by Garry Disher
How was it, then? Enlighten me.
But Tess was mute.
Leah waited. Eventually she said, as the darkness crept over the farm buildings and the bulky shapes altered, blurring into the greater darkness, But thats only half the story, isn’t that right, Tess? When Mitch was killed you thought youd take over the distribution, keep all that cash for yourself.
Leah thought back to the murder of Mitch, and how quickly Tess had recovered. Clearly shed sampled some of her own merchandise, to save from falling in a heap. Leah almost felt pity for the girl.
But she kept pushing. So much for the grief-stricken girlfriend. It was greed, pure and simple.
Tess let go of the leather pack for the first time and put her head in her hands. She said something, her voice muffled by her hands, distorted by sobbing.
Leah said sharply, Speak up, I cant hear you.
Tess raised a suffering face and wailed, You don’t know what its like.
Leah was determined to be unimpressed. So, tell me.
You don’t know what its like for me.
Yes I do. Poor little rich girl. No one loves you. No one cares. So you go off the rails. A cry for help. Poor baby.
Leah was being deliberately harsh. Tess’s self-destructive behaviour probably was a cry for help. But Tess was also a spoilt child, so she was apt to be evasive, to shift blame, to avoid facing up to who she was and what shed done. Leah watched Tess collapse, thoroughly wracked with sobbing now. She waited. She waited for five minutes before the girl grew calmer.
Start at the beginning. Mitch supplied the girls at your school, you got involved with him, maybe you were his go-between. Then he—or both of you—concocted this plan to rip off the people he worked for. How am I doing so far? It went wrong and they came after you. Hes dead, so now they’re out to get you.
Thats not the beginning, Tess protested. It starts long before
Leah ignored her. You’ve been supplying the local dealers ever since I hooked up with you, haven’t you? Either you’re familiar with the network or there was a list of contact phone numbers with the drugs. That guy at the flats in Prospect, the guy in the shopping-centre this afternoon. They were Mitch’s customers, right?
Tess shrugged miserably. So what? What do you care?
How much money have you made?
In a small voice, Tess said, Fourteen thousand.
Is there any of the gear left?
A bit, Tess said. Then she seemed to muster a semblance of dignity and determination as insects flicked about the candle, attracted by the flame. Why don’t you listen? You’re just like all the others.
Leah blinked. Sorry?
You told me to start at the beginning, but wouldn’t let me even start. You just want to know about me and Mitch and a few pills. None of thats relevant.
It is if you’ve got gunmen after you. What do they want the drugs? The money? Revenge?
Tess’s fists clenched and she pounded them on her knees. Why aren’t you listening? No one ever listens to me.
Okay, try me.
There was a considering pause, then Tess began. I loved my father, she said slowly. Thats the real beginning. He would have protected me. He was the most fantastic dad, then he died.
She swallowed a couple of times. He’d already been married before. His first wife was killed in an accident. Theyd had a son, Ian, my half-brother, who was about four when my father married my mother. I was born soon after. I was never really close to Ian, and he’d always say to Mum, You’re not my real mother. Sometimes I feel like that, too. She and I fight all the time.
What about?
When Dad died she married again. Two years ago. Dad hadn’t even been dead a year.
Leah went cold. Has your stepfather been
Tess looked at her knowingly. Yeah, well, he is a bit of a sleaze, though hes never touched me.
Your half-brother?
Ian? Ive always adored him. You know, this gorgeous older brother, a bit wild when he was growing up, probably because he hated it when Dad married again and gave him a new mother and baby sister he didn’t want. She smiled sadly. He left home as soon as he could, went to uni, started making money buying and selling shares online, always got these beautiful girls hanging off his arm.
Leah was frustrated. What had all this to do with Tess’s running away and being followed? There had to be more. But Tess went on, Anyway, I don’t care about my family; in five years Ill be independent of them. When I turn twenty-one I can tell them all to get stuffed.
