The Shearer's Wife

by Fleur McDonald

  ‘Can you zip yours up, Paris?’ Zara asked, dragging her thoughts away from the two cots. To Dave she said, ‘On the bed in there.’ She nodded to Paris’s bedroom.

  Dave looked at Essie. ‘Do you have your identification documents? Birth certificates, passports?’

  ‘Oh, I …’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Dave said. ‘Zara and Kim can get them after we leave.’

  ‘In my desk,’ Essie waved towards the sunroom at the end of the house.

  ‘Yep, leave it with me,’ Zara said. ‘Is there anything special that you want to make sure we pack?’

  Essie paused, her eyes straying towards the tightly shut door of the room lost in time. ‘No,’ she said quietly, and put her head down and followed Dave out of the house.

  Zara stood in the doorway, her arms crossed, watching as Dave made sure they were safely in the car. Conflicting emotions ran through her as she looked at Essie, peering out the car window, looking at her home of so many years. Essie’s life had turned upside-down so quickly.

  Dave surveyed the road, then turned back to Zara and took a couple of steps towards her, his face focused, but with a small smile.

  ‘Better get out of here. You good?’

  ‘Yep, no problems here.’

  ‘You’ve done a great job. Well done.’

  ‘We’re not over and done with yet. And considering you’re not supposed to have anything to do with this case, you seem to have wormed your way in!’ Zara grinned at him. She wanted to laugh, but the whole situation felt too surreal and tense for anything as frivolous as that. ‘Dave, in the house, there’s a nursery—an old one—with two cots in it. Don’t you think that’s strange?’

  ‘Two cots?’

  ‘She’s only got one child—Melissa. The old bloke I talked to said he remembered there was talk that Essie had twins, but she was only ever seen with one, so no one was ever sure. Maybe there’s something more to this than we realise?’

  ‘I haven’t got time to think about that now. Let’s focus on what we know, which is that Melissa has a connection to Spritz and now he’s connected to Essie. Okay?’

  ‘Okay.’ Zara understood. This was an older mystery and it wasn’t going anywhere. There would be time for talking about it later.

  ‘Don’t know where Kim has got to.’ He looked around as if hoping she would materialise as he said her name. ‘She’s taking longer than I thought.’ A worried look crossed his face. ‘I’ll just check in with her before I leave.’

  ‘I’m sure she won’t be too far away,’ Zara said, walking out onto the footpath to look down the road. A trickle of fear ran through her stomach.

  ‘Hi, honey,’ she heard Dave say and relaxed instantly. ‘Yeah, we’re just about to leave.’

  Pause.

  ‘I’ll let her know. Be safe. I love you.’

  Zara turned back to Dave, feeling like she had intruded on a private conversation.

  ‘She’ll be here in five. You get going as quick as you can, once you’ve packed everything, okay? Keep an eye on the rear-vision mirror at all times and don’t stop for anyone unless they are coppers with flashing lights. Got that?’

  Zara nodded.

  ‘Okay, I’m out of here. I’ll let you know when Melissa will be talking to Spritz. Keep your eyes open, okay?’

  ‘Drive safe,’ she said. She was about to turn to go back into the house when she stopped. Dave was getting into the car. ‘Give my love to Jack.’

  Dave glanced up. It was the first time Zara had mentioned anything personal regarding Jack, and they both knew how significant this was considering what Jack was about to do. ‘I will.’

  Back inside, Zara headed straight for the nursery and pushed the door open. As she stood still in the middle of the room looking around, a tremor ran through her and the hairs on her arms stood up. She couldn’t put her finger on what the feeling was in this room, other than that at a certain point time had simply stopped.

  She opened the wardrobe and found a christening dress. Only one. Not two, as she would have expected if there had been twins.

  The dresser drawers were empty, and Zara couldn’t find anything else that might indicate what had happened in this room.

  A loud knock sounded through the house and Zara froze. She looked around for something to defend herself with, if she needed to, and sagged with relief as she heard Kim’s voice. ‘Yoo-hoo! I’m here. Sorry I took so long.’

  Zara left the room, shutting the door behind her, glad to be out in the light. Dave was right—this was a mystery for another day.

