Sapphire Falls by Fleur McDonald

Author:Fleur McDonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2016-09-26T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Geoff and Leigh walked silently around the site. Both men were ashen-faced and Dave felt a pang of regret at having to put them through it all again. Still, he couldn’t let that prevent him from doing his job.

‘So can you tell me again?’ he asked, his notebook out. ‘Where were you all?’

‘I was in the front, driving.’ Geoff’s voice was low.

‘The rest of us were on the back, in the tray of the ute,’ Leigh added.

‘How were you lined up across?’ Dave asked.

Leigh replied immediately. ‘I was on the passenger’s side, Charlie in the middle and Eddie was standing behind the driver’s seat. He was holding the spotlight.’

Dave turned his attention to Geoff. ‘Can you remember what was happening in the lead-up to when the ute tipped over?’

Kicking at the ground and in a tone that didn’t change, he recited what had happened. ‘I was driving with the window down and half hanging out of it so I could hear if one of the fellas yelled out to me. Charlie had just shot a fox and we were driving over to make sure it was dead. I felt the ute hit something. There was a huge noise—like tearing underneath or something, then it just went up on the two wheels. It felt like it hung there for hours before it crashed over. I was thrown across the other side, then I heard a shot.’ He stopped, took a couple of breaths and blinked, before continuing. ‘I heard screams and thuds. I tried to scramble up and get out through the window, but I couldn’t. Well, not at first. It took a good couple of goes to get out. Coz the ute was on its side, the door was heavy and kept slamming shut on me. When I finally did, I saw Charlie working on Eddie.’

Leigh nodded in agreement and Geoff continued.

‘I had my headlight already strapped to my head so all I had to do was turn it on. There was red everywhere. I didn’t realise what it was at first. Thought there must’ve been a tin of paint in the back or something.’ He began to speak quickly, his voice rising. ‘Then Charlie was saying something like, “You’re gonna be all right, you’re gonna be all right.”’ His chest heaved and Leigh made a move to stand beside him. He put a hand on his shoulder just as Geoff let out a shuddering sob.

Angrily, Leigh turned to Dave. ‘See? This is what happens when you drag up shit that should have been sorted properly in the first place. It just opens old wounds and makes it hard for people who are getting their lives back on track.’

‘I can’t tell you how much I regret having to do this.’ Dave acknowledged their pain by turning and walking a few metres away from them, to give the men some privacy.

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