THE day started well. The previous evening they had been easy with each other again and Ana realised that doing normal things helped them to relax  and that enjoying sex was a key element. She would ensure that they had more time for each other, more time to play. Moving house had been more stressful than she had anticipated and had severely cut down on fun time, she realised.  

 

Over breakfast Daniel explained that if she didn’t mind, he really needed to work for most of the day. Over the two days of the fiesta he had really let things go and he must produce an article on internet security for an American magazine by first thing Friday morning. He proposed to lock himself away and concentrate on writing; he would just grab a ham roll when he felt hungry.

 

This suited Ana perfectly and she promised not to disturb him if he agreed to meet up on the first floor terrace at seven thirty for an aperitif and the delicious supper she had in mind.

 

They kissed and parted and then, after clearing away the breakfast dishes and pouring herself a fresh coffee, she walked to a shady spot at the bottom of the garden to telephone Mayte.

 

Mayte, it transpired, was about to go out for her coffee break and she agreed to ring Ana back as soon as she was settled.

“Well, my beautiful friend, how was your glamorous party on the beach. Were you accepted into the charmed circle? Are you an honorary Englishwoman now? "
 

“Stop it, stop it at once, Mayte, or I will never speak to you again and then I will never tell you, and you will never guess in a million years, what happened on the beach.”

 

They joked a little more about Ana’s status among the foreigners until she gave in and told Mayte how a drunk Sarah Harris had suggested that at least some of the party had their secrets in their past lives.  But when she finished describing how Sarah had proceeded to accuse Ivan Hepworth of being a bigamist, a Russian Mafioso and a CIA agent there was not the expected gasp of surprise or even a disbelieving laugh. There was silence. Mayte did not laugh at her description of Ivan Hepworth. Instead she told Ana that she had heard a rumour recently, nothing concrete,  but someone had mentioned a man, a Russian possibly,  who might have moved to the area, and might have mafia and CIA connections. She couldn’t remember the name, she said, but she could check it out and if it was important she would let Ana know.

 

Ana, taken aback by this reaction, decided not to tell her friend about Sarah and Mark Harris and their return in disgrace from India. Nor did she mention that she was about to meet Sarah for a coffee in the port, when she hoped she would find out so much more.

Perhaps guessing that she might have upset Ana, Mayte said she had to go but that they must get together soon, she and Juan and Ana and Daniel. She promised to cook them a meal, in case they had forgotten what a fine local cuisine was like, after their stay in Brussels, with all its fancy international restaurants.

 

It was eleven o’clock by this time and so Ana ran into the house for her bag and then got into the car. She didn’t want to be late for her rendezvous with Sarah and it might take her some time to find a parking place; she no longer had the time to walk, and anyway it was too hot. As she drove she thought about Sarah Harris and their meeting and what it was that had caused her to lie, by omission, to the two people who were closest to her.

 

Although she was still dying to know the secrets that Sarah had teased her with, Mayte’s solemn reaction to what she had thought of as the preposterous story about Ivan had slightly dampened her enthusiasm for gossip. Her empathy with Sarah had grown after hearing about Mark’s behaviour in India. She didn’t like making judgements about people without hearing the whole story and she did not feel her own behaviour gave her any right to disapprove of sexual indiscretions by others. But there was something about the idea of Sarah’s life in India being destroyed by the passion of a man who on the surface appeared so proper, so controlled, that touched her heart.

 

Her curiosity, though, was destined to be thwarted, as Sarah Harris failed to make an appearance in the café.

 

At first, Ana was content to simply sit, waiting, reading the paper, happy to be alone. It was the first time she had a minute to think about the book that Jonathan had written, the one she would be translating.  It would be the first time that she had taken on a project like this, an almost academic look at a past historical period. But in this case one so recent that there would be people who would be hurt. Jonathan wrote history in an accessible, almost popular style and she would find it a challenge to capture his voice in Spanish. This afternoon she would ask Jonathan to email her the draft so that she might, in any spare time, begin to read. Her irritation with her current employer, late as usual in forwarding the text she was to translate, impinged on her relaxed mood and so she dismissed it from her mind.

 

After half an hour she began to worry a little, and wondered what she could do.   She had only spoken briefly twice to Sarah and they were not on terms of exchanging mobile numbers, although, too late as always, Ana realised she could have asked Sarah for her number yesterday.  Should she telephone home and ask Daniel if there had been a message? This might be awkward because she hadn’t told Daniel about the meeting. In any case she realised that if Sarah had phoned their house Daniel would have given her Ana’s mobile number.

