‘Do you believe me?’ She could hear the desperation in his voice.
‘I do,’ she said.
‘Thank God,’ he said.
Maggie terminated the call.
She had to believe him. Or she would never have peace.
* * *
Maggie believed in fresh starts. She had made them before and if necessary she would do so again. This was her first ever trip to Cornwall, and already she knew she would be happy. They would both be happy. Beth was building a sandcastle several metres away. She had been doing it for over an hour and it was a wonderful thing to behold: a tall central structure with four small turrets on top, a wall all around it, a moat around the wall and shells studding everything. Beth was sitting cross-legged inside the walls. She had stopped building now. She was waiting for the tide to come in. In half an hour or so, the castle would cease to exist. But that didn’t matter. They could come back tomorrow and Beth could build another one.
Sam had been relieved to pass all responsibility over to her. He had insisted that Beth was not his daughter. ‘Ellie never said she was mine, not once. She would have said, now wouldn’t she?’ Maybe Ellie just didn’t know. Certainly Sam didn’t want to know. ‘What about DNA testing?’ Maggie had suggested, and he had thrown up his hands in horror.
‘What the hell would be the point? Look, the fact is I would never make a good father. Ellie is gone, so Beth needs a new mother, and I reckon you are as good as anyone.’
Maggie wasn’t sure that good was the right word. She knew she would be a good mother. No one would ever harm Beth while she was around to protect her. She would teach her to look after herself and to learn the ways of the world. But she wasn’t sure that good was a word that she could otherwise apply to herself. Not when she had killed a man as cold-bloodedly as she had.
The man’s name was Elgar. Sam had told her that later. Elgar had saved her and Beth from Bowman. He had shot him clean through the head, spattering his brains all over the wall behind him. But then Elgar had aimed the gun at Sam and forced him onto his knees. ‘Don’t trust him, Maggie,’ Sam had insisted. ‘I know him. I know what he’s done.’
Elgar had perched on the arm of the sofa. He must have lost a lot of blood.
‘I’ll cover him,’ she had said. ‘Give me the gun and I’ll make sure Sam doesn’t move. You ring for help.’ Elgar had taken a bit of persuading, but in the end he had agreed. He had been relieved to let her take over. He had started to shiver. She told him not to worry. ‘I’ve got some medical training. Let me take a look at your foot.’ So he had sunk down into the sofa and just for a second or two he had closed his eyes. That had been long enough. She had placed the gun against his jaw and pulled the trigger.
‘Mother!’ A child was calling. Maggie looked around. She hadn’t noticed any other kids with mothers. It was term time and they would all be at school. Just as Beth ought to be. Would be just as soon as they settled in properly, once they had bonded. Maggie wondered whether she should home-school Beth for a while. Lots of people did it these days.
‘Mother!’ The child called again. Maggie looked around again and realised with a start that it was Beth who was calling. ‘Mother!’
She felt a lurch of delight and pushed herself up onto her feet. ‘Coming, darling!’
‘Quick, Mother, before the tide comes in.’
THE END