As Finn left, some person who could hardly walk straight bumped into him, apologised with a mumble, then moved on. Finn had walked away before I noticed his mobile on the ground, so I picked it up and waited for him to return.
I hadn’t dressed for warmth. My after-party dress was meant for inside heating, not the cold winter air that was seeping into my bones. I hadn’t meant to check Finn’s phone. Not really. I did want to look at the night’s photos, so I clicked onto his camera roll and scrolled through, smiling at some of the poses from the dance floor. Then suddenly there was a photo of Virginia. She was wearing a singlet that didn’t entirely cover her chest, and she was leaning back on a pillow, her hair all messed.
Of course he would have photos of Virginia, I reasoned with myself. They had been together for 18 months. I scrolled back through the photos, and there was Virginia, Virginia and Finn, Virginia and Loz. Then a cold ball of realisation hit me in the chest and sunk to the pit of my stomach as I scrolled back to the first photo of Virginia in her singlet. In the other photos, Virginia’s hair was darker. In this photo her hair was a light blonde. I remembered the commotion it had caused when she’d changed it not that long ago on her birthday.
Virginia and Finn. What was going on?
Then a text message appeared on the screen.
‘Where R U?’
It was from Virginia.
I sat down on a nearby rock, which was part of the water feature that led into the spa. I wasn’t sure what kind of game Virginia and Finn were playing, but I didn’t want to be part of it. Finn had used me. Probably laughed at my obvious crush on him. I wondered if Nico knew, and I felt disappointed.
I wanted to go home. I wondered whether to ring Dad, then thought of Cooper. It was obvious he was interested in Virginia. Maybe he would take me home. If Virginia was hooking up with Finn, there wasn’t anything here that Cooper would want to stay around for. The thought of going through the crowd inside to find him left me feeling tired. I pulled out my mobile and texted Cooper to meet me at the spa. I texted Poppy that I was leaving. Then Finn came back with a drink in each hand.
‘A hold-up at the bar,’ he said, handing me a bottle of raspberry and vodka.
I held up his phone. ‘You dropped it,’ I said.
‘Thanks.’ He held out his hand.
‘Virginia texted. She’s wondering where you were. Did you find each other?’ Inside I was suddenly bubbling with anger, but I managed to sound cool and in control as I dangled the phone out of his reach.
The beautiful, Prince Charming Finn that I knew disappeared in a puff of smoke. It was like a magic veil had been pulled away from my eyes. He looked nervous as he pulled a swig from his beer and shrugged as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.
‘Hey.’ It was Cooper jingling his keys in the air. ‘Did you need a lift home? ’Cause I’m out of here.’
I nodded as I noted with some satisfaction the confusion in Finn’s eyes. I decided not to make a scene. Finn wasn’t worth it. I was tired and suddenly I just wanted to be away from there. I checked my phone but there was no reply from Poppy. She’d probably shoved her phone into her bag and missed the call. I motioned for Cooper to follow me as I went in search of my friend, and as I moved through the house I thought I saw her in the dancing crowd near the kitchen. I kept going, stepping over people, squeezing past others, when a whirlwind of blond hair rushed towards me, pushing me aside and latching on to Cooper.
‘There you are,’ said Virginia. ‘What happened? The girls and I waited for you at the reception centre. We ended up having to get a cab. But I forgive you.’ Then she grabbed Cooper’s face in both hands and latched onto his mouth like there was no tomorrow. As she pushed away from him, I saw her glance over at Finn who had followed us, satisfaction in her eyes.
‘Nice show,’ said Cooper, wiping his mouth. ‘I saw you and Finn out behind the gazebo. What’s your game, Virginia?’
So Finn and Virginia had hooked up while I was waiting near the spa. I thought I might be sick. I pushed my way outside, past Joelene the guard, and past some people lining up to get in. I gulped at the cold air, a light mist of rain settling on my upturned face.
I realised I hadn’t come very far from that girl in Year 7. I thought I was an adult — in control of my life. But inside, all the while, I was still that tiny girl with the ribbons in her hair, wearing her school uniform while everyone else was cool and in free dress.
