The Dark Series

by Catherine Lee

  "I brought my iPad for you to play with. But we won't be staying very long. We need to get home and have some dinner, and you need a bath tonight, too."

  "But I had a bath last night!"

  "You need a bath every night, Em," said Ethan. "Don't worry, I'll read you a story while you're in there."

  Jackie pulled up outside Simon's house and cut the engine. Both hands still on the wheel, she took a deep breath and turned to Ethan. "Ready?"

  He nodded. "Ready."

  Simon opened the front door before they'd made it all the way up the drive. From the look on his face, he was surprised to see them.

  "Jackie! Is everything okay? Hi, kids."

  "Everything's fine, but we need to talk to you. Do you mind if we come in? We won't stay long."

  "Of course, come in." Simon stepped aside and they trooped through to the living room.

  Jackie took the iPad out of her bag, and Emma's hands automatically reached for it. "Say hello to Mr Longhurst first please, Emma," said Jackie.

  "Hello Mr Longhurst," said Emma, not taking her eyes off the gadget. Jackie didn't have the strength to argue.

  "Sorry," she said to Simon as she handed the iPad to her daughter. "She doesn't normally get to use it at night."

  "No problem, I understand completely." Simon looked from Jackie to Ethan, whose head was hung low. "What can I do for you?"

  "Ethan has something he wants to say." Jackie stood close to her son, and gave him a little nudge with her elbow. Ethan looked up at Simon and began his rehearsed speech.

  "I'm really sorry, Mr Longhurst. My friend Oscar and I, we did something terrible. We hacked my brother Lachlan's computer and posted some messages to your daughter, Sia, using his account."

  Jackie watched as Simon's jaw dropped, then he quickly regained his composure. "What kind of messages? Although if you're here apologising to me, I think I can guess."

  "We never meant to hurt her, sir. We wanted to get back at Lachy. It was really stupid. I'm so sorry."

  Simon took two steps to his couch and sat on its edge, resting his elbows on his knees and running his hands through his hair. Jackie felt awkward; she wasn't sure if she and Ethan should sit too or remain standing. After a few seconds, that felt an eternity, she chanced a step toward him.

  "I know this is hard to hear, but I felt it was important Ethan tell you the truth and apologise. I just found out about it. I'm sorry, Simon. When you spoke to me about the bullying Sia had experienced I felt so sad for her, so sorry she had to go through that. I had no idea my own son was responsible for some of it. Believe me, he will be punished."

  Simon stared up at them both. "Sit down, please." Ethan took a spot on the opposite lounge, as far away from Simon as he could position himself. Jackie sat next to him. As horrified as she was by what Ethan had done, her protectiveness of her son had kicked in. He'd been right in the car, they had no idea how Simon would react. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

  "Why did you send those messages to my daughter?" Simon asked. There was no anger in his voice, just a weariness.

  "B-because everyone else was doing it. I know that's a stupid reason, sir. I'm not proud of it. I've thought about it a lot since. Oscar gets picked on all the time. He's different, and different doesn't get you very far in high school. I think he just wanted to see what it felt like to be on the other side."

  "And you went along with it? Why?"

  "Lachlan was being a dick to me. Oscar said we could do this to get back at him, so it would look like it was him sending the messages. I wanted to get him into trouble for once. He was always the favourite. Teacher's favourite, Mum's favourite. I was sick of it. Oscar said this would get him into trouble. But it didn't. It maybe got him killed." Ethan burst into tears at that, and Jackie put an arm around him. Shit, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.

  "What makes you think what you did got him killed?" asked Simon, frowning.

  Ethan pulled a tissue from his pocket and wiped his eyes. He looked at Simon. "The other two, Michelle and Jamie, they were proper bullies. What we did made Lachlan look like a bully, too. The police think they were all killed because they were bullies. So it's my fault."

  "The police don't necessarily think that," said Jackie, trying to calm him down. "It's just one line of enquiry they're following."

  Simon remained silent. It would mean the world to Jackie if he forgave Ethan right now, but she couldn't ask him to do that. All she could do was hope.

