Tania had been asleep all day. Her hair was greasy and the strong stench of body odour came off her in waves. Zoe had heard Donna speak to her last night about the need to keep the clients happy, that there had been complaints. Tania hadn’t responded.
Tania opened her eyes and stared at Megan.
‘Hi,’ Megan said. ‘You OK?’
Tania shrugged. ‘Megan, right?’
‘Yeah,’ Megan said. Hearing her real name being used caused her some confusion. She had been Rose ever since she’d arrived.
‘Is it time?’ Tania asked.
Megan didn’t need to ask her what she meant. All ten girls in the room watched the clock. There was nothing else to do, plus it was the highlight of their day. ‘Another two hours,’ she said, noting the look of dismay on Tania’s face and the shaking that started, so abrupt it was almost like convulsions.
The steel door to the basement unlocked and ten hopeful pairs of eyes turned to Donna. ‘She’s early,’ Megan heard one of the girls say. As usual the vibe in the room changed from one of quiet desperation to excitement and hope.
Donna stood by the door, arms folded, black bob and make-up as neat as ever, and two men walked over to Tania. ‘Let’s go,’ one said.
Tania’s face showed no emotion as she raised herself to a sitting position. ‘Where to?’ she asked. Her attempt at a playful smile made her look like a grinning skeleton.
‘Let’s go,’ he repeated. He bent down and put a hand around her forearm and dragged her off the mattress.
‘Wait!’ Megan said, getting up and then having to sit straight back down again. She hadn’t eaten all day and the head-rush laid her on her arse before she even realised what had happened. ‘Where are you taking her? What are you doing?’ she screamed. She blinked to clear her vision.
Tania twisted her body to Megan. ‘I think it’s a bit like taking the garbage out,’ she said, giggling hysterically.
‘No!’ Megan said. She got to her feet this time and started across the room. Her joints were stiff, and she moved haltingly towards Tania.
Donna walked towards her, a syringe in her hand. ‘Hush now, Rose. Come back to your bed.’
Guilt seized her stomach, grasping it vice-like, making her gag and retch. She looked at Tania’s empty mattress. No doubt a new girl would arrive tomorrow. She would’ve been sitting in some room for the last few weeks, waiting until she was needed. She would be confused and scared, and Megan wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her.
‘No need to feel bad. It’s not your fault,’ Lily said as she pulled a brush through her knotted blonde hair. ‘Don’t take everything so personally. She was an addict,’ she said, with no sense of irony. ‘Her time was up.’
Megan bit her lip.
‘You’ve got to look after yourself here,’ Lily went on. ‘No one else is going to do it for you.’
Megan had realised that from day one. She had noticed none of the women had appeared to be friends. They rarely talked or helped or supported each other through the nightmare they were going through.
She felt Donna’s cool, smooth hand lead her by the elbow. She was ashamed to admit it, but the sight of the syringe calmed her instantly. She lay on the mattress as Donna inserted the syringe between her toes, and watched as Tania was dragged out the door. Tania wasn’t fighting, and now neither was she.
Chapter 55
Zoe pulled into Alex’s driveway as he was unlocking the front door. He turned at the sound of the car engine and waved out, noticing the look on her face and damage to her car at the same instant. Eyes widened in surprise, he said, ‘What the hell happened?’ She let him lead her into the house where she sank into soft cushions on the leather sofa.
‘Bit of an accident,’ Zoe said and told him all of what had been happening.
‘God, Zo, I didn’t know you were still looking into all of that. Did you see who it was? Get a number plate? Shit, look at your head,’ he said, out of breath.
Zoe felt her forehead. The bump was getting bigger by the minute and felt sore to the touch. Alex marched into the kitchen and placed a bag of frozen peas in a tea towel. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘Should I call an ambulance?’
‘No, I’m fine,’ Zoe said. ‘This is good.’ She let the peas numb her aching head. ‘But I do need to call Emma.’ She stopped at Alex’s look of confusion. ‘Constable Emma Barnes,’ she explained, curling her feet underneath her and letting Alex put a throw over her.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I can do that.’
‘It has to be Emma, though,’ Zoe said, sitting up and wincing. ‘Or maybe Liam, but definitely not Max Vincent. Promise me.’