Then someone touched me on the shoulder and for one moment I thought it was Finn.
I swung around, ready to face his lies, but it was Poppy and she was crying.
‘What is it?’ I asked.
‘It’s Nico,’ she said. ‘He’s missing.’
27
SARAH
Rain, rain, go away
come again another day
POPPY AND I sheltered under a tree as she told me what had happened. Nico had been acting strangely all night, she said, and it wasn’t just from too much beer. She finally confronted him and he told her about the prank texts and calls he’d been receiving.
‘I just got mad with him,’ said Poppy. ‘Why didn’t he tell me? Aren’t you supposed to share everything with the people you love?’
‘So then what happened?’ I asked.
‘Then he just stormed off. And he was really drunk. Sair, he’s been so on edge lately. I’m afraid. Afraid of what he might do. He won’t answer his phone.’
‘Then we have to find him.’
By now, the other three had followed me outside. Virginia and Finn stood together, murmuring in low, angry tones. Cooper stood alone, his eyes lost in the shadow of the night.
‘Cooper will take us,’ I said.
Poppy shook her head.
‘Poppy, it’s the quickest way. We can drive up and down the streets faster than walking.’
Cooper stepped towards us.
‘So what’s going on?’ he asked.
‘Where’s Nico?’ Finn and Virginia had nudged closer to us.
I could see Finn was worried about his friend and I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but I was more worried about Nico than making Finn pay. I decided to tell the truth.
‘Nico’s gone off,’ I said. ‘He and Poppy have had a fight—’
Poppy confronted Finn. ‘Did you know about the phone calls?’
‘What?’ said Finn.
‘The calls. The prank texts. About the shirt. That shirt. That day in The Woods.’ She started to cry again.
‘I don’t understand. Tell me again.’ Finn looked at me so I asked Cooper to go and get the car, then I told Finn about the prank texts, which was why Nico had been on edge for months now, and how tonight he had seemed out of control, like someone had pushed him over the line.
‘Why didn’t he tell me?’ he said.
‘So it wasn’t you?’ I asked. I said it more to hurt Finn than truly believing the possibility.
‘Finn wouldn’t do something like that,’ said Virginia.
I shrugged as if I wasn’t sure what Finn was capable of, when Poppy cried out, ‘I wish we’d never gone into The Woods that day. I wish we’d never met up with Finn and Nico. I wish we’d never seen that girl.’
I saw a look pass between Virginia and Finn and it was like a little light switched on in my brain, illuminating the dark corners I’d been avoiding.
‘But we were supposed to be there that day, Poppy,’ I said. ‘Because our good friend Virginia took us there.’
Poppy stared at Virginia then back at me. ‘What?’ she said.
‘Tell her, Virginia,’ I said.
Virginia raised her eyebrows and leaned into Finn.
‘Okay, I’ll take a guess,’ I said. ‘Finn stumbles across the body in The Woods. I don’t know what he’s doing there. Maybe it’s his and Virginia’s secret meeting place—’
‘But Finn and Virginia—’
‘Are still together,’ I said. ‘So Finn rings Virginia to tell her about finding the body and she wants to have a
look. But she’s worried. What if someone sees them with the body? She figures safety in numbers. And she knows Poppy’s mother is a police officer and my dad is on the Council, so she uses us as her get-of-out-jail-free card in case anyone sees us. So she invites Poppy and me over to her place for a swim, then we give her the perfect opportunity by inviting her back to my place for dinner. Although she probably already had another plan up her sleeve.’
I looked to Virginia and she shrugged.
‘So Virginia leads us through The Woods, and we miraculously meet up with Finn and Nico, because Finn thinks he’d like his friend to be in on it too, and we miraculously stumble across the dead girl’s body. And Finn is soooo surprised. Shocked even. Maybe he should take up acting as well as Virginia. Now Poppy and I can give the three of them an alibi — just in case. ’Cause we all know about that trouble Nico got into last year, and we wouldn’t want the police getting the wrong idea. And Virginia gets to see her first dead body up close and be part of a huge drama, with her and her leading man, Finn. Which was a great plan, except Nico left his shirt behind.’
