Page 99 of Serenity Falls

‘About another half a mile, I think, before we’re gonna run out of water and it gets too narrow for the kayak. Then we’ll need to haul on to land and go on foot.’

‘Okay,’ I said, even though I didn’t like that thought.

What if we got lost? What if we couldn’t find our way back to the kayak? Milo had the map, but the exact location of Harold’s cabin was still only a rough guess. What if we were out by a mile, or more? What if it wasn’t even here any more? What if it was never here? We hadn’t planned for any of this properly.

But I didn’t say anything. It was too late. We’d started on this thing, and we couldn’t go back. So, we paddled on and, somewhere in the swamps, the limpkins screamed.

29

There’s a police car outside their house. The sheriff’s car.

Sadie’s heart wedges in her throat. Police cars never visit for any good reason. She vaguely remembers the cars outside after Mum disappeared. Strange men and women in uniforms. They tried to be kind to her, but she knew it was an act. They were there because something bad had happened. It was the same after Decker:

‘So, tell us, in your own words, what happened at the party?’

‘Had you been drinking? Did anyone else witness the alleged assault?’

And then later: ‘We’re sorry, but it’s your word against his.’

She shoves the memory away as she reaches the front door. She had found herself relaxing while she watched the movie and even managed to walk home without being accosted by any strange women or litter pickers. But now this.

Maybe Jerry is just here to check everything is okay. She holds her bracelet to the keypad and the door buzzes open.

‘Hello?’

No reply. She frowns and walks across the hall into the living area. Empty, but she can see Dad and Jerry outside in the yard. Uneasiness twitches again in her stomach.

She walks outside, catching the end of Jerry’s last sentence.

‘And it was here when you arrived home?’

‘What was here?’ she asks.

Both men turn. She sees her dad’s face fall.

‘Hey. I tried to call you.’

‘Oh, I had my phone on silent.’ She fishes it out of her pocket. Yes, a missed call from Dad. She forgot to check when she came out of the cinema.

‘What’s going on?’ she asks again.

Jerry turns, adjusting his hat in the heat. And then she sees it. Tied to one of the handrails at the edge of the swimming pool: a bunch of brightly coloured balloons.

Her stomach takes a dive. ‘What the hell?’

Her dad walks over. ‘It’s okay. It’s probably just someone’s idea of a joke.’

She stares at Jerry. ‘Then why’s he here?’

‘Well, after the intruder your dad thought he saw, he asked if I’d come take a look.’ Jerry pushes back his hat and scratches his head. ‘Seems to me, someone might be yanking your chain.’

She swivels back to her dad. ‘Intruder. What intruder?’

Dad shuffles awkwardly. ‘Monday night and Tuesday night, I saw something on the security camera.’

‘What?’

‘It looked like someone dressed as Arnie the Armadillo in the back yard.’