Voices murmur around me and then, out of the blue, Zac is there kneeling beside me. He prizes the bottle from my trembling fingers, removes it from the holster and unscrews the cap.
His eyes are haunted, his face is grey, but his voice is calm. ‘You’ve had a bad shock. Let’s get you home.’
***
In our kitchen, defrosting by the Aga, I find I can barely remember the journey back to the house. Was I carried? Did I walk?
Zac and I stare sightlessly out of the kitchen window, holding stone-cold cups of tea. Neither of us drink or speak.
‘Got anything stronger?’ Zac says after an immeasurable length of time.
I startle from my trance. ‘Oh. Yes. Wine?’
‘Got any whiskey?’
‘No, I’m afraid not. Oh, wait. Tim might have had some, let me check.’
Minutes later, we’re eyeing each other over the rims of our whiskey tumblers.
I’m feeling the effects of the whiskey, but my mind intermittently dances with horrors that shake me back to reality.
‘That was pretty fucked up.’ Zac says.
My skin feels numb. ‘I can’t believe it,’ I murmur. ‘I thought something terrible had happened, but that was … that was …’
‘I know.’ Zac polishes off his whiskey and helps himself to another. He offers me the bottle and I take it and top up my own drink.
‘I’d still hoped … you know, that she’d be okay.’ Something warm trickles down my cheek and it’s a moment before I realise it’s a tear. I swipe it away and take a deep swallow of whiskey.
‘Yeah.’
‘Who … who did that to her?’ I shudder, unable to shake the image of Dee’s body, pierced through by a fisherman’s hook, being hauled from the water.
Zac raises one eyebrow. ‘You don’t think it was an accident?’
I eye Zac, wondering how much to say. I sense an ally in him, somehow, but I don’t know who to trust, let alone my own instincts.
I shrug. ‘It just seemed to me that she was … I don’t know, scared of someone.’
Zac meets my eye. ‘Any idea who?’
I shake my head. ‘I’d just got the sense … that not everything was okay at home. That she didn’t feel safe. But Rob was away, and he has an alibi. I … I don’t know.’
‘Anyone else you got your eye on?’ He asks, and there’s a hint of challenge in his tone.
I meet his gaze. ‘You know there is.’
Zac shrugs and the gesture irritates me. ‘You know what I think about that.’
I exhale sharply. ‘Zac. If you know something, and don’t want to say because you’re worried about the cops, or whatever it is, this is more important than that. Dee is dead!’
Zac eyes meet mine. ‘I don’t know anything.’
I hold his gaze until it grows uncomfortable and I look away.
Zac inhales and exhales slowly. ‘Look, mate. This is shit and all, but don’t you reckon … I mean, she was pretty unhappy as far as I could tell. Maybe she just lost it. Maybe it’s like everyone’s saying, and she’s just gone and … you know …’
That’s what someone would say if they’d had something to do with it, I can’t help but think.
I wrap my dressing gown tighter around my body, ‘I just … I know I don’t know her. I only met her twice. But she loved that child. It was so obvious. It just doesn’t … It doesn’t add up.’
There’s silence apart from the shriek and cackle of birds as they cast their silhouettes across the darkening sky.
‘What do you reckon’s happened to the baby?’
I close my eyes against a thrust of pain.
‘I don’t know.’
‘Yeah,’ Zac mutters. ‘Me neither.
***
7pm
The shock dissolves to grief once Adam’s home and the tears all come at once.
‘I can’t bear it,’ I sob into his shoulder. ‘I still thought maybe … I was hoping … and Ruby. Where is she?’
‘I wish you hadn’t had to see that, darling. It must have been ghastly.’ Adam holds me close to his chest and I can feel his heart beating fast against my ear. His face is ashen.
I gulp back another sob, reach for a tissue and swipe at my eyes and nose. ‘She’ll be drowned too, won’t she? If she was with Dee – and she would have to have been – she’ll be gone too. It’s just so unbearably sad.’
‘They haven’t found her yet. There’s still hope.’
