‘Kevin called,’ she said, handing me some groceries. ‘He told me what happened and asked me to come out and be with you. He said he had to go to Craigsville with the police and could be back late.’
‘Craigsville? I thought he was only showing them the camp site.’
‘They’re keeping him there for a while to ask some more questions.’
‘Oh.’
‘Don’t worry,’ she said, ducking her head under the boot. ‘I’ll stay with you till he gets back.’
I stood with the heavy bags cutting into my fingers, trying to take it all in. ‘Did they arrest him?’
‘Arrest him! No. No. Nothing like that. It’s all fine.’ Leanne slammed the boot shut. ‘Everything’s okay. He’s just helping them with the search, that’s all.’
I nodded, thinking that it didn’t sound okay and now I had to put up with Leanne hanging around all afternoon. I mean, I liked her but she was starting to become a regular feature in my life. Didn’t she know I was living in a tunnel deep underground? It was a private kind of pit and when you’re burrowing and shrinking away from the world, you don’t want people shining their torches in. ‘Actually, Leanne, there’s no need for you to stay. I’ll be okay on my own.’
She frowned and shook her head, her face flushed with the heat. ‘I’ve brought my overnight things, just in case. You can’t stay out here alone at night, Sunny. End of story.’
We took the groceries into the kitchen and dumped them onto the table.
‘I’ve closed the shop for the rest of the day.’
‘You closed the shop?’
‘Monday is always quiet anyway. I’ll cook us up a casserole for dinner,’ she said, looking around the room. ‘That’s after we give things a bit of a clean.’ Leanne then set about scrubbing out the fridge and organising the food. She was more animated than I’d ever seen. I tried to imagine what her life would be like, working in the shop every night, going home to her cat, Russell, and her dark little cottage. I guessed this was something for her, really something.
Dragging my feet, I moved to the table and opened one of the bags. I took out some Weet-Bix and a bag of sugar and put them in the pantry.
‘Oh, dear.’ Leanne was on her knees, rearranging the vegetable crisper. She twisted around and piled limp vegetables onto the floor behind her. ‘Pass me the bin, would you.’
I felt ashamed of the inadequately stocked fridge. It made us seem hopeless somehow.
‘Here you go.’ I pushed the empty bin toward her.
‘I don’t want you to worry about Kevin,’ Leanne said, stacking milk, yoghurt and butter into the door of the fridge. ‘The police are barking up the wrong tree. I’m afraid Karen Koslovski and a few others, who should know better, have been saying things they shouldn’t.’
‘What things?’ I placed a tin of dog food onto the table noting it was one that Mervie didn’t like; the cat would probably eat it though.
Leanne turned to face me, holding a slimy, dead iceberg lettuce. ‘Look, Sunny. I’ll only tell you because I’d rather it comes from me than someone else. Karen’s saying things about what happened on that camping trip.’
‘So, she thinks Kevin has something to do with Dylan’s disappearance.’ Though I had entertained the thought myself, the possibility of other people thinking it chilled me. I thought about Kevin’s grey complexion when I asked if he was a person of interest. My mind grappled with the possibility that I had been living with a killer. Did anyone care? Hello? Fragile teenager, living with possible murderer – anyone see a problem here? ‘It would explain a lot,’ I added.
Leanne staggered to her feet and threw the lettuce into the bin. ‘He didn’t do anything, Sunny.’
‘How do you know?’ I said.
She gazed back into the fridge for a second. ‘I don’t understand how you can think otherwise.’
I shrugged and picked up a packet of Milk Arrowroots.
She stepped toward me, placing her hand on my arm. Her fingers were cold and grippy. ‘Don’t be like that, Sunny. He’s your stepfather. Anyway,’ she said, letting go and trying to sound bright, ‘there isn’t even a body, is there now?’
I stared. ‘You mean they haven’t found one, yet.’
Leanne snorted, gathered up the empty plastic bags and shoved them all into one. ‘Kevin should’ve steered clear of those Koslovskis. You won’t hear me say these sorts of things very often, Sunny, but those people are bad news.’
Later that night Kevin called to say he was staying in Craigsville with a friend, so Leanne stayed over. In the morning, I woke to her knocking.
‘Sorry, Sunny.’ She poked her head around the corner of my door. ‘I couldn’t wait any longer. I’d better get back to Russell now. He gets a bit funny if I leave him too long. Last time he scratched up my good chair. Tore it to shreds. I think he misses me.’
Insomnia had slept with me again. He’s such a party animal. He had a lot to whisper in my ear and I was still groggy after not getting to sleep until after midnight. I rolled over and propped myself up on one elbow. ‘Okay.’ My voice was husky. ‘I’m fine. You go home to Russell.’
Leanne stepped into the room, her overnight bag slung over one shoulder. I didn’t even know where she’d slept because, feigning tiredness, I’d hidden in my room since early the night before. ‘Kevin rang this morning,’ she said. ‘He’s on his way back.’
‘Okay. Hey, Leanne.’
‘Yes?’
‘Did you know my real father?’
‘No. Back then, I didn’t really know your mum that well. I mean, we weren’t close. But I think she met him in Brisbane after she left town. Why?’
‘I was just wondering. It’s nothing.’
‘From what I can gather, he was only in her life for a short time.’
‘I know.’
‘Kevin has always been there for you and your mum; you shouldn’t forget that.’
‘I guess.’
She reached for the door handle. ‘I’ll bring back some tea
