Underground

Chapter 3

The next morning, I drove my Landcruiser slowly down Marden's Road, past the Kaber house. It was a large, two-storey brick place, set back from the road, on ten acres. I parked the car further down the street and walked back. I pulled my binoculars out of my backpack to gain a better view. Two police cars were parked behind a silver Mercedes Benz and a larger black vehicle. I moved closer to the driveway, hiding behind a large palm tree. I could just see the end of a red, older model Ford, parked around the back of the house. Rainbow Lorikeets that seemed very happy with the mild weather we humans were still calling winter caused the only disruption to the silence. As I was starting to enjoy the sunshine myself, the front door of the house opened. An older, well-dressed, silver-haired lady hugged another woman. She wore her dark brown hair short. The older woman moved on to throw her thin arms around a young man who looked about mid-twenties and a slightly younger girl with reddish-brown hair. She could have been Shiralise's sister. I couldn't decide if they were a couple or not. The older woman hopped into the Mercedes, carefully manoeuvred it around the police cars, and parked it further around the back of the house. The younger couple jumped into the black car. The older lady returned and spoke to the woman with the short brown hair. She appeared to be in her forties. They stood close to each other and occasionally looked back into the house. Finally, they hugged, and the younger woman got into the driver's seat of the black car and reversed down the driveway. I moved quickly behind a large gum tree on the other side of the road as they drove down Marden's Road and headed east. The older lady returned to the house. I decided she would be the grandmother but wasn't sure which side.

Nobody ventured out of the house for twenty minutes. Just as I was getting restless, the police officers, none of whom I recognised, came out the front door. I headed back to the car before I was spotted. My mobile beeped with a text message from an old friend from school. Marianne worked at a pub in Maroochydore. She asked if I wanted to have a drink with her after she finished her shift. Marianne was like a sponge when it came to pub gossip. I texted her back and said I'd be there.

Someone had called in sick, so Marianne had to work back a little later than she had anticipated. I wandered in around three o'clock and sat at the bar. She poured me a gin and tonic and set it down in front of me. She dropped a slice of lemon in the chilled highball glass and added a straw.

"My shout," she told me and raced away to get her money.

The usual crew were sitting at the polished wooden bar, staring at the horse racing on the big screen televisions. Marianne returned with a cup of tea and placed it beside my glass.

I motioned for Marianne to move closer and lowered my voice. "Did you hear about Rebecca Kaber?" I asked.

"Yeah. Do they know if it was an accident or suicide?" She apparently hadn't heard about me finding Rebecca.

"Don't know," I replied.

"What's the good of you?" she laughed. "Sam should dish out the info for you."

"I thought you were the town's information bureau." I smiled and stirred my gin and tonic. I took a short sip and savoured the bitterness of the lemon.

"I know Jenna from uni. She's not doing my course, but I've seen her around. She's second year too. Dresses like she's going to a nightclub," Marianne snorted.

"Have you met the other sister?" I asked.

"No. She's a little strange. Although she doesn't seem to need the attention like the others," Marianne said, as she pulled a glass out of the fridge and poured a beer.

The door swung open, and a scrawny old woman dressed in a pale pink tracksuit made her way to the bar. Marianne sat the beer down in front of her as she crawled up onto the stool.