‘OK,’ Alex said grabbing his mobile. He found the number for Crawton Police Station and disappeared down the hall. Zoe could hear a mumbled conversation then he returned with a pack of painkillers. ‘Emma’s finishing up with something, but she’ll be here as soon as she can. You feeling OK? Not dizzy or anything? Maybe I should call an ambulance.’
Zoe smiled at him despite her throbbing head. ‘You’re a lot more like your mum than you realise.’
‘Thanks. I guess,’ he said. ‘Take these.’ He handed her the painkillers. ‘Are you hungry? I haven’t got anything decent. I’ll go get some food. Pizza?’
She nodded, and he got her a glass of water. ‘Won’t be long. I’ll leave the door unlocked for Emma. She won’t be far away.’
‘Thanks, Alex.’ He closed the door with a bang. Zoe smiled. He’s always felt most useful when he’s helping. She got up off the couch and walked down the hall to explore. Alex’s house was pristine, something else he’d inherited from Pam, albeit a bit sterile. Anyone could tell a bachelor lived here. The new house had plush beige carpet throughout. She poked her head into a bedroom that was set up as an office with a desk. The second bedroom had a double bed and a few boxes sitting in the corner, and the main bedroom showed probably the most personality out of the whole house: a king-size bed with a black-and-white duvet, an armchair dressed with abandoned clothes, a set of drawers and a couple of framed movie posters that Zoe recognised from his bedroom when they were teens: Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.
The bathroom was all grey-and-white tiles with a shining vanity. Seriously, it looks like a show home. She took a shower, marvelling at the water pressure compared to Lillian’s poor excuse for a shower. She got out and towelled herself dry as quickly as she could. Emma would be here soon, and she could tell her what happened. She was annoyed with herself for not getting a licence plate: ‘black SUV’ wasn’t really going to get Emma anywhere. But at least it showed her she’d been getting closer, surely. Sure, they’d frightened her, but maybe they were just as scared as she was.
She was towelling her hair in the bathroom when she heard the phone ringing. She ran down the hall to the kitchen and picked it up. The guy on the other end wanted to speak to Alex about a basketball game on the weekend. ‘Can I leave my name and number?’
‘Sure, I’ll get him to ring you when he gets in. Just give me a sec to find pen and paper.’
Every surface in the kitchen was free from clutter. She pulled a drawer out and among a tape measure, Blu-Tack, loose screws and an array of other junk she found a notebook and a pencil. She took down the guy’s details and left the notebook on the bench for Alex.
Back in the bathroom she checked out her forehead in the mirror. It was coming out in a pale blue bruise. She frowned. Something was bothering her. A feeling of déjà vu but she didn’t have a clue about what. She could feel her brain trying to locate something but every time she tried to pin it down it jumped out of reach. Her brain felt as though it had been dislodged. Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought.
She walked back into the kitchen and got plates and glasses out for dinner — and then it clicked. The notebook was the same kind Lillian had used. She picked it up carefully, as if it was a bomb, and opened it. White p
ieces of paper clung onto the black spirals where pages had been ripped out. On the top page where she had written were very faint impressions, but she couldn’t make anything out. She flipped through the remaining pages, in equal measure hoping she’d find something and hoping she wouldn’t. The back page, where Alex obviously hadn’t checked, was covered with doodles: drawings of moons and stars and inky black scribbles and swirls. Just like the ones in Lillian’s other notebook. Alex had one of Lillian’s notebooks? Could she have used it at work and Alex had picked it up to use? That was a completely legitimate reason for having it, of course. She went back to the junk drawer she’d retrieved the notebook from, ignoring the panic that was mounting, telling herself to stop jumping to conclusions.
I’m not jumping, she thought, I’m taking giant, dangerous leaps.
She spread the junk around the drawer, uncertain of what she was looking for. But then she found it. A box of matches, black with an ornate floral pattern. The Secret Garden. She shook her head. No, it’s not possible. But she walked to Alex’s office and looked through manilla folders, desk drawers and a tray with tidy piles of bills and subscription notices from various magazines. Nothing.
What is it you expect to find? she asked herself.
