The Stone Flowers

by Nora O'Keeffe

  “Sorry about this morning,” Harness began, and then stopped.

  “Don’t worry about it. I must have looked like a madwoman swerving all over the road.” Maggie waved a dismissive hand, but Harness looked serious.

  “I was right to pull you over, but when I saw it was you, I acted like an ass. So... sorry.”

  “Sergeant Gibson, I’m confused. We’ve never met before this morning, right?” she asked.

  “Right, and call me Ness.” He gave her a tight smile then looked away. “I’ve seen you around.” Maggie wondered why he was having such a hard time looking at her. Could he be nervous? “I was just having a bad morning.”

  She took a sip of wine, searching for something to say. “Prapti’s an unusual woman,” she said, trying to change the subject.

  “That’s a nice way of saying she’s a bitch.”

  His bluntness took her by surprise. She caught herself looking at him in a new way. He was dressed casually in black jeans and a pale blue open-necked shirt. The base of his neck was lightly tanned with just a hint of light-coloured chest hair visible above the top button. She wondered if he had a girlfriend. Maybe it was the wine on an empty stomach, but before she could stop herself, the words were out.

  “Are you seeing anyone?”

  He looked surprised but smiled. His hands were resting on his legs. Maggie wondered what the skin on his palms would feel like. She looked away, worried he’d look into her eyes and know what she was thinking. Not really sure what to do next, Maggie decided it might be time to leave before she got herself into trouble.

  “Look, Harness, I...”

  “Call me Ness.”

  “Ness.” The name felt strange on her tongue, too intimate. “I can’t face going back into the party. I think I’ll head home. It was nice of you to sit with me, but don’t feel like you have to stay any longer.”

  “I don’t feel like going back in either. I live next to the station house. It’s only a few streets away. Walk back with me and have a beer?” His tone was casual, relaxed even, but Maggie had the feeling he wanted more than just a drink.

  “All right.” She answered without hesitation, sending her stomach flipping over as if she were in an elevator.

  Maggie had many regrets about her life. Staying married to a verbally abusive narcissist was the main one, but there were others. Not long after separating from Richard, she went out for drinks with some work friends and met a man. It was nothing more than a casual encounter, but when he asked her to go home with him, she was shocked by how tempted she was to do something wild and reckless. In the end, she turned him down, mostly because her moral training told her having sex with someone just for pleasure was wrong. But there was also a small part of her that knew her reluctance was less about morality and more about fear. She’d regretted that decision for the last three years, especially on nights when the wind was howling at her windows. Maggie decided that for good or bad, tonight wouldn’t be another wasted opportunity.

  ****

  The moon was full and silvery in the cloudless night sky. A slight breeze cooled the air. The temperature was pleasantly warm after the previous evening’s storm. As Maggie and Harness walked, their footsteps echoed along the empty street, giving the town a deserted feel.

  “Why is it that you’ve never been in the Hawk’s Nest? There’s not that many places to eat in Thorn Tree,” she asked, partly to fill the silence, but also because she really was curious.

  “I’m usually busy, so I eat at the station house. If I have more time, I go home to eat. One of the perks of living next door to the station.” He shrugged. “But now I know the owner, I might have to start dropping in.” He turned slightly and gave her a grin, dimples dancing in and out of sight in the blink of an eye.

  Maggie laughed and shook her head.

  “What?” he asked, still grinning.

  “Nothing. I was just thinking about this morning. This morning and tonight. Every time we meet, I seem to be involved in some kind of drama. Are you sure you’re ready to risk coming into my café?”

  “I think you’re worth it.” As they walked, his fingers brushed against hers. “That woman really got to you, didn’t she?”

  “You mean Prapti?”

  “Yes. Prapti.” Harness stopped and turned so that he was looking down into Maggie’s eyes. “What she said, about you being a Cherokee, it hurt you, didn’t it?”

  “I...” She hesitated. “I’m proud of who I am, but I suppose I am sensitive about it.” She stopped, not sure how much of herself she should reveal. She’d only known him for a few hours, but her instincts told her she could trust him.

