Page 10 of The Girls in the Lake
Sam, who had been chatting to the officer, smiled and pressed her palms together in a silent prayer then followed Josh. She turned and waved at Beth, who was disappearing into the mortuary.
Beth lifted her hand and waved back. It was time to get dressed into her blue scrubs, clip the sides of her chin-length hair back under her cap, snap on a pair of nitrile gloves, and cover herself with a plastic apron to catch any spills.
Twelve
Sam looked across at Josh. ‘I suppose that trip down here was worth the drive then? I almost had a heart attack when she said Leah’s friend was missing as well.’
He didn’t want to tell her the reason he’d really driven her down to Barrow was to check on Beth. He had a sneaking suspicion that she already knew about the pair of them, but was being discreet until he decided to talk about it.
‘I know, all I could think was: not again. At least we have more information than we started with. I had no idea aboutThe Tequila Sunrisebeing a party boat, did you?’
She shook her head. ‘Not really my thing if I’m honest. I know it’s popular with the teenagers. I’ve heard my daughter mention it, but hadn’t really paid a lot of attention.’
‘Me neither; when I turned eighteen it was a night at the pub with my mates. I once ended up so drunk the lads had to carry me and my bag of chips home. They opened the front door and threw me in then left me semi-comatose at the bottom of the stairs. My dad found me and dragged me upstairs to bed. I consumed enough alcohol that night to put me off drinking for the next couple of years. There were no fancy party boats back then; a working men’s club was as good as it got.’
She began to laugh. ‘When I was a lad…’ she mimicked.
Josh laughed with her. ‘Cheeky, I’m not that old.’
‘I never said you were.’
‘Still, I’d like to have a look around it, and we need to speak to the owner. If he’s supplied Leah with so much alcohol that she died, then things could take a different turn. We also need to speak to the other people present last night. I’ll task that out when we get back.
They drove most of the way back in silence. Sam was furiously angry-texting on her phone, so he guessed the argument she’d been having earlier was still in full flow. He wanted to ask if everything was okay, but didn’t want her to think he was being nosy. Eventually, she threw her phone in her bag and sighed. Josh took it as a signal to speak.
‘Everything okay?’
‘Kids, they’re a nuisance. You do right not having any, Josh.’
He smiled. ‘That bad?’
‘Only twenty-three out of twenty-four hours. Grace wants to go to a party on Saturday night.’
‘That’s not too bad, is it?’
He had no idea how to handle teenagers, so didn’t want to jump in and upset her.
‘It wasn’t bad at all until she told me it was on a private charter boat calledThe Tequila Sunrise, and I’ve just put two and two together.’
‘Shit.’
‘My thoughts exactly. I can’t tell her why I don’t want her to go either, although she’ll read it on the Internet no doubt.’
‘Yes, but in all fairness at this moment in time all we have is a woman who appears to have drowned through no fault but her own.’
‘Yes, Josh. If my daughter gets drunk – which she will because she sinks shots of vodka like there’s no tomorrow – she could fall in and drown as well.’
‘I suppose you have to look at the chances of it happening again. I mean this is the first time we’ve had an incident related to that particular boat or party boats in general. People do drown in the lake, a lot. It’s a huge expanse of water. I think she’ll probably be okay.’
‘Great, I’ll send her to live with you then.’
Josh knew it was time to shut up. He was out of his depth. He would get Sykes to do some digging and see if there was any intelligence about the boat and its owner before he tracked him down. He still couldn’t see that this was anyone’s fault. How one stupid, reckless moment could result in death or serious injury never failed to amaze him.
His phone began to vibrate in his pocket and he passed it to Sam. She looked down at the display.
‘Jodie. Should I answer it?’
‘No, I’ll ring her back later. Whatever she wants can’t be that important.’
