Blossoms in the Wind

by Ross Richdale

  "So that fits in with Ava Knight's statement that she smelt something hot and got her boy friend to stop the car?" the inspector asked.

  "Correct. Except for her quick thinking, they would have never survived the explosion and we would be dealing with two murders at this moment."

  "But it is definitely attempted murder and not an accident," the inspector continued. "Would your findings hold up in any eventual court case?"

  "Yes. More experiments need to be done to test my theories but I can definitely say you have a major crime on your hands, gentlemen."

  The detective grimaced. "Thank you Doctor Lockyer. As usual, this information is entirely confidential. Please don't even mention anything about your findings to your colleagues."

  Michael Lockyer grinned slightly and nodded. He had done enough work of this sort for the police over the years to know how important it was to keep any results confidential. A decade before a junior technician had blurted out something in a pub. As a consequence, the forensic evidence vital for a conviction had been disallowed and the case against a known criminal had been lost.

  CHAPTER 6

  Chloe awoke, knowing that something was wrong. Her blankets were damp and her fingers found the fluid there was sticky. She flung back the blankets and staggered across the dark bedroom to find her nightgown. The room was spinning so she reached out to steady herself.

  "Jeff," she called in almost a scream. "Can you help me, please?"

  A strip of light was showing under his bedroom door. It opened and in the shaft of light that flooded across the hallway she noticed not only her son but also Ava at the bedroom door. Both looked dishevelled and Ava was hastily buttoning her blouse buttons up.

  Oh my God, the cheek of her! Chloe immediately chastised herself for hypocrisy and grabbed the wall to steady herself again. She looked at Ava for comfort for having to admit her trouble to Jeff felt too embarrassing.

  "I'm bleeding, Ava," she stammered. "I think I'm having a miscarriage."

  She switched her eyes to glance at Jeff's astonished expression as blood ran down her legs to form a tiny puddle on the polished wooden floor.

  "Get your mum out to the car." Ava had apparently seized up the situation first. "There's no time to call an ambulance."

  "Thanks Sweetheart," Chloe whispered. "Men don't understand these things, do they?"

  THE DOCTOR AT THE NORTH Shore Hospital Accident and Emergency walked out into the corridor and approached the two teenagers sitting on nearby seats.

  "Miss Sutton?" he asked Ava.

  "No; this is Jeff, Chloe's son," Ava stood up and held an arm out to her companion.

  "Sorry," the doctor replied and turned to Jeff. "Your mother had quite a serious bleed but I can assure you that the baby has survived. With care, she should be able to continue her pregnancy. We'll keep her in hospital and if all remains well she should be able to be discharged later today."

  Ava stared at Jeff and sucked on her lip. He looked completely bewildered so she asked the doctor if they could visit Chloe.

  The doctor switched his eyes to Jeff. "Shortly She is quite weak and we would like you to give us permission to give her a blood transfusion."

  "Of course, of course!" Jeff muttered and signed the clipboard form handed to him. "Do whatever is necessary to help Mum."

  The doctor disappeared and Ava held her hands out to comfort Jeff. "So you didn't know your mother was pregnant?" she whispered.

  "Hell no but who?" he gasped. "Mum's too old to be pregnant."

  "Apparently not," Ava replied. "What is she? About forty?"

  "Next birthday," Jeff replied. "So who did it to her?"

  "I doubt if it was your father so that only leaves my dad."

  "Oh hell, your dad?"

  Ava gulped. "Why not?"

  Jeff still looked somewhat overwhelmed. "The old bugger," he muttered.

  Ava tucked her arm through his. "So that makes you a young bugger, doesn't it?"

  Jeff broke into a grin. "Well the old guys could have used birth control?"

  "Yeah and you worried about how mad they'd be if they knew we were... well you know?" She reached in a pocket for her iPhone and a moment later was speaking on it. "Dad," she said. "We have a bit of an emergency. You need to come along to North Shore Hospital."

  "What happened?" gasped her father. "Have you been in another accident?"

  "No not me. It's Chloe!" She explained what had happened and waited, as there was stunned silence at the other end. "Dad, are you there?"

