There was a commotion in the living room….Ian heard McGeorge let out a yell then there was a terrible crashing sound. Ian awoke from his thoughts and raced into the living room. Mcgeorge was lying on the floor she had gone straight through the glass coffee table. There was blood everywhere. She lay on her back, dazed and confused, covered in tiny shards of glass, numerous cuts covered her face and arms and there was a nasty few slices on her body where pieces of glass were either sticking out, or had badly sliced her skin. She was shaking and staring upwards at the ceiling, her breath was shallow and rapid
‘LISA, LISA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT, ARE YOU BADLY HURT ANYWHERE.’ Ian bellowed at her. He was shaking himself now, the shock and mayhem which had erupted from the moment of serenity not twenty seconds before was palpable.
‘I’m okay, I’m okay, they will all be here in a minute, for Gods sake go and get Jane.’
Ian jumped up and out the door. In the brief struggle with Lisa, Jane had lost her baseball cap. She was running towards the car, her hair was blowing in the wind. The weather had really taken a turn for the worse and the rain lashed down with a vengeance. Ian tried to run but he was wearing his work shoes and so grip was an issue. He couldn’t really get any real pace into his stride as he slipped and slided on the wet grass like a latter day Bambi on ice. Plus Jane was running like a woman possessed. He screamed after her ‘JANE, JANE, STOP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STOP.’ But it was pointless. She ran straight across the road directly towards the car. A car coming the other way screeched to a halt. The driver leaning on his horn and shouting obscenities at her as he missed her by inches.
She was near the car now. Ian thought he could catch her by the time she got into the car but then he realised it wasn’t the car she was headed for. She ran straight through the small car park, over the small barrier fence and off towards the cliffs…..
The rain was really lashing down hard now. The wind was whipping it round with a fury as it rumbled off the English Channel. He had only run a couple of hundred meters but his heart and head pounded. The adrenalin was coursing through his veins; he ignored the pain in his legs and the stitch in his side as he pounded on towards Jane.
Jane had stopped on the edge of the cliff. On a part that jutted out into the sea. She was practically over the edge already. Ian came to a skidding stop six or seven metres away from her. Jane stood there. The wind and rain were pummelling her from all sides. Her white t shirt was soaked through, revealing her bra underneath as it clung to her body. Her hair was almost horizontal in the wind. Some of it was stuck to her face. She swiped it away so it joined the rest of her hair trailing in the wind. She took a deep breath and looked at Ian. She smiled at him, a calm knowing smile. Her eyes finally looked happy again. The years she had seemed to pile onto her face over the last few days had vanished.
‘JANE, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS, YOU NEED HELP, YOU CAN GET OVER THIS, WE CAN HELP YOU, YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH, DON’T DO THIS, DON’T….’
Jane took a longing look out to sea and launched herself forward. Ian jumped at her, and lay sprawled in the colourful heather that clung to the hillside. He looked over the edge; the waves pounded the shoreline with immense power. The froth and the sea spray were rising halfway up the cliff face. He looked through the rain, the wind, the waves, but there was nothing…she was gone.
Officers came racing over to where Ian was lying. He was now laying on his back, covered in mud, soaked through, a complete mess. He was shivering as well but he didn’t notice. Two officers tried to say things to him but he couldn’t understand, it was like he was underwater. He just stood up slowly and whispered, ‘she’s gone, she jumped, there was nothing I could do…I tried to save her…I tried to….’Ian trailed off
They headed back to the small car park. There was an ambulance and various unmarked and marked police cars there. A medic headed over and placed a blanket round his shoulders. He was about to ask but he saw Lisa McGeorge on a stretcher being carried out of the house and coming towards the ambulance.
She looked at him as she was being put in the ambulance and Ian just shook his head. She looked awful. There would be some serious questions to answer over this, but he didn’t care. It had all been too much, he’d had enough. He had been sleep walking through the past three years and it was time for a change. His wife needed one too, and he was going to make damn sure they got it…..
Chapter 26 – ‘I was going to wait until tonight but I can’t’