Chapter 71 Elin

71

Elin

Parque Nacional, Portugal, October 2021

It's Maggie they see first when they arrive at the camp, dressed in a bright batik print smock, dark hair tumbling loose around her shoulders.

Stepping out of her van, she's balancing a tray full of plastic glasses in one hand, but raises the other, smiling.

Returning the greeting, Elin glances about, taking in the scene around her. It's warm, inviting, a green gingham cloth laid across the table where Bridie and Leah are sitting, two tall candles flickering in the centre.

Festoon bulbs strung between the trees and the light spilling from the windows of the vans give the camp a cosy, convivial ambience. It's a jarring contrast to everything they'd discovered about them and Elin blinks, discomforted.

‘Good to see you both,' Maggie says as they reach the table. ‘Hope your walk down wasn't as eventful as yesterday.'

‘I take it you heard about the fog?'

‘I did.' A frown briefly flickers across her face. ‘It can take you by surprise if you're not used to it. '

Elin nods. ‘I was lucky Bridie was there.'

Looking up, Bridie smiles and then glances at Leah, something unreadable in her expression. ‘Glad you've both come by. We've been looking forward to tonight, haven't we, Leah?'

‘Yeah.' Abruptly standing up, Leah gestures towards her van. ‘Give me a sec, I need to grab the wine.' Her blonde hair is pulled back into a messy bun, her face makeup free, relaxed. No hint of what had happened up at the falls, but as Elin meets her gaze, she picks up on a glimmer of emotion in her eyes, quickly smothered. ‘Bridie forgot to bring it down.'

Bridie pulls a face. ‘Wouldn't say forgot . Probably buried under a pile of Etta's clothes.'

Elin laughs, her gaze drifting past Leah to the vans themselves, peering past the jumble of washing strung up on the line. As her gaze moves between them, the feeling stirs again in her gut.

Something's not quite right.

Trying to focus, she scrutinises the vans again, even more slowly this time, absorbing it all, but still nothing obvious strikes her. Isaac raises an eyebrow but she looks away, not wanting to draw attention.

‘Leah's better now.' Placing the glasses on the table, Maggie misinterprets the direction of her gaze. ‘Sorry you had to see that, up at the falls. Ned said it was pretty frightening.'

‘It's fine.' Elin takes a seat beside Bridie, Isaac settling next to her. ‘We're just glad she's okay.'

‘Not okay yet, but better. She's getting there, isn't she, Bridie?'

‘Just about.' Bridie's gaze slips between Elin and Isaac. ‘But probably best we don't bring it up. Like I said the other day, she's still pretty fragile.'

‘Of course.'

‘Help yourself.' Bridie slides a small bowl of nuts across the table. ‘If you don't, I'll have finished them by the time Leah gets back.'

‘Thanks.' Elin watches Isaac grab a handful of the nuts, start chewing. ‘And for the invite.' Turning, she holds her hands out towards the crackling fire pit, enjoying the warmth. There's a definite chill to the air once the sun goes down, the contrast to the warm daytime temperature something she still hasn't really got used to.

‘No problem,' Bridie replies easily. ‘Glad we could actually do something this time. The barbecue yesterday was a bit of a nonstarter.'

‘That's understandable. Guessing you probably didn't want people about after what happened.'

She nods. ‘Ned was pretty shaken.'

‘Speaking of Ned,' Isaac looks around. ‘Where is he?'

‘In town.' Scooping out a few nuts, Bridie holds up her hand, pouring them into her mouth. ‘A few errands to run. Also a chance to escape all the women.'

‘Yeah.' Coming up behind them, Leah puts a bottle of red wine down on the table with a thud. ‘He likes to do that every now and again. Headspace , he calls it.'

They laugh, and as Maggie and Leah start talking to Isaac, Bridie turns to her, lowering her voice a notch. ‘So how's everything going?'

‘Fine.' Elin smiles. ‘Thanks again for the rescue.'

‘My pleasure.' Unscrewing the wine, Bridie starts to pour. ‘Not every day I get to play hero.'

Elin sips the wine, savouring the fruity, slightly spicy notes on her tongue. A welcome warmth settles through her. For a minute, why she's really here slips away, and she's just enjoying the moment – the low hum of conversation around her, the crackle of the fire.

‘Nice, isn't it?' Bridie says, watching her. ‘This is my favourite time of day. Fire on, everyone together, putting the world to rights.' She glances back to the vans. ‘Is it wrong to say that when it's also the time Etta's in bed?'

‘I don't think so.' Smiling, Elin meets her gaze. ‘So how long have you been doing this? The whole van thing?'

‘Awhile.' Bridie sloshes some wine into her own glass. ‘I'd had enough of the real world, all its associated bullshit. You've got—' – she pauses, as if trying to find the right words – ‘absolute autonomy out here. Control over what you do and who you spend your time with. '

‘You don't miss your old life?'

‘Parts of it, but I never really settled. Kept flitting from one thing to another.'

‘Work-wise?'

Bridie nods, lost in thought for a moment, something playing out behind her eyes.

