@Porthmellowchick Best festival ever?
@CornishMaid Deffo. See you at the gig tonight, hun. X
And – breathe.
The evening sun warmed Sam’s face, bathing Porthmellow in its gentle rays as Drew and his band set up on the harbour stage. With the musicians tuning their instruments, she felt she could finally enjoy herself – hopefully with Gabe. The daytime bustle had mellowed, giving way to a relaxed evening vibe. Sam loved this time of the festival too, the joyous, chilled-out gentle conclusion, which meant stewards and volunteers could finally relax at last.
It would soon be all over for another year – barring the clear-up operation, of course.
The lack of sleep and excitement had caught up with her, and she’d collapsed into bed – her own – late on Saturday night and slept like a stone until Zennor had woken her at seven this morning. They’d both been far too busy to spend more than a few minutes together since Friday night.
Throughout Sunday, Sam had taken a few calls to deal with minor incidents but as festivals went, it had been a big success. She hadn’t seen the figures yet, but it looked like a record attendance. They should have enough in the bank to look forward to next year’s festival, although someone had already suggested holding a Christmas event. She’d parked that idea until she was less knackered.
She looked around at the smiling faces, chatting over their drinks and food. Chloe and her family had come down to watch the early evening music acts. A man Sam assumed to be Chloe’s ex Fraser looked nervy in his smart chinos and shirt, with a wriggling Ruby in his arms. Chloe, in contrast, radiated happiness now her family were reunited, and Hannah was smiling, taking the yelling Ruby from her grandad’s arms.
Gabe had gone to fetch some drinks and Sam glanced behind her, looking for him. She spotted him queuing at the bar – or what she thought was him, because he was a long way off and she was looking directly at the setting sun. He was a fair way down the queue so he’d be a while yet. Drew and his band members started their set. Her friend was playing guitar while the lead singer started to power out a popular folk song. The band would be performing a mixture of folk and their versions of modern ballads. Some of the music was a bit middle of the road for Sam’s tastes, but they also put a fresh spin on old favourites that had her tapping her feet and singing along. Zennor and Ben were somewhere in the crowd with their mates. She wasn’t sure where Chloe was now, but guessed they’d gone home again to put little Ruby to bed.
As the applause rang out for the second song, Sam peered behind her to try and see how far Gabe had got. He was at the front of the queue and a man was talking to him. Sam squinted into the sun. She shaded her eyes. The man with Gabe – it looked like Ryan. OK, she couldn’t see the detail, but there was something in the way he held himself.
The band started a new song. Someone accidentally jostled Sam and apologised. When she glanced behind her again, Gabe was giving his order at the bar and the Ryan lookalike had gone.
She shook her head, telling herself it couldn’t possibly have been her brother and to forget her worries and just enjoy the music.
Moments later, Gabe had found her in the audience. ‘Hello, my luvver,’ he said, greeting her with his version of the local accent.
She leaned close to his ear. ‘You don’t sound like that anymore.’
‘I’m still the same inside though. You can take the boy out of Porthmellow, etcetera.’ It was true. He’d supported her through the festival, and the scars of their past were healing slowly. Tonight, they would talk. He’d reminded her again earlier, and had seemed on edge and nervous. She’d never let on to him but she liked the wariness and lack of confidence. She didn’t want him to be too sure of her even though she knew in her own heart that she’d made the decision to start a fresh journey with Gabe and see where it led.
She’d spent far too long allowing bitterness and regret to dominate her life and perhaps this was the time to start to forgive Gabe. She’d also decided to try and contact Ryan again. Her recent ‘imagined’ sightings of him had encouraged her to make a renewed effort to search for him. Even the thought of healing old wounds had given her a sense of peace and hope that had been missing from her life for years. So, maybe she and Gabe would ‘talk’ tonight, but she also had other plans in mind that didn’t need any words. Tomorrow or the next day would be soon enough to start building the emotional bridges.
They moved along to the beat of the music, accidentally on purpose bumping shoulders with each other. To be in such close proximity was a kind of delicious agony that she was glad to suffer. They kept exchanging glances, safe in the knowledge that amid the swaying, singing, clapping crowd, no one would notice their looks and secret touches. A hand on the small of her back; a brief brush of his forearm. Gabe was in jeans and a faded blue linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He’d been able to ditch the bandage.
With the harbour and slowly sinking sun as a backdrop, the smell of delicious food in the air and the sounds of lively people and music, Sam gave herself up to happiness. For the first time since she’d heard Gabe was coming back to Porthmellow, she felt she could truly relax and look forward with optimism to a new future.
Drew and the band launched into a cover of ‘I Will Wait’ by Mumford and Sons with a young woman who worked in a local florist playing the banjo furiously. Everyone was already standing up, stamping and singing along. Some people were dancing. She caught hold of Gabe’s good hand.
‘Come on, let’s dance!’ she shouted.
Gabe hesitated. ‘I’m hopeless at dancing.’
‘Rubbish! No one will care. No one’s looking at us.’
He nodded and took her hand and they swayed along and jigged as the banjo played faster and faster.
Suddenly, Sam felt someone jostle her. ‘Sam!’ She turned, but it was only Troy. He put a hand on her arm. ‘Oy!’
Gabe let go of her, pulling a face because they’d had to separate. People around them carried on dancing and waving their arms in the air, knocking into them.
‘Whoops, sorry, Troy!’ She laughed then saw his face. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘You’d better come over to the harbour office.’
‘Now? Can it wait?’ She had to shout above the music. She knew from the look on Troy’s face that she had to go, but she’d hoped that for a little while at least, she could relax and enjoy the close of the festival – and some time with Gabe.
‘No. It can’t.’
‘What’s up?’ Gabe asked.
