Under Cover Of Dark

by Juanita Kees

  Lily moved closer and took her son in her arms, rocking him like the innocent baby he once was. She pressed a kiss to his head, letting the tears fall as she held him against her heart. ‘It’s okay, baby. It’s all over.’

  ‘I couldn’t save him. He was my friend.’ Luke sobbed.

  Lily held him tighter, stroking his hair as she rocked. ‘Now do you understand, Detective? You’ve seen the lengths Nic will go to — killing children, blowing up houses, death threats — to protect his business. I don’t believe we’ll be safe in witness protection, but now we have no choice. I want a deal for Luke.’

  Mark felt his eyes sting, and his heart grow heavy. What a fucked up life they’d led. He looked at Harold, who busily tapped away at his iPad, his face unreadable. It was hard, he thought, to sit here and not reach out to comfort Lily and Luke. The best he could do right now was put the culprits behind bars. Problem was, they needed more than two boys’ sketches and diaries. They needed hard evidence. The only fingerprints on the syringe were Tiny’s. The only evidence that Bennetti and Albero were at the convention centre were hazy security pictures of a car driven by a man whose face they couldn’t see…and a child’s word against his own father’s.

  Chapter 8

  Luke’s first day on the apprenticeship program came far too quickly. A week had passed since they’d told their story to Mark and Harold. There’d been no word from Albero, but Lily knew it wasn’t over. Albero wasn’t stupid. Who knew what tactics he’d try next. Letting Luke out of her sight was the hardest thing to do.

  ‘He’ll be okay,’ TJ promised, as she held open the door to let Marty and Luke race past. ‘We’ll keep a close eye on him. He’ll spend most of the day doing orientation and filling out paperwork with his counsellor, Ethan Wright.’

  ‘I know. It’s just —’ Lily spread her hands and shrugged.

  ‘I understand. I’ll give you a call a couple of times during the day and let you know how he’s doing. If you’re planning on working in the garden today, give Bill a call to give you a hand.’

  ‘Thanks, TJ.’

  ‘You’re welcome. Oh, I’ve left the refuge mobile phone on the kitchen table. Would you mind keeping it on you today? If anyone rings for assistance, let me know and I’ll send someone out.’

  Lily smiled. In the week they’d been at the refuge, callers had always rung TJ or Scott on their personal mobiles or on the house phone, so Lily knew that leaving her the mobile phone was more about making sure she had a means of contact on her at all times. ‘Sure thing,’ she said and stayed on the veranda to wave them down the drive.

  Eager to get to her garden, Lily pocketed the mobile phone on her way through the kitchen and out the back door. Sarge, ever vigilant and faithful, dogged her steps up the winding pathway. Together, they took a moment to enjoy the peaceful silence.

  The garden was laid out to plan with string markers to segregate the beds. Bill, bless him, had started to build the patio over the old fireplace. Four solid jarrah posts stood sentinel, steeped in concrete footings, and the framework for the roof was almost complete. Soon Bill would start laying the sheets of Colourbond across it and when the decking was done, she would set to work planting a border of Geraldton Wax around it. They’d discussed building a wall behind the old brick chimney to serve two purposes, one to protect visitors under the roof from the wind, sun and rain, and the outer wall as a graffiti wall. Not just any graffiti, but a tribute to Tiny and others who came to the refuge for help — a mural of combined creativity, where the kids could express their dreams, fears and reality.

  Yes, Lily thought, it would be a way to encourage them to use their talent for good rather than bad. She was itching to get her hands on a paintbrush herself. Sketching the garden had brought back memories of a time, so long ago now, when she’d enjoyed painting and sketching as a hobby. Perhaps she could do a few oil paintings and auction them to help raise funds for the refuge. And a job. She’d have to think about getting a job soon. Gino’s assets were frozen when he died but Lily doubted she or Luke would see a penny from his estate anyway. It was more likely the courts would seize them as proceeds of crime. Yes, a job would be on top of the list. But what?

  ‘How does a woman with no working experience, find a job in this town, Sarge?’