 

At last she decided that she didn’t know Sarah at all, had no idea if she was usually reliable about meeting up or not, and there was nothing more she could do in the café so she drove home.

 

Daniel came out of the kitchen as she drew up.
 

“There’s a bit of a flap on” he said. “It looks like Sarah Harris has gone missing. Mark is really cut up and the others are all around at his house. I said we would go too, as you would know what to do about the police and everything.”

 

“What do you mean missing? It’s only one o’clock now, has she been gone long? It hardly seems time enough to panic.”

 

Daniel explained that Sarah hadn’t been in the house when Mark woke up, there had been no note, no phone call, and none of their friends had seen or heard from her. Ana got out of the car “Well, as it happens she stood me up. We had arranged to meet for a coffee in the port, but she didn’t show.”

 

“But you never said anything to me about it. How very odd.”

 

Conscious that her reason for keeping silent was childish and petty, she explained how cross she had been when he got drunk on the beach and she felt he had been keeping secrets from her.

“I know it was silly, cariño, but I wanted a secret of my own. You seem to have so many.”

 

They got in the car and Daniel drove off. He suggested that they keep the discussion of her meeting with Sarah for later and concentrate on helping where they could. She felt thoroughly put in her place. They drove across the valley in silence. It was not the time, she thought, to discuss secrets anymore.   

​

 

HER gloom deepened when they arrived at Mark and Sarah’s house and she saw four disconsolate people walk into the garden from the direction of the cliffs.  Jonathan was the first of them to reach their car and so he explained that he, Jeff, Carole and a tall, wiry, grey-haired stranger had been searching the nearby cliffs, in case Sarah had fallen and lain injured and unnoticed. The stranger,  Jonathan explained, was a friend of Sarah’s called  Kevin Somerset.  They had found nothing.

 

“It’s as if she has disappeared into thin air” Jonathan said, “how can there be no trace of her at all?”

 

Holly was in the kitchen with Mark, Lynette and Ivan and it was she who brought Ana and Daniel up to date. Mark had got up at around eight thirty and had taken Sarah a cup of tea around nine, to discover that she was not in her room, nor anywhere else in the house or garden. He had not been particularly surprised. She had, Holly said, been in the habit of going out for early to swim with Kevin Somerset. She didn’t always tell Mark beforehand but in any case she was usually back around nine o’clock, for breakfast. 

 

“It’s best to swim early in the summer” Kevin Somerset said “before the heat is too much and Sarah, she loves it when we are the only ones on the beach. She don’t like all them tourists – trippers she calls them. ”

 

Ana, taken aback to learn that Mark and Sarah had separate bedrooms, was even more startled to find that Sarah had a “friend”, with whom she went swimming, without her husband. These English people looked so proper, who knew there were such hidden layers.  Neither would she would have expected Sarah’s friend, assuming she had one, to be someone like Kevin. Class was, according to Daniel anyway, still pretty important in well-off, middle-class British circles, and Kevin seemed ill at ease in the group, she thought he lacked the confidence that money and a good education had given the others. On the other hand, he appeared to Ana to be very fond of Sarah. Everything she learned about the woman deepened her interest in Sarah and she wished that they had been able to talk that morning.

 

 Looking around her she thought how sterile the kitchen seemed, so tidy, even though there were so many people in it now. It didn’t fit in with the image Ana had of Sarah, a woman who had made a life for herself in India. Where were the souvenirs of her life there?

 

Holly was explaining that Kevin and Sarah didn’t always make definite appointments, more on the lines of if they were going to go, they would be at the cross at seven o’clock, although yesterday Sarah had made a pretty definite arrangement to meet Kevin this morning, but she had not shown up.

 

As she heard the story of the day, people realising that Sarah was missing, Ana realised that Sarah had said nothing to Mark, or anyone else for that matter, of the phone call and their rendezvous in the Port. Daniel gave her a pointed look and so she told them that Sarah had arranged to have coffee with her at around eleven thirty that morning, in a port café, later rather than earlier as Sarah had spoken of having other things to do first thing.

 

She saw Holly and Lynette exchange glances but Mark, who was standing next to her, touched her arm.  “Did she? She told me how much she liked you. I’m glad she got in touch with you. Did she say anything else?”

 

Ana said she thought that Sarah seemed a little embarrassed about her behaviour the night before and wanted to explain.

“Or apologise, probably,” he said “I think she realised that she had drunk too much wine.”

