Echoes of the Past

by TJ Hamilton

  Superintendent Stuart came over to the commotion Leila was causing. ‘Leila. You were asked to man the station,’ she said.

  ‘But I think Brayden Terrance is in there,’ she cried.

  Ahead, two officers fought to stop Hayden from entering the mine. Sergeant Cooper was threatening to arrest him. Leila noticed Jacinta Buchanan looking on in horror.

  ‘I think you need to tell me what’s going on, Leila.’ Superintendent Stuart brought Leila back from the brink of panic.

  The ground rumbled beneath them and someone called out in the distance, ‘it’s gonna bl—’, but before they could finish, a shock wave rolled through the air, the force throwing everyone to the ground. The debris partially blocking the entrance to the mine hurtled out like missile fragments.

  Everything was black. Leila tried to pull herself out of wherever she was. Her ears were ringing and she couldn’t see.

  ‘Hayden!’ Leila screamed, but she was unsure if she made any sound.

  Rocks of all sizes landed like mortars around her; she could feel the thump, but everything was silent. Leaves from the trees floated through the air, some of them blackened, others glowing red embers. The air was thick and Leila couldn’t breathe. She coughed and staggered towards the emergency vehicles. Coops pushed to his feet in the distance, a mix of blood and dirt sliding down the side of his face.

  ‘HAYDEN!’ she tried to yell, but she still couldn’t hear anything.

  ‘HAYDEN!’

  There were three people on the ground in front of her. One of them was Hayden, but he wasn’t moving.

  ‘Hayden! Hayden!’ She threw herself on him. He didn’t move. Blood ran from his nose and ears. His face was pale from the dust.

  ‘Oh my god, no! Hayden, wake up!’

  Police training kicked in and she started checking for vital signs. Pressing her fingers to the side of his throat, she felt a light pulse. He was alive! Suddenly, she was a robot, feeling breath from his mouth with her cheek. It was faint, but it was there. She slapped his cheek and rubbed his sternum with her knuckles to rouse him. His head began to move, and she shook him until his eyes began to flutter open. His lips moved, but still she couldn’t hear. Her heart surged with relief.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Leila’s lips moved. He couldn’t hear anything, but Leila was there and the sense of relief saturated his aching body.

  Brayden!

  ‘Brayden,’ he said, but couldn’t hear himself.

  Leila was trying to say something again. His legs were heavy when he tried to move them. He looked next to him and saw one of the coppers on the ground. He wasn’t moving. Leila followed his glance, and jumped across to her colleague, pressing her fingers to his throat.

  Sounds hummed through Hayden’s ears in waves like helicopter rotors. He tried to push off from the ground, but his muscles wouldn’t obey. Finally forcing himself to sit up, he found strength to lever himself with his arms. Looking down at his legs, there were spots of blood coming through his jeans from tiny rocks hitting him like shotgun pellets.

  There was another copper on the other side of him. He too was trying to get up. Blood was dripping down the side of his face and Hayden was guilty of causing this; it was his fault these guys looked like this. They were doing their job by putting themselves in harm’s way to stop him from dying. Suddenly he was angry for being such a pig-headed dickhead and found every bit of strength to pull himself up to help the guy next to him.

  The ground rumbled again. Hayden looked across to Leila, who was pumping the chest of the cop on the ground. The mine was going to explode. Strength rushed back into his body, greater than he’d ever felt. In one swift move, Hayden held his hand out to the cop next to him, pulling him up as he collected the guy Leila was trying to resuscitate and threw him over his shoulders. He gripped onto Leila’s hand and ran. Just as the line of flashing cars appeared through dust, a wave came behind them like a steam train. He launched himself behind the fire truck, dragging Leila with him as a ball of fire rolled above. The heat of it stung his back as he lay on top of Leila to shield her. The ball of fire hissed as it hurtled into the air, craving more oxygen as it rushed higher and higher. It finally ran out of fuel and puffed into a ball of smoke, sending ash and embers everywhere.

  Hayden looked down to find Leila staring up at him. She held his face between her palms, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Brayden had been in there, but he was so guilty to feel so relieved that she was safe. Leila pushed Hayden off her and called out for someone to come and help Smithy, before she prepared to start giving him compressions again.

