by Lois Kay
It took her a few minutes, but eventually, Lucy regained her composure, and her own sense of humor kicked back in. “Well, Mom, you are full of surprises,” she said with a chuckle. “Here I am trying to hide the fact that I have a love life and then you come around, saying things like that.”
“I’m not blind, dear,” Joan said calmly. “Love and sex are a part of life. I’m grateful you met Trishia. She’s right for you. You seem happy.”
“Um… well… I am,” Lucy stammered.
Joan smiled and stood up to walk to the kitchen counter. “I’d better make some tea, I’m sure the girls will need some.”
“You’re right, Mom,” Jody responded. She sent Lucy a wink. “I guess I’ll set the table. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry, and a big breakfast sounds great. How about eggs, bacon, and pikelets?”
*
It had taken the small group not long to find their way through the dense forest. Quietly, Trishia led the way with Sam forming the rear. She had freed Kurt from his leash, and the dog was having a great time chasing birds and lizards. His antics made the girls giggle, and Yarra had given in and played Kurt’s favorite game: fetch. She threw a stick as far as the shrubs and trees would allow and every time the Shepherd returned the object within a matter of seconds.
Yarra loved animals, and her biggest dream was to, one day, become a veterinarian. Her father, George Kirby was a descendant of Australia’s original inhabitants, and he had instilled his children with love and respect for nature. From the moment they could walk, he used to take Yarra and her two brothers on camping trips and taught them everything his own father had taught him and his brothers.
Her mother, Susan Kirby was a nurse at the local hospital and a woman who adored her husband and children. Together, George and Susan had fought their battles against discrimination and prejudice that was still a part of society. Her own parents had disowned Susan when she decided that George was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. It had left its scars, but both Susan and George were proud of what they had accomplished: a long, committed relationship, in which they had raised three children who treated all people they encountered with respect and dignity. Jody had met Yarra when Fiona had started high school, and the two girls had instantly been friends. It was pure coincidence Sam and Jody had bought property adjacent to the Kirby’s. But Fiona and Yarra had been delighted. As soon as the Kirby’s had met Jody and Sam, a strong friendship had developed. To Sam and Jody, it was no secret that the Kirby children roamed their property, but they didn’t mind. In fact, they welcomed it. They showed respect for the land and all creatures that lived on it, and on more than one occasion, Yarra had brought home a wounded animal to nurse it back to health.
Yarra glanced over her shoulder and saw the scratches and cuts on Sam’s legs. She also noticed the way Sam was limping, and the painful expression on her face every time she stepped onto an uneven surface.
“Are you okay, Sam?” she asked quietly. Her brows were furrowed in worry.
“Never been better,” Sam grunted, not without a trace of humor. “But I’ll tell you, Yarra, I’ll be ecstatic after a shower, breakfast and some loving attention from my wife.”
Yarra chuckled and slowed down until she and Sam were walking side by side. “I’m sorry, Sam,” she apologized with genuine regret. “I had no idea. I’ve snuck up to Fi’s window before. It’s like a game to us. But if I’d known there were things going on, I would have used the front door.”
“We don’t have a front door,” Sam grumbled good-naturedly.
“Well, the kitchen door.” Yarra giggled, and there was a mischievous sparkle in her dark brown eyes.
Sam smiled. Yarra had just turned eighteen, but despite the age difference, she and Fiona were best friends. They were both exceptionally bright, and together they were a force to be reckoned with. Especially when it came to getting themselves in trouble. Sam couldn’t help but notice the casual glances Yarra sent to Alice, and inwardly she smiled when she looked like she was going to ask Sam a question. “What?” Sam softly asked, making sure to keep her voice down.
“Um—.” Yarra cleared her throat and stared at a point in the sky. “Well, I was just wondering… where does Alice come from? I mean, it’s obvious she’s no local. She looks frightened and lonely.”
“You’re very perceptive, CJ,” Sam complimented the girl, using the nickname Fiona had bestowed on her. “But I’m afraid I can’t tell you much about it. Maybe you could ask her yourself?”