  ‘Hi! You gave me a fright.’

  ‘Sorry, that’s why I called out.’ Kim came in carrying an esky. ‘So they’re gone?’ She screwed her face up in disappointment. ‘Bugger, I wanted to give them both a hug.’

  ‘They left about five minutes ago. Dave was practically carrying them out the door.’

  ‘Damn. The phone rang just as I was about to leave. How were they?’

  ‘Paris was confused and Essie was pretty sad, but she didn’t seem frightened. Just sad she was leaving.’

  ‘I’m finding it hard to believe this has escalated so quickly. How are you holding up?’

  ‘You and me both.’ Zara paused, thinking about the question. ‘I think I’m okay. Good to have something to keep me busy. What about you?’

  ‘Yeah …’ Kim’s voice trailed off and she looked sad. ‘I worry for Essie and Paris. This will be such an upheaval—Essie is older and it’s hard to make friends in new places. Paris won’t have her friends.’ She let out a deep sigh. ‘Well, nothing we can do about that now. Let’s do the practical things. You take the fridge, I’ll check the pantry.’ Before she opened the pantry she took Zara by the arms. ‘Jack will be okay, you know,’ she said, then folded her into a hug.

  ‘I hope so. And Dave too.’

  Both women were silent as they thought about the enormity of what was happening.

  ‘Best get on,’ Kim finally said.

  Opening the fridge, Zara began to pull out the perishables and put them on the kitchen table. What was it like, she wondered, when people were shifted out even more quickly than Essie and Paris? They had had a few hours’ notice at least. Who came in behind the people who had five minutes to get out of their house? How would they remember to take everything important—photos, letters, things that had sentimental value? She thought about the box she’d found—Essie hadn’t said she wanted it, but Zara was sure that box held something important.

  ‘Remind me to get their birth certificates before I leave,’ Zara said.

  Kim nodded, just as the phone started to ring.

  The two women looked at each other. Zara noticed Kim’s hands had started to shake and she’d gone pale. Zara felt like her breath had been taken away. The reality of Essie’s situation and why she’d agreed to accept the drug deliveries was much clearer to Zara now than it had ever been. Terror did strange things to you.

  ‘Do we answer it?’ Zara asked, moving towards the noise.

  Kim shook her head. ‘No. If it’s anything to do with Spritz or his family, better that they think she’s just out of the house rather than having a stranger answer the call.’

  ‘But I bet they know her movements down pat, so they’re going to expect her to be here.’

  ‘Mightn’t even be them. Come on.’ The urgency in Kim’s voice escalated. ‘Let’s get this done and get out of here.’

  Zara went down into the sunroom and opened the old-fashioned desk in the corner. Twisting the key, she slid the lid up and looked around, trying to see where the important documents could be kept.

  The phone rang again.

  Spurred into urgency, Zara pulled open the drawer and glanced through the headings of the files. ‘Bank Statements, Invoices …’ she muttered, flicking through quickly. ‘Manuals, Church Roster … Damn it, where are they?’

  Slowing down, she went back through the records again.

  Right at the back of the filing drawer she found a white
envelope marked ‘Birth Certificates’. She pulled it out and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Got them,’ she called. Glancing around the desk, she made sure there was nothing Essie might need. She saw a cheque book and scooped that up, along with a photo of Paris.

  As Zara took the photo, she saw that behind it was a black-and-white picture. It was Essie—a much younger Essie—with a man Zara didn’t recognise. They were smiling at the camera outside what looked like a church building or registry office.

  Grabbing it, she stuck that in the envelope too and ran out of the office.

  ‘Good to go?’

  ‘Yep.’ Kim lifted the esky and started to walk out. She stopped and glanced around before saying thoughtfully, ‘I wonder if Essie had any idea what was going to happen when she was first contacted.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have thought so,’ Zara said.

  ‘This is all just so sad.’

  Kim walked out, switching the light off as she went, and Zara pulled the door closed behind them, making sure it was locked.

  Chapter 34

  Melissa fidgeted up and down and side to side, as the technician tested the sound on the microphone.