  “I was teased about it when I was at school. I know it’s silly to still be so touchy, but I guess it still stings a bit.”

  “We all have buttons. When they’re pressed in just the right way, it hurts.” He paused and looked away. “Some hurt more than others.”

  Maggie wondered if he was talking about her or his own pain. She thought of asking, but reminded herself they’d just met.

  “Well, you were right about one thing,” she said, and started walking again.

  “Yeah? What was that?” His voice was deep, almost husky.

  “Prapti is a bitch!”

  He laughed and took hold of her hand, pulling her across the road. Maggie felt a tingle of excitement in the pit of her stomach. It had been a long time since she’d felt this carefree.

  “I don’t usually wander off with strange men. This is something new for me.” She tried to keep her tone light, but at the same time she wanted to make sure he knew she didn’t sleep around. Hell, she wasn’t even sure that he wanted to sleep with her. This could just be some pity thing after what happened at the party.

  Harness stopped walking and turned to look at her before answering.

  “Maggie, I don’t make a habit of this either. I’d like to get to know you better. You’re funny and interesting.” He reached out and touched a strand of her hair, rolling it between his fingers. “And sexy.”

  Without waiting for her to speak, he slid his hand around her waist, leaned down and kissed her. His lips were soft. A slight rasp of stubble brushed against her cheek. It was a surprisingly sweet kiss but with enough promise to take her breath away. She caught the faint hint of lemon-scented soap. When he pulled back, Maggie felt a bit off balance. It had been a long time since she’d been kissed, but she was sure it had never felt quite that good. She turned her head and looked out onto the darkened street, eyes barely focused on what was in front of her.

  “Harness.” Her voice was little more than a whisper. “Someone’s out there.” Her eyes caught movement in the shadows just over his shoulder.

  Maggie strained into the darkness as a figure emerged from the trees. Still just a shadow, but obviously human, it moved with an odd shuffling gait. Progressing towards them, feet sliding over the bitumen like sandpaper on gravel, its pace remained unaltered. Maggie’s mind jumped back to the shape she’d seen moving in her garden the night before. She grabbed Harness’s arm, glad that this time, she wasn’t alone.

  “Hey, mate, do you need help? “Harness’s voice echoed as he stepped off the curb and walked towards the figure. Maggie kept hold of his arm, allowing herself to be pulled along with him.

  The shape shuffled into the moonlight. Maggie’s hand dropped from Harness’s arm. Her heart jack-knifed into her throat as recognition hit her like a fist.

  “Oh God, Tess!” Maggie pushed past Harness and rushed to her friend.

  Tess wore a dirty, torn nightdress that clung to her blood-smeared legs. Her feet were bare and filthy, covered with cuts and scrapes. She turned to look at Maggie with blank eyes. It was then that Maggie took in the wrapped bundle clutched in her friend’s arms. Tess stopped moving and held the baby out.

  “Help him?” Her voice came out as little more than a croak. Her body trembled as if about to give out.

  Maggie reached for the baby, noting its frightening weightlessness. As
Tess released the infant, her legs buckled. Harness swooped forward and, in one fluid movement, caught her under the arms. He picked her up and turned to Maggie.

  “Let’s get them to the station house.”

  Maggie moved to follow but the feel of the baby in her arms brought her to a halt. The blue bundle was still, without weight. She sucked in a breath that lodged in her throat like a piece of cold steel. With trembling fingers, she moved the soft blue blanket from around Eddie’s face. A groan slipped past her lips as her vision blurred with tears. His little face, once pink and chubby, was now blackened around milky eyes, his mouth froze in a silent wail. A tiny grey tongue protruded from swollen, blue lips. Maggie staggered towards a lamppost, needing support.

  “Oh, Eddie, baby, what’s happened to you?” She placed two fingers against his cheek and shuddered.

  “Maggie, come on. We need to get them off the street.” Harness’s voice came from the corner, the streetlight throwing shadows over his eyes and mouth.

