‘I know that this is probably a little out of the blue but I was wondering what you guys remember about that awful day at the res?’ Henny asked as she accepted a mug of coffee from Leon. ‘Thanks.’
Leon looked at her for a moment and then exchanged a glance with his wife. ‘The res? Why would you want to drag that up? I’ve got on with life,’ he said and looked over to his sleeping daughter.
Henny smiled and gave a nod. ‘Well, you two certainly have a lot to look forward to but I just wondered what you saw that day.’
Kylie frowned. ‘What’s all this about, Henny? Are you writing a book or something?’
Henny paused for a second. That certainly would be the ideal cover for asking questions. ‘I’m toying with the idea of an article. I thought it could be good to have actual impressions of how that day played out.’
‘I guess,’ Leon said. ‘Although I reckon it might upset a few people, like some of the families.’
‘Look, I know that there’d be some delicate sensibilities to take into account. But we were all there so I think we also have a right to voice our experiences, don’t you?’
Leon shrugged as he sat down. ‘I suppose so.’ He ran a hand through his jet-black hair and drew in a breath. ‘What did you want to know?’
‘Maybe start from where you were half an hour before the platform went down,’ Henny encouraged gently.
‘I’d grabbed a slice of pizza a bit before the accident. I remember that Charlie’s dad had dropped some off.’
‘That’s right. I helped Charlie carry the food up to the barbecue area,’ Henny said.
‘Anyway, it was still really hot and sticky so I decided to go back in for another swim, even though it was getting dark. There was that floodlight there, like the ones down at the oval, and it lit up the bank and the shallows okay. Once you were in the water it was easy enough to see the bank.’
‘So you were in the water when the platform went down?’
‘Yeah. Look, I have to admit there’s something I should apologise for. I was there when Ethan was being a jerk to you and Stephen. I always felt bad that I didn’t say something. Ethan could be an idiot sometimes.’
Kylie let out a laugh. ‘Sometimes? Ethan was a jerk then and as far as I can see he hasn’t changed much. He’s still a self-absorbed bully.’
Leon looked at Kylie. ‘You might have something there.’ ‘I know I do, from experience. Don’t forget there were about sixty seconds back there when I thought I was in love with him.’ Kylie shook her head. ‘God, I was really, really stupid.’
‘Oh don’t be so hard on yourself, we were just kids,’ Henny said. ‘And if you were stupid then so was I.’
Kylie angled herself around to face Henny on the couch. ‘Yeah, but you saw through his BS and broke up with him. I should have followed your lead and never gone near him. And I’ve always wanted to apologise for moving in so soon after you’d broken up—it was wrong and I’m sorry.’
‘Nothing to be sorry for,’ Henny replied.
‘It was only when I realised that Ethan only kissed me when you were around that I knew he didn’t want me, he just wanted to make you jealous.’
‘Kylie—’
‘No, it’s true. You know, he left me in the water that night. I was holding onto the rail of the platform when it went down. I wasn’t a very good swimmer but Ethan had persuaded me to go out. Anyway, he knew that I was nervous out there but when it all went to hell I was on my own—I didn’t see him at all.’
‘Really?’ Henny asked.
‘Yeah, it’s true,’ Leon said. ‘When I found Kylie she was about to go under for the third time and I got her to shore. It was such a crazy few minutes with everyone in the water, screaming, shouting people’s names and crying. I still remember Mark Russo saying that it was what hell would sound like. He wasn’t wrong.’
‘When would Mark have said that? He was on the platform, wasn’t he?’ Henny said.
‘Nah, he was out in the water with me when the platform collapsed.’
Kylie joined in. ‘Yeah, that’s right, because he was the one who rescued Harley. Apparently he found him struggling and he dragged him to shore.’
‘Mark did that?’
‘Oh yes, didn’t you know?’
Henny was more than intrigued. ‘No, I never heard that. All I knew was that Mark was the last one found by the rescue team.’
‘Yeah—I guess he went back in to find other people, and got into trouble. That’s what’s so strange—I mean he was good at swimming, so I figured that he’d be one of the first people out, instead of being the last one.’
