It came as a strange relief when she heard the screams. Finally it was happening, something to react to.
They were on a break, two hours after arriving. Juice bottles and chocolate, the odd piece of fruit.
Surtsey had her face to the sun, the burn on her skin. She kept her eyes closed for a moment when the screaming started, tried to guess who it was. Rachel? Kezia?
She opened her eyes and squinted, tried to focus. Kezia and Brendan were the only ones not here, so it must be her. Were those two friends now? Was Brendan moving on to someone younger and happier?
Halima and Rachel stood, shielding their eyes as they looked west over the edge of the hill. Watching, waiting. Alex and Sean began walking up the rise towards the noise.
The screaming stopped and was replaced by shouts, Brendan’s voice.
Surtsey got up as Brendan appeared on the horizon, waving for them to come. Alex and Sean hurried towards him as Kezia appeared behind.
Halima threw Surtsey a look. ‘What the hell?’
They all went, Surtsey at the back, tethered to them by an invisible rope.
Brendan was already explaining something to the boys, holding Kezia’s shoulder as she buried her face in her hands. Rachel was with them now, then Halima, Surtsey yards behind. Brendan repeated himself for Rachel then again for Halima. Surtsey watched the rest of them, how they reacted, searching for clues about how to behave. Shock, horror, disbelief. She tried them on, see how they felt.
‘It’s Tom,’ Brendan said. ‘We found his body. He’s dead.’
Shock. Horror. Disbelief.
Surtsey really felt them, let her face feel them.
‘Tell us exactly what happened,’ Rachel said. She suddenly seemed much older than the rest of them, someone in charge.
Brendan was out of breath. He swapped a glance with Kezia whose face crumpled in tears.
‘We went for a walk,’ Brendan said. ‘Back to the jetty then round to the next cove. There was something on the beach, the gulls were on it. I thought it was a dead seal at first but we got closer and I spotted shoes. Christ.’
Kezia sniffled, not looking up.
‘We went to look,’ Brendan said. ‘It’s Tom.’
Rachel had her authority face on. ‘You’re sure?’
Brendan nodded.
‘He’s dead?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Did you check his pulse?’
Brendan shook his head. ‘He’s been there a while. He had no eyes. His eyes are gone. Fucking birds.’
Kezia let out a burst of tears and snot.
Halima put a hand to her mouth.
‘Jesus Christ,’ Rachel said.
Surtsey pictured Tom in bed with her, gazing at her body, kindness in his eyes. Maybe more, maybe love. Who knew what someone else was ever thinking?
‘I’ll call the police,’ Rachel said, getting her phone out. She turned to Brendan. ‘Can you show me?’
‘I suppose.’
‘Come on.’ Rachel took him by the arm, touching her phone screen as she went.
The only sound was Kezia sniffing.
‘I can’t get my head round it,’ Halima said.
Alex and Sean swore under their breaths.
‘This is going to kill Alice,’ Halima said.
‘Yeah,’ Surtsey said.
‘What was he doing out here?’ Halima said.
Surtsey shook her head. ‘The police will sort it out.’
Halima looked around at the four of them. She pulled the hash pipe and grass out of her pocket. ‘I could use a smoke. Anyone else?’
Alex and Sean frowned and shook their heads.
Kezia looked disgusted. ‘The police will be here soon.’
Halima turned to Surtsey. ‘Sur?’
Surtsey stared at her. ‘Spark it up.’
10
It took ninety minutes for the police to show up and the wait was excruciating. What do you do in that vacuum? They couldn’t go back to work, out of the question. They didn’t want to be near the body, too horrifying. Surtsey and Halima had a quick smoke before Rachel came back with Brendan. Surtsey was stoned and scared she might start giggling at the absurdity of it all, stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere with a dead body. Rachel decided they should pack up and wait at the jetty. More awkward silence there, Kezia still blubbing away like she personally owned the shock. Fuck that, thought Surtsey, I was close to him, not you. I should have first dibs on the grief here.
Brendan tried to reassure her, seeing it as his boyfriend duty, but she just shrugged, gave him a hug then wandered off to be alone on the beach. She had to be away from it all, couldn’t stand the silence of the others. She wanted to scream, pick up clumps of wet sand and hurl them into the sea, smash rocks with her hammer, run up the side of the hill and throw herself into the crater, plummet into the searing magma oceans at the earth’s core, cause a chain reaction that would detonate the planet from the inside, throw pieces of the world into the universe where they could never be reassembled.
She sat on the sand and listened to the waves.
Eventually she heard an engine and saw the police markings on the black boat as it thrust round the coast towards the jetty. She watched as everyone else got up to meet them. She took juddering breaths, trying to calm her heart, then stood up, wiped the sand from her hands and walked to the jetty.
By the time she got there most of the police were out of the boat. Two tall officers in uniform with black lifejackets, and two women and a man in plain clothes carrying boxes and backpacks of equipment. They were presumably forensics. The last one out of the boat was an older guy with a beer gut who needed a hand from one of the younger officers to keep his balance as the boat bobbed. He had a red face and patchy beard, the skin of a heavy drinker. He didn’t look comfortable in the sunshine, sweat patches on his shirt.
‘I’m DCI Jason Yates,’ he said, once everyone had gathered round. ‘We got a call from Rachel Worthington?’
‘That’s me.’
‘OK, love, how about you get me up to
