The Survivors(82)

Had Bronte taken these photos? She had, Kieran felt sure. Not only from the fact the images were posted on her own tribute site, but because the photos had the familiar style he’d seen in the art book in her bedroom.

He scrolled on. A few pictures of the cliff path, then they were back to the seascapes. The pictures had clearly been taken recently but – Kieran stopped again, his thumb hovering above the screen.

He was staring at another photo of the beach. This one had been taken down low, near the sand as the waves rushed in. Kieran ignored the close-up sight of a thick cord of seaweed, his eyes instead drawn to the background. In the distance, small but recognisable, three people stood near the surf. A man in board shorts holding a baby, a dark-haired woman and a big guy with a big dog.

Kieran, Mia and Ash, on the beach on Saturday afternoon in Evelyn Bay.

Kieran stared at the photo and tried to process what that meant. He and Mia had flown in, Bronte had captured them in this photo, she had chased Audrey’s hat and, less than twenty-four hours later, she was dead. He touched Mia’s arm and held out his screen.

‘The link to these was deleted from the forum,’ he said under his breath.

‘Really?’ Mia glanced over towards Renn as she took the phone.

Kieran watched her face as she scrolled through, waiting to see if she would come to the same conclusion. Like him, she froze at the beach shot, leaning in close to the screen.

‘Wait. We saw her take this one. Didn’t we?’ Mia’s voice was hard to hear. ‘When was that? Was it the same day her camera went missing?’

Kieran nodded.

‘But –’ Mia looked worried. ‘If her camera went missing that night, are these the photos from it?’ She was staring at the pictures. ‘How are they online?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said.

Kieran sensed movement behind him and turned. Olivia.

‘Listen, we’re going to head off,’ she said as she approached, with Ash half a pace behind. They came to a stop at the table, both wearing identical blank expressions. Kieran couldn’t tell if their argument was concluded or continuing.

‘No worries.’ He looked at Ash, whose eyes were raw in a way Kieran had never seen them before. ‘Listen, mate –’

‘What’s that?’ Ash cut him off. He was looking at the photo on the screen in Mia’s hand. When she didn’t answer, he reached out and took the phone without asking. He stared at the image. The seaweed and, in the background, the figures in the surf. ‘What is this?’ he said again.

Olivia leaned in, trying to see, as Sean appeared behind them with three glasses in his hands.

‘What’s going on?’ he said, looking from Kieran to Ash.

Ash didn’t answer, just touched the screen to enlarge the image.

Sean slid the drinks onto the table and wiped his hands on his shorts and tried again. ‘What’s on the phone?’ He looked at Kieran. ‘It’s yours, isn’t it?’

Kieran glanced at Mia. She had her eyes on Renn, who was talking to the waiter.

‘There are some photos online.’ Kieran spoke very quietly. ‘We think they might be from Bronte’s missing camera.’

‘Are you serious?’ Olivia stared for a second, then her hand darted out towards the phone. Ash simply turned his shoulder slightly, blocking her.

‘Wait, is that you in that picture?’ Her eyes snapped from Ash to Kieran and Mia. ‘You as well?’

Ash held the screen close to his face as he scrolled. Sean was crowding into his other side, trying to see, but Ash kept his body twisted and the phone out of reach.

‘I don’t understand,’ Olivia was saying. ‘What’s going on? Why are you in those photos?’

Ash stopped suddenly, his thumb hovering over the screen, his mouth a downturned line. He blinked once, slowly, as though he would be surprised if he could find the energy.

‘Well,’ he said, his voice flat. ‘At least we’re not the only ones.’

He dropped the phone onto the table, face up, and Kieran crowded in, feeling the other three do the same. A fresh photo was on the screen and Kieran scrambled to register what he was seeing.

It was a rock pool, craggy and deep. The water collecting in its crevices looked slick and almost oily, reflecting a naturally filtered image of the sky and the clouds. And something else.

Someone was standing by the pool, a little way behind the photographer, possibly unseen by her. The mirror image of his face was captured in the pool, the expression warped by soft ripples, but the identity clear.

‘Liam.’ Olivia drew in a breath.

‘Wait –’ Sean said, but it was no good. In a collective, instinctive reaction, they all looked towards Renn.

‘Wait,’ Sean said again. His hand shot out and landed on Kieran’s, which was already covering the phone. ‘Guys, listen. Please. Just wait a second –’

‘It’s too late,’ Kieran said.

Renn was watching them now, coffee cup forgotten. Computer tablet still open in front of him, finger poised mid-swipe. He looked at their faces, and at the phone they were crowding around, and his hand twitched against the tablet screen. If Kieran hadn’t been sure before, he was now.

‘It’s too late, mate,’ he said. Sean’s palm was heavy on his wrist. ‘They’ve already seen them.’