The Girl by the Thames (4 page)

Chapter 4

Tanya had been told to stay put and that someone would be with her soon. She was in a state of shock. Firstly, because she’d just seen a whale and secondly because the police had believed her. Tanya had braced herself expecting the operator at the other end to laugh in disbelief and start taking the piss or at least give her a bollocking for wasting police time. Instead the operator had calmly taken down some details and politely asked if Tanya wouldn’t mind waiting until they could get someone there. It was the first time a grown-up had taken her seriously. 

Tanya kept her eyes pinned on the river in case the whale appeared again but she couldn’t stop jerking her head around to look for the police car. She was eager to tell someone, anyone, what she saw, even if it was a pig. As Tanya was checking up and down the empty street, she heard the sound of an engine but no car appeared. It was higher pitched than a car and slightly whiny. Then she realised it was coming from the river. An orange rigid inflatable boat headed towards her. In it were two men dressed in bright red waterproofs and life jackets.

As they got nearer, they cut the engine and let the boat drift towards the embankment, where they tied it to a metal ladder that was set into the concrete retaining wall.

Tanya staggered back, she felt slightly odd and surreal, and it wasn’t just the alcohol. This was possibly the most bizarre end to a night she had ever had.

A smiley-faced man with gingery hair climbed over the top of the concrete wall. Tanya could see that his waterproofs were an all-in-one outfit. He squelched towards her looking like a giant hot water bottle.

“You must be Tanya Reece.” His voice was friendly and reassuring with a sing-song Scottish lilt.

“Yes.” Tanya was surprised at how croaky and weak her voice sounded.

“You sound like you’ve had a good night,” he replied.

“Not really.”

“Oh, feeling a wee bit worse for wear?”

“I’m fine.”

“Well, we’ve all been there. Did you know you’re bleeding?”

“What? No.” Tanya looked down and saw her left hand was leaking blood. She had a gash in the heel of her hand, probably from when she went through the window. “Shit.”

“Do you want me to look at that for you? I’m a trained medic, usually of the animal variety but I have been known to patch up the odd human.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay, I’m sure you are but you’ll need to get it cleaned out properly, just in case.”

“Well, maybe you could take a look at it.”

“No problem. I’m Greg by the way. And that fellow over there is Roger.”

Roger was the size of Bigfoot and had a sprawling grey beard and hair to match. He’d just climbed over the top of the wall and was already out of breath.

“Rog, could you go back down and fetch me the first aid kit?”

Roger looked tired and grumpy, and after mouthing something under his breath, he disappeared back into the boat.

“He loves me really,” said Greg winking at Tanya.

“Aren’t the police coming?” asked Tanya.

“No, they contact us whenever they get an animal-related incident.”

“So who are you, then?”

“The BDRS,” said Greg.

Tanya stared back at him with hollow eyes.

“It stands for British Divers Rescue Service. Don’t worry, hardly anybody’s heard of us, we’re a small charity that rescues animals from the water.”

“What? You do this for free?”

“Certainly do,” replied Greg.

Tanya giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Bit sad, ain’t it, doing this for free?”

“Hey, don’t knock it. I get to hang around with guys like Rog. It’s great isn’t it, Rog?”

At that moment Roger appeared with the medical kit and handed it to Greg, who started cleaning out Tanya’s wound.

“How did you get that?” asked Roger.

“I fell through a window.”

“Really. Have you been drinking? How old are you?” Roger’s questions had swiftly turned into an interrogation.

Tanya took an instant dislike to him. “Fuck you, Gandalf.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” said Greg, “Rog, give her a break. Tanya, button it and hold still while I get this dressing on.”

Greg finished bandaging her hand. “How does that feel?”

“Fine,” said Tanya.

“You’re welcome. Now why don’t you tell me what you saw.”

“A whale. I saw a whale.”

“Right, start from the beginning,” Greg said calmly.

“I was feeling sick,” said Tanya.

Roger gave her a disapproving look but she ignored it.

“I puked over the wall and heard a groaning, then this big shape appeared, I thought it was a boat, an upturned boat. I followed it for a while. I couldn’t make out what it was. Then it squirted a load of water up in the air. That’s what whales do, innit?”

“You don’t believe this do you?” Roger barked. “She’s clearly drunk. And it’s steam that comes out of their blowhole, not water.”

“Whatever,” said Tanya.

“Roger, please. Just let her talk. Carry on, Tanya”.

