“Can we follow this the whole way around?”
Raco nodded. “We can try.”
It wasn’t easy, though, Falk realized quickly. The fence ran close to the back of the stalls, which were in turn packed deliberately close to discourage casual visitors from wandering behind and messing with supplies or the electrical wires that snaked across the ground.
They picked their way along in single file, Eva between them, Falk stopping every now and again to examine the mechanism joining the fence links. The boundary may have only been temporary, but it was sturdy, slotting together smoothly. As they made their way through, stallholders popping back to grab fresh stock or snatch a breath of air threw them curious looks.
Eventually, they emerged from the back of the tents and Falk felt the relief of stepping out into the open again. He blinked, the sudden daylight harsh after the shade from the canopies. Up ahead, he could see the east exit, the rope slung across it as always. The first-aid stand nearby was currently staffed by a woman in a wide-brimmed hat.
Falk looked back up along the fence they’d just followed. At two meters, it was reasonably high all the way around.
“I guess theoretically it’s possible Kim felt up to scaling a fence six weeks after giving birth.” Raco read his thoughts. “But I know Rita couldn’t have.”
“No, I think you’re right,” Falk said. “Not even the physical factor, but with all those stallholders coming and going. They’d have noticed her doing something like that. Plus some of them must have known her.”
Raco nodded. “It’s exactly the same down the other side.” He squinted, pointing a finger to where the fence picked up again on the other side of the exit and continued around the grounds.
“Maybe there was a gap?” Falk said. “She could have slipped through?”
Raco shook his head. “I checked.”
“Last year?” Falk was surprised.
“Yeah, walked the whole route the next day. Like we did just then.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“You were at the station giving your statement,” Raco said. “I probably didn’t mention it because, I dunno, it seemed a bit paranoid. Especially because there was nothing to see. The fence was complete, same as now.”
“Right.” Falk’s eyes ran along the boundary, settling inevitably on the only gap. The first-aid volunteer near the east exit had her head buried in a novel.
“Joel’s a good kid,” Raco said. “Serious, conscientious, for sure. But he is still a kid.”
“Yeah.” Was the word of a teenager stronger than a solid chain-link fence? Falk wondered. Probably not, no matter who it was.
Eva sighed dramatically, hot and losing patience. “Can we stop investigating and go on a ride now?”
“What do you reckon?” Raco said to Falk, who nodded.
“Yeah, Eva. Let’s go,” he said. “I think I’ve seen what I needed to see. Thanks for your help, mate.”
“No worries,” she said, skipping ahead a little as they turned away from the exit. They headed back into the heart of the site, the music and laughter growing louder as they neared the rides. Falk glanced over at Raco, keeping his voice too low for Eva to hear.
“What about cars? Ones with on-site access. Could someone have driven her out, maybe hidden in the back seat or trunk? A few hours later, when it was quiet?”
“There’s access through the main exit, but it’s only for emergencies during festival hours,” Raco said. “I checked with Gemma last year, and she says no vehicles entered the grounds at all during the actual festival that night, and there would’ve been almost none moving about. Too many pedestrians and kids to do it safely. Vehicles could technically have driven in later, but it would’ve probably been after Kim was discovered missing. In which case, where was she during the initial search of the site?” He gave a shrug. “I’m not saying it couldn’t have happened, but it wouldn’t have been easy.”
Falk walked on for a minute, running scenarios in his mind. “Doesn’t really feel right, either,” he said at last. “How would it work? Drag her into a vehicle, even with people around?”
“It’s easiest if she’d gotten in willingly.” Raco’s voice had dropped so low it was hard to hear. “But that raises a whole lot of other questions. I mean, whose vehicle? And does that mean it was a mentally sound decision? Because if so, why not also decide to leave Zoe with someone she trusted?”
Falk thought about that. He pictured Kim, with her new baby tucked up in her stroller, and tried to play it out in his head. His eyes fell on Eva, running in front of them, and something dark slowly crept into his thoughts.
“There’d be one easy way to make Kim get into a car. Or to hidesomewhere. Do anything, really,” Falk murmured. He nodded at Raco’s daughter. “Threaten her child.”
Raco blinked. Long and slow, his face instantly tight. He didn’t respond, but his eyes locked on Eva as she picked up pace and ran a few steps ahead.
“Eva!” Raco’s voice was unusually sharp and she turned, hurt.
