Free Water Born by Rachel Ward Page B

I’ve found thirteen of them so far. And today one of her teammates fell ill at the pool. Christie. She drank too much water . The water made her worse . It could have been Nic. We’ve got to stop her going there.’
    â€˜Calm down. I can’t understand what you’re saying. What girls? What happened at the pool? Tell me slowly . . .’
    â€˜I can show you on my laptop. I’ve been gathering the evidence. Sit down, I’ve got it here.’
    â€˜Okay, but I’m really tired.’
    â€˜It won’t take a minute.’ I hear a chair scraping on the floor. Then it’s quiet and I picture Mum scanning through the same pages I was looking at yesterday. Now and again Dad points things out and Mum murmurs in reply.
    â€˜Do you see? Do you see what I’m talking about?’
    â€˜Not really. Things happen all the time. Things go wrong. Why do you think this has got anything to do with us?’
    â€˜Look! All Asian or mixed-race girls. All sixteen. Getting closer and closer. It can’t be a coincidence.’
    â€˜Of course it can.’
    â€˜It isn’t. I’m sure it isn’t, Neisha.’
    â€˜Look, stop calling me that, Clarke . What if she hears? Sowhat do you think’s going on, then? I know you’re dying to tell me.’
    â€˜It’s obvious. It’s him .’
    â€˜It doesn’t make any sense. Come on, Clarke, that was a long time ago. There’s been nothing for seventeen years.’
    â€˜And now he’s back.’
    â€˜Have you seen him?’ Her voice is so low I can hardly hear.
    â€˜No. Have you?’
    â€˜Do you really think I wouldn’t tell you?’
    The laptop lid closes. The chair scrapes back.
    â€˜Let’s stop this right now,’ Mum says. ‘You said you weren’t crazy, but this . . . this is crazy. I don’t believe it.’
    â€˜But the evidence . . .?’
    â€˜It’s not evidence, is it? It’s a bunch of sad stories that you’ve put together to fit your fear.’
    â€˜We should at least stop her swimming. Come on, back me up on this.’
    â€˜Stop her? You know what it means to her. It’s her whole world at the moment. Besides, she’s doing brilliantly. She could really get somewhere, Clarke.’
    â€˜But they’re sixteen-year-old girls, Sarita. He’s killing sixteen-year-old girls. It’s too dangerous . . .’
    â€˜Nobody’s killing girls. Girls are having accidents. Boys are having accidents. That’s all there is to it. Anyway, think about it – the swimming pool is probably the safest place for her. There are always other people around. There are lifeguards watching the whole time. You’re watching. God, Clarke, I’m too tired for this. I’m going for a lie down.’
    The chair scrapes again. Damn, I’m about to get foundout. I open the front door and slip out as quietly as I can.
    â€˜Sarita, I’m really worried . . .’
    â€˜I know you are, but I can’t deal with it at the moment. And we need to stop talking about it. Unless you want Nic to find out . . .’
    I close the door behind me and stand with my back to it. Too late, Mum, I’ve already heard. But I’m not sure what I’ve heard. None of it made any sense.
    It’s him. He’s back .
    Who on earth was Dad talking about? And what happened seventeen years ago?
    I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to find out.

TEN
    A noise to my right startles me. I look round and Milton is carrying a metal dustbin in through his gate. He plonks it down while he shuts the gate behind him, and then turns to look my way.
    He sees me and looks away quickly, like he’s been caught out. But he knows I’ve seen him, so he has to look back and now he presses his lips together in a sheepish sort of smile and half-raises his hand.
    I’m the one who should be looking