Water's Edge

by G R Jordan

  “Have you been up to the memorial?” asked Macleod leaning across Hope.

  “No sir, I was interviewing the neighbours.”

  “Go!” Macleod pointed ahead and Hope drove off leaving the astonished officer behind.

  “Where?” asked Hope driving on down the single track road.

  “Right at the bottom and then follow it to a car park. She might go for the memorial if they have a body, dump it off the rocks down there.

  The car pulled round into the car park and they both exited with it parked in the middle. Neatly parked in the corner was a blue Kia hatchback. Hope was quicker and after negotiating the two gate entrance to the path, raced down it towards the Iolaire memorial, a commemoration of an historic shipwreck. As Macleod reached the path, Hope was out of sight and he took off after her. But then he met her coming back up.

  “Nothing down there, sir. Just nothing. No signs of anyone there.”

  The light was fading now and Macleod was struggling to see far. “Back to the top of the path and see if they went across the field.” Together they ran uphill, puffing the whole way. Hope reached the top first and looked around.

  “Can’t see anything. Where should I be looking?”

  “Access..., access..., will be over there, somewhere.” Bent over Macleod’s hand shot out and pointed in a perpendicular direction to the memorial. He tried to stand up but his breath eluded him and he bent back down again.

  “There!” shouted Hope. “I see a head, over there.”

  Macleod looked up. Over there. No, not over there. That’s where she went. “Go Hope, go!” He hauled himself upright and started to run. Although now night time, the darkness was a twilight and they could see in front of them. What was hard to make out was the surface as it produced stumps of tough grass amongst a boggy base and as she got to the bottom of the hill onto the moorland, Hope tumbled forward, soaking herself in damp peaty water.

  Macleod did not look back as he passed her but kept running. He knew she would get up and follow, she was a lot tougher than him but he had run across moors like this as he had grown up and his eyes began to pick out the drier route. If Hope had any sense she would follow him. In the distance were the sounds of sirens, the officer at the house using his initiative, perhaps?

  The moorland ran fairly flat with a rolling feel of small humps before it climbed back up across several ditches to the rocks that Macleod knew were beyond. As he climbed to the top of the bank he saw two people, a woman and a man with a canvas sack between about the length of a person. They were swinging it back and forward at the cliff edge.

  “No!” cried Macleod. But the pair swung again before letting the canvas bag go. It fell and crashed into the water. Desperately Macleod tried to scrabble down a rocky bank whilst trying to watch the perpetrators of the gross act he had seen. He recognised Marie Smith and watched her walk deliberately and simply shove her son, Iain Angus, into the swirling sea below.

  Macleod reached the bottom of the rocky slope and made across the small outcrop, attempting to grab Marie Smith. But she was ready for him and kneed him straight in the groin knocking the wind out of him. She then turned him round, pushing him hard. But Macleod had a grip like a dead man and he held tight to her jacket causing the pair to stumble and fall backwards to the water below.

  Chapter 27

  The cold of the water caused him to panic and Macleod thrashed about hitting what he presumed to be Marie Smith. He kicked hard trying to surface and found his breath disappearing quickly. With an effort he broke the surface and gasped as he suddenly dropped back down. Something hit him, possibly a foot, but in the water it was hard to tell. He opened his eyes but saw nothing. The salty water was on his lips as he breathed out. Again he sought the surface to grab another precious breath. A breath she never took.

  Arms at his side pushing down on the water, he managed to get his head above the surface and remain there. Thrashing around, he turned himself towards shore and the small cliff edge behind him. Hope was shouting something. Then she was gone.

  He could not see Marie Smith. Then beside him was the bag. Grabbing hold of it, he tried to pull it up and found himself beginning to sink. He had to get this bag to the surface, had to see if she was alive. They had searched for her, now having found her she had to be okay. But his head said different.

  “Catch!” Hope was shouting and in the dim light he saw an orange ring land near him. He could not reach it whilst holding the bag. “Get the ring, Seoras, just get the damn ring!” She was right but how could he let go. She might be alive. “Get the ring or you’ll drown, you bloody fool.”

