Cooper had no idea how long she’d been in the water. Time seemed to slow down. Salty water got in her mouth and splashed up her nose, she spluttered and floundered but found her technique again. As she reentered the shallow water and her feet found the sand, she counted the people ahead of her. There were maybe six or seven, meaning she was in the first third. She couldn’t see Whyte. Was she beating him? She hoped so.
Cooper ran up the beach, though waded or even plodded would be a better way to describe it. There was nothing glamorous about trying to run through shallow water or over soft sand, despite what the opening credits of Baywatch led you to believe. The sand clung to her cold, goose-pimpled skin, and each step she took was laboured. She was gasping for air. Tennessee was waiting at the end of the road that led to the beach. His arm outstretched, waiting for her to high-five him.
“You owe me a beer,” Cooper said, panting as she slapped his palm with hers.
Tennessee jumped on his bike. “I’ll buy you two,” he said as he furiously began to pedal up the hill and onto the promenade.
“Make it three,” she called after him.
Tennessee had to follow the road to the very top of Whitley Bay and back to the opposite end of Longsands where he’d find Keaton waiting for him. Keaton would then sprint back along the beach to the finish line.
Now she’d stopped exercising, the chill really took hold, and her body began to shake. Despite her coldness, there was a great atmosphere on the beach. A steel band were playing, and a sandcastle competition was in full swing. Some of the sculptures were amazing. A huge coiled snake made of sand was so intricate the artist must have begun work in the wee hours, a fairytale castle decorated in shells stood taller than most of the children gathered around it, and a great sand sailing boat was beginning to take shape. Lifeguards were performing CPR demonstrations and encouraging members of the public to have a try on the dummies. All in all, the organisers had done a great job, and it was for an excellent cause.
Whyte appeared at her side, gasping and holding two dressing gowns.
“Thanks.” Cooper grabbed her fluffy robe, shook it free of sand and wrapped it around her body.
“Listen, about what you said earlier. I know what you were referring to and I guess I deserved it. I should have had your back, but I didn’t. I was a…”
“A prize dickhead?”
“Em, yeah. You know I don’t really think like that. It was the environment. The station was a bit of an old boy’s club back then.”
“Translation, the station was a hive a misogynistic twats, and because you wanted to fit in, you threw me under the bus. I was fair game.”
He scratched his head. “I regret it… Oh, Martin’s overtaking someone. Where’s Tennessee?”
“He’s near the front. You can’t miss him; he’s wearing bright pink.” But almost as soon as Cooper said it, Tennessee disappeared from view. He’d be back in around fifteen to twenty minutes.
“Mum!” Tina and Josh were running down the beach and had to dodge a boy of eight or nine who was having a massive tantrum. “I’m all packed! Can’t wait to see Granny and Grandad. We’ll need to weigh my bag though, it’s full of textbooks. I might need to leave a few behind.”
“Take as many as you like,” Cooper reassured her. “We’ll find space in my suitcase if need be.”
Tina smiled. “Cool, thanks. I blended some fish to make enough feed for Steven for the next two weeks and got it portioned up and in the freezer. And I booked our taxi to the airport, and checked our travel insurance was still valid, and got some Euros, and… Oh yeah, we brought you some hot chocolate.” She brandished a stainless steel flask.
Cooper hugged her daughter. “You angel. Hi Josh, how’re things?”
Josh gave a nervous, mumbly answer that Cooper didn’t understand a word of. Her hands were too cold to open the flask, so she asked Tina to pour her a cup. She gripped the lid as Tina filled it up with piping hot liquid. It smelled mouthwateringly good. It obviously wasn’t the one calorie per cup crap.
“You were brilliant, Mum. We watched from the old pool.”
The boy having the tantrum was now running away from his mother and trying to kick over every sandcastle that he passed.
It wasn’t long before the first cyclists came back into view. The leading pack was about five strong and Tennessee’s bright pink t-shirt was amongst them. Cooper bounced with excitement and began cheering for him, not that there was any chance of him hearing her. Tennessee leapt from his bike and ran down the bank that led onto the north end of Longsands. A group of runners jostled on the starting line, waiting for high-fives from their teammates. Cooper couldn’t tell which blurred dot in the distance was Keaton, but she knew she wouldn’t hesitate in barging a burly fireman out of the way if it meant giving herself a competitive edge.
The running leg of the race was just under a kilometre in length, but the soft sand would make the journey much more tiring than had it taken place on tarmac or grass.
“There’s Paula,” Tina said, pointing up the beach. “She’s gaining on the man in third.”
Keaton’s legs pumped hard, causing plumes of sand to billow behind her as she ran.
“Come on, Paula!” Cooper cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled as loud as she could. “Yes, she’s caught him. She’s in third.”
“The man in second is slowing,” Tina said. “That, or Paula’s getting faster.”
A beefy man in too-tight shorts crossed the finish line to rapturous applause from the gathered spectators.
“They’re neck and neck… Oh, come on, Paula. SPRINT… YES!” Keaton overtook the man in second and powered over the line. She didn’t even look that out of breath. Cooper, Tina, Josh and Whyte ran over to her and showered her in congratulations.
One by one, more runners crossed the line, running into the arms of their teammates. Tennessee didn’t take long to jog along the beach and reunite himself with what he had dubbed the Dream Team. His wife, Hayley, pounced and showered him in kisses. The action made Cooper smile; she hadn’t seen Hayley so happy in a long time. A few feet away, Hayley’s mother cradled little Alfie and chatted to Keaton’s partner and brother.
