Murrook Farm (Sam & Jody Series Book 2)

by Lois Kay

  “What kind of business?” Trishia asked, her eyes darting between the two brothers.

  “Carl sells surveillance equipment like I do. But he specializes in webcams,” Michael answered. “Especially nature cams and beach cams, where people can check out the surf and all that. It is popular among the beach bums and surfers. And tourists of course.”

  Trishia let the words sink in and settle. When realization set in, she cursed. She cast a look at Peter and could tell by the expression on his face he was still trying to connect the dots.

  “Sonofabitch,” Peter whispered after a brief silence.

  “Amen to that,” Trishia said wryly. “That could explain a lot.” She tapped her fingers on the desk and stared at the picture on the screen. She had already informed Inspector Wong about Alice’s identification of Martin Coles, and right now a team, handpicked by their Inspector were trying to find out his whereabouts. Alice’s identification wasn’t enough, neither was the information that had come from Sydney. They needed more. A lot more.

  *

  He really had expected to have more time. Unpleasantly surprised, he had realized things had moved faster than anticipated during the hours he had been gone. It was no disaster, and it surely would not ruin the plans he had made, but it was annoying just the same. It meant he had made an error in judgment and that was something he was not used to at all. Until now, all his plans had always worked out. But when he had pulled over at the parking area next to the building he had spotted a familiar car, one he had not expected to see there. Not yet anyway. It was a Sunday, and if the Inspector found it necessary to come back on her day off, things had been developing faster than he had anticipated.

  A pair of light brown eyes stared back at him from the rearview mirror, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Unfortunate situation, but nothing I can’t handle,” he told himself, rubbing his chin and enjoying the feel of the smooth skin underneath his fingertips. “Besides, I need to improvise now, and that can be fun,” he chuckled. “Better go home and pack some stuff, before that bitch and her right-hand dyke decide to do some serious damage.”

  He put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking area, careful not to draw any unwanted attention. Within a few minutes, his car was swallowed up by the continuous stream of traffic.

  *

  Trishia was on the veranda, leaning against the railing. With tired eyes, she looked to the side of the house where Peter was saying goodbye to his brother. Michael had checked all the cameras and their feeds and had been happy with the results. Sam and Jody’s property was covered, and anything bigger than a cat would show up on security footage.

  “Are you okay?” a soft voice suddenly sounded, and when Trishia turned, she looked into a pair of concerned dark-green eyes.

  She smiled and wrapped her arm around Lucy, pulling her into a hug. For a moment, she closed her eyes and wished the whole situation away. Her body and mind craved rest, and she longed to take Lucy home and relax. Or better yet, go on a vacation and indulge in some much-needed rest, relaxation and loving attention.

  “When this is all over, we’ll take a vacation,” Trishia said, kissing Lucy’s cheek. “How about driving up the coast and finding a nice, quiet hotel somewhere?”

  Lucy raised her head and looked surprised. When she saw Trishia was serious, she smiled and nodded in agreement. “Just you, me, a quiet beach, a blue ocean and no cell phones?”

  Trishia chuckled. “That’s the idea. But I’d like to throw in some sunscreen as well. ” She tightened her hold on the warm body that was pressed against her side.

  “In that case, I’m all for it.” Lucy buried her face against Trishia’s shoulder. “I know you have a gazillion vacation days ready and waiting for you.”

  “Then that’s exactly what we’ll do as soon as we have sorted out this mess,” Trishia promised.

  “I can’t wait,” Lucy mumbled, feeling Trishia’s other arm slip around her body as well and pull her closer. “That will be our first real vacation together. Do you think you’ll be able to cope being around me twenty-four hours a day?”

  “I don’t expect that to be a struggle.” Trishia smiled, nuzzling the soft skin of Lucy’s neck. She could not resist the urge to kiss the sensitive spot behind Lucy’s ear, even though she knew that Fiona was watching them from just a few meters away. But to her surprise, she didn’t hear the usual cat call or teasing comments. When she looked up, she noticed why Fiona was so quiet, and she chuckled.

