‘What?’ If anyone wanted isolation then Smugglers’ Top was perfect. ‘The house up there is in a terrible state, surely she’s not living there?’
Lucas chuckled. ‘You’re behind the times, mate, it’s been renovated as a holiday let. Caro managed to get a reduced rate for the whole of the winter.’
‘She’s serious about her privacy, then.’
‘Yeah, Smugglers’ Top really suits her. But she’s a good sort when you get past the whole mad scientist thing she has going on, and the not speaking to you for days because she’s thinking. I went to see her at the weekend and took Mav with me. She gave him a miniature drone with a grab mechanism at the bottom. It’s a cool thing, we’ve been flying it around the apartment, picking things up and putting them down again.’
‘I’ll bet Ellie loves that.’
‘There were a few abject apologies after we crashed it into her favourite vase...’ Lucas grinned, clearly relishing the apology side of the process. ‘You’ll have to come over for dinner very soon, Mav can’t wait to show it to you.’
Drew wondered if the last bit was a pity gesture, and decided it wasn’t. If Lucas had thought that Drew was in need of pity, he would have taken him down to the Hungry Pelican and they could have drowned their sorrows there.
‘So... I’m taking on a mad scientist who’ll only tell me what I need to know, when she’s speaking to me at all, that is, and who lives in an isolated spot that’s difficult to get to... Anything else?’
Lucas grinned broadly. ‘Nope, that’s about it. Are you in?’
Drew chuckled. ‘I’m in.’
CHAPTER TWO
DREW PARKED AT the mouth of the gully that led down to the beach. The high outcrop of rock that was known locally as Smugglers’ Top was inaccessible at high tide, unless you happened to have a boat. At low tide, it was possible to make the climb up to the house from the beach.
In three hours, the tide would be in, and Smugglers’ Top would be completely cut off. But that was enough time to get to the top, meet with Caro Barnes, and get back down again. Drew had spent the whole of yesterday resting at home in preparation for the climb today.
‘All right, then, Phoenix.’ He opened the back of the car, and the puppy immediately raised her head, sensing that they were about to go for a walk. ‘This might be a bit of a stretch for both of us, but we’ll make it.’
He slung the canvas bag that contained Phoenix’s mid-morning snack over his shoulder, and the puppy capered at his feet as he walked slowly across the beach. She had very little appreciation of the adage that slow and steady wins the race, and she’d be exhausted before they got to the top and wanting to hitch a ride.
He was relieved to find that the old steps had new handrails on both sides, fixed firmly into the rock. With the aid of his walking stick, he was able to pull himself up with less effort than he’d anticipated.
All the same, it was a long climb. Ellie had fussed over him, saying that it was impossible he should go all the way up to Smugglers’ Top, but he’d cordially ignored her suggestion that he take up Caro’s offer of meeting at the veterinary centre in favour of meeting Caro on her own turf. There was no better way of getting the measure of someone.
‘We’re going to take a rest now...’ They were halfway up, and the pup was beginning to tire. Lucas sat down on the stone steps, taking Phoenix onto his lap. After a couple of minutes the pain in his leg began to subside, and the top didn’t seem quite so far away.
‘Next time it’ll be less trouble, eh?’ Drew had fallen into the habit of thinking that his own recuperation ran approximately parallel to Phoenix’s development. One day soon they’d both be able to walk for a day without having to take a rest.
But right now Phoenix couldn’t climb any more. The puppy was curled up in his arms, shielded from the wind, and looked to be snoozing. Protecting her made him feel strong again. Drew opened the canvas bag, pulling out the baby carrier he’d brought with him and fixing the straps under his coat. It was perfect for carrying a tired puppy when you needed both hands to support yourself, and he felt Phoenix snuggle gratefully against his chest.
Another rest seemed in order at the top of the steps, because pride dictated that Caro’s first impression of him shouldn’t be to find him collapsed on her doorstep. He took the opportunity to extricate Phoenix from the baby wrap, and she began to caper around at his feet. Smugglers’ Top was much as he remembered it from playing here as a child. Trees were gnarled and bent in the wind, and hid a dilapidated stone house. But there was a newly laid path from the top of the steps and as he approached the house, he could see that was different too. The old boards that covered the doors and windows were gone now, in favour of a brightly painted door and triple glazing. The thick walls had been cleaned and there was a new slate roof. The place looked positively homely.
Oddly enough, there was a doorbell. Casual callers were unlikely in this isolated spot, and leaving the front door unlocked for an expected visitor seemed the more practical option. But when he lifted the latch and pushed the door with his finger it didn’t move, so he rang the bell.
He was starting to wonder whether the bell was actually working and thinking about trying it again when the door flew open. The words mad scientist flew at him like a missile.
Caro Barnes was a head shorter than him. Blonde hair, some of
which was caught up in a messy plait, with the rest pushed behind her ears. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants that had probably been red once but were now a washed-out dark pink, along with a T-shirt and a large green cardigan that dwarfed her small frame.
‘Ah! Sorry! You’re...um...’ She pressed her lips together, looking up at him.
‘Drew Trevelyan. Maybe I’m a little early...?’ Drew looked at his watch. He was actually five minutes later than the time they’d arranged.
‘Um... No. Probably not. I was working on something and I forgot the time...’ She shrugged helplessly, as if that was something that happened a lot. ‘Come in.’
She stood back from the doorway, watching uncertainly as Phoenix nosed her way inside. When she went to sniff Caro’s fleecy slippers, Caro stepped back suddenly.
‘This is nice. A bit different from the way I remember it.’ Drew decided that introducing her to Phoenix could wait as Caro obviously wasn’t used to being around dogs.