  "You say that Chloe's in hospital and is pregnant?" her dad finally gasped.

  "That's about it." Ava grinned at Jeff. "They're keeping her here for the day for she may need another blood transfusion."

  "Another?"

  "She's fine, Dad. We're going in to see her soon."

  "Right. I'll come straight up."

  Ava clicked off and turned as a nurse approached.

  "You can come in now," the nurse said. "Chloe wants to speak to you both."

  "HOW COULD YOU, DAD?" Ava fumed later that evening when she was at home with her father and Logan had disappeared into his bedroom. "Mum's only been dead a few months and you know Jeff and I are going steady." She stood there as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You not only screwed Chloe but impregnated her so we'll have to break up."

  "And why is that, Sweetheart?" an embarrassed Adrian asked. "Nothing has changed between you two."

  "Nothing!" Ava cried. "My God, after the baby is born we'll be practically step-brother and sister. Are you going to shift in with her or vice versa and what about Logan?" She stopped, grabbed some tissues from a nearby box, wiped tears from her eyes, blew her nose and stared at him. "Okay, I know you're lonely and had a hard year before Mum died. I tried to help and..." She burst into tears again and ran towards the door.

  However, Adrian grabbed her arm and wrapped his arms around her quivering body. She buried her head in his chest and continued sobbing.

  "And you did help. Without you I doubt if I could have coped. You're practically a mother to Logan and, oh hell I'm as surprised as you are and..." he said.

  Ava stared into his eyes, "But I like Chloe, Dad. She's not just some slut in the office who'll jump into bed with anyone, she's a real friend, you know. But now..."

  "Okay, we have things to sort through but again, don't let this affect you and Jeff. Nothing need change between you two. Even after the baby is born you two will not be biologically related, sure you'll both have a new half-brother or sister but through different parents. There is no law in the land forbidding your relationship. If it continues, that will be fine. Likewise, if it doesn't and you both move on, it will make no difference to us and I'm sure Chloe will agree."

  "We'll be the laughing-stock of the Year 13s at school!"

  "That'll be their problem, not yours or Jeff's. Anyway by the time the baby is born you will have both left school and be moving on to university or whatever."

  Ava shrugged. "I guess," she whispered but still clung to him.

  He stroked her hair and held her out. "Chloe may not even want to continue the pregnancy."

  Ava looked shocked. "Oh my God, you aren't thinking of an abortion?"

  Adrian sighed. "I don't l know, Sweetheart. There is, however, something I do know."

  "And that is?"

  "I love Chloe, Ava and I'm sure her feelings are mutual."

  "And I've been a selfish little prig."

  "Not at all," Adrian whispered. "We all have some adjusting to do, even Logan. After all the bad things that have happened to our families, can't this be viewed as something exciting and positive?"

  Ava gave a wisp of a smile. "And I thought we'd be having a row about Jeff and me... well you know?"

  "You aren't pregnant, too?"

  "No Dad. I think our generation is more knowledgeable in birth control matters than yours."

  "True," Adrian sighed. "Sometimes I feel I'm the teenager and not you."

  "It's the old sayi
ng about love being blind, Dad, not our role reversals."

  "A good point. I wonder how Chloe is coping with Jeff right now?"

  Ava grinned. "Probably he's ignoring everything and is playing a game on his iPad."

  "Could be," Adrian whispered. "Guess we'll find out before too long."

  OVER THE FOLLOWING couple of weeks, Jeff was more concerned about Ava's reaction to the news of Chloe's pregnancy than the announcement itself. She had reverted back to her old self by being quiet and withdrawn, muttered excuses about the forthcoming exams and needing more time to study when he asked if she wanted to go out. This had happened not once but on several occasions until on that Friday he had had enough.

  She was leaving school and was in the student car park walking towards her car when he intercepted her. "This is stupid and I've had enough," he said as he blocked her way between two vehicles.

  "What!" she snapped and avoided his eyes. "Just let me through, Jeff. I told you I needed to swat for exams."

