‘Lo drew a picture of it.’
A ghost of a smile crossed her face. ‘Right. Of course.’ She came into the room and joined him in front of the painting. ‘It was a stupid idea. I took them there for a picnic a few weeks ago, after Sophie hurt her arm. I was trying to come up with something to take her mind off it, and I thought seeing the grave in person might help Lo. Remove the mystery, I guess.’
‘Sophie said you didn’t stay long.’
‘No.’ Ilse gave a half-laugh. ‘I knew it was a bad plan the minute we got there. It was too hot. Lo was scared. I pretty much bundled them back into the car and drove home. It was a long way to go for five minutes, but it was for the best. We ended up having a picnic by the stables instead. I should’ve done that in the first place.’
Ilse was staring at Cameron’s painting, then slowly, she took another step in, until she was as close to the canvas as Nathan had been.
‘Cameron wasn’t happy when he heard we’d been out there,’ she said. Nathan couldn’t see her face now.
‘Why not?’
‘He didn’t like it that I took the girls so far. He said it was too isolated and exposed for this time of year.’ Ilse leaned in, examining the solid dark paint of the grave. She raised a hand slowly and extended her index finger. ‘He said it was dangerous.’
Her finger hovered, an inch from the canvas. ‘It’s kind of funny,’ she said in a voice that suggested it wasn’t funny at all, ‘how it turned out he was right.’
Half an inch.
‘No! Don’t touch the painting, Mummy!’
The voice at the doorway sounded horrified. Nathan turned to see Sophie, open-mouthed. Ilse immediately curled her fingers into a fist and dropped her hand.
‘Daddy’s painting isoff limits,’ Sophie recited.
‘I know.’ Ilse stepped away and relief and confusion crossed Sophie’s face. She caught sight of the beer in Nathan’s hand.
‘No food or drinks near the picture, either.’
‘Yes, we both know, Soph,’ Ilse said. ‘No-one was touching it, we were just looking.’
‘It’s bad luck. The stockman will get upset.’
Ilse appeared to be fighting not to roll her eyes. She succeeded, barely. ‘Sweetheart, the only person who got upset about fingerprints on the painting was Dad. Come on, it’s time for bed anyway.’
Sophie threw a final warning look at Nathan then reluctantly disappeared back into the hall. Ilse went to follow, pausing at the door.
‘She’s right, though,’ she said. ‘Cam really hated anyone touching the painting.’
‘I’d better leave it alone then.’
She nodded as she left. By himself once more, Nathan collapsed onto the couch. As he took a mouthful of beer, his eye was drawn to the darkened window. He paused, bottle halfway to his mouth. Something was different. The night was somehow not as black as it had been.
Nathan hauled himself to his feet and looked out through the glass. His reflection stared back at him, with an expression he didn’t quite recognise. He gazed beyond it, into the night. From the angle of the window, it took him a moment to process what he was seeing.
A pair of headlights, their beams piercing through the dark. He could hear a soft hum. In the otherwise empty driveway, Cameron’s car was running.
The white light was blinding. Nathan put his arm up to shield his eyes from the headlights, but it made no difference. His night vision was shot. He stood alone on the driveway. He couldn’t see into the car. He could see nothing, in fact, but the brilliant cones of light.
He made himself walk straight to the driver’s side and his hand was on the door when it clicked open. The interior light went on. It was no match for the headlights and it still took Nathan’s eyes a minute to adjust.
Xander sat behind the wheel.
‘Jesus.’ Nathan dropped his hand. ‘You scared me.’
Xander said nothing, just stared out through the windscreen. Nathan walked around the front of the car, his shadow slicing through the perfect beams of light. He tried to open the passenger-side door. It was locked. For a split second, Nathan realised he wasn’t sure what his son was going to do next. A beat passed. Then Xander leaned over, lifted the old manual door lock and let him in.
‘You couldn’t have turned the lights down?’ Nathan blinked. ‘I can’t see a thing.’