Troy’s grim expression made Sam’s skin prickle. The high of the music and atmosphere ebbed away. ‘OK, I’ll come, but can you tell me what’s happened?’
‘Some money’s gone missing. A collection the Fishermen’s Mission made from their seafood barbecue. They’d put it in the harbour office, but someone left the door unlocked. And it’s gone.’
Sam relaxed again. It was a bad thing to happen, but not the serious incident she’d expected. ‘OK, I’ll come, but aren’t the police dealing with it?’
‘The harbourmaster wanted to call them, but I stopped him.’
‘Well, I think we need to do that.’ Sam reached for her phone. Gabe was still by her side.
Troy put his hand on her arm. ‘No, maid.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because … come away from this noise.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Gabe.
‘OK …’
With a sense of unease, Sam followed Troy out of the marquee where they could have a proper chat without shouting down each other’s ears.
‘What’s going on, Troy? Why haven’t the police been called?’
‘Harbourmaster wanted to call but I don’t want to get them involved yet. Sam, there’s no easy way of saying this, but just before the money was reported as missing, I saw your Ryan hanging around the office.’
‘Ryan?’ Sam burst out laughing, sure that Troy had been mistaken or had one too many ciders. ‘You can’t have.’
‘Maid, my eyesight might not be what it once was, but it’s not that bad. It was your Ryan and if you don’t believe me, you ask Evie. She saw him too.’
She stopped laughing and fought back a rising tide of annoyance. How could Troy assume that any theft in Porthmellow was down to her brother when he wasn’t even in Cornwall? ‘No. It can’t be,’ she said firmly. She turned to Gabe for support. ‘It’s impossible that Ryan had anything to do with it. Isn’t it, Gabe?’
He hesitated, just long enough to make the hairs on Sam’s neck stand on end. Eventually, he said, ‘We don’t know it was Ryan for sure …’
‘I saw him!’ Troy protested.
Gabe patted Troy’s back. ‘I’m sure you did, mate. No one’s saying you’re wrong.’
‘What? That Ryan stole the money or that he’s here in Porthmellow?’ Sam demanded.
‘Before we jump to any conclusions, let’s go to the office and find out more,’ Gabe said soothingly.
‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,’ said Troy.
Sam started walking towards the harbour. ‘Come on. Let’s get this sorted out so we can enjoy the rest of the evening.’
Sam’s stomach clenched with unease. Troy was mistaken, he had to be, and Evie too. They weren’t young, no matter what they said. There must be a Ryan doppelganger around – probably the same guy she’d spotted in Marazion that night and earlier at the bar. Thousands of people from miles around had been at the festival.
They reached the harbour office, where the harbourmaster was talking to a man from the fishermen’s charity. Understandably, they looked serious.
‘Hi guys,’ said Sam. ‘Troy says that some money has gone missing.’
‘It’s true. We put the cash box from the barbecue in here and thought it was safely under lock and key, but it turns out that one of the stewards popped in to use the toilet and forgot to re-lock the door. When I came back half an hour ago, the cash box had gone.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. Is there any chance there’s a mistake and someone’s taken it home?’
‘I’ve spoken to the only other person who knew it was in here and they don’t have it.’
‘Dozens of festival goers were around when Trevor brought the box in,’ said Troy. ‘Any of them could have been watching and taken their chance when the steward left.’
‘And yet you think it was Ryan?’ said Sam.
‘I don’t know it’s him,’ said Troy, clearly hurt.
Sam kicked herself. She was fighting a losing battle to stay calm. ‘He’s not even in Cornwall.’
‘Do you know where he is?’ said Troy. ‘Maid, you’ve told me often enough he rarely makes contact.’
‘Yes, but—’
‘Ryan wouldn’t steal a charity cash box,’ said Gabe firmly.
‘He’s taken stuff before,’ said the harbourmaster. ‘As you know better than anyone, Gabe.’ He looked at Sam. ‘I’m sorry, Sam, but you know he’s stolen from local people in the past.’
‘That was years ago. You’re right, I don’t know where he is now, but he did tell me he was trying to mend his ways. He said he’d changed.’ She sounded desperate because she was desperate. ‘And you’re all accusing him just because you think you saw him in the vicinity? You can’t do that.’
‘I can see you want to help, Sam, but how do you know?’ said Troy.
‘You were the one who went to the police in the first place,’ the fisherman said to Gabe.
‘I’m sorry, Sam, but we have to get the police involved.’
‘No!’ Gabe almost shouted. ‘No, don’t do that. Don’t accuse Ryan. I know he wouldn’t do it.’
‘How? Because you know he wasn’t here?’ said the fisherman. ‘If that’s true, it would be easy for him to defend himself and no harm in mentioning it to the police, then.’
‘No. No … he was here.’
Sam gawped. ‘What?’
‘Ryan was here. Or at least, he’s around Porthmellow. He was going to come and meet me tonight at Clifftop House – and you, Sam. We arranged for him to come to talk to you after the concert. So, he might well be around the harbour.’
‘I bloody knew it!’ said Troy.
‘I’m calling the police,’ the harbourmaster declared.
‘No, wait. Ryan’s not the same anymore. He’s changed. He changed a long time ago and he’d never go back to the way he was.’
Sam held onto the back of a chair. Her legs felt wobbly. The debate flew around her head, whirling and making her feel sick. Gabe was certain Ryan was in Porthmellow, which meant he’d lied to her again.
‘Stop it! This is my brother you’re all talking about and accusing. What do you mean, he’s here? Gabe?’ She clutched his arm. ‘Gabe!’
‘I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier … yesterday. Way back. But I couldn’t.’
Everyone stared at him. Sam dropped his arm.
Sam turned and walked out. She didn’t care what anyone thought. But if Ryan was in town, she had to find him and get the truth out of him.