Chapter 14
Nel pulled into an empty space at the surf club car park and cut the engine, but she and Cath just sat there, motionless. The ocean churned, the colour of steel, under a heavy sky. Cath stared out to sea, but Nel suspected she wasn’t seeing it at all.
An elderly couple walked across the car park towards the building, their bodies bent into the wind.
Nel had seen the man at the clinic the day before.
His long white hair, which had been carefully combed over his bald crown the previous day, was standing up like a sail, caught by a strong gust of wind.
She looked back at her mother. ‘You okay, Mum?’
Cath gave her a resolute nod as Lauren appeared at her window and opened the door.
‘Coming?’ she asked.
Cath sighed heavily and unclipped her seatbelt.
‘You go ahead,’ Nel said. ‘I’ll come in a minute.’
As the door closed behind Cath, Nel leaned back against the headrest, relieved to be alone for the first time all day.
She looked at the building, picturing all the Carrinya locals inside eating chicken and celery finger sandwiches.
People she’d spent the last four days—and sixteen years—trying to avoid.
She closed her eyes, remembering the scene during those three days when Maddie was missing, when the surf club was the headquarters of the unofficial search.
Crowds of people reporting for duty. Roy Warner with a megaphone and a clipboard, corralling people into teams, assigning them sections of coastline.
The unrelenting thrum of the search and rescue helicopter overhead.
*
‘What are we doing here?’ Nel asked, as her father pulled up in front of the surf club. She felt drained after the police interview. Depleted. She thought of her bed, craving the respite of sleep.
‘Let’s see if they need some help,’ he said.
Nel could see a crowd of people in front of the building. Ryan’s stepmum sat at a trestle table as though she was manning the desk at a school fundraiser.
‘What are they all doing here?’ Nel whispered.
‘Searching for Maddie. Roy Warner’s got people walking in groups.’
‘What? Walking? Walking where?’
‘Along sections of the coastline, around lagoons and estuaries.’
Nel noticed the perfect ponytail of Jen Henry among the volunteers, talking with one of her Mean Girl friends. What was she doing here? She didn’t even like Maddie!
Nel felt sick. ‘I want to go home.’
‘I know this is hard, Nellie, but it’s best to keep busy.’
She unbuckled her seatbelt with a sigh.
There was a charge in the air. Not quite excitement, but something like it. People stood in tight groups that buzzed with conversation. Smoke rose from a barbecue where Mr Elliot, the tech teacher, was turning sausages.
‘They’re having a sausage sizzle?’ Nel muttered as they walked towards the building.
‘People have to eat.’
‘It’s weird.’
As they approached, conversations stopped abruptly. Eyes glanced sideways at her, then away again. Word must have got around that she’d been taken to the station. Rob put a hand on her back and steered her to the table where Mrs Warner sat.
He cleared his throat. ‘We wanted to offer our help.’
She gave Nel a pitiful smile. ‘Yes, of course. There’s a group about to head up to Shark Bay if you’d like to join them?’ She gestured to the group of walkers nearby, wearing daypacks and runners.
‘Shark Bay?’ Nel asked. That was a thirty-minute drive north. Why would Maddie be there? What did they think had happened?
‘Tom Taylor’s been looking at the tide charts and he thinks her bod—’ She paused, grimacing. ‘Well, he thinks that if—’ She stopped again and looked at Rob for help.
‘They’re exploring every possibility,’ he said.
Tears welled in Nel’s eyes. ‘I just want to go home,’ she said, her voice cracking.
*
The function room was vibrating with conversation when Nel reached the entrance.
The low murmurs and serious faces were gone now, replaced with bright eyes and laughter, fuelled by the open bar.
She caught sight of her old drama teacher Mr Scott on the far side of the room, talking with a woman she recognised vaguely.
Another teacher. Mrs Watson? Wilson? God, did no one leave this place?
She thought of the brown brick building of Carrinya High.
How did they stand it? Decade after decade at the same place, doing the same thing.
Lauren appeared by her side. Nel had never been so pleased to see her.
‘I’ll get drinks,’ Lauren announced, vanishing again in the direction of the bar before Nel had time to stop her, leaving her standing alone again.
Where was Jimmy? She scanned the crowd. Her mum was by the window, talking with Geoff Marshall.
Roy Warner stood with a group of men in suits and ties, the overhead lights reflecting off his completely bald head.
