‘You? I don’t think so. We didn’t really talk, though. Why? Did she even know you?’
Falk shrugged. Wondered for the thousandth time about the phone number in her handwriting.
‘No, I don’t think so. I was just wondering if my name had ever come up.’
Gretchen watched him closely, her bright eyes unblinking.
‘Not that I know of. But like I said, I didn’t know Karen that well.’ She gave a small shrug. A punctuation mark to indicate the end of topic. There was a slightly awkward pause, broken only by the clink of ice as she poured glasses of water.
‘Cheers,’ she said, raising hers. ‘Not often, but sometimes, this is better than wine.’ Falk watched the tiny muscles in her throat as she took a long gulp.
‘How’s the investigation going anyway?’ Gretchen said when she resurfaced.
‘Looks like Jamie Sullivan’s in the clear.’
‘Really? That’s good, isn’t it?’
‘Good for him. I’m not sure it puts us a whole lot further forward.’
Gretchen cocked her head to one side like a bird.
‘But you’ll stay until it’s resolved?’
Falk shrugged. ‘At this rate, I doubt it. I’ve got to get back to work next week.’ He paused. ‘I ran into Mal Deacon before.’ He told her about the encounter in the cemetery.
‘Don’t let him get to you. That man is off his head.’ Gretchen reached over the table, her fingertips brushing against his left hand. ‘Twenty years on and he’s still trying to blame you for what happened to Ellie. He’s never been able to accept that you and Luke were together.’
‘Gretchen, listen –’
‘If anyone’s to blame, it’s Deacon himself,’ she ploughed on. ‘It’s his fault his daughter was unhappy enough to drown herself. He’s been looking for years for someone else to point the finger at.’
‘You’ve really never doubted it was suicide?’
‘No.’ She looked surprised. ‘Of course not. Why would I?’
‘Just asking. I know Ellie was acting a bit odd towards the end, keeping herself to herself a lot of the time. And there’s no question, living with Deacon must have been a nightmare. But I never realised she felt that hopeless. Certainly not enough to kill herself.’
Gretchen’s laugh was dry.
‘God, you boys were blind. Ellie Deacon was miserable.’
Ellie threw her maths book in her bag at the end of class. She’d started automatically copying down the homework from the board but stopped, her pen frozen. What was the point? She’d considered skipping school altogether today but in the end had reluctantly decided against it. It would only draw attention to her. And she didn’t need any of that. It was better to do what she always did. Keep her head down and hope for – well, if not the best, then not the worst either.
Out in the crowded corridor a group of boys jostled around a portable radio listening to the cricket. Australia versus South Africa. A six prompted a cheer. Friday afternoon and all was well. They had that weekend glow already.
How long, Ellie wondered, had it been since she’d felt like that? She honestly couldn’t remember. If weekdays were bad enough, the weekends were even worse. They stretched out interminably, the end seeming like it was always just over the horizon.
Not this weekend, though. She cradled the thought in her chest as she pushed her way down the corridor. After this weekend, everything would be different. This weekend had an end firmly in sight.
Still clouded in thought, Ellie jumped as someone grabbed her arm. It caught a small bruise, and she winced at the pressure.
‘Hey. Where’s the fire?’ Luke Hadler looked down at her.
‘What do you mean?’ Falk stared at Gretchen.
‘You know what I mean, Aaron,’ she said. ‘You were there. You saw exactly the same things I did. How weird she was in those last few weeks. When she actually spent any time with us, that is. She was hardly around. She was always working at that crappy job, or – well, I don’t know what. Not hanging around with us anyway. And she’d completely stopped drinking, do you remember? She said it was to lose weight, but with the benefit of hindsight that sounds like bullshit.’
Falk nodded slowly. He did remember that. He’d been surprised because she’d probably been fonder of the booze than the rest of them. Not entirely surprising given her family line.
