Katerina Diamond - Woman in the Water

Published by AVON

A Division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019

Copyright © Katerina Diamond 2019

Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019

Cover photograph © Claudia Carlsen/Arcangel Images

Katerina Diamond asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008282950

Ebook Edition © November 2019 ISBN: 9780008282967

Version: 2019-09-17

‘Diamond is the master of gripping literature’

Evening Standard

‘A terrific story, originally told. All hail the new queen of crime!’

Heat

‘A web of a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader on their seat … don’t read it before bed if you’re easily spooked!’

Sun

‘A page-turner with a keep-you-guessing plot’

Sunday Times Crime Club

‘Packed with twists until the last page’

Closer

‘Deliciously dark, keeps her readers guessing throughout as she leads us on a very secretive, VERY twisted journey’

Lisa Hall, bestselling author of Between You and Me

For Pat and Kitty

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise for Katerina Diamond

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Three

Chapter Fifty-Four

Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-Six

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-Two

Chapter Sixty-Three

Chapter Sixty-Four

Chapter Sixty-Five

Chapter Sixty-Six

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Chapter Seventy

Chapter Seventy-One

Chapter Seventy-Two

Chapter Seventy-Three

Chapter Seventy-Four

Chapter Seventy-Five

Chapter Seventy-Six

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Chapter Eighty

Chapter Eighty-One

Chapter Eighty-Two

Chapter Eighty-Three

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Keep Reading …

About the Author

By the same author

About the Publisher

It’s so cold out here. I stare up at the ink blue sky above me, not a cloud in sight, and focus on the stars, a passing airplane twinkles and blinks as it crosses. I hear my name being called, but aside from shivering, I can’t move, my whole body numb. I don’t want them to find me.

I’m as close to death as I have ever been, but I still hang on. I don’t know why when I have wished for the end so many times before. I need to stop fighting it. I need to let myself just slip away.

DS Adrian Miles soaked in the sunrise as he drove home along Glasshouse Lane after a few days away with his partner, DS Imogen Grey, far from local prying eyes. They had barely noticed the relationship creeping up on them. They had gone from strangers to good friends within weeks of meeting each other, then things had blossomed and grown between them until the chemistry was undeniable. They were still in the early stages, not enough to announce anything, not enough to tell anyone.

He smiled to himself as he thought about the last few days, weeks, months. Every moment was a countdown to the next time they could be alone together.

It was always so quiet on these suburban streets, especially at this time in the morning, and the calming effect of the River Exe seemed to ebb into these surrounding neighbourhoods. Something about living near water makes people generally more relaxed. He must have driven past at least ten people out for a morning stroll with their dogs. Maybe getting a dog would be a good way to get out of the house more; these days, he mostly just drove anywhere rather than walk.

More often than not, as he drove he found himself thinking about Imogen and missing her when she wasn’t beside him, in any capacity. These feelings had crept up on him and he found himself completely losing himself to her, as though he had no choice in the matter. He’d also sometimes find himself smiling, without realising. Was this happiness?

It was certainly difficult with Imogen wanting to keep it a secret. Although relationships were allowed it definitely complicated things at work. The DCI had expressed in the past that she wasn’t overly keen on relationships within the unit. It was a mess for sure, but worst-case scenario one of them could transfer to a different division. He wouldn’t let work get in the way of this. Adrian had never felt like other people in as much as he had never thought himself capable of a meaningful and grown-up relationship. If that’s what this was then he would rather lose his job than her. He couldn’t lose her, not after all the pain of losing his previous more serious relationships. Jobs were replaceable, people weren’t.