Summer of Secrets (18 page)

‘Are they OK?’

‘They’re having X-rays now,’ Ludo said. ‘We must get going. Caitlin, you’ll stay with Summer, right? Don’t wake her, though – no point worrying her till
we know more. Oh – and your brother, you’d better tell him.’

‘I’ll go and wake him – he’ll want to go with you,’ Caitlin said. ‘After all, Izzy is his girlfriend.’

Not so you’d notice, she thought. I never did like that Freddie.

For the next hour and a half, Caitlin lay in bed trying, without success, to fall asleep. After everyone had left, she had made a hot drink to try to stop herself shaking.
Jamie had been as white as a sheet at the news, and she’d so wanted to go along to the hospital for moral support – but, of course, she had to pretend to be on hand for when Summer woke
up. She wished she would hurry up and come home; the house was so quiet and with no one to talk to she kept imagining the worst.

Finally, tired of tossing and turning, she got up and went along to Summer’s room just in case she’d crept home so quietly that Caitlin hadn’t heard her come in. The room was
empty. She opened the cupboard and took out the paintings. This was her chance.

She nipped back to her room, got her camera and flashed off half a dozen shots of the pictures, before homing in and taking close-ups of different elements of each scene. It wouldn’t be as
good as having the pictures themselves, but if she mounted the photos together with the close-up of the painting of the boat, she could make something of them.

She wandered downstairs, peering out of windows as she went in the hope of seeing a car turning into the driveway. It was when she passed the den at the far end of the corridor that she spotted
the laptop. And it was switched on.

It was obviously fate. The opportunity she’d been looking for to find out about the abbey. It took a bit of fiddling but eventually she was on to Google.
Abbeys of Italy
, she typed.
There were loads.
Abbeys of Liguria
– that would narrow it down a bit.

She scrolled through the results – San Anna, San Antimo . . . this was useless. They looked nothing like the picture on the sketch pad. Perhaps she was wasting her time; after all, apart
from that one sketch, it wasn’t as if Summer’s mother had painted abbeys. The art of Elena Cumani-Tilney was far more exciting than that – all those grotesque images, storms and
desecration; it was the sort of thing the tutors at her summer school the previous year had challenged her to think about when she was preparing for her GCSE . . .

What if The Abbey was the name of some kind of college or further education place where people could go and paint? Perhaps these painting holidays were courses in Art. Maybe that was it.

The Abbey
she typed. The results flashed up on the screen.
The Abbey School
: no good – red brick and no turret;
The Abbey School of Catering
– hideous 1960s
concrete monstrosity;
The Abbey Centre for Psychiatric Respite Care
. That one looked pretty much like it, but it was a hospital and . . .

‘
Remember when she had to have time out, to get away . . . her best stuff was done when she was at the abbey . . . She took me in a boat at midnight . . . scared . . . slept in the rain
and got soaked. Mum was quirky – all artists are . . . she did some silly things . .
.’

The words leaped into her mind of their own accord as Caitlin scanned the screen a second time. Her mouth went dry and her heart began pounding.

The Abbey Centre for Psychiatric Respite Care
. She double-clicked on the entry.

The Abbey Centre occupies a stunning position on the South Downs overlooking the seaside town of Eastbourne . . . patients are able to enjoy excellent recreational and therapeutic facilities
. . . appropriate treatments to enable rehabilitation into the community and family life . . .

Caitlin stared and stared at the screen. Eastbourne was only twenty miles or so from Brighton. What’s more, the photograph on the home page was identical to the drawing in the pad.

So that was where she went for her so-called painting holidays. And that was why––

‘What are you doing?’

Caitlin screamed and twirled round in the chair. Ludo stood in the doorway, staring at her incredulously.

‘You made me jump,’ she gasped, leaping out of the chair and turning her back to the screen. ‘I didn’t hear a car. How are they? How’s Izzy?’

‘I said, what are you doing?’ Ludo repeated.

‘I couldn’t sleep – I was just surfing the net for my art project. Summer said it would be OK.’

‘Really.’ He walked past her and stared at the screen. His shoulders sagged and he closed his eyes briefly.

‘Doesn’t look much like an art project to me,’ he snapped, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘So. The Abbey. So, Summer knows.’

He closed his eyes and gripped the back of the chair.

‘No!’ Caitlin stammered. ‘I only just found it myself.’

‘And how come you were looking in the first place? I know you were asking Gaby loads of stuff yesterday about abbeys. Who’s been talking?’

