Page 54 of The Girls in the Lake
‘Yes, that’s right. A pyrogram was produced showing the chemical make-up of the binder, which is the same for both samples. I can confirm that both samples come from the same object. They both share the same properties and have an identical chemical fingerprint. I then ran them through the database, and it’s come back as a wood stain and marine varnish. But, the bad news is that the test sample you sent in for comparison wasn’t enough to match it with those taken from the victims. Sorry.’
Beth let out a sigh. She had been convinced the paint would match the boat tied up besideThe Tequila Sunrise.
‘Thank you.’
‘I’m sorry it’s not the result you wanted. Maybe you could get a better comparison sample, slightly bigger, and I’ll run it through again?’
‘Yes, I’ll try. It’s good that you’ve managed to confirm the evidence recovered from both victims was a match. At least that ties them together; now we just need to find where they were before they went into the water.’
‘Yes, I suppose that’s better than nothing. Anyway, I’ll send everything over on official documentation. I just thought I’d ring on the off chance. What exactly happened to them?’
‘One girl was found face down in the water next to the boat she’d last been seen partying on, and the other victim was last seen in the vicinity of the same boat. She went into the water first, but it took longer for her body to be discovered.’
‘How sad, I hope you manage to find which boat it was. If it helps, I think you’re looking for a wooden boat that hasn’t been painted in a while.’
Beth closed her eyes, picturing the boat attached to the rear ofThe Tequila, though it had been too dark and wet for her to see clearly that night.
‘Thank you for this. I’m so glad you called.’ Beth signed off and put the receiver down. It didn’t make sense; if they’d both come off a rowing boat, wouldn’t it have been adrift, or wouldn’t they have been with someone else? Someone had to have been in the boat with them, and she had no doubt that whoever it was had pushed the girls in and left them to drown. What kind of sick person would do that?
Sixty-One
They regrouped in the office. Josh waited for Paton and Sykes to arrive before discussing how the interviews had gone. They all walked in looking sombre.
‘Sorry, Johnson got all antsy and defensive when we asked him what had gone on. Asked for a brief,’ Paton said.
‘He’s sweating buckets though, and looks shifty as anything,’ Sykes added.
Josh looked at Bell, who smiled. ‘Mine was lovely; Ethan Scales is hungover too. Very open, chatty, he was a bit reluctant to talk about what had happened below deck. That’s pretty understandable though, he didn’t want to be seen as grassing his friend up. He did though; he said he caught Marcus with his hands all over Tamara and she looked visibly upset. He didn’t see her go overboard though.’
‘What do you make of him?’
‘I like him; he seems honest, didn’t want a solicitor.’
Josh paused for a moment. ‘Plus, he was the one to jump in and try to save Leah Burton. Right, get him to sign his statement and let him leave. It’s Marcus Johnson I’m interested in. He has motive to push Tamara into the water. He saw red when he was caught groping her and saw an opportunity to get his revenge.’
Sam nodded. ‘We also know Julia Bach was being pestered by him so much that she left her place of work, so he also had the motive to silence her permanently. We don’t know how she ended up in the lake yet though.’
Josh agreed. ‘James Marshall was the same, clammed up as soon as he realised the questions related to Tamara Smythson and asked for the family brief. I’m still not one hundred per cent he’s clean. After all, it’s his boat and he has a reputation as a ladies’ man. We’ll wait for their solicitors to attend and then we’ll tell them things have taken a serious turn and they’re now being interviewed. See what happens.’
Josh stood up. ‘I’ll go and tell Ethan Scales he can go home.’
* * *
He walked into the interview room. Ethan Scales was leaning on the table, his head on his arms. He jumped up as the door opened.
‘It’s okay, thank you for your time, Mr Scales.’
‘Is that it?’
‘Yes, you’re free to leave. Can I offer you some advice?’
He nodded.
‘Keep away from the marina, especiallyThe Tequila. I’d probably give your friends a wide berth for a while as well. You might end up getting dragged into something you can’t get out of.’
Standing up, he looked Josh in the eye. ‘Thank you, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve had enough of boats, alcohol and my so-called friends for a lifetime.’
Josh opened the door and let him into the front office. When Ethan pushed open the heavy wooden door that led into the outside world, he didn’t turn around.
