Two weeks after that, on a Friday evening at five o’clock, Judith rode her bike over to Katy and Oliver’s place, making a couple of pit stops along the way. She parked and got off the bike, then limped her way to the front door. She knocked, and Oliver opened it, enveloping her with a hug.
‘Careful! Jesus. If I drop all of this, Katy will never forgive me.’
Judith had brought wine—two bottles—and a giant bag of Indian take-out. It was her turn to cook, which always meant take-out, because Ollie refused to eat anything Judith had had a hand in. Admittedly for good reason.
‘Let’s take it outside,’ Oliver said. ‘Katy’s on the deck.’
They found her curled up on the outside couch, a blanket across her legs and a glass of wine already in hand.
‘Your doctor said that’s okay?’
Katy raised an eyebrow. ‘She recommended it.’ She looked tired, and too thin, and there was yellow bruising on her forehead and at her collarbone.
‘No more pain meds?’
‘No more pain meds,’ Katy confirmed.
Oliver took the bag of food inside. He filled two plates and brought them back to the women, then retreated back into the house.
‘He doesn’t want to join us?’ Judith asked.
‘He’s going to eat with the kids. They’re going to watch a movie.’
It was a beautiful evening. Unseasonably warm, with a gentle breeze. Judith and Katy ate and drank and talked about nothing at all. When the food was finished, they pushed their plates to the end of the table, and Katy refilled their glasses. Grimacing a little, Judith lifted her legs and rested her feet on the chair opposite her.
‘How is it?’ Katy asked. ‘How’s the leg?’
Judith shrugged. ‘It’s fine. Coming along. Stitches are coming out next week.’ She’d been very lucky that there’d been no infection. The bucketful of antibiotics they’d ploughed into her had probably helped. It was nothing, nothing at all in comparison to what Katy had gone through—was still going through.
‘And Cameron?’
Judith smiled, shaking her head. ‘He’s great. Really great. I saw him and his dad yesterday. You’d think something like that would screw up a kid for life, but he seems okay, really.’ She paused. ‘Do you think he’s just faking it? Putting on a good show for his dad?’
‘Maybe,’ Katy said. ‘But kids are resilient, you know? It will probably help that he was so brave in the cave. He kind of rescued himself. He’ll be able to hold on to that.’
‘Yeah.’
‘I heard they found the bodies.’
Judith shook her head. ‘No bodies,’ she said. ‘Except poor Maggie’s, of course.’
‘Maggie?’
‘The Andersons’ last au pair. Ruth Hall used her father’s old trick. Lured Maggie to the cave, killed her there, waited a day or two and then applied for her job.’ It was Maggie’s body that Cameron had felt, floating in the water beside him.
‘They didn’t find the others?’
Judith shook her head again. It was too late. Too much time had gone by. Even bone won’t last ten years in sea water.
‘We found all of their bags and their passports. With what Ruth said to me, that’s enough. The cases are officially closed.’
There was a wide egg-chair thing on the other side of the porch. It looked comfortable. Judith stood up and made her way over to it.
‘This new?’
‘Bianca wanted it. She has her father wrapped around her little finger. They went to Bunnings to get drill bits and came back with that.’
Judith sank into the chair and rested her head against the back of the cushion. She was still dog-tired. The doctors said she’d lost a lot of blood. It would take time.