‘I – well, I can’t really say because I’m not supposed to let on and . . .’

The sound of voices in the hall made Ludo turn and hold up a hand to silence her.

‘Say nothing,’ he muttered, grabbing the mouse and closing down the screen. ‘We’ll talk later.’

‘I’m really sorry . . .’ she began.

‘So am I,’ Ludo sighed, avoiding her gaze. ‘You’ll never know how sorry.’

‘Poor you,’ Gaby said, smiling, as Caitlin greeted her in the hall. ‘Couldn’t you sleep?’

‘I was worried,’ she gabbled. ‘How are they?’

‘Izzy’s broken her ankle and her left wrist and she’s got quite a few cuts and bruises,’ Sir Magnus told her. ‘Freddie’s cracked a couple of ribs and
dislocated his elbow. They were damn lucky – they could have been killed.’

‘The hospital’s keeping them in overnight and all being well they will be home tomorrow,’ Gaby added. ‘Jamie insisted on staying with Izzy – such a dear
boy.’

‘Pity the
dear boy
didn’t stop her going with Freddie in the first place,’ Sir Magnus muttered. ‘Now I’ve got to telephone Isabella’s father and tell
him what my damn fool son has done.’

He ran a hand through his hair and yawned.

‘Does Summer know what’s happened?’

Caitlin shook her head. ‘She’s asleep – I thought it best, you know, with the migraine and all . . .’

‘Quite right.’ Sir Magnus nodded. ‘Nice to know
someone
round here has some common sense.’

Caitlin lay staring at the ceiling. Ludo hadn’t smiled at her, hadn’t even glanced in her direction since finding her at the computer. He was furious, she could
tell. He’d probably never speak to her again, much less fall in love with her––

‘Magnus! Ludo! Come quickly!’

Gabriella’s panic-stricken cries left Caitlin in no doubt as to what was the matter. Doors slammed and she could hear footsteps hurrying along the landing.

‘It’s Summer – she’s not in her room!’ she heard Gaby cry. ‘Her bed hasn’t been slept in.’

‘
What
?’

‘I don’t believe it – get Caitlin!’

‘She’s probably asleep,’ Gaby protested.

‘Well, wake her,’ Ludo ordered. ‘If anyone knows what’s going on, she will.’

‘I’m sure she’ll be back soon,’ Caitlin faltered as she faced the grim faces of Sir Magnus, Gabriella and Ludo. ‘She probably went for a walk to
clear her head – you know, the migraine . . .’

‘Clearly,’ Gabriella snapped, ‘you’re not a migraine sufferer. She wouldn’t have been able to lift her head from the pillow, never mind go walkabout.’

She ran her hand through her dishevelled hair.

‘Have you searched the whole house?’ Summer’s father demanded. ‘Perhaps she went to the bathroom and fainted . . .’

‘What do you take me for?’ Gabriella shouted, close to tears. ‘I looked everywhere before I called you.’

‘I’m going to call the police,’ Sir Magnus declared, walking over to the desk. ‘Please God, I’m not going through what I went through with her mother . .
.’

He caught himself in time and started punching numbers into the phone. Caitlin’s mind was in turmoil. Maybe she should tell them – what if Summer and Alex had decided to run away
together tonight? What if Summer had lied to her and all that story about Milan was just a cover-up? Or worse, what if Alex was full of evil intentions after all? What if he’d asked her to
meet him because he intended to kill her . . .

Teenager withholds vital information – friend found dead in olive grove
.

‘Stop!’ she shouted. ‘I know where she’s gone. She didn’t have a headache – she was going to meet someone.’

Sir Magnus let the phone fall from his hands as the clock chimed two.

‘And I think,’ she added, her voice wobbling, ‘they might have run away.’

Summer’s father sank into the chair and stared at her, his face draining of colour.

‘They?’ he murmured.

‘Her and . . .’ Caitlin felt as if she was betraying Summer with every syllable, but faced with the three of them, she had no choice. ‘Her and Alex.’

‘Alex? Alex di Matteo? Oh dear God, please no!’

‘Alex – damn it! I knew it was him I saw that day . . .’ Ludo gasped.

Gabriella simply closed her eyes and looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

‘Caitlin, you have to tell us everything you know,’ Ludo stressed. ‘Everything.’

‘I can’t, I promised––’

‘You are a guest in my house!’ Sir Magnus stormed. ‘If you’ve been colluding with my daughter over some harebrained scheme . . .’

