The bruise on my wrist was fading, having gone from angry purple to a greeny-yellow. I was pretty sure it had been caused by Zac, not Mullet, which was confusing. But then, most things from that night were confusing.

Anna struggled for a couple of days; crying, shouting at everything. Then Danny gave her a pep-talk, told her he’d kill the next man that tried to hurt her, or me. Our vacation time was over and she had to return to work, back to the reception desk of a budget hotel. I think getting back to reality helped her though, because she sent me a cheery message this morning telling me she loved me, and wishing me luck on my induction day at the firehouse.

Ten minutes later and my cell pinged again.

Anna: What did the fireman say when the church caught fire? … Holy smoke!

I chuckled and made my way to the firehouse, relieved that she was feeling better.

Danny introduced me to the other guys and ran me through my paces on some training exercises. Twelve hours in and I knew this crew would feel like family in no time. They took the piss out of me without holding back, and I gave them as good as I got. I didn’t know whether Danny had told them about any of my problems at my old department but if he did, they didn’t let it show.

We sat down for food and Danny showed me his phone screen with a message from Anna.

Why doesn’t a fire chief look out the window in the morning? Because then he wouldn’t have anything to do in the afternoon.

“She knows me too well,” he laughed.

I was staring hard at his masculine face, the wide strong jaw, covered in that steel-grey stubble, when I noticed the missing persons posters pinned to a noticeboard behind him. Three different pictures; two young women and a guy.

“How long have they been missing?” I asked, nodding at the board.

He rubbed at that greying scruff on his chin, as if aware that I’d been admiring it. “A few weeks, I guess. The pictures change so often, it’s hard to keep track sometimes.”

“Seriously?”

“They usually turn up within two days, having passed out somewhere,” he shrugged. ‘The—”

“This place is riddled with problems, Jess. Keep your nose down, don’t make waves,” interrupted a firefighter nicknamed Meat, taking a seat opposite me with his tray. I hadn’t yet asked him where the name came from, I could already imagine his crotch-grabbing response.

“I don’t have a great track record with keeping my nose out of trouble,” I replied, giving him a devilish grin.

He returned the smirk and pressed his foot into mine under the table. Danny cleared his throat and stood up. “Come on, Firefighter Layton. I have a simulation for you.”

“Aye, I bet he does, Jess! Are we all invited to take part, Chief, or is this a special simulation?” Hoots and jeers went up around the table, the crew slapping their hands against the wood and making lewd faces.

“Settle down, idiots,” Danny said, just as the alarm went off, signalling an incoming emergency call.

We hurried off to assemble and a few moments later a firefighter called Clark appeared.

“It’s a distress call for a first responder at Emerald Beach,” he said. “A girl looks to be in a bad way. An ambulance has been dispatched from Port Isabel, but in the meantime the beach patrol unit are already dealing with another situation. Want me to go, Chief?”

“No, I’ll take Firefighter Layton,” Danny grabbed his jacket and had me rushing out the door with him.

We were at the beach in less than two minutes. A hotel worker waved us over and led us to a girl, sitting under a parasol, with her knees pressed into her chest. She was completely naked, her skin bleached of all colour, save the bruises on her arms and neck. Her eyes were wild, frantically darting from side to side as she muttered to herself.

“Elwood!” she screamed, her teeth chattering.

Danny heaved a breath.

“Alright, love, it’s okay,” he said, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

“What are these?” I asked, opening the blanket a fraction and pointing at the small pinprick scabs over her neck and arms, surrounded by bruising.

“Track marks. There’s a lot of junkies around here,” Danny said.

“No!” she screamed, fighting free of the blanket and launching herself at Danny. “No, Alex! Alex!”

“Hey!” I yelled, trying to get hold of her in a firm, but reassuring way. “You don’t like him? It’s okay, I’m here.” I stroked her hair and eased her down onto a lounger.

A crowd had gathered to watch the show. Danny yelled at them until they backed off. I placed the blanket back over her quivering naked form. I’d never seen anyone so skinny in my life. Paper-thin skin stretched tight over bones that poked out everywhere.

She looked up at me, goggle-eyed, the whites of her eyes wide and bloodshot.

My mouth flopped open for a moment before I could form the words, “Shit, Chief! She’s from that poster. She’s the missing girl.”

* * *

She looked different to the picture, having lost almost every bit of pumped-out flesh from her features, but it was definitely her. Her face followed my thoughts around for the rest of that night. So afraid, rambling on about trust and blood. That poor girl had been through something horrific.

“She was talking about Alex Elwood. Have the police arrested him yet?” I asked Danny as he took down the girl’s poster.

He heaved a sigh with his back to me, but didn’t answer.

“I bet he’s connected to the other missing people, too. This could be a massive case. I dread to think what else they might find when they raid him,” I continued, my stomach doing somersaults. If this was Alex’s doing, then what did that say about Zac? Was he connected?

Of course he was connected, look at the way he’d been stalking me. He wasn’t normal. I knew that. I knew the way he watched me was dangerous, that something lurked underneath, and yet I’d brushed it off because I wanted to fuck him. Like that was more important than listening to the alarm bells. Because, maybe, those alarm bells excited me. The unknown, the thrill.

Stupid, stupid girl. That could have been me that ended up a missing person. Hairs crept up along my arms and neck. The sooner they were arrested the better.

“She was a junkie, nothing more. Lots of kids run away to come here and get wasted on Carnage Island. He might have provided the drugs, but he’ll just get a slapped wrist,” Danny said.

“No way!” I shouted. “The police won’t buy that crap. That girl was terrified, he did something to her.”

Danny screwed the poster up into a ball and turned on me, his face full of anger.

“The police are there right now. I give it another twenty-four hours and it will go silent, as if nothing ever happened. The whole thing will be hushed up.”

“Why? How?” My face scrunched up as he shook his head at me.

“Because the Elwoods own the island and everyone in power. They’re untouchable. As much as I hate it and would never accept their bribes, they own my ass, too. I’m powerless to do anything. And so are you, so don’t go sniffing around.” He’d stepped so close to me that he took hold of my arms.

“You’re scared of them?”

He snorted and walked away. “I’m scared for you, if you push them. I mean it, Layton. Stay away from both of them.”