  "Simon, please believe that Ethan is incredibly sorry for what he's done."

  "I can see that. I must say, I'm shocked to hear that it was him, that he had a part in the ugliness that drove Sia to do what she did."

  Ethan wiped his eyes again and buried his face in Jackie's shoulder. She held him close, wondering whether he'd be able to move past this. He'd obviously been holding it in since Lachlan died. He was going to need help, but he was strong. She was convinced he'd pull through.

  "Have you learnt your lesson, young man?" Simon asked.

  Ethan peeked out from under Jackie's arm. She helped him to sit up straight beside her. "Yes, sir," he eventually answered.

  "And what will you do next time a friend suggests you use social media to cause harm and hurt to another person?"

  "I won't do it. No way."

  Simon gave Ethan a smile tinged with sadness. "Good boy. Don't ever forget this lesson, Ethan. But stop torturing yourself, as well. It takes courage to admit your mistakes, to come here and do what you just did. I admire that."

  "Thank you, Mr Longhurst."

  Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. Simon might not have gone as far as forgiving Ethan, but his words were encouraging. Hopefully they could all move past this. "Can you go and check on Emma?" Jackie asked her son. "Tell her we're going in five minutes. I just want to have a quick word with Mr Longhurst alone."

  Ethan moved off and Jackie looked at Simon. "Thank you," she said. "I really wasn't sure how you'd take that, but I wanted you to know the truth."

  "It was a shock, that's for sure. But I'm glad you told me. It's all in the past, Jackie. I'm rebuilding my life now, and I can't dwell on what's happened and who caused what any longer. You've got a good kid there. Don't lose him."

  "Yes, well, that might not be up to me."

  "Of course, the court case. Any progress?"

  "Not since we last spoke. To tell you the truth, I've been caught up with trying to help Ethan's friend, Oscar."

  "His co-conspirator?"

  "Yes. That is one troubled kid." Jackie was tempted to explain Oscar's problems to Simon. He'd been such a good listener, and a good friend to her over the last couple of weeks. But that would be betraying Oscar's confidence, and really, the less people who knew about this, the better. She settled for telling Simon that Oscar wasn't dealing well with some of the more troubling aspects of adolescence.

  "Where are the parents?"

  "Workaholics, by the sounds of it. I need to try and convince Oscar to talk to at least one of them."

  "Yeah, you do. Look, I can see you want to help, and that's a credit to your caring nature. But a teenage boy needs his own family to understand him if he's going to make it through to adulthood."

  Jackie's mobile began to ring. "I know," she said to Simon, as she fished the phone out of her bag. She looked at the screen. "Speak of the devil."

  Simon raised his eyebrows as she answered the phone. "Hello?" she was met by silence on the other end. "Hello? Oscar?" There was a loud speaker announcement in the background, it sounded like a hospital. "Oscar? Talk to me!"

  "Mrs Rose." The voice was barely audible.

  "Oscar, where are you?"

  "I'm… I'm in the hospital." Jackie didn't need to ask why he was there. She knew.

  "Where are your parents?"

  "Mum's on her way. Please, Mrs Rose. Can you come? I can't face her alone."

  43

  "Hang on a second, Oscar." Jackie held the phone to her chest and looked at Simon. "H
e's in the hospital."

  "Has he harmed himself?" Jackie read the concern in Simon's eyes.

  "I suspect so."

  "He trusts you?"

  "Yes."

  "Then you need to go to him," said Simon. "Don't let another kid…" He shook his head. "Go, I'll look after these two for you."

  Ethan came back into the room. "What's going on?" Jackie spoke quickly into the phone, telling Oscar she was on her way. "On your way where?" Ethan asked once she'd ended the call. "Mum, what's going on?"

  "That was Oscar, mate. He's in a bit of trouble. He's asked me to go and help him out." She was unsure how much to tell him, he'd been through so much already.

  "I heard you say hospital. Is he okay?"

  "He will be. Simon's going to take you and Emma home, and stay with you until I get there." She looked up at Simon. "Is that okay?"

  "Of course. That's what I was going to suggest."

  "I want to go with you," said Ethan. "Oscar's my friend."

