Runaway Lies

by Shannon Curtis

  ‘You’re saying someone is using a gas explosion as a murder weapon,’ Bern said, his eyes widening as he grasped the consequences.

  ‘Exactly. We took a very close look because the house owner was adamant everything was in working order, and we tended to believe him. We’re going to hand it over to the arson squad, but I thought you might like a heads up.’ She grimaced. ‘They’ll have to investigate who would want this Montgomery guy dead. He seems like a stand-up bloke.’

  Alex and Bern shot each other a quick look. ‘Did you say Montgomery?’ Alex asked.

  She nodded. ‘Yep. Served in the brigade for over forty years. Still volunteers for the SES and Rural Fire Brigade, actually.’ She shook her head. ‘The man is amazing. Fitter than either of you two.’

  ‘So who would want both Darcy Montgomery and this man dead? And why?’ Alex asked his brother quietly.

  Bern shrugged, frowning. ‘It might be just a coincidence, same last name with no other connection,’ he commented.

  ‘Like Smith, or Jones? Unlikely.’

  ‘But not impossible.’

  ‘I have no idea what you’re all talking about, and I have to get back to the office – I have to hand everything that I’ve found so far over to the arson guys, but I want to help catch this guy,’ Laney said as she turned to the door. ‘The lab are still looking at the letter bomb, we’ll let you know if anything pops.’

  Alex’s mobile phone started to ding in his trouser pocket, and the blood chilled in his veins. He swore, pulling out the device as he jogged to the door.

  ‘What’s up?’ Bern asked, on his heels, and Laney stepped out of their way.

  Dom was running down the hall towards him, tight-lipped. ‘This doesn’t look like a false alarm,’ he said. ‘I’ve tried calling the house and nobody is answering.’

  Alex halted at the service lift and inserted a key to override the commands, calling the lift up as an express to their floor. Philip, the helicopter pilot, came bounding from the other end of the hall, where the staff recreational room and kitchen were.

  ‘Can someone tell me what’s going on?’ Bern asked again.

  ‘The safe-room alarm at Dom’s property has been activated,’ Alex informed him, his words brusque. Laney pulled out her mobile and waved the men on to the lift.

  ‘I’ll call the local department and mobilise them,’ she said, and Alex nodded gratefully. The local fire brigade would get there before Dom’s helicopter could. They could breach the property boundary where the local police couldn’t. The team he managed would also be receiving the alert and wouldn’t be too far behind.

  ‘I’m coming with you,’ Bern said, stepping in behind them.

  Dom nodded. ‘Thanks.’ Alex watched his friend as he clenched his hands into fists.

  ‘God, why does this keep happening?’ Dom muttered, his face pale. ‘This guy just keeps coming and coming, like the Terminator.’

  Alex darted a look at Bern and winced. ‘It might not be your man,’ he told his friend quietly as they emerged onto the roof of the building. After what they’d learned from Laney, he wasn’t going to hold anything back from Dom. The wind was loud and strong up here, and Alex’s jacket fluttered behind him as they jogged across to the helicopter that stood on standby.

  Philip climbed into the pilot’s seat and immediately commenced his pilot checks, flicking buttons and levers and checking gauges with a speed that was impressive.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Dom asked darkly as he strapped himself into his seat.

  ‘We have to tell you something,’ Alex yelled over the sound of the helicopter’s engines. ‘Something about Darcy.’

  CHAPTER

  25

  Darcy ran into the room and keyed the combination into the keypad. ‘It’s okay, it’s just me, it’s just Darcy,’ she called out as the door swung open.

  She whipped her hands up as the barrel of a gun emerged from the darkness, her eyes widening in shock.

  ‘It’s me, Darcy,’ she panted past the burn in her throat.

  The gun lowered, and Gertrude moved back, beckoning her in, her expression relieved. ‘Get in.’

  Darcy stepped inside the dark room, and tears welled in her eyes as she saw Jonah and Julia huddled together in the corner before the door closed and the light was gone. Gertrude moved past her in the darkness, a cautionary hand on her arm as she leaned over to switch on the lantern.

