Page 39 of The Girls in the Lake
He looked at his watch. ‘About now; I suppose they’re not going to be moving away from the jetty until all the guests have arrived. We probably have a bit of time before they sail.’
Cal nodded. ‘I think so. What happened to birthday parties in the room at the back of the pub?’
Josh shrugged. ‘That’s exactly what I said. There was nothing like this when I was younger.’
‘Money talks, I suppose, the rest of us mortals just celebrate in crappy pubs.’
Karen walked back in. ‘You didn’t want the eighteenth or twenty-first I offered, so I hope you’re not being ungrateful.’
‘He wasn’t, we were just kind of saying how the other half live; spending thousands on lavish parties when you could get pissed down the pub and a takeaway for less than twenty quid.’
She began to laugh. ‘When I was a boy…’
They sat around playing cards until the pizza arrived. It was dark now. Josh didn’t know if he was being overly cautious or plain ridiculous about the whole situation. He hadn’t managed to speak to either Marcus Johnson or James Marshall about the second body; he’d been so tied up with Jodie. It was too late now, but he would visit them at home first thing in the morning and catch them off guard. It wouldn’t hurt to speak to Ethan Scales again either. Brushing pizza crumbs from his jacket, he stood up.
‘Should we go? They’ve had an hour to get into the swing of things.’
Cal nodded. ‘I guess we should. Mum, are you sure you want to come? It’s probably going to be freezing cold and boring.’
‘What’s my other option? Stay here on my own in this creepy building that creaks and groans all the time? No thank you. I’d rather freeze my arse off on the boat with you two.’
Josh smiled at her. ‘Or you could just go home and watch television; honestly, I don’t think anything is going to happen. There’s no point in all three of us being stuck on a boat so late.’
‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two were trying to get rid of me. What are you playing at, Walker?’
‘Nothing, I feel bad you’re having to spend your day off doing this.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that; anyway, I’ve got nothing better to do. Why should I let you two have all the fun?’
What Josh was thinking was that if it all went wrong then she wouldn’t get into trouble with them. Cal could blame being pressured by Josh to take the boat out, but it would be harder to do that if his mum was along for the ride. He was trying to protect them both, but he knew it was futile. She wouldn’t be talked out of it.
Forty-Four
The party was in full swing, and despite his reservations, Ethan found himself enjoying it. Claudia, whose birthday it was, had unsurprisingly made a beeline for James. He wondered if there was some kind of unspoken code among women for these kinds of occasions. Did the hostess get first pick of all the single men? The rest of them seemed to be hanging around Marcus like dogs on heat. Grace was different though, not like any of them. He’d spotted her standing alone a couple of times and she reminded him a lot of himself. He wondered if she was on the outside of this friendship circle, just like him.
James signalled he was about to take the boat out, so he untied it from its mooring and jumped aboard.
‘I guess you like sailing?’
Grace was beside him.
He nodded. ‘I do, I’ve always loved the water. Especially this lake, it’s beautiful and the views are incredible.’
‘Yes, I suppose they are.’ They both looked across the water, the hills, mountains and trees forming a shadowy backdrop. The moon was full, its bright light illuminating the middle of the lake in a sparkling path to nowhere. Grace sighed. ‘It is beautiful. I don’t think you appreciate it when you’re brought up around here. I was always dragged on family days out to the Lakes; sailing, rowing, kayaking and fell walking are just not that appealing to a teenager. I’d spend the whole afternoon in a right sulk because I’d rather be in bed watching reruns ofFriendson my MacBook.’
‘How old are you? Sorry, that’s rude, I know men should never ask women their age.’
She threw back her head and laughed. It was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. The moonlight glinted off her blonde hair and he realised that Grace Thomas was not just pretty, she was stunning. He had butterflies in his stomach, but maybe it was just lust. What would James do in this situation? Flirt with her until she was eating out of the palm of his hand and then take her below and sleep with her, but Ethan knew he couldn’t do that. He wanted more than a quick leg over with this beautiful creature.
Leaning in close to him, she whispered, ‘I’m old enough.’
He felt a torrent of heat rush through his veins.
‘Ethan, what am I paying you for? Can you refill glasses, please.’
And just like that the moment shattered and Grace pulled away. If he didn’t know better, he would say that James had purposely embarrassed him. Hot rage replaced the excitement that had been fizzing through his veins. He mumbled a reply. ‘Excuse me, Grace, my boss is calling.’
She smiled at him, dismay in her eyes. He wanted to punch James he was so angry with him. This was the last time he was ever doing this, a hundred quid or not; he could be his own skivvy.
