by Jane Harper
‘I don’t know,’ Falk said truthfully. ‘I suppose that’s what they’ll try to determine.’
Bree started to chew one of her neat nails. ‘What will happen now they’ve found it?’
‘I imagine they’ll concentrate their search around that area. Look for any sign of Alice.’
Bree didn’t say anything for a minute. ‘I know the Kovac stuff was a long time ago, but someone else knew about that cabin, didn’t they? To tip off the police? One of the searchers told me that’s how they found it.’
‘I suppose so. I don’t know much more than you right now.’
‘But if someone knew about it, then someone might have known we were out there?’
‘I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case.’
‘But you weren’t there. Sometimes the trees were so thick you couldn’t see anything. You don’t know what it was like.’
‘No,’ he admitted. ‘That’s true.’
They watched as the search group’s van drove away.
‘Anyway,’ Bree said after a minute. ‘I really came over because I wanted to say thanks.’
‘For what?’
‘Being fair to Beth. She said she told you about being on probation. Some people hear that and make judgements straight away. People quite often think the worst of her.’
‘That’s fine. Is she okay? She seemed a bit subdued when we spoke the other day.’
Bree looked at him. ‘When was that?’
‘A couple of nights ago. I saw her outside the lodge. She was watching the rain.’
‘Oh. She didn’t mention that.’ Bree frowned. ‘Was she drinking?’
Falk hesitated half a beat too long and Bree’s frown deepened.
‘It’s okay. I thought she might have been. She’s under stress. I expected it.’
‘I think it was just the one,’ Falk said.
Bree shook her head. ‘Just the one. Just the ten. She’s not supposed to have any, full stop. But that’s Beth for you. She always wants to be good, but somehow never quite manages it –’ Bree broke off and looked past him towards the lodge. Falk turned. On the entrance steps, out of earshot, a figure was standing and watching them. Too-tight jacket, short dark hair. Beth. He wondered how long she had been there.
Falk raised a hand. After a beat, Beth raised one in return. Even from that distance, he could see she wasn’t smiling.
Bree shifted. ‘I’d better get back. Thanks again.’
Falk leaned against the car and watched Bree walk across the carpark. On the lodge steps, Beth stood, doing exactly the same thing. She didn’t move until her sister was back by her side.
Day 3: Saturday Night
Bree could hear her own breath loud in her ears. Alice’s back was against the wall.
Jill held out her hand. ‘Give me the phone.’
‘No.’
‘Where is it? In your bag? Let me see.’
‘No.’
‘It’s not a request.’ Jill leaned over and grabbed the backpack.
‘Hey!’ Alice tried to snatch it back but it was pulled from her fingers.
‘If you want to go so badly, Alice, you just bloody go.’ Jill thrust her arm into the bag, then, with a grunt of frustration, she upended it, spilling the contents onto the floor. ‘You’re on your own, and it’ll serve you right if you die in a ditch on the way. But you’re not taking the phone.’
‘Jesus.’ Alice crouched, gathering up her things as Jill pawed through them. Damp fleece, compass, water bottle. No phone.
‘It’s not here.’
‘It’ll be in her jacket.’ Beth’s voice came out of nowhere and Bree jumped.
Alice looked barricaded in her corner, with her possessions clutched to her chest. Jill shone the torch in her eyes. ‘Is it in your jacket? Make this easy.’
Alice flinched and turned away. ‘Don’t you touch me.’
‘Last chance.’
Alice said nothing. Then Beth lunged at her, grabbing fistfuls of her jacket with both hands.
‘This is bullshit, Alice. You were happy to search my stuff when you thought I was hiding something –’
Bree tried to pull her sister back, as Alice writhed and squealed.
‘Get off me!’
Beth scrabbled at her pockets and then, with a satisfied sound, pulled out her prize and held it aloft. The phone. With her other hand, she shoved Alice away.
