by Ashley Capes
Lisa stepped into baggy shorts and a thin top, checked in on dad before moving into the kitchen to rummage around in her bag. She pulled out the pack of cigarettes and lighter. Why not? She needed it and just one would take the edge off.
If everything worked out, he wouldn’t have LBD.
Or if he did, they could treat it.
Something had to go right soon. It had to. He bloody well deserved it. And she had to stay strong if she was going to help him.
Slipping onto the back verandah, Lisa took the bench seat where she lit the cigarette. A long drag then she leant back to exhale. She took another, glancing around the yard. No moon yet – was it too early for the great white kangaroo to show? Would it even come back? No way to know how many times Pumps saw her. But if the kangaroo did return, Lisa needed to try ask questions. The first visions weren’t enough.
Halfway through the smoke, she found a weathered cushion from one of the chairs and put it behind her back, slouching a little. She’d put out the cigarette before she finished; her eyes were growing heavy. She blinked and shifted, trying to get comfortable before settling with a deep sigh.
Something scraped across the lawn.
She straightened, blinking. The moon was up – how long had she dozed?
A dark shape was crossing the lawn from the side of the house – someone had walked up from the street. She stood and the figure flinched.
“Lisa?” It was a man’s voice, hoarse.
“Who’s there?”
A gasp as the stranger reached for the birdbath, leaning against it. Concrete scraped as the basin shifted on the column. More heavy breathing. Lisa lifted a hunk of firewood from the wood box. “Who are you?” she asked.
“It’s...Steve.”
“Lindgren?”
“Yes. I...tried your place...guessed you might be here.”
“What the hell are you doing?” she hissed.
“Need help...There’s something...chasing me, damn it.”
“What?”
He groaned. “We fucked up.”
She took a few steps forward but didn’t leave the verandah. He was holding his stomach as if sick. The moon slid from behind wispy clouds, revealing how pale his unshaven face was. “Steve, what’s going on?”
“Ben’s...crazy,” he said.
“I don’t understand – is Ben chasing you?”
“No.” He shook his head before more gasps burst free.
Lisa stepped onto the lawn, then froze.
A kangaroo stood in the shadows by the side of the house – near where Steve entered. It waited on hind legs, forepaws still as its eyes glittered. Not the giant white, but a big grey. Lisa opened her mouth when it hopped forward.
“Steve?”
He was shuddering where he stood. He didn’t seem to hear her speak.
The roo kept hopping – fast – and didn’t stop when it reached Steve.
It rammed him.
He fell with a grunt, toppling the birdbath, which thumped to the grass. Water sloshed from the heavy concrete basin but it didn’t empty.
Steve dragged himself up, twisting back to face her. “Tell it to stop,” he cried.
The roo skipped around and kicked him in the ribs, perfectly positioning Steve above the bath. Then it jumped onto his back, reached down and shoved his head into the water with its powerful forearms. Lisa fell back. Steve thrashed and bubbles rose but he couldn’t break free. The roo adjusted its grip, holding his face under – as it would a predator in a river.
Steve’s thrashing weakened.
He was going to die – just like Fathead. Lisa ran forward and the kangaroo’s head snapped up. A low growl rose from its throat. She stopped. The kangaroo continued to growl, only softer now, ignoring the final splashes from Steve as he fell still.
The roo held Steve’s head longer, as if to be sure, before finally letting go and leaping free. Muscles rippled beneath fur in the moonlight as it rose tall on hind legs. It surveyed the yard a moment then used its tail to drive off, disappearing the way it came, without a backward glance.
Lisa groaned, wracked by a shuddering so strong she fell to her knees.
There’d been a bullet hole in the roo’s chest.
Chapter 17.
Lisa led the police into the study so as not to wake Dad. Somehow he’d slept through everything in the backyard and so far, thankfully, he hadn’t woken for the aftermath either. None of which he needed to see – like the quiet removal of the body – which hopefully Gerry was able to finish quickly now that the flood-lights were being packed up.
And especially as it turned out that Steve had been eviscerated at some point – just like Clint. Probably why Steve couldn’t fight the roo; he was on his last legs.
While Detective McConnell sat at the desk where Lisa paid Dad’s bills, she shifted a box of her netball trophies from a stool. The vinyl seat was cool.
“Tell me more about what happened with Steve and the kangaroo.”
She gave him a look. “No tricks tonight?” It wasn’t that he seemed a bad guy – even with the stunt in the grain store. Shit, he was probably trying to do his job really well. And protect people. Just two of the justifications she imagined he’d bring out if she asked but which he didn’t offer.
No. Maybe he felt just as powerless as she did. How was anyone supposed to stop animals that came back from the dead to commit murder? Because she hadn’t imagined that bullet hole. The blood made a black hole in the roo’s chest. It paused in the moonlight, she’d had a good look.
It was one of the ones Ben shot.
“You’re clenching your fists,” McConnell said.
She relaxed her hands in her lap. “Not my ideal Friday night.”
“What upset you?”
“You know what happened. I thought you’d have arrested me by now actually.”