  "I understand that, but you can't go with me, not tonight. Let me go and see him, help him talk to his parents. Then I'll take you to see him tomorrow. I promise. Besides, I need you to stay with Em. She doesn't know Simon very well, she won't be happy about me leaving."

  Ethan thought it over for a moment before agreeing. Thank goodness, thought Jackie, although the kid was hardly in a good bargaining position after today. Still, if Oscar was up to it, she'd make good on her promise to take Ethan to see him tomorrow. In a strange way she felt the two of them needed each other.

  Jackie gave Simon her house key, and they quickly swapped Emma's booster seat from her car into his. "He's at RPA, so not that far away. I'll be home as quick as I can," she told them all as she got into her car.

  "Relax, we'll be fine," said Simon. "Won't we, kids?"

  Jackie received an encouraging nod from her son before racing off to help save someone else's.

  * * *

  Jackie raced into the RPA emergency room, but it felt like an age since her last shift.

  "What are you doing here?" asked Tim.

  "I need to find Oscar White. He's a friend of my son's."

  "Oh. Suicide attempt. Not a good one, barely nicked the artery then called triple-0 himself. Classic cry for help." Tim punched away on the keyboard for a few seconds then turned back to her. "He's in room one-oh-six. Says here the mother is on her way. You know the parents?"

  "Not yet, but I'm about to." Jackie clapped him on the shoulder in a thank you gesture and left.

  "Good luck," Tim called after her.

  Jackie got as close as the door to Oscar's room before she was stopped by the ward nurse. They'd met a couple of times before, but the woman was apparently keen to enforce the rules.

  "I can't let you in to see him. It's family only at the moment."

  "I understand that, but he called and asked for me. He's a close friend of my son, and he needs help."

  "Yeah, that's why he's here. Are you on duty?"

  "No, you know I'm not."

  "Then I can't let you in. Sorry, Jackie. You know the rules."

  "Can you just ask him? It's really important."

  The woman's mouth formed an impossibly straight line, and she stood sizing Jackie up for a good twenty seconds. Then she shook her head ever so slightly and went into the room. She came straight back out.

  "He's gone," she said, heading for the nurse's station and the phone.

  "What?" Jackie looked into the room. The IV drip was hanging just above the floor, a few drops of blood staining the lino underneath. Oscar was nowhere to be seen.

  Jackie checked her phone. There'd been no new messages, nothing since Oscar had called her twenty minutes ago. What was he playing at?

  The nurse came back into the room a minute later, this time with a security guard. "You check the bathroom?" asked the guard.

  "Of course I did."

  He ignored her and checked it again. No Oscar.

  "He can't have got far," said Jackie. "When was the last time you saw him?" she asked the nurse.

  "I was in here about fifteen minutes ago. He was here then."

  "How did he seem?"

  "Nervous. His mum is on her way, I figured he was worried what she'd say."

  Jackie nodded. "He sounded nervous when he called me. Nervous and frightened. But he knew I was coming. Why would he leave?" she went around to the other side of the bed. A drawer was pulled out, and a hospital gown had been dumped on the floor. "At least he's dressed," she said.

  "Where's my son?"

  The three of them spun around to see the owner of the voice, a tall, slim woman with dark hair in a business suit, standing in the doorway.

  "You're Oscar's mother?" asked the nurse.

  "Janet White. Where is he? They said at the desk he was in here. What's going on?" Janet looked confused. They mustn't have told her why Oscar had been here.

  "Mrs White, hi." Jackie held out a hand. "I'm Jackie Rose, we've spoken on the phone."

  "Oh, yes. Hello." Janet took her hand and gave it a cursory shake. "What are you doing here?"

  "Oscar called me. He has something difficult to discuss with you, and he wanted my help. But it seems he's gone, and I don't understand why."

  Janet looked around the room as if to confirm that Oscar had indeed gone. She opened and closed both drawers by the bed. "There's no mobile phone. He's gone. He takes that thing with him everywhere."

  "Maybe he just went to the cafeteria?" Jackie suggested.

  "He ripped his drip out to go get something to eat?" said the nurse.