“That’s it really.”

“How big was it?” asked Roger.

“Big, I mean, longer than your boat. Nearly twice as long. ”

“That’s ridiculous. The boat’s 14 feet long. That makes it nearly 30 feet. A whale that big would never make it up the Thames.”

“How do you know? You weren’t there,” said Tanya.

“I don’t need to be, The Thames is far too shallow.”

“Roger, shut up,” said Greg. “Tanya, could you describe its shape.”

“Yeah, it was kinda flat on top. It had bumps and it had fins, big fins. They were more like wings, like the wings of a plane and it dived under the water and, like, this mental tail flipped up.”

“This is crazy.” Roger went off on one again. “We don’t get whales like that in London, darling. Certainly not ones that big. You’d know that if you went to school.”

“Steady on, Roger, there’s a first time for everything. It could have been a juvenile.”

“Come on, Greg, get real, you’re not going to believe some binge drinker are you? It’s a wind up.” Roger turned his attention to Tanya, “Do you know how much it costs to launch this boat? It’s not free, you know.”

Tanya ignored him, stuffed her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Roger carried on ranting while Greg tried to calm him down. Tanya started thumbing the buttons on her mobile, then without saying a word held it up in front of Roger’s face.

Roger fell silent and so did Greg.

There on the screen was a video playing. It was dark and a little fuzzy, but they could clearly see a very large dark shape moving across the surface of the Thames. It submerged and then the tail appeared pointing up into the air, large and distinct. And then it was gone.

Tanya enjoyed the sight of two grown men standing with their mouths open.

“I don’t believe it,” said Roger,

“Play it again,” Greg urged. The men watched, closer to the screen this time. “Look at that tail. Unmistakable.”

“It’s impossible,” said Roger.

“Clearly not,” said Greg. “Do you know what that is, Tanya?”

“A whale,” Tanya replied.

“Not just any whale. That’s a humpback whale.”

“A humpback? Sounds deformed,” said Tanya.

“Not at all, quite the opposite. Humpbacks are the most beautiful, playful creatures on this earth, and
you
found it. I mean, a whale in the Thames is amazing enough, but a humpback. People pay money to see them.”

“Is there a reward, then?” Tanya asked hopefully.

“Tanya, if you knew how rare that creature was, you’d know you’ve already had your reward,” Roger said.

“Well done,” said Greg, “You’ve made our day. Now which way was it heading?”

“That way.” Tanya pointed upstream.

“If you’ll forgive us we’ve got to go. We’ve got to alert the Port of London and try to find it before it gets in any trouble. Well done, Tanya, you’ve done brilliantly.” Greg climbed back over the wall, followed by Roger. A second later and the engine squealed into life.

Tanya ran over to where they had climbed down. Looking over the wall, she saw Greg untying the boat and Roger talking into the radio frantically. The noise of the engine meant Tanya had to shout.

“What should I do?” she asked.

“Nothing,” said Greg shouting back, “you’ve done the most important bit. Now it’s up to us. Try taking some Alka Seltzer, it’s great for hangovers.” He waved.

Tanya waved back. She expected the boat to take off throwing spray everywhere like something out of a bad action movie, but instead, Roger throttled back on the engine so it was idling and the boat crept forward barely making a ripple. Roger was still on the radio while he steered and Greg was at the front scanning the surface for any signs of the humpback.

Tanya wanted to get in the boat and go with them. They were having an adventure. An adventure that was happening, not in some odd place on the other side of the world like you see on TV, but right here on her doorstep. And nothing ever happened around here. If it did, Tanya never seemed to be part it. She always felt destined to be on the fringes of everything. Born for one purpose: to be a loser. For once she was at the centre of something, something big, and you couldn’t get bigger than a whale.

It was her discovery and hers alone. But she was already feeling excluded. Shut out of the party before it had even started. It was like being turned away from a club because you had no ID, which she had been on numerous occasions. But this was a million times worse. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But Tanya wasn’t content with once. She wanted more. And that experience was now swimming off down the Thames while she was stuck here on the embankment, reeking of alcohol. Surely that couldn’t be the end of it?

She felt sick, but not from the drink. Was this wonderful event just going to be a blip in her life, never to be repeated? She’d only just seen it but now she wondered if it had happened at all.

Chapter 5

Tanya began the long walk back home. The adrenalin rush of seeing a real living breathing whale had been replaced by an anger that made her weary and irritable. When she reached the walkway of her block of flats, she saw her father marching towards her.

