Unbroken

by Natalie Debrabandere

  He came to a stop in front of James’s cottage, not surprised when the man walked out to greet him pretty much immediately.

  “James. How’s it going?” Omaru enquired, and he shook the man’s hand and was pleased to see that he was stone cold sober.

  “Pretty good, chief,” James replied, smiling, “pretty good. What can I do for you?”

  “I got your email, and I was wondering if we could have a chat.”

  James looked very comfortable as he glanced back toward his home.

  “Sure. My partner was just about to put the kettle on.”

  “Coffee?”

  “Yep.”

  Omaru smiled a little.

  “That would be great,” he said.

  Kristan was running hard on the side of the road. The tarmac was covered with a thin layer of snow, and it was grippy and soft underfoot, just the right kind of surface for speed. It was only a mile into town and so she had started slow going the opposite way for a few more; now she was going pretty much flat out, trying to stay ahead of Liz, who was riding her mountain bike and acting as her pace maker.

  “Looking good, darling, keep it up,” Liz shouted, and she was enjoying watching her partner run.

  Kristan was wearing black tights, a brand new pair of Nikes, a red Helly Hansen top and a pair of Oakley’s. She looked loose and strong as she powered up the road leading into Crystal Springs, almost taking over, concentrating on her stride.

  “Faster,” she laughed as her lover glanced over her shoulder and forgot to pedal for a second.

  Liz got out of the saddle and accelerated, getting ahead of her once more.

  “How’s that?” she yelled back, and this time Kristan grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

  “Good,” she panted. “All the way now, babe.”

  Liz’s knee was holding up, and Kristan had declared at breakfast that if she did not get a run in pretty soon, no amount of love making would be able to keep her sane. It was a beautiful morning, crisp and light, and they had decided to run into town so that Liz could get a good look at Crystal Springs. As they neared the edge of it Kristan struggled to keep up with her, as she was finally following instructions and maintaining a very healthy seven and a half mile per minute.

  “Keep going,” she shouted at her lover, and Kristan dug deep for the last five hundred yards.

  She slowed down when they reached the main street, to a jog and then a fast walk, smiling at Liz who was now free-wheeling by her side, looking happy.

  “How was that?”

  “Tremendous,” Kristan replied, finally coming to a complete stop in front of the police station and leaning forward, hands on her thighs, catching her breath.

  “Did you enjoy running after me?” Liz enquired in a mischievous tone.

  Kristan was laughing.

  “Oh yeah,” she grinned, “best run I’ve ever had.”

  Liz dismounted and walked back toward her.

  “Thought so,” she declared with satisfaction, and she leaned over for a quick kiss and then stood next to her lover as she started to stretch.

  “How’s your leg doing?” Kristan enquired. “Feeling okay?”

  “Yep, feeling good. It’s nice to get it moving a bit.”

  “Great.”

  Liz got a warm jacket and a hat out of the rucksack she was carrying and handed them over to Kristan.

  “Make sure you don’t get cold now,” she said firmly.

  Kristan pulled the jacket over her running top and the hat over her head, and she nodded.

  “Thanks honey. You’d make a good coach, you know.”

  “Not so sure about that, Kris. I was checking you out the whole time instead of checking the pace.”

  Kristan laughed a little.

  “Really? I didn’t notice. But thanks. So was I.”

  She took the rucksack from her partner and put it on, and she locked the mountain bike to a nearby lamp post.

  “I think we should have mobile cover if we stick close enough to the police station for a second,” she said.

  “I’ve got a couple of missed calls from Omaru,” Liz announced when she checked her iPhone.

  Kristan frowned at her own cell and met Liz’s eyes.

  “I’ve got five,” she said.

  “From Omaru?”

  “Nope. From Pam.”

  Liz sighed loudly and simply waved her phone in the air.

  “Might as well call her back now,” she declared, and she did not sound too happy about it.

  Kristan hid a smile.

  “I’ll do it now,” she said.

  She sat on the steps leading to the police building and dialed Pam’s number, annoyed when she got her answerphone. She tried again and got the machine once more, so she left her a message.

  “Pam, it’s me,” she said, and she sounded impatient. “I’m out of range most of the time but I got your missed calls. I should have cover for the next two hours, so call me back when you get this, okay?” She nearly hung up and hesitated. “I hope you’re okay,” she added a little more softly. “We need to talk, all right?”

  Liz was standing not far from her, deep in conversation with Omaru.

  “We’re fine,” Kristan heard her say. “Yep, that’s no problem. Speak to you soon.”

  “Any news?” Kristan enquired as she ended the call.

  “No.”

  “You look worried, what’s going on?”

  “I’m not sure,” Liz replied with a slight shake of the head. “But he sounded in a hurry. Intense. I don’t know. Could be nothing.”

  Kristan nodded, far from convinced.

  In her opinion Omaru was getting close to something, and he was keeping his cards close to his chest. She considered calling him back and shaking the facts out of him, but then she forgot all about it as soon as she saw the happy smile on her partner’s lips.

  Liz was staring intently across the street, looking excited.

  Kristan followed her gaze.