  "No," Jackie replied. "Something must've happened."

  "I'll check the tapes," said the security guard. The nurse liked that idea, and she followed him out of the room. Jackie and Janet were left staring at each other.

  "What did my son have to tell me?" Janet asked. "Why did he need you?"

  Jackie felt they should be out looking for Oscar, but really, what could they do? He could have gone anywhere. Tim had said his suicide attempt was a cry for help, not a very good one. They'd have patched him up so he wasn't at any further risk. Unless of course he'd decided to try again. Jackie looked at Janet. Oscar should be the one having this conversation with his mother, not her. But there was no time for that now. Janet needed to know the truth.

  "Let's sit down." Jackie pulled two chairs together as best she could, and both women sat. As she proceeded to tell Janet her son had just attempted to take his own life because he believed he was a pedophile, Jackie barely understood the words herself. How was this mother supposed to cope? How was Oscar supposed to cope? Clearly, he wasn't.

  Tears were streaking Janet's face by the time Jackie had finished. The woman was speechless, and Jackie didn't blame her. She hoped they found Oscar soon.

  Her mobile phone rang. It was Ethan.

  "I'm leaving shortly," she started to say, but was interrupted by Ethan's frantic cries.

  "Mum, Oscar's here. Help! We need help—"

  The phone went dead. She tried calling back, but it rang out then went to Ethan's voicemail. She tried again, but this time it didn't even ring. She tried Simon's phone. Nothing.

  "What's wrong?" Janet asked.

  Jackie looked up at the woman. Her face and red-rimmed eyes were in contrast to the severe suit and hairstyle. Jackie suddenly realised she'd got it all wrong. All this time she'd wanted to help Oscar. All this time she'd neglected her own children, focused instead on what she'd thought was a troubled child who needed saving. Oscar didn't need saving. Charlie was right. Oscar needed locking up. It was all perfectly clear. Ethan and Emma were the ones who needed saving. From Oscar.

  "What is it?" Janet asked again.

  "Your son has my children."

  44

  "Better make it a lemon squash, Joe. I've got to drive home."

  Quinn nodded, and Cooper watched as his partner strode over to the bar. They'd already had two beers each, and the last thing he needed was a DUI to his name. That would give
Saunders all the ammunition he needed to get rid of him, which he was sure was what the senior sergeant wanted.

  "So what's the deal with you and Saunders?" asked Quinn, placing two soft drinks and a packet of salt and vinegar chips on the table.

  "Didn't think you were the type to eat junk like this," replied Cooper, ignoring the question.

  "I'm hungry, and it's these or a pie. I don't eat pies in pubs. Come on, don't change the subject."

  "I told you, Saunders got rid of my old partner, Stocky, just because he didn't like the guy."

  "There's more to it than that."

  "Of course there is, but that's between Stocky and Saunders. Not my story to tell."

  "So why are you on his shit list, then?"

  "Because he knows I know."

  "Know what?"

  "Well I could tell you, but then Saunders would have it in for you, too." Cooper picked up his drink and took a long, slow sip. He smiled at his partner.

  "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

  "Nope. Look, all you need to know is, Saunders is slime. Stay out of his way."

  "Right." Quinn ripped open the packet of chips and shovelled them into his mouth, three at a time. He offered the packet to Cooper, who shook his head. "You're itching to talk to Simon Longhurst, aren't you?"

  "He's got the best motive," said Cooper.

  "What about Oscar White?"

  Cooper thought about Oscar's motive. "If the victims found out his little secret and threatened to spill it to the world, maybe he's got the best motive."

  "I certainly couldn't handle it if the world thought I was a pedophile," said Quinn, finishing off the chips.

  "But in his case, it's true."

  "That only makes it worse. I think we need to keep him high on the list, boss."

  "You think a kid like him could get three older kids to hang themselves? Two of the victims were football players, remember. And none of them showed any signs of a struggle."

  Quinn took a long gulp of his lemon squash. "Whoever did it must have been carrying some kind of persuasive device. A knife at least, or possibly a gun. We know Oscar's been caught with a knife before."