Underground

Chapter 13

When I got back to Sam's place, I drove down into the underground car park and parked in the space allotted to his guest. I scanned the area for any movement before taking a deep breath and hopping out of the car. I power-walked up the internal stairs to Sam's unit, locking the door behind me. The unit was silent. I switched on the lights in the lounge room and kitchen and waited for a beat. Creeping down the hallway, I paused outside the spare room in which I was crashing. I reached in and turned on the light. No one in the room, under the bed or in the cupboard. Unable to relax, I shut the door and locked it. I sat on the bed and typed my password into my phone. Diane Brown was very active on social media. I scrolled through her friends and followers again, waiting for a name to jump out at me. I clicked through her twenty thousand selfies and photos of people I didn't know until one tag jumped out at me. Diane was with her mother, her mother's twin sister Trudy, and Trudy's husband, Colin Somerset. Uncle Colin appeared in several photos with Trudy at a charity night at the Women's Help Centre. I googled Colin. He was a local independent politician, whose electorate included the help centre, his older brother's surgery and Janet Cartwell's building. He owned properties up at the Coast, including a waterfront home near Mooloolaba and a farm on the way to the Glasshouse Mountains, between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. It was the perfect place for Janet to hide and bodies to be buried. My phone buzzed, making me almost jump out of my skin. I checked the caller. It was Sam.

"Hey Sam," I greeted.

"Ren, where are you?" Sam was frantic. His voice shook.

"At your place. Why?" I started.

"Wait there. I'm coming to get you." He hung up.

I jumped up off the bed and emptied clothes and toiletries out of my daypack. I hid the doctor's phone at the back of the cupboard and piled my clothes on top. I pulled on a warmer jacket and waited for Sam in the kitchen. Five minutes later the door flew open. Sam's eyes were wide. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out the door.

"Sam, what's wrong?" I asked, trying to keep up with his run.

He stopped and looked me in the eye. "Your house is on fire."

"What?" I grabbed his arm for support.

He ushered me into the car park, towards his car. "Get in." He reversed faster than he should have and planted his foot on the accelerator. We pulled out onto the empty street and headed towards the motorway.

We flew up my driveway to join two fire trucks, two police cars and an ambulance. We sat frozen in our seats as we watched our grandparents' house burning. Hoses shot streams of water into the fire to extinguish the flames that lapped the old tin roof, but there was no hope of saving the house. Smoke billowed out from the front windows, and flames snaked high in the black sky. Finally, Sam opened his door and got out. I staggered out of the car, holding onto the door for support. Grant and Louise ran down to us, but stopped in front of the car, speechless. I followed Grant's eyes down the driveway. A news crew was parked outside the gate, filming the blaze. Grant stormed down the driveway towards them waving his arms at them. I joined Sam at the front of the car with Louise. We sat on the bonnet of the car. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

The fire brigade finally had the blaze under control and put it out a while later. An officer I didn't know came down to us. He nodded at Sam and Louise, then turned to me.

"Was there anyone that might have been in the house?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No. I was the only one living here."

"You're staying at Sam's place?" he asked, turning to Sam for confirmation. Sam nodded.

"It looks like it started in the kitchen. The back part of the house isn't as bad as the front."