  ‘Don’t jiggle if you can avoid it,’ he said. ‘Your necklace is banging against the mic.’

  Jack saw her reach up and tuck the necklace back inside her shirt.

  ‘Could we take it off?’ he asked.

  ‘No!’ The word ripped from Melissa. ‘No, I need this. Ryan gave it to me. I always wear it when I need a bit of courage.’

  ‘Fine,’ the technician answered. ‘Let me see if I can adjust it.’

  Melissa unbuttoned the first three buttons of her shirt and let the man change the position of the mic from the top of her bra to the bottom.

  ‘Say something,’ he instructed.

  ‘One, two, three.’

  ‘That’s better.’

  She tucked her shirt back into her jeans and looked over at Jack.

  ‘I’m only doing this for Ryan. And for Mum and Paris. The pain and emptiness I felt when Ryan died …’ She shrugged. ‘Life felt so meaningless, even with Paris there. The drugs, they made me feel … I don’t know. Better. But I know they’re not the answer. I know I can’t bring Ryan back.’ Her head snapped up. ‘You’re going to be here?’ she asked for the umpteenth time.

  ‘We sure are. Dave, and our friend here working the sound, and me. We’ll be in the van. But we’ve got coppers all over the place. Dave has organised the STAR team to be here. They specialise in taking down armed and violent offenders, so you’ll be in safe hands. In addition to that we have six undercover officers, also from Adelaide. They arrived about three hours ago and are now stationed all over the shopping centre. All in plain clothes. You’re going to be well looked after.’ He pointed to a small TV screen. ‘See that woman there, sitting drinking coffee? She’s one of us. And that bloke there, standing and talking on his phone? Again, he’s one of us. If something goes pear-shaped, we’re right there to help you.’

  Leaning in, Jack looked at the TV screen closely. The meeting had been set in a coffee shop in a shopping centre. They’d been in the day before and wired the back booth, in case Spritz decided he wanted to search Melissa. The likelihood of that was low, in a public place, but they weren’t taking any chances.

  ‘Are you right with your story?’ Jack asked. ‘You contacted him to see if you could pick up where you left off when he was staying at the halfway house.’

  Melissa nodded. ‘Yeah. To get back together with him.’ She looked disgusted as she said it. ‘Like that’s ever going to happen.’

  The van door opened and Dave was silhouetted in the doorframe.

  Melissa gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Jack said quickly, realising she couldn’t see him clearly with the sun behind him. ‘It’s only Dave.’

  ‘Hello, Melissa,’ he said straightaway. ‘It’s good to see you.’

  ‘Right. Um, hi.’ She shook her hands as if trying to get rid of the tremors in her fingers.

  Melissa didn’t seem capable of saying much else.

  ‘Now, you need to relax,’ Jack told her, glancing at Dave. ‘If he sees that you’re really nervous, he might get up and leave, thinking something isn’t right. Can you take a few deep breaths for me?’

  As she started to, the sound man went over to a panel covered in buttons and pushed a few. ‘Testing again. Count to ten, please,’ he instructed.

  ‘One, two, three …’

  Adjusting the levels as Melissa continued to count, he listened with the headset on and then gave a thumbs up. ‘All good.’

  ‘Great,’ Dave said and sat down. ‘Come and sit here, Melissa. You’ve got ten minutes before you need to go in. How are you feeling?’

  ‘How the fuck do you think I’m feeling? I can’t believe you talked me into this.’ Her eyes had dark circles under them, and Dave suspected she hadn’t slept since she’d agreed to wear the wire.

  She’d made an effort with her appearance, under Jack’s instruction, wearing a nice shirt and pair of jeans, but no matter how nice the clothes were, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was a recovering heroin addict. The deep lines in her face and heavy lids made her seem so much older than she was.

  ‘You’re doing great. Do you remember how we’re going to play this?’ Dave asked.

  She nodded. ‘I’ve got to get him to admit that he threatened Mum and Paris.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Once we’ve talked about getting back together, then I tell him I’m in need of a hit and we go from there.’

  Jack nodded. ‘See? I know you feel scared, but you’re all over it. Have you got any questions for me?’

  She shook her head.

