward to diverting herself with the research for Andy. At least her mind would be fully occupied. While Charlotte was having a drink with Louisa in the sun room she asked her about hotels, and her friend immediately suggested she stay with her for as long as needed.

‘To be honest I’ll be glad of some company while Dad’s…missing. I find myself going through all sorts of scenarios and making myself feel worse. You’ll be a calming influence and perhaps we could catch a film or something to take my mind off it. Paul’s rarely free at the moment and isn’t into chick-flicks anyway,’ Louisa said, her face pinched with worry.

‘As long as you’re sure, I’d love to stay with you. But you do know I don’t cook? That side of my education has been sadly lacking, I’m afraid.’

‘No worries, I don’t mind cooking if you’ll help prepare. And we might even be able to persuade Chef to provide the occasional takeaway. Being the owner’s daughter does offer some benefits.’ Louisa sighed.

‘Hey come on! No gloomy faces allowed when I move in. I thought you said Molly had helped?’

Louisa nodded. ‘Yes, she did. Sorry, I’m being a pain, aren’t I? I’m so glad you’re here. Paul is so concerned about Dad too; he isn’t able to offer me the support I need at the moment. He appears relaxed about it, but I know he isn’t. They’re so close, more like father and son than employer and employee.’ Louisa glanced towards her and grinned. ‘I promise to cheer up as I don’t want to drive you away. How about we stretch our legs on the cliff path for half an hour? I’ve hardly been outside for days!’

Charlotte was happy to agree. Although September would soon be morphing into October, the days were still warm and sunny. Linking arms they strode into the garden and headed for the cliff, the tang of salty air soon lifting their spirits.

Before she left La Folie, Charlotte rang Andy to explain she would be staying with Louisa and gave him the phone number.

‘Sounds good. Where do you plan to start with the research?’ His voice was warm and friendly and she wondered if this was solely because he was keen for her to start or he now liked her. Which might be nice…

‘Thought I’d start with the island archives as I understand the German records are kept there. Apparently Jeanne’s used them in the past. The downside is my German’s a tad rusty so it might take me a while to decipher unless there’s a translation. I’m hoping the Germans kept a record of anyone who actively spied for them but it’s a bit of a long shot.’

‘I see. Well, I wish you luck. Naturally I’m hoping my grandfather’s name won’t show up but…’ She heard his voice catch and fervently agreed with him. It would be too awful. But even if Edmund had been a collaborator, Jim was still the rightful heir and it wouldn’t be a total disaster.

‘It’s possible we might not know one way or the other. I think our main focus has to be on how we can prove Jim is the heir and why he’s not acknowledged as such. At the moment I can’t see a way to do it without talking to your parents. Any ideas?’

There was silence at the end of the line and Charlotte wondered if it had been too soon to ask. It was obviously a touchy subject.

‘Hmm. Let me think about it, will you? See what you come up with from the archives first.’

It was fine by her. They left it she would stay in touch with any progress she made. Or didn’t.

Before packing her case Charlotte phoned her mother and as she punched in the number she crossed her fingers.

‘Hello, Mother. How are you? What did Dr Rowlands say?’ Her heart hammered painfully in her chest as she listened into the silence.