Deep Wate - Sarah Epstein Page 0,95
here as well. Her nerves are frayed already and we haven’t even got to the digging part yet.
We steer ourselves towards the safety of the tall trees running down the fence line, and it only now occurs to me we probably could have come through the vacant Milburn property and climbed over the fence to get to the same point. When we reach the tin shed, a little wave of relief washes over me that we’ve made it this far without getting caught.
‘Now for the tricky part,’ I say. ‘Stay here.’
I stick close to the shed walls, making my way around to the door. Glancing up at the house, I hold my breath as I ease the door open.
Squeeaakk.
Sabeen whispers a swearword in the silence that follows. No lights come on in the house, so I slip through the doorway and into the shed. It smells like oil cans and mouse droppings. Something skitters up the wall. I don’t want to use my phone light, and thankfully there’s enough moonlight in the doorway to locate the shovel hanging on a hook by the door.
Sneaking out again with the shovel gripped in my hand, I leave the door hanging open so I don’t risk another loud creak on our return.
‘Come on,’ I tell Sabeen, leading her along the narrow trail into the bush.
We struggle along in dappled moonlight until it feels like we’re in deep enough for me to switch on my phone light. The further we walk into the trees, the more the temperature seems to drop – or maybe it’s my mind playing tricks.
About fifty metres in, Sabeen hesitates. ‘Wait.’ She shines her phone light right in my face.
I hold my hand up to shield my face from the beam. ‘Sab, can you get the light out of my—’
‘Shhh,’ she says, tilting her phone at the ground. ‘You hear that? It sounded like a car starting up.’ She cocks her head towards the way we came in.
‘I can’t hear anything.’ I rest the shovel in the dirt, scanning the path up ahead. I don’t think we’re too far from the fallen tree. It’s hard to tell.
‘That way,’ Sabeen says, shining her phone on the dirt trail behind us. ‘You can hear it moving now, up along the road.’
I drop my head and stare at the walking track, straining to hear what she can. ‘No one else lives out here.’
‘You think it could be Mason?’
‘I don’t know.’ My heart thuds a bit faster. ‘Let’s keep going. I want to get this done as quickly as possible.’
Sabeen follows me without another word until we finally reach the fallen tree. I rest my phone on the trunk, pointing the light up into the tree canopy. With both hands on the shovel, I ask Sabeen to direct her light at the ground. It doesn’t take long to find an area cleared of dead leaves and twigs. Tucked half under the tree trunk is a patch of recently disturbed soil.
‘Here,’ I say. ‘This is it.’
Sabeen steadies the light. I take a deep breath and start scooping away soil with the shovel. My hands are shaking, and I realise Sabeen’s are too by the way the light jiggles. Neither of us are sure what we’re going to find, although we know it won’t be good if Mason feels the need to hide it.
‘What’s that?’ Sabeen asks, pointing into the hole. Something clear and shiny is poking out of the soil. I drop to my knees and clear the rest by hand, scooping around it until I’m able to wiggle it free, then I hold it up while Sabeen shines her phone light on it. It’s a large ziplock bag containing another ziplock bag. Inside it is a passport, a few documents and a huge wad of cash.
My eyes meet Sabeen’s. She appears momentarily relieved until she jerks around, shining her phone towards the way we came in. I stand and grab my phone too, the clear bag dangling in my hand. It’s not Sabeen’s imagination this time: heavy footsteps are pounding quickly along the dirt trail towards us. I shove my phone into my pocket and grope for the shovel at my feet. My fingers find the handle and I snatch it up at the exact moment a figure lurches out of the shadows.
‘What the hell is this?’ Mason says, squinting at the light from Sabeen’s phone. ‘What’s going on?’
He staggers towards us in a crumpled T-shirt and tracksuit pants, and a pair of old