  He knew she was right. He knew he had to let go. But a part of him just could not. Something made him hold on. His head dipped below the surface again and fought hard to kick up. He still had the bag, still had her, she could still be okay. His head popped back above the surface. He grabbed a breath but a wave came over and he swallowed water. He was choking now. Kick hard Seoras, kick man.

  His head broke the water and he heard Hope’s voice.

  “Officer hold this and don’t let go.”

  “You can’t. It’s not safe. Lifeboat’s coming.”

  And his head disappeared back below the surface. Above the surface, he was sure would have been a loud splash but here underneath, there was the sound of bubbles and something akin to a sudden deluge on the surface. Something had entered the water. There was commotion around him but he saw nothing and began to feel his legs failing, his breath gone and the water he swallowed choking him. He tried to swallow it, to clear his throat but he simply blurted out and swallowed some more.

  Someone grabbed his hand and he felt it being pulled above the surface and jammed into a tight area, and a rope cutting across his wrist. Then an arm grabbed him and pulled him upwards, his head breaking the surface. He gasped.

  “Bloody hold on, you stupid shit. Just flamin’ hold on. They’re coming Seoras.”

  He felt Hope supporting him, her body coming underneath his, holding him up. There was an arm and he was resting on her torso. Then he shivered. It was so damn cold. His mind struggled to think. What am I doing? Where am I? What is this in my hand? The bag! He had to lift it!

  He pulled with his arm and reached with his other. And everything tipped down into the water. Water filled his nostrils. The bag slipped from his grasp. There were bubbles filling his ears and he could not work out what was happening. Then he was thrust upwards, and someone placed his other hand through a rope. Then his body was driven up and he felt the cold air again. He gasped for breath, choking and spitting.

  “Bloody stay there. I’ll get her, don’t bloody move you clown, or you’ll die out here on me.”

  He lay on the life ring beneath him, feeling the water splash his face on occasion but he could breathe. His body was cold, shivering, but he was breathing better now. Gingerly he tried to glance around but he was more drifting than moving the ring himself. Beyond him he saw a hand. It was slapping the water and trying to pull the rest of its body above the surface. It failed and slipped back down.

  Another life ring hit the water beside him and he grabbed it. Moving his feet, he managed to wheel round and saw Hope desperately trying to hold the bag above the water’s surface. There were shouts from the water’s edge but he struggled to understand what they said. With a push he shoved the second life ring towards Hope and tried to shout. But his voice was lost and he watched the ring bang Hope in the back of the head.

  She seemed amazingly calm, though fighting hard, her actions were those of an experienced person. He watched her manage to grab the life ring and then pull the bag half onto it. He saw her face. She was breathing hard, but she looked content. Her life ring was drifting away from him but she showed no panic.

  “Hold on,” she shouted on seeing him. “They will be coming for us. Don’t panic and hold on.”

  He could only nod. He closed his eyes and clung tight to the ring as he drifted offshore. It was almost tranquil now. Hope had th
e girl. They could not do anymore until someone got there. Then his mood dropped.

  She was here with no one. Alone, she went alone. Dear God, were you with her? Why didn’t you put someone useful on the shore for her? She’s still here, somewhere down there. How could you? I should have jumped in. Even Hope jumped in. Did you just watch?

  The tears welled up in him and he began to shudder. His mind swirled with images of his wife. Her hair drifting in the water behind her as she smiled. And they were embracing, rolling down the hill again. But then they fell into the water. And he was stood with a man in a white, Arab clothing for a hot day, looking down at her sinking.

  A hand grabbed his. Macleod was not sure if this was illusion until he felt the cold of the touch send a shiver up him. The face of Marie Smith appeared before him, gasping for breath. She was panicking, barely breaking the surface before descending. He reached. He uncoupled an arm from the life ring and grabbed her. Their hands linked and he felt her weight drag at him.

