Her phone rang and Lexi’s name flashed across the screen. ‘Hey,’ she answered.
‘Are you okay? I’ve just been contacted by a federal police officer about getting into your apartment. What the hell’s going on?’
‘It’s okay. They’re just checking to make sure no one’s broken in.’
‘Broken in?’
‘Someone went through the house here, and they’re just being cautious.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘They’re just making sure the break-in wasn’t connected to any of my stories.’
‘Pip, I don’t like this. Are you in danger?’
‘No, of course not. It’s just ruling out possibilities. It was probably just kids looking for cash or something.’
‘Come home,’ Lexi said, sounding anything but her usual devil-may-care self.
‘I’m staying with … a friend tonight until we sort this out. I’m perfectly safe. I’ll see how things are in a few days and decide what I’m going to do then.’
‘Hold up … friend? What friend? I’m your only friend,’ Lexi gasped. ‘Are you talking about a male friend?’
‘It’s not a big deal,’ Pip said a little too quickly.
‘Are you freaking serious? This is a huge deal! I need details, right now.’
‘I’m in the middle of having the house dusted for fingerprints—can we do this later?’ she said, lowering her voice as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Constable Jenner making her way towards the kitchen.
‘Can I get you to wait outside, ma’am?’ the officer asked, poking her head around the corner of the door.
Pip waved a hand and bumped the back door open with her hip to stand outside on the verandah.
‘Okay, I’ll let you off for now, but you better be ready with the goss when I call back.’
‘Sure,’ Pip promised hastily, happy to escape the interrogation. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’
She loved her best friend dearly, but when it came to talking about Chris, Pip just wasn’t ready. The whole relationship didn’t even make sense when she thought about it—she knew it would make even less sense if she talked about it. She’d known him only a handful of days and was already comfortable enough to stay with him in an emergency. How? They barely knew each other, and yet … they did. She’d never before opened up with a man the way she had with Chris. She felt as though she’d known him for years. Then there was the whole attraction thing. Even thinking about it now, Pip had a familiar rush of anticipation run through her. ‘This is crazy,’ she muttered. But then again, nothing about her life at the moment could be described as normal.
While she waited for the constable to finish up in the house, Pip headed through the paddock towards the dam. She hadn’t been down there for a few days, but now she craved the peace and quiet the tree-lined spot provided.
She sent a quick glance at the churned-up mess the bottom of the dam had become. Between all the digging and sifting Bob and the forensic team had done, it was looking like a giant, albeit rubbish-free, quagmire.
Again, it niggled inside her. Molly must have had her diary with her—it didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t take it with her if she was leaving forever. Chris had a very logical argument in that the water would have destroyed the diary long ago, and yet … she couldn’t help but wonder. What if by some miracle the diary had been preserved? People found buried bodies perfectly preserved—was it really too much to ask for a little divine intervention?
Pip continued on, following the same cattle track she’d taken when she’d first arrived, and without conscious thought she looked up and realised she’d come out into the small clearing near the massive gum tree. Once more the silence registered—loudly. That strange feeling of stepping into another place surrounded her, and a fleeting, annoying memory that she couldn’t pin down hovered over her. ‘What?’ she suddenly said loudly, throwing her arms out and looking around. ‘What do you want from me?’ The reality of what had happened that morning came crashing down upon her. All the progress she’d made to overcome her fear and the memories amounted to nothing. Someone had broken in and violated that precious illusion of safety she’d thought she’d found here.
She sank down onto the ground and rested her back against the large gum tree and let the frustrated tears fall. Out here, no one would see her fall apart. She felt safe, protected somehow inside a bubble with only the gentle sway of the wind’s breath high up in the trees and the muted sound of birds and insects going about their daily business. Eventually she felt the tears subside and her eyelids grow heavy …
The woman sat on the blanket, her red dress bold and cheerful. Her hair was tucked up at the base of her neck, and Pip saw from under the brim of a wide sunhat a smile on the woman’s ruby red lips as she scribbled in her notebook.
Her mood seemed different this time—lighter, happier. There was a sense of excitement in the air. Beside her was a small bag. It looked like she was dressed up and about to go somewhere; it certainly didn’t look like she was here for a picnic.
‘Where are you going?’ Pip asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
As the woman looked up at her, she sent Pip a bright smile—almost as though she’d been expecting her.
‘Molly?’ Pip asked. ‘Why am I here?’
The screech of a black cockatoo jolted Pip awake and she sat up, her heart thudding as she glanced around quickly, expecting to see Molly before realising it had been another dream. God. Why was this happening to her? She didn’t have time to deal with any more of these stupid dreams on top of everything else going on. ‘Enough already!’ she said as she got to her feet and dusted off her shorts. She had a house to put back into order, and then she would drive to stay with Chris. She needed a break from all this before she went completely crazy.
Before she left for Coopers Creek, Pip made a stop next door.
‘Pip! How are you? How’s the research going?’ Anne said, smiling as she wiped her hands on a tea towel as Pete led her inside to the kitchen.
‘Slowly,’ she admitted. ‘Actually, I was wondering if either of you had noticed any unusual cars about the place? Yesterday or last night?’
‘No, I don’t think so, dear,’ Anne said, her face serious as she peered closely at Pip. ‘Has something happened?’
‘The house was broken into. I was over in Coopers Creek, but I came back this morning and it had been ransacked. The police might be over later—they said they’d ask around and check with everyone in case somebody saw something,’ she added. ‘I just thought I’d come and tell you before I left.’
‘You’re going? Already?’
‘No—not for good. Just for a few days. It’s rattled me a bit.’
‘You’re more than welcome to stay here, if you like,’ Anne said, glancing over at her husband for confirmation.
‘Yeah, of course you are,’ Pete nodded.
‘Thank you, but I’ve got somewhere to stay and I’m doing research, so that’ll keep me busy.’
‘What’s the flamin’ world coming to? Thieving mongrels,’ Pete muttered with a disgusted shake of his head.
‘It doesn’t look like they actually took anything at this stage, thank goodness,’ Pip said with a brief grimace. ‘The last thing I want to do is have to tell Uncle Nev someone stole all his belongings. A fine caretaker I’ve turned out to be so far,’ she said dully.
‘Don’t be hard on yourself,’ Anne commiserated. ‘None of this has been your doing. It’s just bad luck.’
Pip hoped so, although this break-in did not feel random in the slightest, and she really didn’t want to think about that too much right now.
‘I actually just wanted to double-check with you—did you ever come across a journal when you were clearing out Bert’s place? I didn’t find anything in any of the boxes, but I have a feeling Molly kept one.’
‘Bert mentioned them in the letters,’ Anne nodded, then shook her head sadly. ‘No, we didn’t find anything like that. Just the letters.’
‘I thought as much,’ she said sadly. ‘The police seem to think if it had existed, it could have been with Molly in her luggage, but they never located anything.’
‘Can’t imagine anything like that would have survived all this time out there,’ Pete said, sending her a doubtful glance. ‘Yeah, I’m just clutching at straws.’
‘Well, we’ll keep an ear out for anything going on over next door while you’re away,’ Anne said, and Pip smiled, thanking them before heading off and leaving Rosevale behind.