  Sarge looked at her with a frown as she picked up a shovel and began to dig at the edge of a cordoned-off area. He grumbled and lay his head on his paws to watch. How indeed? She enjoyed being part of the volunteer group at the refuge, but they couldn’t stay here forever. Sooner or later, they’d have to move. Lily dug deep into the soil to prepare a place for the first rose bush. She mixed in a little fertiliser and topped it with manure before moving on to the next spot Bill had marked with a yellow “x”.

  Five holes later, her shovel clanged against a solid surface. Sarge’s ears pricked up at the ringing noise of metal to metal and he rose to his feet to amble over for a sniff. Lily knelt in the freshly turned ground and brushed away the remaining soil to uncover a square-shaped biscuit tin. Slightly buckled and discoloured from the heat of the fire that had swept across the surface, it seemed otherwise undamaged. Excitement bubbled in Lily’s stomach. What treasure had she uncovered? She fingered the pattern on the lid. Anzac biscuits — not that old. Sarge whined as he sniffed at the box and nudged it with his nose.

  ‘Okay, boy,’ Lily said, ruffling his ears. ‘Let’s have a look inside.’

  Sarge barked as she sat, cross-legged on the ground and lifted the tin with gentle hands. Using the prongs of her weeding tool, she wrestled with the distorted lid until it popped free to reveal a resealable plastic bag filled with an array of paper and objects. Lily shivered a little as she carefully pried open the bag and Sarge nudged against her leg.

  ‘What’s up, Sarge?’ He whined and nudged some more. ‘Okay, okay.’

  Lily opened the bag and tipped the items out into the biscuit tin. A little packet containing white powder slid from between the papers. She recognised its shape and form instantly. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. No. Oh God, no. But Sarge’s reaction confirmed what she wanted to deny as he nudged the packet into the corner of the tin. Drugs. She shuffled through the papers and found an envelope, thick with banknotes — over a thousand dollars, she guessed by the weight and size. The rest of the content was a mix of faded photos, a USB, childhood drawings and school reports. Her gaze was drawn to a piece of paper bearing the government logo. She lifted it and let it fall open, careful to hold the very edge of the paper so as not to get it dirty. A birth certificate — Tiny’s. Cold fingers crept up her spine as she took in the details.

  ‘You miserable bastard, Nic Albero.’

  * * *

  Mark and Harold pored over the diaries and made notes as they pieced their case together one step at a time. With the report back from the Graffiti Team, they could identify the messages in the graffiti art and the direction it pointed them in had Mark excited. Greed was always what tripped up criminals in the end.

  ‘So, Albero played lawyer, Gino was the brawn and Madame Snow ran the show. That we knew already. But why did they target Tiny, a foster kid with no record until he met them? How did they even make the connection?’ Harold pushed Tiny’s diary aside and leaned back in his chair.

  ‘Yes, how did Luke and Tiny become friends?’ Mark flicked through the pages of Luke’s diary. ‘According to Luke, the Tag Raiders formed at school, just a couple of kids mucking around with graffiti. But how did Bennetti and Albero get them involved in drugs? Why would you screw up your own kid? And why choose Tiny as the runner?’

  Harold shrugged. ‘Maybe because he was a foster child? No ties, no harm?’

  ‘Mmm, my gut is telling me there’s something —’ Mark broke off as his mobile rang. He looked at the screen and saw the number identified as the refuge. ‘Hello, TJ. What have you done now? Another car chase, citizen’s arrest, what?’

  ‘Mark, it’s Lily.’ Mark shivered as her voice flowed over him like liqu
id gold. ‘I’ve found something.’ The liquid turned to lead.

  ‘Tell me.’ He listened carefully. ‘I’ll be right up. Is Sarge with you?’

  ‘Yes.’ Lily’s voice quavered a little in his ear and squeezed his heart.

  ‘Good, stay put. I’ll get there as quickly as I can.’ He ended the call and looked at Harold. ‘Looks like we have fresh evidence. Lily uncovered a box of Tiny’s stuff in the garden. You coming up there with me?’

  ‘Nah, you go riding to the rescue. I’ll keep plodding through here. Some of us actually work for the taxpayers’ money.’ He grinned. ‘Besides, I can trust you not to get up to any mischief with the widow, can’t I?’

