Deep Wate - Sarah Epstein Page 0,84

invite everybody tonight, trying to repeat the reunion dinner that didn’t quite eventuate last week. Either Rina didn’t say anything to Sabeen about seeing Mason on the night of the storm, or Sabeen’s reserving judgement until she hears it from Mason directly. Like her brother, Sabeen is loyal. Not even Rina and Mason’s break-up would prompt her to exclude either one of them from a group dinner.

Henry’s burnt baseball cap feels like a lead weight in my backpack. Raf and I agreed we shouldn’t mention it to anyone until we’ve shown it to Sergeant Doherty. I’m worried Doherty will merely add it to Henry’s file and do nothing about it, but short of waving it around and seeing who looks guilty, I’m not sure what else I can do at this point.

I help Sabeen carry plates and napkins to a booth by the window, then slide in opposite Raf, placing my backpack between our feet. Rina joins us, choosing to sit beside Raf instead of me. Good cop, I think wryly. I’d rather sit next to Raf too.

‘What happened to your hand?’ Rina asks. I notice black ash has crept into the creases of my skin and under my fingernails.

‘Oh. Um …’

‘We’ve just come from a bushwalk,’ Raf says, and doesn’t elaborate. It seems to be enough for Rina, who is already staring out the window. Mason’s car has pulled up outside.

‘I’ll go and wash my hands,’ I say quietly to Raf. He gives me a whisper of a nod and I touch his leg with mine under the table before climbing out of the booth. As an afterthought, I grab my backpack too, in case there’s any ash on that I need to wipe off.

I head for the back of the restaurant, to the bathroom outside in the courtyard. As I lather up my hands, scrubbing at the dark dust around my knuckles, I feel a sudden wave of sadness as my initial shock at finding Henry’s hat wears off. There’s a certain callousness in burning someone’s personal belongings. Why would anyone do it, other than to cause hurt or to hide something?

Turning off the tap, I lean against the sink and take a moment to compose myself. I’m about to reach for some paper towel when voices float in from the courtyard. I wipe my hands against my jeans and move closer to the door.

‘So you’re just gonna walk right past me and not acknowledge me again?’

Mason? It certainly sounds like him.

‘I have to use the bathroom.’

Tom’s voice. Definitely Tom.

‘Yeah, okay,’ Mason says dryly. ‘So this is how it’s gonna be. I only bothered turning up tonight because it’s the only way I can get you in the same room.’

‘What do you want me to say?’ Tom hisses. ‘You’ve put me in a really awkward position.’

‘So I’m dead to you now?’ Mason says. ‘Because of what I did?’

I bring a hand to my mouth and press my lips closed. What did Mason do?

There’s a scrape of footsteps pacing the courtyard. Somebody releases a heavy sigh.

‘Believe me, I wish I could undo it,’ Mason says, his voice thick with emotion. ‘Now everything’s messed up.’

Another shuffle of feet, an uncomfortable silence until finally Tom says, ‘What’s done is done. You can’t put it back in the box.’

Mason makes a scoffing sound. ‘Great,’ he says. ‘That’s perfect. Fourteen years of friendship down the toilet.’

‘You’re the one who changed everything!’ Tom says in a vicious whisper. ‘You’re the one who messed it up. Jesus, why is everything always about you?’

‘Are you for real?’ Mason’s voice cracks. ‘Nothing is ever about me.’

My head is pounding as I try to understand what they’re talking about. I press myself against the bathroom wall and wait out a long silence.

‘It’s best if we don’t hang out for a while,’ Tom says at last, sounding calmer now, more like himself. ‘Things will get easier with time.’ It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself as much as Mason.

‘Fine,’ Mason says. ‘It’s done then. You’ve helped me make up my mind.’

‘About what?’ Tom says, alarm creeping into his voice. I hear footsteps walking away, across the courtyard.

‘About what?’ Tom says again. He swears under his breath. The door to the men’s bathroom squeaks open and slams shut. Tom swears loudly again through the wall.

What is going on?

I take the opportunity to sneak out of the bathroom and across the courtyard, pausing by the back door of the restaurant for a deep breath before going inside. Sally has dragged