  "No you don't," Jeff retorted. "You have enough terms to pass everything even if you don't sit the finals. As for the scholarship exams, you'll fly in and who really cares if the Asian girls get a few more marks than you?"

  She looked up and caught his eyes. "Perhaps we should call it a day and just move on. Why don't you ask Fluer for a date? She's a nice girl who's too mature for Ryan. I'm sure she'll be a great companion."

  "It's about your dad and Mum, isn't it? I like your dad and when you toss the emotions aside, isn't it the best thing that has happened to both of them?"

  "Yeah, with anyone else," Ava muttered.

  Jeff sighed. "So it is that? What if some Joe Blogs up the street had impregnated my mother and your dad had confessed he'd screwed one of the secretaries at work?"

  Ava avoided his eyes again. "That's more or less what I said to Dad."

  "And he said you'd better dump me and get some other boyfriend?" Jeff muttered sarcastically.

  Ava glanced up again. "No, of course not." She repeated her earlier conversation with her father to him.

  "So who are you hurting by acting this way? Who else except our parents really care and even if anybody did, what the hell! It's just us, Ava."

  "What about your father, Jeff?"

  "Where does he come in the equation?"

  "He's a violent man and was probably the one who blew your car up. Imagine what will happen when he finds out that Chloe is pregnant."

  Jeff grimaced for they had both agreed earlier that his father was probably responsible for the car bombing. "So that's even a better reason that we should stick together. Otherwise he has won hasn't he?"

  "I guess," Ava whispered.

  "So let's take a movie tonight and visit a coffee bar afterwards?"

  Ava smiled for the first time. "As long as it's a coffee bar and not a night club or bar." she said as she squeezed past him. "Want a ride home?"

  "Nope," Jeff replied. "Insurance paid out on my old car and I've got a new one." He grinned. "Not brand new and nothing like your flash car. Want to see it?"

  "Why not?"

  Jeff led Ava across to the far side of the student park where a fifteen-year-old Mazda sports car with a soft roof was parked. It was painted a dark red with white stripes across the hood.

  "Mum gave me a bit of a loan," he admitted. "More modern than the old one and has an ordinary engine. Like it?"

  "Oh Jeff," Ava reached out and squeezed his arm. "You're the limit, you know!"

  DETECTIVE INSPECTOR Andy Tullock glanced across at Detective Sergeant Gloria McKenzie who was sitting beside him in the mufti police car. It was mid-afternoon and they were parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in a poorer part of Auckland City. They had been parked for almost an hour and Andy was about to drive off when Gloria glanced up at the rear vision mirror.

  "A car's slowing down, Andy," she said. "Looks pretty flash for this part of town."

  "Could be him," Andy muttered and watched as a BMW slowed and turned into the driveway of the house that they had under surveillance. A moment later a sports car drove by, turned at the end of the cul-de-sac and came roaring back.

  "Damn kids," Andy retorted as he raised and aimed a high-powered video camera and recording instrument at the BMW. This was a highly sophisticated device that could be focused on people across a street and as well as videoing, could record any conversations normally well beyond human earshot.

  A scruffy looking individual came out of the house and walked across to the BMW.

  "That's Jason Watkins," Gloria whispered.

  Andy grinned for it wasn't really necessary for her to whisper but the vision coming through the screen on the dashboard made you feel as if you were right there rather than close to a hundred metres away.

  "And the driver is Jeff Sutton's father, David," Andy replied. He adjusted the audio to eliminate bird-chirping noises and caught his assistant's eyes. The new equipment worked perfectly.

  "Well have you got my fee?" Watkins almost spat. "You owe me another ten grand."

  "But the job wasn't completed," Sutton replied. "Both the teenagers survived the bombing. Witnesses said they were seen running from the car before it blew. Something must have warned them."

  "Not my fault," Watkins retorted. "The device worked perfectly, just as I said it would."

  "Complete the job and you'll get your money."

  Watkins glowered. "Are you reneging on our deal?"

  "Not necessarily. Just pointing out that the assignment hasn't been completed." He opened the car door and stepped out. "Finish it and do a little extra and I'll double the amount."

