Page 1 of The Girls in the Lake
One
Ethan tried to open his eyes and immediately shut them again, groaning as the boat lurched violently to one side. His stomach contracted; he shouldn’t have drunk so many lagers last night, not to mention the vodka chasers. He didn’t even remember how he’d got down below deck and into the cabin. He patted his body; at least he was fully dressed. But where was that girl he had been talking to? The one with the white-blonde hair and pretty eyes. They’d been chatting and laughing most of the night. Trust him to have got so drunk that he never had the chance to even kiss her. It wasn’t often he met someone new, not in a small town like Windermere where everyone knew everyone. She’d mentioned she was from Devon and had only been here in the Lake District a couple of weeks working at a local hotel. If only he could, for the life of him, remember which one.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something bumping against the side of the boat. He sat up, his head exploding with pain at the sudden movement. More slowly, he slid off the bed and went into the narrow bathroom to relieve himself. He didn’t even look in the mirror. He didn’t want to know what a state he must look.
Knocking on the other cabin door as he passed, he listened for a response, suddenly imagining the girl he liked in bed with James. Not that he could blame her: James was the one with the fancy boat, the penthouse apartment and more money than he actually knew what to do with. There was no reply. Opening the door, an empty, messy cabin bed stared back at him.
Up the steps and out on deck, there was no sign of anyone amongst the mess of empty champagne glasses, lager cans and vodka bottles. He shivered. The autumn sun hadn’t risen yet and there was a gale-force wind blowing across the lake, whipping the water into a frenzy and making the boats unsteady on their moorings. Looking around, the only sign of life was a flock of goldeneye ducks swimming past the marina, looking to take shelter from the approaching storm.
He was just thinking how glad he was that James hadn’t been too drunk and he had put the boat back on its mooring, when he heard that thud again. One of the small dinghies must have come loose. He didn’t want to have to climb down and drag it away, but there was no one else around and it wasn’t fair to let James’s boat get damaged just because he had a hangover and couldn’t face it. It wasn’t the sort of thing you did to your best friend, even if they could afford to get the damage fixed without blinking an eye. Stumbling as the boat rolled to one side again, he grabbed hold of the rails, his head leaning over, and he stared down into the inky waters of Lake Windermere. The glow from the lamps along the quay gave just enough light to see there was something in the water; in the shadow of the boat it looked as if a clump of reeds had got tangled in the anchor chain. Leaning further over, he blinked a couple of times and focused his vision, realising too late that they weren’t reeds at all.
It was a woman, floating face down in the water, her long, blonde hair fanned out around her shoulders and snagged onto the anchor chain. A scream so loud it echoed around the marina left his mouth. Heart pounding, he jumped down from the boat and onto the jetty. If he could get her out of the water, he might be able to resuscitate her. Pulling his phone from his pocket as he ran, he dialled 999 and asked for the police and ambulance, giving his location. Dropping to his knees, he reached for her, but she was too far away. Desperately he looked around for something to try and grab her with, or someone to help. Why had no one come to see why he was screaming? Where was Pete? – he practically lived down here! It might take the police forever to get to the marina.
Pulling off his jeans, which he knew would weigh him down, he plunged into the freezing water, hitting it hard. In a couple of strokes he was close enough to grab the girl around the waist. He turned and tried to swim, taking her towards the jetty, but she wouldn’t move. He tugged and tugged but her hair was knotted around the thick, rusted chain that held the anchor. He grimaced. He knew deep down that it was too late for the girl, her body cold and rigid in his arms, but he had to carry on. He couldn’t leave her there. Grabbing the length of her hair that was caught around the chain, he tried to untangle it with trembling hands. But the shock of the freezing water was cutting off the feeling in the tips of his fingers. He had no choice but to pull it as hard as he could, and finally, she was free and he was able to drag her towards the jetty where, at long last, he could hear the shouts and pounding feet of the police as they ran along the wooden causeway to help him. He’d never been so relieved to see a copper in his life.
Hands reached down and grabbed the girl, pulling her out of the water. Then they leant over and pulled him out too. He fell onto the rough boards on his hands and knees. His teeth were chattering, and he couldn’t speak. A blanket was wrapped around him as a strong pair of arms lifted him to his feet.
‘Well done, son, that was pretty damn brave of you. Let’s get you to the ambulance to get checked out and before you catch your death.’
Ethan didn’t argue, letting the officer lead him towards the ambulance that had just pulled up onto the walkway. He looked back at the girl, horror flooding through him as it dawned on him that he knew her: he’d spent last night laughing and sinking vodka shots with her. It was the beautiful girl with no name. The one he’d hoped would be lying next to him when he’d woken up less than twenty minutes ago.
Two
Beth’s body hit the surface of the water like a brick. Then she was sinking under, her arms and legs tied together, the weight of her clothes dragging deeper and deeper though she struggled. Her lungs burned, craving air, and the pressure screamed in her ears. Somewhere nearby the hum of a boat’s engine getting closer caught her attention. Someone coming to help, or to finish the job? She screamed into the abyss, her lungs filling with water and making her cough and sending a flurry of fear-filled bubbles to the surface. That was it, her last breath. Wasted.
* * *
She woke with a start, sucking in air as if breathing for the first time. She was in bed. Thank God. She blinked hard to push away the nightmare that had haunted her for weeks, and wiped the sweat from her face with the corner of her quilt. Her phone was vibrating on the bedside table. Reaching out, she grabbed it before it woke Josh, who was sleeping soundly beside her.
‘Adams,’ she whispered, still panting a little.
‘Sorry to bother you, Doctor Adams, it’s Helen from the control room at Penrith. Someone’s found a body in Lake Windermere.’
She was out of bed and on the landing in an instant.
‘Where?’
‘Bowness Bay Marina on Glebe Road.’
‘I can be there in fifteen.’
‘Thank you. Someone is calling the duty DS as we speak. You answered before he did, so you might want to give it ten minutes before you leave so we can get hold of him.’
She smiled, thanking her and ending the call. It would only be a few seconds before the phone on Josh’s side of the bed began to ring. So much for trying not to wake him. She padded along the corridor to the bathroom to splash some water on her face and brush her teeth. By the time she was dressed Josh was on his way out of the bedroom, his hair ruffled, his eyes crinkled against the bright bathroom light.
‘Got to love an early call out,’ he grunted.
She laughed. ‘I never realised just how much of a miserable bugger you are in the morning.’
Josh smiled. ‘I didn’t realise how annoyingly perky you were this early, so swings and roundabouts.’
She shrugged. ‘At least we’re alive to complain, not like the poor soul they’ve just pulled out of the water.’ She crossed the hallway and kissed his bristly cheek. ‘I’ll see you there, Detective Sergeant Walker. Maybe for the sake of everyone at the scene you should make yourself a quick mug of coffee and a slice of toast.’
She turned and ran down the stairs. Going into the kitchen, she grabbed a Mars bar out of the cupboard. Josh followed her in and she threw it across the room towards him.
‘At least eat that; the sugar will give you a boost and maybe improve your mood.’
She’d known he wouldn’t bother making toast and coffee. Like her, he’d want to get to the scene as fast as he could.