  Her eyes lit up. ‘There’s still a faint pulse. He needs oxygen,’ she yelled.

  Two paramedics raced over to Smithy and the firies sped to their battle stations, preparing to fight the fire that had quickly ignited in the surrounding scrub from the explosions.

  ‘Come and grab the trolley from the back of the ambos and we’ll run it back to these guys to get Smithy in the truck,’ Leila yelled at Hayden. He could finally make out her words. They ran towards the open ambulance and Leila pushed the stretcher out, her bandaged hand working as if it were healed. Her adrenaline must’ve kicked in, he realised. They ran back to the two paramedics tending to Smithy.

  ‘Thanks, Leila,’ one said. ‘We all have to get four points around him and on the count of three, we’ll lift him up onto the stretcher. I’ll grab his head.’

  Next to Hayden, Ben jumped in to help.

  They gripped onto Smithy’s uniform, and the paramedic holding his head counted, ‘One, two, three.’ Smithy was up and on to the stretcher. The ground was too rough to wheel the stretcher back to the ambulance so all four held a handle and they fast-walked him over to the truck. The paramedic at his head started pumping the oxygen ball as they went. They slid the stretcher into the back and the two paramedics jumped in to continue working.

  ‘I can jump in and drive you back into the hospital,’ Ben said.

  ‘But you just bore the brunt of that explosion too, Ben. We don’t want to lose all of you,’ Leila said with a frown.

  He shook his head. ‘I’m fine. I just want Smithy to be okay. Laura’s pregnant, and I promised her on their wedding day that I’d always bring him home.’

  Hayden dropped his head. This was all his fault.

  When Leila spotted Hayden’s expression, she said, ‘I would’ve run towards that mine if Toby didn’t stop me.’ Leila looked at the crew in the back. ‘I’ll drive. I’m fine, I didn’t even black out,’ she lied. ‘You guys both get in and I’ll drive you all back to town. There’s nothing we can do out here.’

  The ambos nodded at her and she hopped into the driver’s seat. Hayden jumped in beside her and Leila drove as fast as possible along the dirt track.

  This type of bravery and kinship in the face of danger was new to Hayden. He hadn’t witnessed people behaving so gallantly and selflessly for one another. For the first time, he respected the guys in blue. Glancing at Leila, his emotions were a swirling concoction of guilt, respect, pride and grief.

  He had caught a glimpse of her world, and everything his family had done to the town now smacked him in the face like the explosion he had just experienced.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Hayden’s arms remained wrapped around her on the hospital bed when they were given the all-clear by the emergency staff. Thankfully, Hayden’s leg wounds were superficial and their hearing had almost returned back to normal. Smithy’s condition had been lifted from critical to stable, and Constable Matt Hutchins was getting stitched up before he was also cleared to leave. Leila was grateful for the outcome, but she knew Hayden would’ve been fighting his demons. Jacinta Buchanan, the landowner and a friend of theirs from their school days, was in hospital as well. She’d been knocked out by the second blast.

  A heavily pregnant Laura Smith ran through the ER doors, tears streaming down her face. The nurses guided her to her husband, reassuring her that he was now stable but not out of the
woods just yet.

  Hayden and Leila looked at one another. News travelled back to them; the Boss had found Brayden’s hat inside the Audi. They’d contained the site to begin a recovery process. The police rescue squad was on its way from the city, complete with the cadaver search dog. Leila was grateful for the information, but also wished she didn’t have access to it.

  Just like Laura Smith moments earlier, Sue Terrance burst through the ER doors and raced towards Leila and Hayden. Hayden instantly let go of Leila and jumped up, grabbing his mum. His strong arms enveloped her into him. She wailed and her knees buckled under her.

  ‘It’s not true, it’s not true!’ she howled.

  Leila cried and stretched her arms around Hayden and Sue.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Mum. I tried to stop him.’ Hayden’s voice cracked.

  ***

  Five days had passed since they’d located and recovered Brayden’s body, and Sue was still refusing to leave her bedroom. Leila didn’t think it was physically possible to only go to the toilet twice in ten days, but apparently extreme grief could do that. They’d found the bodies of Brett Pearce and a Larry Donaldson, apparently the drug cook, in the mine also.

