by Helen Phifer
Josh lifted his eyes up to the sky. The storm had passed, the rain had eased to a slight drizzle now, and the thunder had moved on beyond the lake. The faint rumbles getting quieter with every clash.
He bent down, pulling his shoes back onto his sodden feet and walked to where Paton was standing staring at the water, trying to see any sign of Ethan Scales.
‘That was close, Josh.’
He nodded. ‘Too close.’
‘Do you think he’s drowned?’
Josh shrugged. ‘Hard to say, but it would be a turn-up for the books, wouldn’t it? Talk about rough justice, a killer who died in the same way he killed his victims.’
‘Grace had some balls, didn’t she? Even though he’d tried to kill her she didn’t give in and dragged him out of the boat. That’s one tough cookie.’
He smiled. ‘I suppose she takes after her mum; what an amazing girl.’
‘Beth did good too; she figured it out before any of us, and we’re supposed to be the detectives. The way she must have just dived right in to save her, makes me feel a bit of drip to be honest.’
‘It’s not your fault you can’t swim.’
Paton shrugged. ‘I’m going to learn. You never know what’s next working on your team.’
Josh laughed, a little of the tension he’d been holding releasing with it. He’d been wrong about James Marshall, but on the right track. Ethan had them all fooled with his nice-guy act. All except Beth.
The boat came back towards them and docked. Karen and Cal got off. It was Cal who did the talking; Karen was speechless for a change. Paton began to relay everything that had happened on the radio to the control room to update them.
‘There’s no sign of him anywhere. He’s either gone under or swum across the lake.’
‘Surely we’d have noticed him if he was swimming across the lake?’
‘I’d like to think so, but it’s dark and the water is choppy. I’m not hopeful that he’s made it out, but I do think there is a slight chance. It all depends on how good a swimmer he is. We’re going to have to do a full search at first light.’
‘Thank you, both of you. I don’t know what to say. If you hadn’t turned up when you did…’
The words were left hanging in the air. There was no need to say them out loud. All of them were aware that it would have been three bodies they were looking for instead of one.
A new-looking Jaguar parked behind where they were all standing, and Josh turned around to see the DCI get out and walk towards them.
‘Josh.’
He felt a firm grip on his shoulder; it gently squeezed then let go. He knew this was Paul’s way of asking if he was okay.
‘Paul.’
‘Well done, I got Paton’s update. How’s Beth?’
‘Okay, mild hypothermia. She’s gone to the hospital. Sam’s daughter is the same.’
‘Good, bloody good job. All round, excellent effort. I take it we’re just missing the offender?’
Josh nodded.
‘Well, I can’t say that it’s a loss to humanity if he doesn’t turn up breathing, but that’s between us. I would prefer to see him have his day in court, to hear him explain to those girls’ families why he thought he had the right to take away their lives.’
‘Me too, but we’ll have to wait and see if we find him first.’
‘You get yourself to the hospital, I’ll take over here.’
He didn’t argue with him; he was tired and cold. More than that he wanted to see Beth, to apologise for being such an idiot and explain what had been going on with Jodie.
Seventy-Seven
Beth had never been so grateful to wear a pair of clean, dry hospital scrubs. She lay on the bed in the cubicle in A & E wrapped in a special blanket to raise her body temperature, while the oxygen mask made sure she could breathe and there was no chance of her lungs collapsing due to the amount of lake water she had swallowed. She felt a pang of sadness for Tamara Smythson, who should have done the same and would still be alive to tell the tale if she had.
The curtain was pushed to one side and Josh stepped through; he was damp and his chin bristled with the beginning of a beard. He looked dishevelled, but so damn handsome. She smiled, and he rushed to her, pulling her close. Tugging down the mask, she whispered, ‘Are you mad at me?’
He laughed. ‘No, how could I be? You saved Grace’s life. If it hadn’t been for you, we would have been wasting time with James Marshall.’
Another face appeared through a gap in the curtains. Sam stepped through it, and Josh asked, ‘How’s Grace?’
She smiled. ‘Thanks to you, Beth, she’s alive. I’m still in shock about how she ended up with Ethan Scales, but it doesn’t matter. Thank you. If you get fed up being a pathologist I think you should consider joining our team. Josh wouldn’t solve half of his crimes without your help.’
‘Where’s Scales now?’ Beth asked, blushing at the compliment.
It was Josh who answered. ‘They haven’t found him. I’m not ruling out the possibility that he swam to safety, so we’ve put a top wanted marker next to his name. But at first light the police underwater search team will begin diving to see if they can recover his body.’