‘Which someone took,’ said Poppy.
‘Which someone took,’ I agreed.
I waited for Finn to say it was all bullshit, but his eyes couldn’t meet mine and I knew it was true. I felt a little sick. Who was this person that I’d so longed to be with? This person who had kissed me only hours before. And who was I to judge? A person who campaigned for animal rights but could leave a poor murdered girl alone because it was too hard to get involved.
Virginia gave a slow clap. She looked like she was having trouble standing up.
‘So my guess is that Virginia took the shirt,’ I said. ‘That somehow she got to the shirt before Poppy went back. That she started pranking Nico because she was bored, or because she hates him, who knows—’
‘Hey! I did not do that. How could I, Sarah? I was with you the whole time.’
Cooper pulled up alongside us, his windscreen wipers on a slow arc as the rain misted down.
‘Whatever,’ I said. ‘Come on, Poppy. Let’s find Nico.’
Poppy and I headed for the car and Finn followed, saying, ‘I’m coming too.’
‘I didn’t do that!’ insisted Virginia. ‘Hey, wait!’
Virginia hopped onto the back seat beside me before I could pull the door shut.
‘Move over,’ she said. ‘Where are we going?’
‘I’m not sure. Poppy?’
‘Maybe Nico’s walking home,’ said Poppy.
No one had any better ideas so Finn gave Cooper some directions and we headed for Nico’s home via Chandler Road.
For the next ten minutes, Virginia argued that she didn’t know anything about the prank texting, but it was a one-sided argument. I couldn’t bear to look at her, and Poppy and Finn were keeping close watch out their windows for any sign of Nico.
‘I’ll do the main roads,’ said Cooper. ‘If we don’t see him there, we’ll cut through the back streets.’
The rain was a little heavier now; not too much to make a noise on the windscreen but enough to be a nuisance.
I was looking out the front windscreen and thinking it was lucky how Cooper had come to our rescue. Ever since summer, he seemed to be around a lot, just on the edge of our lives.
It was so clear to me now how much he was interested in Virginia. He must have been following her all summer. All those times on the train, on the way home from the city. And at The Mall. And there was that day, on the way from Virginia’s house to mine, when I thought I saw Cooper behind us.
He must have been really hurt to find out that Virginia had suckered him in. She’d done a great job on all of us.
Then we saw Nico walking on the side of the road and all I could think about was getting him in the car.
‘Stop!’ I said. ‘That’s him.’
28
All the king’s horses and
all the king’s men
couldn’t put Humpty
together again
A LIGHT DRIZZLE falls as a car travels down Chandler Road in the early hours of the morning. It is a road on the outskirts of town — just past Mansion Acres, near The Woods — where the dips and curves of the landscape plunge the road into shadow. It is a small car. A light-coloured car. Inside are five people who have left a party in search of a friend.
As the car rounds a bend, a figure is seen walking on the side of the road. The driver stops the car and the passengers get out. There is an argument, there are tears, then finally everyone returns to the car, which pulls out, back onto Chandler Road.
Six people.
One car.
Five seatbelts.
As the argument continues in the back seat, the driver rubs at the fogged breath on his windscreen. He turns on the demister and barks at his passengers to roll down their windows to help un-fog the car. As his attention is diverted, he misses the warning sign for Dog-leg Bend. By the time he focuses back on the road, the zigzag is upon him and he struggles to keep the car on the slippery road. As it looks like he has eluded disaster, the car’s tyres bite into some gravel on the edge of the road and it fishtails. The driver overcorrects the wheel, and the car glances off a tree on the wrong side of the road, rolls once and lands on its side, sliding to a stop just metres past the roadside tribute to Evan/Son.
While the car performs this ungainly ballet, its passengers have mere seconds to respond.
Cooper’s one thought is to get the car under control with minimum damage.