  ‘Did you know him?’ Leila dared to ask Hayden.

  Hayden took her in for a moment. ‘I did actually. Not a bad bloke given his occupation. I don’t know if anyone will miss him though. He didn’t have family.’ Then he shrugged and walked off.

  ‘Mum, are you dressed yet? The car’s going to be here soon to pick us up,’ Hayden said gently into Sue’s closed bedroom door.

  Leila appreciated how handsome Hayden looked in a dark suit, despite the fact that she had only ever seen him like this at funerals. She put her hand on his shoulder, giving him a soft smile.

  ‘I’ll go and talk to her,’ she said.

  He nodded. ‘Thank you,’ he said and kissed her on the lips.

  Leila didn’t know what she would do without the comfort of Hayden right now, and her heart bled more for Sue. She opened the door quietly to find Sue, dressed in a simple black dress with a thin white trim around the edges, sitting on the edge of her bed. Leila sat next to her on the bed. Sue immediately gripped Leila’s hand.

  With her eyes closed, Sue whispered, ‘I don’t think I can do this. I’ve had to bury too many people. I didn’t think Bra—’ She choked on a sob.

  Leila squeezed Sue’s hand tight. ‘We’re going to be right here with you. I’m not letting go all day, okay?’

  Sue looked at Leila through bloodshot eyes. Hayden poked his head around the door and joined them on the bed, sitting on the other side of his mum. He held her other hand and repeated what Leila had just said.

  ‘We’re not letting go, all day.’

  Tears slipped down Sue’s bare cheeks. Through the windows, Leila saw the black Ford from the funeral home pull into the driveway. Hayden looked at his mum. She nodded back at him, and they walked out of the house, helping Sue into the car while the funeral director held the door open for them.

  The trip to the cemetery felt like hours. Selfishly, Leila wished she could have Hayden next to her right then, but Sue’s need for support far outweighed her own.

  There was a larger crowd of people than they thought would gather around the grave for the ceremony. A small pop-up tent protected guests from the heavy clouds, threatening rain The hearse sat at the end of the pathway, waiting for Hayden and the other boys to carry Brayden to his final resting place. Leila’s dad, Ned, looked smart … and sober. He waited for the car to pull up behind the hearse before he opened the door on Leila’s side. Leila climbed out first and hugged her dad tight.

  ‘I’m so sorry, baby girl. I know how hard you were working with the young fella,’ he said into her ear.

  Did he? Did he really understand the frustration she faced trying to prevent this from happening? Whatever the answer, Leila was happy her father had finally made the effort to stay sober for Brayden’s funeral.

  Leila and Sue made their way over to the graveside and took a seat in the front row beside Cath, who also looked surprisingly fresh. Leila noticed her superintendent in full ceremonial uniform and nodded at her. They both knew she didn’t need to be here, and Leila was really grateful for what the superintendent’s presence meant to a family like the Terrances. Next to Superintendent Stuart was the head of the Justice Program, the Honourable Chief Justice Howard, from the city. Leila looked at Sue to see if she recognised the kind of people who were paying their respects to her son. But Sue was staring at the ground, unable to bring herself to look in the direction of the coffin sitting in the back of the hearse.

  The casket was perfect for Brayden. Dark mahogany with silver trim, it had a majestic feel about it that suited the vibrant young man in eternal rest inside. Tears fell down Leila’s cheeks as her father and Hayden led the pallbearers in carrying Brayden.

  The headstone facing away on the other side to Brayden marked his father’s resting place, and Leila was glad they’d pushed to purchase this plot. It was important for Sue to know Mick wasn’t far away. Leila recognised the fresh grave of Barry Saunders from the Darts Association, who was only buried a month earlier, only a few metres away. She wondered how his boys were doing. It was a weird thought, but Leila’s mind wandered anywhere but where she actually was. Reality hurt too much. Everything Brayden represented—youth, hope and a bright future for others—was now about to be buried. She had failed him. She had failed the system that tried to protect him. Most of all, she had failed her Aunt Sue.

