No One Can Hear You

by Nikki Crutchley

  ‘We think he might be involved.’ Zoe went on to tell Emma about the hotel and how she was certain Garth and Tai were in on it. She didn’t think she needed to mention what seemed to be in comparison the petty business of Lillian’s house sale. ‘Can you check him out for us?’

  Emma nodded. ‘Garth has managed to avoid charges so far. Everyone knows he’s dodgy but he’s clever. We know he’s involved in drugs but so far we haven’t been able to catch him. I know Tai’s got a record. He’s been to prison. All this is serious,’ Emma said, stating the obvious. ‘I’ll need to let my sergeant know what’s going on. This is a bit out of my league.’

  ‘You can’t,’ Faith said.

  ‘Why not?’ Emma asked.

  Faith indicated to Zoe to carry on. ‘We think Max Vincent might be somehow involved.’

  Emma let out a quiet groan.

  ‘You don’t seem surprised.’

  ‘I shouldn’t speak against him.’ Emma looked around, as if worried that someone was listening in. ‘I’d say everyone in town thinks he’s a stand-up bloke. But it’s a real boys’ club down at the station. I’m the only female, a probationary constable at that. I get all the menial jobs — traffic duty, preventative checks at the pubs …’

  ‘Callouts to smashed windows,’ Zoe finished.

  ‘Yeah, something like that.’ Emma smiled. ‘If something was going on with Max, I wouldn’t know anything about it. All the guys worship him, but I get the feeling from him that I shouldn’t be there. I need to hold on a bit longer here then put in for a transfer away from this place.’

  ‘How about Liam?’ Zoe asked.

  Emma shrugged. ‘What about him?’

  ‘I’m just wondering,’ Zoe said. ‘He was always a bit creepy with the girls at school and didn’t get on with any of the guys — too dumb to hang with the geeks and too much of a try-hard to hang with the cooler kids.’

  ‘Not too much has changed, then. He’s so far up Max’s arse I can only see the soles of his boots. The other guys aren’t keen on him either.’

  ‘So can you do anything?’ Zoe asked, beginning to think this was a waste of time.

  ‘I’ll look at those names for you, but don’t hold your breath. If Max Vincent wants to cover something up in this town I’d say he’s quite capable. I can look around up at the old hotel, no problem. I’ll try and do it while I’m on traffic duty. But apart from that there’s not much else I can do unless I find something pretty conclusive up there.’

  ‘What, like a dead body?’ Faith said. Zoe elbowed her, frowning.

  ‘I’m sorry about what happened to you,’ Emma said to Faith, ‘but there’s no way to tell if the same people are involved, or if it’s even connected. Or, indeed if anything has really happened. I know Megan Harper. She’s a bad apple.’

  ‘I was a bad apple,’ Faith murmured.

  ‘What I’m saying is that she could easily be involved in all of this and not be a victim. Look, I know a detective up in Auckland you can speak with. I’ll help when I can with all this local stuff, but assuming Max is involved I have to be careful. If I get told to back off, I’ll have to.’ She took her phone out. ‘The detective’s name is Ryan Abernathy. I’ll give him a call, give him the details and see if you can meet up. Give him everything you’ve got. Let him know about Max, Richard Bailey, everything. He’ll look into it for you. He’s a good guy.’

  ‘How do you know you can trust him?’ Zoe knew she sounded paranoid but didn’t care. They couldn’t afford another crooked cop knowing what they had uncovered.

  ‘Max Vincent might be capable of whatever it is we think he’s involved in, but Ryan is as straight-up as they come.’

  ‘Plus,’ said Faith, ‘we’ve run out of options.’

  ‘Fine,’ Zoe said. They had no other choice.

  Chapter 45

  Megan only knew it was morning because Tai brought her breakfast, the same thing he’d been bringing her for what felt like months, a peanut butter sandwich, and emptied her bucket. She picked at the stale bread, letting crumbs fall into her lap. She felt tired. Every movement felt as though she was pushing through mud.

  ‘Today’s the day. About bloody time too. Shit’s going down and we need you outta here.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Come with me. And don’t think of trying anything.’ Tai lifted up his stained T-shirt and showed her the black butt of a knife encased in a leather sheath that had been stuffed down the side of his jeans. He grabbed her by the arm. His hands were so big they could wrap around her forearm. He dragged her out of the storage cupboard, down the hall and into one of the dozens of rooms. There was no carpet on the floor, no curtains at the windows.