“I might do that,” Yarra considered, intrigued by the sadness in Alice’s eyes.
“Good, she needs a few friends,’ Sam said, relieved to see the house appear on top of the hill. “Now, if I can only climb this hill.”
*
“Here they come,” Lucy announced, staring out of the window. “I guess it’s safe to unlock the door now.”
“Well, yeah,” Jody responded. “I want them all inside. I’m starving, and I can only imagine what Sam must feel like. Look at that limp and oh, honey.” Jody sighed, seeing the scratches on Sam’s legs.
When the small group had reached the veranda, the door flew open, and before Fiona knew what happened, she was engulfed in a bear hug from Jody.
“I’m so glad you are alright, Fi,” Jody whispered in her ear. “We were so worried.”
“I’m sorry, Jo,” Fiona mumbled in a subdued voice. “We… I didn’t know… I didn’t want to wake anyone and—.”
“It’s okay,” Jody said. “You and Alice are here, and you’re safe. That’s all that matters. Go inside and wash up, I bet you could use something to eat. We can all talk later.”
“Oh, yeah.” Fiona groaned when her nose caught the scent of pikelets, bacon, and eggs. “Food!”
Jody smiled and pushed Fiona inside the kitchen. She motioned Yarra to follow and then found herself facing Alice. It was evident the teenager didn’t know how to handle the situation.
Alice could feel Jody’s eyes resting on her, but didn’t dare look up. Until she heard the gentle voice that had been so soothing after she had her nightmare.
“Alice?”
Alice swallowed and nervously moistened dry lips. Her heart was beating fast, and even though she knew Jody would never send her away, the fear of rejection was impossible to suppress. Slowly she lifted her head, and when all she saw was genuine compassion in those deep green eyes, she could feel her insecurities crumble.
“Are you alright?” Jody asked gently, reaching out and brushing away a strand of long blond hair from Alice’s forehead.
Alice nodded and swallowed again. “I… We didn’t mean to worry anyone,” she mumbled offhandedly.
“I know,” Jody answered, shooting a glance at Sam, who was standing behind Alice with a loving smile on her face. “You and Fiona didn’t know we had reasons to worry. We’ll tell you about that later, okay? Go inside and wash up a bit, we’ll have breakfast first. Unless you’re not hungry,” Jody teased, remembering full well how Alice had devoured the food on her plate the previous evening.
A shy smile was the answer, and Alice disappeared inside the house.
Jody stepped toward Sam and wrapped her arms around her tall wife. She lifted her face and captured Sam’s lips in a heartfelt kiss. Sam pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, before slowly withdrawing. When she reluctantly pulled away, she chuckled at the dazed expression on Jody’s face.
“I’m not complaining,” Sam said. She kissed the tip of Jody’s nose. “But may I remind you there are three impressionable teenagers inside, who are probably looking at us right now with bulging eyes.”
Jody let out a soft laugh. “I know Fiona couldn’t care less,” she said. She snuggled closer to Sam’s warm body. “Yarra will love it and will take the opportunity to learn at a distance.” Jody could feel Sam laugh and she smiled. “And Alice… well, somehow I think Alice won’t make a big deal out of it either.”
“Does that mean I can take you to our veranda loveseat an
d make out?” Sam whispered in her ear.
“No.” Jody laughed, untangling herself from Sam’s arms. “At least, not now,” she added with a wink. “First we’ll have breakfast.”
“That’s a pity,” Sam said sadly, but there was a twinkle in her eyes. “But you’re right, as usual. I sure need to eat, before I fall down.”
Jody was about to turn around and head inside, but Sam’s hand on her arm stopped her. She glanced up, and her stomach fluttered at the look on Sam’s face.
“You know what I think, Jody?” Sam asked with a wistful smile.
“No, what do you think?” Jody whispered.
“I think that one day, you’ll make a wonderful mother.”
