Читать книгу Dead Alone - Gay Longworth - Страница 9

‘Pull. Pull. Pull. Three, straighten up.’ The tip of the boat cut through the deep cold water, parting the mist. ‘Three, are you listening?’ Oars collided. A whistle blew long and loud. The boat started to drift out of line, carried along by the rush of the tide. The muddy brown water slapped heavily against the fibreglass hull. Cold spray covered the girls’ bare pink thighs, mottled with exertion. ‘What on earth is going on?’

‘I thought I saw something on the shoreline. I’m sorry, it looked like …’ the girl paused, her fellow rowers peered to where she was pointing, ‘… bones.’

‘Oh God,’ said the cox. ‘Any excuse for a break! It’s pathetic – get rowing.’

‘No, I swear. I think we should turn around.’

They rowed the boat round and backed towards the muddy stretch of bank. The tide was rushing out, they had to fight it to stay still. The five girls stared over the water. Patches of mist clung to the river, reluctant to leave.

‘There!’ shouted the girl.

There was something lying on the thick, black, slimy surface. Strange outstretched fingers, poking out of the mud like the relic of a wooden hull.

‘It’s just wood,’ said the cox.

‘White wood?’

‘Yes. Let’s go.’

The girl at the back of the boat was closest. ‘I think I can make out a pelvis and legs.’

The girls began to row away from the bank. They didn’t want to get closer. They didn’t want to get a better look.

‘What do we do?’ asked a shaky voice from the back of the boat.

‘Row. We’ll call the police from the boathouse. Get a marking so that we can tell them where it is.’

‘It’s right below the nature reserve. We’d better hurry, it’ll be open soon.’

‘Oh shit. Okay, okay … um, pull, pull – fuck it, you know what to do …’