  “Hold on,” he shouted. But his words were lost as a helicopter roared overhead. The noise was deafening and the water whipped up as it remained above them. A search light swung about and he looked up only to blind himself. He felt Marie’s hand slipping and he tried to grab again. But it continued to slip, so Macleod untied his other hand and was perched over the life ring. He flailed with his second hand and momentarily grabbed her coat. But then she slipped from him, a sudden descent to the depths below.

  Macleod was unbalanced and fell off the ring into the sea again. He shot his arms out in a panic, kicked his legs again. His head surfaced into the din of the helicopter and he sought anything to grab. But he started to sink again.

  Then a pair of arms grabbed him. He was not sure how but something grabbed his coat at the rear and he was dragged backwards. As he was lifted suddenly upwards, he felt the night chill go across his face and blessed his God for it. Arms grabbed him and he was placed on a hard surface.

  “Can you hear me? Can you hear me?” The shout was almost drowned out by the helicopter. Macleod nodded. A sudden thought of Hope made him turn his head and he saw the sea tossing here and there and a woman holding onto a life ring, a canvas bag in her grasp.

  Macleod lifted himself up and he was directed inside the lifeboat. The sea made an unsteady platform but an arm supported him into a seat while a face with a ginger beard asked him questions and wrapped him in a silver blanket. Had he swallowed water? Yes, he had. The man kept on talking to him but all he wanted to do was see Hope. He looked outside the rear door he had come through and Macleod saw the canvas bag on the deck. Someone was cutting through it.

  As the bag was opened, it appeared to move from inside. A face appeared and Macleod thought he saw blood, dark and crusted. The eyes were closed but he recognised the face of the young woman who he had sat beside. The crew were shouting to each other and he felt the boat speed off.

  Sitting back, Macleod was struggling to focus. The man with the ginger beard was still talking to him but Macleod was feeling less inclined to respond. The boat was bouncing along and he was feeling a churning sensation. Suddenly he vomited, catching the shoulder of the man in front of him. The man swore but then wiped the mess off himself, his eyes never leaving Macleod.

  A flash of silver moved behind the man and a figure dumped itself into the seat beside. He raised his head. Hope was scanning him, looking to see his face. She was cold, her hair a mess, the pony tail gone and a wild, ragged mass of red flowed out behind her. She let the silver blanket fall from her shoulders and grabbed his head pulling him towards her, cuddling him like a baby.

  “We got you. Thank heaven we got you.”

  Macleod felt the strong wrap of her arms around him and the curtain fell down. Weeping like a child, he shook as he cried, his hands reaching for Hope’s shoulders. As she held him, they were buffeted back and forward by the boat bouncing through the waves, one minute lifting and the next thudding through a wave.

  The lights of Stornoway town and harbour came upon them but Macleod stayed nestled in Hope’s arms. He heard people coming on board and removing the young woman who had been in the bag. They may have been working on her on the way back, he would not have known. But as he felt the boat come to a halt, he forced himself to sit upright and look at Hope.

  “What happened to her?” Macleod’s finger was pointing at the bag still lying cut open on the deck.

  “They were working on her and then took her away. They were still working when she left. Who knows?”

  Macleod simply nodded and then stood up. The silver sheet dropped off him and he shook out his trouser leg, making the trousers flap against him.

  “Where are you going?” asked Hope.

  “Plenty to do. I need to go and supervise this.”

  “No you don’t. You need to go to hospital and get checked out. Did you swallow any water?” Macleod nodded. “Secondary drowning. You need to go to hospital. Allinson can handle this. We need to get off the boat too. They’ll be back out looking for Marie Smith and Iain Angus.”

  Macleod looked down at the ground. “I had her. She was in my hands and she just slipped out. I lost her Hope. I lost her.”

  “I didn’t see Iain Angus. Did you?”

  Macleod shook his head. “She probably killed her own son. What is that all about?”

