Epilogue

One year later

 

Saturday. A glorious afternoon in early August. The patio and lawn of Cliff House were thronged with people in short-sleeved shirts and summer dresses. At the bottom of the garden, a professional caterer served up barbequed meat and fish, with a wide selection of salads and fruits. Closer to the house, in the shade of a gazebo, two barmen kept the guests fulfilled with an endless supply of beer, wine and Pimm’s.

From the cool interior of the kitchen, through the open French doors, Arnie watched those closest and most loved to him enjoying themselves in the sun. AJ played with his cousins with complete abandon. The move north had done wonders for the boy. Arnie had never seen him so happy, or as boisterous as he was these days. Following their release from hospital a year ago, Arnie had expected AJ would want to return to London as soon as possible. That he’d never want to be near water again. Against expectations, the opposite was true. Instead of running away from North Point, he didn’t want to leave.

‘Can we stay, Dad?’ he’d asked, the day after they discharged Arnie. ‘Please.’

AJ had been insistent. They had connections here, family. They were loved and supported in ways they couldn’t be down south. Arnie was almost as surprised when he agreed. Despite everything that had happened, this was their home. London was a place of work, somewhere for AJ to go to school. But it had never been home. That was Nyemouth.

The police had caught up with Noel Garrard a week after he went on the run. He’d made it as far south as Nottingham, begging, stealing, hitchhiking. His goal, he’d later said, was to reach Dover and steal away on the back of a lorry to the continent. He’d been apprehended at a bus station, when a ticket agent recognized him from the news. He had not resisted arrest, and when he’d appeared before the magistrates the following day, his case had been committed to Crown Court and the bench had remanded him into custody.

Many theories regarding his motives had been debated, but when he was next in court, Noel had entered a guilty plea to one count of Murder and three counts of Attempted Murder, negating the necessity of a trial. The judge had requested a pre-sentence report, together with a separate psychiatric report. Neither had produced any answers. Noel had been uncooperative and refused to offer any reason for his acts of violence.

In a victim impact statement, Sandy Costello attested that she had never met Noel Garrard until their encounter on North Point. It appeared she had been selected entirely at random. It could have been anyone he chose to lash out at. Sandy had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The press speculated that Noel targeted Arnie and AJ because they were the only witnesses to what he’d done. It seemed the most likely explanation, but with Noel’s refusal to confirm it, they would never be sure. They could only guess at his reason for killing Gabriel. The obvious link was Arnie. Whether he’d killed Gabriel to hurt Arnie or had some warped plan of framing him for the crime remained a mystery.

Noel had been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of twenty-five years. He wouldn’t be eligible for parole until he was forty-four. AJ would be in his early thirties when the time came. Despite his best efforts not to dwell on it, the implication of what might happen when that day came around kept Arnie awake some nights.

For now, AJ was doing fine. That was what he had to focus on.

Earlier in the year, AJ had been given a Children of Courage Award for Outstanding Bravery at a ceremony in Manchester. Arnie owed his life to the incredible actions of his son. He would make certain they were never in a situation like that again.

Watching him now, Arnie smiled. AJ sat in the garden at a table with his cousins and a handful of new friends he’d made here in the town. They were eating bowls of trifle and had cream and custard smeared across their faces and the table. They were kids. Happy and carefree. Exactly as they should be.

There were so many people out there who meant the world to Arnie. His parents, his sister, even her husband, Cyrus. The man was a pain in the arse, but he was family. The lifeboat crew were here too, together with their own families.

And Sandy Costello with her boyfriend, Jamie.

She looked lovely in a white-and-red pattern sundress. A year on, the results of her accident were barely noticeable. She walked with an uneven gait and was troubled with back pain but had made a remarkable recovery. Since getting out of hospital, she and Arnie had become good friends. She’d met Jamie, a former soldier who had lost his left leg to a landmine, at one of her rehabilitation sessions. They got on well and seemed to make each other happy. Arnie was thrilled for her.

Gazing out of the doors, lost in contemplation, he snapped out of it as Dominic walked through the frame.

“Why are you hiding away in here?” Dominic asked with a dazzling grin. “This is your housewarming party.”

After making the decision to return to Nyemouth, Arnie had contacted the owners of Cliff House and made them an offer to buy the place. The final completion had gone through a month ago.

“I just needed a few minutes out of the sun,” he said. “It’s hot out there.”

“Oh yeah,” Dominic said, coming in for a kiss. “It’s pretty hot in here too.” He gave Arnie’s arse a cheeky squeeze.

Dominic. Probably the biggest reason to stay in North Point. Their love for each other deepened every day.

For the last three months they’d even been working together, collaborating on a book. Though he’d always been a deeply private person, Arnie had accepted a commission from a publisher to write a book about his experiences. Arnie told the story and Dominic, the experienced writer, put it down on paper. It had been an intense, cathartic experience, and they were almost done. Once complete, they’d agreed the royalties from the book would be split three ways—one third would go to Gabriel’s family, a third to Sandy and a third to the lifeboat service.

They kissed long and deep.

Now that the deal on Cliff House had been finalized, Dominic had agreed to move in with Arnie and AJ and would put his own house up for rental.

“I think we should go back outside before we get carried away,” Arnie said, sliding his palm across Dominic’s butt.

Dominic kissed him back. “Agreed. Let’s enjoy this with the people we love. We’ll have plenty of time for each other later.”

Arnie couldn’t agree more.

With their arms around each other, they walked out into the sun. United and completely in love.