  Yarra had her arm wrapped around Fiona’s neck, and her hand was clamped over her mouth. Yarra was taller and stronger than Fiona, and she winked at Trishia as she dragged Fiona inside the house.

  “What?” Lucy was not inclined to leave her comfortable spot anytime soon.

  “Your sister just got removed from the veranda.” Trishia grinned. “With some bodily force.”

  “I don’t have to ask which sister that was,” Lucy groaned. “I’m surprised she didn’t make any Fiona patented remarks.”

  “It’s hard to talk with a hand covering your mouth,” Trishia answered dryly. “Yarra saved us.”

  “I hope Fiona doesn’t bite her,” Lucy chuckled. “I’d hate to take her to the hospital to get the poor girl a rabies shot.”

  “Oh, ouch,” Trishia laughed.

  “Paybacks,” Lucy mumbled, snuggling closer to Trishia’s body. “Besides, you know we don’t mean half the things we say to each other.”

  “Yes, I know,” Trishia answered. “You girls can’t live with and can’t live without each other.”

  “Self-defense.”

  “I think it’s more a matter of you two being so alike.”

  Lucy raised her head. She quirked an eyebrow, but her eyes were twinkling. “If that’s the case, do I need to be afraid of some competition in… let’s say four or five years?”

  Trishia brought her face closer until they were nose to nose. Being so close to Lucy she could clearly see the tiny dark brown and gray specks in a sea of mostly green and for a moment she allowed herself to just gaze into its depths and forget all about where they were and who could be watching. “You don’t have to worry about that,” she answered in a serious voice. “I don’t give away my heart easily, and I’m a very loyal person. I don’t think lightly about commitment.”

  “Commitment?” Lucy breathed. “Did I miss something? I…are we…isn’t it—?”

  The place and time were not what Trishia had imagined them to be. In her fantasy, there had been a romantic, candle-lit dinner, a walk along the beach and a soft breeze ruffling Lucy’s dark hair. The sound of waves would have provided a soothing background music; a symbol of eternity.

  Instead, the sun was high in the sky, its heat painting a light coat of moisture on Trishia’s cotton clad back. She was filled with worry about the near future and knew the lines around her eyes merged with the dark circles underneath them. But the opportunity was perfect.

  “You have my heart, Lucy McDonnell. You captured it when we first kissed that evening on the beach. It felt so right, and at that moment, I knew I was head over heels.” Trishia saw the moisture pool in the eyes that were still so very close, she felt like she was drowning in them. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it anymore, and I don’t want to.” She paused and took a deep breath, before taking the leap. “Lucy McDonnell, will you do me the honor of sharing the rest of your life with me?” Trishia whispered. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

  For a moment, it was as if time stood still. Lucy gazed into Trishia’s eyes and saw all the love she felt for her reflected back, with such sincerity and openness it almost took her breath away and left her in awe. A feeling of complete happiness and love settled in her chest, leaving her body with a warm, tingling sensation. She reached out and cupped Trishia’s cheek. Slowly, her thumb caressed the soft skin, and she could feel Trishia lean into the touch, while their gazes were still locked. In Trishia’s eyes, she could see the vulnerability that was being fed by growing insecuri
ty. Lucy smiled. “I never want to wake up again without you next to me,” she finally answered in a voice that was hoarse with emotion. “Yes, I will share the rest of my life with you, Trishia Waters. That would be my honor.”

  Trishia closed her eyes, and she let out a breath that sounded like a mixture of a sigh and a sob. When she opened her eyes again, Lucy could see the tears in her eyes, and she could feel herself falling deeper in love. “Were you afraid I would say ‘no’?” she asked in a whisper, brushing away a strand of short curly hair.

  “A little,” Trishia confessed. She let out a soft laugh “I know you love me, but there was this tiny, little bit of insecurity that was getting in the way of being one hundred percent sure.”

  “I do love you, Trishia,” Lucy said. She wrapped her arms around Trishia’s neck and pulled her closer. “I love you,” she whispered again before their lips met and they lost themselves in a kiss that was tender and loving, yet passionate and hungry at the same time.

