by Sarah Barrie
‘You’re never going to see it my way, are you?’
‘And you’re never going to be a good vet if you can’t develop some empathy for people, as well as their pets. If you can’t work with owners because your personal opinion doesn’t gel with theirs, that would be a shame, because you’re a really good vet, Louise. You have a chance to do lots of good things. Don’t stuff that up by being so bloody obnoxious!’ She brushed past Louise and out to reception to cool down.
Louise charged after her. ‘What do you want me to say – you’re better with people? Fine, you are, but it was selfish to do that surgery without letting me assist. I haven’t done any orthopaedic stuff. I want to learn, not just pick up the slack.’
‘Then maybe you’d better start listening to what Ebony’s trying to teach you,’ Lee suggested.
Ebony had forgotten Lee was still there. He moved further into the room and handed her a coffee.
Louise’s face fell. She nodded slowly. ‘It would have been appreciated if I could have at least watched. And I did follow up – at least with the RSPCA side of it. And next time I see that big bastard Martin, I’m going to tell him what I think of him.’
Ebony exchanged a glance with Lee. ‘Louise, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be involved any more than necessary from here on in.’
Louise’s chin came up. ‘Why? I heard you’ve bailed him up more than once.’
Lee leant against the wall and sipped his coffee. ‘You must have heard about the girls that went missing around here a couple of years back?’
Louise’s eyes bulged. ‘And the one who turned up cut to pieces?’ She shivered dramatically. ‘Yeah. Some local guy did it, right? Then he disappeared – took off before he could be caught. Are the whispers true? Did they hunt those girls for fun?’
‘Yeah, look, there’s a chance Martin was involved in some way. We can’t go around making accusations, but the police are still looking into it. The point is, you don’t want to get too involved with Martin.’
Louise stared into space, digesting the information. ‘I thought he was just an ignorant bastard who needed to learn some manners.’
‘He’s all of those things, so keep your distance. Stay safe.’
‘All right. I’ll be careful, thanks.’ She got to her feet. ‘I have to be somewhere.’
‘Like here?’ Ebony asked, eyebrows shooting up.
Louise shifted her weight from one foot to the other. ‘Well, yes, but I actually just dropped in this morning to tell you I had to quickly run to the real estate agent’s.’
It was just one thing after another with this woman. Ebony began to understand why people were driven to hitting their heads against walls. ‘Louise, you’re supposed to be working.’
‘I know but … you said I can move into the new flat soon and if I don’t give them notice now I’ll have to pay excess rent and I would have gone yesterday but I had so many things to do … It won’t take long. Surely you could give me half an hour or so?’
Was there any point arguing? ‘Fine.’
As Louise raced out, Carla dropped some files on the reception counter. ‘You’re too nice to that girl. I get a headache just being in the same room with her for more than five minutes.’
‘Yeah, but I need her,’ Ebony said. ‘I drafted another ad for a permanent vet last night. I’ll try to get it off today.’
‘Sooner the better, if you ask me.’
‘She’ll come around,’ Lee said. ‘Did the cabinet doors come yesterday?’
‘Something came.’ Ebony followed Lee out to the new building. ‘Thanks for talking to Louise. She pays more attention to you than to me.’
‘She’s eager to prove herself, that’s all. She’s passionate, like you, just with a lot less polish. It can’t be easy arguing with her when you agree with so much of what she’s saying, but you did. She’s not there yet. She can’t see things from both sides.’
Stuck for words, Ebony walked through the door he held open. ‘I wish Ben would hurry up and lock Martin up for something before he breeds any more litters,’ she said eventually.
‘He needs to find those missing girls. He can’t do much with speculation and circumstantial evidence.’ He tore open a box on the floor of the new equine exam room and pulled out what looked to Ebony like a cabinet door.
‘I was hoping the information Ben got from the hunters’ forum would have been enough.’
He lined the door up against a cavity, nodded to himself, tried another. ‘Ben reckons whoever they had running that forum is some kind of computer genius. His experts were having all sorts of issues cracking it, then before they’d managed to identify everyone, it disappeared without a trace.’
