Home > Work > The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1)
21 " Eventually they made their obligatory excuses about trains to catch and early starts. As they shook hands for what would prove to be the last time, Falk found himself struggling to remember, once again, why they were still friends. "
― Jane Harper , The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1)
22 " He avoided small talk at the best of times, and this, unquestionably, was a million horrific miles from the best of times. "
23 " But when she re-emerged in his life at fifteen, it was like she'd been reborn, fully formed and trailing fascination and mystery behind her like perfume. "
24 " The rabbit quivered a little under their scrutiny but mainly lay still. Fear masquerading as acceptance. "
25 " Luke pulled up photos on his phone. Lots of them. Falk scrolled through with the polite forbearance of the childless. "
26 " And yes, he battled the daily commute to work and spent a lot of his days under fluorescent office lights, but at least his livelihood didn't hang by a thread on the whim of a weather pattern. At least he wasn't driven to such fear and despair by the blank skies that there was even a chance the wrong end of a gun might look like the right answer. "
27 " Falk, no expert on babies, wasn’t sure if Charlotte recognized her mother on the screen. Or perhaps she was just pissed off at being included in the memorial when she was still very much alive. She’d get used to it, he realized. She didn’t have much choice. Not many places to hide for a kid destined to grow up with the label “lone survivor. "
28 " They’ll make a gymnastics team, bending over backwards to prove their investigation was sound. "
29 " Born and bred here, or forever an outsider, seems to be the Kiewarra way. "
30 " But tiny variances in their friendship hinted at new paths to be explored. Conversations had a fresh edge...The group dynamics had taken a subtle but definite shift, with none of them quite yet sure where they had landed. "
31 " Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral. It was Falk who looked away first. "
32 " Hidden somewhere in the dark, the cicadas screeched. "
33 " Somewhere in the inky garden the nocturnal insects rattled like white noise. "
34 " The sooner you say it, Mandy, the sooner I can tell you to mind your own business, and we can all get back to our Sundays. "
35 " If I’d known, I would have done things differently. It was too late for that now. Some things had to be lived with. "
36 " A younger version of himself stood with Luke, now both long-limbed and freckled with acne. Still smiling, but this time part of a foursome. Luke’s arm was slung around the slim teenage waist of a girl with baby-blonde hair. Falk’s hand hovered more cautiously over the shoulder of a second girl with long black hair and darker eyes. Falk could not believe that photo was being shown. He shot a look at Gerry Hadler, who was staring straight ahead, his jaw set. Falk felt the farmer next to him shift his weight and move a calculated half-step away. The penny had dropped for him, Falk thought. "
37 " least. Hard enough to get through the "
38 " Bang up those thieving bastards.” But he said "
39 " Falk realized he felt cheated. He'd left it too long to slay the beast, and over time it had shriveled and wasted until it was no longer a fair fight. "
40 " No one tells you this is how it’s going to be, do they? Oh yes, they’re all so sorry for your loss, all so keen to pop round and get the gossip when it happens, but no one mentions having to go through your dead son’s drawers and return his library books, do they? No one tells you how to cope with that. "