Page 3 of The Girls in the Lake
‘Maybe. It doesn’t look suspicious to me at this moment in time; however I still need to do a full post-mortem cataloguing the bruising and abrasions, then check they correspond with the witness statement before I can give you a definite answer.’
He nodded. ‘Thanks, Beth.’
She stood up. ‘My pleasure. Poor girl, they say drowning is a peaceful death. I don’t think falling into a freezing cold lake and swallowing the water until your lungs feel as if they’re going to burst could ever be peaceful.’
Snapping the locks on her case shut, she turned to Josh. ‘You know where to find me if you need anything. I’ll see you at the hospital.’
Then she left, heading back towards her car with a heavy heart.
Four
They finally got clearance to move the body about an hour after Beth had left. Josh could hardly bear to look as the girl was placed into the black body bag, the sound of the zipper sealing her fate forever.
‘What a bloody shame,’ he said to Patrol Sergeant Karen Taylor, who was standing on the opposite side of the jetty. ‘Long time no see, how are you?’
She shrugged. ‘I’d be better if I wasn’t freezing to death standing here.’
Josh walked over to her, curious. ‘Why are you here?’
‘I’m on my way to Kendal, they’re short-staffed. I heard this come in and thought I’d swing by on my way. You know how it is, Josh, I like to keep you lot on your toes.’
He smiled and laughed. ‘How am I doing up to now?’
She shrugged. ‘Not bad. Are you sure it’s accidental though? I mean you’d have to be totally off your trolley to strip naked and jump into the lake at this time of year.’
‘The doc seems to think it is, but I agree with you that it seems like a mad thing to do. There are no obvious signs of foul play and judging by the number of empty alcohol bottles on the boat she came off, I’d have to say her judgement may have been a little distorted. The post-mortem will tell us for sure.’
‘How is Beth by the way?’
He wondered if she knew about their relationship – gossip spread faster than the flu in the station. Then again, Karen was usually stationed at Barrow, so how could she possibly know? ‘She seems okay, better than I thought.’
‘Good, the poor woman has had a terrible time. I suppose you’ve already heard about the suicide at the prison.’
He shook his head.
‘Oh, you’ve been busy here. That monster ex-boyfriend of hers, Hartshorn, topped himself; they found his body in his cell last night.’
A hundred thoughts rushed through his mind. Did Beth know? Had anyone warned her before she got to work? His hands itched to ring her and find out if she was okay, but they were supposed to be keeping their relationship low profile. It would look too obvious.
‘I didn’t know. I was called out to come straight here.’
‘Well, send her my best. Seeing as how you have everything covered here, I’m off to a cosy warm office in Kendal. I’ll see you later.’
She walked away, back to the white Ford Focus parked near the police tape. Josh liked her, she was a good officer and didn’t take any crap, but he couldn’t help wondering if she had just come here fishing for gossip. Either way, it didn’t matter. He walked to his car and got inside, not realising how cold his hands were until he tried to unlock his phone. He needed to speak to Beth. When his fingers warmed up sufficiently to slide across the screen and give him access to his recent call list, he pressed his finger against Beth’s name and hoped she wasn’t already in the mortuary. It went straight to voicemail and he left her a message to call him as soon as she could.
Five
Beth arrived at the hospital mortuary much earlier than usual due to her morning call out. As she walked in, she saw Abe, her ‘trusty sidekick’ as he called himself. His real job title was Anatomical Pathology Technician and he was already in scrubs dealing with two undertakers and a body in a bag on a steel gurney at the rear doors. Beth wondered who it was. It couldn’t be the girl they’d pulled from the lake here already.
She waved at Abe and, as he turned to look at her, for the first time in forever his brilliant-white smile faltered. Immediately she knew something was wrong. After Josh, Abe was probably the second closest thing she had to a friend, since she’d spent the last seven years living in fear and wrapped in a protective bubble of loneliness. Things were different now; she still found it hard to socialise, but at least she made the effort. After surviving two attempts on her life by the same twisted killer, she had vowed to herself that she would no longer live in fear and try to enjoy the life she’d been given.
Whatever bad news Abe had, she could handle. But she needed coffee first. Trying her best to ignore the churning in her stomach, she made her way to the small staffroom and set the coffee brewing while she went in search of something to eat. Her stomach was in knots in anticipation, but perhaps she could persuade herself she was just hungry.
The staff canteen at Furness General Hospital was full, and a few of the doctors and nurses stared over at her as she entered. She smiled at them and they quickly turned away; the celebrity status she’d earned after the last case she’d worked on showed no sign of dying out. She had nothing to hide; none of it had been her fault. Josh had told her time and time again that pretty soon another story would come along and her five minutes of infamy would pass, and people would forget about the tragedy and horror she’d endured.
When it was her turn in the queue, she ordered two fried egg, tomato and mushroom toasted sandwiches. Beth and Abe rarely ate meat on the days they performed post-mortems. The woman handed over two boxes, and she made her way to the till to pay just as a group of police officers piled in, joining the queue and sending a sigh of relief through her body. Now they would become the focus of everyone’s attention, which suited her far better. As she walked past, a couple of them nodded; one of them said: ‘Morning, Doc.’
‘Morning, officers, enjoy your breakfast.’