  Over the tree tops she could see Lake Waitapu shining blue and yellow-silver. One of those perfect lake days. She closed her eyes against the glare of the sun on the still lake. Behind her lids the lake’s image still burned. She was wondering if she’d ever swim in it again when Tai pushed her into a bathroom saying, ‘This is the only one that’s plumbed in. I’ll be right outside the door. Leave it open, and don’t even think about the window, it’s too small, even for your skinny arse.’

  She turned on the shower and closed the glass door. She could feel Tai’s eyes on her but she ignored him and instead relished the feeling of water on her skin. It was freezing cold, but she didn’t care. After being locked up in that hole for so long it felt invigorating. She soaped herself all over, washed her long black hair then dried herself with a towel as rough as sandpaper. In the mirror her pale skin looked even paler than normal, her cheeks were sunken in and there were black shadows under her eyes.

  ‘Get moving,’ Tai said. ‘You’re not on holiday.’

  Ripping off the labels from a new pair of jeans and a T-shirt Tai had flung in, she got dressed. Slipping her feet into a pair of jandals, she walked back into the room, her eyes on the lake, a much better sight than Tai.

  ‘Well, look at you. Much better. Come on. Back to your cupboard.’

  ‘Why? Aren’t we going somewhere?’ She felt deflated. Surely if she could just get outside the building, away from this prison, she’d be able to get someone’s attention, get away from Tai. She could hear the whine of speedboats. People would be swimming, setting up picnics for a day in the spring sunshine. The need to be outside was physical. Her body slowed and turned itself towards the double doors she had come so close to a few nights ago. Tai grabbed her arm again and she yelped. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him and let her feet fall from under her.

  ‘You’re going back in whether you like it or not.’

  She kicked her feet outwards and Tai, unready for the jerking motion, dropped her. He pulled out the knife and pressed the cold blade to her neck. She held her breath.

  ‘Get up and walk. Now.’

  She got to her feet on shaking legs, and as he locked the door behind her she collapsed onto the mattress. She was never going to make this easy for him. Them. Even if it killed her.

  Chapter 46

  Zoe was getting ready to go into work that afternoon when her mobile rang in the lounge. Pulling her hair into a ponytail she jogged from her room to grab it before she missed it. It was Emma.

  ‘Hi. Have you heard from Ryan yet?’

  ‘No, not yet.’

  ‘OK, he should contact you today. So I’ve looked into a few things. Have you got time?’

  Zoe sat on the couch. ‘Of course.’

  ‘I’ve found a record for Megan at the station here. Lillian filed a missing-person report for her. There’s not a lot to the file, though. Her disappearance has been looked into but there’s nothing of substance. I mean, Megan had a record and it looked like she owed a few people money. It looks like she could have done a runner.’

  ‘And Tania?’

  ‘No, nothing.’

  Zoe shook her head. Gus had gone
in and talked to Max and he’d done nothing about it. When she’d asked Max about Tania he said the name didn’t ring a bell.

  ‘I think they take girls who have that profile,’ Zoe said. ‘No real friends and family, no one to notice they’ve disappeared. And the one who did notice Megan was missing was Lillian who, let’s face it, wasn’t really in her right mind.’

  ‘Megan would be a perfect target,’ Emma admitted. ‘I’ve also looked into Richard Bailey. NIA states a few occurrences.’

  ‘What’s NIA and what’s an occurrence?’ Zoe asked.

  ‘NIA is the National Intelligence Application and an occurrence means a complaint was laid but he was never charged.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Different reasons. Not enough evidence to carry on, or the person laying the complaint withdraws it. There’s a list of complaints from three different women spanning over a decade. Not in Crawton — two in Auckland and another in Wellington. He’s never been officially prosecuted. He’s a powerful guy, Zoe.’

  ‘Why would they withdraw their complaints?’ Zoe asked, patting Elvis who had made himself comfortable on the couch next to her.

