As Darkness Falls

12

They left the hotel, and drove to one of the suburbs, one that was somewhere nearby. Sara wasn’t sure where, because she didn’t know Melbourne very well. Zoe gave Sara directions, but seemed very subdued. She didn’t talk much, and spoke quietly when she did, just saying left and right and turn here, and not very much else until they arrived at the street she wanted.

“Slow down,” she said, halfway along that street, looking out her window at the houses as they passed “Slower,” she said, and then, after one more house, “Yep, this one. We’re here.”

Sara parked, and looked around. It was a suburban house in a suburban street like any other she’d ever seen. The house was forgettable, and the street was too. There were some trees, most without leaves because it was winter. There were damp front lawns and wet gardens. There were cars parked in driveways, and more mud around than Sara was used to.

“Is this where you grew up?” Sara said. “The same house, I mean.”

Zoe nodded, and then just sat there. She sat there for a while. She wasn’t looking at the house, Sara noticed, she was just staring off down the street.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Zoe said eventually.

“That’s okay,” Sara said. “We’ll go.”

“But they’re expecting us. My family.”

“So?”

“And we’ve come all this way,” Zoe said.

“And we’ll go all the way back again too,” Sara said, trying to be light-hearted.

Zoe looked at Sara. “We can’t just leave,” she said. “Not when we only just got here. Not after all the trouble you went to, taking time off work and everything…”

“It wasn’t any trouble.”

Zoe hesitated. “I might want to see them,” she said. “I’m not sure. Maybe later. I just can’t right now.”

Sara nodded. “That’s fine. We’ll go. We can phone them later, and make another time.”

Zoe looked at her and didn’t say anything, but from her expression she obviously wanted to go. Sara started the car.

Sara started the car, but then the front door of the house opened, and a woman came outside. Sara recognised her from the police file, from a family photo someone had stuck in there. It was Mary, Zoe’s mother. It was clearly Mary, even though she was looking older now. Mary had grey hair, still very long, still tied back in a ponytail. She had plain, sensible clothes, not trackies, but almost trackies. The same idea as trackies, but for someone a little older. Mary looked old, Sara thought. She was walking slowly down the driveway, and seemed a little hunched over too. Perhaps because of her age, Sara thought, trying to work out exactly how old she was, or perhaps just some kind of hesitancy about this meeting was making her walk slowly.

Zoe glanced over, and looked at Mary, and then looked away again. She stared straight ahead out the windscreen, as if Mary wasn’t there.

Mary walked towards them, and then slowed down and stopped at the end of her driveway. She stood there, ten metres away, peering in the car window at them. Zoe ignored her, and kept looking the other way, and Sara just sat there. She didn’t know what to do.

“Should I drive off?” Sara said in the end.

Zoe didn’t answer.

Sara had no idea what Zoe needed. “Should we go?” she said, thinking perhaps they should, but wanting to make sure.

Zoe hugged herself. “I don’t know.”

“We should go.”

“Maybe.”

Sara hesitated, hearing Zoe’s uncertainty. “Or I can go and say we’re leaving for a bit, but that we’ll be back?”

Zoe thought, then nodded. “Make sure you say sorry.”

Sara touched Zoe’s leg. Trying to be reassuring without touching too much. “I will,” she said, and switched off the engine, and got out the car.

She walked over to Mary, and Mary just stood there and watched her.