‘Cam told me. He also said Ben’s convinced the pit Mavis mentioned before she died is where they were disposing of the bodies.’
‘Yeah, but it’s starting to look more like a myth than reality. Surely someone would have found it by now if it existed?’
‘There’s a lot of space out there.’ She gestured at the cabinet doors. ‘Are you putting those in now?’
‘Actually I just came to make sure they’d arrived and to pick up my toolbox. Cam and I need to be somewhere else today – and we might be a bit late for dinner. You’re coming tonight?’
‘Yep. Want me to pick up the pizza? It’ll save you some time.’
‘I need to pick you up anyway.’
‘It’s okay, I’ll drive myself.’
He considered that. ‘All right, thanks.’ He dug out his wallet, pushed some cash at her. ‘I’ll follow you back after, make sure you get home safe.’
Since Rob had taken several women out of their cars on lonely stretches of road at night, everyone in town had been more cautious and would probably continue to be until he was caught. Cam and Lee were always on at her not to drive herself anywhere alone after dark. So she took the money, accepted the offer.
So much for Lee worrying he would be late. Ebony parked the car and raced towards the little pizza shop. Her last client had left almost an hour past regular closing time and she’d had to move like lightning to finish up at the surgery, shower and dress. Of course, she’d forgotten to order the pizza, which had put her even further behind, then on her way out, she’d discovered Joxer had done something unmentionable in his pen that would have required fumigating the surgery had she left it until morning. Now she was almost jogging to the pizza shop for the considerably late pick-up.
She hurried through the door. The pizza shop was a few feet of lino in front of a long counter. A couple of teenage boys occupied two of half-a-dozen fold-out chairs that lined the front window. Martin was standing in the corner. In her haste, she didn’t notice him until she was well into the building.
Martin turned his head, his small eyes narrowing as he recognised her. Under his grizzly beard, his mouth pressed into a thin line that quickly became a nasty smirk. Ebony lifted her chin and stepped to the counter, scowling.
Pat, the pizza shop owner, was looking flustered and wore an apologetic smile. She nodded in greeting. ‘Sorry, Ebony, running a bit behind with orders. It’ll just be five. Boys – here you go.’
The boys got up, paid, and left. Pat went back behind the ovens.
Great. Left alone with Martin, Ebony considered her options. Should she leave? She should leave. Stuff pride. The man was evil.
‘Wanna grab a seat while we wait? Haven’t caught up in ages, sweetheart.’ Martin’s voice in her ear startled her, but she kept her gaze straight ahead, her back to him.
‘No.’
‘Oh, come on,’ he crooned quietly. ‘Whatever happened to the loudmouth bitch who bailed me up at every opportunity? Don’t you have anything to say?’
When she didn’t answer, he chuckled, whispered harshly, ‘Finally been put in your place, have ya? How’s the neck?’
The chill that raced down her spine was chased by fury. She hated this disgusting man, hated that he could frighten her. ‘Shouldn’t you be more worri
ed about the puppy you sold Grahame?’ she hissed over her shoulder.
There was a surprised pause then, ‘Nothing wrong with it when it left my place. Whatever he said, he’s lying. I hope you’re not planning on going and getting yourself involved.’
Ebony did turn then. ‘Oh, you bet I am. What did you do, kick it?’
He looked scraggy, even for Martin. He was enormous, and she had to look up to see that his beard was long and unkempt, greying out, but still as thick and frizzy as ever. His face was deeply creased, skin dry and flaky. It wouldn’t have surprised her if something was living in the nest of untidy hair on top of his head. His appearance made his eyes seem smaller and meaner than ever. She doubted those old overalls had seen a wash in weeks. The smell of him – sour alcohol and sweat – was repulsive.
‘Maybe it deserved it.’
‘You really get your rocks off hurting anything that’s weaker than you, don’t you?’
He smiled slowly, leaning close enough for her to take a step back. ‘Best you remember that, sweetheart. And mind your own business.’
‘Martin! Order’s up.’
