Darkness Falls (Kate Marshall, #3)(87)

“Is the kettle on? I think she needs a strong cup of tea,” he said.

“If I were Bev, I’d need something stronger than tea,” said Kate. She looked back to the car, where Bev sat, staring trancelike out at the beach bathed in dawn shadows.

Thirty minutes later, the sun had risen, casting the sand in a blue-silver glow. The wind had dropped, but it was still cold. When Kate and Tristan climbed over the barrier to join Faye and watch the recovery, they saw that the Coastguard’s hovercraft was already moving down the beach toward the water, with five men sitting inside. A green tractor with oversize tires followed at a distance. Three forensics officers in Tyvex suits and waders were walking toward the recovery area, where Kate could see the long, thin pile poking out of the sand.

“We have less than an hour to do this, before the tide turns,” said Faye.

“Won’t that tractor sink in the sand?” asked Tristan. The hovercraft had stopped a few feet from where the pile was driven into the sand, and the tractor was a hundred feet behind it, still moving, slowly inching forward.

“The tractor’s fitted with special extra-wide flotation tires with the air pressure lowered, which should give it the best possible traction. He’s going to get as close as he can,” said Faye.

Kate and Tristan followed Faye out across the sand to get closer to the action. They watched as the tractor slowed, and came to a stop around fifty feet from the hovercraft. A moment later, they heard a shout from the driver and he waved his hand. He couldn’t go out any farther.

It felt tense as Kate and Tristan stood with Faye, watching the Coastguard team work to find the car. A couple of times, Kate glanced back at Bev, but all she could see was the outline of her inside the car, watching with the police officer.

The Coastguard’s team wore long waders as they stepped into the thick, gloopy sand around the long metal pile. Three of the men had long metal hoses, which they used to fire high-pressure seawater down into the sand and loosen it, whilst the other two men dug. After twenty minutes, a shout went up, and a voice came over Faye’s radio, confirming that they’d found a car bumper.

“We need to move fast,” said Faye into her radio. “You’ve got thirty minutes until the tide turns.”

“How do you think Bill drove Bev’s car so far out in the sinking sand?” asked Tristan.

“If he left the road and crossed the beach at high speed, then the momentum could have taken him far out to the water’s edge,” said Kate, feeling a burst of excitement that this could be it. This could be Bev’s car.

They watched as a long chain from the front of the tractor was fed out across the sand to the Coastguard team, who attached it to the car down in the sand. The tractor began to reverse, an inch at a time, until the chain was stretched taut. Its engine roared and hit a higher pitch as it pulled, and its wheels stuck and spun, throwing up wet sand. The Coastguard team dug in with their spades and used the metal hoses to irrigate the sand around the trapped vehicle.

“Oh no, the tide’s already starting to come back in,” said Kate, seeing the foamy water creeping closer to where the team worked.

Then there was a roar of shouting as the wheels of the tractor gained purchase on the sand, and it began to move backward. The sand in front of the metal pile began to move up and bulge, and then, rising out of the sand, came the shape of a car.

Kate looked back toward the shore and saw Bev was now standing outside the police car with her hand on the open door, staring at the ruined wreck. The tractor kept reversing and, with a jolt, pulled the wreck of the car free, up and out of the gloopy sand, dragging it back to firmer ground.

They followed the car as it was pulled up to the forensics tents pitched at the edge of the beach. The body of the car had rusted badly. The rubber of the tires had long perished, exposing the wheel rims. Kate tried to see inside, but she couldn’t make out where the windows had been, and it looked as if the roof had caved in. Two forensics officers unhooked the chain, and the tractor lumbered off, back down the beach. The white forensics tent was lifted and moved closer, until it covered the rusting hulk of the car.

A tense hour passed, and Kate and Tristan went up to wait by the police van with Faye, drinking more tea. They could see Bev was becoming more anxious inside the police car until she got out and ran down to the tent. A moment later, Faye’s radio crackled on her lapel.

“We have a positive ID, boss.”

“Okay, on my way down.”

Faye indicated that Tristan and Kate should come with her. When they reached the tent, Bev was in the arms of a middle-aged male police officer, who was half supporting her and half holding her back from entering the tent. A terrible low keening was coming from her. It was more animal than human, and it chilled Kate, making the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

The side of the tent facing the car park was open, and bright lights inside shone down on the rusting hulk of the car. The interior was a mess of mud and sand and twisted metal.

The forensics officers had spread two large white sheets in front of the car. On the first lay the remains of a leather bag and a laptop with the plastic housing in surprisingly good condition. On a second sheet Kate could see the yellowing bones of a skeleton. The eye sockets of the skull were wide and staring. The teeth were intact, and next to the skull lay a part of the jawbone. The skeleton looked so small.

“The number plate matches. This is the car which belonged to Bev Ellis,” said one of the forensics officers. “We’ve been able to compare the teeth from the skull with dental records. The skeleton we found inside the car is Joanna Duncan.”