Page 9 of The Girls in the Lake
With that she let out a sob and sank down onto the sofa, burying her face in her hands. Sam sat down next to her.
‘I’m sorry, it’s not a nice thing to do. But we need to be one hundred per cent sure.’
She peered through her fingers. ‘Yes, it is her. I’m positive. She has a small tattoo on the back of her neck of a cross embedded in a rose; it’s pretty. She wore her hair in a topknot and you could just see it peeking out from under the collar of her uniform.’
With a nod at Abe to draw the curtains closed, Beth left the room to go and check the tattoo.
Minutes later, she came back and showed Suzanne a photograph of the tattoo on her phone. Suzanne’s uncontrollable sobs at the sight of the small cross inside the petals of a rose was all the confirmation she needed.
There was a knock and the door opened and the accompanying officer walked in. ‘Sarge, we’ve found Chloe, safe and well. Apparently, she arrived at the hotel an hour ago a little bit worse for wear.’
Beth exhaled the breath she didn’t even realise she’d been holding, thankful that this girl who had left her country to see what life in the UK was like was safe and well. Bad enough that Leah hadn’t found the happy ending she’d come in search of; for the two of them to have died in vain would have been unthinkable.
‘Thank God; does she know about Leah?’ Suzanne stared at the officer.
‘I don’t think so. I get the impression they’re waiting for official confirmation from you. I think you may be the one to have to break the news.’
Suzanne shook her head. ‘Could this day get any worse?’ she asked out loud.
Josh shook his head too. ‘We need to speak to Chloe and get an account of exactly what happened last night on the boat. Why don’t we meet you at the hotel in an hour and then we can break the news to her together?’
‘Really, would you do that?’
‘Yes, I think it would be better. You can be there to support her and pick up the pieces when we leave.’
Beth thought the woman looked a lot paler now than when she’d arrived. ‘Are you okay to drive back to Bowness? Would you rather someone came to collect you?’
She laughed. ‘You must be joking, there’s never enough staff on a good day. Now we’re down two already because I doubt Chloe is in a fit state to work her shift. I can’t spare anyone else, it will be mayhem.’
She looked around the room. ‘Sorry, that sounds heartless. I’ll be fine, it’s just a bit of a shock.’ She stood up, grabbed her handbag off the compact coffee table and walked out.
Beth let out a sigh. ‘At least we have our ID.’
She felt Josh’s eyes lingering on her and turned to look at him. ‘Can I have a word with you, Josh?’ She walked out of the room into the corridor, and he followed close behind, shutting the door so it was just the two of them.
‘He’s dead.’
‘I know, I tried to ring and tell you. Are you okay?’
Beth hesitated . Was she okay? She should be bloody ecstatic, but she just felt totally shell-shocked. Unable to answer him, she shrugged and before she knew it, he’d pulled her into his arms and was holding her close. Shocked at his public display of affection, despite the fact it was only the two of them in the corridor, she squeezed him back as hard as she could then stepped away. His lips brushed the side of her face, kissing the scar she hid behind her hair, and her fingers reached up to touch the spot.
‘I am now, thank you for asking. I guess I’m a little surprised and relieved at the same time.’ The double doors leading to the corridor were rammed open by a porter pushing a trolley full of brown paper envelopes and they stepped apart from each other.
‘Are you staying for the post-mortem?’
‘Do you think I should? I wanted to come and check you were okay.’
‘I don’t think you need to. It all looks straightforward. If I find anything you need to know about, I’ll call.’
‘Thank you. You’re sure you’re okay?’
Beth laughed. ‘With you and Abe fussing over me like mother hens I’m pretty sure I am. But I like it, and I’m very glad that you are.’
Josh smiled at her then opened the door. ‘Come on, Samantha, we’d better get a move on and get to the hotel.’
‘We don’t need to stay for the examination?’
‘Doctor Adams doesn’t think so.’