  ‘Fuck off! Have the puzzle finished by the time I get back and I might let you go home early.’

  ‘Ha! Sometimes I think Jeannie would rather have you come home early. Thinks the bloody sun, moon and stars shine out your arse!’

  ‘That’s because I’m prettier than you.’ He picked up his car keys and tossed them in his palm. ‘See ya.’

  ‘Keep your hands in your pockets and off the widow,’ Harold called after him.

  As he drove up the winding road into the hills, Mark thought about how hard it was becoming to do that. Over the weeks they’d been at the refuge, he’d watched as both Lily and Luke had begun to shed the darkness of their past. He found himself spending more time there, being roped into the volunteer roles, and all the time waiting to see Lily smile, to hear her laugh, watch her emerge like a butterfly from chrysalis.

  ‘Damn dangerous ground,’ he muttered as he flicked the indicator switch up to turn left and onto the climbing driveway of TJ’s property. Reaching the parking area, he killed the engine and waited a moment. Through the windscreen he saw her up near the old fireplace, sitting on the ground, legs crossed with Sarge’s head in her lap. His heart skipped a beat and he wiped clammy hands on his jeans. ‘Very dangerous ground,’ he reminded himself and swung open the car door.

  Lily stood as he approached and dusted off her shorts. The movement drew his attention to her firm hips, shapely thighs and slim legs kissed by the sun. She twisted around to brush the soil off her bum and Mark’s hands itched. He shoved them determinedly in his pockets.

  ‘Hi, Lily.’

  ‘Hey. Thanks for coming up.’ She hugged her arms tightly under her breasts and avoided his gaze. With a nod of her head in the direction of the garden behind her, she added, ‘I’ve left the tin next to the hole for you. Did you want a coffee?’

  Mark freed a hand from his pocket to rub at the tension in his neck. ‘Love one. I’ll bring the tin into the kitchen if that’s okay?’

  Lily nodded. ‘Sure. When you’re ready.’

  He lowered his hand from his neck and reached out to her. ‘You okay?’

  ‘Yes.’ She stepped out of reach and turned towards the house. ‘Come, Sarge. I’ll get you a drink too,’ she said and walked away.

  Mark watched and rubbed his hand across the tension in his chest. He’d felt the door slam closed on him as she’d retreated into that damned dark place once more. Whatever she’d found, it was serious. With a sigh, he walked to his car to fetch an evidence kit and rubber gloves. Whatever it was, he was about to find out.

  In the kitchen, Lily filled Sarge’s bowl, placed it on the floor near the door, and walked over to the kitchen bench to put the kettle on to boil. Normal every day actions in her totally abnormal, screwed up world. She arranged the mugs, spooned in the instant coffee and sugar, and waited, listening to the gurgle of the kettle.

  Just when things started looking up — just as hope for a future began to flare — Gino’s ghost and Albero’s threats reared their ugly heads. God damn it, she was sick of it. She sloshed the water into the mugs and slammed the kettle onto the bench, fighting back the tears. Tears of anger at least — not sadness. She licked a spot of boiling water from her hand, not registering the burn of her skin through the burn of anger and hatred that boiled in her gut.

  Damn fucking Gino to fucking hell! She hoped — no, prayed — he burnt in Hell for his sins. The spoon clattered against the aluminium as she tossed it into the empty sink. And as for Albero…bile rose bitter in her throat as her stomach churned, she’d fucking see the bastard hanged. Milk splashed across the counter top as her hand shook with rage. She slapped the lid on the bottle and shoved it into the fridge, slamming the door closed with a satisfying thunk. No more secrets. No more lies. Screw the consequences, it was time for justice.

  ‘Lily.’ Mark’s voice washed over her like soothing oil as she stood facing the fridge, eyes closed, chin jutting out determinedly and her shoulders tensed. She took a deep breath and released it slowly, uncurling white-knuckled fingers from the fists formed at her side.

  ‘I’m okay. Angry, but okay.’ She felt his warmth against her body and willed her shoulders to relax under the comfort of his hand. For a moment, she absorbed the warmth, the comfort, the promise his touch held. Placing her cold hand over his and squeezing lightly, she said, ‘Thank you.’

