13.

Sharon felt brittle in his arms as he hugged her.

‘You’re staying with Michelle?’ he asked.

She nodded. She hadn’t replied to any of his emails or texts, but he’d guessed she’d be staying with her older sister. That he hadn’t confirmed it was cowardice, pure and simple.

‘I’m sorry, I should have come to see you.’

His words seemed to take a while to sink in.

‘We’ve had lots of visitors,’ she eventually said.

Michelle gestured to them. ‘Come and sit down.’ An order, not an invitation.

A moment’s awkward dance until Kat stepped in and sorted it out: the two of them facing the two sisters, his back to the light. Sharon sat slumped, her brown hair hanging in limp strands over her eyes, but it was her stillness that shook him. She was the organised dervish at the centre of her family: always cooking, sewing, soothing or berating. He’d never seen her sit so still before.

‘How are Nell and Cooper doing?’ he asked.

Five and six: too young to understand how their lives had been ripped apart, too old to be oblivious.

‘They’re … confused.’

‘Would it help if I dropped round and saw them?’

‘Maybe. I don’t know.’ She slumped into silence.

He checked in with Kat and Michelle. They were deep in conversation: something about plans and dates.

‘… the funeral until they release his body,’ Michelle said. ‘Longer if she decides on a cremation. Maybe a week or so.’

God. He looked around for the waitress: the sooner they ordered, the sooner this ordeal would be over. She’d disappeared again. Give her sixty seconds, then go and hunt for her. Drag her out if he had to.

Kat nudged his leg and made a subtle ‘look’ sign towards Michelle.

‘… Ethical Standards. You’d think Gary was a criminal instead of the victim. He kept saying they knew about the drugs and the money and we should tell them everything. Smug bastard smiled the whole time.’

Bloody McFarlane. What was he up to?

Michelle was looking at him. ‘He was asking about you and your brother. Is it true? About the drugs?’

‘You know Gaz would never do something like that.’

‘All I know is my sister’s husband is dead, and it’s because of some dumb-arse thing you got him involved in.’ Her lips were thin and hard.

Sharon stirred for the first time. ‘Gary wasn’t doing anything wrong. I told you. It was Scott.’

His breath caught. ‘Scott. You know Scott?’

She blinked slowly at him. ‘No, Gary told me about him.’

‘When? What did he say?’

‘I don’t know, Cal. I told the police.’ Her eyes drifted away.

‘Please Sharon, it’s important.’ He ignored the skin-stripping stare Michelle was giving him. ‘Really important. What did Gary tell you?’

‘He said he was in trouble and we had to come down here for a while. He rang me at work. He doesn’t usually do that.’

‘What exactly did he say? Take it from the beginning. You’re sitting at your desk, you pick up the phone and Gary says …’

‘He said, “I’ve got us in a mess, babe. Something bad. Get the kids and meet me in Geelong. We’ve got to go to the Bay for a while.” I argued. I told him we weren’t going anywhere in the middle of a school week.’

‘But he insisted. What did he say?’

Sharon shook her head. ‘I dunno, Cal. I can’t remember.’

He put his hand on her cold one. ‘Close your eyes. Picture the office. Your desk and computer, the feeling of the phone in your hand. You say you’re not going and Gaz says …’

‘ “Please babe, just listen. The kids aren’t safe here. Scott will kill them if he finds out.” ’

Jesus.

Michelle was saying something, spitting it.

‘You’re worried, you can hear the panic in his voice, and you say …’

‘ “Jesus, Gary, what’s wrong? Who’s Scott?” And he says … he says, “Sorry, sweetheart, don’t worry, I’ll sort it out, I know who to talk to. But you’ve got to go to the Bay for a while. Just get the kids and meet me in Geelong. I’ll explain everything then. Love you.” And he hung up.’

She opened her eyes. Tears slipped down her cheeks. ‘I waited and waited, but he never came.’

Michelle stood up. ‘That’s enough. Come on, Sharon, I’ll take you back to the kids.’

He went to speak, but Sharon was already struggling to her feet. He went to her and hugged her hard. She limply accepted his embrace.

‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered. ‘For everything.’

‘You’re going to look for Scott?’ she asked when he’d released her.

‘Yes.’

‘Good. I’m glad.’ Her face held all the emotion of someone commenting on the weather.

He mouthed ‘keep her busy’ to Kat and received a rigid nod in reply. Catching Michelle’s eye, he moved away.

She followed him without hesitation. ‘You proud of that little display?’

‘I’m trying to work out what happened. You heard the cops – they’re trying to prove Gaz was bent.’

‘Yeah? I wonder where they got that idea. I don’t know what you and Gary were up to, but you’d better not drag his name through the mud to save your own.’

‘I want to have a look around the house, see if the cops missed anything. Have you got a spare key?’

She glanced at her handbag. ‘No.’

‘I could ask Sharon, but I don’t want to hassle her.’

‘No, you wouldn’t want to do that.’

He stayed silent. After a moment, she pulled a bunch of keys from her handbag and thrust them at him.

‘You were a sweet little kid, you know. When did you become such a prick?’

There were multiple tools attached to the key ring: a blue pocketknife, a pen, an LED torch. Gary’s keys. Caleb had hung a lot of shit on him about them, Gaz responding in his usual, self-deprecating way.

‘Mate, there’s not much point having a pen in the zombie apocalypse, if you haven’t got a torch to see what you’re writing.’

He hadn’t mounted much of a defense for the off-brand pocketknife, though, just muttered that it contained ‘cool stuff’. Probably something embarrassing, like a laser pointer.

Kat came over to them. ‘Sharon wants to go.’ She looked from the keys to his face. ‘Everything OK?’

He nodded. ‘Thanks,’ he told Michelle. ‘I’ll be careful with everything.’

‘Careful? Now he’s dead you’ll be careful? Great. I’ll tell the kids, shall I? And Sharon and his mum? I’m sure it’ll be a huge comfort to them as they lie awake, thinking about him screaming while some bastard cut him open. Sure it’ll be a huge fucking relief.’ She slung her bag over her shoulder and strode towards Sharon.

A sharp pain in his hand: Gary’s keys biting into his palm. Kat slipped her fingers into his other hand and squeezed tight.