by Helen Phifer
Working methodically, she clipped the rest of the nails and bagged them ready to be sent for analysis. Between them, she and Abe checked the rest of the body and rolled her to the side to check there were no injuries on her back. There was nothing to note. Beth also took the nasal, oral, rectal and vaginal swabs. There were no signs of a sexual assault but she would much rather rule it out than not take them and miss some vital evidence.
As if he could read her mind, Abe passed her the scalpel then placed a rubber body block underneath Leah’s back, making her chest protrude and her arms and neck fall backwards. It was time to begin the internal examination.
Fourteen
Someone hammered on the door to Ethan’s cramped cabin at the Freshwater Marine Biology site. His first thought was the police were back and he debated ignoring it: there was nothing more he could do for the girl. He’d spent all morning drifting between tears and guilt, feeling bad for her. His eyes were red and puffy; he didn’t want to face them as he’d already told them everything. What more could they want? The banging continued and he forced himself to get off the bed. Blotting his damp cheeks with the corner of his sleeve, he opened the door.
‘What the hell, James.’
James pushed the door open and marched inside. ‘Jesus, it smells like someone died in here. Open some windows.’
Ethan only had one small window, and it didn’t open very far. He gave it a nudge between the rusted blinds to crack it open as far as it would go.
‘I’d open the front door as well if I was you, mate, it proper reeks.’
‘Yeah, well we all don’t have cleaners and floor-to-ceiling windows – mate,’ he emphasised, to send the point home.
‘What were all the missed calls about? Who died?’
His smile dropped the moment he saw Ethan’s eyes begin to water and his face drop.
‘You haven’t heard? Someone… someone did die. Have the police not been in touch? I’d have thought they’d want to take a statement from you.’
‘What? What the fuck has it got to do with me?’
‘Seriously? Jesus, I woke up to find one of those girls that were on the boat with us last night floating face down in the water. It was horrific. I’ve never felt so scared. She was so cold and still. It was like a bad dream. Where were you anyway?’
James’s whole body sagged as he flopped down onto the two-seater sofa. He ran his fingers through his hair, which Ethan knew was a sign he was nervous, although James would never admit it.
‘You’re not shitting me, this is for real?’
‘I swear it’s all real. Christ, I wish it wasn’t. You didn’t see her floating in the water. It was awful. I thought that she might still be alive so I jumped in to pull her out. I tried to drag her to the jetty, but her hair was stuck in the anchor chain. I had to tear her hair from her head to get her free.’ Ethan shivered as the ripping noise filled his mind; he didn’t think it would ever leave him.
‘I’m so sorry, I had no idea. How the hell did she get into the water?’
‘How would I know, I haven’t got a clue how or why she was in there. Except that she was and now she’s dead. Where did you all go?’
James lifted his face to look at Ethan. ‘I took her friend back to my apartment. I thought I’d give you some privacy.’
‘For what? We didn’t sleep together, if that’s what you mean. I was too drunk for one thing and I don’t think she was that into me. I’m surprised you didn’t take them both back with you.’
‘I wish I had.’
‘Yeah, so do I. Every time I close my eyes all I can see is her pale face turning blue. She was so small, but felt so heavy. The police made me go to the hospital to get checked out and then I had to go to the station to give a statement.’
James was shaking his head. ‘I can’t believe it. Do the police want to speak to me? I didn’t see any of it.’
‘Probably, she was on your boat after all . She left all of her clothes on the deck when she went into the water. They’ll need a statement from you as well. You should go there and speak to someone. The detective I spoke to was called Josh Walker.’
James shook his head. ‘Nah, if they want me, they can come find me. Like I said, I know nothing about it. Why should I waste my time going there?’
Ethan couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but it didn’t totally surprise him. James had regained his composure and could be so arrogant at times. Why should he be any different now? He found himself clenching his fists in anger. What was he hiding? Surely his conscience would kick in, should kick in.
‘I know what we can do to cheer you up.’
Ethan eyed him suspiciously. ‘What?’
‘We’ll go to the Hydro, grab a bite to eat maybe have a couple of drinks in the bar. Take your mind off everything. My treat.’
‘I don’t know, I’m not really in the mood.’
‘Come on, you can’t sit here feeling sorry for yourself all day. Yes, it’s terrible what’s happened, but it’s already happened. It’s too late and there’s nothing you can do to change it. We can grab some food and if you want to talk, we can. It’s got to be better than staying here in this shithole that smells like you have a carcass in the cupboard.’
‘Bugger off, James.’
‘You don’t have anything rotting in here, do you, Ethan?’
‘What are you trying to say?’
James began to laugh. ‘Nothing, you know. I’ve read the stories about those weird serial killers, that’s all. Who was it that liked to kill his victims and eat their brains? He kept their bodies chopped up in bits all over his flat?’
‘Jeffrey Dahmer.’
‘Yeah, that’s the one. How do you know his name, Ethan? You always know the weird shit.’
‘Everyone knows his name, and you don’t complain about me knowing weird shit when we win at pub quizzes.’
‘That’s true. Have a shower and get changed. I’ll give you ten minutes then we’re out of here. You can sleep at mine tonight.’
