In Dark Water (Detective Shona Oliver 1)

‘It’s fine,’ Shona reassured him. ‘Always happens first time. You’re doing well. Here, help me cover her up.’ They fixed the orange plastic sheet over the body and carried the stretcher carefully over the tide rutted sand, back to the waiting boat.

McCall helped them manoeuvre the stretcher over the side and onto the flat bottom of the lifeboat. ‘The coastguard want us to put in on Cumbria shore at Silloth. Paramedics and police are already there.’

They made good time and colleagues at Silloth Lifeboat Station towed the Margaret Wilson on their tractor into the boat hall where police were waiting to shut the doors.

‘It’s a crime scene now,’ Shona said to Callum. ‘We’ll all need to give statements.’ She nodded her thanks to a crew member from Silloth who’d brought out a tray of tea.

‘Will the police find out who she is?’ Callum asked Shona. ‘She looked just a young lassie. Her hair, it was just like Paula’s.’ Callum’s girlfriend, the barmaid of the Royal Arms, did indeed have long, blonde hair. Shona hoped the similarity wouldn’t linger in Callum’s memory for too long.

‘They’ll do their best, Callum.’

‘But how did she end up out there?’ he persisted.

‘Well, it could be an accident. She may have been the victim of a crime. Or she may have taken her own life. Cumbria Police will investigate it once they know who she is. You’ve done your part now. It’s okay to let it go,’ she assured him.

‘Do you always let it go?’ He was studying her expression keenly.

‘I try to, Callum,’ she said. ‘I appreciate that can sound harsh, but if you didn’t you would just sink under the weight of it. The grief’s natural, but it can stop you doing your job properly, and that helps no one.’

He nodded, satisfied by the honesty of her reply. ‘Aye, I see how that could happen.’

She meant what she said, but it wasn’t the whole story. The grief could be set aside, recognised it for what it was, the sense of sorrow at the loss of a life. But the anger? The anger that someone had taken a life? That someone had lost their life through despair or another’s carelessness? That was something she could never let go of.

An hour later, the boat hall doors of the station opened again.

‘Come on,’ Shona said, clapping Callum on the back. ‘Once we’ve talked to the police we can get back home and hope the rest of the day is quiet.’

Further up the slipway, Tommy McCall was giving his statement to two uniformed officers. Shona watched as a lean young man with cropped fair hair, a scrappy beard and a dark suit under his grey anorak went up to him.

‘DC

Daniel Ridley, Cumbria Police.’ He showed his warrant card. ‘What can you tell me?’

‘Shona will fill you in.’

‘She the doctor?’

‘No, she’s one of your lot.’ McCall grinned at him.

Shona shook out her dark curls, walked over and placed the helmet on the ground at her feet. She extended her hand. ‘Hello, I’m DI Shona Oliver, Dumfries CID.’

‘DC Dan Ridley… ma’am,’ he replied, noting her firm grip. ‘I’d have thought you’d get enough excitement in the day job.’

‘I assure you, Detective Constable, this is the kind of excitement we can all do without,’ she replied quietly. ‘The body was deposited on the sandbank by the tide. There was no other material with her. No handbag or other personal items. The PM is your best shot at identifying her.’

‘Sorry, yes of course. Sorry, ma’am.’ He reddened. ‘Is she ours or yours, do you think?’

‘We were instructed by the coastguard to bring the casualty in here, so she’s yours. For the moment.’ She looked directly up at him. ‘Is that a problem?’

‘No, no problem. Hear you’re a bit busy anyway. Big drug inquiry,’ he continued. Then, seeing her cool expression, he faltered. ‘You know… my DCI has been in touch with your DCI.’

‘Yes, DCIs. They do that, don’t they.’ She began pulling on her gloves. ‘Not my operation, Detective Constable, so I can’t help you on that.’

‘No, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am. I hope I didn’t speak out of turn.’

Shona batted away the comment, then fixed him with a steady look in her warm brown eyes. ‘It would be good to know who she was, how she came to be out in the Solway.’ She nodded across to Callum, standing pale but composed by the lifeboat, the blond hair at his temples dark with sweat. ‘It helps the younger crew close the circle.’

‘Yes, ma’am. I’ll let you know.’ He folded his notebook. ‘Can’t be easy. The RNLI volunteers do an amazing job.’