Page 32 of The Girls in the Lake
Beth lay in bed; it was Saturday, her day off and technically she wasn’t on call. She stretched out thinking she would love nothing more than to stay in bed. If Josh were here then she definitely would have. It was a rare treat for them both to be off on the same day. She tried hard to push the fluttering feeling inside her chest away, to stop those tiny wings of fear from taking over. She was being irrational. If he had worked all night at the station then it was likely Sam or other colleagues would be there with him. Maybe that was why he was whispering. Where else could he be? As long as she’d known him, and despite being unhappily married to Jodie, he’d never strayed. Occasionally he’d stopped over at hers when things got bad at home, but it was rare, and he’d always slept on the sofa or the guest room depending upon how drunk he was and if he’d been able to navigate the stairs. The thought hit her hard: Jodie. What if he’d decided to go back to her, give her another chance? She sat up and swung her legs out of the bed. The only way she would know was if she drove past their house.
Ten minutes later, wearing no make-up and her hair in a short ponytail, she left her house, unable to eat anything because of the sense of dread she was feeling. On the drive to Josh’s old house she told herself over and over again she was being ridiculous. Reaching the outskirts of the town, she realised she would be passing the police station. It was better to check the car park which surrounded it out first; he was more likely to be there, or his car was. If she saw it parked up, she’d drive past and go to McDonald’s to buy them both breakfast, dropping it off for him on the way back.
As she drove down the small road which opened onto the station and surrounding car parks, she couldn’t spot his Mini. Just to be sure she did a loop of the whole area, checking out all the nooks and crannies where a car could be parked to double-check. Her heart was beating double time and she questioned why she was doing this to herself; why was she being so suspicious? She didn’t know, never pegging herself as needy, but perhaps a little insecure. Okay, a lot insecure, but only because of her past. Who wouldn’t be after having almost died twice at the hands of the same killer? Then last night she had foolishly put herself in the most dangerous situation possible and could have died again.How many lives do you have, Beth Adams?she whispered to herself.
Driving along the one-way system to get to the street where Josh used to live with Jodie was slow as morning traffic was starting to build, and she wished she’d thought of this earlier. All she wanted to do was to get this over with.What are you going to do if his car is there?she asked herself. She couldn’t answer because, truthfully, she had no idea.
Finally, the turning for the street of terraced houses loomed in the distance; a part of her wanted to drive past and not even turn her head in that direction. Ignorance was sometimes bliss; it had served her well for the last seven years of her life. With trembling hands, she indicated and turned into the street, not quite sure what number his house was. She knew it was three quarters of the way down, but before she was even halfway down her heart lurched at the sight of Josh’s familiar racing green Mini. Bile rose up her throat, the bitter taste lingering there.
Having no option but to continue, she drove towards it. She didn’t want to look at the house, but her eyes glanced sideways, and she saw everything she needed to confirm her worst fear: Josh was standing with his back to the window, his tousled hair sticking up like it did every morning when he woke up beside her. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes and she had to blink several times to dispel them – she wouldn’t cry over him. She’d be damned if she let herself cry over any man. Slamming her foot down, she drove to a small café she knew nearby and used to favour when she was on her own – before Josh came into her life as more than her good friend. Parking nearby, she dabbed her eyes with a tissue, grabbed her purse and crossed the road.
Riverbank Coffee’s industrial décor and clean white walls were exactly to her taste. The food was good, the coffee even better. It was empty inside; she placed her order then went and sat at a table that faced out onto the fast-flowing water of the River Kent. She was glad the owner wasn’t in yet; she didn’t feel up to polite conversation. As she stared at the swollen banks of the river, she felt her eyes begin to well up.
‘Here you go.’
The voice startled her. She smiled at the girl, who didn’t look much older than sixteen. ‘Thank you, that smells divine.’
Blushing, the girl nodded then disappeared out the back leaving her alone. She stirred the foam and licked the spoon, then picking up the large cup, she blew and sipped. It tasted as good as it smelled: liquid heaven. She shivered as the block of ice which had begun to thaw from around her heart frosted over again. She’d spent seven years protecting herself from people, not trusting anyone. She didn’t know what she was going to do about Josh, but she wouldn’t be taken for a fool; she’d survived on her own long enough without him. She could do it again. Pain shot through her heart and silent tears began to fall. She didn’t blink them away this time; she let them flow. The girl came out from the back room, took one look at her and hurried back inside leaving her to sip her coffee and cry.
Thirty-Eight
Josh walked into the station, knowing he should really go to see Beth. He owed her an explanation. Her voice had been strained when he’d spoken to her, but Paton had phoned to say they’d had a definite match from the prints that Beth had taken from the body. It didn’t matter that it was Saturday; the station was still full of officers, PCSOs and staff.
He didn’t blame the PCSOs for hanging around: the weather was dire, the sky was full of big, grey rainclouds; he wouldn’t want to be out on foot patrol either. He took the steps up to the first-floor office two at a time, eager to get the second girl’s identity confirmed. Then he would phone the mortuary and let whoever was on call know so they could release her body for burial. He thought about what Beth had said, that she wasn’t happy but couldn’t find anything that looked suspicious apart from the trace evidence under both victims’ nails.
Paton and Sykes were already in the office when he entered.
‘Morning, you two. Good news on the ID; at least we can inform her family.’
Sykes nodded. ‘Yeah, it is. Though it’s not the knock on the door you expect. It must be worrying enough that your daughter is leaving to go and live in another country. It’s every parent’s worst fear.’
‘What is?’
‘That they’ll never come home.’
He stared at her; she was right. He didn’t have kids, so he never really thought about the other side of it. To him it was a job that needed to be done. He very rarely let himself get emotional. The last murders he’d dealt with had definitely got to him, but he wouldn’t let that happen again. He turned the kettle on and spooned coffee into three mugs. Carrying the drinks over, he sat opposite Paton and Sykes. ‘Dr Adams isn’t happy with the circumstances.’
Paton sipped his coffee. ‘I can understand that, it does seem a bit odd.’
‘Odd, but not uncommon. I guess the fact that neither of them is local is a bit strange.’
Sykes shrugged. ‘Then investigate some more. We’re not exactly rushed off our feet here.’
He thought about it; on the surface it should be straightforward, but the fact that it was ringing alarm bells with almost everyone he talked to unsettled him.
‘You’re right, I think we should. We can inform the next of kin, but I don’t want the bodies released until I’m completely satisfied both deaths were accidental.’
Sykes clapped her hands. ‘See, that wasn’t hard.’
‘I would have made that decision anyway.’
‘You just needed a shove in the right direction.’
Josh decided that yes, it was his duty to follow through and make sure that every line of enquiry had been followed up.
‘Paton, can you do me some intelligence checks? I want to know if there are any previous reports by either Burton or Bach. One of Bach’s co-workers said she knew the girl was fed up of her employer making advances towards her.’ He looked down as he flipped through his pocket notebook. ‘Marcus Johnson. Can you also do some background checks on him, please?’
Paton was scribbling a list of the names Josh had given him on a scrap of paper, his head nodding. Sam slipped in through the rear office door, taking a seat at the desk she favoured. She didn’t take her coat off, just logged onto the computer and waited for it to load.
