Page 47 of Bay of Plenty

Striding back home,I shook with red rage over my fight with Sarge. My mind darted into dead-end alleyways, trying to work out my next step. I needed help. I called Bevan and told her what happened. She was as shocked as I was. I asked if she could request the Janey case file from the police.

“Hmm. That’s going to be tricky as they will inevitably ask what article it’s for. And they will keep asking. I only have so many favors I can call on. But I will copy the newspaper’s Janey file and drop it off to you this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Bevan.”

When I entered the bedroom, Declan was sitting on the bed, his phone against his ear, laughing uproariously. He saw me, cut off the laugh, and murmured goodbye. He listened. “Yeah, me too,” he said tenderly, and hung up. “One of my sisters,” he explained.

I nodded, not taking it in.

“You okay?” he asked evenly in his usual calm, concerned fashion.

I nodded again.

“What’s the deal with Sarge?” he asked.

I slumped on the bed. It was time to tell him about Janey’sdeath, what I’d witnessed that night and how Sarge discounted it. It wasn’t necessary to tell him about the bullying.

After I was finished, he said, “God, Isla, that’s awful. Can I hug you?” He put his arms around me, tight and warm and safe. “This is why you’re so antagonistic toward Snow.” He released me.

I rubbed my upper arm. “I need to do a better job of covering it up.”

“I feel it sometimes.” He moved his jaw side to side. “I wish you’d told me this before. We’ve got to be careful.”

He rose to standing and rubbed his face. “Argh, shit, sorry, that was all around the wrong way,” he said. “Let me back up. I’m truly sorry about what happened to your friend.” He searched my face with a stricken expression. “That must have been incredibly painful for you when you were so young. And now, coming back here, all those memories. That’s one of the reasons I wish you’d told me. We could have talked it through.” He crouched in front of me.

I shuddered in a breath. “No one’s ever believed me before.”

“There do seem to be discrepancies in how Sarge handled it. I agree with you.”

That felt good to hear.

“Isla, this is hard to say, and I’m sure harder to hear. This is not even a cold case. And it’s affecting us both—my case and your story. Sarge is angry with you now, and that disrupts our whole casual ruse of hanging out on holiday. I know we’re here for your dad, but you know what I mean. Sarge might still know about crime in the town, and he could be a useful contact going forward.”

My pulse was still racing from confronting Sarge, and I paced the room, trying to calm down. I knew he was right,but I also knew I had to get to the bottom of what had happened. I turned to him. “I resent Sarge, but I won’t do anything to jeopardize the case.”

He considered me without speaking for a while. “Hey, look, I’ve found a contact at the port in The Mount who could confirm Petey’s news. I’ll head out now. If anyone asks, I’m checking out the plant market. I might be back late.”

I felt a pang. “Oh.” We’d been together so much of the time. I realized I would miss him, even if it was for a night.

Chapter Thirty

“Was that yourphone or mine?” Mum asked, dripping from the ocean. After Declan left, Mum and I went swimming.

I grabbed my phone off the towel I’d left lying on the sand, Bevan’s name on the screen.

Bevan:Copied Janey file for you. Look at the suicide note. The police gave us a copy, said we could publish it—they never do that! Dropping to you now.

My heart raced. Why had Sarge wanted the suicide note published? I picked up my towel and tried to rush Mum up the beach to the house, but she chatted to everyone we came across—a sporty kid striding home from school, an elderly neighbor, a young mum.

Bevan pulled up outside our house. I ran across the road and took the file from her. “Thank you, Bevan. I really appreciate your help.”

“Isla, please be careful with this.” She bit the inside of her mouth.

“Promise,” I said.

She looked anxious, like she wanted to believe me but couldn’t quite. She drove away. I clutched the file as Mum caught up with me, and we walked up the front deck.

“You have a project or something you’re working on with Kui and Bevan?” Mum asked, adjusting the towel around her waist. “I wonder if I could help. I promise I can be discreet. Mum’s the word and all that.” She gave a nervous giggle.

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