‘Dad, stop it!’ Ludo burst out. ‘Are you really surprised that whatever Summer’s done, it’s going to be a friend she confides in? Because she sure as hell
can’t confide in us. Because we don’t
do
truth, do we?’

‘Ludo––’

‘No, listen – what planet are you on? If Summer has run away – and God knows, it’s possible –
we’re
the ones to blame, not Caitlin. Did you honestly
think, Dad, that you could get away with pulling the wool over her eyes forever?’

‘Be quiet, Ludo,’ Gabriella cut in, jerking her head in Caitlin’s direction.

‘Oh, don’t worry,’ Ludo snapped, his face now scarlet. ‘She knows all about The Abbey. She’s not stupid – and what’s more important, neither is Summer.
She’s sixteen, for God’s sake, not some blinkered kid.’

‘It’s over and done with,’ Sir Magnus insisted. ‘In the past. Forgotten.’

‘Get real, Dad! Who was it that said it’s the secrets we don’t know that hurt us the most? Freddie may choose to drown it all out with drink and substances and God knows what
else – oh, you didn’t really think all that energy and buzz was natural, did you? – and of course, you’ve already decided that
I
had to be the good guy, and keep it
all buttoned in – well, stuff that, Dad! I’ve had it up to here with secrets. I’m glad Caitlin found out about The Abbey.’

‘Are you telling me that Summer knows about her mother’s illness?’ Sir Magnus gasped.

‘Not yet,’ Ludo retorted. ‘But when – if – we find her, don’t think you can bluster and boss and bully this time. She has a right to know. She
needs
to
know.’

Gabriella nodded slowly.

‘Ludo’s got a point,’ she admitted. ‘But right now, finding Summer is the priority. Before it’s too late.’

‘And you’ve told us everything?’ Sir Magnus demanded, after Caitlin had described the meeting in the church, the holdall and what she’d heard of the
conversation between Alex and Summer.

‘Yes,’ she said, nodding. ‘I couldn’t hear everything they said but it was definitely about getting away and she asked Alex to take her with him.’

‘But they haven’t seen one another in two years,’ Sir Magnus began.

‘If it was Alex I saw in Brighton that evening when I was looking for Summer – well, then, they obviously
have
seen one another,’ Ludo pointed out.

Caitlin was about to confirm his suspicions, but thought better of it. Right now, keeping quiet seemed the safest option.

At that moment, there was an urgent knocking at the back door.

‘Summer!’ Gabriella and Ludo cried in unison. Thank God for that, Caitlin thought, as Sir Magnus slid the bolt and opened the door.

It wasn’t Summer who stepped over the threshold.

It was Alex.

And he was alone.

‘Is Summer here?’ Alex was panting and beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. ‘I didn’t mean to upset her . . .’

‘What have you done with her? Where is she?’ Caitlin shouted. ‘I should never have believed her – I knew all along you were up to no good and it’s my fault . .
.’

‘Caitlin, stop.’ Ludo laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘Let Alex speak.’

‘And make it quick,’ Sir Magnus ordered. ‘If you know where my daughter is and you don’t tell me, so help me, I’ll have the police on to you . . .’

‘Dad! Let the guy speak!’

Alex swallowed hard and looked Summer’s father in the eye.

‘We arranged to meet tonight, right? I’m staying in Vernazza with my gran, and she’s got it into her head that she wants to go to Milan at the weekend and . . .’

‘Yes, yes, get on with it!’ stormed Sir Magnus.

‘Anyway, we were just chatting and then Summer began talking about us getting engaged soon.’

‘
Engaged
?’ Caitlin thought Sir Magnus was about to have a heart attack on the spot. ‘What a load of juvenile nonsense! You haven’t seen one another in
ages.’

‘We’ve been seeing each other off and on all year,’ Alex retorted. ‘As often as she could
get away
,’ he added pointedly.

‘You’ve been what? Don’t be so stupid – I’ve made damn sure she’s been in Brighton with me and . . .’

‘I’ve been in Brighton too – on a university exchange,’ Alex said, his voice cracking with suppressed emotion. ‘And please will you just let me finish before you
say any more?’

Sir Magnus nodded abruptly, sinking on to one of the bar stools and resting his chin on his hands.

‘We played together as kids, right?’ Alex went on, glancing at Ludo who nodded in agreement. ‘When we moved back to the States, I really missed her, so when I got to the UK, it
was pretty obvious I was going to get in touch. I even said as much to my dad—’