  ***

  The rest of the graveside service was a blur. Sue’s only request was that they didn’t lower Brayden’s casket until she had left.

  ‘No one should ever watch their child go into the ground,’ Sue had said at the funeral home. She had immediately stopped and apologised to Leila, who had assured Sue it was fine, but it just sent Sue into another spiral of anguish and they’d had to stop the meeting altogether.

  Cath offered to go with Sue to the Town Hall for Brayden’s wake, while Hayden stayed back and made sure Brayden went to his final place in peace.

  Leila thanked the superintendent for coming, and the Chief Justice, who both told her how sorry they were the program hadn’t been successful in stopping Brayden from making the wrong decisions.

  ‘The program will continue to work for other kids in town. We’ll all work harder together to stop this from happening again,’ Leila answered.

  Superintendent Stuart nodded and gave Leila a hug. ‘Come and see me as soon as you feel like you’re ready to come back to work. You always have a position to come back to, Leila.’ The superintendent turned to Hayden. ‘And Hayden, you’ve been nominated by Constable Matt Hutchins for a commander’s commendation for your actions on the day of the explosion.’

  Hayden ran his fingers through his hair, embarrassed.

  ‘According to Hutchins, if it wasn’t for your quick thinking before the second explosion, none of you would be alive today,’ the superintendent insisted.

  His family had been the cause of the explosion, and his youngest brother was the sacrifice for it all. Leila was glad Corrections had rejected Jayden’s application to attend the funeral. Neither she nor Hayden had the heart to tell Sue it was Jayden’s drug lab that had killed her youngest son.

  The superintendent looked between Hayden and Leila and said, ‘I know you have the support of each other, but remember there are specialised support networks that you can access through the police, Leila. And you can request that Hayden get support too.’

  Leila nodded. ‘Thanks ma’am.’

  Although Leila knew she would have some disciplinary actions to face for the questions she had answered during the detectives’ investigation into the clandestine lab explosion, she was grateful she still had a job to go back to. She had compromised her job to help Brayden. Would it have helped him if she had told the police? These questions swirled through her head over and over. She’d answered the detectives truthfully, and admitted to seeing
Brett Pearce’s Audi at the mine during her run and then again in town at the Indian restaurant, but stopped short at telling them about seeing Brayden or taking photos of the detectives’ investigation board. Those details would serve no purpose to their investigation. Brayden was dead because of it, and she was the only one who had to live with that.

  Hayden held her hand when they were the last ones remaining under the marquee, and together they watched as the funeral staff lowered the wooden casket, covered in bright yellow flowers of every kind, into the deep earth below. Leila turned to hold on to Hayden when the sight was too much for her. His body jolted as he silently cried.

  When the motor that lowered the casket stopped and Brayden was laid to rest, Hayden said, ‘Goodbye, you little shit,’ and kissed a yellow rose before throwing it into the hole.

  Leila did the same, but said, ‘I love you, Brayden. Look after your niece for us.’

  Chapter Thirty

  Three weeks after saying goodbye to Brayden, Hayden wanted to surprise Leila with a picnic in his mum’s backyard oasis. There was so much Hayden wanted to tell her, and their grief had subsided enough to see the sun shine on their life again.

  ‘Let’s go and sit in mum’s backyard,’ Hayden said and guided Leila up the driveway of Sue’s home.

  ‘Good idea. There’s something we need to talk about,’ she replied.

  What secrets had she been keeping from him?

  They walked into Sue’s backyard and the sight made Hayden smile. His mum had gone out of her way to set a basket on top of a rug; eager to help push love in the right direction. Cushions clustered at one corner of the patchwork rug and a vase of flowers from the garden sat next to the basket of goodies.

  Leila smiled. ‘This looks like it should be on the set of Farmer Wants a Wife or one of those dating shows on TV. Did you do this?’

  ‘With a little help from mum,’ he said, winking.

  They headed straight to the rug, and Leila made herself comfortable against the cushions and pillows. The lush line of arching giant bird-of-paradise palms along the opposite fence flourished despite the harsh weather conditions. The whole yard was blooming and Hayden instantly felt himself relaxing.