Alice stumbled a couple of steps then lunged forward, grasping for the phone. The pair struggled, locked together, then hit the table with a crash. There was a clatter as a torch fell to the floor and the room went dark. Bree could hear the grunts of a scuffle.
‘It’s mine –’
‘Let go –’
Bree could hear herself shouting. ‘Stop it!’ She wasn’t sure who she was talking to. Something heavy rolled against her foot. The torch. She picked it up, and shook it and the light bounced back on, blinding her. She fumbled as she turned it towards the noise.
Alice and Beth were on the floor in a tight knot. Bree almost couldn’t tell them apart in the tangle of limbs, then one of them lifted an arm. Bree started to cry out but it was too late. The beam cast a swooping dark shadow as Beth’s hand came down fast and hard. The crack as it connected with Alice’s cheek seemed to shake the walls.
Chapter 20
Carmen came out of the lodge holding a map marked with a large red X.
‘We’re going here,’ she said as they climbed back into the car. ‘It’s a fair way, about forty minutes. The North Road is the closest access point.’
Falk looked at the map. The cross was buried deep in the bushland. A handful of kilometres to the north, a thin vehicle access road cut through the green.
Carmen put her seatbelt on. ‘Sergeant King’s already at the site. And Margot Russell’s here as well, apparently.’
‘Not by herself?’ Falk said.
‘No. I saw Lauren in the lodge. A liaison officer drove them both up early this morning. Margot’s still refusing to see her dad. He’s driving up separately.’
As they pulled out of the carpark, Falk glimpsed a figure watching them from inside the lodge entry door. One of the twins, he thought. In the shadow, he couldn’t tell which one.
The wind was whistling through the treetops again as they drove along the rural routes, Carmen speaking only to give directions. The roads became smaller and tighter until at last they found themselves bumping along a badly paved track towards a swarm of officers and searchers.
The site was buzzing with a strange mixture of concern and relief. Finally, a breakthrough of sorts, if not quite the one everyone was hoping for. As they got out of the car, Falk saw a splash of red. Ian Chase in his Executive Adventures fleece stood on the fringe of a group of rangers. He was hovering, not quite in the group, not quite out. When he saw Falk and Carmen, he gave a brisk nod and headed towards them.
‘Hey, is there an update? Have they found her? Is that why you’re here?’ His eyes kept flicking towards the bushland and back again.
Falk glanced at Carmen. ‘Not as far as we know.’
‘They’ve found the cabin, though.’ Chase was still looking back and forth. ‘Her body could be near.’
‘Unless she’s still alive.’
Chase stopped and blinked, unable to wipe the clumsy look from his face fast enough. ‘Yeah, of course. Definitely. Hopefully that’s the case.’
Falk couldn’t really blame him. He knew the odds were low.
An officer at the lodge had radioed ahead and Sergeant King was waiting for them at the edge of the bushland. His face was grey, but when he moved it was with an undercurrent of adrenaline. He gave a wave as they approached and glanced down at their feet with a nod of approval at their hiking boots.
‘Good. You’ll need them. Come on.’
He led the
way, plunging into the bushland with Falk and Carmen in his wake. Within a minute, the chatter and bustle behind disappeared and a thick hush enveloped them. Falk spotted a strip of police tape flapping on a tree, guiding them along the route. Beneath his feet, the trail was faint, mostly defined by flattened patches where boots had recently trampled through.
‘So how did you finally find this place?’ Falk said.
They were alone but King kept his voice low.
‘A prisoner out at Barwon called in with a tip-off. He’s ex-bikie gang, facing a long stretch for assault, and has had enough, apparently. When he heard on the news we were looking for the cabin, he recognised a bit of leverage when he saw it. He says he had some mates who used to do the odd drug deal with Sam Kovac.’
‘Oh yeah?’
‘He says Sam liked to show off a bit about his old man, boasting he knew stuff the police didn’t, that sort of thing. Sam brought them out here twice.’ King nodded at the thin trail at their feet. ‘The bikie wasn’t sure exactly where it was, but knew about the North Road and a couple of other landmarks – there’s a gorge a bit further up – so we were able to narrow it down. He reckons he might still have a bit more to add. He’s hammering out a deal with his lawyers as we speak.’
