Felix is firm. ‘We know this is a huge shock. Maybe let’s start with when you all last saw Rosalind. Timothy, what about you?’
Timothy’s eyes are huge. He stares at the mute cricket game on TV, his jaw shaking. ‘Well, I went to the school play last night. It was a really big deal for Rose.’ His eyes jump from me, to Felix, to the floor. ‘I didn’t get the chance to speak with her though.’
Bryce’s head snaps up. ‘I didn’t know you went.’
George, too, looks at Timothy in surprise.
Timothy shrugs. ‘I hadn’t seen her since Dad’s birthday.’ He turns to me and wipes some tears from his eyes. ‘Um, Dad’s birthday night got a bit intense. I acted like a dick and Rose was upset. I knew the play was important to her so I wanted to go.’
‘All she talked about was that play,’ says a bewildered-looking Marcus, returning with a silver tray on which are several glasses of water. ‘She was very excited about it when I last spoke to her.’ He hands me a glass. He speaks so softly I have to strain forward to hear him. ‘I live in Sydney. I’m home early for Christmas because of Dad’s operation yesterday. Rose and I usually speak once a fortnight but I’ve only seen her once since Dad’s birthday in October.’
I glance at Timothy in time to see an almost imperceptible twitch of his eyes.
I turn back to Marcus. ‘Did you go to the play too? Seeing as you were here.’
‘I only just arrived this morning.’ His voice breaks and he looks away. He wipes his face with his hand. ‘I was planning to go next weekend.’
I shift my gaze along the couch. ‘What about you, Bryce? When did you last see Rosalind?’
‘At Dad’s birthday dinner, like the others. So October the seventeenth.’ His eyes bore into mine. ‘I haven’t even spoken to her since. We don’t really talk much. That sounds awful now.’ He gulps some water. ‘But it’s true. To be honest, I’m not quite sure this has sunk in yet. What did she do?’
‘What do you mean?’ I say.
‘Why did someone attack her? Was she fighting with someone?’
‘What makes you say that?’ I ask.
Bryce is sheepish, clearly regretting his comment. ‘I don’t know. I guess I just figured she did something that made someone lose it.’
‘Did she do that a lot? Get people offside?’ Felix probes.
Timothy stares at the floor. Bryce opens his mouth and then closes it. Felix arches his eyebrow at him.
‘Well, she can be difficult,’ says Bryce feebly.
‘Difficult?’ I say, ignoring his use of the present tense.
Bryce looks to Timothy for support. ‘Yeah. Well, she always speaks her mind, which I guess some people find challenging.’
‘Had she mentioned any specific run-ins with anyone lately? Arguments?’
Now Bryce is the one to fix his eyes on the floor. Timothy shakes his head slowly.
George Ryan clears his throat, cutting off our conversation. ‘I just can’t imagine how this could have happened. It doesn’t make any sense. No one would want to hurt Rose.’
‘It’s very hard to understand something like this, Mr Ryan,’ I tell him. ‘It may never really make sense, but we need you all to help us try to piece things together.’ I place my glass down and ask, ‘When did you last see her?’
‘At my birthday as well. I’ve been away a lot since then, you see, trying to get everything ready before … well.’ He trails off and then seems to remember he was talking. ‘She did call me on Thursday to wish me well for my operation. We talked about the play. She was very proud of it, you know.’ He drops his head and shudders through a hopeless, silent sob.
‘It was based on Romeo and Juliet, is that right?’ I’d looked it up on the school website before we came here.
He lifts his head and focuses watery eyes on me. ‘Yes, yes, she loved all that stuff. She really battled to get it happening. The school didn’t want to put on a play this year. There were issues with funding or something, so it got delayed several times. I think she was quite frustrated about that. She was very passionate about it and kept pushing the principal to endorse it. That’s just Rosalind all over: determined.’
Bryce, Marcus and Timothy don’t move. George Ryan pops some pills out of the packet that Marcus gave him, dropping them on his lap before washing them down with the cold water.
He continues, ‘And all those kids in year twelve got behind her, agreeing to be in the play even though school had finished. They must have really liked her.’
I nod, reminded that we need to talk to all of these students as soon as possible. I wonder what will happen with the play now.
The sun has moved across the floor onto my foot. I pull it away into shadow. ‘So, Marcus, you were in Sydney last night. Timothy, you went to the play. Bryce, what about you?’ I ask.
‘I was here. I flew into Gowran yesterday afternoon. I saw Dad briefly at the hospital, but he was pretty groggy so I didn’t stay long.’ He seems out of breath.
‘What about after dinner?’ I press.
‘I had a work call and then had some dinner here. I spoke to my girlfriend at some point. She lives between Smithson and Sydney and was already here at a place she rents out, but she wasn’t feeling well, so she cancelled our plans just after I landed.’
Felix turns to Timothy. ‘Do anything after the play?’
‘Just came straight here. Bryce was here. In his room.’
Bryce nods in confirmation.
Something is nagging at me. Timothy and Bryce’s ‘Dear Diary’ recall is all a bit too neat. But as I study them I see real sorrow in their eyes. I change gears. ‘Did Rose have a boyfriend?’
‘A boyfriend? No, no. No boyfriend,’ says George.
‘Okay, well, what about earlier this year? Was she seeing anyone?’
‘No. Nothing like that. She had a few boyfriends in school and uni but nothing serious. She was very into her teaching. Very dedicated. Not running around like half the silly girls are these days.’
Timothy and Bryce exchange loaded looks from opposite ends of the couch. Marcus gets to his feet and hovers near my elbow for a few moments. His anxiety is palpable. He clutches at his hands and then clears his throat twice. ‘Do you want food? I think we have biscuits or maybe some cake.’
‘How often are you here?’ Felix asks him abruptly.
He stammers, ‘It—it depends. Probably three times a year.’
‘And you?’ Felix says to Bryce.
‘Same. Maybe a bit more. My girlfriend is here almost every second week at the moment so I come with her sometimes.’
‘And you live in Paxton?’ Felix says to Timothy.
‘I did. I own a place there. Well, half a place, according to the lawyers. I’m in the middle of a divorce so I’m staying here at the moment. I’ll get a new place in the new year.’
I catch Timothy’s gaze and feel the hairs prickling up my legs.
Felix turns to George. ‘Mr Ryan, I have to ask, does Rose have other family? Her mother?’
‘My wife Olivia is dead. She died a few days after giving birth to Rose. From a haemorrhage.’