Lachie was on his dad’s left, a fatter version of Ryan, nodding along as Roy held court.
Her eyes were drawn to a tall man with thinning hair.
Her chest tightened. Was that Troy Farris?
She wasn’t sure. She couldn’t see Ryan but he would be here too, somewhere.
God. This was a nightmare. Nel took a deep breath, trying to shake the unsettling realisation that she was an outcast at her own father’s funeral.
Where was Lauren? What was taking her so long?
She moved her head from side to side, searching for her sister’s smooth, ash-blonde head, and spotted her deep in conversation with Jen Henry, of all people, and a bunch of women Nel recognised from school.
She was fighting the urge to leave when Jimmy appeared in front of her, a glass of champagne in his outstretched hand.
She felt her shoulders drop with relief as she took the glass. ‘Is the entire population of Carrinya here?’
‘Popular man, your dad,’ he said.
She took a large sip, but it did little to take the edge off. ‘I can’t face this, but I can’t leave.’
‘Then let’s hide.’ He took her elbow and guided her to a high table in a small annexe off one side of the room.
‘To your dad.’ He clinked his glass against hers.
Warmth spread through her. What a relief it was to have a friend here.
‘You look good, Jimmy,’ she said, studying his face. ‘Kind of the same but different.’
He laughed. ‘You too. I like the hair. Suits you.’
Nel smiled and ran a hand through her long fringe. ‘I can’t believe you’re back here. What’s it like?’
‘Being back? Not so bad. Quieter than Wollongong obviously, but I’m enjoying it.’
‘Really?’ She’d seen him on the news, speaking at press conferences about a high-profile missing child case. How could police work in Carrinya compare with that? ‘I thought you were killing it in Wollongong.’
A shadow crossed his face. ‘I needed a change … so when a general duties position came up back here, I took it.’ He shrugged, took a sip of his beer. ‘It’s a step backwards. I’m still getting used to wearing a uniform again, but a detective role will come up in Mount Clare sooner or later.’
Nel nodded as though it made perfect sense. ‘Did your wife come back with you or …’
‘No, no she’s … still in Wollongong.’ He swallowed, visibly uncomfortable. ‘What about you? Married? Engaged?’
She held up her left hand to show her bare ring finger. ‘I was with someone for a while in Dublin, but that’s over now.’
‘What happened?’
‘It wasn’t serious.’ She took a sip of her drink. ‘At least, I didn’t think it was serious, but then he went and proposed, completely out of the blue. He had a ring and everything.’
‘Sounds like a real bastard,’ Jimmy said with a lopsided smile. ‘So that was it?’
‘Pretty much. We’d never talked about marriage. It felt very … presumptuous, I suppose.’ She shrugged. ‘Anyway, I’d finished my GP training, so after that happened it felt like the right time to come back to Australia.’
‘What a pair of losers we are.’ He raised his glass even though it was empty. ‘Cheers to us.’ They clinked their glasses. ‘Another one?’
‘I’ll have a beer instead.’ She watched him walk through the crowd to the bar with an easy confidence he’d lacked when he was younger.
Her eyes were drawn to Sophie Warner who stood with her back to the wall, looking at her phone.
Nel scanned for Ryan again and found him nearby, talking intently to an elderly lady who was gazing at him like a beloved grandson.
He wore a checked shirt and a suit jacket with beige pants, just like he did in the photos on his Facebook page, his short hair gelled to one side.
She looked back at Sophie. Why was she alone? She must know plenty of people here. Nel thought of the look on Sophie’s face, the spasm of pain as she leaned on her wrist at the end of the appointment.
‘Do you ever get called to the Warners’ place?’ Nel asked Jimmy when he returned from the bar.
He followed her line of sight. ‘Ryan Warner’s place?’
‘Yeah.’
He shook his head. ‘What for?’
She hesitated, debating whether to share her suspicions. What did she actually know? Nothing, really. Maybe Sophie did fall off a bar stool.
‘Just curious.’ She took a sip of her beer. ‘So has Carrinya started to feel like home again?’
He rubbed his stubbled cheek. ‘It’s home for now. I’m trying not to plan too far ahead. If Dad manages to sell his business, they’ll move north and there’ll be no reason for me to stay.’ He smiled playfully. ‘Although now that my old friend is back in town, who knows.’
Nel smiled and shook her head. ‘Enjoy it while it lasts, buddy. I’m getting out of here as soon as we have a locum.’