The Lake Of Lilies

Chapter 2-2

Jim was making small talk, commenting on the unusual hot weather they had been experiencing for this time of year; the land was dry, there had been little rain now for almost a month.

“We’re due a storm,” he prophesied, sniffing and beckoning with his head at the growing clouds in the sky.

Why was it that people always talked of weather, when there was nothing else to say? Even Lisa, herself, was guilty of it. Every day at work, there was a steady stream of customers who enjoyed chatting about the weather and forecasting what it would be like tomorrow, that and also bodily ailments. Lisa’s kind and friendly nature endeared her to many of the customers, and the elderly regulars often confided in her, disclosing medical and personal conditions; her popularity, coupled with her reliable and conscientious work ethics, meant that she was always given first refusal to any overtime hours. Lisa was working extra hours again tomorrow. It was usually her day off, but Judith was on holiday with her children, so Lisa had another early shift, starting at eight. Her reverie was broken by a sudden small jolt as the car rode over a speed bump. Inside the car and with no air conditioning on, it had grown stifling hot. Already feeling flustered, Lisa’s temperature was being increased by the heat of the enclosed space. She reached out a sticky hand and wound down the window. A cool breeze rushed in, cooling the car and bringing Lisa’s temperature down again.

“How’s the singing going, Lisa?” Jim asked, with interest.

Lisa smiled at the mention of her other, far more interesting career.

“Good thanks,” Lisa replied, “I’m really enjoying the gigs at Belles.”

Her thoughts turned to last night. It had been her third gig there in a month, and Lisa felt it had been a success. She measured this against the crowd’s response, which had been pretty good. There had been applause and shouts of encouragement last night from the audience. Lisa had always been modest about her achievements, yet the owners of the club had been very impressed. After three consecutive entertaining and very good sessions, which had people dancing in their seats, they had asked Lisa to sing this coming Friday evening. A weekend gig was definitely an improvement in prospects. The audience was bigger, and the money was better. Lisa felt nervous thinking about the impending gig, she always did, worrying about her song choice, her choice of clothes, but once she was on that stage, she managed to override her nerves and really shine; the shy, introvert Lisa was overtaken by the melodious, extrovert Lisa.

Naturally shy as a child and also as an adult, people were often shocked when they saw her on stage and heard her singing. Lisa had never been one of the flamboyant, popular people at school, like her friend Emma. In comparison, she had preferred to remain understated, pale but interesting in the background. It had not been a shock to her parents however. Lisa had loved singing; from a very early age she had shown a talent for music, during primary school where she learnt to play the violin. It came naturally to Lisa. Jayne and Tom indulged her passion, recognizing her talent, and spurred on further by the glowing encouragement of her teachers, they paid for her to have piano lessons during secondary school.

Lisa had performed regularly during her school years: acting and singing for school plays and concerts. At fifteen, she had joined the youth orchestra, travelling to Switzerland, Belgium and France. Lisa had found it exciting and enjoyable visiting and performing in other countries, but also nerve wracking being away from home, and although she had enjoyed the experience, she had been more than a little homesick. It was at school that she had met Jake; tall, light brown hair, handsome and in the same year at school, he was similar in many ways to Lisa in both his personality and his interests. Jake was quiet, kind and sensitive and very musical. He played the guitar and piano. It was during their visits with the youth orchestra that they had become good friends, helping each other with school work and projects and going to concerts together. A few years later, romance had blossomed between them.

“How’s Jake?” Jim asked, as if sensing Lisa’s thoughts.

“He’s okay …” she paused, “I think.”

It had been almost one month now since Lisa had last heard from Jake. The last six months their romance had fizzled out, he had moved to the city, landing a job as a*****e manager for a highly reputable fashion outlet. Lisa had no inclination to move to the city, she loved living in Little Hamsden. It was then that Lisa realised she didn’t really love Jake. Sure, she was very fond of him, but her feelings were not strong enough for her to uproot and move miles away to a strange place, leaving behind all the people that she did love and an environment that she felt safe and secure in. That was until today, she thought ruefully.

Even before Jake had been successfully promoted to the larger city branch, their relationship had deteriorated. There was an evident lack of sparkle and passion between them, they were more like brother and sister. So, they had parted with the remnant that they would remain good friends, but over the last two months, the calls and the text messages between them had become fewer. It was a mutual thing, Lisa thought sadly, but they were still bound to see each other, as Jake’s family lived locally and he would be visiting them often, or so his mother repeated each time she saw Lisa in the café. Jake’s mother, Carole, had been more upset by the breakdown in their relationship than either Lisa or Jake, secretly hoping that they would announce their engagement this summer. Lisa’s parents had remained neutral, they liked Jake but wanted Lisa to be happy and accepted it as being her choice. Her sister was of a similar opinion to Carole, feeling that the time was right for her sister to be a Mum, and herself to be an Auntie who could return the favour, by spoiling her niece or nephew rotten.

“I saw his mum yesterday, and she was telling me he’s doing well with his new job,” Jim added conversationally. “Mind you, Carole Hopkins is sure to say that,” he added as a truthful afterthought.

