‘You didn’t lie to her.’
‘I lied by omission.’
‘Come home with me.’ She watched Dodge come into the kitchenette, didn’t even acknowledge him, her arms folded and her jaw set. ‘You can both come and tell her I’ve been taking care of myself and she should leave me alone.’
‘I’m out.’ Dodge put his hands up. ‘I’ve spent two days with this guy, now. I don’t have the emotional energy to meet the nutjob who was crazy enough to marry him.’
I didn’t respond. Neither did Bridie. I didn’t realise she was following me until I was in the bedroom pulling the sheets back up on her unmade bed. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked.
‘I’m fine. Help me pack, Bridie.’
‘You’re quiet.’
‘Busy brain, that’s all.’
I picked up her backpack and handed it to her. ‘And … you know. I don’t like to annoy your mother.’
She took her backpack from me and started packing. In the silence, we removed all her things from the room. Her headphones, clothes, water bottle, a smattering of books. I lifted the cage from the end of her bed and set it on the coverlet and pushed back the towel draped over the top to check on the possum. The lined, knitted pouch was lying in one corner, with a thin, furry tail protruding from it. At the tip of the tail, the fur changed from brown to white.
I put the towel back in place and turned and Bridie pushed her way into my arms. The feel of her shuddering against me threatened to set off a sympathetic wave of tears. I held strong, hugged her and stroked her hair. ‘Hey, hey, hey. Come on.’
‘I was having fun,’ Bridie sniffed. I had to laugh at that.
‘What was the most fun? Almost being killed by drug dealers, or being ignored while I ran around after a murderer?’
‘I wasn’t being ignored.’ She stepped back from me. Looked me in the eyes. ‘You’ve … you’ve come closer to me in the past two days than you have in the past five years.’
Oof. That hurt. The way she described it, the time we’d spent together, as me ‘coming closer’ to her. It made me sound like a wild fox being beckoned from the edge of the woods by a human, getting spooked and darting away between the trees by any sudden movement. It ached so badly to think of her that way, to know she wasthinking of herselfthat way: as someone who had to be still, and silent, and constantly offering lures, just so I’d come within a reasonable distance. I was so sorry for it all, suddenly. Exhaustingly and agonisingly sorry. ‘Next weekend,’ I said. ‘My place. We’ll do it. I promise, Bridie. Okay? I promise.’
‘You might still be out here.’
‘I’ll hand this whole thing over and come back. I’ll have to, anyway. I killed a guy. Gail won’t let me stay on it for too long.’
‘Mum won’t be happy.’
‘I’ll make it work, Birds,’ I told her. ‘You can trust me.’
She chewed her lips, tears falling freely. We stood in the tiny room together, between the beds, her little sniffles and breaths actively scoring the surface of my heart with cuts I knew I’d never heal. ‘Did you speak to the carer for the possum?’
‘Yeah, it’s in Leets Vale.’
‘Okay, change of plans, then,’ I said. ‘You take the ’Stang. I’ve got to get some stuff to the lab, so I’ll go with Dodge. When you’ve got the animal where it needs to go, you head straight to your mum’s. I’ll meet you there to get the car back.’
‘Will you speak to her?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Dad.’
‘How about this,’ I said. ‘I’ll text you on approach, and you can tell me if she’s waiting behind the front door with a baseball bat. If she’s unarmed, I’ll come in and talk.’
Bridie braved a tiny smile, and I held her again. ‘Go easy on the windy roads, Birds.’
‘I will,’ she said.
I watched Bridie pull out of the property gates with emotion so heavy and suffocating, I couldn’t have discerned it as foreboding, fatherly instinct, a subliminal knowledge of what was about to happen. Dodge was in the passenger seat, his head resting against the headrest, rubbing his eyes hard. I slipped into the driver’s seat beside him and tossed a muesli bar I’d taken from the kitchen into his lap. Before unwrapping one for myself, I took my gun from the back of my belt and handed it to him.
‘What’s this for?’ he asked.