He set his pen and pad aside and leant forward, suit jacket falling open. “I don’t like to make arrests without proof. I have to admit, at first glance you look good for this one. You’ve been involved in all the deaths around these parts in the last week or two – how many bodies have you found recently?”
“Three. You found James.”
“Right. And Mr Healy’s wounds are very similar to the ones found on Mr Lindgren. Robert and your ex confirmed the assault story, so that’s motive for tonight and James Rogers. Your knowledge of the area and animals, maybe that’s means and you certainly had the opportunity to kill these men.” He leant back. “But I’m not convinced just yet.”
She straightened a little. “Why not? You believe me, about the kangaroo?”
He shrugged. “I actually grew up on a farm behind Melbourne. I once saw a kangaroo drown a dingo in a dam, so on one hand I don’t think it’s stretching the limits of plausibility.”
“But?”
“But on the other, some of the most duplicitous crimes are tough to prove simply due to that very fact. And the wounds in his stomach do support a roo attack. There’s evidence in the grass that suggests a large animal was on the property. Only, who’s to say you didn’t find Mr Lindgren wounded and finish him off? A struggle at the birdbath? It’s a big enough basin – what, six inches deep? Easily enough to drown a man.”
“I’m to say.”
“Of course.” He smiled as if to draw attention to the absurdity of such a response, as far as the law was concerned.
“I’m not going to commit murder while my dad is sick. He needs me.”
“He does.”
She sighed. How could she do that? No-one was going to believe her if she said the kangaroo that committed the murder was dead. “I don’t think either of us can prove anything tonight.”
He crossed his legs at the ankle. “To be honest, Miss Thomas – that’s true. But you’re still going to have to either come with me to the sta
tion to face charges or try and convince me. Right now.”
“Who’s going to look after my father if you lock me up?”
He raised a hand. “Slow down. Think about yourself for a minute too. Is there anyone who can prove that you didn’t drown Steve Lindgren?”
“I don’t think the neighbours saw anything, it’s late.”
He sighed. “All right. Can you call someone to come over, while you’re at the station?”
“I’m being arrested?”
“On suspicion of the murder of Steve Lindgren.”
She folded her arms, shaking her head. McConnell waited. Damn it all. Finally, she stood. “Let me get my phone. I’ll call Steph.”
*
Lisa paced the concrete floor of her cold cell while Gerry and McConnell spoke in the office, their voices hushed. She’d been questioned again by McConnell, this time on tape, and returned to the cell.
The possibility of being charged with murder hovered over her, and it was dead serious, and yet – what about Dad? Was he okay? She had to check on him. Were Steph and Dave all right? God, would he even remember them?
Gerry left the office and walked over, pausing at the bars. “How are you going? Want coffee or something?”
“That’d be good. Gerry, can you check on Dad?”
“Will do.”
“So, what’s happening now?”
He exhaled heavily. “This isn’t the sort of thing I deal with a lot, you know? Been here all my life, same as you, and twelve years with the police already but the only killings we’ve had since then were road accidents. This feels different. It feels wrong, even for murder.”
She nodded; he was right about that.
“McConnell’s calling the shots, but you’ll probably be released without charge. I’m trying to convince him you don’t pose a threat to Ben.”
She reached through the bars and took his hand. “Thank you.” She paused, looking up at him. “How come you believe me?”
He met her eyes. “I just know you wouldn’t do that stuff.”
“Sergeant.” Detective McConnell moved to the cell and Lisa withdrew her hand. “I’m releasing you, Miss Thomas. I still expect you to stay in town until this business is resolved, understood?”
“Understood.”
“And make sure you look after your father,” he said, then motioned to Gerry as he walked back out.
Gerry unlocked the door and escorted her outside to the cruiser. “To your dad’s?”
“Yes, thank you. How’s Robert?”
“Angry. He’s got the same conditions as you.”
Lisa made a fist in her lap, fingernails biting into her palm. Hopefully Gerry wouldn’t see it in the dark. “We have to find out what’s going on.”
“We will,” Gerry said.
“Ben’s out, isn’t he?”
He hesitated. “He has a court date.”
“That’s not much of a comfort.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. What did he say?”
“Not much, the prick.”
“Steve was afraid of him, you know. At the end, he said that Ben was crazy.”
Gerry glanced at her. “He’s on really thin ice, Lisa. And he’s going to do time, I promise you that.”
“Yeah.” She turned to the dark beyond the passenger window. Was it unfair to expect Gerry to uncover the truth behind the killings? And yet – maybe they would stop soon anyway. With Ben. If the animals he and the others murdered were coming back for vengeance, then Ben would be the last one. Bizarre? Definitely. But it made sense; it was almost logical.
And it would no doubt land her a life sentence.
Then who would look after Dad?
Could the giant kangaroo help? Did any of it relate to the man with the rifle? She was essentially blind, floundering from one disaster to another. One supernatural nightmare to another.
But all that would change tomorrow.
Tomorrow she’d do something herself. Find Ben and put a stop to the madness. She’d warn him somehow, force him to leave town, even. She nearly scoffed. Fat chance he’d listen. But she had to try.