  ‘Any number of reasons. Not enough evidence, as I said, or maybe he got to them somehow.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘It happens. He threatened them, scared them into withdrawing their complaints. A man like him could make someone’s life miserable, unbearable if he wanted to. When you’re a white man with money and power, anything’s possible.’ Emma’s tone was one of disgust. ‘That’s about all I can get for you. We should have fingerprint results from the break-in in a couple of days, so I’ll make sure I get back to you. If Bailey’s your man, Ryan will be able to do a lot more digging than I can.’

  ‘Thanks, Emma.’ Zoe ended the call feeling drained. There was no new information. She already knew that Lillian had reported Megan missing, the complaints those women made against Bailey didn’t surprise her, and she wasn’t surprised either that Max hadn’t acted on Gus’s worries about Tania. She threw her phone to the opposite end of the couch.

  ‘What am I doing?’ she asked Elvis, who purred in return. Her phone rang again and she leaned over him to retrieve it. ‘Hello, Zoe speaking.’

  ‘Zoe. It’s Detective Ryan Abernathy here. Emma Barnes gave me your number.’ She could hear a slight Scottish lilt to his voice, unsurprising considering his name.

  ‘Yes, Detective. Hi.’ Zoe automatically sat up straighter.

  ‘I hear you’re wanting to pass on information about some missing women in Crawton.’

  ‘Yes. I don’t really have a lot. But I can’t go to anyone here because, well, because they might be involved.’ Whenever she tried to put the last few weeks into words, Zoe felt as if she must be taking everything out of context. Even to her it sounded preposterous.

  ‘No problem. I’m happy to help. I can’t see you till tomorrow, sorry. Are you OK to make the drive to Auckland?’

  ‘Sure,’ Zoe said.

  ‘Great. Around two OK with you? The Starbucks on Queen Street. I’ll get us a seat by the window. Can you let me know what you look like?’

  ‘I’m about five-five, long dark hair, and I’ll be wearing black pants and a denim jacket.’

  ‘Thanks, Zoe, see you tomorrow.’

  She lay back against the couch, breathless. She hoped he could help. She hoped what she would tell him didn’t make him laugh in her face.

  *

  Zoe walked through the throng of kids milling around as lunchtime at Crawton High School came to an end. The boys were generally scruffy, trying to grow wispy moustaches, grey shorts slung so low she could see check boxer shorts bunched at the top. The girls wandered in groups of two or three, some with short skirts and heavy liner rimming their eyes, desperate to stand out when they looked the same as their peers.

  Walking into the classroom, she got busy preparing the exercises the students needed to complete. She was nervous about seeing Aroha. She would want to know what she and Faith had found, and Zoe was going to disappoint her. But she needed to talk to Aroha, see if she knew anything more, had seen anything important she may have forgotten. She also, somehow, needed to find out who had taken Megan. She had a feeling Aroha was protecting someone, but this was way past serious now and Aroha needed to spill.

  The students filed in a few minutes after the bell had rung, chatting among themselves, most ignoring her, some giving her a shy smile. She took the roll. No Aroha. ‘Does anyone know where Aroha is?’ Zoe asked, ignoring the cramp of worry that spasmed in her stomach. There was general mumbling around the room that no one had seen her. Aroha often cut school, but what if there was more to it? She’d go and visit Aroha’s father after school. Just check if everything was OK. She’d hate to get her into trouble but was more worried about her safety.

  *

  After getting Aroha’s address from the school office, Zoe drove to her house. She walked up the cracked driveway and across the front yard covered in dandelions and grass two inches long. She knocked on the front door and when there was no answer she tried again, louder. She heard movement from inside and Aroha’s father answered the door. ‘Whadayawant?’ He swayed and then landed heavily against the door jamb.

  ‘Mr Kingi? I’m Zoe Haywood, one of Aroha’s teachers. She wasn’t in class today or yesterday and I just wanted to check she was OK.’

  ‘For fuck’s sake,’ he said. ‘Stupid bitch cutting school again. I don’t know. She’s not here.’

  ‘Have you seen her in the last couple of days?’ The smell of the man made her want to gag.

  ‘Ummm.’ He brushed a hand against his chin. ‘Don’t think so.’

  Zoe was getting worried and angry in equal measures. ‘Could she be staying with a friend?’

  ‘Yeah, probably.’ He nodded.