  "I'm listening," Watkins rubbed his beard and spat onto the road. He glanced around and Andy flinched for it looked as if the man was looking directly at him. "Come inside."

  The pair walked across to the house, inside and shut the door.

  "Damn!" Andy swore. "At this range we'll get nothing through a closed door."

  "And I wouldn't mind betting that little extra has something to do with our case," Gloria said. "Haven't we got enough to pull them both in?"

  Andy shook his head. "Getting Watkin's fingerprints off the car wreck was lucky and connecting him to Sutton has confirmed our suspicions. However, we need more to make a case stick. A clever lawyer could get them both off and knowing Watkins he has the best lawyers in town under his thumb." He grimaced. "The crooked ones anyway."

  "But couldn't it be dangerous for Chloe and Jeff or even that girlfriend of his?"

  "Ava Knight?"

  Gloria nodded.

  "We're keeping an eye on them." He opened the car door. "Just a moment."

  He slipped out, crossed the road and wandered almost aimlessly up to the BMW, reached across under a front fender and stuck a tiny magnetic tracking device there. It even resembled a chunk of mud so would be invisible to even an expert eye examining the car.

  The whole operation took a few seconds and he barely altered his stride as he walked by. Moments later he was back in his car and drove away behind a passing truck. Again, even a professional observer would notice nothing unusual about any of the manoeuvres made.

  "What now?" Gloria asked.

  "You watch his car on the screen map back at the station and note everywhere it goes. Also cross-reference the times and if any CCTVs are around. I've got that ongoing gang drug-bust to get onto and that violent domestic back on the North Shore. Not all the crime takes place in these suburbs." He nodded his head at the state houses, government owned buildings rented to low income families and recently to refugees arriving in the country, they were driving past.

  "Oh my Gosh," Gloria whispered as they drove into the police compound. "Do you remember that sports car that came up the street behind Watkin's BMW?"

  "Yeah, the kids who roared back when they found there was no exit to the road. Why?"

  "It wasn't just any car roaring around. What if it was following the BMW?"

  Andy frowned. Gloria was quite an astute girl who was proving her worth a
s a detective. "Why do you say that?" he asked

  "I saw the driver but didn't think any more about it until now."

  "So!"

  "It wasn't just any car roaring around. The driver was Jeff Sutton and I'm sure the girl with him was Ava Knight. Now why would they be following the BMW?"

  Andy grinned. "Thanks Gloria. Why indeed? I know Chloe Sutton has a restraining order against her violent husband. He is not allowed near her or Jeff."

  "There's more, too," Gloria said after Andy parked the car. "Apparently Chloe is dating Ava's father, Adrian."

  "Is she now?"

  Gloria nodded.

  "It all ties in," Andy continued. "So we have a jealous husband known for violence who seeks revenge on his ex and also his son. Apparently David Suttons assaulted his wife for years until his son had had enough and retaliated when his father attacked his mother. Belted him up well and truly but no charges were laid by either party."

  "Perhaps they were trying to play amateur detectives."

  "True. We'd better warn them off before they bite off more than they can chew." Andy grinned. "Another chore for you, Gloria. Just a wee whisper in their ears should do it."

  CHAPTER 7

  David Sutton was confident when he walked in the Family Court to hear the judgement of his case against Chloe. It was all to do with the family trust that had been set up when Jeff was a baby, mainly as a tax dodge but he had persuaded Chloe at the time that it was in their best interests to include the whole family. Everything they owned had been placed under ownership of the trust including their home, the various other properties they owned as individuals before their marriage, other shares and the joint bank accounts.

  Now however, he was the plaintiff attempting to dissolve this trust and thereby claim fifty percent of everything. Even with the mortgages to pay off this was a considerable sum with the house Chloe still lived in worth well over a million dollars after the rampant inflation of property prices. To remain there she would have to buy himself out of his half. He doubted if she could afford this even with a mortgage and he would have the pleasure of seeing the property having to be sold. This also applied to a lesser extent to the other properties, apartment blocks and a house in the Mount Albert Suburb in Auckland.