Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2)(84)

Sergeant King had crouched over the pack for a long while, moving around it methodically, as if performing a choreographed dance. Then with a sigh, he had stood, sealed off the area, chosen his search team and cleared the site.

Falk and Carmen hadn’t argued. They found themselves heading back to the North Road the same way they had come, following the police markers and a pair of searchers who had been relieved from their shifts. They walked in silent single file, hesitating once, then again at various splits in the trail. Falk felt glad once more for the markings in the trees.

As he followed Carmen, he thought about the backpack. Lying there, alone, undisturbed, a man-made aberration on the landscape. It hadn’t looked like it had been rifled through, and he wondered what to make of that. The contents were probably of limited monetary value, but out here, where weatherproof clothing could mean the difference between life or death, worth was measured differently. Falk knew in his gut that Alice Russell would not have abandoned her backpack willingly and the realisation sent a chill through him that had nothing to do with the weather.

Find the belongings or shelter, the body’s always next. The words of the service station attendant kept running through his mind. He pictured the guy, behind the counter each time they had stopped at the service station before. Not that morning, though. The body’s always next. Falk sighed.

‘What are you thinking?’ Carmen said in a low voice.

‘Just that it doesn’t look good. Not if she had no equipment in conditions like this.’

‘I know. I reckon they’ll find her soon.’ Carmen looked at the bushland, hanging thick and heavy on both sides. ‘If she’s out there to find.’

They walked until the trees grew further apart and the daylight seemed a little brighter. Another twist and turn and they emerged, back on the North Road. Searchers and officers were huddled by the roadside, talking in low voices as the news about the backpack spread fast. Falk looked around. There was no sign of Ian Chase now and the Executive Adventures minibus had disappeared. The wind whistled along the open stretch of road and Falk pulled his jacket around him more tightly. He turned to one of the officers organising the returned searchers.

‘Did you see Ian Chase leave?’

The officer looked up, distracted. ‘No. Sorry. I didn’t realise he was gone. You could try to call him if it’s urgent. There’s a rangers’ hut with an emergency landline connection about ten minutes’ drive that way.’ He pointed down the road.

Falk shook his head. ‘It’s okay. Thanks.’

He followed Carmen to their car and she climbed behind the wheel.

‘Back to the lodge?’ she said.

‘I suppose so.’

She pulled away, the activity at the site growing smaller in the rear-view mirror until they turned a corner and it disappeared entirely. Cathedral walls of greenery towered over them on either side as they drove. There was no hint of the frenzy underway deep within. The bushland kept its secrets well.

‘That cabin was pretty well hidden, but it wasn’t unknown,’ Falk said, finally.

‘Sorry?’ Carmen was watching the road.

‘I was thinking of something Bree McKenzie said earlier. That prisoner with the tip-off knew about the cabin. So that’s one person at the very least. Who’s to say someone else hadn’t discovered it as well?’

‘Who are you thinking of? Our absent Executive Adventures friend?’

‘Maybe. For one. He spends a fair bit of time out there by himself.’ Falk thought about the throngs of searchers and officers and park workers at the search site. ‘But I suppose a lot of people do.’

They pulled into the lodge carpark and got their bags out of the boot. A ranger they’d seen before was behind the reception desk.

‘All happening up there, I hear?’ He looked from Falk to Carmen in hope of an update, but they just nodded. It was not their news to spread.

The door leading to the kitchen area was ajar and through the gap Falk could see Margot Russell. She was sitting at a table and crying silently, one hand over her eyes, her shoulders heaving. She was between Jill Bailey and a woman with the distinctive look of a community social worker. Lauren hovered behind them.

Falk turned away. They could speak to Margot later, now clearly wasn’t the time. Through the lodge’s large front window, he saw movement in the carpark. A dark head – no, two. Bree and Beth coming from the direction of the accommodation block. They were arguing. Falk couldn’t hear the words, but he saw them stop long enough to let a van drive by. The lettering on the side panel was distinctive. Executive Adventures. Ian Chase was back, from wherever he’d been. He nudged Carmen, who turned to look.

The ranger behind the desk had finished checking them in and handed over two keys. ‘Same ones as last time,’ he said.

‘Thanks.’ Falk took them and turned to leave, distracted as he and Carmen watched Chase climb out of his van. They were nearly out the door when the ranger behind the desk called out.

‘Hey. Wait.’ He was holding a phone receiver, his brow furrowed. ‘You guys are police, right? Call for you.’

Falk glanced at Carmen who shrugged, surprised. They walked back to the desk where Falk took the receiver and said his name. The voice on the other end was tinny and faint, but recognisable. Sergeant King.

‘Can you hear me?’ King’s words were rushed.