She stood at the entrance to Alex’s bedroom. She was being silly. Wasn’t she? But at the same time, she needed to find something that connected Alex — to what? To Aroha? To Megan and Tania? Sweat prickled under her arms as she walked into his bedroom. She looked in the wardrobe. There were trousers and shirts on hangers and shoes lined up on the floor. She stood on tiptoe and felt the shelf at the top — nothing. The bedside table was the one Alex had back in high school, the one he’d fitted with a false bottom — just like hers.
She walked over, stopping, thinking she’d heard something, but when her ears filled with nothing but silence she knelt and opened the drawer. She took out a sheaf of papers, flicking through them. It was mostly counselling magazines and copies of articles printed off the internet. Placing them on the carpet she eased the false bottom out of the drawer. Lying on the bottom were three mobile phones, a wallet and a USB stick. With shaking hands, she took the wallet out and opened it. It had about three dollars in coins, no notes, no driver’s licence. Zoe looked through all the compartments, and pulled out a small piece of paper that had been folded and refolded many times.
See you tonight. Little lake and then mine? xx
Who did the wallet belong to? She grabbed the phones. Two of them, the nicer ones, had flat batteries and wouldn’t even turn on. The other was a cheap prepaid. It had no passcode and she pressed a couple of buttons to get to the call log. The same two numbers every time. No texts. She grabbed the USB and the open laptop on Alex’s bed. She inserted it and clicked through. A PDF and JPEG icons sprang up in front of her.
She turned her head towards the door, waiting for Emma’s knock. She should be here by now.
She clicked on the PDF. It was a sale of agreement from solicitors in Auckland. Zoe scanned the document, unsure of what she was reading until she came to the property being sold.
‘1125 Karangahape Road,’ Zoe said out loud. This document stated that Alex Buchanan had bought 1125 Karangahape Road Auckland in 2006 from Phoenix Holdings.
‘What the fuck is this?’ But she knew. 1125 was right next door to The Secret Garden. She remembered sitting in the Chinese restaurant with Faith and half-noticing the building next door, painted black, identical to The Secret Garden, painted-over windows, a For Lease sign in the window. Is this where they are? Is this where they keep the women?
‘Zoe fumbled for the phone in her back pocket and found Detective Abernathy’s number. She had no idea what she was doing. Was this right? Alex owned the place where the women had been taken? Alex had Lillian’s notebook?
‘Detective Abernathy speaking.’
‘It’s Zoe. I’ve found … shit, I don’t know what I’ve found,’ Zoe said, trying to find the words.
‘Slow down, Zoe. Are you OK?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine. There’s a vacant building next to The Secret Garden. I think that’s where the women might be.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘I’ve found some stuff. You need to go and look. Can you do that? Are you able to do that?’ she asked, trying to stay calm but failing. She clicked on the first JPEG. The photo took up the entire screen and she nearly dropped the phone.
‘Zoe, you there?’
‘I’m here,’ she said, the words sticking in her throat. ‘I have to go. Can you please look there for me? Now. Right now!’
She ended the call and stared at the screen. She felt sick to her stomach. Aroha’s smiling face stared back at her. Alex was sitting next to her, Aroha’s head resting on his shoulder. It was taken up close – a selfie, of course, as who else would’ve taken such an intimate photo of an illicit relationship? There were more photos, taken on the bed she was sitting on now. She clicked through them. Much the same. One of them locked in a kiss, Alex’s long arm bordering one side of the photo. One of Aroha kissing Alex’s cheek, Alex looking into the lens, a smile on his face. It was the carefree, open smile she’d known for so long. But now it looked predatory, arrogant.
‘Alex,’ she whispered into the empty room. Alex was the older guy. Not Tai Ngata. It was Alex all along. She heard the front door slam.
‘Pizza’s here. Zo? Where are you?’ Zoe heard footsteps in the lounge and keys being deposited on the table.
‘Shit, shit.’ Zoe slammed the laptop shut and threw the phones and wallet back into the drawer and replaced the false bottom with hands that felt numb and refused to work. Footsteps came down the hall.