When he stepped forwards and paid for it, Ebony dragged in two deep breaths of clean air.
He took his pizzas then paused as he levelled with her, a nasty smile on his face. ‘He’s coming back for you, Ebony.’
Her stomach dropped. ‘What? Who?’
Martin’s grin widened. ‘He’s gonna get ya.’
As he strolled past her, Ebony fought to breathe steadily. She couldn’t help but track him with her eyes – make sure he was getting into his car and leaving. He sent her one last sideways grin, drawing a line with his finger across his neck. Her hand automatically went to the scar on hers. He laughed and climbed into his car and drove away.
With her legs threatening to collapse, she sank into a chair. He was lying. He had to be. She knew better than to talk to him, she knew better than to get drawn in. And who was he talking about? Did he mean Rob? Who else could he mean?
She told herself he was just taunting her. But she couldn’t seem to shift the feeling of dread in her stomach or answer the questions floating in her mind. What if he was telling the truth? And what if Rob was coming back? She’d wondered more than once who’d be next. Was it going to be her?
CHAPTER
5
Ebony grabbed the pizzas off the front seat and scanned Cam and Ally’s driveway. Mia’s car was here, but no sign of Cam and Lee. She followed the pretty paved walkway and climbed the three steps up the wide veranda of the federation-style home. The sprawling sandstone house sat proudly at the top of the hill and overlooked an endless vista of mountains, and, closer below, Ally’s farm. Cam had done well, she thought, not for the first time, to build such an impressive home. The soft glow of the veranda lights framed twin oak doors inlaid with stained glass. On either side, garden seats encouraged visitors to sit and consider the magnificent view, and of course, there was always the deck that hugged the side of the house, with more seating and the pool. Beyond the house you could walk for hours among big old peppercorn and gum trees, azaleas and native shrubs in a garden that seamlessly blended into the bushland. Had there been the least amount of light left in the evening, she’d have been tempted to do that to regain her equilibrium after her confrontation with Martin.
But it was dark, and the pizzas were getting cold, so she pushed through the doors and into the open-plan living area. The three dogs excitedly scrambled to their feet and mobbed her. ‘Hi girls – Luna get off! I’m happy to see you too.’
‘Need some help?’ Ally asked, appearing on the other side of the chaos.
Ebony lifted the pizzas over the dogs and put them into Ally’s outstretched hands, then bent down to give the dogs some attention. ‘Sorry I’m so late – hectic day.’
‘No worries. As you would have noticed pulling up, the guys still aren’t here. Let me put the tribe outside. Luna! Bess! Millie! Let’s go!’
The dogs raced to follow Ally through the house to the back door, where she somehow managed to juggle the door and the pizzas to let the canines into the backyard.
‘Hi, Ebs.’
Ebony spotted Mia sitting cross-legged on a dining chair, playing with what appeared to be camera equipment. It was spread out all over the table and there was an open laptop close by.
‘Hi. What are you doing?’
Mia twisted in the seat, pulled lustrous copper blonde hair away from a face Ebony had come to believe just wasn’t fair to mere mortal females and smiled. ‘Playing with my new toys.’
‘Glass of wine?’ Ally asked, walking back to the kitchen.
‘Just a half, thanks.’ But when Ally handed it to her, she realised her hands were unsteady. Instead of sipping it, she downed it. Damn Martin.
Ally frowned at the move. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yeah, of course.’ Then, because the look on Ally’s face suggested she wasn’t falling for it, she added, ‘I just had my nerves rattled a bit – Martin.’
The sisters’ gazes sharpened. ‘What did he do?’ Mia demanded.
Ebony couldn’t help but smile. Ally, the mother hen, and Mia, the warrior. Watching Mia dump orange juice on Martin’s pants was one of the more memorable – and satisfying – moments she’d had in the man’s presence. ‘Nothing much – nothing,’ she reassured them quickly. ‘He was just trying to scare me. He said some stupid stuff.’
‘From the beginning,’ Ally prompted.
She didn’t mind reliving it. It was good to get it off her chest.