I pull out of Adam’s embrace and sink into a chair, suddenly exhausted.
Adam’s watching me with concern and something else I can’t place, but I’m too overwrought to analyse anything right now. All I can think about is Dee and Ruby. All I can see is Dee’s pale, bloated body pierced through by that hook, her dark, wet hair adorning her body like a mermaid’s.
An image of a baby doll with seaweed for hair flits across my vision and I shake my head quickly, willing it to disappear.
‘I’m not sure this will help,’ Adam says, reaching for a bottle of red from the wine rack and pouring two glasses. ‘But I sure need a drink.’
He hands me a glass and I tip back my head and gulp it back in three swallows. It burns the back of my throat and makes my eyes water, but in the moments when the warmth spools in my stomach and spreads through my veins, it’s worth it.
‘Here,’ Adam offers up his palm in a manner you would offer seeds to a bird. In his hand are two small pills. One is my sleep meds, the other I recognise as the Valium Adam was prescribed for his fear of flying. ‘I was saving them for the flight back, but I think you might need one now.’
I don’t argue, swallowing them back gratefully with a swig of wine.
‘You know, darling, it’s only a matter of days and then we can get out of here.’
I nod and smile, trying to reach the appropriate emotion, but I can’t get there. Because I know I can’t leave until I find out how Dee ended up dead, and what’s become of baby Ruby.
***
Saturday, 12:01am
Adam has managed to persuade me to come to bed, and even now, though my body is weak with exhaustion and the Valium has loosened my limbs, my mind won’t stop whirring. I pretend to sleep until I hear Adam’s breathing slow and even out, then I creep from the bed and up to the loft.
The middle house itself seems ghostly now, as if in echo of the fate of its owner. I don’t blame Rob for not wanting to stay there. Who would, after everything? Every room and every possession would be a reminder of them. Whatever was going on between him and Dee, no one with a soul could bear what that man has lost.
‘I’m so sorry, Dee.’ I push my face into a musty pillow and allow myself to succumb to wracking, silent sobs. I can’t shake the guilt, the grief. I could sense she was in trouble. If only I’d persuaded her to stay, she’d still be here.
An owl shrieks outside the window, startling me back to the present. I shiver as I stare out into the night. All the windows are shuttered, even Zac’s. But there’s a light in the Haddads’s backyard, as ever. A tiny square of orange. The shed light.
I take out the binoculars. There’s a face at the window, dark hair and a strong jaw. Samir. He’s in profile, head bent forward as if looking down at something. He brings a hand to his mouth, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think he was crying.
What if everyone’s looking in the wrong direction when the truth has been right in front of them all along?
‘Was it you?’ I find myself whispering.
And as if he’s heard me, he looks up.
Chapter 33
Liz
June, 2017
Saturday, 10:02am
There’s no sign of life in the Haddad residence. I’ve had the binoculars aimed at the property all morning and I’m fairly sure that, as of twenty minutes ago, no one is at home. Erica was packing a bag in the bedroom earlier, so I wonder if they’ve gone away somewhere. Before I change my mind, I throw on my windbreaker and head out of the door.
I’m
being smarter about it this time, so instead of going along Cockle Street, I take the boat and moor it on the shore in front of Zac’s place, where it can’t as easily be spotted. I check my pocket to make sure my phone’s in there; it could be useful if I find anything worth photographing.
I head along the shoreline until I reach the bottom of the Haddads’s yard. Zac’s warning rings in my mind, but I shove the thought away. For all I know, he has his own agenda. Besides, there are some things that are worth taking risks for.
There’s a low wire fence along the perimeter of the yard, but it’s poorly maintained and there are gaps in places. My heart pounds with every step as I approach one of the gaps and carefully step through it. I creep up to the side of the shed and peek around the corner. The house looms above, its windows like unseeing eyes. It’s difficult to tell with sunlight glinting off the glass, but the house appears to be empty.
I wait for a couple of minutes to be sure, then go around the front of the shed and try the handle. Locked, of course. I don’t know why I dared to hope otherwise.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’
I jump at the sound of the voice and whirl around.
