‘Nel, we’ll need you to come to the station and give a statement.’Jimmy gestured to her wetsuit.‘Do you have a change of clothes?You must be freezing.’
Nel nodded.‘In the car.’
‘Why don’t you go warm up?’he said.
Once Nel was changed she sat in the passenger seat of her car, blowing into her numb hands, watching Jack walk towards the road, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched.He looked shattered.She wanted to give him a hug.
She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, suddenly overwhelmed by what had happened.After a moment, there was a tap on the window.
She looked up to see Jimmy, and lowered the window.‘You okay?’he asked, tenderness in his voice.
As she met his dark eyes, a sudden longing came over her.She wanted him to wrap his arms around her, the way he had outside the church after the funeral.
The sound of a car approaching drew their attention and they watched as a VW Golf turned into the car park.When it came to a stop, the driver’s door opened and Trent Donohue got out.
Nel swore under her breath and closed her eyes.She didn’t have the energy for this.
‘Stay there,’ Jimmy said.‘I’ll take care of Trent.’
Chapter 54
Lauren’s words echoed in Nel’s mind as she followed the dark winding road to Mount Clare.
This is all your fault.
This is all your fault.
This is all your fault.
Her sister was right.Itwasher fault.Lauren had warned her not to stir up the past, that no good could come of it, but Nel had ignored her and now her fifteen-year-old niece lay in a hospital bed.She shuddered as the sight of Poppy’s face, blood pouring from her nose, flashed in her mind, shame ballooning inside her.
She took a steadying breath and reminded herself that Poppy’s condition was stable.Thank god.Serious, but stable.They were still waiting for CT scan results to determine whether there was any internal bleeding, but according to Cath’s update, the doctors thought it was unlikely.So that was good news.Lauren was still ignoring her calls and messages, but who could blame her?
Headlights appeared in the rear-view mirror, intensifying as a car loomed close behind her.Nel’s chest constricted.Ryan was still out there, somewhere.There was a warrant for his arrest—they had cops looking for him from Adelaide to Brisbane, Jimmy said—but it had given her little comfort.
The car tailgated her as she came over the crest just outside Mount Clare where the road widened and unfurled into a straight line.She moved to her left and it sped past her.An old ute.Not Ryan.She released the breath she’d been holding.
Nel had come straight from the police station, where she’d made an official statement in the same tiny room where O’Neill and Frisk had interrogated her sixteen years ago.This time it was Jimmy and Constable Richie who sat opposite, and she was a victim not a suspect.A fluorescent light buzzed softly overhead as Nel recounted what had happened at the lighthouse.
‘We located a ring at the Warners’ place that matches your description,’ Jimmy said once she’d signed the statement.
‘You did?’Nel frowned at his subdued tone.‘That’s good, isn’t it?’
‘The problem is, your statement’s the only thing we have connecting Maddie to that ring.Would you happen to have a photo of Maddie wearing it?’
‘I don’t know, maybe.I’ll have a look,’ she said, but she didn’t like her chances.
WELCOME TO MOUNT CLARE, a sign announced as the speed limit dropped to eighty then sixty.This is all your fault, she thought again, following the white cross on the road signs until she reached the hospital and pulled into a parking space.She checked her phone again, hoping for a text from Lauren, something to appease the dread she felt about seeing her.Still nothing.
Nel glanced behind the curtain of Emergency Bed 3 where Lauren sat, hands clasped as though she was praying.Poppy lay perfectly still, her arms by her sides, her pale face devoid of expression.A dressing covered the wound on her temple.
Nel swallowed.‘Lauren?’
Her sister’s head snapped up, her red-rimmed eyes meeting Nel’s.
‘Can I come in?’she asked.
Lauren shrugged, her face hard, and looked back at Poppy.It wasn’t a no, so Nel moved behind the curtain.