Jody couldn’t help the soft gasp that escaped. Sam’s words had been unexpected, but so heartfelt, her body tingled from the top of her head all the way down to her toes. She was so moved that the only thing she could do, was to bury herself in Sam’s arms again.
*
Breakfast was a quiet, but not unpleasant affair. The three girls cleaned off their plates in record time, and when Sam made a teasing comment about their appetite, Fiona replied by saying that she was always hungry after a bush walk and that watching wallabies was hard work.
When everybody had finished their meal Trishia cast Sam a questioning look, sending her a small smile when she nodded. She took that as her cue, and she cleared her throat. Immediately, the tension around the table increased, and three pairs of eyes looked at Trishia with a mixture of curiosity, fear, and anticipation.
“I think we owe you three an explanation,” Trishia started, feeling Lucy’s hand squeeze her knee in encouragement.
“Yes, you do,” Fiona answered bluntly, which earned her an exasperated look from Lucy. At the same time, Yarra elbowed her friend in the side and gestured for her to be quiet. But Fiona was not easily discouraged. “What is all this stuff about a murderer? And is that why you and Lucy stayed at the guesthouse? I mean, it’s terrible, but it’s not the first murder around here, so why does everybody suddenly jump into protection mode?”
“I’ll tell you as much as I can, Fiona,” Trishia explained patiently. “But there may be a few things I can’t disclose, alright?”
Fiona nodded and cast a look at Jody and Sam, who were sitting close together with a somber expression on their faces. “Is Dad running rampant?” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Yarra, who was just sipping her tea, almost snorted out the liquid and started coughing. Fiona helpfully patted her on the back.
“Fiona McDonnell,” Joan said, looking at her youngest daughter with tired eyes. “Would you please keep quiet and let Trishia talk? This situation is not something to joke about.”
“Sorry,” Fiona mumbled, casting down her gaze and suddenly feeling like a little girl.
Trishia looked at the bent head across from her and bit back a smile. She was still amazed at the similarities between Lucy and Fiona. Two peas out of the same pod. Or pot, as Fiona always said.
“Okay, here’s what’s going on,” Trishia started. “Last night, on my way home, I was called to the scene of a crime. Yarra told me it has been in the news already this morning, so I can safely say a young girl, probably around seventeen years old, has been found stabbed to death on the beach in front of the Ocean View Gardens.” Trishia paused and took a sip of her coffee. She was aware of the tension in the kitchen and of all the eyes that were glued to her face. “Her identity is still unknown. We believe she could have been a homeless girl.”
“We have nothing to worry about then, so I guess you’re keeping an eye on Alice,” Fiona blurted out, but as soon as the words had left her mouth, she wished she could take them back. Again, an elbow collided with her ribs, and when she looked at Alice, she could see the girl was extremely pale, her blue eyes dark in her tanned face.
“Fiona, for once in your life, shut up!” Lucy snapped.
Trishia closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts. She had been afraid that Fiona’s sharp mind and tongue would make it hard keep some of the information from the girls. Deep down inside she really did not want to disclose everything. Alice was so vulnerable already. The skittish teenager could very well run away if she found out somebody with bad intentions was trying to find and harm her.
“I’m sorry, Alice,” Trishia could hear Fiona apologize. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m really sorry.”
Alice nodded and swallowed away the lump in her throat. She liked Fiona and appreciated her honesty and sense of humor. But her words had stung. Not because they weren’t true because Alice knew she fitted into the ‘homeless’ or ‘runaway’s” category, but Fiona’s words had brought her back to reality. After all the kindness and warmth she had experienced over the last day or so, she knew there would come a time she’d be on her own again. And she was not sure whether she would be able to cope with that, not after her new friends had made her feel again.
Jody saw the emotions play across Alice’s face, and she could almost feel the pain radiating from the slender form. She cast a look at Sam, and when her wife sent her a warm, encouraging smile, Jody knew she had her support. She scooted closer to Alice and gently put a hand on one of the slumped shoulders. “I promise you, Alice, if you decide you like it here, you’re welcome to stay for as long as you’d like. As far as Sam and I are concerned, you are no longer homeless,” she said softly, feeling Alice’s body tense before she relaxed.