  “What? What are you looking at?” she asked.

  “Art shop. Just right over there,” Liz replied, pointing at a tiny window next to the bakery.

  “Oh yeah. Want to have a look?”

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Of course not,” Kristan said softly.

  Liz stood close to her and clasped her fingers around her wrists, looking deep into her eyes.

  “You’re not cold? Or sore or anything?” she enquired.

  Kristan shook her head, touched by her lover’s concern.

  “I feel great,” she assured her.

  “Okay then,” Liz decided. “Let’s check out the art shop.”

  They crossed the busy street, and Kristan was happy to follow Liz as she led the way, first to the tiny shop she had spotted, and then on to the local museum, an art gallery, and finally when she decided that they should get warm and take a break in the local cafe.

  Before she had met her, Kristan had always been the one who called the shots, the one who was in charge, who made the decisions. Right now she was more than happy to take a back seat, and it was a wonderful feeling to finally be able to relax, knowing that she was no longer alone in the world.

  Liz had bought some new painting materials, and as she sat at a table in the window, looking at her partner, she started to smile.

  “What’s up?” Kristan enquired, leaning forward, her blue eyes sparkling.

  “Nothing. I’m just having a great time.”

  “Me too.”

  “Are you looking forward to going home?”

  “Not at all,” Kristan reflected, surprising even herself. “I’m really enjoying being with you, away from everything else.”

  “You realise we won’t have much of that sort of time when the baby comes, right?” Liz said with a smile.

  Kristan laughed a little, looking delighted.

  “I look forward to it.”

  Her expression grew tender when Liz left her seat across the table to come and sit right next to her
, and she rested her arm around her shoulder gently.

  “How’re you doing babe?” she murmured.

  Liz hooked both her arms around her waist and rested her cheek against her shoulder.

  “Wonderful,” she replied.

  Kristan nodded and gazed out the window, enjoying the reassuring feel of her partner against her, her thoughts turning to the future and the life that they would build together. When she spotted a familiar figure across the street she sat up a little straighter, and she looked again.

  “What is it?” Liz enquired, still holding on to her, caught in the moment.

  Kristan blinked and narrowed her eyes at the people walking outside, trying hard to spot the figure again.

  “Kris?”

  It was gone. No one there. She must have imagined it.

  “Nothing,” she said, turning to smile at her lover. “Listen, I fancy a hot chocolate and a piece of carrot cake. How about you?”

  Liz chuckled.

  “I think we deserve it, seeing as we ran in. Well, you ran in.”

  “Yes, and you biked in despite your busted knee, so you deserve it too,” Kristan said firmly, raising her hand to get the waitress’ attention.

  “I think you need to order at the counter,” Liz stated. “I’ll get it.”

  She turned to stand up, started to do so, put weight on her injured knee and without thinking, leaned on it. She felt something twist inside, heard a little crack, and all of a sudden she lost her balance and landed on the floor.

  “Liz,” Kristan exclaimed.

  She jumped to her feet and helped her lover to stand up, but as soon as Liz tried to use her leg she felt a very intense, sharp pain inside her knee.

  “Damn,” she murmured. “I think I did it again.”

  “Have a seat,” Kristan ordered.

  “I’m okay, Kris, it’s nothing…”

  “Then why do you look like you are about to throw up?” Kristan muttered, glancing at her lover and shaking her head.

  In the space of a single second the colour had completely drained from Liz’s face, and she definitely looked shaky. The waitress joined them at the table, looking concerned.

  “Are you okay, honey?” she asked, and she rested a friendly hand on Liz’s shoulder. “Did you slip on something?”

  “No, I just have a bad knee, that’s all,” Liz replied, and she forced herself to smile at the little woman who appeared genuinely sorry for her. “Don’t worry.”

  “Okay, well, I can get you some ice for that if you’d like…”

  Liz accepted gratefully.

  “Ice would be perfect. Thank you.”

  “I’ll go get the car,” Kristan said immediately.

  “No, no, there is no need,” Liz protested. “I’ll be fine, it’s nothing.”

  Kristan looked at her and said nothing, but she gently lifted the leg of her trousers until she could see the extent of the damage.

  “It’s not nothing, Liz.”

  She shook her head, staring at her partner’s swollen knee and noticing that a bruise was already forming.

  “I’ll go get the car,” she repeated.

  Liz sighed, thinking she should probably count herself lucky that Kristan had not thought about calling an ambulance yet. But she really did not want her to go, and she clasped her hand in hers.

  “Wait.”

  The waitress came back with a big ice pack and Liz immediately applied it against her leg, wincing a little.

  “Does it hurt?” the woman asked. “Can I get you anything else? It’s on the house, honey.”

  Liz smiled at her.

  “Thank you. We were just about to order, but my partner here is going to cycle back to the house and get the car. I’ll just wait for her to get back…”

  “Have that hot chocolate while you wait for me,” Kristan suggested gently. “I won’t be long.”

  “How long?” Liz wanted to know.

  “Thirty minutes, max,” Kristan replied.

  “You’ve got your phone?”

  “Yes. And you too?”

  Liz nodded as Kristan bent over her and kissed her softly.

