I nodded at him, then wiped my face with a towel and headed over to Meg and Trish.

‘It’s a great thing you’re doing,’ said Trish.

‘Thanks.’ I took a swig from my water bottle and looked at Meg. ‘When did you get out of hospital?’

‘Today.’

I had to be careful with how I phrased what I wanted to say. I had learned so much from Gemma, and if I could use any of it to help Meg, I wanted to.

‘The outside looks much better,’ I said. ‘How’s the inside?’

Meg’s eyes widened. For a second she looked spooked. Then the shutters came down. She shrugged.

‘The thing is,’ I said, ‘you might find yourself wondering how you could ever go out again—like, if it’s happened once, how can you be sure it won’t happen again?’

Meg’s lip trembled suddenly and she nodded. ‘But I don’t want to be the victim.’

‘I know, honey, but part of the process is about understanding yourself better. I’ve seen girls haunted by this kind of event and I totally get that. I understand that it will be hard to trust anyone—or yourself, for that matter—but on the other side of this can be a stronger version of you. A wiser version. Not one victimised by what happened, but one transformed by what’s happened.’ I paused for breath. My monologue had kind of spilled out.

‘What do you mean, not trust myself?’ said Meg, puzzled. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’

‘I know,’ I reassured her. ‘You did nothing wrong, but you still ended up in danger. The next time you go out, you might suddenly question your ability to keep yourself safe. I’ve seen it before. But if you prepare for that feeling, you can deal with it.’

‘Makes sense,’ said Trish putting an arm around her daughter.

‘It changes everything,’ said Meg in a soft voice.

‘It does,’ I said, ‘but that change can also make you stronger and more resilient too.’

Meg’s face relaxed from the grimace she’d been holding. She looked thoughtful. ‘I hadn’t looked at it from that angle,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’ She threw her arms around me and hugged me.

I paused for a moment then hugged her back. It felt like hugging Gemma.

CHAPTER 29: DIMITRI’S LEMONS

CHAPTER 29

DIMITRI’S LEMONS

On Wednesday morning at the office, Wozza rang his real estate agent neighbour, Tully Webster, about the scene of the infamous Australia Day barbecue. It was a short-term rental, she told him. She was going to check the records and see who was renting it over the summer. Wozza also asked her about premises that might fit our polaroids: garages, workshops, anything in besser brick that she had on her books. She said she would look through photos she had on record of premises that fit the description and get back to us.