Killing Rachel by Anne Cassidy

at the boathouse. She walked around it until she got to the jetty. It stretched out into the water like a long finger. She walked along it, her footsteps sounding on the wood as she went. It always had a deserted look in the winter months; no boats nestled up beside it; only a handful of girls in hats and scarves and gloves, making a getaway from the central heating and busyness of the buildings. She got to the end of the jetty and stood still for a moment, staring down into the water. It was rippled with a breeze, the grasses at the edge all blowing in one direction.
    Rachel’s body had been found around here. One of the gardeners got in and tried to pull her out but her clothes were saturated. He needed help to pull her free of the water. A picture came into her head. Two men struggling with the inert body, water running from it, soaked fabric heavy on the wood, a dead weight.
    It was too late for resuscitation.
    Rachel had probably been dead for hours.
    Rose sighed. Rachel had been dead to her for a lot longer.

TWELVE
    On Saturday morning Rose decided she would go into Holt with Amanda and Molly.
    She checked her laptop and found she had two emails from Joshua. The first one had been sent at six the previous day.
    I’m in the hotel, the White Rose. I’ve had a quick look around the village and tried to find some of the places on the map. Tomorrow I’ll make a fresh start. Hope things are OK at your old school. Josh XXX
    The second one came later at just before eleven.
    I’ve just been talking to some guys in the bar. I showed them Dad’s map. They told me that the places marked by Dad are away from the village towards the sea, along the mudflats. There’s a path that stretches all along the coast from King’s Lynn to Cromer. These mudflats come between the sea and the towns. They’re so wide that in most places you can’t actually see the sea. Do you remember that I told you about that odd feeling I got? That the place I was seeing in my head smelled of the sea but wasn’t near it? I know you were sceptical but maybe this is the place. Let you know tomorrow. Josh XXX
    She sent an answer.
    I know a few more details about what happened to Rachel. She went into the lake some time late on Monday evening. Some of the girls say that she’d been drinking so it could be just an accident. Mrs Abbott, my old head teacher, came to see me last night and said that the police were pleased that I’d brought the letters and that they showed Rachel’s state of mind in the days before she died. This afternoon, the police want to speak to me (as well as to some of the other students). Keep in touch xxxx Rose
    Holt was a town about five miles away from the school. Getting there involved a walk of about a mile and a half to the bus stop. Then it was a five-minute ride.
    Amanda was talkative but Molly was quiet. She stared out of the window, a large white handkerchief bunched up in her hand. Amanda talked about how things had been in school that term. Rose listened and nodded but really her mind couldn’t latch on to the small talk. She looked at Molly during a quiet moment. Molly always seemed younger than her years. When Rose first knew her she was an excitable character, a bit annoying but good-hearted. Amanda had been like that too but now Amanda seemed years older than Molly. It was as if Molly had stayed in Year Eight, always rushing here and there, her hand up first in class to answer a question. Even the way she dressed was young, wearing odd things in her hair and an old-fashioned mix of childish jumpers and blouses. Today she had a vivid pink feather slide in her hair which looked a little bizarre. Not that Rose was one to comment on other people’s clothes but it all added up to the fact that Molly hadn’t really grown up yet. It made perfect sense that Amanda and she had drifted apart. The fact that Rachel had befriended her gave Rose an uncomfortable feeling. Rachel had called her a puppy dog and Rose remembered