Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2)(21)

‘No, Jill, it’s not the booze. I just don’t feel well. I need to go back.’

‘We’d all have to go back with you.’

‘I can find my way alone –’

‘I can’t let you walk back by yourself. No, listen to me – there’s a duty of care, for one thing. We’d all have to go.’

Alice didn’t reply.

‘And the company still has to pay so we’d forfeit the cost of the course for all five of us. Which obviously isn’t important if you’re unwell.’ Jill let the disclaimer hang in the air. ‘But we’d need a doctor’s letter for the insurance so if it’s a case of one too many wines –’

‘Jill –’

‘Or a rough first night in the tent. Believe me, I know this isn’t anyone’s cup of tea –’

‘It’s not –’

‘And we can’t get driven back to Melbourne until Sunday anyway, so as a senior team member it would be far better –’

‘Yeah.’ A sigh. ‘All right.’

‘You’re well enough go on?’

A pause. ‘I suppose so.’

‘Good.’

The wind rattled the branches above Beth’s head, dislodging a shower of water from the leaves. An icy drop ran down her neck and, instantly decided, she pulled down her jeans and squatted behind the tree. Her knees started to ache immediately and she could feel the cold on her thighs. She shifted her boot to miss the flow along the ground when she heard fast footfall behind her. Startled, she turned, toppling backwards with a bump. Her bare skin hit the ground, cold and warm and wet at the same time.

‘Jesus Christ. Really? Right by the tents?’

Beth blinked up against the bright grey sky, her jeans around her knees, her palm in something warm. Alice stared back down. Her face was pale and tight. Maybe she really was ill, Beth thought vaguely.

‘If you’re too bloody lazy to walk out to where we agreed, at least have the manners to do it near your tent and not mine.’

‘I thought –’ Beth clambered to her feet, hauling up her jeans. Tight and twisted, they betrayed her with every tug. ‘Sorry, I thought –’ She was standing now, thank God, a single warm trickle damp against her inner thigh. ‘I thought this was the right tree.’

‘This one? It’s barely a couple of metres from the tents.’

Beth risked a glance. It was more than a couple of metres, wasn’t it? It had seemed more in the dark but it looked at least five.

‘And it’s not even downhill.’

‘Okay. I said I was sorry.’

Beth longed to shush Alice, but it was already too late. A rustle of canvas and three heads popped up over the tents. Beth saw her sister’s eyes harden. Bree didn’t need to know exactly what she was seeing to know enough. Beth’s done it again.

‘Problem?’ Jill called.

‘No. It’s under control.’ Alice straightened. ‘That’s the right tree.’ She pointed at a spot in the distance. Not a broken branch in sight.

Beth turned to the three faces at the tents. ‘Sorry. I thought – I’m sorry.’

‘You see the one I mean?’ Alice said, still pointing.

‘Yeah, I can see it. Look, I’m sor–’

‘It’s all right, Beth,’ Jill called, cutting her off. ‘And thank you, Alice. I think we’re all familiar with the tree now.’

Alice kept her eyes on Beth, then slowly lowered her arm. Beth didn’t look at any of the others as she trudged back to the clearing, her face hot. Her sister stood at their tent entrance, not speaking, the whites of her eyes bloodshot. She was hungover, Beth could tell, and Breanna didn’t do hungover well.

Beth ducked inside, zipping the door shut. She could smell the urine on her only pair of jeans and felt a tight ball burning behind her eyes. She squeezed them closed and made herself stay completely still, like they had taught her in the rehab centre. Deep breaths and positive thoughts until the urge passed. In and out.

As she counted her breaths, focusing her mind, she imagined inviting the other women to stand with her in a circle. The image was clear and Beth could picture herself extending a hand to Alice. In and out. Beth imagined herself reaching up, stretching out her fingers and winding them through Alice’s blonde highlights. In and out. Tightening her grip and pulling the woman’s expensive face towards the ground. Grinding it into the dirt until she thrashed and squealed. In and out. When she reached one hundred, Beth breathed out a final time and smiled to herself. Her counsellor had been right. Visualising what she wanted really did make her feel a lot better.





Chapter 7



It was a relief to exit the Mirror Falls trail. Falk took a deep breath as the sky opened and the trees parted. Up ahead, light spilled from the windows of the lodge, its glow not quite reaching the dark undergrowth of the path. He and Carmen followed Chase across the carpark, feeling the gravel crunch under their boots. As they neared the lodge, Falk felt Carmen tap his arm.

‘Two for one over there,’ she whispered.

Daniel Bailey was standing beside his black BMW with a woman Falk instantly recognised. His sister, Jill. Even from that distance, Falk could see the stain of a bruise across her jaw, and he remembered what Sergeant King had said. Some injuries. Jill hadn’t had that bruise in the group photo from the first day, that was for sure.