  She wanted to cry out, tell him something was wrong with the baby, but the words didn’t want to come. Saying it out loud would make it real and just for a few more minutes, Maggie wanted to deny the truth. Clutching the baby against her chest, she followed Harness as he led the way to the police station.

  Chapter Three

  Annabel Chapel leaned forward and pressed her index finger to the window pane, tracing her name on the icy glass. The widow seat was the perfect place to watch for shooting stars, as long as she didn’t make too much noise. She could hear her parents downstairs; the chatter of the TV, her mum and dad laughing. Mundane sounds of a normal Saturday night in the Chapel house, comforting – safe.

  Annabel desperately wanted a puppy for her impending ninth birthday. Her mum had said, “We’ll see.”

  When she’d asked her dad, he shrugged. “Well, Bell Pepper,”– her Dad always called her Bell-Pepper because of her red hair– “we’ll see what your mother says. “That usually meant yes, but just to be sure, Annabel decided to watch for a shooting star.

  She often stayed up, waiting until her mum said goodnight, and went downstairs, then tiptoed over to the window seat to hunt for shooting stars. It was the only way to make wishes come true. She felt a little guilty tonight because this wish was kind of selfish – something just for her. Last time, she wished her Year Three teacher, Mrs Roe, would feel happier. She looked sad when she thought no one was watching. Annabel didn’t know why, but felt sure it had something to do with Mr Roe’s stomach and how sick he felt.

  Annabel often had strong feelings about things and they usually turned out to be right. She called them feelings, but it was more like buzzing in her head as if busy worker bees were turning her thoughts over searching for something important. When the buzzing started, she could almost feel the bees gathering and suddenly, snap, they’d uncover an image. Sometimes the images were fuzzy like a snow globe filled with glitter, but other times, the snapshots were as clear as the photos her mum took on the iPad. Annabel had come to not only trust her feelings, but sort of rely on them.

  A week after Annabel’s wish, she’d heard her mother telling Mrs Abbey – the woman with the weird eyebrows from the supermarket - that Mrs Roe’s husband had something called an ulcer in his stomach and he was going to the city to have an operation. Mrs Roe didn’t come to school for a whole week after that, and Annabel felt so worried, her stomach hurt. Then Mrs Roe come back and was her old self again, maybe even happier. The whole thing made Annabel both confused and relieved. She wasn’t sure why Mrs Roe would be so pleased that her husband had an operation, but she was glad her teacher was no longer sad.

  Tonight, Annabel planned to wish for a puppy because sometimes she felt lonely living so far out of town on the apple orchard. Having a puppy meant having a friend live with her. She had friends at school but she couldn’t just ride her bike to their houses and hang out. It took thirty minutes for the school bus to get to her stop and another five minutes’ walk to her front door. She pulled her blanket up around her shoulders, letting her toes peek out the bottom. The sky was so black, it almost looked blue. She wondered if the stars were as bright over everyone’s house or maybe they were shining just for her. If she had a puppy she could love it and take it for walks and maybe it could sleep in her bedroom at night.

  Annabel reached out and touched the red frilly curtains that framed her window. Red was her favourite colour; the curtains had been a special surprise last Christmas. She looked up at the starry night and yawned. Her eyelids drooped and her head drifted down to her chest. Ready to give up for the night, a flash of light caught her eye. It shot across the sky in a blink, leaving a fiery tail fading in its wake. Annabel closed her eyes and made her secret wish. When she opened them again, she pressed her lips together in a smile. She could see herself down in the backyard playing with her puppy, throwing a ball for it and teaching it to fetch. Looking down across the backyard imagining the scene, she found herself looking at a child standing near her old swing.

  Annabel pushed her face close to the window, so close her nose almost touched the glass, fogging it around her mouth. For a moment, it seemed she might be dreaming, but when her nose did touch the pane, Annabel gasped at the cold shock. There really was a girl in the yard. Standing under the big jacaranda tree, she had one hand on Annabel’s swing as her raggedy dress blew in the breeze.