‘Bastard,’ Mia said when she’d finished. ‘The sooner Ben can lock him up, the better.’
‘You should tell him,’ Ally said, going over to the kitchen. ‘Ben wants to be kept in the loop, you know that. Here, grab the serviettes. If the guys don’t turn up soon, we’ll eat.’
Ebony put the serviettes on the table while Mia began cleaning up her equipment.
‘Did you bring pepperoni?’ Mia asked.
‘Of course.’
‘Yum. I’ll have to go easy though. I bought a gorgeous new dress for dinner on Wednesday night but it’s completely unforgiving. One gram goes on my waist and it’s going to cut me in half.’
‘Oh? How is – who was it, Harrison whoever?’ Ebony asked.
‘Who?’ Mia’s brow creased in thought. ‘Oh, yeah. Wouldn’t have a clue.’
‘Why am I not surprised?’ Ally said dryly. ‘Maybe we should just stick to “How’s the latest?”’
Mia shrugged. ‘This is a business meeting. An important one – I’ll tell you about it later. What time did you say the guys were going to get here?’
‘Fifteen minutes ago.’
‘Lee said they’d be late but then I got caught up as well and thought they might have ended up beating me here,’ Ebony said.
‘How is handsome?’ Mia enquired. ‘By any chance have you got him into bed yet?’
Ebony lifted her gaze to the ceiling. ‘It’s been three weeks since we last had this conversation. There’s been no magical realignment of the universe, no rips in time and space leading to alternate realities. He just doesn’t see me the way I want him to.’
‘Okay, I’ve got to say that while the whole young, sweet and innocent thing you’ve got going on is great and everything …’ Mia’s eyes shone with amusement at Ebony’s put out expression, ‘… it’s actually going against you with Lee because of his noble yet redundant values system. He’s much older and more worldly than you and he won’t take advantage. He just won’t. I told you what you have to do.’
‘What did you tell her?’ Ally asked.
Mia shrugged. ‘That she should just jump him. Once he gets past that keep-his-hands-off mentality, you won’t be able to pry them apart with a crowbar. I’ve seen him look.’
‘Did you hear that?’ Ebony laughed in disbelief. ‘“Just,” she says. You two love that word. I’m not exactly highly qualified in the jumping men department. I’ve fantasised about it, though,’ she added wi
th a wistful sigh.
Mia grinned at the look on her face. ‘There’s a little joke that goes, how do you seduce a man? Turn up naked. It’s not far from the truth.’
Ebony flopped lightly into the seat next to Mia. ‘If I turned up naked he’d probably panic and tell me to put my clothes back on.’
Mia gave her shoulders a friendly squeeze. ‘Honey, any guy who’s going to look at you and want your clothes back on is either gay, lobotomised, or hiding an erectile dysfunction issue.’
Ebony smiled and shrugged. ‘He’s not available at the moment anyway.’
Mia got to her feet and headed for the wine to refill her glass and Ebony’s. ‘Hear the way you say “at the moment”? Even you know this latest little thing he’s having with Fiona isn’t serious. How long did the one before last? Four weeks? Just bide your time then strike while the iron’s hot.’
‘For someone who doesn’t even do relationships, you’re full of advice.’
When Mia tossed a smile over her shoulder, it was amused and smug. ‘Honey, I might not keep ’em, but I’m very, very good at reeling them in.’
‘She really is,’ Ally confirmed.
‘Yeah but look at her,’ Ebony complained, with a wave of her hand.
‘Must I go through my whole life with both of you feeling insignificant beside me?’ Mia flicked her hair away from her shoulders dramatically, her brows drawing together in a thoughtful expression. Then her face cleared. ‘You know what Ally told me the first time she saw you, Ebs?’
‘Oh God, don’t you dare!’ Ally threatened uselessly.
Mia’s grin just got bigger. ‘She said she couldn’t believe how good a vet you were.’
‘Well, that’s nice.’
‘Because you looked like a freaking catwalk model and acted so perfect it was intimidating.’
‘Get out.’ Ebony turned on Ally. ‘Is that why you asked if I was really a vet?’
