Into the Water

Erin expresses her opinion that Beckford and all of its residents are “strange.” She has been transferred there “from London thanks to an ill-advised relationship with a colleague” (44). Erin recalls being at the scene of Nel’s death with Sean, noting Sean’s odd behavior. While coming back from identifying Nel’s body at the hospital, Erin gets lost and sees the argument between Lena and Louise. Sean fills her in briefly on relationships between townsfolk and suggests Erin do some research to get better acquainted with Beckford’s history.

Jules goes to the morgue to identify Nel’s body. Jules asks after a “silver bracelet with a clasp made of onyx” (53) that belonged to their mother and that Nel always wore. It is missing and was not found with Nel’s body.

Lena describes running into friends from school and then Louise. Lena is upset that she was not allowed to identify her mother’s body, saying, “It should have been me, but they wouldn’t let me go” (55). Lena accuses Jules of ignoring Nel’s attempts to communicate with her and lying to the police about it. Lena tells Jules that Nel was unhappy; Jules replies that her relationship with Nel was complicated, and Lena calls Jules a “bitch” and storms out.