Nine Lives by Anita Waller (best english books to read .txt) 📗

into that water without waders, and take care. None of it is easy to walk in, and the water levels have risen overnight, so we’ve been told. I don’t want any accidents. Your team leaders have transmitters, and I suggest you have your phones on your person in case anything happens. If you find anything at all, your team leader is your first person to tell, and they will contact either Beth or myself. Any questions?’

There were none. Every officer was keen to get on with the search, and looking forward to getting this day over with. Almost everybody in the contingent had already been out to the river, and knew what they were facing; the sooner they were done, the better.

Becky scrolled through the contacts on her phone while trying to manipulate the bagel that was dripping butter onto her left hand. Finally she found what she was looking for, and rang Zoe Wilton’s number. She hoped it was the right Zoe.

Clare’s sudden decision to have an hour in the gym the previous evening had caused some trepidation in both Becky and Katie, but they had extracted a promise that she would take a taxi there and back. They had offered to go with her, but she had clearly wanted time on her own, and so they pretended they weren’t worried in any way.

Becky had felt a degree of relief when they had received a text from Clare saying she was okay, and staying the night with Zoe, as she had brought her car, and they were going to work on Macbeth. She had finished with a see you tomorrow and a kiss.

‘Zoe, it’s Becky, Clare’s housemate.’

‘Clare?’

‘Clare Vincent…’

‘Oh, that Clare. Hi, Becky. What can I do for you? I was so sorry to hear about Susie. We all are, but I’m sure you know that.’

‘Isn’t Clare with you?’ Becky felt sick. She didn’t really want Zoe to answer.

‘No, I usually see her at the gym, but I haven’t been for a few days.’

‘O…kay,’ Becky said slowly. ‘I must have misunderstood what she said. Sorry to have bothered you.’ She disconnected and turned to Katie.

‘What is it?’ There was fear in Katie’s voice.

‘She’s not there. Zoe hasn’t been to the gym for a few days.’ She clicked on Messenger and showed the message to Katie. ‘This definitely says she’s staying at Zoe’s. We have to ring DI Cheetham.’

The cold hit all of them as they began the searches at their designated points. Ian Thomas was glad he’d been given Flick Ardern, Mike Nestor and Sam King as his team – all reliable, and would simply get on with the job with no messing. It was there to be done, and they would do it.

‘Flick, you stay this side with me,’ Ian said, then laughed as he saw her struggling to put on her waders. ‘Hang on a minute, I’ll help.’ Flick’s grey eyes that turned towards him were the same colour as the rain. Her brown hair was starting to come out of her ponytail, and she appeared to be too tiny to be wearing waders. They would engulf her. He could feel her infuriation with herself vibrating out of her.

‘Some people wear these through choice, to go fishing,’ Mike grumbled. He seemed to be struggling as much as Flick.

Eventually all four were suitably clothed, and edged their way to the opposite banks of the river. The noise of the water was thundery as it pulsated down towards the lower reaches, and Flick wondered how much was still up in the hills driving its way down towards the visible source above the little village of Ringinglow.

The rain fell with some force once again but it seemed a secondary issue in comparison with the amount of water running by their sides, and in Ian’s case, under his feet. He had dropped into the river to look at the banks from a different angle – he wanted to miss nothing. He trod carefully, moving further into the middle, then turned around to switch his view to the opposite bank. Nothing looked out of order, so he made his way to the bank that Flick was searching.

She looked up as he joined her. ‘You didn’t drown then.’

‘No, but I’ve never known anything like this. There’s some power in that water. I don’t want you to go in, leave the river itself to us lads. It’ll sweep a little ’un like you off your feet. And don’t go all feminist on me, it’s not about men and women, it’s about weight. I wouldn’t let Kev Ward go in either, he’s not got much flesh on him.’

Flick held up a hand. ‘Hey, I’m not arguing. I know you’re right. So far I’ve found an empty Coke can, and that’s it. I’ll carry on heading lower.’

‘Thanks, Flick.’ He touched her shoulder, and moved a few yards further down river. The ground was treacherously unstable, and he trod carefully. Although he didn’t mind going in the river, he wanted it to be under his own terms, and not propelled there in an uncontrolled kind of way.

The rain was coming down faster, and Ian tightened the drawstring around his hood. It gave an illusion of warmth, even if he was starting to feel chilled all the way through. He figured he’d give them another hour of searching, and he’d get them back to the car with the engine running, to get some warmth. Everybody had brought a flask and food so they didn’t have to go seeking sustenance. A half-hour break and they could return to the job, feeling better. He peered into the water, trying to estimate its depth, but couldn’t. He knew from having been in this spot in better weather that it was normally clear and sweet, but not today.

He took a tentative step, clinging on to a small gorse bush to help his descent, and felt his feet go. He scrabbled around in the most inelegant fashion, finally landing on his knees, water powering