Tiff was home late. She’d spent her Saturday afternoon interviewing an author at an arts festival in St Ives, after which she’d met Dirk and they’d gone to a classical concert. Dirk wasn’t on call but when they’d neared Porthmellow, he’d been paged to join another lifeboat crew on a difficult shout. She’d leapt out of the Land Rover outside the station and walked up from the harbour alone as twilight fell.
‘Hello!’ she called, walking through the cottage sitting room to the kitchen. ‘I could murder a nice cup of tea.’
Marina was slumped in a chair at the table, her face streaked with mascara, a box of tissues in front of her. Tiff’s first thought was that she and Lachlan had had a huge dust-up, or that there’d been an accident. Her stomach turned over.
She dropped her bag on the floor and rushed over. ‘Marina? What’s happened?’
Marina sat like a zombie. ‘I can’t even tell you.’
Tiff was horrified by the state she was in. ‘For God’s sake, what’s the matter, love?’
Marina stared at her. ‘It’s Nate … he’s alive.’
Tiff had seen and heard many things in her time – shocking, upsetting, impossible – but none had caused her to grab hold of a chair for support. She’d been ready for bad news but this was way beyond her imagination.
She kept one hand on the chair, wondering if Marina had been in an accident after all, and was in shock. ‘Nate? He can’t be.’
‘He is,’ she cried. ‘Lachlan saw a Facebook message from a woman who wanted to contact me. She’s been living with Nate and was suspicious about who he really was.’
Tiff was still so gobsmacked that her cogs were turning more slowly than usual. ‘Wait … What?’
‘It’s true. Nate lied and let me – and everyone who cared about him – think he was dead. He let me go through all that pain because – well, God knows why, but it’s probably to do with money. I didn’t want to think the worst of him. I never thought he would do that, but Lachlan’s saying he has more debts in South Africa … and a partner.’ Tiff recoiled at the anger in her cousin’s voice.
‘Jesus. Don’t say he’s married this woman?’
‘No, but he does live with her. Lachlan says she owns a vineyard.’
Tiff took a second to process the onslaught of news, picking up on Marina’s last statement. ‘Hold on a minute … did you ask Lachlan to investigate this?’
‘No. I didn’t. I had no idea what he was doing or I’d have – God, I don’t know what I’d have done. I wish I didn’t know in so many ways, but it’s too late. No one can ever put the genie back in the bottle.’
‘And Lachlan did all this without your permission?’ Tiff repeated. ‘He read your messages and went searching for Nate even though you and he thought he was dead?’
‘He says he thought the first message was a hoax and he didn’t want to upset me.’ Marina was aware how that sounded and she was still angry but …
Tiff’s eyebrows shot up. ‘That’s quite a leap, from curiosity to investigating this woman and Nate.’
‘He was in the RAF military police, Tiff, and once he had his suspicions, I don’t think he could help himself. I’m not happy about it but that’s not my concern right now! Lachlan checked out the photos of Nate on this woman’s page and he thought the guy looked like Nate, albeit he’s changed his appearance. I’ve seen the photos of him. He’s dyed his hair and grown a beard but it’s him.’ Her voice wobbled.
Tiff put her arm around Marina. ‘God, Marina, I’m so sorry. This is absolutely horrifying.’
‘I can’t believe it myself. I don’t know how to deal with it. I feel as if I’m drowning.’
‘No wonder,’ said Tiff, handing Marina a tissue while trying to tease out more details of what exactly Lachlan had discovered. While she made a cup of tea and comforted Marina as best she could, Tiff’s brain skipped rapidly on from the shock of the revelation to its likely consequences. The police would have to be informed, of course, but she was sure Marina knew that.
However, inevitably the media would also find out and then … God help her.
They might find out even sooner than the police … but it would not be from Tiff herself. This was devastating for Marina and Tiff would never betray her.
However, many people would.
She sat down at the table with her mug. ‘Marina, my love, who else knows about this? Apart from Lachlan?’
Marina stared into her drink. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘He must have spoken to contacts in South Africa, and here, maybe?’
‘Yes, a few, I think … I hadn’t thought about it too much. I was so angry with Lachlan, I sent him away.’
Tiff persisted gently but firmly. ‘This woman who messaged you in the first place. Does she now know exactly who Nate really is?’
‘I think she’s worked it out quite a bit and she’ll definitely find out for certain once the South African police contact her. She’ll have a shock too.’ Marina lifted her eyes and the desolation in her face almost made Tiff burst into tears. ‘Please tell me this can’t be real. This morning, I thought he was dead. Now, I’m finding he has a partner, a mistress. I can’t even comprehend it.’
‘No wonder. It’s horrendous. I can’t comprehend it either.’ Tiff rested her hand on Marina’s shoulder before continuing gently. ‘So, what happens now? What about the presumption of death and the dissolution that was going through the court? Have you had chance to speak to your solicitor yet?’
‘No, but I’ll have to very soon. We’ll have to stop the process. God knows, I don’t want Nate to have died,’ Marina said. ‘I loved him, but now I know he’s done this to me, I’m so angry with him. I feel as if he’s a stranger who’s come into my life and destroyed it.’
‘Of course you’re angry with him, my love. That’s perfectly understandable. I’ll do anything I can to help you …’ An idea was already forming in Tiff’s mind and it wasn’t a pleasant one and now was definitely not the time to broach it with Marina. ‘You call your lawyer and then let’s try to make a plan, or at least think of a way of trying to cope with what might happen next. I presume Lachlan wants to help?’
