Page 15 of The Girls in the Lake
He walked along the shore picking up a couple of discarded chocolate bar wrappers and stuffing them deep into his pocket. He hated when people dropped litter, though it was even worse when they threw it off their boats into the lake; locals would never dream of doing such a thing. It was so bad for the environment. There was no one around; it was late and this time of year the lake was never overly busy. Only the diehard used it and most of them wouldn’t venture out when the visibility was this poor. Eventually, he reached the secluded spot his dad had shown to him years ago; the North Basin of the lake was much better for catching carp, especially at this time of year. Last October he’d caught a couple of monsters.
He unpacked his pop-up tent, then began to set his pair of carp rods up. Satisfied everything was good to go, he suddenly realised the mist had almost reached the shoreline and cursed. He was going to have to wait this one out for a while; it was dangerous to be too close to the water when the visibility was this poor. He may be experienced, but he wasn’t stupid.
Tucked up inside his tent he opened the plastic box of tuna mayo sandwiches his mum had packed for him, sat on his folding chair, turned his headlamp on and flipped open his current book:The Ghosts of Sleath, by James Herbert. He was thankful he’d finishedThe Foglast week. As brave as he was, the Lakes were still an eerie place to be when there was zero visibility.
An hour later he’d eaten all of his sandwiches and almost finished his book. He unzipped the tent and looked out. The mist had cleared enough that he could see where he was going and to safely check his rods. Reaching the shoreline, he stopped in his tracks when he saw something large and bulky not too far from where he stood. It was hard to make out so he shuffled as close to the water’s edge as he could. The water lapped at his feet as he squinted and took a step into the lake.
‘What the…?’ he said aloud. He didn’t have his waders on, but took another step, gasping as cold water soon began to fill his rubber boots. It seemed too lumpy to be a log and, as it drifted past, he wondered if he should leave it in the water. But it looked like a sleeping bag or someone’s discarded tent and his conscience wouldn’t let him just leave it there polluting the beautiful Lakes. The water slapped against his legs. He reached out; a couple more feet and he’d be able to grab the offending article and drag it back to shore. His fingers snagged the dark, sodden material and he tugged, surprised at how heavy it was. Changing his grip, he pulled it towards him.
As if in slow motion, the thing bobbed in the water and turned to face him. A bloated, discoloured face stared back at him, eyes unblinking. Archie screamed. Splashing so much he almost lost his footing, he tried to run back towards the shore, terror ripping through him. Grabbing a fistful of reeds, he pulled himself onto land and fell to his knees, shingle digging into the flesh of his bare knees like tiny needles. Fumbling for his phone, he did the only thing he could think of and dialled 999.
Eighteen
The hospital car park was relatively quiet, so Josh left the car without bothering to buy a ticket. He didn’t intend to stop long enough to justify it. Inside and waiting for the lift doors to open, a woman with a sweet little boy came and stood next to him. The boy had a wild Afro framing a pair of huge brown eyes and the cheekiest grin Josh had ever seen. Josh smiled back at him and let them in first when the lift arrived. For a fleeting second, he wondered what it would be like to have a child of his own. He and Jodie had never really talked about it when they were together. They’d argued so much that he knew it had been a wise choice not to have any. But Beth was different; they rarely disagreed and when they did it was for good reason and never for long. She’d been through so much in her life already, perhaps she just had a better grasp of what was worth fighting over. It was still early days for them, but he didn’t foresee that Beth would ever want to have children. It didn’t bother him, though, as he’d rather have her in his life, but he also didn’t want to leave the conversation until it was too late and neither of them could. The lift door opened and he stepped out, the smell of school dinners filling his nostrils as the heavy steel food cart was pushed around the corner towards them.
‘What’s on the menu?’
‘Beef stew with chocolate pudding and chocolate custard.’
He nodded. ‘Smells good.’
The tiny woman, who didn’t look heavy enough to push the big cart even a few inches, threw her head back and laughed.
‘Bless you, it always smells a lot better than it tastes. But whatever you do don’t tell the cook I said that.’ She winked at him, making him laugh.
‘I won’t, your secret’s safe with me.’
He helped her guide the cart and then made his way towards the entrance of ward nine. His stomach began to tie itself into knots with every step. He had no idea why he was here or what he should expect. But he knew in hospital it was unlikely to be good news. The nurses’ station was deserted, so he ran his eyes over the whiteboard nearby searching for Jodie’s name. He couldn’t find it and wondered for a moment if she’d been discharged, or maybe even playing a trick on him.
‘Can I help you?’
The voice behind him made him jump and he spun around to face the nurse.
‘Yes, I’m looking for Jodie Walker. I can’t make visiting time, but I’m with the police so I hope you can make an exception.’
‘We haven’t got a Jodie Walker on this ward. Are you sure you have the right one?’
He nodded.
‘The only Jodie we have is Jodie Phillips, in room six.’
He felt his cheeks flush; she’d reverted to using her maiden name.
‘Sorry, yes, Jodie Phillips. Walker was her married name.’
The nurse opened her mouth to say something then thought better of it. Instead she smiled at him with kind eyes. He thanked her and walked down the long corridor towards the side room with a number six above the door. He hesitated outside, wondering suddenly if he should have brought her some chocolates, or maybe a get-well card, but it was too late and he knew deep down that he was just stalling. The door swung open in front of him before he had a chance to knock, and a nurse gasped to see him standing there. Then she started laughing.
‘Blimey, you gave me a heart attack.’
‘Sorry, I’m really sorry. Is Jodie in?’
He heard the words echo in his brain and cringed. His already pink cheeks turned pinker.
The nurse nodded. ‘She certainly is.’ She stepped to the side and he had no choice but to walk into the room.
A woman he didn’t recognise was perched on the bed, short brown tufts of hair sprouting limply from her head in patches. He had the wrong room, he thought, and was about to turn and leave when she looked up.
‘Thanks for coming, Josh.’