She forgot her bitterness and ran towards him, something that she hadn’t done since she was seven.

“Dad, you’ll never guess what I saw.”

“Where have you been?” he demanded. His fury looked unquenchable, making the thick veins on his neck bulge against his DIY Tattoos.

“Dad, I saw a whale.”

“I said where have you been? Answer me, girl.”

“Out with Lena.”

“You’ve been drinking.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“You shouldn’t be drinking at your age.”

“Right, so it’s all right for you to pass out on the sofa.”

“Your mother would be ashamed of you.”

“Well, she’s not here is she – you made sure of that, didn’t you.”

A slap came out of nowhere. Tanya was used to it and didn’t bother wasting any tears.

“You’re a useless little toe rag. I bet you’ve been with a load of blokes last night haven’t you.”

“I’m not a slapper.”

“Yeah, I bet you are. Just like your mum. All tanked up and getting them out for the lads.”

“That’s not true.”

“Give me your key.”

“Why?”

“Just give it to me or I swear next time it’ll be a punch.”

Tanya fished out her door key from her jeans and gave it to him. He didn’t even ask about her bandaged hand.

“If you’re going to act like a tramp, you can live like one – out on the streets.”

Her father pushed past her and was gone.

Tanya was locked out of her own home when all she wanted to do was go inside and sleep. Last night’s puking had left her weak, but her stomach had recovered enough to want nourishment. It grumbled continually. 

Tanya was so desperate for the comforts of home that she considered putting a brick through her flat window. She quickly dismissed that idea – unless she wanted a severe beating.

She had no money and nowhere to go, so she walked to the nearby park and sat on the only swing that hadn’t been vandalised. Normally she wouldn’t even think of hanging out in this place on her on her own, not in this neighbourhood. But it was early and everyone was still in bed, probably sleeping off hangovers just like hers.

Tanya folded her arms and tilted her head so it rested uncomfortably on the cold chain links supporting the swing. She allowed her eyes to close and quickly dozed off.

“Tanya, Tanya, Tanya.” It was a gentle and familiar voice that brought her out of her slumber.

Tanya’s eyes became slits. Through the small gaps she could see Lena staring in, like someone peeking through a letter box to see if anyone was home.

A sudden rage brought Tanya quickly back to life.

“Where the fuck were you last night?” Tanya snarled.

“I came back for you, but you’d gone,” Lena said.

“I was jumped by Tyrone and look at my hand.”

The two events weren’t related, but it would give Lena a good guilt-trip.

“What? How? I mean, I’m sorry.”

Tanya stood up and walked away. Lena jogged along beside her. Tanya stopped and shouted in Lena’s face. “You’re supposed to be my mate. Mates look out for each other.”

“Come on Tan, I was with the Niners – you knew that.”

“Oh yeah, got someone else’s ass to lick now, don’t worry about me I’ll be fine.”

“Hey, you’re out of order. You said it was all right to go with them. You said you’d wait at the party. I came back and you’d gone.”

“Yeah, I had to go, cos Tyrone was trying to get into my knickers when I was passed out.”

“Well, that’s not my fault.”

“Yes it is.”

“How?”

“Because you weren’t there,” Tanya said, prodding Lena in the shoulder. “You were supposed to be there.”

“Fuck off.” Lena knocked Tanya’s hand away. “Stop stressing. Anyway, what are you doing hanging out here? It ain’t safe in this park.”

“I’ve got nowhere to go. Dad’s locked me out.”

“Can’t you get the key off him?”

“He done it on purpose.”

“Bastard.”

“I haven’t slept or eaten since yesterday.”

“Come on, come back to mine.”

Lena took Tanya’s arm, but she snapped it away. Tanya knew she would go back to Lena’s eventually, she just didn’t want to make it easy for her.

“Don’t I have to be a gang member or something?” Tanya said.

“Shut up, it’s not like that. Come on, Tan. Mum will make you spaghetti. You can have my bed. Sleep it all off.”

The thought of warm food and a comfy bed melted Tanya’s resistance.

“Okay.”

Lena put her arm around her friend as they walked towards her block of flats.

“This doesn’t let you off you know,” said Tanya.

“I know.”

“So what happened last night? Did they give you an initiation?”

“Sort of, I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

“You can tell me.”

“Nah, I can’t. I might be able tell you a bit later.”