Zoe saw the USB stick still in place. She hadn’t put it back in the drawer. She yanked it out as Alex came into his bedroom, her hands resting behind her back, the USB in her sweaty palm.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked, looking confused.
‘Just checking out your bachelor pad.’ There was a tremor in her voice and she was breathing deeply as if she’d just been for a run. She smiled and squeezed past him, wondering if he could smell the fear coming from her pores. ‘Let’s eat. My headache’s gone and I’m starving.’ She brought the USB stick around to her front and walked down the hall.
‘What have you got in your hand Zo?’ She could feel him right behind her.
‘What? Nothing,’ Zoe said, not slowing. She needed to get out. Now.
‘Zoe, you need to stop lying. What did you find?’ His voice had changed from light and curious to harsh and demanding.
Instead of turning into the lounge Zoe made a break for the back door. The USB dropped from her hand as she almost wrenched the door from its hinges. She ran across the deck and jumped the three steps onto the grass and into the fading light. A wire fence stood between her and the gully. She jumped it, clearing it easily, and set off down the steep decline, kicking her bare feet on fallen tree branches. The whole area was overgrown with shrubby weeds and grass. She turned left towards a copse of fallen oaks draped in ivy. She could hear him coming, calling her name. She lifted up the curtain of ivy and crawled into a space between two rotting oak tree stumps. Trying to control her breathing she flicked at the unseen bugs crawling on her bare feet. She heard him getting closer. Swearing. She tried to breathe shallowly but after a few seconds she felt as though she was going to pass out, so she brought her knees up and exhaled down the front of her sweatshirt, and took another deep breath in, hoping to stifle any noise. She grabbed her mobile from her pocket and rang Emma. It went straight to voicemail.
Fuck, fuck. Where is she?
It was then she realised that Alex had never rung Emma. She wasn’t coming.
She tried Faith. She was taking a risk phoning her, but she might not answer a text. She answered on the fourth ring, just as Zoe heard Alex approach.
‘Faith. I’m at Alex’s house. 12 Kent Stree
t. It’s him. Everything. The women, Aroha. Help,’ she whispered, and ended the call. She yelped as Alex ripped the ivy away, exposing her.
‘Come on, Zoe.’ He grabbed her by the upper arm and hauled her up. The phone slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. ‘Let’s go back.’
She didn’t have anything to say. Her head was full of the information she’d just learned and she couldn’t make sense of it. Alex dragged her back up the hill and together they climbed over the fence. Alex too close for her to even think about running again.
Back inside, Alex picked up the USB where Zoe had dropped it. ‘Why?’ he asked.
‘Why what?’
‘Why did you go snooping?’
‘The notepad.’ She inclined her head to the kitchen bench. ‘It’s Lillian’s.’
Alex nodded. Unsurprised. ‘It’s always the little things that get you.’ He shook his head as if none of this was a big deal, and smiled at her. Not the usual open smile she’d known for so long: his lips were stretched taut over his teeth as though he was grimacing. He led her into the kitchen and retrieved a thin rope from the drawer where she’d found Lillian’s notebook.
‘Alex—’
‘To the lounge,’ he commanded. ‘Sit.’ He tied her hands together, the skin pinching around her wrists. ‘I need to think.’
‘Alex, please.’
He looked down at her as if seeing her for the first time. ‘Like I’m going to do anything to you, Zo. You really think I’d hurt you?’ He sounded hurt, as though she’d offended him.
‘I think you’ve hurt plenty of women.’
‘True. But they were scum, Zo. Faith first, and now Tania and Megan. The list goes on. You’re special, Zo. Different.’
‘Faith? What do you mean, “Faith first”?’
‘She was my first, Zo. My initiation.’ The injured look had disappeared, replaced with one of pride.
Chapter 56
Faith arrived at Alex’s house less than fifteen minutes after Zoe’s phone call. She parked down the street and tried Emma’s phone for the third time with no luck. There was nothing else she could do but phone the station and pray that Emma was on duty. She walked towards Alex’s house and waited for someone to pick up. When she heard Emma’s voice on the other line she thought she’d pass out with relief. ‘It’s Faith. I just got a phone call from Zoe. Something’s happened. She said it was Alex.’
No One Can Hear You Page 24