Ethan wanted to tell him to get stuffed, but he didn’t want to be alone and this was a better option even if it meant having to listen to James and his overinflated ego all night.
Ethan got out of James’s Porsche 911 and put his hands in his pockets. He looked up at the hotel. He really didn’t want to be here, but he didn’t know what he wanted to do instead. He followed his friend into the recently refurbished reception area, which was dominated by two huge purple sofas, and through into the bar. Ethan tugged James’s arm and pointed to an empty table on the patio area in front of the bar which overlooked the lake and headed in that direction. He’d had enough of the water for today and sat with his back to the view, staring inside at the empty tables. It was a nice place, much nicer than the last time he’d been here.
James headed towards the bar and came back with a Coke and a beer.
‘I wasn’t sure what you fancied.’
Ethan didn’t have to think twice; he took the Coke. James sat opposite him, passing a menu his way.
‘You need some food inside you. You’ll feel better when you’ve eaten.’
‘Is that it? Steak and chips and the horrific images of the girl whose life I didn’t save will float away forever. You should take up counselling, James.’
‘Bugger off, I’m trying to help. So why don’t you stop acting all weird and feeling sorry for yourself. It wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t my fault. It was an accident. If it was anyone’s fault then it was hers. What was she doing stripping off and jumping into the lake in this weather?’
‘I don’t know, you tell me. Did you give her any drugs? They’ll do a tox screen at the post-mortem.’
‘No, I bloody didn’t,’ James hissed, realising they were talking a little too loudly and the other customers sitting not too far away who had come out for a smoke were watching them. ‘I’m just as shocked about it as you are. Okay, maybe not as much as you because you were there. You tried to save her; not many people would have. I kno
w it’s all been a bit of a shock for you, but you did what you could. Don’t take it so hard.’ James reached out his hand and grabbed Ethan’s shoulder, gently patting it. ‘Let it go, pal. Sometimes life can be totally shit, then sometimes it can be wonderful. Don’t let the bad stuff get you down.’
Ethan let out a sigh; his fists, which had clenched into tight balls under the table, released and he felt his shoulders drop as all the tension left his body. James nodded.
‘Sorry, you’re right. It’s a stupid accident; it wasn’t our fault.’
‘See, that’s better.’
James took a long swig of the beer, so long he drank half of the bottle in one mouthful. Ethan sipped his Coke. His stomach let out a loud growl; he was hungry. In fact, he was bloody starving. Picking up the menu, he scanned it for the most expensive meal on there; if James was paying there was no point holding back. His friend might have many faults but being mean wasn’t one of them.
‘Can we go inside to eat, Ethan? It’s freezing out here.’
Ethan stood up and they both made their way inside.
Fifteen
Beth watched as Abe gently inserted the biodegradable bag containing all of Leah Burton’s internal organs back into her stomach cavity and left him to begin the painstaking job of sewing her body back together. She needed to type up the post-mortem report while it was still fresh in her mind. Toxicology, bile, heart blood, liver tissue, stomach contents, spleen and brain samples had all been taken and submitted to the lab for a full, comprehensive screen. Beth could find no evidence of major trauma.
She typed ‘accident’ under the manner of death on the report, but when she read it back to herself something made her pause before pressing save. A feeling of unease settled over her. There wasn’t anything specific she could put her finger on, no evidence, apart from the tiny paint chip under her fingernail, to suggest anything other than death by accidental drowning. But it bothered her that a girl would voluntarily strip naked on a bitterly cold night and decide to go for a swim, alone. She was well aware of the statistics that state it is very rare for women to die by suicide in the nude. So why did Leah Burton decide to jump into the lake in nothing but the skin she was born in? Picking up the phone, she selected Josh’s number and waited for him to answer.
‘Hey, how are you?’
‘I’m good, I’ve finished the PM. I thought you’d want to know how it went.’ She didn’t wait for him to answer. ‘There was nothing remarkable about it. Everything substantiates Leah drowning; the only trace evidence I found was a tiny paint chip under her little fingernail. She must have caught the boat as she went into the water. I’ve sent all the relevant samples off, and we should hear back in a couple of weeks. Have you spoken to all the witnesses yet? Is there anything I need to know about?’
‘Just the one that pulled her out of the water: an Ethan Scales. I’m on with that now. We’re trying to locate them to get statements. I’ll let you know what they say. What did you put down as her manner of death?’
‘Accidental; I don’t foresee it changing once the test results come back.’ She paused.
‘But something is bothering you?’
‘It’s probably nothing, but can you check the colour of paint on The Tequila Sunrise? I didn’t really pay it any attention, I was too focused on the body.’
‘It’s blue, I’m pretty sure it is but I’ll double-check and let you know.’
‘I know this is stupid, Josh, but something doesn’t feel right. Even though there’s nothing to suggest that it isn’t. Do I sound paranoid?’
‘No, not at all. What do you mean, though, Beth? You’ve said yourself there is nothing to suggest anything other than an accident.’
She let out a sigh. ‘I don’t know, I don’t understand why she removed her clothes for one thing.’
