Raco rolled his eyes good-naturedly as they walked away, but didn’t seem too put out.
“Bloody Dwyer. It’s quite hard to stay annoyed with him, though.”
“Sad about his daughter.” Falk glanced back. Cathy was shaking her tin again. “Not surprising he’s not a fan of the opening-night party, I suppose.”
“No. He’ll have that shut right down within a few years, I reckon. Cathy told Rita once they think it’s where Caitlin learned to drink, and they’re probably right. Although, from what I hear, she picked it up pretty fast, anyway.”
“Gave them a bit of trouble, did she?”
“Yeah, a lot of heartache.” Raco’s eyes dropped to the charity sticker on his own daughter’s T-shirt. “Still does, I guess. But that’s the thing about Dwyer, he knows how it feels for families to lose someone. The pain’s real for him. And I get that Zara’s frustrated, but you can’t accuse him of not taking Kim’s disappearance seriously. Okay—” He slowed. “Let’s stop here for a second.”
Raco indicated a small gap between stalls. It was off the track, but they could still see the entrance clearly. Falk thought he could sense Dwyer watching them, but when he looked over, the officer was focused on a new group coming through the turnstiles.
“So, for the sake of argument,” Raco said, tucking Eva in beside him, “if Kim didn’t go through that back east exit, she had to leave some other way.” He pointed to the crowds streaming in. “But I’ve never thought going out the entrance was a realistic option.”
Falk observed for a minute, watching the strong one-way flow of traffic, the staff monitoring the situation on either side of the gate. Anyone trying to push the wrong way through the tide of strollers, scooters, wheelchairs, families linking arms, and strolling couples would surely be noticed.
“I reckon you’re right,” he said finally. “Someone would remember.” He looked up at the CCTV camera installed on a temporary pole. “That’s one of the new ones?”
“This year. Yeah. No camera then.”
Falk nodded and turned back to the entrance. Both sides were flanked by stalls packed tightly together, selling impulse items to get people in the spending mood, small handmade soaps, ice cream. Behind the stalls, a two-meter-high chain-link fence formed a snug barrier.
“What do you think, Eva?” Raco said lightly to his daughter. “Would you try to get out this way?”
“No.” The girl frowned, like it was obvious. “I’d go out the exit.”
Raco’s smile moved from her to Falk. “Me, too. So let’s check that out.”
Falk and Eva followed him through the crowds along a short loop of track, past more rows of stalls. A painted sign sayingRIDESdirected people deeper into the festival grounds, and below it, another markedEXITpointed the other way.
Falk glanced to the right and caught a glimpse of the Penvale Vineyard stand. Shane was there, he could see, the man’s height putting him half a head above the crowd. He was with a casual worker Falk didn’t recognize, and they looked to be doing a brisk trade. A stack of Kim’s flyers was in a prominent position on the table, and as Falk watched, a woman took a flyer, glanced over it, then went to put it back. Shane motioned for her to keep it, but she smiled and shook her head, reaching instead for a bottle of red and turning it over to read the price. They disappeared from sight as the crowd shifted around them and Falk walked on.
It only took a minute to reach the large west exit, quiet at that time of day, and they again tucked into a spot just off the path. Falk had been through the exit several times now, but tried to look at it again with fresh eyes. While the entrance had been closely controlled, the west exit was wide open. No turnstiles here, simply a tall wooden archway over the broad track, leading out to a sea of cars glinting in the morning sun.
“They’ve got to make it easy for large numbers to get out quickly if needed. Same reason they’ve got the east exit at the back, for overflow.” Raco nodded toward a security guard sitting on a stool at the side. “There are two guards in the evenings, same as last year. Alert the copsto any obvious drunk drivers, anyone who’s overdone it and looks like they might cause trouble on the way home.”
Falk glanced upward. There had been one CCTV camera on the exit last year, he knew, but he could see at least two more now.
“Kim didn’t come out this way,” Raco said. “That’s a one hundred percent guarantee.”
“You watched the footage?” Falk asked.
“Yep. Six hours’ worth.”
“The recording was complete? No edits?”
Raco shook his head. “Time-stamped. All looks right. It’s legit.”
Falk frowned. “And no sign of her at all?”
“None. I mean, there’s a bit to get through and there are a lot of people, but the footage is clear. Good quality. If you take your time, you can see the faces. Dwyer’s watched it, too, obviously. Charlie as well. And Zara. A few times, I think. If Kim had come this way, one of us would have spotted her.”
“Okay,” Falk said. “So she didn’t come out this way.”
“No,” said Raco. “Unless you’re seeing something I’m not.” He looked down at Eva, who was busy gathering long stalks of grass into a makeshift bouquet. “Or you, mate.”
Eva just smiled benignly, but Falk shook his head. He stepped up to the exit and ran a hand over the chain-link fence bordering it.