‘You again?’ Samir growls, eyes blazing as he looks down at me. Instinctively, I step backwards, stumble, and he grabs me by my upper arm and hauls me upright. ‘Hey! Get your hands off me!’
Samir stands over me, his expression unreadable, and it’s then I realise he’s holding a long shovel in his other hand, coated in soil. I eye it warily, my pulse quickening.
‘This is the second time you’ve trespassed on our property,’ Samir says, his voice dangerously soft. His hand is warm on my shoulder. ‘We won’t stand for it again. Next time we’ll call the police and have you charged. Do you understand?’
He raises the shovel, and I cower. Seeming to realise what he’s doing, Samir lowers it once more and releases my arm.
‘I know you’re hiding something in there,’ I say, rubbing my arm where he grabbed me.
Samir shakes his head. ‘That’s ridiculous.’
‘Then why is Erica out here every night?’
Samir seems to falter, but then his face darkens. ‘Been spying as well as trespassing, have you? I don’t have to tell you anything. And I suggest you leave now.’
Something in his tone tells me I should do as he says. I turn to cross the yard when something catches my eye. It’s Erica in the kitchen, her back to the window. I squint against the sunlight, trying to see more clearly, and that’s when I notice it. Something about the way she’s moving, like she’s dancing or swaying. Or rocking.
***
4:39pm
It’s getting dark, and Adam’s not home yet even though he said he’d be early. I don’t really understand what’s left for him to finish down there, but I suppose he knows what he’s doing.
I watch as lights come on across the creek. Samir appears in their kitchen window. He stands staring out for a minute, and instinctively I reach for the binoculars. Just as I manage to adjust the focus, he reaches out and pulls the shutters closed.
Damn it! I search the other windows in the house but they’re all closed too. My focus lands on the sliding glass doors that lead to the patio; they’ve been left ajar. I swing the binoculars in the direction of the shed when suddenly Samir’s face fills my vision, his eyes staring straight at me.
I give a shout and jerk backwards. He’s standing at the bottom of his yard, past the shed and near the fence. He’s staring straight up at the house in a way that sends an unpleasant tingle down my spine.
With slow, deliberate movements, he steps over the fence and onto the foreshore where a small, white boat is moored. He gets in, his eyes never leaving the house, and starts the engine.
‘Oh shit,’ I whisper, my heart beginning to pound.
He’s coming in this direction.
I turn and bolt down the stairs and down the hallway to the front door. I check it’s locked and double bolt it, lifting the blind on the little window to peer out.
Samir’s closer still and my heart somersaults. With trembling hands, I take out my phone and am about to dial the police when the boat changes direction and heads to the right, in the direction of the ocean.
***
7:17pm
‘Should I say something to the police?’ I ask Adam after recounting the events of the day.
‘Why?’ he asks. ‘Because Samir was in a boat?’
‘No. Because he threatened me!’
‘Well, you were trespassing sweetheart,’ Adam sighs, looking tired. ‘And he hardly threatened you.’
‘He grabbed my arm, and he … he had a shovel! Zac warned me about him, said he’d had run-ins with him before. He said he was dangerous and I should stay away.’
Adam rubs his eyes. ‘Well, maybe you should listen to him.’
‘It’s too late for that now!’
‘Liz,’ Adam’s tone is sharper than usual. ‘You do understand that what you did was illegal and, frankly, dangerous. You don’t know how people will react when they find someone sneaking around on their property.’
‘That’s why I’m so scared.’
Adam runs his fingers through his hair. I notice for the first time that a few grey hairs have appeared just above his ears. I feel guilty that all of this is taking its toll on him too, but I can’t just let go of it if Erica and Samir are somehow involved in what happened.
‘Look. He didn’t actually come here, did he?’
‘No.’ I fold my arms across my chest. ‘But he was trying to scare me. I know it. My instincts are telling me the Haddads have something to do with what happened, Adam, and I can’t ignore it this time. I won’t! I won’t go through that again’.