‘And you believe him about Kovac?’ Carmen said. ‘He hasn’t just stumbled across this place on his own and is trying to dress it up?’
‘Yeah. We believe him.’ King sighed. A tiny pause. ‘We’ve recovered some human remains.’
There was a silence. Falk looked over. ‘Who?’
‘It’s a good question.’
‘Not Alice?’
‘No.’ King shook his head. ‘Definitely not. They’re too old. Couple of other interesting things up there as well – you’ll see for yourselves – but no sign of her yet.’
‘Christ,’ Carmen said. ‘What has gone on there?’
Somewhere deep in the bush, invisible kookaburras laughed and screamed.
‘Another good question.’
Day 3: Saturday Night
Beth heard the crack of her hand against Alice’s cheek a beat before the smarting sensation flooded her palm. The sound seemed to reverberate around the cabin as her hand throbbed, hot and stinging.
For a single moment, it seemed to Beth like they were balancing on a knife-edge from which she – they – could still step back. Apologise. Shake hands. File a report with human resources on their return. Then, outside, the wind blew and Alice made a tight, angry noise in the back of her throat and, all together, they teetered and fell. When the shouting started, it came from every corner of the room.
Beth felt Alice grab her hair and drag her head downwards. She lost her balance and her shoulder crashed against the floor. Her lungs emptied, winded by her own weight. A pair of hands pushed her face against the ground and Beth could feel grit scraping her cheek and taste the rank dampness. Someone was pressing down on her. Alice. It had to be. In the closeness, Beth could smell the faint whiff of body odour and part of her mind found the space to be surprised. Alice had never seemed the type to sweat. Beth tried to claw back, but her arms were pinned at an awkward angle and she struggled, grasping at clothes, her fingers sliding off expensive water-resistant fabrics.
She felt a tug and another pair of hands scrabbling to pull her and Alice apart. Bree.
‘Get off her!’ Bree was shouting.
Beth wasn’t sure who she was talking to. She tried to twist free, then felt the thud and crash as Bree unbalanced and fell on them. The trio rolled heavily to one side, smashing into the table leg and sending it squealing across the floor. There was a sharp bump and someone across the room gave a cry of pain. Beth tried to sit up but was pulled back down by a hand in her hair. Her skull hit the ground hard enough to send a sickening wave from her gut to her throat. She saw white spots dancing in the dark, and under the weight of the fumbling, clawing hands, felt herself go slack.
Chapter 21
The track became only more difficult to navigate the farther they walked. After an hour, it disappeared almost completely as it crossed a stream, then re-emerged to veer erratically towards a steep drop by the side of the gorge King had mentioned. Sentry rows of identical trees started to play tricks on Falk’s eyes and he felt increasingly grateful for the occasional sight of police tape. He didn’t like the idea of doing this stretch alone. The rogue temptation to wander astray was ever-present.
It was a relief when Falk began to spot splashes of orange in the surrounding bush. Searchers. They must be getting close. As if in answer, the trees slowly gave way and a few steps later he found himself entering a small clearing.
In the centre, squat and bleak behind the lines of police tape and the flash of officers’ high-vis jackets, lay the cabin.
It was well camouflaged against the muted tones of the bushland and it looked purposefully lonely. From its gaping vacant windows to the unwelcoming sag of the door, it reeked of desperation. He could hear Carmen breathing next to him and, all around, the trees whispered and shuddered. The wind blew through the clearing and the cabin groaned.
Falk turned in a slow circle. The bushland pushed in from every side, with the occasional orange splash of searchers barely visible among the trees. From the wrong angle, he imagined the cabin would be almost impossible to see. The women were lucky to have stumbled across it at all. Or unlucky, he thought.
