Fallen Hero - A Polvellan Cornish Mystery by Rachel Ennis

Author:Rachel Ennis [Ennis, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 2015-05-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

When Jess woke at six on Thursday morning the gale was still howling. By seven she was washed and dressed, her bed made and the woodburner cleaned out and relit, and by eight she had done an hour’s work and had her breakfast, using the last of the milk. She zipped up her jacket and picked up her purse.

Reaching the street she saw Tom’s pickup parked behind the bread van. Tom was holding the shop door open for the delivery driver who carried a large tray of wrapped loaves. Hurrying to join him, Jess saw his hair was wet and tousled, his face drawn with exhaustion.

‘Is the yard OK?’ She had to shout and winced at the squeal of the swinging pub sign.

He nodded. ‘Good job I replaced the fence last autumn. We’ve had some damage, but nothing that can’t be fixed.’

‘What about your insurance?’

‘Not worth claiming. Doug and me will deal with it. I’ve been down at the marina since four.’

‘Bad?’

He nodded again, holding the door open for her. ‘Willie, Joe, and Arf got there soon after midnight.’ He closed the shop door, shutting out the wind noise. ‘They moved their boats upriver and beached them, then stayed on to shift the launches and dinghies from the pontoons. Willie and Joe took the ferry out to try and get a rope on board two big yachts that broke their moorings. I wouldn’t have done it, not in that sea.’

‘Did they save them?’

‘They got one, towed it up the river, and left it in the cove round the headland out of the wind. The other ended up smashed on the rocks. Nic came down at one, opened up the café, and sent one of the boys over to the 24-hour supermarket for supplies. Boss got there twenty minutes later. He put the word out for us to come in every hour or so for a hot drink and something to eat, all on the house.’

‘That was generous of him.’

‘He’s no fool,’ Tom said. ‘He knew that with their own boats safe and food in their bellies, every fisherman and yard worker would stay and help.’

‘Shall I come back with you?’

‘Sure you’ve got time?’

‘I have for this.’

‘Wendy and Cheryl will be glad of the help.’

Gerry Eustice finished packing a box with milk, teabags, coffee, tinned soup, and several sliced loaves. ‘Tell Nicola if she need anything else, just ring through.’

‘Thanks, Gerry.’ Tom picked it up.

Jess followed with a second box containing tubs of spread, packs of bacon and cheese, bags of tomatoes, and cartons of eggs. Placing them on the back seat they set off back to the marina.

‘Did you get any sleep at all?’ she asked.

‘A couple of hours on the sofa. The wind woke me. Screaming it was. I knew then they’d need help at the marina.’

‘Any trees down?’

‘A couple, but they had blown over into the field. The root plates left big craters, but the road was clear. Boss stayed until six then Nic sent him home. She told him he’d had one heart attack.

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