  Darcy hurried over to the scared children, Julia’s face streaked with tears, Jonah’s eyes wide as he took in all that was happening. She smoothed the hair back from their foreheads, and smiled at them.

  ‘It’s okay, guys. Everything’s fine,’ she whispered. Whispering didn’t feel so bad on her throat. Each child returned her smile with a shaky one of their own.

  Gertrude came to her side. ‘Are you okay, Darcy?’ she asked in a gentle voice.

  ‘Yes, I’m so sorry, Gertrude, I didn’t know what else to do.’ She glanced at the door. He was gone. She’d heard the car. Her senses were on high alert, her muscles tense. She expected him to explode through the door, somehow.

  Gertrude rubbed her arms, looking at her with concern. ‘You did very well, Darcy. I don’t understand what happened, but you did very well.’ Gertrude inclined her head to make eye contact with her. When Darcy saw the warmth, the care, her body finally reacted to what had happened.

  Gertrude frowned, and Darcy realised the woman could feel the trembling she couldn’t control. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ she asked gently. She indicated Darcy’s shirt.

  The left front of her shirt had been ripped across her chest and was hanging on by the stitching around the sleeve and collar. At least today she’d worn a bra. She felt an urge to giggle.

  She lifted the fabric to hide the scar on her stomach, wincing at the drag in her shoulder. He’d hurt her arm again. Not too badly, though, not like the accident. She covered herself, stuffing some of the material through a now-buttonless buttonhole. Gertrude grasped her arm, holding it to the light. Darcy sucked in her breath. At the moment her arm was mottled with red marks from where the man had grabbed her and yanked. It was going to bruise, but that was a small price to pay for her life – and the lives of Jonah, Julia and Gertrude. She moved her arm so that Gertrude had to let go. She could handle bruises.

  A little hand slid into hers. Julia. The girl looked up at her with wide, worried eyes. The kids were scared, all because of the trouble she’d brought to their home.

  She smiled, brushing the wetness from her cheeks. ‘I’m fine,’ she said, wincing as she forced her voice past the swelling in her throat.

  Julia stuck her thumb in her mouth and tilted her head. ‘What’s wrong with your voice?’ she asked.

  Darcy’s hand fluttered to her throat. She smiled, trying to calm the frightened girl.

  ‘Just a bit sore, honey, that’s all. How good are you and your brother? You looked after Gertrude so well,’ she said, turning to Jonah and holding her arm out, despite the ache in her shoulder.

  ‘We thought you were gone,’ he said to her, his tone faintly accusatory.

  Darcy nodded. ‘I understand,’ she told him, and beckoned him over. And she did. He’d lost his mother in traumatic circumstances. It must have felt like the river all over again, racing to the safe place they knew was for when bad men came, and she wasn’t with him.

  He launched himself at her side, and she caught him and held him, murmuring soft nonsense into his ear as he cried into her shoulder. Tears welled in her own eyes as she held the two trembling bodies against her until they were one giant quivering mess. She was a monster. She’d done this to them, she’d brought the man into their home, she’d put them in danger.

  She had to go.

  There was a ruckus just out the door, then a beeping noise, and the security light flashed to green. The door opened, and several men in tactical police uniforms stood outside the door, framed by the cotton-candy innocence of Julia’s pink wardrobe. At the sight of the women and children
huddling inside, they immediately holstered their weapons. The man at the front stepped forwards, holding out his gloved hand.

  ‘Hey, you can come out now, you’re safe.’

  Dom stared sourly at the woman huddled in the armchair. He didn’t know whether the emotion twisting in his gut was anger, disappointment or hurt, or a combination of all three. She looked pale and drained, her dark eyes large as she watched the police milling about. Who the hell was she? Oh, sure, Alex and Bern had filled him in, but he couldn’t quite believe it. Darcy, a killer?

  He’d asked Gertrude to take the kids upstairs so they could pack up some toys. He was taking them back to his home in Mosman. He couldn’t leave them here, not after what had happened. He glared at Darcy. Not after what she’d introduced to his home.