‘Liz …’
‘You didn’t see Dee that night, Adam. She was scared! Maybe it was of Erica or Samir. A jilted lover, or a jealous wife … I don’t know. But something isn’t right here. Something doesn’t fit. I know they’re hiding something!’
‘For God’s sake, Liz, can you hear yourself?’ Adam shouts and I flinch. He’s never raised his voice at me before.
Adam grits his teeth and lowers his voice. ‘None of this means the Haddads have got anything to do with what happened to Dee. She was found in the ocean for Christ’s sake. You said yourself she’d been drinking, and you heard a scream later that night. The fact is she probably just fell in the creek and drowned. Or she’s taken her own life. I’m sorry, Liz, I know this is hard for you, but this has got to stop.’
‘If it was suicide, why would she scream?’ I whisper.
Adam closes his eyes and sighs. ‘Lizzie, please listen.’ He puts his hands on my shoulders. ‘There are endless reasons why she might have screamed. Falling into the water being one of them. Maybe it wasn’t even her you heard. Can you admit that’s a possibility?’
I nod my head.
‘Even if it wasn’t suicide. Don’t you think it’s possible she simply fell? Or had an accident in the boat?’
‘They didn’t find her boat floating around out there though, did they? And it doesn’t explain where Ruby went. She wasn’t with her when I saw her.’
Adam closes his eyes, a muscle feathering along his jaw. And I know it, now. He doesn’t believe I saw her at all.
‘Please, Adam. I’m not crazy. I just know, in my gut, that Samir and Erica have something to do with—’
‘You’re wrong!’ Adam’s tone is so sharp is startles me.
‘Why won’t you believe me?’ I whisper. ‘Something strange is going on. Don’t you think it’s weird that reports are still saying that Dee and Ruby were last seen on Wednesday afternoon when I’ve told the police that’s not true. Zac said Samir used to be a cop … What if he’s got connections, if there’s some sort of cover up …?’
‘Liz.’
‘If you can explain to me why the police would withhold a vital piece of information from the public, I’ll stop talking about it. I promise.’
Adam’s expression is
solemn, almost sad. He looks defeated. ‘I know why,’ he says. ‘I tried, Liz, I really did. I tried to protect you from this.’ He rubs his eyes and I notice the shadows beneath them. ‘Call the police,’ he says, handing me his phone. ‘Then you’ll see.’
Eyeing Adam warily, I search my handbag and find Sergeant Jamison’s card. She answers after four rings.
‘Jamison.’
‘Sergeant Jamison, it’s Elizabeth Dawson from Oyster Creek. We spoke last week about … about Dee and Ruby?’
‘Mrs Dawson, yes. How can I help?’
‘Well …’ I glance at Adam who’s watching me with an unreadable expression. ‘It’s just that you said to call if I thought of anything that might help. And … well, I think there’s something going on with Dee’s neighbours, the Haddads.’
‘Oh?’ Jamison sounds surprised. ‘What do you mean, exactly?’
‘Well, there’s what I told you, about Samir coming out of Dee’s house carrying a bag the night she disappeared. And a day or two before I saw Erica shouting at Dee out the front of her house.’
There’s a pause on the other end of the line. ‘Okay. And do you know what they were arguing about?’
‘They weren’t arguing – it was just Erica shouting and Dee standing there taking it. Dee was holding Ruby, so it was really rather awful. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but Dee looked very upset.’
‘I see. Well, thank you for letting us know, Mrs …’
‘No, that’s not all! The strangest thing is that Erica has been going into the shed in their yard at the strangest hours – even the middle of the night. I have the feeling she may be hiding something in there.’
‘And how do you know this exactly?’
‘I’ve been watching them.’
‘I see. With … binoculars?’
‘Well, yes.’
‘I see.’
There’s a long pause on the other end of the line.
‘Look, I know how that sounds, but don’t you think this whole thing is suspicious? Erica can’t have children, so maybe she’s become obsessed with Ruby and is jealous of Dee. When I went to see if I could speak to Erica or Samir they shouted at me and told me to get off their property or they’d call the police.’
Across the Water Page 17
