Page 23 of On the Edge

‘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.