‘What did you do?'

‘A law degree back in the day. Had a mind I was going to change the world, but in the firm I was working for, it was clear it was never going to happen as fast as I wanted it to, and even if it did, it would be a drop in the ocean.' Bridie looks at Elin. ‘Before you say anything, I know that's not the politically correct answer, but it's the truth. I found it hard, not knowing that what I was doing was really worth it.'

Elin holds up her hand. ‘No judgement here.' She pauses. ‘What about family? Must be tough being away from them when you're on the road?'

Bridie pushes her fringe out of her eyes with the tips of her fingers. ‘Yeah, that's the hard bit. Missing people.' Elin can hear the regret in her voice. ‘But you have to decide sometimes, to put yourself first.' Her sentence is punctuated by a bird shrieking in the trees opposite. As Elin startles, Bridie looks at her, a smile playing on her lips. ‘Still not used to it?'

‘No. That's the only thing I think I'd struggle with, living out here. I'm a wimp with wildlife. You never get frightened?'

‘God no.' Bridie shakes her head. ‘I once worked in a bar back in Kentucky, pretty rough place. Soon learnt that it's people you need to be scared of, not places. Only things out here that can scare you are your own ghosts.'

‘Really?'

‘Yeah. You know, sometimes people see a place like they do a person, and this park, it's a tough nut to crack. Aloof, unwelcoming. But I always say it's just shy. You need time, patience, to get to know it, and then it starts to reveal itself.'

Elin nods. ‘I can see that. What's your favourite place here?'

‘The river beach.'

The river beach. Giving Isaac a sideways glance, she can tell his thoughts have gone to the same place: the river beach Kier had painted on the map.

Bridie nudges Leah. ‘Leah's probably the best person to describe it. You discovered it, didn't you?'

There's something forced in Bridie's tone. That's not the real reason she's asking Leah to tell them about it. She's trying to distract her , Elin thinks, noticing Leah's gaze locked on the trees behind.

It's obvious that the relaxed demeanour she'd projected when they first arrived was just that – a projection. Watching her eyes flit backwards and forwards, it reminds her of the Leah they'd encountered in the woods that day, her panic as the mobile phone rang out.

Her thoughts shift to Bridie's words about Leah's ex.

She had it in her head that he was the one who blew up the van.

‘Leah?' Bridie prompts again, nudging her.

‘It's the perfect beach, but only sometimes.' Leah smiles, but it's as if she's having to make a concerted effort to focus on them. ‘The river's part of the park's hydroelectric system. Water flows to the lower lakes to generate power, then it's pumped back when there's an excess. In summer, when the river is full, the beach disappears.' She shrugs. ‘Knowing it's not there all the time makes it even more special when it is.'

‘We'll put it on the list,' Isaac says lightly. ‘We heard there was a river beach with a tree that people carve their initials in. Is it the same one?'

Giving an uneasy smile, Maggie fiddles with the stem of her wineglass. ‘It is, but I wouldn't say that's the main attraction.'

They talk for a few more minutes before Elin looks between them. ‘Am I okay to use someone's bathroom?' She says, standing up. ‘Not sure I'm up for the full wild experience just yet.'

‘Use mine,' Leah volunteers. ‘Etta's asleep, but she won't wake. You'll have to excuse the mess though.' Glancing at Bridie, she smiles. ‘Now Bridie and Etta have moved in, they've taken over.'

‘Promise I won't judge.' Elin laughs, easing out past the fire pit.

She's only a few feet from the door when a voice sounds out.

‘Not that van. That one's mine. '

Elin turns. Maggie's right behind her.

‘Normally you'd be welcome.' Maggie smiles. ‘But my plumbing's all gone to shit. One of the reason's Ned's gone into town. Spare parts.'

‘Sorry, got confused.' Looking between the two vans, Elin can see where she made the mistake. As it's dark, the interiors, brightly lit, are more visible than usual and she can see detail inside Maggie's van that hadn't been obvious before. It's more modern than she'd imagined. White walls, pale floor. A space she'd assumed was more Leah's vibe.

Silence falls between them, a silence that extends into awkwardness.

Why is Maggie lingering? She'd made it clear which was the right van.

‘So I'll use this one?' Elin says finally, pointing at Leah's van.

‘Yeah. Bathroom's on the right.'

Slipping past Maggie, she steps inside Leah's van. It's as chaotic inside as Bridie had warned – clothes and toys piled high on every surface.

Inching forwards, she makes her way through the narrow space towards the bathroom, careful not to disturb a sleeping Etta, whose cot bed has been set over the bench on the back wall.

She's nearly reached the bathroom when there's a dull thud.

Elin flinches, quickly looking down. She's knocked something off the side.

A cardboard folder is now lying on the floor, splayed open. The word BILLS is scrawled on the front in black Sharpie.

Bending to pick it up, she's about to shove it back on the pile when her eyes alight on a name at the top of the first piece of paper.

Not Bridie's name, or Leah's. Something completely different.

April Blake.