There was a long pause.When he spoke again, his eyes were more distant, his gaze unfocused.‘When I reached the lookout I called her name, straining to hear the sound of her voice, but there was nothing.’
A sense of foreboding clutched at Nel’s stomach as she listened, both desperate to hear the truth and filled with dread.
‘I started making my way along the path, pushing back the overgrown foliage.I had to hold onto tree roots at the narrowest section.When I reached the cave, she was there!I couldn’t believe it.She sat with her face down, hugging her knees to her chest.’He moved his arms, demonstrating.Nel sensed he could see Maddie in front of him.His delivery was almost trance-like now.‘She looked up at me, her cheeks wet with tears, and asked what I was doing there.
‘Fury overcame me.What wasIdoing there?’he said.‘I was addressing the House of Representatives for the first time thefollowing day.I’d planned to spend the evening revising my speech, not trudging around in the dark looking for her!
‘I told her to get up, but she didn’t move.I’d had enough by this stage so I grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.I told her that I’d spent all night looking for her, that her mother was out of her mind with worry.
‘She broke free from my grip and said, “I never asked you to look for me!”then she pushed past me and disappeared around the cliff.I thought of the precarious ledge and yelled at her to stop.But she didn’t stop.’
He swallowed, his face pale.‘And then I heard her fall.’The room was absolutely silent.‘I scrambled to the edge and looked down, calling out to her, but all I could see was darkness.I knew there was nothing to break her fall before the rock ledge at the bottom.She’d fallen eight or ten metres onto solid rock.’
His eyes were glassy.‘I yelled her name.Nothing.I made my way back then ran across the lookout and up the stairs towards the bush track.The path was steep.The bush had grown over in places, so it was hard to find my way in the dark.I slipped on loose rocks underfoot.There was a rip as my trousers caught on something, but I didn’t stop.When I reached the bottom, I saw her.’
Tears pooled in his eyes.‘She lay on her back, her head resting in a dark pool.It looked like black ink in the moonlight.I collapsed beside her, begging her not to die.I reached for her wrist, desperate to feel a pulse, but I knew I wouldn’t find one.I grabbed her face, begging her to come back to me, but her eyes were cold, vacant.’
He frowned.‘That’s when I realised how it would look.I’d found her.We’d argued.And now she was dead.No one would believe me when I said it was an accident.Why would they?They’d think I pushed her.People want to believe the worst.
‘And what would happen to Faye?If I went to prison, she’d have no one.She would have lost her daughterandher husband, and she’d been through so much already.Too much.She wouldn’t survive it.And even if I wasn’t charged, there would always be rumours.There would always be suspicion linked to my name.I’ve seen people go down for far less in the court of public opinion.’
He stood taller, lifted his chin.‘And what difference would it make anyway?Maddie was dead.Nothing could change that.It was a tragic accident.That was true.Iknew it was true.Would it matter if someone else found her, instead of me?It wouldn’t change anything at all.It was just a little lie, really.Inconsequential.’
The crowd watched on in stunned silence.
‘So I made a split-second decision … to leave her there.To go home and pretend I hadn’t found her.It would be better for everyone that way.’His tone was defiant as though he still believed, even now, that what he did was right.
‘We reported her missing the next morning.The tide must have risen overnight and taken her body out to sea, washing away the blood.For those three days it was as though she had just … vanished.’
Nel shook her head.‘Except youknewshe was dead.You watched on as police and volunteers searched for her, as I was interrogated—and Ryan Warner too—and the whole time you knew she was dead.’
Geoff said nothing.
‘You let your daughter’s body be washed away, to be found on a deserted beach three days later, bloated and blue,’ Nel said.What sort of person could do such a thing?
Still he said nothing.
Trent cleared his throat, fixing Geoff with his stare.‘How do we know what you’re telling us is true?How do we know youdidn’tpush her?’
Geoff sighed.‘What I’ve said is the truth.’The irritation had returned to his voice.He was unaccustomed to being challenged and it was clear he didn’t like it.
‘Why should we believe you?’Trent said.‘At best you’re a man who left his only daughter lying dead at the bottom of a cliff to protect his career.’
Geoff flinched.‘Because it’s the truth.’
Jimmy stepped forward.‘Geoff, I’ll need you and Faye to come down to the station with me.’
Geoff looked from Jimmy to Faye and back again.‘I just told you what happened.It was an accident.’
‘We’ll need to ask you some more questions.’
He didn’t move.
‘You can make this easy or hard, Geoff,’ Jimmy said.
Nel held her breath.Geoff glared at Jimmy, then he stepped down from the stage.Faye followed.The stunned crowd parted to let them through.Trent joined the other reporters, walking alongside them, shouting questions.People held up phones, filming as Geoff passed by with his head down, one hand up to shield his face from the cameras.
Nel imagined the way the photos would look on tomorrow’s front page.Shifty.Like he had something to hide.People loved to hate politicians, and they would have plenty of reasons to hate Geoff Marshall once this story got out.
