Chapter 20
‘Officially, all we know is that Maddie disappeared sometime after I left her at the lighthouse lookout at eight thirty on Wednesday the twentieth of October, and that her body was found by surfers three days later, eight k’s south of town. But there’s definitely more to it than that.’
Nel gazed out the window, letting the memory come alive in her mind. She’d answered endless questions from O’Neill and Frisk in that bland interview room—her father an unwavering, unquestioning presence by her side—so it was strangely vivid.
‘Things had been weird between us for weeks,’ she began.
Jimmy tilted his head to one side, listening.
‘Maddie had been really distant, then that night she sent me a message asking me to meet her at the lighthouse.
I remember feeling relieved, that maybe our friendship was okay after all, so I told Mum some story about borrowing a textbook and went to meet her.
‘It was dark when I got there, but there was a huge moon so I could see that she’d been crying.
I was about to ask her what was wrong when I saw that she was wearing the ring Ryan gave her.
They’d broken up months before, so I asked why she was wearing the ring.
She looked confused at first, like she’d forgotten she was wearing it. ’
Jimmy frowned. ‘I’m kind of hazy on the timeline of Maddie and Ryan’s relationship.’
‘It started when Maddie was in Year 8 and Ryan was in Year 11. Poor Faye was beside herself about the age difference. They were together for about a year, but they broke up around Easter. I was … relieved.’
‘To have your best friend back?’
‘It was more than that. It wasn’t a good relationship. Ryan was … mean. He was always doing things to humiliate her. Little things, but they felt significant.’
She thought of the car door prank. She’d recounted that story to O’Neill and Frisk, trying to make them understand her concerns about Ryan, but in that cold interrogation room it had sounded trivial. Insignificant. A misguided joke, perhaps. Teenage boys having a laugh.
‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘they’d been broken up for roughly six months by the time she died. That’s why it was so strange that she was wearing the ring again.’
‘How did you know it was the same ring?’
‘It was an unusual design. Silver with a big black stone, onyx I think, with ornate silver clasps on each side. Apparently it had belonged to Ryan’s mother who died when he was really little.’
She looked back out the window, conjuring the scene at the lighthouse again.
‘So when I saw the ring I got really angry. I shouted at her, “Tell me you’re not back with him!”’ Nel pictured Maddie, twisting the ring with her fingers, eyes flashing with defiant tears.
‘She denied it, but I didn’t believe her.
I said, “If you’re not back with him, then why are you wearing his ring? ” But she just stood there.’
Nel took a steadying breath. ‘That was when I remembered seeing her in Ryan’s car—at least, I thought it was her—so I said, “I saw you with him. You were in his car.”’
‘When was that?’ Jimmy asked, leaning in.
‘I’m pretty sure it was the day before, on the Tuesday.
I left school late after debating and I saw Ryan’s car in the distance.
I thought I could see Maddie in the front seat.
’ Nel had frozen on the spot as she watched them, straining her eyes to make out the figure in the passenger seat, almost certain it was Maddie.
‘I was bluffing. I thought she would deny it, but she didn’t.
So I told her I was done with her, and then I left. ’
‘You left her there alone?’ Jimmy asked.
She nodded, shame washing over her. She’d left Maddie there alone and run the six blocks home in the dark. Faye’s words rang in her ears. If it wasn’t for you she wouldn’t be dead.
‘So she never admitted that she was seeing him again?’ Jimmy asked.
Nel shook her head. ‘Why would she admit it to me, though? She knew what I thought of him. Some fishermen reported seeing his car there, around 9 pm I think it was.’
‘Was it confirmed that it was his car?’
‘No,’ Nel admitted. ‘But it was a bronze Commodore station wagon, so not a common colour. My understanding is that they brought Ryan in for questioning on the back of that eyewitness report, but apparently the fishermen had been drinking and there were some inconsistencies in what they said …’
‘And how do you know the ring was missing when her body was found?’
‘They brought me in for questioning again. They went over and over it. “How certain are you she was wearing the ring? Could you be mistaken? Maybe it was a different ring.” Over and over. But I wasn’t mistaken.
’ She shook her head and sighed. ‘And then the whole thing just got dropped. The coronial report called it an accidental death, and that was that.’
