Page 5 of The Girls in the Lake
He shrugged. ‘I had to. I thought, or I suppose I was hoping, she was still alive and I could save her.’
Another knock and this time Paton entered, carrying two steaming mugs in one hand and a KitKat in the other that looked as if it had been kicked around the canteen floor for a couple of hours. He put the drinks down, passing one to Ethan along with the chocolate biscuit.
‘Thanks. I’m so cold, I can’t get warm.’ He wrapped his hands around the mug, dismissing the biscuit. ‘Am I under arrest, do I need a solicitor? I don’t understand what’s going on.’
Josh shook his head. ‘Oh, God no. Of course not. As far as we’re concerned, you’re the hero of the day. This is just a formality. I’m afraid we need to take an official statement to pass to the coroner’s officer. It’s easier to do it here where we can get it sorted without any interruptions. Of course, if you feel you need a solicitor we can arrange for the duty one to attend.’
‘No, I don’t. I heard the noise, looked in the water and saw her. I jumped in, dragged her out and prayed I’d be able to resuscitate her. I’m so sorry I couldn’t.’ He bent his head, and Josh reached out and patted his hand.
‘You did everything you could. Should we get this over with so you can get home, have a hot bath and get some sleep?’
Ethan lifted his head, the expression of pure misery on his face making even Josh feel bad for him.
‘Yes, please. I feel like shit. I’m never drinking again.’
Josh smiled. How many times had he said the very same the morning after?
‘Can you tell me what happened earlier on in the evening, the events leading up to you discovering the body? I need to get a clearer picture of who was there, how much the victim drank, did anyone take any drugs?’
Ethan looked at him, distress visible in his face.
‘I don’t do drugs; as far as I know neither did anyone else. Well James could have, I can’t speak for him, but he sometimes dabbles, nothing too heavy. I prefer to stick to the booze.’
‘No one is in any trouble. I’m not interested in a bit of drugs for personal use, I just need to understand what happened to end up with one of the party dead. Did she jump into the water for a dare? Did she tell anyone she was going to go for a swim?’
Ethan shook his head. ‘There was me, James Marshall, Marcus Johnson, who left really early before anyone got drunk, and the two girls. I’m sorry, I don’t know either of their names. One was the girl I pulled from the lake, the other was her friend. She didn’t speak a lot of English, she was French, on an exchange visit or something like that. Look I’m sorry, I can’t tell you much more. We drank far too much. It was all free. James always has cases of wine and spirits onboard. I remember we started off on champagne, but soon progressed to vodka shots. I have no recollection of getting to bed. I don’t know what time James left. I do know that I wouldn’t have let her go into the water for a late-night swim, and no one dared her to. I wouldn’t let anyone go into the water, it’s freezing and dangerous. For what it’s worth, neither would James. I don’t know what she was thinking to be honest with you. I keep asking myself and it doesn’t make any sense.’
Nodding, Josh was inclined to agree: this felt like nothing more than a tragic accident and he was pretty sure Beth’s findings would support his hunch.
‘Was she happy? She didn’t seem upset over anything?’
‘She was laughing and having a good time with the rest of us. I couldn’t say if she was upset. I didn’t know her well enough to figure out anything more than I liked her. A lot.’ He began to blink back the tears that were welling in his eyes.
Seven
James Marshall looked at his phone; he had nine missed calls from Ethan. He rolled over in his bed and was surprised to see a woman lying next to him. Christ, he didn’t remember bringing her back to his apartment. Why hadn’t they stayed on the boat? It was far easier to get rid of a one-night stand when they didn’t know where he lived. He stared at the long, blonde hair and tried to remember her name. He thought back to who was on the boat with him last night: Ethan, Marcus and two women; one of them hadn’t spoken very much English. The blonde one who had been from down South somewhere he’d left behind with Ethan, who had been fawning over her. If he remembered right, this girl was a French exchange student, over here on work experience. Her English was good, which was a shame because it would be far easier to fob her off with a quick kiss and a taxi fare home if she didn’t understand what he was saying.