  Hope went to walk past but Macleod stopped her and handed her the silver blanket he had discarded. “You might be a hero but if we are to get filmed, better if we look covered up rather than a scene from Baywatch.” They both stepped off the boat and were met by medical personnel as another ambulance left with its blue lights flashing.

  Macleod stood on the pier and looked back as the lifeboat turned again out to sea. In the distance the helicopter of the Coastguard could be seen lighting up the night with its searchlight. Around him were men in blue outfits, now clamouring into vehicles and heading towards the helicopter. There seemed to be action everywhere while he seemed to be still.

  I nearly joined you. God knows I would have loved to join you.

  Chapter 28

  Macleod took his coffee and sat down at a table in the leisure centre cafe. The hour was now just after nine and he had agreed to pick up Hope from her early morning swim. Yesterday had been a day of paperwork once he had gotten the all clear from the hospital, and he did not fancy starting this day with more administration.

  He scanned the pool for Hope and spotted her swimming up and down on the far side of the pool from his vantage point. She was an extremely competent swimmer, cruising through the water. Thank you God for that, he thought, remembering how she had helped save him and how she had managed to keep the bag afloat for so long in the cold sea.

  He noticed Hope climbing out of the pool and giving him a wave. Waving back, he watched her walk into the shower and begin to wash down. The woman had been through a lot but she still cut her wonderful figure and he struggled to draw his eyes away. Maybe it was time to allow himself to look. All this time he had been worried about betraying his wife, as if she was looking down on him. She would have been the first to say that Hope was a gorgeous woman.

  His mobile rang and he answered a call from his boss. It was a routine call to see how he was faring. Macleod spoke with a respect but he also made it obvious he was not up for a conversation of length. When he had hung up the call, he looked for Hope again but she had gone to get changed. Sipping his coffee he waited patiently, watching the gym enthusiasts walk past the cafe.

  After what seemed an age, Hope appeared dressed in a smart pair of trousers, blouse and boots. He caught her smile as she saw him and he pushed back a chair for her, asking if she wanted coffee but holding up his own empty cup. When she nodded, he made for the till to order before returning.

  “Did you enjoy that?” asked Macleod.

  “Always good to swim, sir.”

  “Seoras. Just Seoras. I think I owe you my life.”

  “You would have done the same. Although you need swimming les
sons if you are going to try that sort of thing,” laughed Hope.

  “Where did you learn to be such a good swimmer?”

  “I was a lifeguard before being a policewoman. I’m very at home in the water. But how are you? I mean, really, how are you? To go in where she went in must have been horrible.” Hope was smiling kindly, almost pityingly, and Macleod wished she would just smile normally.

  “I feel free. Her death was something I haven’t faced. My part in it, the part the place played in it, it all just came back in the midst of this. And when I was in the water, I would have been happy to join her. In a better place, I mean. Somewhere where she could be her and I could enjoy that. Our life should have been better, wilder, and freer to do the good things of this life. Not only for each other but also for others.”

  “That sounds all very quick,” said Hope raising an eyebrow.

  Macleod laughed. “That’s the speech, now I have to live by it. But I think God’s given me a chance to change things. But what about you?”

  “Yeah, I’m good,” murmured Hope.

  “You can’t save everyone. And she might make it yet. She’s got a fighting chance because of what you did. Unlike Smith and her son. I spoke to the Coastguard last night and they say they covered the whole area so they must have gone down to the depths. The searches might continue off and on for the next few days but it’s likely they will wash up in the next few months at worst.”

  “Nothing less than she deserves,” snorted Hope. He watched her raise the cup to her lips and then turn to watch the swimming pool.

  “We don’t always get what we deserve but you are probably right,” said Macleod solemnly. “She did kill Carol Hewitt out of jealousy. And when Sara came along snooping to find her mother’s killer, I believe Smith initially thought she had found her lover again. But when she had to pay and realised that she was like the others, she started to see the threat. I think Sara wanted to confront her that night when they met out by the loch. Smith planned it to be there.”