Page 54 of On the Edge

There was a flicker of something on Harry’s face as she wiped the spotless bar.She opened her mouth to speak then closed it again.

‘Did you?’Nel asked again.

Harry sighed heavily.‘Look, I really don’t want to get involved in this.’

Nel observed a flash of something on Harry’s face.‘You did!’

An elderly man ambled up to the bar and Harry went to serve him.When she returned, she leaned in and spoke in a low tone.‘She slept with him the night we had that big bonfire on the beach.’

Nel swallowed.‘How do you know?Did she tell you?’

‘I saw them.’

‘Where?’

‘In the dunes.They didn’t see me.I never told her I knew.’Harry straightened again.‘But I meant it when I said I don’t want to get involved in this, Nel.It took me a lot of therapy to make sense of what happened with Maddie.’

‘Her death, you mean?’

‘Yeah … but also the way she used me.’A beat.‘And the way I let her.’

Chapter 33

On Saturday morning, Nel woke up to a car horn blaring.She kept her eyes closed and tried to ignore it but it beeped again.Still groggy with sleep, she pushed the heavy curtain aside, frowning at the sight of a menacing-looking Police SUV.Her first instinct was to assume she was about to be arrested (thanks, Troy Farris), but then she rubbed her eyes and logic kicked in.Jimmy.

She reached for her phone, gasping when she saw it was almost nine thirty.It had been years since she’d slept so late.There were two missed calls from Jimmy.She rang back, watching him through the gap in the curtain.

‘Morning, sleeping beauty.Did you get my message?’

‘No, I … I just woke up,’ she admitted.

‘Wow, some of us have it easy.’

‘What did it say?’

‘It said I’d pick you up at nine fifteen.’

‘To go where?’

‘To the lighthouse lookout.Get dressed, I’ll wait.’

‘I’ve been thinking about Maddie,’ Jimmy said, as Nel climbed into the front seat ten minutes later.She’d told him about her conversation with Harriet the day before.‘I haven’t had the chanceto check out the file yet, but I want you to talk me through what happened again.On location.’He pulled out from the kerb.‘You know, once a detective …’

‘Do you miss it?’Nel asked.

‘What, detective work?’

‘Yeah.’

He tipped his head to one side as he contemplated the question, following the road down past the industrial area at the port.It was the first time she’d seen him in uniform.The pale blue flattered his Mediterranean complexion.‘Sometimes.I miss immersing myself in a case and letting it take hold of me.’A pause.‘There’s plenty I don’t miss about it though.’

What wasn’t he saying, Nel wondered, as they reached Cape Caution, but she sensed not to ask.

She led the way along the sandstone path, trying to remember what it had looked like sixteen years ago.She pictured a dirt track and some rocky steps leading through scrubby bush down to the lookout, which was just a large flat rock back then.

In the intervening years, the bush had been cleared and replaced with grass, and now stone steps led down to a metal viewing platform where a wooden railing protected sightseers from the drop below.A sign mounted on the railing identified the coastal landmarks and provided information about the whale species that passed by, heading north in autumn and south in spring with calves in tow.Next to that was a plaque acknowledging the upgrades to the lookout, which were officially opened by The Honourable Geoffrey Marshall MP on Australia Day in 2015.

Beyond the railing, the vast shimmering ocean stretched into the infinite distance.They stood side by side, gazing across the silver-blue expanse.Nel leaned over the railing, staring down at the swirling white water crashing onto the rocks below.