‘That’s right,’ Kylie said. ‘He was pretty banged up when the rescuers found him. I always wondered what had happened.’
‘He never said?’ Henny asked.
‘Nope. He was in hospital for a couple of days and after that he took off to Melbourne,’ Leon explained. ‘And after that he never came back.’
‘Why was that do you think?’ Henny asked. ‘I mean his parents and younger brother are still here, aren’t they?’
‘Sure are,’ Kylie replied. ‘I asked his brother once why Mark never came back and he said that the accident had freaked him out so much, that he just wanted to put it behind him.’
‘I get it,’ Henny said with a slight smile. ‘I kind of did the same thing myself.’
‘Well, everyone has different ways of coping with trauma,’ Leon said as he reached over and took Kylie’s had. ‘We got through it together.’
‘Yes, we did,’ Kylie said with a grin.
‘So after Mark rescued him, what happened to Harley then?’ Henny asked.
‘I don’t know—I guess he just went home or something,’ said Kylie. ‘He was never the same after that, poor guy.’
‘Yeah,’ said Leon, ‘and now he’s dead too . . .’
Chapter Twenty-four
‘What’s up with you?’ Dan asked as he looked over at Stephen lugging a chair through the door. ‘No one looks that happy when moving bloody furniture.’
‘Nothing, I’m just happy to be moving into my own space,’ Stephen replied as he put down the chair next to its mate.
‘Look, I said I’d give you a hand moving in but if you’re going to be weird then I’m out of here,’ Dan said with a smirk. ‘And you were always a piss-poor liar, even when we were kids. So what’s going on?’
‘Come on, help me with the couch,’ Stephen said, but as he glanced at Dan he realised he wasn’t moving. ‘Okay, help me carry in the couch and I’ll tell you what’s happened.’
‘Why the mystery?’ Dan asked, following his friend downstairs and out to the hire van.
Stephen chuckled. ‘Hardly. I don’t think I know how to be mysterious. It’s just that it’s barely started and I wanted to keep it to myself—no big secret, just didn’t want to jinx it.’
‘You’re making it worse—spill or I’m going to have to pummel you like I did in fourth grade.’
‘I brought Henny over here yesterday to show her around.’
Dan said nothing for a second as he watched Stephen climb into the van. ‘Uh huh.’
‘That’s it,’ Stephen said.
‘Don’t bullshit me. Something happened,’ Dan replied as he waited for Stephen to push the old leather couch down the steel ramp of the van.
‘Yeah, maybe something happened.’ Stephen and Dan picked up an end each and started making their way back inside.
‘Geez, it’s heavier than it looks. Why did you get this one?’ ‘Because it was cheap,’ Stephen replied. ‘Stop bitching and watch your step,’ he cautioned as they jiggled it through the doorway.
‘Can we put it down for a minute?’ Dan asked.
‘Sure.’ As soon as they set it down both of them flopped onto the couch. Stephen crossed his denim-clad legs and blew out a breath. ‘It is heavy, I’ll give you that.’
‘It’s pretty comfy though,’ Dan said. ‘So are you going to tell me what actually happened between you and Henny
?’
‘We decided to start seeing each other.’
‘Well, it’s about bloody time. What is that—twelve years or so?’
‘Oh shut up.’
‘Come on, admit it—you’ve been in love with her since you were sixteen,’ Dan said, jabbing him in the ribs.
‘Ow!’ Stephen gave him a half-hearted shove. ‘I have liked her since we were kids but this is different. We’re adults, this isn’t some crush. I’m looking to the future and I want Henny to be part of it.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, I hope it works out. Speaking of Henny, I ran into Leon the other day and he said that she’d dropped around to his place to see the new baby.’
‘I’ve only been around once myself. Kylie made me hold Annabelle and I was scared I was going to drop her.’
‘Yeah, she’s pretty tiny,’ Dan said. ‘Anyway, Leon said that while she was there, Henny asked a couple of weird questions.’
