‘We could, but then people start to wonder why and that’s not always –’ Pendlebury stopped short. Her pace slowed and she made a noise of frustration. ‘For God’s sake.’
They were approaching George Barlin’s house, ripped-up garden and all. Parked on the road outside was Ash’s dirty ute.
Kieran could see Ash through the windscreen, sitting in the driver’s seat, engine off, arms crossed against the steering wheel. Shifty was next to him on the passenger’s side, head out of the window and tongue lolling.
‘He’s been warned about this.’ Pendlebury glanced at Kieran. ‘He has to move on. I am very happy to –’
‘No, it’s okay.’ Kieran put the brake on the pram. ‘I’ll talk to him.’
Ash had already fired up the engine by the time Kieran had crossed the road.
‘It’s all right, I’m going. I had something to see to but –’ Ash leaned out of his open window and raised his voice in Pendlebury’s direction. ‘I’m leaving now, okay? You don’t need to call your mates, I’m going.’
Ash sat back heavily in the seat and reached for the gears. Kieran put a hand on the door.
‘Hey, wait a sec,’ he said.
‘What, mate? I’ve got work to do.’
‘I messaged you.’
‘Yep.’ Ash sighed. ‘I’m at work, mate.’
‘Yeah, okay, but –’
Ash finally looked over. His face still carried a hint of the exposed nerve Kieran had seen the night before, but today he simply seemed tired.
‘What?’ Ash said again.
‘Are you all right? After last night?’
‘Fine.’
‘Right.’ Kieran still didn’t move his hand off the door. ‘Because that stuff George was saying –’
‘Oh.’ A tiny crease appeared around Ash’s eyes. ‘Yeah, no, that’s fine. Look, mate –’ He put the ute into gear. ‘I’ve got to keep moving.’
‘Well, give me a call if you –’
But Ash was already raising an arm out of the window in pointed farewell to Pendlebury. Kieran dropped his hand and took a step back as the ute moved away. They all watched until the vehicle was out of sight, then Kieran returned to the pram. They started walking again.
‘What did that garden look like before, out of interest?’ Pendlebury said as they hit the cliff path.
‘Beautiful,’ Mia replied.
They covered most of the hike up in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. As they neared the top, Mia jogged a few paces and caught up to Pendlebury.
‘Do you think whoever took Bronte’s camera and computer knew she was uploading the pictures somewhere?’ she asked.
‘I couldn’t say.’ Pendlebury had her eyes on the ocean as they walked. ‘It depends who it was and why they did it.’
‘And you said these photos we can see online aren’t all the ones she’d saved to her student folders?’
‘That’s right.’
Mia was scrolling through her phone again as they walked, her thumb moving up and down. ‘But would you say these ones are –’ She hesitated. ‘– a reflective sample?’
They had reached the top of the cliffs and stopped at the lookout. Out on the water, The Survivors stood tall. The Nautilus Blue rocked in the waves beyond, the blue and white dive flag visible. Pendlebury ignored the view, looking instead at Mia.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘I can see you’re worried because you and Kieran appear in one of the photos, so let me put your mind partly at ease. You are not the only ones.’
‘Really?’
‘Not by a long way.’
Kieran wasn’t sure why he didn’t feel more relieved.
Pendlebury turned back to the safety rail, her eyes on The Survivors.
‘How’s that tide looking, Kieran?’ she said. ‘Low enough for a trip down?’
‘Now?’
Pendlebury tucked her computer tablet under her arm. ‘Now would be good.’
Mia didn’t look happy but she didn’t argue. Kieran passed her the pram and he and Pendlebury stepped around the barrier and made their way alone down the unmarked trail. When Pendlebury hit the sand at the bottom, she stopped, ignoring the birds that had risen into the air almost as one. She took in the gaping voids of the caves, then raised her face and squinted back up the steep cliff face to where they’d been. She took out the tablet again, frowning as she moved her index finger across the screen.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘Now, I want you to bear in mind that Bronte was a twenty-one-year-old girl with a digital camera. So I’m not kidding when I tell you she took a lot of photos. Having said that –’ Pendlebury held the screen so Kieran could see it. ‘Can you identify the locations of any of these images? Take your time.’
Kieran took the tablet and began to flick through Bronte’s photos slowly, unsure what he was about to see. Many of the pictures were cropped so close they were essentially anonymous. Grains of sand, a tight photo of seaweed plastered green and jewel-like against a dark surface. He flipped back and forth, feeling Pendlebury’s eyes on him.
‘Sorry, I’m try–’ Kieran started, then stopped, because all of a sudden he did recognise something.
A craggy surface with sand dusted across the face and crevasses carved deep by the water. A sharp line of contrast where daylight met permanent shade. The mouth of the North Cave, Kieran knew. There was no doubt, none at all, because in that tight-cropped photo, among the crevasses and the sand and the shade, his own name was carved into the rock.
Kieran looked at the casual scars of those letters that he had left years ago, captured now on a dead girl’s camera, and felt a dash of fear.
He was still staring at the picture when Pendlebury reached across and swiped the screen again. A similar shot appeared, but this time it was Ash’s name cutting through the corner of the frame. Another swipe and Ash’s name was visible again. A different carving this time, the angle making it harder to read. Kieran couldn’t tell where that one had been taken.
Pendlebury reached over and even before she swiped, Kieran could already half guess what was coming. Finn, then Finn again. The R–A–N tail end of another