  His head and heart were at war. On the one hand Alex and Bern had given him information that was startling and frightening. God, three cops. On the other hand, she’d saved his children from the river. From what he could tell from Gertrude’s account, she’d saved them again. Had the intruder come here to strike at Dom through his family, or at Darcy, for her apparent double-cross?

  He watched as Bern approached her, handcuffs at the ready. He held out his hand. ‘Before you arrest her, I want to have a word with her.’

  Bern stared at him for a moment, before nodding and stepping back. ‘Sure.’

  Dom went to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. ‘We need to talk.’

  He saw her stiffen in her chair before she nodded and rose. He gestured down the hall to his study. Alex was talking to the tactical response team he employed, and Bern crossed to talk to the officers in the room. What Dom had to say didn’t need witnesses.

  He followed her down the hall, noticing she held herself stiffly. Her shoulders were hunched, and she’d donned a collared shirt and yoga pants that made her legs seem even longer. The collar of the shirt was turned up, looking quite chic and fashionable, something he hadn’t really noticed about Darcy before. Usually she wore her soft T-shirts and denim shorts. Despite the heat outside she seemed chilled, rubbing her arms absently as she entered his office.

  ‘Did you tell the police who you are, Ms Montgomery?’

  She flinched, her mouth opening for a moment as she looked between him and the door, and various emotions flashed across her face, from shock and dismay, to downright fear and then a poignant sadness.

  ‘Did you?’ she said, leaning against one of his bookshelves.

  He shrugged. ‘I’m not sure if I know who you are. Actually, I’m sure I don’t know who you are.’

  He crossed to his desk, wanting the barrier between them in case he lost all rational thought and tried to offer the woman some comfort after her ordeal, as his instincts craved to do. He wanted to reach for her, touch her, assure himself she was all right. But no. She’d lied. She’d lied to him, to the kids, to Gertrude – to all of them.

  ‘I meant to tell you, Dom,’ she whispered, and he chose to ignore the tears that she blinked back. ‘That night, I wanted to tell you…’

  He remembered. He remembered interrupting her, but he also remembered her wanting to leave his home. He remembered convincing her to stay – and he remembered what came afterwards.

  With all his worldly experience, he’d still managed to fall for a beautiful pair of teary brown eyes. He’d seen photos of her – even the colour of her eyes was a damn lie. He was such a sucker for a damsel in distress. So gullible. His lips twisted. Had she orchestrated the situation that night? His whole experience with her had been one of masterful manipulation. Was sleeping with him just a way to ensure she stayed in her comfy little haven?

  ‘All this time,’ he said, gazing through the window to the tranquil setting outside, so different to the dark intensity in the room, ‘I felt this weight of guilt for what I’d put you through.’ He shook his head, remembering that moment when her van had exploded, the crushing horror he’d felt when he realised he’d brought loss and destruction to a woman who’d saved his kids, a woman undeserving of such violent treatment.

  ‘I’m so sorry.’

  He continued as though she hadn’t spoken. ‘All this time, I’ve wanted to make it up to you, because it was my fault you were in such a mess, because it was my troubles visiting upon you, and I was wrong, wasn’t I?

  ‘I blamed myself for what happened to you,’ he said, not waiting for an answer, ‘the loss of all your worldly goods. Then, knowing there was nowhere else for you to go, I offered you the security of my home, my family, so that you could heal.’ His voice started to grate, like iron scraping over concrete, and he cleared his throat. His mouth turned down, a heavy feeling sinking deep inside his heart at her betrayal.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Dominic. I didn’t plan for any of this. I didn’t want any harm to come to you or your family.’

  He turned to face her, and he could feel the bleakness settling into his bones. ‘But you brought it, didn’t you? Who was he? An ex? Another accomplice you’ve double-crossed?’

  Darcy frowned, confused. ‘What? No! I don’t know who this man is – I’ve never seen him before in my life, I swear. What do you mean, an accomplice?’

  ‘Come on, for once get real with me. There was someone else at that safe house with you. I know that much. You’ve strung me along, batting those beautiful brown eyes at me – who knows how many other guys you’ve got wrapped around your finger, doing your bidding?’

