He coughed and his body panicked as it tried to take in lungfuls of air. He heard his name being called, but he couldn’t isolate where the sound was coming from. It wasn’t long before he realised he was moving. He was being swept away down river, and he was gaining speed.
Ranjeet’s mind focussed as oxygen returned to his brain. He had a task to do. He needed to get to Ellen before it was too late. He tried to find something to grab hold of, but there was nothing there. No rocks, no branches, no trees, nothing. He wasn’t in a river in the middle of the countryside with trees hanging over for him to grab on to; this was the Sheaf, running through the heart of Sheffield, surrounded by factories, warehouses, and abandoned buildings. He kicked harder and managed to get to the side of the river, his fingertips holding on to a broken off piece of brick in the river wall.
He looked up and saw a blurred image of Scott staring down at him from faraway upriver, shining a torch in his face. His mouth was moving, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying. He seemed so distant. Had he moved or had Ranjeet drifted too far downstream to be able to make a rescue attempt without putting his own life in danger?
***
Scott had asked Natasha to find a rope from somewhere once Ranjeet had emerged from below the water and started drifting. They ran to the last van in the row of vehicles in the car park, tied the rope around the front bumper and threw the other end over the wall into the treacherous waters below. It didn’t land anywhere near Ranjeet and Scott couldn’t tell if he had even seen what they were trying to do. The rope started to drift. He pulled it out and tried to throw it closer to their stricken colleague again. This time, it landed within a few feet of Ranjeet and drifted towards him on the surface, but he didn’t make any effort to grab hold of it.
‘Come on Ranjeet, for fuck’s sake,’ Scott shouted.
‘Maybe he’s frightened of letting go of the wall.’
‘He has no choice. He either grabs for the rope or he floats off downstream. We need to get closer,’ Scott said.
‘We can’t get any closer.’
‘Fuck. Ok, pull the rope out. We’ll throw it again. Give him a few more seconds to find his bearings.’ Scott curled up the wet rope in his hands. ‘Hold on to me, Nat, I’m going to lean out as far as I can.’
‘You can’t lean any further without falling in. We can’t have three of you in there.’
‘Just … hold on to my legs or something.’
‘Shit. I don’t think I can get any traction, you’re all wet.’
‘We don’t have any choice. Here, Nat, just do it.’
Scott leaned over the wall as far as he could go. He heard DI Brady shouting something from the safety of the ground but couldn’t hear the exact words. From the tone of his voice, he wasn’t happy with this plan. Three quarters of his body was hanging over. If he fell, he’d suffer the same fate as Ranjeet. He hoped Natasha had a good enough grip. With as much energy as he could muster, he lobbed the rope. It landed close to Ranjeet who leapt for it and grabbed it with both hands.
‘Pull me back up,’ Scott screamed.
He heard Natasha groan as she pulled her colleague back. He pushed himself off the wall and they both fell back on the roof of the van.
‘Are you all right?’ Natasha asked.
‘I think I’ve just seen my whole life flash before my eyes.’
‘Blimey, I bet that was boring,’ she smiled, though her face looked frightened.
‘Cheeky cow.’
Looking back over the wall, Ranjeet had tied the rope around him as best he could and started swimming against the surge. At first, he hardly moved, but soon he built up a momentum and headed for Ellen.
‘Come on Ranjeet, you can do it,’ Scott screamed, hoping the encouragement would help him to keep going. ‘Nat, keep an eye on the rope. We don’t want it coming undone.’
***
Ranjeet powered on through the raging torrent that was pummelling him from all sides. He swallowed more water. He could hardly see as he had to keep closing his eyes against the spray that hit him in the face. Every time he looked up, he didn’t seem to be getting any closer to Ellen. He could hear the muffled cries of his colleagues, urging, spurring him on. Failure was not an option. To fail would mean death for Ellen and himself. He couldn’t leave Kesinka without a husband and Hemant without a father. His failure would lead to so much sorrow and tragedy. He couldn’t let those who were counting on him down.
He kicked against the water, swam hard against the tide. His limbs were tiring, his lungs were hurting with every breath and he could feel his heart beating faster to keep him going. How much longer would his body be able to take such a battering before it gave up?
He made it to the other side of the river and dug his fingers into the saturated bank where the concrete had long since crumbled away. He pulled himself further along. He could see Ellen. He was getting closer.
Above, a brilliant white torch light beamed down. He looked up and saw several officers waiting hopefully, their faces pictures of expectation and worry.
At last, he reached Ellen. He heard cheering, as he turned her over and looked into her pale, wet face. Her eyes were closed. He placed an ear against her chest but over the sound of nature, he couldn’t hear a heartbeat.
A rope fell from above, hitting him on the head. He looked up.
‘Tie this around her. We’ll pull her up. Then we’ll get you out.’ Someone shouted.
Ranjeet was rapidly losing energy. It was a struggle to get the rope around Ellen’s waist, but he managed it and gave the nod for the officers to pull her carefully up the embankment. She was safe, and he began to relax. He was spent. He leaned against the bridge where Ellen had come to rest. His breathing started to slow down. He’d been victorious. He was a hero. He smiled and closed his eyes.
Chapter 55
‘You don’t understand. Nobody would understand.’
Jodie was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She was facing Matilda and Sian. Both hands were gripped tightly around the handle of the knife, her knuckles white, her hands shaking. Her wide eyes were filled with tears and determination.
‘Jodie, we want to understand,’ Matilda said. ‘But this isn’t helping anyone. Put the knife down, come and sit at the table, and we’ll have a chat.’
‘Do you think I’m stupid? As soon as I put the knife down, you’ll lunge at me and arrest me.’
‘We’re not going to arrest you, Jodie. We’ve nothing to arrest you for. Look, I think you know something but you’re afraid to tell us. Am I right?’ Matilda asked.
Jodie’s eyes darted from Matilda to Sian and back again. She nodded.
‘Is it about Keeley? About what happened to her on Monday night?’
‘This didn’t start on Monday. It goes back years, long before you lot came along,’ she said, almost quietly.
‘Ok. Explain it to us.’ Matilda made a show of sitting down at the table, as if they were all having a cosy chat together. Sian copied her.
Jodie remained by the door, but her grip on the knife began to lessen.
‘It started after Riley was born. Mum couldn’t cope. She didn’t want him; do you know that? When she told us she was pregnant, Dad was over the moon. I could tell Mum wasn’t. At night, they kept having arguments. Mum said she didn’t want a third child, but Dad wanted a son. He was hoping for a little boy. When he was born, Mum took it hard. She got down, depressed. I had to step up and look after Keeley and clean the house and do the shopping. Then Riley got ill. He started having fits. Funny thing was, nobody ever saw these fits happen, only Mum.’