 

No one else spoke but Ana saw a few looks flash between Ivan and Carole and between Holly and Lynette but then Mark took charge and listed the things they knew, that Sarah’s car was in the garage - they had two - that her mobile phone was switched off or out of range and that her house keys were missing. They had telephoned anyone who might possibly have heard from her, with no results. None of their friends had seen or heard from her since before the beach party.  “We can all see how unlikely it is that Sarah has just gone out to buy some bread. I know there are a few shops open today, but she could have gone to Benidorm and back twice in that time.”

 

His attempt at a light touch fooled no one and he went on to say that, uncertain of what to do next, he was grateful that Ana had offered, or rather, and he smiled at her, Daniel had offered on her behalf, to help him.  “Ana, I think all of us who are foreigners here worry about what to do if something goes wrong. The nightmare of language problems, customs which we don’t really understand, so it’s wonderful you are here.”

 

Slightly embarrassed at being the centre of attention, she stressed while she would happy to interpret, adding that of course Ivan could help there too, the most useful help that she could offer was an introduction to her school friend, Mayte Bolufer, who was now the senior local police officer in the town. “If you like, I could ring her informally. I am not sure if she is on duty today but I know her well enough to phone her mobile, and ask her what the best thing to do is. What do you think?” 

 

Ana looked at the people in the kitchen, remembering how intimidated she had felt at that first party; how much taller and more self-confident than her Spanish friends they seemed.  She looked at Holly and Jeff. They seemed a strong couple, well matched, tall and firm, in fawn chinos and blue T-shirts that matched their eyes. But what might Sarah have told her about them?

 

She was glad when Mark suggested the two of them move to the sitting room. He would give her key information about Sarah and then leave her alone to make the phone call.

 

It was nearly three o’clock and Mayte would be about to sit down to lunch somewhere. Not the best time to call her and that reminded Ana that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, unless she counted the biscuit always given with coffee in Spanish cafes. As if by magic, there was knock on the door and Holly put a tray of coffee and small cakes on the table in front of her and left, waving her hand at Ana’s fervent thanks. 

Far from being annoyed at her call, Mayte said she had been going to call her anyway, as she had made some enquiries about Ivan Hepworth.  Nothing positive yet, although she had detected an interest from Manuel Camps the Guardia Civil chief, when she mentioned him. 
 

“Mayte, I can’t say much now, but I am calling from the house of Mark and Sarah Harris, as Sarah Harris has been missing since first thing this morning.”

 

“Madre mia, Ana, what have you got yourself involved in? I warned you about these people before you came back.”

 

Ana told her as briefly as possible what had happened, how her friends had phoned everyone they could think of, had searched the cliffs where she usually went swimming and didn’t know what to do next. Mayte stopped teasing when she realised how serious it might be and promised to phone around the various police units to see if there had been any accidents reported. The best thing, she said, would be to come to the Guardia Civil Offices in the morning to report Sarah missing, if she hadn’t returned home in the meantime.

 

“But, mi amiga, you know that usually when a woman is missing the first person we look at closely is the husband. Had you friend quarrelled with her husband? Maybe he was angry about her performance on the beach. What do you think?”

 

Ana didn’t want to say anything about Sarah, or the row on the beach or Mark’s possible reaction while she was in Mark’s house and she asked Mayte to ring her later, when she was home and could speak freely.

The call finished, she stood up and felt nervous about the role she seemed to have taken on in the mystery of Sarah’s disappearance. She reminded herself that she was a professional woman, used to speaking in public, took three deep breaths and opened the kitchen door.

 

She explained that she and Mayte had been at school together, and so Mayte knew the town and its inhabitants very well.  “First, she wanted  me to tell you that her heart goes out to you all, especially to Mark, as she knows from experience just how difficult and painful it can be when someone close to you is missing.”

 

Ana told them that the overwhelming majority of missing people return home safely within a very short time and that Mayte would pass a message to local police officers, to notify them that a woman of Sarah’s description may be missing. It means that the police who are around on the beaches, and in the bars and restaurants, will keep a look out for her.  If there was no news of Sarah by the following morning, then she would, she told them, go with Mark to the Guardia Civil headquarters so that he can make a formal declaration.   

 

Mark looked as if he was about to speak again but Lynette, who was standing next to Jonathan, jumped in first.
 

“Thanks Ana, it’s brilliant that you are here, darling, and fantastic that you have a friend in the police.” She went on to say that she and Jonathan thought there was little more anyone could do that day and that they didn’t think Mark should stay the night here on his own, so the two of them were going to sleep there.

