I wandered the streets of Sandringham until I felt the cuts in my feet break open again. It was another hot day, so humid I felt like I was walking through a greenhouse. I found a quiet side road that didn’t have too many dogs around and tried the doorbell on a house with a backyard that looked promising. No one came to the door, so I glanced around and went through the side gate. The bet paid off. I snagged a slightly-too-big T-shirt off the clothesline and found a thin hoodie. It’d be hot, but it’d hide my face. I got changed and dumped my old shirt in their wheelie bin, then went back out to the street.
I needed to get out of town. There was nothing left for me here. But I still had one more person to see before I bailed.
At twenty past three he came walking down the street towards me, his backpack over his shoulders and his nose so deep in a paperback it was lucky he hadn’t already walked into traffic. He was in his intermediate school uniform and he was growing out of it fast. He’d be taller than me in a couple of years. The kid didn’t even notice me until he was a few metres away.
“Hey, Max,” I said, pulling down my hood.
Ella’s little brother dropped the book at his feet and stared at me for a couple of seconds. “Hey.” He didn’t seem to know what to say. He bent down, retrieved the novel, shoved it in his backpack. “Where have you been? Everyone’s looking for you.”
“I know. I’ve been busy. Doing what we talked about, remember?”
He nodded.
“They’re going to be saying some stuff about me in the next few days,” I said. “It’s not true, though, okay?”
He met my gaze and held it for a moment. “Okay, Spade.”
I smiled. “I have to go away. But I wanted you to know that I tried. I tried to do what was best by Ella.”
“Was…” He shuffled his feet. “Was she killed?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded slowly, his face stoic. “Did you find out who did it?”
“I did. But he got away.”
“You can still get him, though, right?”
I felt like I’d swallowed a cactus. “I don’t think so, mate. He’s gone.”
“Oh. The cops…?”
I shook my head. “But you’ll know. You and me, we’ll know the truth. And that’s something.”
“Thanks, Spade.” He looked up at me and tried to smile.
“I’ve gotta go now.” I quickly rubbed my eyes with the back of my arm and stuck my hand out. “Take care.”
Max hesitated, then put his hand in mine and squeezed. He’d be all right. He was a tough kid, and smarter than me. He knew how to stay out of trouble. Yeah, he’d be fine.
I was just about to release his hand when something red and yellow on his finger caught my eye. I turned his hand over to look at it properly. “What’s this?”
“Oh,” he said, looking embarrassed. He slipped the homemade ring off his little index finger. “I found it in Ella’s room, after…you know. It’s kind of stupid, I know, but I like to wear it.”
Sweat trickled down my spine. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the ring I’d snatched from Deepest Desires. Red and yellow electrical wire, plaited together. Almost indistinguishable from the one in Max’s hand.
“That’s Ella’s you’ve been wearing?” I asked, my voice rising.
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure?”
“Completely sure.” He pointed to the ring in my hand. “Whose is that?”
I didn’t answer him. My brain was spinning and I didn’t know where it would stop. If the ring I found wasn’t Ella’s, then there was only one person who it could belong to. My mouth went dry. My resolve stiffened.
“Spade?” Max said. “What’s wrong?”
I pocketed the ring and put my good hand on Max’s shoulder. “No matter what you hear, know that your sister was a good person. She did what she had to do. And so did I. Take care of your mum.”
I turned away and left him standing there on the footpath. Every ache in my body pounded as one.
~~~
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