  Lily turned under his hand. For a moment she looked into his eyes, traced the lines of his face before she placed her hands on his firm, slender waist and stretched up to meet the lips that had already begun the descent to hers. She felt Mark brace a hand next to her head against the fridge, but didn’t register much more as his lips warmed her cold ones and the anger drained away to be replaced by something else.

  No less consuming, desire flooded through her as she kissed him with all the passion and pent up emotion she’d stored in her heart for far too long. Her hands wandered from his waist, up over his chest, across his shoulders and into his soft, short blond hair as she pressed into him and dragged him closer.

  With a groan, he spread his legs to accommodate her weight, released his hold on the fridge to grip her bottom and pull her closer still. Lily revelled in the heat of his body against hers and stretched against him like a satisfied cat. She rubbed her leg up the side of his in invitation, heat pooling through her as he ran a hand over her thigh and hooked it around his waist. As he lifted her against him, she hooked the other leg up and hoisted into his arms, buried into his chest and sunk even deeper into the magic of his kiss.

  ‘Lily,’ he whispered, abandoning her lips to press heated kisses against her neck, into the V of her t-shirt where he nipped at the swell of her breast.

  Lily abandoned all reasonable thought even as alarm bells rang in her head. She thrust her hips against his, riding the long hard length of his body, her hands clenched at his nape as she held his lips to her breast, her back against the cold stainless steel of the fridge, eyes closed as she absorbed a pleasurable passion she’d never experienced before. The alarm bells continued to ring and she ignored them, dragging his lips to hers, desperately seeking the comfort, the promise of loving and being loved in return. But the damn bells wouldn’t stop ringing. Realisation penetrated the haze as she felt Mark pull away, slowly, reluctantly.

  ‘Your phone is ringing.’ He slipped it out of her back pocket and handed it to her, before slowly letting her slide the length of him.

  The phone stopped and he held her against his chest for a moment longer, pressed a kiss on her crown. Breathless and wanting, she stayed there until the phone rang again.

  Chapter 9

  ‘Lily? My God! Are you okay? I’ve been ringing and ringing. Is Bill there with you? Are you out in the garden?’ TJ’s voice was frantic with worry.

  ‘I’m okay, sorry. I…I didn’t hear the phone ring.’

  TJ let out a sigh of relief that echoed through the phone. Lily looked up at Mark. He towered over her, eyes closed, forehead against the arm he rested on the fridge and the lips that had plundered hers so warmly only moments before, were now drawn in a tight line. She slipped out from the haven his body created and faced reality.

  ‘Mark’s here. I found some of Tiny’s stuff buried in the garden.’

  ‘Really? Wow! Like what?’

  ‘Some papers, photos, more drawings
, that kind of stuff.’ She turned around to watch as Mark pushed away from the fridge and sat at the table to sip at the coffee. The strong fingers that had caressed her body pressed briefly into his closed eyes as if warding off a headache. ‘Mark’s going to look through them now.’

  ‘Okay. You sure you’re okay? You sound a little…shell-shocked.’

  ‘Yes, it’s all good.’ Mark’s head lifted and his eyes met hers. She smiled tentatively and he smiled back. Her heart lifted a little. ‘All good. Everything okay with Luke?’

  ‘Yes, he’s having a ball messing around cleaning engine parts and emptying rubbish bins.’

  Lily laughed. ‘That has to be a first! Emptying rubbish bins. Did you want me to cook dinner tonight?’

  ‘Would you? You angel! We’re having a toolbox meeting after work. We have two more recruits for the apprenticeship program so I need to find another technician and we have to look at installing more equipment.’ Excitement rang in TJ’s voice.

  Lily loved the passion that TJ showed for her rehabilitation project. It warmed her heart that there were people like Scott and TJ…and now Mark too…who were prepared to give kids like Luke, Marty and Tiny a second chance, without judging them by their pasts.

  ‘Of course I can. Lasagne and salad sound okay? I might have a go at baking some fresh bread to go with it. Bring home a list of the equipment you need and I’ll phone around for quotes for you tomorrow,’ she offered.

  ‘Seriously? You legend!’