Tess, you don’t have to wait till then. If you’re sixteen and can show the authorities that you
Oh, I know all that, Tess said scornfully. What I mean is, my dad set up this trust fund for me. No one can touch that money, and it all comes to me when I’m twenty-one, so they can all go to hell.
Leah sat back in distaste. So you talked Mitch into the rip-off, right? Get yourself some running-away money, set yourself up somewhere until you get rich legally? Nice one.
Tess wouldn’t look at her. Leah pushed on. What were you going to do? Dump the poor guy once your trust money came in? Dump him once you’d sold all the drugs?
No! I loved him!
Leah sighed. Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Another question: what does your mother think of this trust fund?
Pissed off, thinks of it as rightfully hers, not mine and Ian’s.
The trust funds for both of you?
Separate trust funds. Ians twenty-one, so hes already cashed in.
The story still seemed weak and unconvincing to Leah. There was a trigger somewhere, one strong enough to make Tess run. So you go on this crime spree because your mum didn’t wait for a decent interval before marrying again, is that what this all boils down to?
I cant stand my school. I’m always getting into trouble. They hate me there. I’m way behind, Ive failed everything, whats the point?
Maybe so, but thats not enough, Tess.
Tess was biting her nails. Theres this teacher, she muttered finally.
A teacher was mean to you? Gave you detention? Big deal.
Tess took a ravaged finger from her mouth. What would you know, Miss Perfect?
Tess, tell me what the matter is.
His names Mr Vale. I had him at my last school, no, the one before last, the school where I did Years 7 and 8. Swimming coach. I reported him then and I reported him again last week, but no one listens.
I’m listening.
Do you even care? At my old school he was always touching me and stuff, when I had my bathers on. I couldn’t believe it when he turned up at Penleigh.
Maybe there’d been complaints, Leah thought, and the school had quietly encouraged Vale to move on rather than take action against him. She shrugged inwardly. That had happened with priests in some parishes. Who did you report him to?
My mother, but she was too busy running around trying to find another husband. Plus I was always in trouble about something, you know. She was used to that.
Leah nodded. She herself had always been a handful for her elderly parents. What happened at Penleigh?
Tess squirmed in her seat. I was better at avoiding him, you know, being older and everything, but last Friday morning he cornered me when I was training. I used to swim every morning at six o’clock when I had the pool to myself. He made me touch his thing and showed me these gross pictures he’d downloaded.
Tess was rocking a little, her arms wrapped tightly about herself.
Who’d you report him to?
Dr Heyward, the principal.
And?
All shes interested in is the public image of the school, stupid cow.
Leah tried to picture the scene: a high-powered principal, intimidating and no doubt concerned with the image of her high-powered school, trying to gauge whether or not a chronic troublemaker was simply trying to make more mischief. Tess, no school principal is going to ignore that kind of thing, not these days.
What would you know?
Did you tell
your mum this time?
You must be joking.
What about the police?
Yeah, right, like anyone would believe me. I got done for shoplifting last year.
Did you tell this Vale character you’d reported him?
I’m not stupid. The principal must have told him there’d been a complaint, because he got me into this corner and said stop making waves, no one would believe me because I was a known troublemaker and expelled from two other schools. I was just garbage as far as he was concerned. He said he had money and powerful friends, and it was his word against mine.
So you ran away because no one listened. I can see how that
I ran away, Tess said, because he threatened to kill me.
chapter 13
Kill you, said Leah flatly, registering her doubt.
Tess stormed at her. Thats exactly what he said. He meant it.
Okay, okay. So you ran away from school. Why not simply go home? Why hook up with Mitch and bring all that trouble down on yourself?
Mitch never judged me like you’re doing, like everyone else in my life.
You could have tried explaining things to your parents, to your mother at least.
Yeah, well shes overseas, isn’t she? Shes never been around for me.
Where is she?
India, for two years. My stepfathers the High Commissioner, okay? Thats why I’m a boarder.