Alice let the words sink in and again she was startled by the warmth Jody could convey with just a few words. The feeling was alien to her, but Alice welcomed it because it soothed many of the raw and painful places inside. She basked in the affection that Jody shared so easily. Alice had roamed the streets for longer than she cared to remember. She had slept in sheds, parks, abandoned railway cars and many other places that were dark, cold, lonely and often dangerous. She had gone days without a decent meal and had bravely withstood the mockery from others. All that time, she had hardly shed a tear. But from the moment she had arrived at Murrook Farm, something had changed, and she had not yet figured out what it was that had so quickly crawled under her skin. But Jody had the power to make her cry with just a few kind words, or friendly gesture.
Again, Alice could feel the tears burn, and she didn’t dare raise her head, afraid the others would see her weakness. So, she just nodded, and her body involuntarily leaned a little closer to Jody who was sitting next to her.
“I’ll think about it,” she whispered, while her heart screamed ‘Yes!”.
“Fair enough,” Jody said with a smile, shooting Sam a loving glance. “Shall we let Trishia finally talk? Fi?”
Fiona felt a blush creep up her cheeks and she desperately tried to avoid Jody’s eyes. She knew there would be no anger in them and that was exactly what made her feel even guiltier. At least Lucy or Sam would be annoyed and show it, but the way Jody and her mother dealt with her stupidities was far worse. When they looked at her with a mixture of sadness, hurt and disappointment they made Fiona feel like the worst daughter and sister in the universe. Not that she would ever admit that though.
“I’ll be as quiet as a mouse,” she promised with a sigh, finally looking up to see the affection in Jody’s eyes. She answered the smile that was sent her way and cast a look at Trishia who had been patiently waiting and was glancing at her with a long-suffering look. “Sorry,” Fiona mouthed, feeling guilty for having to apologize so many times during the last few minutes.
“As I was saying,” Trishia continued. “The girl that was found last night is probably homeless. We came to that conclusion because—.” Trishia paused and hesitated for a moment. But then she decided that honesty seemed to be the best policy, and after taking another deep breath, she finished her sentence. “Because there have been two similar murders in the last two years and both girls were runaway teenagers.”
Yarra, who had been listening to the news that morning, had not heard about the other victims yet and her gaze met Trishia’s, wh
o looked at her and gave her an encouraging nod.
“If… the other girls were homeless as well, does… does… the murderer prey on them?” she asked, casting a worried look at Alice. “Does he… choose them?”
“We don’t know yet,” Trishia answered truthfully. “But you might have a point, Yarra. Maybe he does.”
Alice nervously licked her lips as she remembered all the girls she had encountered during her years on the streets. She moved from place to place, never staying around long, and that had always prevented her from getting too close to other people. She had never made any friends, but she did remember a few girls, older than she was, who had been kind to her and had selflessly shared their food or sleeping place. She hoped they were alright.
“Were those murders committed around here as well?” Fiona asked with wide eyes, apparently forgetting that she had promised to be quiet. But her question was a valid one, and again Trishia hesitated.
“No,” she finally answered. “They were not committed around here.” Looking into the curious faces of Fiona and Yarra, Trishia felt she needed to give them a little bit more information. “Sydney and Perth,” she stated simply, deciding that was as much as she would share.
Nobody had anticipated what happened next. Alice jerked upright, and the fork she had been holding clattered to the kitchen floor. Her hands were so tightly clenched into fists, the knuckles of her hands turned white. Her normally clear, blue eyes had gone dark and were staring at a point in the distance. They were filled with horror. She was sitting completely still, but her body was so tense, she was almost vibrating. The only movement was the irregular heaving of her chest, caused by her labored breathing, and the visible pulse point in her neck, which indicated her heart was racing. Her face had lost all its color, and she looked sickly pale. Perspiration coated her forehead and upper lip, and it looked like she had a fever, especially when she started shivering.
