‘Hey, lighten up can’t you?’ Rachel retaliated. ‘We’re just having fun, or have you forgotten how to do that? But you know what, if you’re so worried, I’ll dive in and get the bottle so you can put it in the recycling bin when we get back.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’
‘Me being ridiculous, try listening to yourself!’
‘Go on, Rachel,’ said Nikolai, ‘I dare you to dive in and get the bottle for Jenna since it seems to mean so much to her.’
‘Yeah, I’m up for that.’
‘Rachel, don’t!’
Ignoring Jenna, Rachel began to wriggle out of her dress, while Nikolai and Irina laughed and cheered her on.‘Do it, do it, do it!’
‘Please don’t do this, Rachel,’ pleaded Jenna. ‘It’s not safe when you’ve had so much to drink.’
But her words went unheeded as Rachel climbed up onto a bench seat and, rocking the boat, threw herself inelegantly into the black water. It seemed forever before she surfaced, and gasping at the coldness of the water, she looked up at Nikolai and Irina. ‘Aren’t you going to come in as well?’
‘Try and stop us!’ answered Irina, kicking off her shoes and pulling her top over her head. When she began unzipping her white jeans, she looked at her brother, who hadn’t made any attempt to remove his clothes. ‘If I’m going in, you’re coming in too.’
Nikolai hesitated, but then he saw Jenna staring at him. ‘Of course I’m coming in with you,’ he said, unbuttoning his shirt and revealing a chest that was tanned and matted with hair. ‘What about you, Jenna?’
‘Somebody needs to stay in the boat,’ she replied stiffly as Irina dived into the water.
‘Can’t you just throw the anchor over and live a little?’ He was down to his boxer shorts now and it seemed to Jenna that he was daring her to lower her gaze from his face to below his waistline.
‘This way suits me just fine, thank you,’ she said, her gaze never wavering.
He shook his head. ‘My word, you’re a cold fish, aren’t you?’
Not as cold as you’ll be when you get back in the boat, she thought, watching him dive beneath the surface of the water.
With the three of them now in the water, destroying the quiet stillness of the night as they splashed each other and shrieked at the top of their voices, Jenna strained to keep Rachel within her sights. As cross as she was with her friend for acting so recklessly, Jenna didn’t want her to come to any harm. But she took satisfaction in knowing that Rachel would wake in the morning with a hell of a hangover, which would serve her right.
The darkness had now consumed Rachel and the others, and with a sudden thought of Orla’s body found in the northerly end of the broad amongst the reeds where they were most dense, Jenna called out to Rachel. There was no reply, only the sound of Nikolai and Irina laughing. She called again. Nothing.
It was then that Jenna realised she’d made a terrible mistake; when she switched off the engine, she should have dropped the anchor, and because she hadn’t, the boat had drifted. Cursing herself for her stupidity, she checked that the stern was clear – making sure Rachel hadn’t swum back without her noticing – and switched on the engine to turn the boat around and get her bearings.
She was peering into the darkness when she heard a faint but unmistakable cry. It was a cry for help and it sent a chill of fear racing through her. Oh God, she knew they shouldn’t have come here.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
‘Rachel!’ she shouted at the top of her voice, her eyes scanning the water. ‘Where are you?’
There was no answer. She slowed the engine and called to the other two. ‘Nikolai! Irina! Where’s Rachel?’
From behind her she heard laughter. She spun round, surprised that the noise came from that direction. She leaned over the side of the boat and spotted Nikolai and Irina, but no sign of her friend.
‘Where’s Rachel?’ she shouted at them.
‘We thought she swam back to the boat,’ answered Irina.
‘She hasn’t! Start looking for her!’
Knowing that Linston Broad was unique for having an undertow at various times of the year, particularly at high tide, panic caught in Jenna’s throat as she shouted Rachel’s name, reducing her voice to little more than a croak. She swallowed hard, fighting the fear that was in danger of paralysing her. ‘Rachel!’ she yelled again, cupping her hands around her mouth. ‘Where are you?’
All she heard in response were the calls of Nikolai and Irina.
‘Quiet!’ she ordered. ‘Let me listen.’
