I turn over my pillow for the third time, trying to get comfortable. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. In a desperate attempt to find sleep I run through the names of people in my Sydney squad, but I’m still half-awake when my phone rings, lighting up the watercolour on the wall and turning it an eerie blue. I lean out of bed and place my hands on the floor, walking them over to where my phone is attached to the charger.
It’s a number I don’t recognise. With my legs still in the bed, I answer as formally as I can manage.
‘Oh yes, hello.’ A female voice with a strong accent. ‘Is that the detective I met today?’
I side onto the floor and scramble into a sitting position. ‘Yes, this is Detective Woodstock.’
‘This is Elsha. Kai’s girlfriend.’
I push my hair out of my eyes and try to concentrate. ‘Have you heard from him?’
‘He called me.’ Her voice wobbles. ‘He’s very upset. I’m so worried about him.’
‘You’ve done the right thing in letting me know. Did he call you on his usual phone?’
‘Ah, no, it was a blocked number.’
‘And did he just call you?’
‘Yes, he hung up and I called you right away like you said.’ When she starts to cry, it crosses my mind that this might be a ploy.
‘Okay, Elsha, you’re doing great. What did he say?’
‘He wanted me to meet with him. He said we needed to talk because a whole lot of stuff has been blown out of proportion.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I said he was scaring me. And then he started yelling about whether I’d spoken to the police! He said whatever you were saying, it wasn’t true, and that I had to trust him.’
‘Okay, Elsha, this is important—did he say anything about where he was going?’
She sniffs loudly and her voice is muffled for a moment. ‘No, he just said I shouldn’t believe what anyone’s saying, and he’s going to prove to me that he didn’t do it.’ Her voice breaks open. ‘But he sounded crazy, and I think that you’re right. I’m so sorry. Tell me, what has he done? Did he . . . Is it to do with that missing girl? Oh my god!’ she wails.
‘Elsha, listen.’ I start to pull my jeans on. ‘Are you safe?’
‘Yes. I’m with my friend at her parents’ house.’
‘Okay, good. Text me the address of where you’re staying. If you hear from Kai again, call me straight away. Can you do that?’
‘Please don’t hurt him,’ she whispers.
I hang up, throw some chewing gum into my mouth, and scribble a note for Tommy and Vanessa that I leave on the kitchen bench. I slip out the front door, already dialling de Luca.
‘Is it Lane?’ she answers, sounding wide awake.
‘Yeah, I just spoke to Elsha.’ I’m battling through the wind to get to the car. ‘Lane just called her. She said he wanted to meet with her. If they’re both telling the truth, he must be close by.’
‘Do you think she is? Telling the truth, I mean?’
‘She sounded terrified, but who knows? It’s all we’ve got right now. I’ll send Grange to her friend’s place just in case Lane goes there.’
‘Right. Do you want to pick me up from the pub? It’ll be quicker if I drive there and meet you.’
‘Yep, I’m coming now. We’ll work out a plan then, and I should let Tran know what’s going on. Can you see if the guys can trace Elsha’s call? I doubt they can but it’s worth a shot.’
It starts to spit with rain and I flick on the windscreen wipers, smudging a fine layer of dust into the glass. Before I start the car Elsha’s text comes through with the address, so I forward it to Grange and ask him to get there as soon as he can. My nerves are going haywire, the full weight of Lane’s betrayal bearing down on me with renewed force.
I pull out onto the road and flick on the headlights—just in time to swerve and narrowly miss running over Meg Jarvis.
Meg mutters under her breath and clicks her tongue, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. This seems to be the equivalent of a kid sticking his fingers in his ears and singing to block out requests to tidy his room. Large droplets of rain begin to fall on us as we stand in the glow of my car headlights. I feel even more wired than before, the wind churning around us.
‘Meg, will you let me drive you home?’
She opens her eyes and makes a low angry noise. ‘I saw them with her, you know. She was already gone.’
‘Who, Meg?’ Rain runs down my face. I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake it out of her, but of course that would only make things worse. ‘Please tell me.’
‘They paid for my sins,’ Meg says sadly. ‘My sister was sick, I had no choice.’ She shakes her head.
I wipe my wet face on my jumper sleeve. My phone is lighting up the centre console.
‘Gemma, we just got an emergency call.’ De Luca’s voice is an octave higher than normal. ‘It was from the Clark house—one of the kids called triple zero. Lane’s there and apparently he’s going crazy.’