A SMILE IN A WHISTLE

Chapter 39

Sarah's world had turned upside down. She felt like her head had suddenly been dragged under water, and no loving hand could pull it back out into fresh air. The hunter she had imagined all this time had nothing to do with a sibling she used to run around the house with when she was a little girl. Today the chase wasn't just a childish game, it had become the reason for her unhappiness.

Sarah sat on a bench at City Park and contemplated who to contact first. Mum and Dad? No, I can't talk to them. Sam? God, this must have been torture for him! Mark? ...Do I even know him at all, anymore?

She didn't want to move. She sat there, stock-still, until her mobile broke the silence. It was Sam.

"Hello," she answered in a low, timid voice.

"Hi, how did it go this morning?" Sam asked. "What was Lydia's rush about?"

"Erm... Maybe... Maybe I should talk to you in person."

"Is something wrong, Sarah?"

"Yes...but I– I– I can't speak right now," she stammered. "Can I see you later?"

"Of course, but not at the sailboat. I'll send you a text in a couple of hours to tell you where we can meet."

"What! Why? What happened at the sailboat?"

"It's not safe there."

Sarah could barely stop herself from crying her eyes out... Her lips trembled and her breathing was tight. It wasn't safe there anymore. Safe. The word kept going round in her head. Safe. What had the world come to when the cause of their unsafety was her own brother?

"Sarah?" Sam called out, aware she was unusually quiet.

"Yes, okay. I'll meet you wherever. Bye," she said quickly, then hung up.

An old man walked by as she put her mobile back in her handbag. He stared at her for a while... The tears falling down her face had caught his attention. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help the upset women in front of him. Sarah looked to the sky, begging for her nightmare to stop. She didn't notice the elderly man standing only a few feet away from her. But if she had, she would have recognised him from a few weeks back: it was the same man who had overheard Carl's attempt to flirt with her at the local supermarket. The one with the hearing aids, standing behind them in the queue.

Lydia appeared around the corner, holding two take-away cups of coffee in her hands. Seeing Sarah wasn't alone, the old man walked away.

"Here you go," said Lydia, "something to keep you going."

Sarah appreciated her friend's presence and thanked her as she wiped her face with the back of her hands.

***

Carl and Sam were also having a cup of coffee, but in a little isolated pub along the port.

"How is Josephine getting on?" Sam asked Carl.

"Better than you it seems," he remarked. "She's still terribly heartbroken... But at least nobody's trying to kill her!"

"I can't believe Mark has gone so far..."

"I'd suggest you come to my place for some time. Don't stay at the sailboat."

"You're right. I can't even meet Sarah there anymore. I'm always afraid her brother is spying on us! Are you sure you don't mind me staying with you for a little while? It would only be for a week or two, no more than that. Sarah and I are planning on leaving town," Sam explained.

"Really? It feels like you just got here!"

"I know but I don't have much of a choice."

"What about going to the police and telling them about Mark?" Carl advised.

"It sounds so easy when people suggest it... Just go to the police... But the consequences of me doing so would deeply upset Sarah and her family for one thing, and for another, I don't even know what Mark is accusing me of, exactly. He said I molested her, but what on earth could he have seen to say such a thing?"

"He never told you?"

"He mentioned something about Sarah's eleventh birthday, but that was about it."

"Then, he has no proof of what he is accusing you of?"

"I... I don't know," said Sam, a little jumbled. "Come to think of it, he never really threatened to tell the cops, but he threatened to tell Sarah, and Mister and Mrs Danton..."

"Weird. If he wanted you out of their lives so bad, why wouldn't he tell the police?" Carl pointed out. "What does Sarah think about all this?"

"She doesn't know."

"She doesn't know?" his friend asked, astonished.

"No. I never told her, and she never found out. She almost put an end to our relationship because of it. I don't blame her... If it were the other way round, I couldn't stand watching her get hurt without knowing who was doing all the harm."

"And now she is willing to leave town with you?"

"That's what she said last night," confirmed Sam.

"I will never understand women... They change their minds all the time!" Carl complained.

Sam chuckled.

As Carl turned his head to ask for a second coffee, Sam noticed he no longer had an earring in his left ear.

"What happened there?" he asked him, pointing at it.

He had never seen Carl without an earring. His friend looked naked!

"My point exactly... Women... You take an earring out and they are all over you! I have four dates planned this week! I had it in my ear since high school and girls loved it at the time. Now, apparently, it is unfashionable. Therefore, my ear is bare! See, they change their minds all the time!"

Sam smiled at his analysis, appreciating for a moment just how much he had missed his friend.

"By the way, sorry for hitting on your girlfriend," Carl told him.

"That's okay. Sorry for not marrying your sister..." Sam replied.

They ordered a couple more warm drinks with some delicious scones, then continued to catch up on each other's lives. They recalled little anecdotes of their time spent together when they were flat mates in Sweden. Carl's stories and humour certainly helped Sam get his mind off the conflict with Mark for a little while.

***

Lydia had returned home to get some sleep after a short and turbulent night. Sarah remained on the bench at City Park. She felt a few spits of rain fall on her hands and face from time to time, but she still didn't move. Some long blades of grass on the ground waved towards her. She pulled on them and tried to grass whistle... Today's wasn't her best work. She was too upset to succeed. Her mobile vibrated in her handbag, taking her attention off her pastime. Sam had come up with an idea...

12:01

To Sarah:

Psyche and Cupid at 15:00. Xx

How stupid to have to hide from Mark! Sarah thought, disgusted. My brother, the hunter... That is pathetic!