Time To Play by KA Richardson (best book club books of all time TXT) 📗

in a week, Marlo,’ scolded Sharpie. His tone was light, but Marlo knew if she was late again, she’d be in bother.

‘Know we’re supposed to be rest days today, but that’s no excuse. Anyway, busy day ahead. Back out to the coast to continue the search for the missing swimmer, though he hasn’t shown up at home, so it’s very likely now that we are looking to recover a body. Doc, you’re lead diver today, Mac and Marlo on pumps. Connor, you’re second diver. Any questions?’

The team shook their heads and left the room.

‘Pumps, I hate pumps,’ grumbled Marlo as she turned to leave. Her head was still thudding dully, and she knew she’d have to take some paracetamol before heading out.

‘Marlo, hold up a sec,’ said Sharpie.

Feeling her heart sink, she figured she was in for a bollocking.

‘Everything OK?’ asked Sharpie, ‘It’s not like you to be late, or to grumble on like that. Normally you take it all in your stride.’

‘Yeah, am fine. My stupid alarm didn’t go off. Phone’s been playing up for weeks, am about due my upgrade so I’ll pop down when we’re off and look at getting a new one. Sorry.’ She wasn’t lying; her phone had been playing up. Just not today.

‘It’s fine– As long as you’re OK. You know you can always talk to me if anything’s up.’

‘I know, Sharpie, thanks.’

‘Go on then, go suit up, I’ll be down in a bit.’

Marlo made her way down to the wet room and paused as she heard the rest of the team talking inside.

‘She’s never late, Fiver says she was out getting laid.’ Mac’s voice resonated around the corridor.

‘Nah, she’s gay, isn’t she? That’s what I heard when I started?’ said Connor.

‘Gay? Buck? I don’t think so. I’m totally happy with my missus, but if I was ten years younger and single, I’d tap that.’ Doc sounded almost wistful as he put in his twopenn’orth. Deciding to do a little ribbing of her own, Marlo pushed the door open and put her hands on her hips, her best pissed off expression on her face. They all had the good grace to look embarrassed.

‘Not gay, didn’t get laid, and, Doc? You’d need to be a lot more than ten years younger and single to tap this’ – she grinned and did a quick spin – ‘besides, you guys are like family. You don’t tap family.’

‘Never a truer word spoken,’ said Mac, coming over and flinging his arm around her shoulder.

‘So,’ he whispered conspiratorially, ‘why were you late?’

‘Ladies’ time,’ she whispered back knowing full well which buttons to push. ‘Had to make sure my Tampax was in securely. Those little buggers are finicky.’

Mac went a little green around the gills. ‘Errr,’ he said, dropping his arm from her shoulder and stepping back. For someone who swam in the murky depths of the north-east waterways, Mac was incredibly squeamish. Leaving her side, he pushed open the door to the yard. ‘I’ll go sort the RIB.’

‘Right, are we set?’ came Sharpie’s voice from the doorway.

The journey back to the launch point at Seaham Harbour was quiet; the mood in the 4x4 unusually sombre. Sharpie had eventually turned the radio on to cover the silence. The last song cut out mid-sentence as he pulled the key from the ignition.

‘Quick as we can, the sooner we find him, the sooner we get our rest days.’

The wind ripped at them as the RIB sped to the buoy and slowed to a stop. No sooner had they slowed, the heavens opened, and icy rain started falling down. Doc and Connor worked quickly, prepping to dive while Marlo hooked up the lines and checked the pressure.

It was going to be another long day.

Ryhope, Sunderland – 13 November

Nita groaned as her mind pulled her from unconsciousness. She’d barely even stirred since he’d thrown her inside the cage, but now her body reminded her of what had happened.

As she struggled to open her eyes, pain burst to life in places she didn’t even know she had. Her chest crunched and hurt with every breath in. She cried out as she tried to sit and gave it up as a bad job when she accidentally put weight on her injured wrist. It hurt so much that she felt physically sick, and without being able to stop it, she turned her head and feebly threw up on the floor of the cage.

One eye opened a slit; at least she thought it did. The room was still dark, and for a moment she panicked, thinking that he had hurt her so badly that she’d gone blind. Slowly, though, she saw the soft glow of the heater tucked into the corner by the door.

Gingerly, she manoeuvred herself around and cautiously pulled herself into a sitting position. Her stomach felt swollen and sore, and hot pain rippled through it with the movement, causing her to gasp. She fought the dizziness that threatened her consciousness and gently touched her face.

Her left eye was swollen shut, and she felt dried blood all over her nose and cheeks. Her whole body felt like a mass of agony, so much so that she couldn’t distinguish which part felt worse.

Her tongue felt dry and cracked, and she felt around for a bottle of water.

As her fingers closed around it, she realised there wasn’t a lot left, but it would quench her thirst. Taking a sip, she winced as sharp needles of pain roared through her lips.

As she replaced the lid on the water, her head spun. She felt like she was on a merry-go-round in the dark, and the bottle slipped from her grasp as her head lolled to her chest once more, the pain easing into nothingness as she passed out.

Off the Coast of Seaham, County Durham – 13 November