  She must be lost. Why else would she be out alone at night and wearing rags? The thought of being lost in the dark seemed like the most horrific thing in the world. Annabel could imagine how scared the girl must be.

  Her arms and legs were bare and very thin, like sticks or…bone. The poor thing, maybe she’s hungry. Annabel’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw the details more clearly. Wisps of hair clung to a nearly bald head, and the skin on her arms and legs hung in saggy folds.

  Annabel’s head snapped back from the glass. It wasn’t a little girl at all. She didn’t know what it was, but as it tried to move and turn around, its legs jerked stiffly. The skinny body pitched from side to side as it struggled to reposition itself. Annabel’s heart jumped into her throat, making her head whoosh with the wild pumping. Her breath came out in little gasps. A monster was in her yard. Her mother told her there was no such thing as monsters, but she was wrong. There was a monster right outside her window...and it wanted her. She pulled the curtains closed with shaky fingers, ready to run.

  Something in Annabel, something far wiser than her usual nine-year-old reasoning, made her stop and think. If she ran downstairs and called for help, her dad would rush outside to confront whatever had frightened her. She couldn’t risk that. Annabel had a feeling that whatever that thing outside was, it wouldn’t or couldn’t come into the house. That’s why it’d tried to trick her into coming outside.

  Unsure what to do and afraid to go back to bed, Annabel made her wobbly legs move and walked down the stairs. The sounds of TV and laughter, so comforting only moments ago seem dangerous, as if inviting unwanted visitors.

  “Mum, I had a nightmare. Can I sit with you for a while?” She tried to keep the tremble out of her voice.

  Her parents’ face turned in unison, her dad still smiling at something funny on the screen and her mum with a frown of concern. They looked so normal, it pulled at her heart. They had no idea about the monster, about what was waiting outside. Annabel couldn’t stop herself – tears tumbled down her cheeks and sobs hitched her chest. For the first time since she was four years old, Annabel spent the night in her parents’ bed.

  Chapter Four

  Maggie perched on the edge of the sofa, her hand resting on Tess’s shoulder as if keeping the woman anchored in place. They were in Harness’s office. It was the first time Maggie had been inside the police station. She wondered how many traumatised people had sat on the same couch and breathed in the smell of stale coffee that hung in the air. Her friend lay quietly, unmoving, eyes open and face devoid of colour. She wasn’t sleeping but at least the shaking had
stopped.

  Harness opened the door, and his eyes fell on Tess. For a moment, he stood in the doorway as if surprised to see the two women in his office.

  “Maggie, can I speak to you in the hallway?” He shifted his gaze from Tess. “It’s important.”

  “Yes, okay.” Maggie forced herself to stand.

  Before leaving the office, she stood over her friend. “I’m just out in the hall. Okay? I’ll be right back.”

  Tess turned her head and stared at Maggie with unfocused eyes. Her mouth was slightly open as if she’d heard her friend’s voice but didn’t understand the words. Maggie smoothed a stray strand of hair from Tess’s brow before kissing her lightly on the forehead and leaving the room.

  “I’ve called Dr Cole. He’s on his way. Has she said anything about what happened?” Harness’s business-like tone took her by surprise.

  “Just that Eddie was sick and Ollie, her husband, was driving them into town when something happened.” Maggie rubbed her eyes. “From what she’s able to tell me, there might have been an accident. I think she panicked and ran all the way into town.” She rubbed her hand over her face. “Oh God, Harness. I knew the baby was sick. She called me this morning and told me. I should have been there.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t know all this was going to happen.” His tone softened. He took her hand, holding it loosely between his fingers. “I need your help. We still have to find her husband and work out what the hell happened.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can.” She slipped her hand out of his grasp. Whatever was or wasn’t happening between them would have to wait. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted when Tess needed her. Standing in the hall holding hands with Harness while Ollie was missing and Eddie was dead felt wrong – almost as if she was betraying Tess in some way.