Sam left them to it, and Josh pulled over a blue plastic chair and sat down next to the bed. He reached out for Beth’s hand, and she clasped it tight. They might have obstacles to deal with in their lives, but she knew exactly what and who she wanted in her future, and Josh was a big part of it.
Epilogue
The autumn sunrise turned the sky above Lake Windermere into a glorious myriad of pink, red and orange. It was breath-taking and the woman who had left her husband fast asleep, tucked up in bed in their hotel room opposite the lake at the Water’s Edge Hotel in Ambleside, was glad that she had. The only sounds were the gentle lapping of the water as it pushed against the wooden jetty and the quacking of some geese who were fighting over the few crumbs of bread she’d thrown in for them. She had walked along to the very end to take some photos of the lake in all its beauty before anyone else arrived to disturb the peace. As she admired the scenery of the lake set against the backdrop of the fells and mountains, a thud against the side of the jetty broke her trance. Turning around, she looked down into the glazed, open eyes of a man lying in the water. His very dead body thumping against the wood. Opening her mouth, she let out a scream so loud it terrified the geese, who all took off flapping and squawking. The council worker who’d arrived in his small truck to empty the bins dropped the bag of litter, which spilt all over the floor.
He ran towards the screaming woman, wondering what was wrong, pulling out his phone in case she needed medical attention. He reached her, and she pointed down at the body in the lake.
Holding his finger over the keypad, he pressed 999.
‘I need the police. There’s a man’s body in the lake, by the second small wooden jetty opposite Water’s Edge. He’s dead.’
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Books by Helen Phifer
Beth Adams series:
The Girl in the Grave
The Girls in the Lake
Detective Lucy Harwin series:
Dark House
Dying Breath
Prequel to the Detective Lucy Harwin series:
Last Light
Available in Audio
The Girl in the Grave (Available in the UK and US)
Dark House (Available in the UK and US)
Dying Breath (Available in the UK and US)
Last Light (Available in the UK and US)
A Letter from Helen
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br /> Thank you for reading this book. I was so nervous about Beth’s first adventure, but you all loved it and took the time to let me know that you did. Which is quite amazing and I’m so thankful to you for sticking with me. This book was a little easier to write than the first, so I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed writing it.
If you’d like to be kept up date with news about future books you can sign up for my newsletter here.
I’m very fortunate to live in a small town, not too far from the beautiful Lake District where Beth’s adventures are set. Bowness, Windermere and Kendal are lovely places to visit if you ever get to this part of the country. Thankfully the crime rate is much lower than the stories in these books would have you believe.
Once again, I’m not a forensic pathologist although my ten-year-old self wanted to be one thanks to watching episodes of Quincy every week. If you are, please forgive any inconsistencies; they are all mine. I’ve tried my best to research and make the forensic procedures as true to life as possible. But at the end of the day it is a story and there may be some instances I’ve used my creative licence to bend the truth for the sake of the plot.
As always a huge thank you to my amazing readers for buying this book. Your support is truly appreciated. If you did enjoy it I’d be eternally grateful if you could leave a quick review. They make such a huge difference and are a fabulous way to let other readers know about my books.
Love always,
Helen xx
www.helenphifer.com
The Girl in the Grave
Beth Adams Book 1
Silence falls as the coffin is lifted out of the ground, yesterday’s rain cascading from it like a waterfall. Glancing into what should have been an empty grave, everyone gasps at the sight of blueish-white fingers exposed in the soil below...
When the body of a teenage runaway is found hidden inside someone else’s grave in a small-town cemetery in The Lake District, an urgent call is made to Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams. Still traumatised by a recent attempt on her own life, one look at the beautiful girl’s broken body is enough to bring Beth out of hiding for the first time since her attack. She’s the only one who can help her trusted friend, Detective Josh Walker, crack the most shocking case of his career.
Beth struggles to believe it’s a coincidence that the gravesite was scheduled to be exhumed, exposing the evidence. Does this twisted killer want to be caught?
Throwing herself into her work Beth discovers traces of material beneath the victim’s fingernails that sets the team on the killer’s trail. But this critical lead comes at a dangerous price, exposing Beth’s whereabouts and dragging her back into her attacker’s line of fire once again.
With Beth’s own life on the line, the investigation is already cracking under the pressure. Then another local girl goes missing… Can Beth stay alive long enough to catch the killer before he claims his next victim?
An absolutely gripping new police procedural that will grab fans of Patricia Gibney, LJ Ross and Angela Marsons from the very first page and leave them gasping for breath by the last.
Order here!