 

“No protests, Mark, darling, it’s a done deal. I am afraid you are stuck with us, come what may. We are just not going, so don’t even bother to argue. We think it’s probably easiest for Jon and me to stay”

She went on to propose that anyone who would like to could stay and eat and they would order a takeaway; Indian, she suggested as it was the nearest, and they could all eat together, in Mark’s kitchen.

 

Ana admired the way Lynette was handling the occasion, she could see that Mark was exhausted, near breaking point, in a kitchen full of people. Everyone seemed anxious to help and he was going to need a lot more help in the coming days but now he needed space. She thought the idea that Jonathan and Lynette stay the night was a good one. Jonathan was the ideal person to have around; he would not overwhelm Mark with overt sympathy, and Lynette would organise all the practical things well. 

 

Daniel obviously had the same thought “I think those are both very good ideas. Ana and I have things to do, so I think we will take a rain check on the Indian takeaway,” he waited for her  nod before continuing, “but just remember we will be at home, so please phone if there is any news, or if there is anything at all that either of us can do. One thing you can be sure of, Mark, is that you are not on your own.”

 

The tension in the room eased, and everyone made his or her decisions on staying or going. Holly and Jeff decided to stay, volunteering to fetch takeaways. Holly made a point of assuring Kevin Somerset how welcome he was to stay, and after some initial reluctance, he agreed. Carole and Ivan were clearly split; Ivan wanting to stay, Carole wanting to go. Somewhat unusually, she thought, Carole’s wishes prevailed. 

As they went their separate way they all promised to stay in touch, sharing any news as it came.

 

Driving home across the valley, Ana told Daniel how sorry she was that she had not told him about Sarah’s call and their arrangement to meet. He accepted this with a smile and said he understood. So she said nothing of her worries about the role she felt she was being asked to play in the mystery of Sarah’s disappearance, they would keep until they were at home, just the two of them, maybe by the pool, with a cool drink. As they drove they talked about the visit of her parents the day before and Daniel’s pleasure in their compliments about his horticultural skills. They had all eaten a salad made from the vegetables he had grown in their garden, the very first, he had told them, for many years. 

Ana’s mobile phone rang as their car turned into the drive and, seeing that Mayte was calling, she gestured to Daniel and walked to the end of the garden as she answered the call. When it was just the two of them, she and Mayte spoke in their native valenciano, as they had always done and, although Daniel didn’t understand very much of the language, Ana wanted this conversation to be private.

 

Almost in tears, she told Mayte how confused she felt.

 

“I just wanted to get to know Daniel’s friends, cariño, to be accepted by them so I could be a part of his life before we met.”

 

She described her confusion, how Sarah Harris’ suggestion that some of the people on the beach that night had dark secrets had whetted her appetite to know more. Her surprise and shock even when Sarah attacked Ivan, her pleasure at Sarah’s phone call and her disappointment when Sarah failed to show. “And now Sarah has disappeared. I don’t know what to think and Daniel, well, I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about his friends.”

 

Mayte calmed her by telling her that there had been nothing reported to the police that might concern Sarah and that the most likely scenario was that Sarah had walked out on Mark after a row.

 

“It happens all the time, cielo. And tonight or tomorrow she will turn up, all apologies for causing so much worry. You will see.  Why don’t you ask Daniel what he thinks you need to tell me, about the relationship between Mark and Sarah, and see what he says?”   They discussed the possibility that Sarah might have had an accident and Ana told Mayte at her surprise that Kevin Somerset was Sarah’s frequent swimming companion.

 

When the call finished she walked up to the house, just as Daniel emerged with a tray of drinks,

“Shall we sit by the pool?” she said. “I thought I might have a swim in a minute. It’s so hot today.” and so they sat and relaxed; a beer for him, water for her. 

 

“That was Mayte,” Ana said, “we arranged earlier that she would ring me back later, when I was at home and could talk more freely. She told me she has quickly rung around the local police on duty, and the national police as well, but there has been nothing unusual today; no incidents at all, in fact, which is quite unusual for a holiday. But she wanted to ask me a few more questions about Mark and Sarah. She asked me if there had been any disagreement between them, any reason why Sarah would walk out on him.”

 

She looked across at Daniel, finding his face hard to read.
 

“I found it quite difficult to answer, to be honest, after what happened on the beach and the things you told me yesterday, so I just said I didn’t really know them that well, but that you did, and I would ask you if there was anything you thought Mayte should know. And it’s true, cariño, I do hardly know them. What do you think we should do? The more I have thought about it, the more I realise how difficult it could be. You know I would like to help your friends in any way I can but,  at the same time, suppose that we know things that the police should know,  but we don’t tell them because we want to shield your friends?”