  “I could probably just ride back one-legged, you know,” Liz tried again. “You could push me along…”

  “Why would you want to do that when we have a brand new Porsche waiting at home?” Kristan enquired.

  She knew what her lover was afraid of, and she understood. But Liz would be safe waiting for her in the cafe, and she could take care of herself if anything happened on the very short ride back to the house.

  “You won’t even know I’m gone,” she promised.

  Liz clasped a handful of her jacket in her fist and held her back for just a second.

  “Be quick. And be careful.”

  “I will. See you in a few minutes.”

  Kristan smiled at her, and Liz watched her walk out of the cafe and start jogging back toward the police station.

  She sighed.

  “Here you go, honey, this should help make you feel better.”

  Liz smiled at the friendly waitress and thanked her for the free chocolate.

  “I’ve got another one on stand-bye for your friend when she gets back,” the woman told her with a wink.

  Kristan rode hard back to the house, and once there she simply threw the mountain bike against the railing and ran inside, looking for the car keys. Within seconds she was safely inside the Porsche and driving fast toward town. She found a parking space right in front of the cafe and she ran inside, looking for Liz.

  The place was empty.

  Kristan looked toward the back, wondering if maybe her partner had decided to sit somewhere else, but Liz was nowhere to be seen. Kristan walked toward the counter, feeling her heart tighten in her chest.

  “Oh, there you are,” the waitress called out from the kitchen when she saw her looking.

  “Where is my friend?” Kristan asked.

  “She had to go.”

  Kristan paled.

  “What do you mean? Go where?”

  “She got a call, and she said she had to go. Practically ran out the door too, and she looked in pain…”

  “Did you see where she went?” Kristan interrupted, trying hard to remain calm.

  “She got into a car with this woman… I thought it was you from a distance, but now I remember she had blond hair and you are dark…”

  Kristan did not wait for her to finish.

  She ran outside again and scanned the main street in both directions. There was no sign of her partner.

  Liz was gone.

  “Damn it,” Kristan exclaimed.

  She checked her phone but there was no message from Liz, and for a second or two she felt fear the likes of which she had never felt before.

  Then she jumped into her car again and performed an illegal U-turn in the middle of the street. There was only one way in and out of Crystal Springs, and so she would take the road out and try to catch up with whoever Liz was with.

  As she punched the gas pedal she slotted her phone into the hands-free holder and speed-dialled Omaru’s number.

  “Liz is gone,” she shouted into the receiver as soon as he picked up.

  “Whoa, hang on. What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I need your guys, where are they right now?”

  “Kristan, you’re breaking up.”

  Kristan hit the brakes and skidded to a stop on the side of the road just as she was about to leave town.

  “Can you hear me now?” she said tensely.

  “Yes. I’ve got you. Tell me what happened.”

  “Apparently Liz got into a car with some woman,” Kristan said, scanning the road as she talked, itching to get going again. “She wouldn’t leave without me. Something’s not right.”

  “Okay, just calm down…”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down,” Kristan yelled at the phone. “Tell me what you know, Omaru.”

  “I am on my way to you right now, Kristan. About two miles away
. I’ve got your friend Pam with me.”

  “How come? What’s going on?”

  “Do you know a woman by the name of Denise Ketteringham?”

  “I don’t,” Kristan replied immediately, and she was staring out of the car window, watching little snow drops start to dance on the wind again. “Who’s she?”

  “Denise Ketteringham, twenty-six, from Auckland.”

  “Never heard of that name,” Kristan repeated.

  “That’s right,” Omaru said, and it was obvious he was in a car and driving at speed. Kristan could hear it on the call. “You know her as Melissa Cassidy.”

  “Mel?” Kristan frowned, and an image of the cute blonde kayak instructor flashed in her head immediately.

  “Yes indeed. Five years ago Denise, or Mel, as you know her, was arrested in Auckland on charges of aggravated assault and stalking.”

  Kristan shook her head a little, and she was feeling very cold all of a sudden.

  “What did she do?” she asked, dreading the answer.

  “Her boyfriend broke up with her, and she beat him up quite badly. Then she broke into his flat, killed his dog, and painted ‘liar’ all over the walls with the poor animal’s blood.”

  Kristan closed her eyes and she leaned back against her seat, feeling out of breath all of sudden.

  “Kristan, you still there?” Omaru said loudly over the speakerphone.

  “Still here,” Kristan said, and she was finding it a little hard to breathe.

  “Denise was arrested but spared jail because it turns out she has a personality disorder. She spent some time in a mental hospital in Auckland, and then as soon as she was released headed straight to the South Island.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “About three years ago.”

  “I had no idea,” Kristan replied, shaking her head and feeling a little like she had been punched in the stomach. “I never suspected she had a problem.”

  “We found letters in her apartment that look very similar to the ones Mike was getting,” Omaru continued, and he sounded very calm and in control. “Denise is a smoker too. Likes Marlborough Lights by the look of it.”

  “But Mel doesn’t smoke,” Kristan said, not arguing with him but struggling to get her head around news that were so outrageous it made absolutely no sense.