Chapter 62

62

Elin stares into an ever-darkening expanse of water in front of her, trying to wrap her mind around Johnson's words. Farrah was on the island at the time of the Creacher killings. Farrah testified against Creacher.

How is it even possible? Her mind flickers to Farrah's dismissal of the discussion about the island's past last night at dinner.

This was why.

She racks her brain, trying to remember if Will had ever mentioned Farrah coming to the island, but she's certain she'd have remembered if he had.

None of it makes sense, especially the fact that Farrah's chosen to work here. Given what had happened, why put yourself through that?

"Elin? Everything okay?" Johnson's voice startles her from her thoughts.

"Yes, sorry." She glances across at the nearly empty restaurant, the staff still working to get it cleared.

"I'm thinking about what you said about the girl. Farrah." She stumbles over her name. "That you had doubts about her testimony."

A long pause. "I did, but Elin, to be clear, all this, it's my thoughts, nothing more, and I mean that. I was out on a limb. At the time, everyone else was all for Creacher."

"No one else stood out for you? Aside from Creacher?"

"No, but I did keep going back to the idea that if it wasn't Creacher, and Lois was on the island that night the boy said, murdered by the same person who killed those teenagers, then the suspect had to have been on the island on both occasions. It narrowed the field a little more, but I drew a blank. The staff who'd supervised both of the Outward Bound courses all had solid alibis."

Alibis she needs to scrutinize, because Johnson's right: the pool of potential people on the island at that time isn't huge. Camp leaders, teachers, other pupils... or someone else entirely? The island was certainly large enough for someone to hide.

"You didn't find evidence of anyone camping on the island? We found a shack on the beach that looked like it had been used—"

"No. We searched thoroughly. Didn't discount someone simply getting a boat, of course. But we struggled to provide a plausible alternative to Creacher. No one had motive as far as we could see. Those particular kids, they were well liked, popular. I was diligent in digging into background. Went for all angles. Family members, boyfriends, girlfriends, grudges. Potential gang involvement, drugs, mental health issues, anything that might have provoked an attack like that, but there was nothing."

Elin mulls it over. "Look, I know it's a big ask, but can you send over what you have on the case? You mentioned notebooks, but what about witness statements, anything else you thought significant at the time? I'm going to go via official channels, too, but having your take on things will be helpful."

"All of the above. I'll need to dig them out, but please, in confidence, okay? It's not really the done thing to give yourself homework, as you know."

"I understand." She pauses. "One last thing, the rock on the island. Reaper's Rock. Did any of the kids reference it when you were questioning them? Or the curse?"

A long silence. When he finally speaks, he gives a heavy sigh. "Not explicitly, but we got the sense... those kids, they'd been spooked somehow... it bothered me. Initially, when we started questioning them, I suggested we talk in the old school building, but they wouldn't go near it. Someone had put the fear of God into them." He hesitates. "To be honest, after spending a few days there, I couldn't blame them. That place, half burned like it was, and right underneath that rock... it wasn't somewhere you wanted to linger."

The hairs on the back of her neck lift. "I've not exactly heard good things about it. Did the teenagers you spoke to after the Creacher murders ever tell you who'd scared them?"

"No, but I always had the sense that we never got the full story. That was the trouble with the speed of Creacher's conviction, the case never got the chance to breathe. I'd have liked to go back to them again, once things had settled, but it was all sewn up by then."

Elin thinks it through, discomforted by the idea that someone would try to scare the kids, about the school too. What was the fascination with the place? Things keep circling back to it...

As the conversation winds down and they say goodbye, Elin's thoughts shift back to Farrah. Nerves prickle her stomach. There's no escaping it; she's the only person who was on the island at the time of the Creacher murders and is here now. She needs to speak to her.

Making her way back to the main lodge, she's only a few yards from the entrance when Michael Zimmerman passes her. He's holding some kind of tarpaulin, an edge trailing across the floor.

He makes fleeting eye contact with Elin before she turns away.