The Survivors(84)

‘Great minds,’ she said lightly as they approached. ‘Sergeant Renn said he was in the Surf and Turf last night, thought that link had leaked.’ Pendlebury looked a little put out, but not particularly troubled. ‘So, if you’re following those photos, I’m guessing you’ll be heading up the cliff path to the lookout?’ She pushed herself away from the wall. ‘I’ll walk with you. I’m going that way myself.’

‘So we’re right, then? These photos are from Bronte’s camera?’ Kieran said as they started walking through the old part of town.

Pendlebury reached out a hand for Mia’s phone. Her thumb moved over the screen rapidly as they walked, checking the images, and after a few paces, she handed it back with a nod. ‘They’re some of them.’

‘How did they get online?’ he asked.

‘Bronte’s uni provided online storage space as part of her course,’ Pendlebury said. ‘Art students have a lot of high-res files, I’m guessing. Bronte uploaded her stuff most days.’ She nodded at Mia’s phone. ‘Ideally they wouldn’t have gone on that social media site, but at some point she’d allowed other students shared access to some of her folders. Group projects apparently.’

‘You couldn’t block them?’ Kieran said.

‘We could, but then people start to wonder why and that’s not always –’ Pendlebury stopped short. Her pace slowed and she made a noise of frustration. ‘For God’s sake.’

They were approaching George Barlin’s house, ripped-up garden and all. Parked on the road outside was Ash’s dirty ute.

Kieran could see Ash through the windscreen, sitting in the driver’s seat, engine off, arms crossed against the steering wheel. Shifty was next to him on the passenger’s side, head out of the window and tongue lolling.

‘He’s been warned about this.’ Pendlebury glanced at Kieran. ‘He has to move on. I am very happy to –’

‘No, it’s okay.’ Kieran put the brake on the pram. ‘I’ll talk to him.’

Ash had already fired up the engine by the time Kieran had crossed the road.

‘It’s all right, I’m going. I had something to see to but –’ Ash leaned out of his open window and raised his voice in Pendlebury’s direction. ‘I’m leaving now, okay? You don’t need to call your mates, I’m going.’

Ash sat back heavily in the seat and reached for the gears. Kieran put a hand on the door.

‘Hey, wait a sec,’ he said.

‘What, mate? I’ve got work to do.’

‘I messaged you.’

‘Yep.’ Ash sighed. ‘I’m at work, mate.’

‘Yeah, okay, but –’

Ash finally looked over. His face still carried a hint of the exposed nerve Kieran had seen the night before, but today he simply seemed tired.

‘What?’ Ash said again.

‘Are you all right? After last night?’

‘Fine.’

‘Right.’ Kieran still didn’t move his hand off the door. ‘Because that stuff George was saying –’

‘Oh.’ A tiny crease appeared around Ash’s eyes. ‘Yeah, no, that’s fine. Look, mate –’ He put the ute into gear. ‘I’ve got to keep moving.’

‘Well, give me a call if you –’

But Ash was already raising an arm out of the window in pointed farewell to Pendlebury. Kieran dropped his hand and took a step back as the ute moved away. They all watched until the vehicle was out of sight, then Kieran returned to the pram. They started walking again.

‘What did that garden look like before, out of interest?’ Pendlebury said as they hit the cliff path.

‘Beautiful,’ Mia replied.

They covered most of the hike up in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. As they neared the top, Mia jogged a few paces and caught up to Pendlebury.

‘Do you think whoever took Bronte’s camera and computer knew she was uploading the pictures somewhere?’ she asked.

‘I couldn’t say.’ Pendlebury had her eyes on the ocean as they walked. ‘It depends who it was and why they did it.’

‘And you said these photos we can see online aren’t all the ones she’d saved to her student folders?’

‘That’s right.’

Mia was scrolling through her phone again as they walked, her thumb moving up and down. ‘But would you say these ones are –’ She hesitated. ‘– a reflective sample?’

They had reached the top of the cliffs and stopped at the lookout. Out on the water, The Survivors stood tall. The Nautilus Blue rocked in the waves beyond, the blue and white dive flag visible. Pendlebury ignored the view, looking instead at Mia.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘I can see you’re worried because you and Kieran appear in one of the photos, so let me put your mind partly at ease. You are not the only ones.’

‘Really?’

‘Not by a long way.’

Kieran wasn’t sure why he didn’t feel more relieved.

Pendlebury turned back to the safety rail, her eyes on The Survivors.

‘How’s that tide looking, Kieran?’ she said. ‘Low enough for a trip down?’

‘Now?’