Finn, sitting in the front passenger seat, sees the white roadside tribute light up in the headlights before the car swerves. Evan, he thinks, as the car heads for the tree.
Virginia is sitting in the left-hand side of the back seat. She is turned to Nico, who is sitting next to her, hotly defending her innocence for something that will soon not matter anymore.
Poppy is sitting on the far right-hand side of the back seat. She is focused on the tree, her hands gripping the headrest of the driver’s seat in front of her. At the last second she turns to look at her best friend, Sarah, the final passenger to get back into the car. Sarah is perched awkwardly on Nico’s knee, leaning forward and bracing herself sideways against the front passenger seat. Her eyes lock onto Poppy’s before the car clips the tree.
Only Nico looks to The Woods. He sees a flash of white through the trees and thinks of the girl they left behind. And he knows that this is justice. That she has sent them on this fatal trip in revenge.
But there is no ghost; only the whirling of his confused mind as the car spins out of control.
29
SARAH
One for sorrow, two for mirth
Three for a wedding
Four for death
A LOT OF PEOPLE turned up for the funeral and it all went by in a bit of a blur. It’s funny the things that you remember. So many people turned up that they spilled out into the chapel garden and they had to listen to the service over the loudspeakers directed outside. There were a lot of people from school. There were some I’d never seen before, but they wore our school uniform so they stood out from the rest of the crowd. It was a cold day. I remember that.
I’d only been to one funeral before, and that was for an old relative I didn’t know that well, so it didn’t count for much. I watched the procession of mourners as they filed past the grieving relatives, but they were wrapped up in their own sorrow and couldn’t offer much consolation. I pushed past the line and into the chapel with its floor-to-ceiling windows that seemed to bring the outside indoors. The day outside was grey. Some of the trees were stripped bare for winter and the tree nearest the chapel held four magpies that sat silently on one branch. A middle-aged man in a pinstripe suit was twiddling with sound equipment at the back of the room. ‘One, two, one two,’ he said into the microphone. I stifled a giggle as I waited for him to break into song. Laughing at a funeral was inappropriate.
That day I wore my silky red dress — the one that I’d worn to my cous
in Michael’s 21st. Poppy wore red too — a dark red gash on her forehead, not covered by makeup, which stood out in stark relief against her pale skin. She wore it defiantly as she sat grimly up the front, her hands twisting at a piece of paper that she would not refer to once when it was her turn to say a few words.
Cooper turned up early, which caused a ripple among the mourners. I admired him for coming. It had taken me a while to figure out it was Cooper who had picked up the shirt. He’d been following Virginia as she walked to my home that day we cut through The Woods. He had stayed out of sight until we left, then he’d taken the shirt. I don’t know what for. I don’t know why he prank-texted Nico. Maybe he had a score to settle with him? Maybe he just wanted to scare Nico for a bit of fun. I never did understand Cooper.
There were some who blamed Cooper for the accident, and some who blamed Nico, but in the end it was what it was. Blaming people couldn’t change what had happened. Wishing it hadn’t happened couldn’t turn back the clock.
Virginia was still in a coma on the day of the funeral. Her right foot had become trapped, snapped at the ankle and twisted 45 degrees as Finn’s front passenger seat door hit the road, pushing his seat backwards off its rail and down into the floor. Her family had a no-visitor policy. I’m sure that Finn would have been desperate to see her, but most people thought that Finn and Virginia had broken up months before and Finn’s status was that of ex-boyfriend. I managed to drop in sometimes and in the quiet of Virginia’s private hospital room we wandered through our own muddled dreams and there was a kind of peace in that.
I caught a glimpse of Finn at the service, one arm in a sling. He was sitting stiffly on the bench seat, flanked by his brother, Aaron, and a woman with white knuckles and dark glasses, who I suspected was his mother. The cuts on Finn’s face and hands had already started to heal, but I could tell that inside something seemed to be broken. He looked grave, older somehow, and I wondered if he’d ever be that same old, in-charge, dashing Finn that I had once found so appealing.
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