‘Us humans are a strange species. We often do things for no reason. The only person who knows why she took her clothes off is the victim. Don’t let it get to you. I’ve seen some tragic deaths over the years because of poor judgement on the victim’s part, deaths that could have been avoided. I’m sure you have too. Thank you for letting me know. I have to go and track down the owner of the boat. I’ll see you later, yeah?’
‘I suppose so, yes. I’ll speak to you later. Bye, Josh.’
‘Bye.’
The line went dead.
The door opened and in walked her colleague Doctor Charles Wilson. The look of surprise etched across his face told her that he hadn’t expected to see her sitting behind the desk.
‘Beth, how are you? I thought you were off this afternoon. Why are you wasting your time here when you could be home enjoying that lovely house of yours?’
She sighed. There was no use pretending. ‘I know about Robert and I know you’ve come in specially to cover. I appreciate it, I do. But I’d still like to be present, just to observe, once you get around to the PM.’
His eyes widened and she knew he was weighing up his options. After a pause he said, ‘I know it must be hard for you, but you know that’s not something I can allow. It would be a breach of guidelines and it’s not really ethical, is it?’
‘I don’t want to touch him or have anything to do with the examination, that’s your role and I know that. I just want closure, an end to the dark cloud that’s been hanging over my head for the last seven years. Please, Charles, I need to do this more than you could ever imagine. Maybe watching his post-mortem will make me realise that it’s finally over, that I’m done with him and he has no hold on my life any more.’
She watched as his mind frantically grasped at the right words to say to her, but his head was shaking gently even though he hadn’t yet formed a reply. Cringing, Beth didn’t recognise the whining, desperate voice that had just begged him to let her watch the PM. It didn’t sound like her and she hated that Robert, even though he was dead, could still make her revert back to the scared shell of a woman she was trying to move on from.
‘Look, Beth, I know you’ve had a terrible time and I admire your strength and determination, but this is…’ He paused, searching for the right words. ‘This is out of both our control and you know it. What will you gain from watching? Won’t you be putting yourself through unnecessary heartache?’
Beth held up her left hand. ‘Forget it, you’re right. I know it’s wrong. Forgive me for asking.’ She spoke slowly; the knuckles of her right hand were bunched into a tight, white fist under the desk. She stood up, and he stepped back, almost tripping over the briefcase he’d placed on the floor as he’d walked in. Did he think she was going to slap him? As carefully as she could, she pulled her coat off the hook, picked up her handbag and walked out of the door. She needed to get out of here, out of this stuffy hospital and into the fresh air. She would apologise to him later.
Maybe she should ring the counsellor she’d been seeing. Despite her initial reservations and years of avoidance, Josh had finally talked her into it. She needed to offload today’s events onto someone. She was too tired to keep bearing the weight of everything that had happened to her on her shoulders. Even though she had Josh, there was still a whole lot of stuff going on in her head that she wouldn’t burden him with. If she did that, he’d run a mile, and who could blame him.
Sixteen
Josh walked into the busy CID office in Kendal police station and looked around at his small but hard-working team. DCs Paton, Sykes and Bell were busy on the computers. Sam followed him inside and went to sit at her desk next to Sykes. He walked to the front of the room.
‘You’ll be pleased to know the pathologist has confirmed Leah Burton’s death was accidental drowning, unless further investigation gives us a cause for concern.’
A collective cheer went around the room: relief it wasn’t going to turn into a full-blown murder investigation so soon after the last one. Josh knew that every one of them felt a sense of loss for Leah and her family, but the strain of a murder investigation took its toll on even the most seasoned of them. Paton definit
ely had a few more grey hairs than he’d had last month.
‘It’s just a simple enquiry she’s requested. She found a paint chip under one of the victim’s nails and wants the colour of The Tequila Sunrise and surrounding boats confirmed, to find a match. Paton and Sykes, can you two drive to the marina and get that ticked off the list? Let me know your findings, and I’ll ring Beth.’ He realised his mistake and felt heat begin to slowly burn along his jawline. ‘I’ll let Dr Adams know the score. Myself and Sam will chase down the elusive James Marshall to get an account from him.’ He looked at them; no one seemed to have picked up on his slip, but he was relieved all the same when his phone began to vibrate once more in his pocket, giving him a reason to escape. He took it out and saw Jodie’s name again flashing across the screen.
Walking out into the corridor, he answered the call.
‘Yeah.’
‘Josh, it’s me.’ Her voice sounded different, much quieter than the last few times they’d spoken on the phone. He’d almost forgotten what it sounded like because for the last few months of their marriage she’d done nothing but shout at him. ‘Is this a good time to talk?’
He wanted to tell her no, there would never be a good time to talk between them ever again, but something stopped him.
‘I’m at work, but yes I can talk.’
‘I’m in the hospital, ward nine. I wondered if you could come and see me, but only if you can and you’re not too busy.’
‘Is something wrong?’ He winced as the words left his mouth. Of course something’s wrong, you moron.
‘Yes, but I’m okay. I just really need to speak to you. It’s easier to explain in person than on the phone.’
‘What time’s visiting?’ He could think of nothing worse, but this sounded important.
‘I don’t think they’ll mind, just tell them you’re a copper and they’ll let you in.’