‘Yes. That’s the other thing about this whole horrendous mess. He’d do anything to help but I feel that things can’t be the same between us ever again. However much I try to tell myself I had to know and that it’s better that I do, I can’t help blaming Lachlan for bringing this trouble back into my life. I can try to ignore it or deny it, but nothing can change the fact that I’m still Nate’s wife.’
Marina’s solicitor came out urgently on the Sunday afternoon to offer advice, the situation being so serious. Tiff was invited to listen in and, although she didn’t want to intrude, she hoped she could help Marina by being fully informed of the facts.
Tiff took on the job of phoning Marina’s parents with the news. Hearing them gasp in shock and Marina’s mum burst into tears, she almost wept herself. After they’d had a few minutes to take it in, she then handed over the phone so Marina could talk to them herself. They arranged to come over the next day.
After an exhausting day, Marina finally fell asleep in her clothes, on the sofa. Tiff covered her with a throw, deciding it was better to let her sleep while she could. Tiff went to bed herself but lay awake long into the night, dreading the conversation she needed to have in the morning, but knowing it had to be confronted for Marina’s sake.
Still rubbing sleep from her eyes, she wandered into the kitchen as dawn broke. Marina was sitting at the table, a cup of black coffee in front of her. It was barely light outside and the wind was howling off the sea.
Marina’s eyes were red and puffy. ‘I won’t ask how you are, but did you get much sleep?’ Tiff asked.
‘Some. Thanks for staying with me and covering me up last night. I woke around five and knew I’d never drop off again so I decided to get up. There’s coffee in the machine. I’m trying to wake my brain up.’
‘Me too.’ Tiff poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.
Marina cradled her mug. ‘It’s a good job it’s still the holidays and I don’t have to go into work.’
‘You’d have to phone in sick, anyway, my love.’
‘What would I say to them? My dead husband isn’t dead any more so I won’t be in today? I’m sure my boss has heard some wacky excuses for being off work but even she’d struggle with that one.’
Sensing her opportunity, Tiff steeled herself for the news she had to deliver with a good glug of her coffee. ‘She’ll have to believe it. Let’s face it, you are going to have to tell people that Nate’s alive.’
‘How can I do that when I can’t even accept it myself? What do I say when they tell me I must be overjoyed? How do I tell them what I feel when I don’t know myself?’
‘You’ll work it out. We’ll work it out.’
‘Not that it’s any of their business,’ Marina declared.
‘In an ideal world, no. It’s no one’s concern but yours and Nate’s, and your close family and whoever else he’s misled and cheated … but this isn’t an ideal world. It’s a shitty world, where for every good, kind person with your interests at heart, there will be one who wants to use the situation to their advantage.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘That this news is bound to find its way into the open sooner or later.’ Tiff sighed. ‘Much sooner, probably.’
Marina’s hand flew to her mouth. Tiff felt as if she was dealing one cruel blow on top of another. Yet she had to step in now, for Marina’s sake.
‘This isn’t going to help, but I have to say it. The press are going to have a field day with this story.’
‘It’s not a story. It’s happening to me.’
‘I know, my love …’ she said, more soothingly. ‘But the South African police and various contacts of Lachlan’s have already been alerted. The police can’t keep a lid on it for long and even if they did, Nate’s connections in South Africa will find out and start to talk.’
‘Oh God. Do you think they’d go to the press?’
‘I’d love to be wrong but I can’t lie to you. If this woman has been deceived and fleeced by Nate, then she’s not going to baulk at selling her story, is she? And I’m sure he has other friends, business associates, enemies … even if Porthmellow rallies around and refuses to talk to the media, these strangers have no loyalty to you. They’ll be angry and they’ll see no reason why they shouldn’t make a quick buck. And I promise you, the news outlets will be queuing up to offer the cheque.’ Tiff stopped, not adding her biggest fear: that Nate himself might sell his story.
‘How bad will it be? Will it fizzle out?’
‘Eventually, but for a few days it’ll be pretty huge and it’ll rear its head again if he comes back here. You can imagine the headlines: “Kayak man comes back to life”. I’m afraid it’s going to be on the front pages of every newspaper, on the telly and all over the Internet and social media. People will have their opinions and I advise you now to avoid them like the plague. I’m so sorry, my lovely, but you’re going to need to brace yourself and be very, very strong over the next few months.’
Marina’s expression of utter bewilderment was heartbreaking but Tiff had to be strong herself to help her cousin in any way she could. On this occasion, it might mean going against every instinct and doing the very thing that seemed harshest.
‘I hadn’t thought about all the media attention,’ Marina murmured. ‘I’ve been so bound up in taking in the fact he’s still alive … the media coverage was bad enough when he went missing … although then, I was grateful that people were looking for him. But this, this is horrendous.’
‘I’ll deal with the media, when it comes to it. I’ll write the story. I know that sounds callous and hard, but if I don’t do it, someone else will. Give me the exclusive and I’ll do my best to put forward your side of things. I can’t stop other people from writing what they want, but at least you know you can trust me.’
‘I want to go back to not knowing. I wish Lachlan had never looked for Nate. I’m relieved he’s not dead or hurt … but why did I have to know?’
Tiff rubbed Marina’s hand. ‘You’ll get through this, I promise you.’ She sighed. ‘I suppose you could look at it another way. If he’d kept it to himself, how would you have felt?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Maybe you think that now, but you won’t always. Come here.’
Tiff leaned forward and hugged her. Marina had been a rock to her in her darkest hour and now she owed it to her cousin to be the same.
Her auntie and uncle arrived shortly afterwards and Tiff spent the rest of the day handing out tissues, making tea and finding out as much as she could, always aware of the clock ticking.
Marina needed time to let her initial shock and anger abate before they told the authorities and all hell broke loose.