Dark House
Detective Lucy Harwin Book 1
Lizzy pulled the covers over her head. Then she realised what was being dragged behind the person with the torch. She rammed her fist into her mouth to stop herself from screaming…
After a previous case ended in a tragic double murder, Detective Lucy Harwin, has been on enforced absence from the force. But when the body of an elderly man is discovered in an abandoned hospital, she is plunged straight back into a case that will test her to breaking point.
For decades, The Moore housed the forgotten children of Northern coastal town, Brooklyn Bay. But ever since a scandal forced its closure, the abandoned building has been left untouched.
Together with her partner, Detective Mattie Jackson, Lucy begins to unearth its terrible history, and soon finds herself on the trail of a killer ruthlessly fixated on avenging the crimes of the past.
As Lucy begins to close in on the killer, a woman is found murdered on her own doorstep. With the attacks escalating, and those closest to her now a target, can Lucy protect them and herself before it’s too late?
An absolutely terrifying and gripping thriller that will chill readers of MJ Arlidge, Angela Marsons and Rachel Abbott to the bone.
Order now!
Dying Breath
Detective Lucy Harwin Book 2
Take a breath. Pray it’s not your last.
Just a few months after a terrifying case that nearly took her life, Detective Lucy Harwin is back with her squad in the coastal town of Brooklyn Bay – and this time, she’s faced with a case more horrifying than anything she’s encountered.
Along with her partner, Detective Mattie Jackson, Lucy is investigating what appears to be a vicious but isolated murder; a woman found bludgeoned to death on a lonely patch of wasteland.
But when a second victim is discovered strangled in an alleyway, then a young family shot in their own home, Lucy and the team must face the unthinkable reality - a killer is walking the streets of their town.
While Lucy and the team try to find the link between these seemingly unconnected murders, they uncover a disturbing truth – these murders are replicating those carried out by infamous serial killers.
Lucy must get to the killer before he strikes again. But he’s got his sights on her, and is getting ever closer… Can she save herself, before she becomes the final piece in his twisted game?
A dark, gripping and sinister crime novel that will hook fans of Patricia Gibney, Joy Ellis and Angela Marsons from the very first page.
Order here!
Last Light
Prequel to the Detective Lucy Harwin series
Lucy watches the doctor leave, then turns to the nameless victim on the table. ‘I promise I will catch whoever did this to you,’ she whispers.
In charge of a new team, Detective Lucy Harwin is called out to attend the discovery of a woman’s body in an abandoned, crumbling church, and is quickly plunged into a case that will test her leadership skills to the limit.
With no leads except the crudely-fashioned crucifix the victim was displayed on, Lucy is at a complete loss. That is, until another body turns up: an elderly woman who devoted her life to the church.
Faced with a killer stalking the streets of her small coastal town, while also throwing herself into work to forget the love of her life, Lucy’s first case is turning into a nightmare.
Linking the killer to the church where her own teenage daughter volunteers, it seems the threat is quickly drawing closer to Lucy and those she loves. Can she catch this monster and prevent a tragedy that will tear her world apart?
An addictive and unputdownable crime thriller that will hook fans of Patricia Gibney, LJ Ross and Angela Marsons from the very first page.
Order here!
Acknowledgements
I’d like to say a huge thank you to my editor, Jessie Botterill. You took my story and turned it into something amazing. I can’t thank you enough for being so supportive and so lovely, especially in times of desperation when a reassuring kick in the pants is needed.
I’d also like to say a huge thank you to the fabulous Noelle Holten for all her hard work promoting it. You’re amazing. Also thank you to Kim Nash for always being there when hugs are needed by everyone. You both work so hard for your authors and I’m truly privileged you have my back.
Thank you to Oliver Rhodes for signing me and taking a chance; I’m so grateful I get to work alongside the fabulous team which is Bookouture. You guys all rock and you know how to party – you’re my kind of people.
Thank you to the book bloggers who take the time out of their busy lives to read my books and support me. You are truly wonderful, and I can’t tell you how appreciated you all are, there just aren’t enough words. If I could hug each and every one of you, I would.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my fabulous readers,
my number one fans, my inspiration. You have no idea how blessed I feel to be able to do what I love. I write these stories and you, my dear friends, buy my books and read them. Which is all a writer could ever ask for. This writer thanks you from the bottom of her heart.
A huge thank you to the Bookouture authors; I’m blown away by how talented you all are. Yet how lovely, down to earth and always there to offer advice when needed. I’m very privileged to be a part of this special group of writers.
Thank you to Paul O’Neill – I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your surveyor’s reports when it comes to the final read-through. You’re my lifesaver.