‘About Harley’s death?’ Stephen asked.
Dan shook his head. ‘No, that’s the thing. Apparently she was asking about the night of the drownings.’
‘Really? Huh. Maybe she was just trying to get something straight in her mind.’
‘Maybe. Look, I know I was the one who was worried that the town would forget that night, forget our friends. I was all for the memorial—you know that.’
‘Yep. You’re the one who pushed me to go.’
‘I don’t believe I’m going to say this but I think it’s time to lay it to rest and move on. Harley’s death has stirred up a whole lot of pain and I think Henny is making it worse.’
‘I don’t think she’s trying to do that,’ Stephen said as he stood up. ‘Listen, are you going to sit here all day or are you going to help move this sucker upstairs?’
‘You want this upstairs?’ Dan asked. ‘Damn, I knew I should never have volunteered to help.’
Stephen gave him a grin. ‘Too late now, so move your arse.’
***
The more Henny looked at it, the more this whole thing didn’t add up. She rubbed her temples to ease the headache that was threatening to develop. She glanced back down at her list of potential suspects for Harley’s death—if it wasn’t the accident that the police claimed.
There were a few that she had crossed off, like the ex-classmates who were living overseas or interstate. But the name that kept coming back was Mark Russo. It was way out there because according to all the reports, Mark was the one who saved him. The problem was that the waters were searched and the divers had gone in, and Mark was the last person they found. He had been battered and bruised and had been knocked about so much that he was barely conscious. Everyone just assumed that the collapsing platform was responsible for his injuries, but the more Henny thought about it, the less sense it made. He hadn’t been on the platform, and he was obviously alright when he rescued Harley; so what happened after that to cause his injuries, and cause him to be the last person found? What if something had happened after the platform collapsed, something that needed to be covered up and which Harley had witnessed?
Questions circled around her head like a soaring flock of birds. After the accident, Mark had moved down to Melbourne, and had never come back. Why did he do that? Was the death of his classmates too much for him to handle, or was there another reason he stayed away? Her mind spun at the possibilities. Henny could be falling deeper down a pointless rabbit hole or maybe, just maybe, she was seeing this from a different angle. What could have happened to make Mark leave all those years ago? And did he come back to Lawson’s Bend the day of the memorial?
She decided that she needed to pursue this. Perhaps the answer to what happened to Harley was bound up in the past with Mark Russo. Everyone said that the town as a whole needed to let the incident at Killop Res go but that was the problem—none of them could. The drownings hung over Lawson’s Bend like storm clouds and still had the power to affect the present as well as the future.
***
Stephen was already standing at the side door of the barn when Henny came up the dirt drive.
‘Thanks for coming, Hen,’ Stephen said. ‘I thought you’d like to see the place now that it actually has furniture.’
‘Can’t wait,’ she said. ‘Oh, this is for you—a housewarming present.’ Henny handed him a large bag with a grin.
Stephen opened it up and looked inside. ‘Is that a coffee machine?’
‘Yep, one of those pod ones. There’s also a couple of boxes of different coffee pods as well. I wasn’t sure what kind you liked.’
‘Thanks, Hen, that’s really kind . . . Hold on, is this some sort of comment on my coffee-making skills?’ he asked with a laugh.
‘No, you make a great instant,’ Henny said, trying to keep a straight face.
‘Ooh, burn,’ Stephen chuckled as he took her hand and led her upstairs. ‘That’s the last time I make you a coffee, Henny Bolton.’
As she reached the top of the stairs, Henny could see the change in the room. There was a leather couch, an armchair, a rug in dark blues and greens, and two bookcases flanking either side of a large television. The room was mainly white with shades of brown from the wooden floor and the couch, the only pop of colour coming from the rug.
‘It looks great, Stephen.’
‘Thanks. It’s a bit bare but it’ll do.’
‘I love the rug.’
‘I thought it worked well with the colours of the painting,’ he replied and then smiled. ‘You haven’t noticed it, have you?’
‘Noticed what?’
