Now they can make him out, the man, Freddy, hurrying toward them as quickly as he is able. He holds a torch in his hand: nothing more sinister than that. The light of their own torches picks out the sheen of sweat on his pale forehead as he draws near. ‘You should come back to the marquee,’ he shouts, between gasps of breath. ‘We’ve called the Gardaí.’
‘What? Why?’
‘The waitress has come round a little. She says she thinks she saw someone else out there, in the dark.’
‘We should listen to him,’ Angus shouts to the others, once Freddy has left them. ‘Wait for the police. It’s not safe.’
‘Nah,’ Femi shouts. ‘We’ve come too far.’
‘You really think they’re going to be here soon do you, Angus?’ Duncan asks. ‘The police? In this weather? No fucking way, mate. We’re all alone out here.’
‘Well, all the more reason. It’s not safe—’
‘Aren’t we jumping to conclusions?’ Femi shouts. ‘What do you mean?’
‘He only said she might have seen someone.’ ‘But if she did,’ Angus calls, ‘that means—’ ‘What?’
‘Well, if someone else was involved. It means it might not – it might not have been an accident.’
He doesn’t go so far as to spell it out but they hear it, all the same, behind his words. Murder.
They grip their torches a little tighter. ‘These would make good weapons,’ Duncan shouts. ‘If it comes down to it.’
‘Yeah,’ Femi shouts, straightening his shoulders a little. ‘It’s us against them. Four of us, one of them.’
‘Wait, has anyone seen Pete?’ Angus says, suddenly.
‘What? Shit— no.’
‘Maybe he went with that Freddy bloke?’
‘He didn’t, Fem,’ Angus replies. ‘And he was really out of it. Shit—’ They call for him: ‘Pete!’
‘Pete, mate – you out there?’ There is no answer.
‘Christ … well, I’m not going to wander around looking for him, too,’ Duncan shouts, a faint but telling tremor in his voice. ‘It’s not the first time he’s been in that state, is it? He can look after himself. He’ll be fine.’ The others suspect he’s made an effort to sound more certain than he really is. But they aren’t going to question it. They want to believe it too.