  Dave leaned closer to Melissa and held out a pen. ‘This has got a camera in the end of it. If you can somehow position it in your pocket, so this part here—’ he tapped the lid ‘—is facing Spritz we’ll get some video footage of him too.’

  ‘Won’t you be able to see him on there?’ she pointed to the screens.

  ‘Yeah, we will, but this will be a closer shot.’

  Melissa nodded her understanding.

  ‘Okay, time to go.’

  Swallowing, Melissa teared up. ‘Can you tell Mum—’ She took a breath. ‘If something goes wrong, can you tell Mum I’m sorry?’

  Dave put his hand on her arm. ‘Nothing is going wrong. Thank you for doing this. There are going to be so many families you’ll never even know who’ll be helped by this. And Ryan would thank you if he were here too.’

  ‘Bastard,’ she whispered and straightened up, before shaking her hair out. ‘Okay. I’m ready.’

  Dave and Jack were glued to the screens as they watched Melissa order a hot chocolate and muffin and then walk across the cafe floor and slide into the booth.

  ‘Her hands are shaking,’ Jack observed.

  ‘That will give credence to the idea that she wants a hit.’

  They were silent, both watching for the perp to appear.

  ‘Got a copy, Two?’ Dave asked into the headphones. They saw the woman sitting at the table nod, then raise her hand to her ear as if she were scratching an itch.

  ‘Roger.’

  ‘Four?’ Dave asked.

  ‘Roger.’

  He turned to the technician. ‘You got ears for the STAR team?’

  The man flicked a few buttons and nodded.

  ‘STAR Six, got a copy?’

  ‘Roger, boss. In position and waiting for your command.’

  Jack watched as Dave drew in a few deep breaths. Okay, he told himself. Here we go.

  The door opened and they all turned around, then shot to their feet.

  ‘Sir,’ Dave said as the Assistant Commissioner entered. ‘We weren’t expecting you.’

  ‘By hell, Burrows,’ he shook his head, ‘trouble seems to follow you. I’m sitting in on this so I know exactly what goes down. If you fuck it up, understand, you’ll be finished.’ />
  Jack looked at Dave, who was nodding. ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘HQ, got eyes on a man who matches the description.’ A loud voice came through the headsets and Dave instantly turned his back on the AC, who was signalling for the technician to give him a set of headphones.

  ‘Entering the shopping centre at the western end.’

  ‘Here.’ Jack pointed to the screen and moved to the side so the Assistant Commissioner could see.

  ‘Melissa?’ Dave said calmly. ‘He’s about two minutes from you. I’m watching him walk past EB Games and now Books Galore.’

  They all heard a shuddering breath. ‘Okay.’

  ‘On the countdown into the cafe. Five, four, three, two … He’s just entered the cafe.’

  Melissa didn’t answer.

  They watched as Spritz pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head and sauntered over, an arrogant smile on his face. His jeans were faded, his shirt light blue and the heavy fabric jacket, grey. Nothing that would make him stand out in a crowd. Except perhaps the way he walked. Jaunty and egotistical.

  Spritz leaned down to kiss her cheek and said, ‘I knew you’d be back. Can’t get enough of me?’

  Melissa smiled but it was forced.

  He slid into the booth and beckoned to the waitress. ‘Black coffee, thanks.’ Turning back to her, they watched as he looked her up and down. ‘You’re looking good. Being clean suits you.’

  ‘I need to make a bit of money,’ Melissa said.

  Dave and Jack glanced at each other then back at the screen. This wasn’t the script.

  ‘Do you? What have you got in mind?’

  ‘I’ll do what you asked me to do when you were here last.’

  ‘Clever girl,’ Dave muttered.

  ‘And what was that? I don’t remember asking anything.’

  ‘Don’t tell him,’ Jack said. ‘Get him to say it.’

  ‘But I want a cut of the profits.’

  ‘Is that right?’ They fell silent as the waitress brought the hot chocolate and coffee. ‘Thanks, love.’

  Spritz took two sugars from the jar and ripped the tops off, before stirring them into his drink. Then he leaned forward.

  ‘What do you want a part of, Melissa? Sorry, I don’t remember having a conversation with you about anything.’