Your brother?
Ian? Id just be an annoyance. He spends all day online, trading shares and gambling.
Leah stared out at the tricky night. A chilly wind had picked up in the past thirty minutes. The candle flame bent and guttered. She glanced at her watch: ten o’clock.
We should get some sleep, she said, and have an early start in the morning. A rule of thumb is the bad guys always sleep in.
That earned her a grateful half-smile from Tess. Leah leant forward and touched her wrist. Which room to you want?
Can we share?
In one room there was a queen-size bed; three singles were in the other. It was clear to Leah that Tess wanted the security of sharing the room with her but, in truth, Leah herself wanted the comfort of sharing with Tess. Everyone wins, she thought.
* * *
Something woke her: a drifting odour, a small sound, a subtle realignment of the air molecules-something. She glanced at the red numerals of the digital clock beside her bed: 4:02. Two hours before dawn.
Then she heard a distant shout, sounds of effort and strife.
Leah rolled out of bed, crossed the room and placed her hand over Tess’s mouth. Tess woke immediately, ready to thrash about to free herself, until Leah whispered, Shhh. Its me. Somethings going on.
Tess relaxed, tried to speak. What? she whispered, when Leah had removed her hand.
Someones out there. Get dressed.
Are we leaving?
Soon.
What do you mean, soon?
Shhh. I need to check outside. I want you dressed and ready to go.
Moonlight was leaking into the room and Leah’s eyes were adjusting to the dimness. She saw the fear in Tess’s face and said, Its okay, Ill be careful. I just don’t want us walking out into a trap. I need to know if the car is secure, for example.
You’ll come back for me?
Leah was pulling on her jeans. Yes.
Hysteria rose in Tess’s voice. But what if you don’t?
I promise, Ill be careful and Ill come back for you.
Do I wait in here? Tess asked, hunched in misery.
Leah pushed both feet into her trainers. Movement gave her time to think. Where could Tess hide? She glanced around the room. There was a massive, ancient wardrobe in the room, the false faade above the double doors effectively concealing a storage space for suitcases. A minute later she had hoisted Tess into the gap, saying, Lie curled up on your side. A cloud of dust puffed out. Leah sneezed.
Bless you, Tess said, in a small, lost voice.
Thanks. Now, try not to worry. Ill come back, I promise, but if something goes wrong then stay where you are until you hear friendly voices, like the farmer or the police. If its anyone else, lie still and don’t make a sound.
Leah left before Tess could protest. She slipped out of the bathroom window and ran half-crouched to the panel van. She locked it, first checking that no one was concealed inside. Then she ran to a corrugated-iron water tank on a stand constructed out of railway sleepers. Here it was quiet and cool. The wind had dropped, and for the next three minutes she listened intently and tried to pinpoint fugitive odours in the still air. Shed soon know if anyone nearby smoked, sweated, chewed gum or was wearing insect repellent, deodorant or aftershave.
Nothing.
Then she heard the tinkle of car keys, the soft brushing of a sleeve or trouser leg, the minute crackle of a foot falling on dry grass. She concentrated. Someone was down on the long slope of bushes, shrubs and ornamental trees beneath the cottage. She unfolded the main blade of her Swiss Army knife and set out to investigate.
It was not dawn but the forerunner of it, a queer half-light that teased and distorted. Leah could see trees but not the branches and twigs that scraped her face as she crossed the dying lawn. She could see her thighs but not her feet, only a variegated greyness that was the treacherous ground beneath her. And so she tripped over the body beside the wattle tree.
She fell heavily, scraping one knee and skinning the palms of her hands. She lost the knife. Down here at ground level she had no trouble identifying the obstacle as a body. Even when shed tripped she knew shed hit something far softer than a log of wood. Now she could see the legs, the pelvis, the upper body, the head. She touched the mans neck. There was no pulse, only stickiness. Her fingers probed, then jerked back. He’d been shot in the forehead.