  *

  After Michael had left, Peter Jones had waited a few minutes at the side of the house, because the last thing he wanted to do was interrupt the loving intermezzo on the veranda. He had politely looked the other way when Trishia and Lucy had started kissing, but his interest in Sam and Jody’s yard was limited and after a little while he became impatient. He cleared his throat and glanced aside to see if his subtle signal had the desired effect. Unfortunately for him, both women were so engrossed in each other, that Peter knew he could throw firecrackers in their direction and they would still not respond.

  “And, why would they?” he asked himself with a smile. “They produce enough fire and crackling themselves.” So, Peter decided to grasp the ugly bull by its horns and resolutely walked toward the house, intent on going inside. Unnoticed, he climbed the few steps up to the veranda. “Excuse me,” he mumbled, passing Trishia and Lucy on his way to the door. There was still no response, and with a huge grin, Peter finally stepped inside the kitchen, where he was greeted by similar expressions of amusement.

  “That was courageous, Peter,” Jody complimented him with a chuckle. “It’s so funny they didn’t even notice you. They really must be on another planet.”

  “I just hope they keep it decent,” Sam joked. “Otherwise I’ll have to drag these three curious teenagers to the back of the house and lock them up.”

  “Yeah, right,” Fiona snorted. “You and which army?”

  “Are you challenging me?” Sam asked. “Ooh, I love a good challenge.”

  “Down, honey.” Jody laughed, using one of Kurt’s commands and backhanding Sam in the stomach. “Don’t scare the girls.”

  Sam smiled and quickly grabbed Jody’s hand, bringing it to her lips and softly kissing the back of it.

  “Oh, no, not you two as well. Is this contagious?” Fiona exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and rolling her eyes.

  “If it is we’ll have to find you somebody, Fiona,” Yarra chuckled. Her dark eyes were sparkling with mischief.

  Fiona cast a look at her friend and grinned when she noticed how close Yarra and Alice were sitting together. For a moment, she hesitated, afraid to hurt Alice’s feelings, but then she decided that if Alice wanted to be a part of their family, she had to be able to take a joke.

  “Why find me somebody, C.J.?” she asked with a smirk, quirking an eyebrow. “Did you find someone already?”

  Yarra threw back her head and laughed out loud. The sound made Alice smile, and she cast a look aside, to see Yarra wink at her.

  “Why does she call you ‘C.J.’?” Alice asked curiously, not aware of the deeper meaning behind Fiona’s teasing.

  “Well, I’m not entirely perfect, Alice. And I might have made some poor choices in the past,” Yarra started to explain, trying to get a rise out of Fiona, who obliged and made some gagging noises. “I have a soft spot for cookies, and unfortunately Fiona once saw me devour a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies, and that is why she decided to call me Cookie Jar, or C.J.” She chuckled. “She went for CJ, instead of CY because it sounds better.”

  “I swear Alice, don’t ever leave anything that remotely resembles a cookie unsupervised when Yarra is around, or it will disappear forever.” Fiona grinned. “The most surprising thing to me was that, after all those cookies, she wasn’t even sick. I don’t think her parents feed her.”

  “You’re just jealous,” Yarra grinned, shooting Fiona a teasing look.

  “She doesn’t have to be,” Jody said. “I remember an occasion when Fiona was…I think she was about five years old when Mom made baked jam rolls, and after she had put them on the table to cool off, quite a few mysteriously disappeared.”

  “How many?” Yarra asked eagerly, grinning at Fiona who did her best to look bored and indifferent.

  “Six,” Joan answered with a smile, shooting Fiona an affectionate look. “Fiona accused our non-existent cat of eating them, but after throwing up a few times… well, let’s just say the evidence was right there.”

  “Ew, Mom, that’s gross,” Fiona mumbled, sending a laughing Yarra a look of feigned hurt. “Don’t laugh, C.J. I was only five and didn’t know better.”

  “Oh, suck it up, Fi,” Yarra answered. “I guess we need to find you a suitable nickname as well.”

