Deep Water Read Online Free

fierce eyes.
    Guessing the cause of his anger, Andrea remained silent. Leo seemed cowed, too, plainly in awe of his unpredictable friend. Andrea smiled encouragingly at her son. ‘Dad’s built a kind of tank at the hotel.’
    Leo perked up. ‘A Crusader tank?’
    ‘A water tank.’
    ‘Oh Gawd.’
    ‘It’s for a model of his floating road,’ Andrea said brightly, immediately suspecting that she’d spoken out of turn. ‘Leo’s dad makes wonderful models,’ she added, hoping to reduce Justin’s interest in Peter’s work by making it sound like a boyish hobby.
    ‘You should see the fantastic plane Justin’s making in the craft room,’ gushed Leo.
    ‘It’s good, not fantastic,’ corrected Justin.
    Reminding herself that Justin was twelve, Andrea smiled at him and said she was sure he was being too modest. But Justin soon put her right. One boy at school made aircraft that really were fantastic.
    ‘I guess if you enjoy making things, that’s what matters,’ suggested Andrea.
    ‘If you’re spastic at it, you shouldn’t bother,’ said Justin, as the taxi drew up at the hotel.
    After Peter had given the boys lunch in the cavernous cream-painted dining room, Leo asked his father to show them his water tank.
    Peter said edgily, ‘I suppose your mother told you?’
    ‘ You told me about your bridge ages ago, so don’t get cross with mum.’
    Peter leaned closer to Leo. ‘I’m only cross with her because she knew I broke every rule in the book when I built my tank here. She was incredibly indiscreet.’ He smiled reassuringly at Leo. ‘I had to set up my own model to get away from interfering technicians in the lab. Don’t worry. No one will find out.’
    ‘So we can’t see it.’ Leo sounded terribly disappointed .
    ‘I didn’t say that, Leo. In fact I think you’ll be less likely to blab if I trust you both.’
    To Andrea’s immense relief, Peter suddenly relaxed. After making Leo and Justin promise to say nothing to their friends at school, he led them all up the disused backstairs.
    On an upper landing, beneath a cracked skylight, Peter paused to unlock a metal fire door. Beyond it, stretching down the passage, was a narrow trough of water supported on columns of bricks. Made from linoleum, the ‘tank’ was almost fifty feet long. How Peter had set it up, Andrea didn’t dare imagine. On the water floated a thin roadway constructed from miniature palings wired together and laid crosswiseunder a canvas covering. The whole construction was anchored at opposite ends by cables secured to hanging weights.
    ‘Amazing,’ whispered Leo.
    Peter placed a model truck on the roadway, and even Justin came closer. The vehicle was powered by a battery motor, and, as it moved forwards, the hinged curbs of the road rose up like the sides of a boat on each side of it, dropping down into their former position the moment the weight of the truck had passed.
    Justin was frowning. ‘It’d be good on a river, but what if it’s on the sea and there are waves?’
    Peter smiled at him. ‘You mean ship-to-shore. Good question.’
    ‘ Would it be swamped?’ asked Leo anxiously.
    As Peter flicked down a switch, paddles under the water started to make waves. Andrea expected the roadway to sink at the point where it was weighed down by the truck, but the raised sides moved along with it and protected the vehicle like a mobile boat. Leo clapped and Andrea joined in.
    ‘That’s jolly clever,’ conceded Justin. ‘What happens if a truck breaks down?’
    ‘Another good question,’ chuckled Peter. ‘Well, if the sea’s flat, the truck stays afloat just like when it’s moving. If it’s rough, that part of the road gets waterlogged, but we get time to tow away the broken-down vehicle.’
    Justin said, ‘A bomb would make the whole thing sink.’
    ‘You’re quite a pessimist,’ laughed Peter.
    Looking at her son’s admiring face and Justin’s frown of concentration, Andrea felt immensely proud of Peter. He