Silver Bay(96)
Author: Jojo Moyes

I had done the right thing so seldom that I didn’t know whether the terrible sense of dread I felt was the right emotion to go with it.

I had been on the highway for almost twenty minutes when my mobile rang. I pulled on to the hard shoulder and rummaged in my jacket pocket.

‘Mike? Paul Reilly. This is a courtesy call, really. I thought you should be the first to know that the development isn’t going ahead.’

She’d done it. I let out a long sigh, not sure whether it was with relief that Vanessa had done as she’d said, or resignation that I had to keep my side of the bargain.

‘Well,’ I said, as a truck rumbled past, making the car tremble, ‘I know we differ on this, but I’m glad. Bundaberg really is the better option.’

‘Can’t see it myself. I thought that development would have been a real asset to this area.’

‘You’ve got something rare here, Mr Reilly,’ I said. ‘At some point you and the other half of Silver Bay will realise that.’

‘Pretty unusual for someone to pull the plug so late in the day. I mean, they were after putting the foundations down this week.’ His voice lifted in resignation. ‘But you can’t argue with the money men.’

‘Beaker will have done their research,’ I said. ‘If they thought Bundaberg had the better margins, then—’

‘Beaker? It wasn’t Beaker.’

‘Sorry – what did you say?’ The cars and trucks kept roaring past, sporadically drowning his words.

‘It was the venture capitalists. The finance. They pulled the plug unless the site was changed.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘They got antsy about the shark, apparently. They heard about all the newspaper reports and warnings not to let people in the water and took fright.’ He sighed. ‘I guess from their point of view it’s going to be pretty hard to sell watersports holidays to people if they think there are sharks but, really, I think they got it all out of proportion.’

He sounded pretty disappointed.

‘Seems British people hear the word ‘‘shark’’ and all reason goes out the window,’ he added.

Why would Vanessa go to Vallance first? I wondered.

‘You’ve surprised me, Mr Reilly,’ I said, my mind working. ‘Thanks for the call. But if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to someone.’

I sat for a moment, barely noticing the traffic that hurtled past. Then I reached into my briefcase for my laptop, realising too late that it wasn’t there. I stared at my bags, then wrenched the car back on to the highway and accelerated hard to the next exit.

‘Dennis?’

‘Michael? I wondered how long it would be before you rang, you old bastard. Rung to gloat, have you?’ He sounded well lubricated – it would be almost eleven at night there and, knowing Dennis, he would have had a few. Or a few more than a few.

‘You know that’s not my style.’ I was driving while I was talking, and had to wedge my phone between ear and shoulder as I negotiated the roundabout back into Silver Bay. As I headed towards the hotel, the car bounced over the potholes and I wondered absently how much I’d have to pay the rental company for busted suspension.

‘No – I forgot you’d turned into Mother bloody Teresa. What do you want? Calling to beg for your old job back?’

I ignored him. ‘So where’s it going?’

‘Little town just outside Bundaberg.’ I heard him take a drink of something. ‘Be even better. VCs are happy, local council is a hundred per cent behind us. We’re using the same model. Heaps better tax breaks. To be honest, you did us a favour.’

There was nobody outside the hotel. I walked through the front door, down the hallway and into the deserted lounge, my phone pressed to my ear, and made for my laptop. It was still where I’d left it. Upstairs, Hannah’s music was still blaring. I doubted she’d noticed I’d gone.

‘I did you a favour?’

‘Freaking the VCs out, your lobbyist bombarding them with shark tales.’

‘My lobbyist?’

This was weird.

‘Dennis – I—’

‘What did you do? Hire some professional crusty from Greenpeace?’ He dropped his voice. ‘Between you and me, I have to admit you did a good job, sending all those newspaper reports about sharks. I was pissed off at first – we had to work four days and nights straight through just to keep the deal on track and Vallance on board – but, now I think about it, we wouldn’t have made any money in shark-infested waters. Much better off up the coast. So, who was it? More importantly, how much did you pay them? I know professional agitators don’t come cheap.’

He hadn’t mentioned Vanessa. While he was talking I’d opened my computer. I glanced down the record of emails sent, trying to work out what had happened.

‘So, what’s your next move, Mike?’ he was saying. ‘Going to do this professionally? You know, I made good on my promise. No one will touch you in the City.’

I sorted my outbox into recipients and found the emails that had been sent to Vallance. I opened one, noted the scanned newspaper attachments, and began to read.

‘That said, boyo, if you’re desperate for a job, I might be able to find a small opening. To do you a favour. Nothing like the same salary, you understand.’

‘Dear Sir,’ it began. ‘I am writing to let you know of the risk of shark attack at the new Silver Bay develupment . . .’

I did a double-take, read on. And as I read I began to laugh.

‘Mike?’

She had done what I had failed to do. She had done what I had thought was impossible.

‘Mike?’

The music was louder. I heard the singing and, just for fun, I held the phone up to it.

‘Mike?’ he said again, when I put the phone back to my ear. ‘What the hell is that noise?’

‘That, Dennis,’ I said, ‘is your professional agitator, your overpriced lobbyist, your reverser of multi-million-pound developments. Can you hear it?’

‘What?’ he was saying. ‘What are you going on about?’

‘That,’ I said, laughing again, ‘is an eleven-year-old girl.’

I had one more call to make and walked outside as I wanted to be assured of privacy. I stood for a moment before I dialled, breathing in the undisturbed scents that had been there for half a century, and would now remain, if lucky, for half a century more. But I didn’t feel any sense of peace. Not yet.