  “Oh, great. Like ‘Red’ is not bad enough already.”

  “Red?” Alice echoed, sending Yarra a quizzical look.

  “When our sweet Fiona here was a little girl, her hair was redder than it was dark, like it is now,” Yarra explained. “So, they called her ‘Red’”

  “And who told you that story, if I may ask?” Fiona asked with a raised eyebrow, shooting Jody an accusing look, who immediately held up both hands and shook her head in denial.

  “Lucy.” Yarra grinned. “I only had to ask once.”

  “Figures,” Fiona grumbled. “I’ll get her for that. After she finishes licking Trishia’s tonsils.”

  “Fiona!” Joan McDonnell exclaimed, but her words were lost in howls of laughter.

  Chapter 14

  It had not taken him long to pack. After all, he always traveled light. One suitcase and a box or two were all he needed. The rest of his belongings were safely tucked away in a storage unit. Besides, Martin Coles didn’t have many material possessions. The furniture had come with the house he was renting. The only things of value were his clothes and the top-notch computer that was sitting on a sturdy table in the corner of the room.

  Martin sucked in his bottom lip. He needed to decide whether to take it with him or not. He had always been careful, weighing his options and always proceeding with caution. He knew that if he’d take the computer with him and be caught, he’d be in trouble. The best choice would be to remove the hard drive and destroy it. That way, he wouldn’t leave a trace of anything that could tie him to illegal activities.

  He crawled underneath the desk, to disconnect the varies cables. The last thing he needed was to be electrocuted when opening the computer case. He didn’t know what the future would bring, but he was sure he could install the drive into another system, so his information wouldn’t be lost. When he got back to his feet again, he automatically glanced outside, and for a moment he thought his heart would stop. Across the street, the familiar car of his partner, Phil Kanides, slowly drove by and he could clearly see the look of tension and anger on his face.

  “Dammit!” Martin cursed, realizing Phil’s presence could only mean one thing. “I need to get out of here!”

  Martin was sure that Phil had not yet seen him, but stepping outside would quickly change that. He knew the noose around his neck was tightening, but he had always managed to avoid being captured, and he was positive this time would be no different.

  There was something there that hadn’t been present before though. It was a feeling of anger, almost hate, toward the person responsible for all his problems. If she hadn’t run away, he would have been free a long time ago. It was her fault that he had to burn down the house. And it was also he
r fault that those three beautiful blonde girls lost their lives. But then, she had always been a tough one to discipline.

  “Not anymore, though, Blondie,” Martin Coles hissed through clenched teeth. “I’ve got a pretty good idea where you are, and I’ll punish you for what you did to me. You will pay!”

  Hastily, he grabbed his police-issued gun from the table and slipped it inside its holster, underneath his jacket. He checked his wallet to make sure he was carrying his police identification and opened the back door. Casting one, long look over his shoulder at his computer he sighed with regret, but then he squared his shoulders and purposefully strode to the back of the yard, where a small gate led to an overgrown track. He knew that if he followed the trail, it would lead him away from the house, toward a busy shopping area, where he could easily blend in with the crowd. A small giggle escaped his lips when he thought about Phil Kanides’ face as soon as he would discover Martin’s car was still in the driveway, but his partner was long gone.

  “Serves him right, dirty Greek,” Martin hummed, looking forward to his final revenge. “Just a little while longer and I can get rid of that dyke as well and then… You’ll be mine, Alice.” Chuckling at his own sick thoughts, Martin Coles was filled with anticipation.

  *

  Just as Trishia opened the screen door to the kitchen, her cell phone started buzzing again, and with a quick, apologetic glance toward Lucy, she pulled it from her waistband, looked at the screen and brought it to her ear.

  “Inspector?”

  “Trish. Any word from Perth?”

  “Not yet, we’re hoping to hear back from them soon.”

  “So, Alice doesn’t know about the picture yet?”

  “No, not yet. We decided to wait until we have more information. So far, she’s had a rough day already, and I’d hate to put more unnecessary stress on her.”