Chapter 1

The things you find on a beach

19 September 1998:

The barbeque was well underway, the food cooked and the beer was flowing, for those that could drink. Parked up in the dunes were a dozen or more motorbikes. It was the annual event for the bike club to end the season. Not so much a club, more a group of friends with a love of bikes. The life guards had left the beach and the tide was in driving the group to the edge of the dunes.

Geoff, a tall broad shouldered man with a full beard and in his mid forties, noticed her first. He knew something was odd when she turned up on the beach. Her long denim skirt, thick sweater and long overcoat would have been less out of place on a cold winter night. On this unseasonably balmy early autumn evening, with people still walking around in swim suits, she stood out like a sore thumb. Geoff walked over to her and invited her to join them. As she looked up at him he recognised something. The unkempt hair, the sunken eyes that looked as though they hadn't slept in days. All of this reminded him of something he'd seen before in the none to distant past.

She turned down the invitation and moved further down the beach. As Geoff went back to his friends he got some ribbing from them. Lenny was especially vocal as he put his arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Come on now Geoff, you're not so desperate you have to try to pick up a bag lady."

"She's no bag lady Lenny, She may look a mess, but those clothes are expensive. I don't know what the problem is but she looks very troubled."

A prime example of the changes in the biking community, Lenny was six feet tall, broad shouldered with a shaved head. By day he was known as Leonard Wiltshire and wore a pinstriped suit. Not that he liked it but a stock broker's clients expected a sober dress code. Evenings and weekends he was out on the bike dressed in his leathers and a bandanna covering his shaved head; when it wasn't covered by a helmet. He was a smooth operator and looked after Geoff's investments. Geoff was more than just a client though, he was a friend and a fellow biker.

"She's not your problem. Now come on back to the party, I'm sure we can fix you up with some female company."

As the beach party continued, Geoff kept an eye on the woman down the beach. He had no problem finding girls to dance with and even some mild snogging. Even so the vagrant woman still occupied his mind. As darkness fell the party broke up. They gathered up the rubbish and dropped it in the back of Geoff's pickup truck. One by one the bikes started up and disappeared into the night. As soon as the last person left he made his way through the dunes to where the woman sat on the sand. She appeared to be waiting for something or someone. The surf crashed on the beach and showed up white in the moonlight. As the tide retreated she got up and started walking towards the water. She reached the water's edge and continued to walk straight ahead. This is what Geoff had been afraid of. When he first saw her face he knew where he'd seen the look before. Two years before he'd caught sight of himself in a mirror and seen that very same look. As she walked into the water he knew what he had to do.

Running down the beach towards her Geoff knew what she was going to do and he'd be damned if he'd let it happen. He tore his clothes off as he ran towards her. The water was over her knees, soaking the heavy denim skirt, as Geoff reached the water's edge. He called out to her but if she heard him she took no notice. As the waves started to crash on her thighs Geoff dived into the water and swam towards her. The coat and skirt were soaked and hung heavily on her. She was about to throw herself forward into the retreating tide when Geoff stood up behind her and grabbed her around the waist.

Startled by his sudden appearance the woman started to scream while struggling to break free. Geoff shouted to make himself heard above the sound of the waves crashing to the shore.

"I'm sorry I can't let you do this."

"Leave me alone. I want to die." The woman screamed back at him.

"If we go out any further the tide will catch us and we'll both drown. Is that what you want?" He turned her round to face him.

"Let me go. I don't want to live anymore."

"If you go out there, I'll have to try and rescue you. I'm not a good swimmer and with this tide running we'll probably both die. Please, save my life and come out of the water."

Her hands came up to her mouth, as she looked straight until his sultry eyes and felt the tears roll down her cheeks and a succession of deep sobs forced their way from her stomach.

Geoff put his arms around her and hugged her to his chest as they stood there in the surf. For several minutes they battled against the waves to stay upright, then Geoff led her back to the dry sand. As they made their way back up towards the dunes he picked up the clothes he'd scattered across the beach. He knew he couldn't leave her. He had to get her away from the beach. He lifted the sodden coat from her shoulders.

"I think this coat is ruined. The skirt may be salvageable, but the sweater has probably had it. Either way you'd better get out of them, if the wind gets up you'll be frozen. Here put on my jeans and sweat shirt. I've got a jacket in the pick up, I can wear that and my swimming costume."

They looked at each other for a few seconds and the woman reached to unfasten her skirt. She looked at Geoff expectantly.

"Well go on then -- turn around."

Geoff apologised and turned his back on her, hoping that she wouldn't make a break for it and return to the sea.

"It's alright you can look now."

He turned around and immediately burst out laughing. The jeans came down over her feet and she had to hold on to the waistband to stop them falling down. The sleeves of his sweat shirt covered her hands.

"I'm sorry for laughing, but that really is an outfit that fits only where it touches. Stand still and I'll roll the legs up. There's some rope in the pickup we can use as a belt."

He knelt before her and rolled up the legs of the jeans until she was no longer standing on them. When he got up he smiled at her.

"Now you've managed to work your way into my jeans, I think I deserve to know your name."

"It's Helen, Helen McAlister."

"Well Helen, Helen McAlister, My name's Geoff Cockburn and I'm pleased to meet you. Now let's find you a belt and get off this beach before it gets cold."

They walked to the pickup Geoff found the rope threaded it though the jeans and pulled it tight to her waist. They got into the truck and Geoff turned it around.

"Geoff, why are you doing this."

"Because I want to and --because I owe someone."

He would have said more but suddenly in the moonlight he saw something. A woman, tall athletic wearing a white one piece swimsuit. She reached up and pushed her long dark hair back from her face as she strode out of the surf. He reached out putting his hand on Helen's leg and shaking it.

"Do you see that?" He pointed in the direction of the woman.

"See what? I can only see the waves and the sand."

Geoff looked again. There was nothing there and certainly no one. He sat quiet for a moment shaking his head.

"Geoff are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said as he snapped himself back to reality. "Now I'm willing to bet you've not eaten in a while. Since you wouldn't eat any of our burgers or sausages, I'm going to treat you to the best fish and chips in the whole of Cornwall."

Geoff set off on the road to Padstow. He looked across at Helen from time to time trying to gauge her state of mind. He hoped he was doing the right thing. Showing her kindness, caring for her must do something he thought. She'd shown no interest in what they were doing and just let it happen. It was as if nothing could make things any worse.

"What do you mean, you owe someone?"

"Someone did something for me a while ago. I can't pay them back so I'm paying it forward. I can't really tell you while I'm driving. Ask me about it later."