He threw the covers back and strode naked into the ensuite, stopping for a moment to admire his tanned, toned body in the mirrored walls. He flexed his arm to make his bicep bulge, grinned and blew himself a kiss. He was vain, as his mother and grandmother liked to tell him on a regular basis, and so what if he was. He knew he was good-looking with his line of straight, white teeth and his thick hair brushed to one side like a member of a boy band. He worked hard to look this way, plus a little help from an orthodontist and a plastic surgeon. He’d been fortunate enough to be born to wealthy parents; why wouldn’t he make the most of the money at his disposal? He liked the gym, but he also liked to party.
Showering, shaving and dressing in a suit, he tried to ring Ethan back but it went straight to voicemail. Ethan didn’t normally ring so many times, not unless it was important, and James hoped that he hadn’t done something stupid like crash the boat. Going back into the bedroom, he stared at the naked woman now stretched diagonally, taking up the whole of the bed. She was attractive and if he didn’t have work he’d have screwed her one more time. He would probably see her again if she asked. For the life of him he didn’t know whether the sex had been any good; he’d been too drunk to remember. He picked up her clothes then bent over her, shaking her shoulder. She let out a moan and for a moment he felt himself go hard, then she began to cough, followed by a loud belch as she cupped her hand over her mouth and stumbled off the bed.
‘Christ, if you’re going to be sick at least go be sick in the toilet.’
She looked at him with dazed eyes, and he pushed her in the direction of his ensuite. Flicking on the light switch, he heard her retch and slammed the door shut. His own stomach contracted into a tight ball; he never was any good with vomit. He placed her clothes on the end of the bed and left her to it, while he went into the open-plan kitchen to make himself some breakfast. By the time he’d grilled a full packet of bacon and fried a couple of eggs she’d emerged from the bedroom looking a lot less glamorous than she had last night. He smiled at her and pointed to the food, but she shook her head, putting one hand up. Her eyeliner had smudged; her mascara left dark trails across her pale face.
‘I have to go, so sorry.’
‘Should I call you a taxi?’
She shook her head. ‘No, the walk will help.’
And with that she walked out of his door without giving him, or his penthouse apartment, a second glance. James crossed over to the large window that looked down onto the busy street and smiled. Her head was held high as she walked briskly away. He liked her more because she’d given him the brush-off. Now he would have to make it his business to see her again. It wasn’t very often he didn’t impress a woman, and his bruised ego needed to know if she was playing it cool or really didn’t care. Grabbing his jacket, he ran out of the apartment after her.
Catching up with her at the bottom of a steep hill, he noticed her answer her phone and he heard her begin an animated conversation in French. She turned off by the corner of The Angel Inn on Helm Road which, if he wasn’t mistaken, meant she was heading for the Hydro Hotel. Maybe he’d drag Ethan along tonight. They could accidently bump into her at the bar and try to find out more about her, although Ethan was a bit of a lightweight when it came to drinking two nights on the run. He suddenly remembered he’d better ring him back, so turned and walked down the hill to the estate agency his family owned.
Marshall Estates had been a successful business from the day his father had opened it; there were branches in almost every town in Cumbria. Even though he no longer needed to work, his father still turned up three days a week at the head office in Bowness to oversee everything, and he was adamant that James should do the same. James hated it, but had a grudging respect for his parents and did as he was told most of the time. It filled his days, but he disliked the mundane office work. He usually only dealt with the wealthiest clients, but if James had his way, they would leave it all in the very capable hands of the branch manager.
What he much preferred to do was to charter out his boat for private parties. It was far more fun sailing around the lake with groups of drunken, single women celebrating birthdays, hen nights or even divorces. How many times had he screwed the prettiest girl in the room? Smiling to himself, he realised he couldn’t even keep count. He was all about pleasure and he was pretty sure he could turn the private parties into a lucrative business of his own. He didn’t see the point in working for a living when you could make money having so much fun. It was unfortunate his dad didn’t agree with this line of business, but once he began to make a serious profit, he’d have to acknowledge that James was on to a winner.
