Exiles by Jane Harper

Author:Jane Harper [Harper, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2022-08-30T23:23:01+00:00

Chapter 20

Rita and Raco were sitting outside the guesthouse when Falk trudged up the vineyard driveway. They had a bottle of wine open on the small table between them; Rita was reading a novel while Raco had his head tilted back with his forearm across his eyes, possibly asleep. Falk smiled, glad to see them. It had felt like a long walk home, not least because whichever way he turned it, and he’d tried a few different ways, he thought that ultimately Gemma had probably got it right.

‘That was a long run,’ Rita called softly as she saw him. She pulled the third chair closer, and Falk sat down gratefully. ‘Drink?’

‘Why not? Thanks,’ he said as Raco stirred and rubbed his eyes, blinking hard. ‘I haven’t been running the whole time. I bumped into Gemma.’

‘Oh, yes?’ Rita threw her husband a smug look. ‘And?’

‘And we had a drink. Talked a bit.’

‘And?’

‘And unfortunately, Rita, that’s all there is to report.’

‘For now?’

‘For good, I think.’ Falk kept his voice light. ‘But for a few very valid reasons. So yeah. It’s fine.’

He braced himself for a string of questions or reassurances or romantic plotting, but instead Rita simply reached out and rested her hand gently on his. Her palm was warm and comforting against the back of his hand, and Falk suddenly felt his throat constrict. Out of absolutely nowhere, for one very long, very real moment, he actually thought that he might start to cry. He focused hard on the glass in front of him and swallowed twice, three times, until the sensation passed. Neither Rita nor Raco said anything, just sat with him, surrounded by the hushed sounds of night.

‘Mate, I have to tell you,’ Falk cleared his throat noisily, ‘Sergeant Dwyer thinks someone in your friends and family circle is lying about not seeing Kim that night.’ Abrupt, he was aware, but at least it moved the conversation on. ‘He thinks it’s unlikely no-one spoke to her, given how close you all are.’

‘That’s what he was saying to you this afternoon?’ Raco reached up, cracking his shoulder joints. He exchanged a glance with Rita, but neither seemed shocked or even surprised. ‘I thought something new might have come out of the appeal.’

‘No. He was asking about you. All of you, I mean.’

‘Yeah, fair enough. I would too, in his shoes, wouldn’t you?’ Raco reached over and splashed the remains of the bottle between their three glasses. ‘I like Rob Dwyer, but I don’t think he’s right about this. That was a busy night at the festival. Crowds like that? You could be next to someone and still miss them. And we all thought Kim was here for a few days, so the urgency to catch her right then wasn’t really there.’ He glanced at Rita, who nodded. ‘Not for us, anyway. And that’s before you even wonder if Kim was actively avoiding people she knew, for whatever reason. Mental health, who knows?’

Falk could see that Rita agreed and, thinking about it, he was inclined to as well.

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