Lena’s mum had always had a thing for Tanya’s dad, which meant Tanya got spoilt whenever she was round there.

“How’s your dad?” asked Lena’s mum.

“Fine,” Tanya replied. She’d just got out of the bath and was sitting in the kitchen wrapped up in Lena’s dressing gown. The warmth was having a narcotic effect and she found it hard to keep her eyes open. The only thing stopping her from shutting them tight was the smell of Heinz spaghetti bubbling away on the stove. The toast popped up and a few seconds later it was smothered in butter and topped with a mountain of slippery spaghetti and tomato sauce.

Tanya attacked it with her knife and fork, shovelling far too much in her face. The plate was empty after several mouthfuls.

“Thanks,” said Tanya, breathlessly.

“Do you want anything else, love?” Lena’s mum asked. “More tea? Something sweet?”

“No thanks, that was great.” Tanya was enjoying the experience of being mothered when Lena walked in.

“Better?”

“Yeah.”

“Come on, you can have a kip in my bed.”

Lena’s room was nearly identical to Tanya’s with just enough room for a bed and a slim battered wardrobe. A small table was wedged into the corner and covered with stuff – mostly make-up and half-eaten packets of chewing gum. Every inch of wall space was plastered with rappers showing off heavily airbrushed six packs.

Tanya tumbled onto the bed. The soft mattress dipped in the middle, but she didn’t care. Sleep came for her almost instantly.

“Tan, check this.”

Tanya didn’t move and mumbled something.

“Tan, you gotta see this.” Lena grabbed her arm to stop her from escaping into sleep.

“What?”

“Look under here.” Lena knelt beside the bed and pointed to the space beneath it.

Tanya rolled over, not having the energy to sit up. She let her head flop over the edge of the bed.

“Whoa, where’d you get all that?”

“From the gang.”

Underneath the bed was a stash of alcohol. There were slabs of lager, bottles of spirits and bags crammed full with alco pops.

“What? They gave it to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

“Does your mum know about it?”

“Don’t be daft, course not.”

“Won’t she find out?”

“Don’t worry, she ain’t one for cleaning, ‘specially not under here. Anyway, we’ll probably drink most of it before she finds out. Want something?

“No, maybe later.” Tanya rolled back over onto the pillow.

“Night, night.”

“Thanks, mate.

As soon as her eyes closed Tanya was asleep.

When she opened them again, she had that unsettled sensation of not knowing where she was. Slowly, it all came back to her, like having the feeling return to your legs after pins and needles. She sat up and saw herself in the mirror. Her hair was wilder than usual and a sharp pillow crease cut across her forehead like a new scar. A nice fuzzy post-sleep sensation filled Tanya’s head, like being between two worlds, not asleep but not quite awake.

The clock on the bedside table told her it was nearly five o’clock in the evening. She put her clothes on and wobbled into the hallway, following the drone of the TV.

Lena was in the lounge biting her nails like she usually did, while her mum tugged away on a menthol cigarette. They were watching the local news about a shop being robbed at gunpoint, the usual stuff.

Tanya sat down quietly on the end of the sofa.

“Hi, mate. Feeling better?” asked Lena, not looking away from the small portable.

“Hello darlin’. Want a cup of tea?” asked her mum.

“Oh, that’d be great.” Lena’s mum left the room. The pipes clattered as the kettle filled with water.

“You up for another night out?” asked Lena.

“Defo,” said Tanya yawning. “Soon as I wake up.”

The TV soon hypnotised them both into silence as they watched an over-dressed weather presenter telling them about the chance of rain. When she was finished, they returned to the day’s main headline which was written across the TV screen: The Thames Whale.

A bolt of electricity shot through Tanya.

“I saw that. I saw the whale last night. It’s a humpback. Turn it up, turn it up.”

Lena obeyed. A reporter stood on a dirty riverbank near the Thames barrier, speaking about how the whale had become stranded at low tide. Behind him a crowd of people in wellingtons were fussing around the animal pouring buckets of water over it, as it lay helpless on the mud.

The footage cut to another reporter who was interviewing a woman on the embankment above the river.

“I’m here with Mrs Emily Jenson who discovered the whale this morning,” said the reporter, standing next to a woman with wiry hair in a thick fleece emblazoned with wolves.

“That’s a lie,” shouted Tanya standing up. “Lying bitch – I found the whale, not her.”

“Tanya, what are you talking about?” said Lena.