Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(93)

If a drowning person gets you in a stranglehold, don’t hold back. Pinch, gouge, bite, do anything you can to get out of it.

The moment that second piece of advice came to mind, Hannah started to fight. She dug her elbow into Mac’s ribs, gouged at his eyes, pinched in a place she hoped would do real damage, and bit down on his arm.

The result was explosive. There was a yelp she could hear underwater, and suddenly she was freed. Hannah didn’t stick around to see what would happen next. She kicked out with all her might and shot away several feet. After two deep breaths to restore her oxygen, and kicking all the while, she dove underwater, changed directions ninety degrees, and swam as far as she could.

When she came up, she saw she’d been successful. Mac was looking for her about ten feet from where she’d emerged. He hadn’t expected her to change directions, but she couldn’t play this hide-and-seek game for long. It was like rolling dice and betting on the outcome. She’d keep changing direction, he’d keep guessing where she would surface, and eventually he’d be right. It was the law of averages, and nobody could break that law. And then he’d grab her again and hang on, prepared for her to put up a fight. The element of surprise would be gone, and she’d end up at the murky bottom of Eden Lake with no air in her lungs.

“I see you!” His voice floated across the water to her. “You’re a sitting duck, Hannah.”

He’d spotted her! Hannah almost groaned. The moon reflecting off the water was just too bright tonight. She waited until he was about six feet away and then she ducked under the water again. She’d run the same pattern she’d run before. He wouldn’t expect that…she hoped.

Her lungs were burning when she came up for air and discovered that she’d won another round. Mac hadn’t expected her to make exactly the same ninety-degree turn underwater. But he would the next time she dove down. And he’d be waiting for her when she surfaced.

“Ah! There you are! Why don’t you just give it up, Hannah? You’re in lousy shape, and I’m not.”

He was trying to distract her. Hannah knew she shouldn’t listen. She had to plan out what to do next.

“I can keep this up all night. You know I’ll get you eventually. And then I’ll get her. And your sister. But you won’t be around to see that.”

Straight line. Try it, her mind shouted out. What have you got to lose?

My life, Hannah answered. But it was a good idea, and she decided to go with it.

A curious thing happened as she dove beneath the surface of the water. She thought she heard something droning in the distance, something like a motor. Was someone coming to help her? Or was she so scared that she was imagining things?

She snagged something with her hand, and for a moment, Hannah thought he’d come under the water to grab her. But it was something slippery like the stem of a plant or…

She was on the edge of the water lily garden! Hannah hadn’t realized that she was so close. And then she remembered something that she’d said to Norman in what now seemed like eons ago. I could always be a floating face in the middle of any of Monet’s water lily paintings. It would be like Where’s Waldo? and nobody would even spot me.

A quick mental picture of the water lily garden the way she’d seen it that afternoon with Norman, and she knew it was about twenty feet across. Could she dive down even further to get under the shallow roots and swim ten feet in to come up in the middle?

What do you have to lose? her mind asked again, and this time she didn’t bother to answer. She had something to gain if she made it. And if she didn’t, what she’d lose would be lost anyway.

Her lungs felt like they were bursting, but she forced her feet to kick as she propelled herself under the surface, straight for what she hoped was the middle of the water lily garden. She had to surface without a sound. No gasp for breath or splash allowed.

Hannah forced her body on until she knew she couldn’t swim another stroke. And then she wound her body through the maze of floating roots, tangled stems, and blossoms. Once she was close to the surface, she willed herself to remain perfectly stationary and silent, and not to gulp at the air her lungs needed so desperately.

She floated and her nose came up. She breathed the beautiful slightly sweet-smelling air. She took two breaths, and then she let her face just break the surface. There were plant stalks around her, taller than her head. That was very good. She straightened her body and let the top part of her head emerge. Carefully, cautiously, she surfaced up to her nose, no further. And nothing, absolutely nothing, happened!

Of course he was looking for her. Hannah expected no less. But he hadn’t spotted her here in the middle of the water lily garden. She was part of a Monet exhibit, and he wouldn’t think to look for her here.

As she remained there, grabbing roots around her with her legs to keep herself stable, she watched for any sign of him. If he started to swim toward Sandy Point, she’d dive down out of her cover in the water lily garden and grab the nearest canoe. She knew how to right it, and she’d head off after him. A canoe paddle could be a lethal weapon, and she wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

But she could see him there, his head bobbing about the surface of the moonlight-clad water, looking for her in all directions. And then she saw something else coming from Sandy Point. It was a speedboat, and the motor was loud across the surface of the lake. There was a searchlight skimming the water, and Hannah knew that help had arrived.