  ‘Can you give me their names?’

  He frowned. ‘Nah, can’t. Look, you can go now. Sick of you bloody teachers sticking your noses in where they don’t belong.’ He slammed the door in Zoe’s face and she heard him stumble back to wherever he’d come from.

  ‘Shit,’ she said. Back in her car she pulled out her phone and rang Emma. ‘Hi Emma, sorry to call again but I mentioned Aroha Kingi to you yesterday. The high-school student who told us where she’d seen Megan?’

  ‘Yes,’ Emma said. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Could be nothing but she hasn’t been in school for the last couple of days and I’m scared. I’ve just seen the dad. He’s good for nothing. Can you help?’

  ‘I can file a missing-person report. I’d have to go and see the dad, and bloody Liam’s going to have to come with me. But it’s a start. When are you seeing Ryan?’

  ‘Tomorrow at two.’

  ‘Good,’ Emma said. ‘The sooner the better.’

  Zoe drove to the little lake. She didn’t feel like going back to Lillian’s. She walked away from the playground where she could hear a mix of laughter and crying from babies and toddlers. She headed towards the little lake and saw Gus sitting at the picnic table. She hesitated, then carried on towards him.

  ‘Hi, Gus.’

  He didn’t turn, and she stood in front of him. His eyes were glazed over. ‘Gus?’

  He started, as if being woken from a dream. ‘Zoe,’ he said, ‘hi.’

  ‘You doing OK, Gus?’ she asked, sitting beside him. At his feet were his bag, a sleeping bag attached to it and his coat draped over the top.

  ‘Not really.’ He gazed out to the lake again.

  ‘What’s up? Going somewhere?’

  ‘Out to the big lake. Bit early in the season, really. Still a bit cold to be sleeping out. But I don’t want to stay here anymore. Gives me the creeps.’

  ‘Why’s that?’ Zoe asked, looking around.

  ‘I saw something.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

>   ‘I saw my friend Aroha.’

  ‘Aroha?’ Zoe turned to face Gus. ‘Gus, look at me.’ She waited till he turned his head. There were tears in his eyes. ‘When did you see her?’

  ‘The day before yesterday.’ He sniffed, wiping the back of his hand across his nose and eyes.

  ‘Sunday,’ Zoe said. ‘You saw Aroha here on Sunday?’

  He looked around as if trying to find her. ‘She was talking to someone. He took her away.’

  ‘Who took her, Gus?’ Zoe placed a hand on his arm, trying to draw the information from him without freaking him out.

  ‘Don’t know if I should say.’ He trailed a finger over one of the scars on his face.

  ‘You can tell me, Gus. Aroha’s my friend too. I can help.’

  He frowned at Zoe, sizing her up, then nodded. ‘You’re my friend?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, yes,’ Zoe said, trying not to come across as impatient.

  ‘It was Tai. You probably don’t know him. But he took her.’

  ‘You saw Tai take Aroha?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Gus, I’m going to let the police know, OK? We’re going to find her.’

  Gus stood and started pacing, his worn shoes scuffing the gravel. ‘No! No police. I don’t trust Max anymore. He said he’d find Tania but he never did.’

  ‘I know another person in the police that can help. She’ll help us find Aroha.’

  ‘OK,’ Gus said. He picked up his bag. ‘I’m going now. Be careful, Zoe. I like you. You’re my friend. But all my friends are disappearing.’

  *

  Zoe got home just after six. She’d gone to the police station as soon as she’d spoken with Gus, and talked to Emma and Liam. They filled out a report and were both on their way to see Aroha’s father. They said they would talk to Gus once they tracked him down.

  ‘And Tai? What about him?’

  ‘It’s OK, Zoe,’ Emma said. ‘We know what we’re doing here.’

  But Zoe feared that Max Vincent would do something to prevent them from investigating Aroha’s disappearance — and that because Gus was like he was, anything he had to say wouldn’t be taken seriously. She’d seen the way Liam had treated him at the little lake that day. Emma had ushered her out of the police station, leaving Liam behind in the office. ‘Try not to worry. I’m on this. Just worry about getting up to Auckland tomorrow and seeing Ryan. Might be an idea to tell him about this too,’ she suggested.