 

Ana was surprised by how emotional she felt, because Sarah had chosen her in some way, perhaps she had wanted a new confidante, and now she was missing. Ana’s distress came, she supposed, from her lack of experience of dealing with tragedy.  Her life had had its dramas it was true, some of her romantic liaisons had ended in many tears and hearts temporarily broken but nothing had prepared her for today. These people, Daniel’s friends, who so recently she had thought rather daunting, people she had found quite difficult to identify as individuals, were now people who were in trouble and apparently relying on her. And she knew so little about them. 

 

“Listen to me, Daniel. Just suppose something bad has happened to Sarah. Well, let’s be honest, what if she is dead, and there is evidence of, what do you call it… foul play? We all know that most violence is between people close to each other, much as we all like to believe in evil strangers lurking behind bushes in the woods. These are your close friends, cariño, and through you I suppose they have become my friends too.  Until we came here I didn’t realise just how close you all were, are – maybe you kept that to yourself to protect me, mm?.”

Daniel still said nothing, although he looked intently into her eyes as she spoke.

 

“If something bad has happened, then the private knowledge that we have of these friends could be used against someone. I am sure I am being overdramatic, and I hope Sarah will turn up really soon, but this afternoon, in Mark’s house, I saw how worried everyone was about her, and I can see the possibility of a real tragedy.” 

 

Now, maybe only just realising how upset she was, Daniel came around the table and put his arms around her. He held her tight.

“My darling, you are right, it’s a horrible position to put you in and I’ve been really thoughtless. I know you want to help them, and they know it too. You have already done the most important thing, you have acted as the introduction to Mayte. It’s for you to decide how you want to handle it, of course, but my suggestion is to talk to Mayte, and tell her how you feel. She’s your friend after all, and I am sure she will understand.”

 

“Yes, yes, you are right, of course.  I will phone her back now.”  

For half an hour the two women talked together as they had done since they were children. For all her teasing, Mayte was the person who knew her best, knew her strength and her weaknesses and always had sensible advice. She advised Ana to keep her role to that of helping with interpretation for her friends, on a friendly informal basis, and to accept that at the moment, until this affair was cleared up, it would be best not to look for paid interpreting work involving the police. Ana told her how it seemed that a contract with the publisher to translate Jonathan’s book was pretty certain now, which would take all her time and would in any case solve their money worries for now, at least. They discussed possible scenarios, and how they might affect Ana , before wishing each other a fond good night, with a hope that Sarah Harris wold reappear, if not that night, then in the morning.

 

The call finished, Ana sat for a moment or two in the cool of the garden, listening to the birds in the almond tree discussing their day’s business, before returning to Daniel, more relaxed.

 

“Well, that was useful, just as you said. I think I was a bit confused, because I have been thinking of applying to the police and the courts for interpreting work, they are the most obvious places.  Mayte suggested I could do what I do best, act as an interpreter for your friends when, if, they need to deal with officialdom, and guide them as to how things are done here.” Although it means putting off looking for official work for the moment, but the work on Jonathan’s book will take a good deal of time.

 

“She asked me again about Mark and Sarah’s relationship because, to be honest, she wondered if the police would be dealing with an accident, a runaway, a suicide, or a victim of domestic abuse. They are the most likely scenarios, and, sadly, she said murder spouse is not as uncommon in Spain as I would like to think. Like so many things here, cariño, we simply don’t talk about things we don’t like. Let us hope that Sarah returns very soon. I don’t believe Mark would have harmed Sarah, he seems the last man to do anything violent. But, if I were Mayte, I suppose I would not be able to rule it out.”

 

All the time she was talking she thought how uneasy Daniel seemed, so unlike his usual calm self. Or maybe it was his calm Daniel self that she was used to. Perhaps Dan had been a different person, in the days when he spent time here with all these people and, of course, with Lynette and their two boys. Twice this afternoon Lynette had called him Dan; Ana thought she had been the only the person who noticed it and Daniel had said nothing. But perhaps Jonathan had heard. She wasn’t sure, but he had seemed to make a point of staying near her when they were all drinking tea and coffee in the kitchen. Was it because they saw themselves as the outsiders in the group? The ones who were a little different? She was surprised at how easily Daniel was absorbed back into this close group. It was a new experience for Ana, and so alien to their life together in Brussels, but that afternoon she realised they came from different countries, different cultures. She must do her best to reconcile them, to restore the relationship which had changed her life. This was the man who would be father to her children.

 

“So, I am definitely going to swim now, before I prepare a little supper. Why don’t you join me, cariño, we had fun last night?”