Alone, even if it wasn’t smart. No-one was going to understand why she had to do it. Robert was out of the question and so was Gerry. McConnell wouldn’t have a problem reading something iffy into either choice.
That left Steph and her wood splitter.
Lisa stared ahead. She’d be at Dad’s soon enough and she could ask.
Chapter 18.
“Has he been up?” Lisa asked the moment she set foot inside the front door.
In the lamplight Steph switched off the TV and rose, swatting at Dave’s hand when he gave her backside a slap. He grinned and ran a hand over his shaven head as if suddenly embarrassed.
Steph glanced up the dark passage, keeping her voice low. “He woke not long after you left. We told him you were helping the police with an attempted break-in. He was a bit worried but he went back to bed.”
“Thank God. Did he recognise you?”
“Dunno about me,” Dave said. “But he knew who Steph was.”
“Don’t worry about your dad for a minute. He’s fine, honey.” Steph raised an eyebrow. “What about you? Did you get charged?”
“No. But it could get worse – I think something’s going to happen to Ben next. And if it does, Detective McConnell won’t have any more doubts.”
“Is something going to happen to Ben?” Steph asked.
“I don’t know.” Lisa took a seat. She hadn’t told them all the details about Steve, but they knew the circumstances around Fathead – the whole town would have by now. “Steve had been cut open by claws – same as Clint.”
“Jesus,” Steph said, her eyes wide. “You think there’s a feral animal loose?”
“Maybe.”
Dave shook his head. “Slow down, you two. No feral animal’s gonna lie around the place waiting to slash into people. It’s a person trying to make it look like an animal. Like Robert maybe.”
Lisa frowned. “Robert? Why?”
“Well, he’s not really a local, is he?” he said with a shrug. “Could be him.”
Steph snorted. “Don’t be an idiot.”
“I don’t think Robert did this, Dave.” Lisa stood again. “Thanks for coming over tonight. I owe you both.” She hesitated, looked from face to face. Steph deserved a break yet Lisa had to ask for more help. “Actually, I think I need another favour. Well, two more.”
“Work tomorrow?”
“No, I want to go and warn Ben. Wanna load up your axe and come with me?”
“No way,” Dave said. “I’ll come, but Steph ain’t going near that piece of shit.”
Steph rolled her eyes.
“Really? Thanks, Dave,” Lisa said. “Can I pick you up from the shop first thing?”
“I’ll be there.”
“What about the other favour?” Steph asked.
“Do you know any home-care nurses?”
She gave a slow nod. “Maybe. Rhonda used to do it full time. But she’s cut back. I can ask.”
“Great. Tell her I’ll pay.”
“You want her here tomorrow morning then?”
“If she can.”
“Well, I can check on your dad if Rhonda’s busy so don’t worry.”
Lisa hugged her, blinking back tears. “You’re too good to me.”
“I know.” She smiled. “Now get some sleep.”
Lisa let them go then locked up, checking the door twice. Then she looked in on her dad again, he was snoring, so she headed for the shower. The cell hadn’t been filthy but the concrete was stained with a variety of shades she didn’t care to analyse. Then it was straight into bed – tomorrow was probably going to be another big day.
Wo
uld the animals hold off until then?
She’d have to risk it. If she didn’t get some rest she’d only fall asleep at the wheel.
*
Dave was waiting at the cafe when she pulled up, sitting at one of the steel-framed outdoor tables with his feet up on the opposite chair. The early morning light reflected off the glass table-top and she rolled forward to dodge the light.
She waved and he hopped in. “Did you meet Rhonda yet?”
“Yeah. She seems great.” An older woman, she wasn’t dad’s age but her no-nonsense attitude reminded her of him. In any other circumstance they probably would have been friends.
“Steph thinks so. Personally, I think she’s a bit opinionated.”
“Really?” Lisa had to smile.
“Yeah. Anyway, about Ben. Think he’ll be at his new place or his parents’ joint?”
“I’ll try Overlook Boulevard first.”
“Right.”
Lisa wound through the streets, passing young parents with prams, kids on skateboards weighed down by their backpacks and folks just out for a walk in the sunshine. How lucky they were to have so little to worry about. Or so it seemed. Who knew what was going on below the surface? Routine was a pretty good mask when you got down to it.
When she pulled up at the house it was clear no-one was around. No car, no signs of movement within. The broken windows had been replaced, with masking tape ‘X’s on new glass.
“Off we go then,” she said.
Dave rested his arm on the window. “Nervous?”
“I guess. Angry too.”
He nodded. “So, did you kill Steve or what?”
She glanced at him. Typical, tactless Dave. “No, Dave. But thanks for asking.”
“Just wanted to check. No-one thinks you did it. Well, me and Steph don’t anyway.”
Her foot lifted off the pedal a little. “People think I did it?”
“Don’t slow down,” he said. “Maybe. Had Ronnie come and ask me about it when we were opening up today. I think he just wants to get the goss. But you gotta admit, it doesn’t look that good.”
