The other man reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. He looked up at the accident as he started to dial and then froze.

‘That’s my mum’s car,’ he said.

Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

Friday 11 December

Mimi

She’d knocked on the door twice but there was still no answer and no sound of movement from inside the house. Tara shifted from one foot to the other. ‘Mum, why aren’t they answering?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Mimi said. ‘I’m sure they’re here.’

They better be there. They’d walked over, and even though it was only a fifteen-minute walk, in the summer heat it had been sweltering. The air was also hazy today, with a hint of a smoky smell to it. There must have been a bushfire somewhere, maybe in the Blue Mountains or up the coast. That was worrying; summer had only just begun. Mimi wanted to fall face-first into Leesa’s pool. As if on cue, she heard a splash.

‘Ah,’ she said. ‘They’re already out in the pool. Come on.’

They headed around to the side gate and Mimi reached up and over to find the latch to let themselves in.

‘Hellooo,’ she called out as they headed through. ‘We knocked!’

‘Oh, sorry!’ Leesa jumped up from the daybed by the pool. She was wearing a black bikini, a huge floppy sunhat and an open flowing white kaftan. Mimi couldn’t help but be impressed by her well-defined abs; she wasn’t sure she’d ever discover the existence of her own abs again after four babies.

‘I always forget that I can’t hear from around here. Come in, come in.’

Leesa let them through the pool gate and Tara immediately stripped off to join Chloe in the pool.

‘Jesus,’ said Leesa, giving Mimi a kiss on the cheek. ‘The sweat is dripping off you. Come sit, I have everything we need out here.’

There was a bar fridge next to the daybed, stacked with bottles of wine and tonic water, cans of soft drink and a tray of strawberries, blueberries, watermelon and soft cheeses.

‘Wow, you really do have everything we need.’

‘Once I’m settled on this daybed, I don’t want to have to move. It’s close enough to watch the kids, but far enough not to get splashed. And also, the more sloshed I get, the further down the cushions I slide.’

‘Ha, very nice. I brought champagne,’ Mimi added, pulling the bottle out of her bag. ‘Should still be cold.’

‘Perfect, we’ll start with that then move onto the gin,’ said Leesa, taking the champagne from her and twisting the wire cap off the top before starting to turn the cork. ‘Tara can have a sleepover if you like.’

‘Now that’s very tempting. But I didn’t bring PJs or anything like that for her.’