“Well done,” Hayley gushed at them all. “And Erica, I can’t believe you went in the sea!”
Cooper was halfway through insisting that Tennessee and Keaton take all the credit when Tina handed her her mobile. “Mum, it’s Granny.”
Cooper took the phone and walked away from the group, covering her other ear with her free hand. “Hi, Mum.”
“Hello, Erica. I’m just at the hospital.” Julie’s voice was distant.
“How’s Dad? Flights are booked and bags are packed. Tina and I are due to arrive just before two tomorrow afternoon.” She looked at Tina who was bouncing up and down, telling Keaton how to feed a juvenile seagull while the bratty boy destroyed the sand sailboat? Where was his mother? Her daughter had been through a lot. Some time in the sun would do her good, even if it wasn’t under the best of circumstances.
“Oh. That’s…”
“Do you want me to bring any goodies over? Yorkshire Tea? Marks and Spencer’s chocolate?’
“Erica dear…”
Cooper could sense it before Julie had even said it. “I’m sorry, darling. There were complications with his surgery. The doctor said something about a clot breaking loose and causing another heart attack. He— He didn’t make it.”
Tears flooded Cooper’s eyes. “What?” she asked. It didn’t make sense. It just didn’t.
“He died, darling. He passed about twenty minutes ago.”
Cooper span to face the sea, not wanting the others to see the shock and pain on her face. Though she’d only seen her father a handful of times since he moved away, she always loved him, always missed him. The father-daughter bond had suddenly been snapped in two and the hole it left in her gut ached. Cooper felt as if she was falling.
“Oh, Mum.” Her voice quivered then broke. She hadn’t made it
. She’d been too late and would now never get to say goodbye or tell him one last time that she loved him. What was wrong with her? She should have booked an earlier flight. She could have flown from Manchester or Leeds. She should have handed the case over to another DCI and been on the first flight out of the country the second Julie mentioned chest pains. She’d regret her decision until the day she died.
Sobbing into the phone, apologising over and over for not being there, Cooper felt more out of breath than she had done during her swim. She couldn’t breathe. Behind her, an announcement was booming over a loudspeaker. No. Not now.
“And in second place, from Northumbria CID, congratulations to DCI Cooper, DS Paula Keaton and DS Jack Daniel.”
“Boss?” Keaton saw the look on Cooper’s face and tapped Tina on the arm. Tina instantly read her mother’s mind and ran to her.
“She can’t go up there,” Tina urged.
Tennessee grabbed Keaton. “I’ll go up. You stay here.”
Tennessee took to the stage and collected an enormous silver cup and shook hands with Commissioner Begum and Chief Fire Officer Spence. He thanked his team, thanked Superintendent Nixon and tried to say something witty. Regrettably, no one was listening or watching Tennessee. Cooper’s pained wails had attracted the attention of the crowd; her despair was too raw to stifle. Tennessee jumped from the stage to make way for the winning team from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue, but as his feet hit the sand, a scream filled the air. A scream loud enough to drown out Cooper’s cries. Then another. And another.
All eyes turned to the undisciplined boy. He was staggering backwards, away from the sand sculpture of the snake. His eyes were wide; his mouth a perfect oval. He’d kicked a great hole in the side of the snake, and something protruded from the crumbling mound of sand. It was pale and bloated, and it was unmistakably a human arm.
- - -
DCI Cooper will return.
- Message from the author -
I hope you enjoyed your time with Cooper, Tennessee and the gang. If you could take a moment to head over to Amazon and leave a review, it would mean a great deal to me.
If you’d like to be kept up to date with all things Cooper, join my mailing list on betsybaskerville.com
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Fans of northern noir may have recognised the reference to a crime family called the Daytons. The Daytons take centre stage in Shaun Baines’s books, Woodcutter, Pallbearer and Yardbreaker. This was my way of tipping my hat to Shaun for his support since I released The Only Weapon.
The Fishermen’s Mission is a nationwide charity providing support for active and retired fishermen. The fishing industry is at the heart of life in North Shields, and I’m sure the same can be said for numerous other coastal towns. If you’d like to find out more about the Mission and their good work, please visit fishermensmission.org.uk
- About the author -
Betsy was born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne. She describes herself as a crime fiction addict and UFC geek of epic proportions.
When not writing, Betsy loves hiking with her boyfriend and their very naughty Welsh terrier.
- Acknowledgements -
All those moons ago when I started writing The Only Weapon, I never envisaged I’d follow it up with a detective trilogy. Four novels down and I’m still as excited about writing as ever. Would that still be the case without lovely reviews and messages of support from readers? Possibly not, so I’d like to start by thanking each of my readers for joining Cooper on her adventures.
Roll The Dice would not have been possible without my mum, Liz, and my good friend, Amanda. They are always there to read the messy first drafts. Thank you both. The biggest thank you must go to my partner and best friend, Rob, for his continued support. His good humour has buoyed me during the more emotional moments of the Covid-19 lockdown, and his encouragement is a constant source of motivation. He has listened to ideas, not looked too suspiciously at me while I research how to poison someone, and when I’ve needed a shoulder to cry on, he has been there with his exceptionally good shoulders. I love you.
If you like Erica Cooper, meet Athena Fox…
“Hooked from the first page.”
“A gripping original thriller.”
“Couldn’t put it down. Engrossed from start to finish.”
Roll The Dice (DCI Cooper Book 3) Page 20