  She gaped at him for a moment. ‘You think the guy who was here was a friend? That I betrayed him, and that’s why he tracked me down here?’ She shook her head, moving her collar to reveal her neck. ‘No, this wasn’t some friend.’

  The flesh of her neck was mottled with bruises, and equal parts sadness and anger flared within him that someone had laid hands on her, had hurt her. Then anger took over the balance when he realised his kids were in the house at the time.

  He folded his arms and stared down at his desk, not wanting to be distracted by the hurt and pain in her expression, not wanting to be convinced, to be fooled again. ‘Do you have any idea what I went through when I heard that alarm?’ he asked her softly. ‘When I thought—’ He rubbed his chin. God, this was hard to get out. ‘When I thought something had happened to you and the kids,’ he continued, remembering that moment of blind, paralysing panic, of the dark memories gushing forth of another time. ‘When I realised that my family was in harm’s way.’ He lifted his gaze to hers finally, saw the shocked comprehension, the pain in her expression. ‘For an instant, I went blank – I didn’t want to think, didn’t want to feel – didn’t want to consider the possibilities, the visions of what could be happening.’ He shook his head. ‘I was so scared,’ he admitted in a low voice. ‘So afraid of what was happening to my kids.’

  The tears were flowing freely down her face, and she took a step forwards. ‘Oh God, Dom, I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t even think about that, about what happened before.’ She squeezed her eyes shut. ‘I’ve caused you so much pain – sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it. I – I didn’t know where to turn, what to do – but I never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all you and your family.’

  The muscle in his jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth.

  ‘Tell me, Darcy. Just tell me, please – tell me it’s not true. Tell me you’ve never killed anyone.’ His eyes searched her face, saw the self-recrimination, the pain – the shame – as she slowly opened her eyes to meet his gaze.

  ‘I can’t,’ she choked out. ‘But I never set out to kill anyone, you have to believe me. It was self-defence.’

  ‘You expect me to believe you, after all these lies? Darcy, there are cops outside waiting to arrest you for the murder of three police officers.’

  ‘I didn’t kill them,’ she cried hoarsely.

  ‘And what about the other body found at the scene?’ The one they thought was her accomplice.

  ‘That was self-defence.’ Her tone was quiet, subdued, but there was guilt there, in the tears tracking down her fa
ce.

  For a moment there was silence as the full meaning of her words hit home.

  ‘Please, Dom, I can explain. When I—’

  He held up a hand. ‘Stop. No more lies. You brought danger into my home, Darcy,’ he said to her softly. ‘You deceived me, you put my family at risk – the one thing I will not, cannot, accept – all to save your own neck.’ He uncrossed his arms. ‘You can get out of my home,’ he hissed at her. ‘I’m not going to protect you, not anymore.’

  She blinked once, twice, as though reeling from slaps to her face, then nodded. ‘Of course.’

  He turned away from her. ‘I think the detectives outside want to talk to you.’

  There was silence for a long moment, then he heard her sneakers on the polished floor, a rustle, and the faint click of the door latch. He sank into the chair behind his desk and gazed out at the garden, watching the yellow-tailed black cockatoos play in the fountain. He didn’t want to see her get arrested.

  It was a while before he finally stirred, wanting to hold his kids close, and reassure himself that Gertrude and Roland were also okay. He stepped out into the hallway and slowly returned to the living room. The place was still full of strangers. He slid his clenched fists into his trouser pockets. He didn’t like it, didn’t like having so many new faces surrounding him, surrounding his kids. He sighed with relief when he saw Alex striding towards him.

  ‘Where’s Darcy?’

  Dom checked the room. The woman who’d made him feel so much in such a short time was nowhere to be seen. His kids were sitting on the lounge with Gertrude and Roland. Julia was snuggled up close and looking sleepy, while Jonah was watching the goings-on with a keen interest. Dom would have thought the detectives would still be interviewing her, but Bern had just stepped away from the group to take a call on his mobile phone.

  He shrugged. ‘I thought she was here,’ he said. ‘I figure she’ll have to answer a few questions.’

  Alex nodded. ‘You’re right, but we thought she was still with you.’