Swell (Complete)

Chapter Thirty-One (Part One)

"Don't come looking for me,
I don't wanna be found,
I just wanna be free."

....

It had taken Will longer than he guessed to reach the track where Liss had been found. He could see the less used trail branching off from the main track and between the trees he could see the police tape wobbling in the breeze.
He had been standing at the split of the paths for a while now, unsure if he could move off the beaten track towards the tape.
It was the first time he'd ever felt unsafe in Ritchieville.
He took a deep breath and stepped on the thinner trail. He focussed his eyes on the blue and white tape until he reached the clearing and saw the shallow grave.
His shoulders tensed and he felt his lungs freeze.
This was the place, this was where Liss had been, this whole time he thought she'd left, she had been buried right here.
His face pinched and he stood a few steps from the police border.
The rectangle hole was devastating.

A shudder ran through him and he forced himself to gulp some air in.
"I'm sorry." He breathed as if his girlfriend could hear him. He should have known Liss wouldn't run away. She had been happy, she'd been good.
It was the note.
The note had made him believe she left, even without her precious violin.
They were all due to be questioned at the police station today, her family had been questioned the day before.
The funeral was Tuesday, tomorrow.
He thought about the cemetery on the Ocean Highway, when he'd stopped and spoken to Adora.
His chest ached as he stared at the hole. Not just a hole, a grave.
He lowered himself to his knees and felt the dirt on the ground around his legs.
Was it OK to miss Adora here?
Was it OK to like her when he had found out about Liss now? When he knew the truth?
She hadn't left him and Marti, he was sure of it. Liss had been tricked by somebody and murdered.
Was it OK to want to be with someone else while he grieved for her?
Would Liss be mad?
"Will?"
The voice behind him made his tense shoulders jerk as he turned.
Marti stood a few meters behind him, her eyes trained on the grave before him.
"Marti... You shouldn't be here." He whispered, standing up shakily.
"We came to pick you up. It's time to go to the station."
He put a hand on her arm and she looked away from Liss' final moments.
"Alright, let's go."
"It's so... lonely." Marti mumbled.
Will closed his eyes and nodded slightly. "She's gone from here now, and we should go too."
"Yes, Tom's waiting in the car."
Will turned Marti around and followed the thinner dirt track to the main track, gently pushing her along.
They walked back to the carpark and Will saw Tom talking on the phone in the driver's seat of the Pajero.
"Where're mum and dad?" He frowned as Tom looked up and finished the phone call.
"They're waiting at the station."

Tom drove them in silence to the police station. He was annoyed but somewhat prepared for the questioning, after all, he'd been interrogated once not long ago in Wheeler Falls.
His heart felt heavy for his brother and sister though.
He'd barely known Elissa, Will and Marti had loved her and now they had to be questioned about her murder.
He didn't want to imagine what was going through their heads when they parked in the visitors carpark.
Mr Taylor was waiting outside for them and immediately wrapped a protective arm around Marti as they entered the station.
"You're Mum is being questioned now, I went first so I could come with you." He told his daughter. Tom smiled a little. "Do you want someone with you, Will?"
Will looked around the station and shook his head. "I think I'll be alright. Not like I know anything helpful." His voice was flat and quiet, something Tom wasn't used to, and it left a stabbing in his chest.
"Who wants to go first?" Mr Taylor asked as a uniformed police officer came towards them from a hall.
"I'll go, get it over and done with seem as I knew her the least." Tom stepped forward and gave his siblings a grimace.
Marti was between their father and Will, leaning into her father for comfort, her face was a strange pale tan that Tom wasn't used to seeing.
Will looked miles away.
"I'm Sergeant Redwin, I'll be taking the next one of you for an interview. Who will it be?" He introduced himself with a grim smile.
"Me." Tom stepped forward and lifted a finger. "Tom Taylor."
"Alright, Tom, follow me."