‘I think you should be careful.’ She fiddled with the stem of her wineglass. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to know Luke didn’t do it.’
‘You think he did?’
She frowned. Thought before answering. ‘I don’t know. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news. But it was more disbelief that something like that had happened at all. From what we were all hearing, it seemed pretty clear-cut. I didn’t really stop to think whether or not Luke had actually been responsible, you know?’
‘Neither did most people. Neither did I.’
She gave a twisted little smile. ‘I wouldn’t say this to anyone but you, but that’s partly Luke’s own fault for being such an arsehole.’
The paddocks below them glowed silver in the moonlight, the occasional farmhouse standing out like a smudge on the land. The foursome sat on the edge of the rocky outcrop, dangling their feet over the edge. Luke had been the first one to climb over the fence, kicking the ‘Keep Out’ sign with his foot as he did. He deliberately hadn’t shaved for a few days, Aaron noted with annoyance, and had a dusting of stubble shading his chin. It was more visible in the moonlight as he stood near the rocky edge and stretched his arms out wide, surveying the view.
Aaron had felt his stomach flip at the sight of the unguarded drop, but hoisted himself over the fence without a glance at the others. Ellie was right behind him. Luke made a big show of putting his arm out to help Gretchen. She didn’t need it, but she took it with a smile. Now they sat talking and laughing, their insides warm from the half-empty bottle they were passing around. Only Ellie shook her head when the bottle came her way. They took it in turns daring each other to lean forward and stare over the precipice. Full of bluster and bullshit. Scary but not scared.
Falk raised his eyebrows a fraction, but didn’t disagree. ‘There’s a big gap between arsehole and murderer,’ he said. Gretchen nodded.
‘And listen, I’m not saying he did it. But was he capable of it?’ Gretchen glanced around the room, as though Luke might materialise and overhear her. ‘That’s a completely different question.’
Luke had his arm around Gretchen’s waist, Aaron could see out of the corner of his eye. Luke leaned in to murmur something and Gretchen glanced down coyly, her eyelashes casting blue shadows on her cheeks.
Aaron could feel Ellie next to him, but didn’t move. It was the first time he’d seen her properly since their kiss a week earlier at the rock tree, and he still felt on shaky ground. She’d said she’d been working every night. He’d allowed himself to go to the shop only once. She’d waved from behind the till, but it wasn’t a place they could talk.
On the walk up to the lookout he’d hung back, hoping to engineer a few minutes alone with her, but Luke had stuck maddeningly by his side. Ellie gave no sign she was thinking about what had happened at the tree. By the time they’d reached the hill, Aaron was starting to feel he’d imagined the whole thing.
They’d trudged up the trail, Aaron half-listening as Luke loudly told some story. Suddenly Ellie looked over and caught his gaze across Luke’s head. She rolled her eyes with exaggerated suffering. Then smiled. A pure, knowing, secret smile meant just for him.
Buoyed now by the memory, Aaron shifted, looking to move a little closer. He turned but stopped short, the movement frozen before it had begun. The light was poor, up there on the lookout, but it was bright enough for Aaron to see some things clearly. Among them, Ellie’s eyes, and the way they were focused on Luke Hadler as he whispered in Gretchen’s ear.
‘Luke could be so selfish sometimes,’ Gretchen said. She ran a finger through a condensation ring on the table, ruining it. ‘He would put himself first, second and third and not even realise it. Didn’t he? It wasn’t just me?’ She looked gratified when Falk nodded.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m having trouble separating the Luke I knew from what people are saying. The Luke I thought I knew, anyway.’
‘I always thought Luke was pretty straightforward when we were younger,’ Falk said. ‘He was very open, said what he thought. You might not have always liked it, but at least you knew where you were with him.’
‘And now?’
‘I don’t know. His bravado drove me nuts, but underneath that I always felt he was one of the good guys.’
‘Well. Let’s hope so.’ Gretchen rolled her eyes. ‘I’d hate to think he wasn’t worth it.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Oh, nothing.’ She looked embarrassed. ‘Stupid stuff. I just meant becoming friends with him in the first place. And you and Ellie. It changed a lot for me. Kids I wouldn’t give the time of day to started shunning me after Ellie died. Like I was tainted by association. But they were dumb teenage problems compared with everything else. Nothing worth worrying about.’
She couldn’t completely disguise the wistful note in her voice. Falk thought about her wide social circles that had seemed to shrink when she’d become a firm member of their ill-fated foursome. It occurred to him for the first time that without him and without Ellie, golden-haired Gretchen may in fact have found herself lonely. He’d never considered the possibility before. He stretched out his hand and touched her arm.
‘I’m sorry I wasn’t better at keeping in touch. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, it was just –’ He stopped. ‘I didn’t think. I should have made the effort.’
Gretchen gave a small smile. ‘Forget it. I was no better.I blame age and hormones. We were all stupid back then.’
Luke stood and gave an exaggerated stretch. ‘Going for a piss,’ he announced. His teeth glowed white in the shadows. ‘Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.’
He disappeared into the bushes, and the remaining three sat shoulder to shoulder. Aaron and Gretchen passed the bottle between them and he could hear her humming tunelessly to herself. On his other side, Ellie had fixed the horizon with a thousand-yard stare.
The tranquillity was broken by a heavy crash and a loud scream. It echoed in the silence. The three looked at each other, faces silvery and shocked, then Aaron was on his feet and running on rubbery vodka legs towards the sound. He pulled ahead of the girls, and could hear someone’s panicked raspy breath behind him. He skidded to a halt at the edge of a sheer drop. The bushes were torn and flattened in a rough patch. Branches near the edge were snapped clean off.
‘Luke!’ Gretchen appeared by his side and screamed into the void. Her voice bounced back, crying his name on repeat. There was no reply. Falk dropped onto all fours and crept to the edge. He peered down, afraid of what he would see. The drop was more than a hundred metres. The bottom disappeared in the gloom.
‘Luke! Mate! Can you hear me?’ he yelled.
