Red Hawk Rising

then let himself out of the shed. He locked the door and bent to put the key back into place in the old crab pot. As he was putting the key in place he heard a noise behind him. Turning, Jamie saw Enderby swinging an iron bar at his head. He raised the crab pot to protect himself as the bar was swung down and it broke the full force of the blow. The bar broke through the pot, glanced off Jamie’s head and smashed into his shoulder. Jamie felt his shoulder go numb with pain and then everything went black and he fell to the ground. Enderby looked around and noted that they had not been seen. He had his own key and unlocked the door and dragged Jamie inside. Berin, alias Enderby, checked Jamie’s pulse. He was still alive. How to finish the job? Berin realised that the tide had turned and was now flowing out. If he could drop an unconscious Jamie into the harbour quietly then the tide would take him out and he would drown. If he was found then it would be recorded as accidental death. He went back out into the alley and brought back one of the fish trolleys and pulled it into the shed. He put Jamie’s body onto it and covered it with some canvas. Walking out and down to the harbour, he looked to see who was around. Apart from two men working on one of the boats farther up the harbour there was no-one around. They appeared to be engrossed in what they were doing. The cold wind seemed to be keeping everyone else inside. Berin went back to the shed, pulled the trolley out and down the lane. If he was seen, people would think he had something for the Penny Jane. He got the trolley to the water’s edge and no-one had stirred. Moving to the seaward side of the trolley, Berin lifted the canvas so that it would partially hide what he was doing. He pulled the unconscious Jamie off the trolley and over the edge, holding Jamie’s arm so that he could lower the person into the water without a splash. Berin let go of Jamie’s arm and Jamie slid into the water face down. The current caught him and started to pull him away from the harbour wall. Bering quickly pulled the trolley back out of sight and returned it to its proper location. He then went into the shed to check on whether Jamie had got into the living quarters.

As Berin went out of sight behind the shed, Yvonne came out looking for Jamie, wondering why he hadn’t returned to pick up his order. Not seeing him she walked down the harbour-side looking for him. As Yvonne walked down she happened to glance out across the harbour and saw the body floating in the water. Recognising Jamie’s jacket she screamed in horror. The two men working on the boat heard the scream and looked up to see Yvonne pointing out into the harbour. They had a dinghy tied to their fishing boat and moved quickly to get into it to get the body.

As Jamie had slid under the water the shock of the cold water hit his senses. Slowly, he started to regain consciousness as water slid into his lungs. His head and shoulder made him want to scream in pain but he couldn’t. He felt paralysed as his lungs were rapidly filling with water and stopping his breathing. He tried rolling over in the water so that he was no longer face down but failed. Blackness enveloped him as he slipped back into unconsciousness. Yvonne remembered the loss of her husband and didn’t want a repeat. She kicked off her shoes and tore off her apron as she ran to the harbour edge. Throwing the apron aside Yvonne dived into the water and struck out with a fast crawl towards Jamie’s inert body. Her clothes slowed her down and the cold of the water sent a shock through her system. Yvonne steadily reduced the gap between herself and Jamie. Vaguely she heard a Seagull outboard motor roar into life as the two fishermen sought to go to the rescue. She reached the inert body and turned Jamie over to be face up. Yvonne trod water as she put her hand under his chin to hold his face clear of the water. The tide was pulling them both out towards the sea. The noise of the outboard motor got closer and then was throttled back as it reached them both. Willing hands first pulled Jamie out of the water and into the dinghy and then it was Yvonne’s turn. With both persons safely aboard, the dinghy headed back up the harbour to steps that went up onto the quayside.

The scream had brought others out of their homes to see what had happened and they hurried to the harbour-side. Berin also heard Yvonne’s scream and guessed what had happened. He knew that he hadn’t been seen arriving back in the village so he decided to grab his overnight bag and slip away while everyone was focused on the harbour front. Berin locked the door and stood the broken crab pot up as best as he could. He then slipped across the alley and through the dunes, keeping well down so that he couldn’t be seen. He would go up the coast a mile or so, cross over the sea wall and head for a bus route, arriving back in the village later in the day. He felt thankful that he had not stayed overnight in Nottingham when he saw a train was leaving for Lincoln and Grimsby.

As Jamie was brought ashore, one of the fishermen shouted for someone to telephone for an ambulance. A woman came out with a couple of blankets and, hurrying down, wrapped Yvonne in one of them. The two fishermen lay Jamie on his side,