The Lost Man(47)

‘You think it could work?’

‘I’d have to go through it properly. But it could be worth a try.’

‘It was Bub’s idea, actually. I just worked out the dates and the logistics.’

‘Bub thought of this?’ Nathan said, surprised.

‘I think he was getting fed up with the same issues year after year and wanted to try something else. He’s quite good at things like that. Cameron said it was because he was lazy, but if it makes things more efficient, who cares?’

Nathan could hear footsteps in the hall. The girls had gathered up the last toys. Lo appeared to be counting them carefully, checking each one, and Ilse frowned a little at the sight. The office door opened and they all looked up as Bub put his head in.

‘Mum says come for dinner.’

He saw Nathan and Ilse examining the planner and a shadow crossed his face as the girls clattered past him into the hall.

‘What are you talking about?’ Bub came into the office. ‘Something about this place?’ Without me? went unsaid.

‘I was telling Nathan about your mustering idea,’ Ilse said and Bub looked slightly mollified.

‘Oh. Yeah. Not bad, hey?’

Nathan nodded at the wall planner. ‘Why is it all crossed off?’

‘There were some kinks in the plan,’ Ilse said. ‘Cam wanted to work them out before making any big changes. He thought maybe leave it a year, make sure everything would work.’

‘Yeah, right.’ Bub made a noise. ‘Look, Cam’s not here now so I’m not going to bag the bloke, but we all know if Cam had thought of it first, we’d be doing it. Sorry, but that’s how it was. The only thing wrong with the idea is that it wasn’t Cam’s bloody idea.’

Bub stepped closer to the planner, reading what Ilse had written. The office was quiet for a moment.

‘We could do it now, though.’ Bub’s tone was too casual. ‘Us three.’

Bub had been thinking about this, Nathan realised, as he turned to face them. There was something in the air as they stood there. Something almost complicit, Nathan thought, and not entirely comfortable. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he didn’t say anything and finally Bub shrugged.

‘Whatever. Think about it.’ He walked to the door. ‘But there’s nothing to stop us.’

They watched him go and Ilse shook her head, a strange expression on her face.

‘Listen, what Bub said about it not being Cameron’s idea. That wasn’t the only reason. Bub knows that. Anyway –’ She tossed the diary back on her desk. ‘I don’t know. I can’t think about this now. The details are all in there if you want a better look.’

She headed out and Nathan followed her, turning off the light and plunging the office into darkness behind them. The kitchen was far too hot, and Nathan immediately felt frazzled.

‘How’d you get on at Lehmann’s?’ Harry said as he sat down.

‘Yeah, fixed it,’ Nathan said. ‘Nothing too serious.’

‘You have to be careful at Lehmann’s Hill.’ The tiny voice seemed to come out of nowhere and it took Nathan a moment to realise it was Lo speaking. She was ignoring her dinner as she scrawled furiously on a piece of paper.

‘What’s that?’ Ilse reached out and stroked her hair.

‘Daddy was supposed to go to Lehmann’s Hill and he never came back.’

Ilse’s hand stilled on her daughter’s head. ‘Daddy didn’t go to the hill, Lo. That has nothing to do with why he didn’t come back.’

‘I know that. I know why Daddy didn’t come back.’

No-one said anything for a long moment.

‘Why is that, Lo?’ Harry’s voice cut through the silence.

The girl raised her eyes and, realising everyone was watching her, looked straight down again.

‘Lois? I asked you a question.’

‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter.’ Lo’s voice was barely audible.

Ilse put an arm around her. ‘That’s okay, sweetheart.’

‘Let her talk, Ilse,’ Harry said.

‘She doesn’t want to.’

‘She did a second ago.’

‘She’s a child, Harry.’

‘I want to know what she meant –’

‘Ilse’s right.’ It was the first time Liz had spoken since they sat down. She had been crying again, Nathan could tell. She had lost weight in the past few days, and the skin on her face looked slack. ‘You’re scaring her, Harry.’

Lo sat very still, her eyes on the table, then finally picked up her pencil and continued drawing.

‘Daddy didn’t come back because he was sad,’ Lo said to the paper. ‘About all those things going missing.’

There was an audible collective sigh of relief around the table.

‘Oh God, this again. It’s okay, Lo.’ Ilse took her daughter’s free hand and held it between her own. She saw Nathan and Xander’s confusion. ‘Lo was a bit scared for a while that there was a burglar –’

‘There is!’ Lo snatched her hand away. Her scribbling became more furious.

‘Sweetheart, there’s not –’

‘Or a ghost, then.’

‘No ghost either,’ Ilse said. She gave a tiny shake of her head and looked at Nathan. ‘She thought a few things had got lost. Some of your toys and bits and pieces went walkabout, didn’t they, Lo?’