A police officer stood on guard near the side of the cabin, while another did the same a short distance away. Each had plastic sheets covering something at their feet. Both sheets sagged a little in the middle, but gave no hint at what was concealed.
Falk glanced at King. ‘Lauren told us they found the remains of a dog.’
‘Yep, that’s it there.’ King pointed to the nearest plastic sheet, the smaller of the two. He sighed. ‘The other one’s not though. The specialists are on their way.’
As they looked, the corner of the nearest sheet lifted in the wind and flapped back on itself. The guarding officer crouched to fix it, and Falk caught a glimpse of an exposed shallow ditch. He tried to imagine what it had been like for the women out here, alone and afraid. He suspected whatever he could conjure up would not even come close.
He realised he had always harboured a nagging feeling that the four remaining women had been quick to abandon Alice once they’d discovered her missing. But now, as he stood in front of that forlorn cabin, he could almost hear an insistent whisper in his own mind. Get away. Run. He shook his head.
Carmen was looking at the larger plastic sheet.
‘They never did find that fourth victim way back then. Sarah Sondenberg,’ she said.
‘No.’ King shook his head. ‘They never did.’
‘Any early indication?’ She nodded at the sheet. ‘You must be thinking it.’
King looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t. ‘The specialists still have to take a look. We’ll know more after that.’ He lifted the tape across the cabin entrance. ‘Come on. I’ll show you inside.’
They ducked under the tape. The door gaped like a wound as they stepped in. A faint odour of rot and decay underscored the crisp heady scent of the eucalypts. And it was dark; the windows let in only a little daylight. As he stood in the centre of the room, Falk could first make out shapes, then details. Dust that had obviously once laid thick, now showed all the signs of disturbance. A table was shoved aside at an odd angle and leaves and debris lay scattered around. In a second room, he could see a mattress branded with a dark and disturbing stain. And, near Falk’s feet, soaked into the dirty floorboards under the broken window, was a black spatter of what appeared to be fresh blood.
Day 3: Saturday Night
Lauren couldn’t find the torch. Her nails were scrabbling against the filthy floorboards when she heard a thump and the screech of the table sliding across the room. She registered it flying towards her a split second before the corne
r clipped her face.
The shock squeezed the breath from her lungs as she toppled back, landing hard on her tailbone. She grunted and lay there, dazed, beneath the broken window. The old gash on her forehead throbbed in agony and when she touched it, her fingertips came away wet. She thought she was crying, but the liquid around her eyes was too thick. The realisation made her retch.
Lauren dragged her fingers across her eyes, wiping them clear. When she could see again, she flicked her hands, the blood from her fingers spattering onto the floorboards. Through the window, she could see only clouds. Like the stars had never been there.
‘Help me!’ someone was screaming. She couldn’t tell who. She almost didn’t care, but then there was a thud and a loud wail. A torch came skittering across the floor, its beam bouncing off the walls at crazy angles, then it hit the wall and went out.
Lauren clambered to her feet, and staggered towards the trio on the ground, forcing her bloodied hands into the vicious huddle. She had no idea who she was grabbing as she tried to drag the group apart. Next to her, someone else was trying to do the same. Jill, she realised.
Lauren’s fingers found flesh and she dug her nails in, raking them back, not caring who it was as she struggled to put some cold night air between the bodies. An arm swung up from nowhere and Lauren ducked. It caught Jill on the jaw so hard she heard the woman’s teeth crack. Jill gave a wet grunt and staggered backwards, her hand clamped over her mouth.
The movement unbalanced the huddle, and as Lauren gave one final pull, it broke apart. There was nothing but ragged breathing, then the sound of each scuttling to their respective corners.
Lauren slumped against the wall. Her forehead was stinging, and now she could feel her right wrist aching where it had been bent back. She wondered if it was swelling up and ran a finger under the woven bracelet Rebecca had given her. It seemed okay for now, just sore. The bracelet was a little loose anyway, she probably didn’t need to take it off.