Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2)(18)

‘This is where the women’s group started,’ Chase said. ‘The Mirror Falls trail isn’t even our hardest route. We might have fifteen groups a year go along here and we haven’t had any problems.’

‘Ever?’ Falk said, and Chase shifted his weight.

‘Once in a while, maybe. You get groups that are late sometimes. But usually they’re slow rather than lost. If you follow the route backwards, you find them dragging their heels near the final campsite. Sick of carrying their bags.’

‘Not this time, though,’ Carmen said.

‘No.’ Chase shook his head. ‘Not this time. We leave food and water in lock boxes at the second and third nights’ campsites so the groups don’t have to carry everything the whole way. When the girls didn’t come out at the end, a couple of the rangers went in. They know the short cuts, you know? Checked the lock box at the third site. No sign they’d ever been there. Same at the second. That’s when we called in the state officers.’

He pulled a map from his pocket and pointed to a thick red line curving in a gentle northward arc before finishing in the west.

‘This is the route they were following. They probably went wrong somewhere around here.’ He stabbed the paper between crosses marking the first and second campsites. ‘We’re pretty sure they took the kangaroo track. The problem is where they ended up after that, when they tried to double back.’

Falk examined the route. It looked easy enough on paper, but he knew how the bushland could distort things.

‘Where did the men’s group walk?’

‘They started from a point about ten minutes’ drive from here.’ Chase pointed to another line, marked in black this time. It stayed almost parallel to the women’s trail for the first day, then curved south before finishing at the same spot in the west. ‘The blokes were about an hour late setting off but still had plenty of time to get to their first site. Enough time to make it over to the girls’ camp for a couple of drinks, apparently.’

Carmen raised her eyebrows. ‘Is that usual?’

‘It’s not encouraged, but it happens. It’s not a difficult walk between the two but you always take a risk going off track. When it goes wrong, it can really go wrong.’

‘Why were the men late?’ Falk said. ‘I thought you all drove up together?’

‘Except Daniel Bailey,’ Chase said. ‘He missed the bus.’

‘Oh, yeah? He say why?’

Chase shook his head. ‘Not to me. He apologised to the other fellas. Said he got held up with business.’

‘Right.’ Falk looked again at the map. ‘Do they all get given this on the day, or –?’

Chase shook his head. ‘We send them out a couple of weeks beforehand. But they only get the one per team and are told not to copy it. We can’t stop them, of course, but it’s part of the process. Makes them appreciate scarcity out here, that things can’t always be replaced. Same with not taking the phones. We like them to rely on themselves rather than technology. Plus the phones don’t work well anyway.’

‘And how did the group seem when they set off?’ Falk said. ‘In your opinion?’

‘They were fine,’ Chase answered straight away. ‘A bit nervous maybe, but nothing out of the ordinary. I wouldn’t have sent them off if I’d had any concerns. But they were happy enough. Look, you can see for yourself.’

He fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen before holding it out so Falk could see. It was a photo.

‘I took that before they set off.’

The five women were smiling, their arms around each other. Jill Bailey stood in the centre of the group. Her right arm was around Alice’s waist, who in turn had her arm around a woman Falk recognised as Lauren Shaw. On Jill’s other side were two younger women who looked a little, but definitely not a lot, alike.

Falk stared at Alice, her blonde head cocked a little to the side. She was wearing a red jacket and black pants, and her arm rested lightly across Jill’s shoulders. And Ian Chase was right. In that snapped single moment, they did all look happy enough.

Falk handed the phone back to him.

‘We’re getting copies printed for the searchers,’ Chase said. ‘Come on. I’ll show you the start of the trail.’ He looked Falk and Carmen up and down, taking in their little-used boots. His gaze lingered briefly on Falk’s burned hand. ‘It’s a bit of a walk to the falls, but you should be right.’

They plunged into the trees and almost immediately Falk’s hand started to prickle with pins and needles. He ignored it, focusing instead on his surroundings. The path was well defined and Falk could see scuffs and indents, old footprints possibly, that had been blurred by rainfall. Above, tall eucalyptus trees swayed. They were walking in constant shadow and Falk saw Carmen shiver under her jacket. He thought about Alice Russell. He wondered what had been going through her mind as she’d entered the bushland, walking towards something that would stop her from leaving.

‘How does the Executive Adventures program work?’ Falk’s voice sounded unnaturally loud against the rustle of the bushland.

‘We organise tailor-made activities for staff training and teambuilding,’ Chase said. ‘Most of our clients are based in Melbourne, but we offer activities all over the state. Ropes courses, one-day retreats, you name it.’