Lisa nodded distractedly, her thoughts were elsewhere. They had almost reached the lake now. The road branched off, and they turned onto a dirt track, pebbles scattering under the heavy crunch of the tyres. Tom slowed down. On either side of the track, clusters of trees clung together, their branches overhanging and entwined, small Aspens with heart shaped leaves adorned with purple and green catkins, and opposite them stood a row of Horse Chestnuts swathed with pretty creamy flowers spotted with yellow, pinks and oranges. Tom stopped the car, the engine shuddered to a halt as he removed the key from the ignition. Lisa gulped, undoing her seat belt. She clambered out of the police car, glad to stretch her legs, for she had been sitting, waiting, for most of the afternoon. The scent of meadowsweet, a wild flower, enveloped her in a sickly embrace, and she looked around. There was a cluster of them behind her, tall slender and creamy white. Lisa felt nervous. The girl’s face flashed in front of her, her stomach flipped over.

“You okay?” Her father asked, concerned by the look on her face. She nodded quickly. “Take us to where you were,” he continued quietly.

Lisa started walking, leading the way, looking around for any signs of the couple. Tom and Jim were looking on the dirt path for signs of tire tracks or footprints. It was quiet, she couldn’t hear any birds singing, the peace of the afternoon had been shattered. The wind was whipping up again, the branches of the trees were bending back and forth. Clusters of Lady’s Smock and Greater Stitchwort flowers rattled in the intermittent gusts. Lisa remembered picking them as a child for her mother. They were bundles of lilacs and whites and looked pretty when put together in a vase over the fireplace. Today they looked iridescent when rays of sunshine beamed upon their petals.

They were almost at the lake. The area was becoming darkened as it was enclosed by the trees and shrubs surrounding them. As the lake came into view, a magnificent Weeping Willow could be seen, hanging its head on the shore, its branches dangling in the water like tendrils of hair. Lisa could see her boat in the position she had last left it, hurriedly pulled up to shore, squashing grass and wild flowers underneath its weight.

“It was here that they disappeared …” She trailed off, with foreboding tingeing her voice. “Into the trees.”

Lisa pointed a finger beyond the boat to the woods. Jim hooked a casual arm over her shoulders, smiling down at her.

“Come on,” he urged firmly. “Let’s go and have a look, see if we can find anything.”

They started walking, Jim asking questions, while Tom strolled leisurely behind, jotting down Lisa’s replies. She pointed out her approximate position on the lake and where the couple had been when she first saw them.

“What were they wearing again honey?” Jim asked, rubbing his chin and looking out across the lake.

“She had jeans on, dark, blue denim,” Lisa answered, “and a red t-shirt, she was slim with blond hair, pulled back into a ponytail.” She reached out a hand and touched the back of her head as she spoke the words. “I can’t be absolutely certain about him though … he had dark trousers on, blue or black I think,” she speculated, “and a white shirt,” her attention at the time had been more focused on the girl.

“A tie?” Tom interjected, clearing his throat.

He was standing by the side of Jim, still jotting down notes. Lisa shook her head emphatically.

“No. He was quite stocky, not much hair, erm …” Her mind wandered, searching for other suitable adjectives to describe him, “tall.”

“Okay,” Tom said, closing his notebook. “That’s a pretty good I.D.”

“How about we have a look around,” Jim suggested.

Lisa nodded, striding purposefully forwards, towards the lake where the girl had tried to flee and the man had given chase. She showed them the route the girl had taken to try to escape.

“She ran all along here,” she summarised simply, pointing. “Then she fell and he caught her.”

She was unable to tell them the exact spot, but she remembered that the girl hadn’t run far. Lisa veered off the path and began walking towards the trees, looking down for signs of footprints. But on such a hot day and without rain, they had left no impressions on the ground. The three of them separated slightly, going in different directions as they searched the wild environment around them for signs of clues.

Ten minutes had passed, and Lisa had walked further into the woods. She hadn’t extended her earlier search this far. It was darker here, the light was partially blocked by the tall, overhanging branches. She shivered in the shadows and crossed her arms for warmth. From the bushes behind her, she heard a rustling and spun around. A rabbit hopped out of an Osier shrub, its whiskers coloured yellow, a natural dye transferred from the furry catkins. Lisa sighed, smiling as the rabbit rubbed its nose sweetly and then hopped away. She decided that she had delved into the woods far enough, when something glistening caught her eye. She moved forward, her eyes focussing on the shining object. It was coming from the shrub. There it was again, a small ray of light that reminded her of the effect you get when sunlight reflects off a sun catcher on a windowpane. Lisa knelt down, fumbling through the leaves, searching with her fingers. She suddenly felt something cold and hard and enclosed her hand around it in a tight grip. She pulled her arm back and looked down into her open palm. It was a bracelet; round and silver with charms hanging off it. It shimmered in the low light of the woods. It was very pretty, Lisa thought, gazing down at it. As she called her dad’s name with urgency in her voice, she knew that it belonged to the girl.