The Mystery at Penmarron Beach: A Short Story in English

At the Police Station

It was nearly lunchtime in the little village of Penmarron in Cornwall. Sixteen-year-old Linda Stevenson had been waiting for a long time in the small police station. She looked at her watch again and wondered if she should say something to the policeman who was ignoring her.

Suddenly the phone rang and Sergeant Harvey answered it. After a few seconds he said, "Nothing?... OK... I understand.... I'll deal with the situation here. Thanks, goodbye." Sergeant Harvey put the phone down and turned to Linda. "Well, Miss Stevenson, I'm sorry, but our policeman hasn't found anything on the beach. Nothing at all. Now, are you sure about what you saw? Maybe you just imagined it?"

The Disagreement

His tone was friendly, but he was treating her like a little girl. Linda started to get angry. She was sixteen and very mature and responsible for her age. She had seen something important and she was very disappointed that the sergeant didn't believe her.

• Linda: "Imagined it? No! I saw a body on the beach—I'm sure of it!" answered Linda firmly.
• Sergeant Harvey: "I don't doubt that you saw somebody lying on the beach... But maybe the person was asleep."
• Linda: "Asleep?" shouted Linda. "I told you before! I saw a woman with red, curly hair. She was lying with her face in the water. Her clothes were wet. I touched her but she didn't move..."

Sergeant Harvey interrupted. "Just let me get this point clear. After you touched the woman, what did you do?"

"I've already told you," said Linda impatiently. "I ran away..."

Seeking Help

"Why?" Sergeant Harvey interrupted again.

"To get help... there wasn't anybody else on the beach," explained Linda. "And I didn't have my mobile phone with me, so I couldn't call for help."

"And then what did you do?"

"I came here... and that was a big mistake because I've been waiting for hours," Linda said angrily. "And nobody believes me."

"Well, my partner checked the beach and there was absolutely nothing there, no dead body," the sergeant said. He turned to Linda and spoke very slowly and clearly. "Maybe you fell asleep in the sun, and it was a dream."

The Argument Escalates

"Now listen," said Linda, raising her voice. "I'm sure of what I saw. Why don't you believe me?"

"I'm sorry, but I think we've done everything we can, Miss," said the sergeant, still smiling. "We sent a policeman to your crime scene and he found nothing. There's no report of a missing person. We would know about that soon enough in a small village like this."

The sergeant's smile and friendly tone were too much for her. "Aren't you going to write a report?" Linda questioned, surprised that nothing more was going to happen.

"Look, Miss," said the man, walking towards the door. "We're very busy and we can't waste any more time on this matter. If anything happened, or anybody is reported missing, we'll be in touch with you. Thanks a lot for coming."

Doubts and Reflection

Linda was furious, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. She said goodbye quickly and walked out into the sunshine. The old blue door of the police station closed behind her.

As she walked into the main street, Linda's emotions changed to embarrassment. Was she wrong? Had she imagined the whole thing? She started to think about it. She had been very excited when she had first arrived at the police station, thinking she had made a really important discovery. She had thought that she was going to be the centre of attention. She was happy that something interesting had finally happened in this quiet little village.

A New Life in Cornwall

Linda and her parents had moved to Penmarron from London three weeks earlier. At first, she had been really happy with the beauty of Cornwall, with its impressive landscape and lovely beaches. It was so different from London.

But after three weeks with no friends of her age, she had become bored. She had fantasised about an adventure happening to her, just like it did in murder mystery stories. Linda was an enthusiastic reader and her head was always full of the exciting stories she read. She had a lot of imagination and she wanted to become a successful writer like her father.

The Unexpected Twist

She walked along the road, absorbed in her thoughts, without paying attention to what was happening around her. "Is it possible that I imagined the whole thing?" she thought. "Was it all really just a dream?"

As she went to cross the road, something suddenly hit Linda and she fell onto the grass beside the road. She didn't know what had happened to her.