It wasn’t the farmer, so who was he?
And she hadn’t heard the shot, which meant a pistol fitted with a silencer.
Who would have a gun like that?
And where was the killer?
Feeling nauseated, she searched the mans pockets. Nothing. She knew that if she had a police team here she could do something with his fingerprints and dental records, even his clothing labels, but she was alone, and being hunted, so contented herself with stripping off the dead mans wristwatch and pocketing it.
Suddenly she was bathed in light. She flinched, ducked, scrabbled toward darkness. A motorbike headlight. The bike was propped on its stand under the fronds of an umbrella tree. The man who’d switched on the light stepped away from the bike and held up one hand. Its all right, no need to be afraid, I—
But as Leah took in the thin face, floppy pale hair, lean frame and casual clothing, she also registered the pistol.
She darted around the wattle tree and ran.
chapter 14
Dawn light was leaking into the sky as they accelerated away from the cottage. Leah pushed hard, negotiating farmyard potholes and corrugations that jarred the steering-wheel, sending shocks into her wrists and forearms. Once or twice the panel van fishtailed in loose gravel and she was hoping they wouldn’t hit a kangaroo appearing for its dawn feed. Then they were through the gate and on the dirt back road, tyres scrabbling, kicking up dust. She figured that speed was their only defense if the killer was still around.
Do you think the farmer heard us? Tess asked.
I doubt it. The cottage is pretty secluded.
But hell find the body eventually, Tess said.
Yes.
Hell call the police.
Yes.
Tess fell silent again.
Leah was thinking. Who, exactly, had been the target this time? Me, she decided. They must want me very badly. Who was the man with the gun? Cop, or a friend of a cop ? Leah knew plenty of police officers who owned motorbikes; in her view, biker cops and the Hells Angels were different faces of the same coin. So, a cop, ex-cop, or hired gun? A lot of trouble to go to.
Then Tess asked the question that shed been asking herself: How did they find us?
<
br /> Exactly, Leah said. We’ve changed vehicles, outrun them, holed up somewhere off the beaten track. Did you make any calls from the cottage?
Tess looked out of her window. What do you take me for?
A liar, Leah thought. They were approaching the intersection with the main road they’d traveled on yesterday. Leah could see a lonely truck, its headlights and sidelights illuminating the hazy dawn. She glanced in the side mirror, half-expecting to see headlights coming up fast from the rear. Tess saw her doing it and gasped.
Is there someone behind us?
No.
She knew it didn’t mean anything. The light was tricky: bright enough to drive by, murky enough to conceal. She braked at the intersection and then pulled out onto the highway, accelerating hard toward the west. There were bars of morning sunlight now, fog wisps above dams, tricky shadows, and once a trotting fox with a rabbit in its jaws. Leah stared moodily at the road ahead, occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror. There was very little traffic.
Then, an hour later, there was a Range Rover filling the mirror.
Its them.
Tess had propped her bare feet on the dash and was dozing, but now she swung her feet to the floor and craned her neck to see. Oh no, she whimpered.
Put your shoes on.
Why?
Because this could get wild, and we might have to run for it.
Tess let go of the daypack, leaned forward and reached down with both hands to slip her shoes on. Thats when Leah snatched the daypack.
No! Tess wailed.
Leah fended her off easily. She could hear and feel the rattle of pills, some in bottles, others in small congregations that suggested ziplock plastic bags. Tess was reaching for the pack, her face distorted. You cant!
Yes I can, Leah said, winding down her window and tossing the pack onto the road. She saw it recede in the mirror, a flat black shape like roadkill behind them. She saw smoking tyres as the Range Rover braked, and then the passenger Moustache was out of his door.
Good, they’ve stopped to pick it up.
Tess was screaming, You know what you’ve done? You’ve thrown away fourteen thousand bucks cash and another fifteen thousand in gear, stupid bitch.