Stephen pointed behind her. ‘Your mum’s painting.’
Henny twirled around and saw a large artwork in an ornate wooden frame, a depiction of the moon shining over a dark forest lake. Rising from the waters was a blurred luminous female figure with golden red hair.
Henny was speechless for a moment. ‘It’s beautiful—magical, even. I’ve never seen it before. Mum never mentioned that she was painting it.’
‘Did she tell you about all her projects?’
‘Generally, yes. Sometimes she’d just discuss her latest idea or concept but she never said a word about this.’
‘I dropped off a load of wood to your mum a while ago and she invited me in for a cup of tea. She said that she was just finishing off her latest painting and asked me if I’d like to see it. I always liked your mum’s work but this—this blew me away and I told her so. Anyway, the story goes around town that there are a heap of people trying to buy it off your mum and she’s refusing them all. At the time I thought it was a bit weird as she sold paintings all the time, but apparently she wouldn’t budge on this one. I thought maybe she was trying to get top dollar for it, which was understandable, because in my opinion it was her best work to date. Two weeks later she rings me and asks if I can bring the ute around so she can get rid of something. I thought she wanted me to take a load of stuff to the tip or something like that but when I got there she gave me the painting.’
‘Wow. Did she say why?’
‘Well, I said that I couldn’t take it, that she should sell it, but she said no—she said that the painting was always for me, right from the time she imagined it.’
‘Really?’
‘Yup, she said it was always going to be mine.’
‘Well, it’s beautiful.’
‘Yeah, it is—reminds me of you,’ he said quietly. ‘Did you want it back? Because I understand if you do with the shop and everything.’
Henny shook her head. ‘No, she painted this for you—it was a gift and it’s private. This one doesn’t go anywhere near the shop.’
‘Okay, thanks, Henny. It would have killed me to give it up but if you wanted it back, I would have done it.’
‘Did she ever say why she painted it for you?’
Stephen shook his head. ‘I asked her a couple of times but she wouldn’t say.’
Henny was intrigued and could only wonder at her mother’s purpose behind
the painting.
The rest of the evening was spent on the couch eating pizza and watching a movie. About halfway through the movie Henny realised she had totally lost track of the plot, too preoccupied by the delicious sensation of Stephen kissing and nuzzling his way from her ear to the top of her breast. She was about to suggest that he show her the bedroom when he pulled back and grinned at her.
‘So do you want coffee?’
‘I thought you said that you were never going to make me one again?’ Henny said archly.
‘Ah, that was instant.’
‘You know, I still haven’t figured out how your mind works.’
‘Why? Because I’m prepared to make you coffee or because we stopped before it went too far?’
‘Can it go too far?’ Henny answered with a raised eyebrow.
Stephen caught the gleam in her eye. ‘You slay me, you know that, don’t you? I just want you to be sure and everything to be perfect.’
‘What if I say that everything is perfect?’
‘Well, maybe we should wait until it’s more perfect. Like I said, I don’t want just a night—I need more, and you have to be sure this is what you want,’ Stephen said, wandering over to the bench where the new coffee machine now stood.
Henny sat up. ‘Alright, we’ll wait,’ she said before letting out a sigh. ‘I went around to Leon and Kylie’s the other day.’
‘Yeah, Dan said that Leon mentioned you dropped by.’
‘Keeping tabs on me, Stephen Drake?’ she asked with a laugh as she pushed a strand of auburn hair behind her ear.
‘Maybe.’
‘Kylie told me something interesting about the night at the res. She said that Mark Russo saved Harley straight after the collapse; and yet he was the last one to be rescued himself.’
Stephen glanced back at her and frowned. ‘What’s this all about, Henny?’
She gave a shrug. ‘I don’t know, I just thought it was interesting. Don’t you think it was weird that he was found later all beaten up?’
‘I’m not sure if weird would be the right word—sad would fit better. His parents and brother have never got over him leaving and not coming back,’ Stephen said as he walked back over to the couch and sat down, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. ‘Seriously though, what’s all this about?’
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