Then
It was the fire engine which brought Rachel back to the here and now. She withdrew from Cameron’s clinch.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
They sat side by side with their feet dangling over the water. Below her, the waves lapped at the Harbour Arm wall. Nearby, a couple of boats bobbed on the calm water of the anchorage. She preferred it when the sea was up and wild. When spray was in the air and there was the crackle of an impending storm. Tonight, though, everything was still.
The fire engine raced along the Margate sea front, blue lights briefly lost among the permanently lit, lurid display of Dreamland. The sirens wailed, even though there was no queue of cars to shunt out of the way. Rachel returned her attention to Cameron. It would be someone else’s tragedy; she couldn’t help.
When the second engine and a police car went in the same direction, Rachel broke off from Cameron again. She ignored his protests. The red stain of a blaze was clear on the black sky. She jolted inside when she realised the first fire engine had stopped near where she was staying.
She jumped up and ran as fast as she could, Cameron close behind her. She ignored his shouted questions. By the time she arrived, both fire engines were spraying water on the building. She paused, took in the sight: fire licking out of the first-floor windows, smoke billowing. The heat increased as she neared. She could feel it on her skin, a warm caress. A small crowd had gathered, watching behind a cordon, powerless to intervene. She ran over, couldn’t see her family there. She ducked under the tape and dashed to the burning house.
A policeman grabbed her round the waist before she’d advanced two feet. She struggled. He tried to calm her.
“My father and brother are in there!” she shouted.
“You need to stay back!”
The policeman let go, and Rachel fell into Cameron’s arms. A man wearing a crumpled suit came over. He was also police, he said. There was a bright flash, then another. Someone taking photos. The policeman left Rachel and Cameron with his colleague, whose name was Jeff, and went to talk to the cameraman.
Jeff led Rachel to the sea wall and made her sit down. She held Cameron’s hand. The concrete was cold beneath her. Jeff took off his jacket which smelt faintly of smoke, and draped it around her shoulders.
The three of them watched the fire burn.