Jimmy drained his glass. ‘Another one?’
A few minutes later he returned with the drinks and some menus. The barmaid wandered over and picked up the empty glasses, giving them a half-hearted smile. Jimmy’s eyes tracked her as she walked to the bar then out the back, doors swinging behind her. The young couple had gone.
‘Do you think you could get a look at the case file?’ Nel asked.
He looked out the window into the darkness. ‘I don’t know,’ he said eventually. ‘It’s possible, but I’d need approval from Frisk. I can definitely look up Ryan’s record though, see if there’s anything DV-related.’
‘Frisk?’ Nel’s skin prickled at the name. ‘He’s still around?’
‘He’s the region commander for Mount Clare LAC now.’
She narrowed her eyes at the unfamiliar acronym.
‘Local Area Command,’ Jimmy explained.
She nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
‘You know you get a little furrow in your brow when you’re thinking?’ she said.
He scoffed. ‘I do not.’
‘Yeah you do.’ She laughed. ‘So what are you thinking?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘I was thinking about the pregnancy. You think the baby was definitely Ryan’s?’
‘Yeah, I do. She was completely infatuated with him. It was like no one else existed.’
‘Do you think she knew she was pregnant?’
Nel nodded. ‘She’d probably done a test. And even if she hadn’t, she would have missed a few periods so she must have suspected it. This could explain why she was talking with Ryan in his car earlier that week, and why she was wearing his ring again.’
Jimmy stared at the table, the thinking crease between his eyes. ‘Maybe she met Ryan after you left the lighthouse that night to tell him she wanted to keep the baby.’
Nel nodded. ‘If he didn’t want her to keep it, they might have argued. He might have got angry.’ She paused. ‘I wonder if Geoff and Faye knew about the pregnancy. It would have come up in the post-mortem, surely.’
‘The autopsy report will be in the case file,’ Jimmy said, staring at the woodgrain table.
He looked up. ‘I’m going to ask Frisk if I can review the file.
We need to know if the pregnancy came out in the original investigation.
If it didn’t, it’s significant new information.
It might be enough to reopen the case.’ He sat back and reached for a menu.
‘They do great fish tacos here,’ he said as two men came through the door.
Nel looked up and froze. ‘Shit.’
Jimmy turned to follow her eyeline and his face lit up. ‘That’s Trent Donohue!’
‘You know him?’
‘I played soccer with him,’ he said, catching Trent’s eye.
Trent raised a hand, then said something to his friend. They walked over. Nel swallowed as they approached, her mouth suddenly dry.
Trent gave her a quick nod then turned to Jimmy. ‘Mate!’ he said warmly, shaking his hand.
‘I didn’t know you were back in town,’ Jimmy said.
‘I’ve only been back for a month or so. I’m doing some freelancing for the Chronicle. Jimmy, this is—’
‘We were just leaving,’ Nel said, standing up.
‘Ah yeah.’ Jimmy frowned slightly but followed her lead. ‘We need to get going.’
Nel hurried to the door and out into the cold night air, crossing her arms tightly. She could hear Jimmy’s footsteps behind her.
‘Slow down!’ he called out. When he caught up, he put a hand on her arm. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I don’t trust that guy.’
‘Why not?’
‘Remember the journalist I mentioned?’ She stopped and rifled through her bag to find Trent’s business card. ‘Your mate Trent ambushed me at work.’
‘Ambushed you?’
‘He pretended he was a patient, then he told me he’s writing a story about Geoff Marshall and what happened to Maddie. He asked me about the ring. I said I had no idea what he was talking about, but how would he know about that? It was never in the papers.’
Jimmy frowned. ‘You think someone tipped him off?’
‘I don’t know, maybe.’ Nel shook her head, trying to make sense of it. ‘But who? And why?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. But one thing I do know is that if you want to find out what happened to Maddie, you’ll need to stop running away from people who might know something.
’ There was a long silence, then he smiled.
‘And another thing I know is that I’m starving and now we have to find somewhere else to have dinner. ’
‘Good point. Sorry. Come back to Mum’s place. Lauren dropped over a lasagne this afternoon. Just promise you won’t mention any of this to Mum.’