Were they talking about me when I walked in?
I bloody hope not.
“Is it her? Is it Eden?” Maddy asks. Her normally rosy cheeks are pale, and my fearless sister looks afraid.
Does she know what I did?
“He can’t tell you that,” Bird interrupts. “Where is the body now?”
“On the beach. Like I just said—”
“What? You just left it there—”
“No, of course not. I—”
“Bloody hell.”
“I haven’t even seen it yet. I got a call from HQ to say a swimmer found a body on the beach, that’s all I know so far.”
“Well, don’t just stand there, Carter. Let’s go. What are you waiting for?”
38BIRDY
I can’t wait for Carter to catch up with this latest development. A body being found on your first day in a new job is never a good start. I hurry out of The Smuggler’s Inn and am about to climb onto my scooter.
“No need for that,” says Carter. “It will be quicker to walk.”
I reluctantly follow him, already worried about how much time has passed since the body was discovered, how much evidence might have already been compromised, and how many people might have seen things they should not have seen.
“Were you questioning Maddy just now?” Carter asks.
“Would it be a problem if I was?”
“She’s my sister, not a suspect.”
I find his reaction interesting but park that thought for now.
The sky has turned dark and inky, and the wind kisses my cheeks as the impending storm settles over Hope Falls. It’s noticeably colder than it was earlier and a dew-like mist coats my skin as we walk along the harbor wall. Carter—with his freakishly long legs—walks considerably faster than I do, and I soon get warm practically running to keep up with him. I’m not as fit as I used to be. Going to the gym has been the last thing on my list of things to do since I found out Iwas dying. It’s hard to live in the moment when you know all your best moments are behind you.
I follow Carter onto a narrow coast path winding through sandbanks covered in long grass, wondering how much bloody farther we need to go.
“Are you sure it wouldn’t be faster to drive?”
“Why? Worried about getting your shoes dirty?” he says over his shoulder.
Sarcastic little shit.
“You’ll go far one day, Carter. And when you do I hope you stay there.”
“The beach is only accessible on foot, I’m afraid,” he reminds me, and I’m about to make another witty comeback when I trip on a rock. Carter catches me before I fall, then holds me a little longer than necessary. I am not imagining the chemistry between us but I am choosing to ignore it. I’m forty. And now that I know he’s only twenty-eight, I feel like Mrs. Robinson.
“Thank you,” I say, when he finally lets go.
“No problem,” he replies, his cheeks blushing like I suspect mine are too.
The coast path winds its way around a corner, so that when I look back, Hope Falls can no longer be seen. As though it has vanished or was never there. All that is visible from this part of the path are the ocean and the cliffs, including the section that Eden Fox may or may not have jumped from. We are traveling in the opposite direction, away from where she would have jumped, but the tides are a law unto themselves, and I suppose it is possible they might have carried her this far.
“How much further?” I ask.
