Page 67 of The Girls in the Lake

‘Where’s Scales now?’ Beth asked, blushing at the compliment.

It was Josh who answered. ‘They haven’t found him. I’m not ruling out the possibility that he swam to safety, so we’ve put a top wanted marker next to his name. But at first light the police underwater search team will begin diving to see if they can recover his body.’

Sam left them to it, and Josh pulled over a blue plastic chair and sat down next to the bed. He reached out for Beth’s hand, and she clasped it tight. They might have obstacles to deal with in their lives, but she knew exactly what and who she wanted in her future, and Josh was a big part of it.

Epilogue

The autumn sunrise turned the sky above Lake Windermere into a glorious myriad of pink, red and orange. It was breath-taking and the woman who had left her husband fast asleep, tucked up in bed in their hotel room opposite the lake at the Water’s Edge Hotel in Ambleside, was glad that she had. The only sounds were the gentle lapping of the water as it pushed against the wooden jetty and the quacking of some geese who were fighting over the few crumbs of bread she’d thrown in for them. She had walked along to the very end to take some photos of the lake in all its beauty before anyone else arrived to disturb the peace. As she admired the scenery of the lake set against the backdrop of the fells and mountains, a thud against the side of the jetty broke her trance. Turning around, she looked down into the glazed, open eyes of a man lying in the water. His very dead body thumping against the wood. Opening her mouth, she let out a scream so loud it terrified the geese, who all took off flapping and squawking. The council worker who’d arrived in his small truck to empty the bins dropped the bag of litter, which spilt all over the floor.

He ran towards the screaming woman, wondering what was wrong, pulling out his phone in case she needed medical attention. He reached her, and she pointed down at the body in the lake.

Holding his finger over the keypad, he pressed 999.

‘I need the police. There’s a man’s body in the lake, by the second small wooden jetty opposite Water’s Edge. He’s dead.’

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