The Practice Baby

by LM Ardor

  Leah didn’t reply nor move her arm away from Dee’s touch. Just kept her fingers clasped around her mug and looked into the fire.

  Dee sipped the tea. She looked over at Leah. After the terrified opening up when Dee arrived, Leah had closed down. As she released Leah’s arm she feared the fragile creature beside her might slip away.

  ‘It’s not safe, he knows I know.’ Leah didn’t use Adam’s name—didn’t bring that evil into the space.

  ‘But it’s okay now. I found the other information Tom had about Professor Fairborn. There’s a whole pattern of deaths around him. None of them officially murder but there are far too many to be coincidental. The police have all the evidence they need now. The information is out there already so there’s no reason for the professor to come after you.’

  Leah kept her eyes on the fire. She didn’t say no.

  ‘It’s too dangerous for him to attack you. Why don’t you come back with me? You can stay with us till you get somewhere. Why don’t I ring Joe and get him to come back?’

  ‘The only signal is from the top of that hill.’ Leah pointed to a scrub-covered steep track starting from the east side of the paddock. ‘It’s about twenty minutes, just keep going up. You’ll need boots.’

  Leah took off her Blundstones. They were too small but without socks Dee squeezed them on. Her open sandals were wrecked from the creek.

  ‘Tell him to bring the Jeep.’

  *

  Dee got to the top of the third rise and discovered another.

  ‘Just keep going up,’ Leah had said.

  It was a long way. She checked her phone again. Fifteen minutes gone and still no signal. Now as she was facing east the shed was in the sun around to her left. From the hill she could see where Joe had dropped her. The track to the shed snaked around the base of the hill. From where she was it wasn’t far if she went directly down.

  The top of the hill finally came into view and she scrambled up the rocky last section of the track and collapsed breathing heavily at the top. The whole valley was laid out below. She could see why Leah had chosen it. There was only one way in and that was across two creeks. From the main road the shed was well hidden behind the hill Dee was now at the top of. Even the smoke from the fire dispersed before it could betray her presence from the road.

  Joe didn’t answer his mobile so she sent a message. He was unlikely to be in mobile range. She rang the pub landline.

  Misty answered. Joe wasn’t there but he’d be back soon. Dee wondered how sure Misty was and asked her to give him her message.

  ‘We’re ready and Leah wants to come too so he’ll need to bring the Jeep.’

  ‘You’ll be right, darl. I’ll let him know. He’ll be there.’

  ‘In the jeep?’

  ‘Yeah, right, um—in the Jeep.’

  Misty sounded like she had forgotten the details already. What was the chance she’d remember anything at all if Joe didn’t arrive back soon? It wasn’t reassuring. Dee didn’t fancy another trek up this hill if he didn’t come. She’d wait and try the pub again in twenty minutes.

  62.

  Dee settled in the only shade, a scrubby tea tree that grew out of the granite knob that formed the top of the hill. The sun was at an angle and the valley floor and shed were in shade. The grassy open area directly in front was lit in patches and the fence and gate glinted silver grey. The buzz of insects, sheep moving about and butting one another, the faint trickle of water from the creeks she had crossed, details she’d normally miss, filled time and space.

  The valley was surprisingly noisy. This wasn’t as isolated as the national park where she’d last seen Leah. Farmers had trucks and generators that could be heard from miles away. The road was about five kilometres off to the left and Dee heard an occasional car and the brakes of timber trucks as they wound down the mountain on the gravel road from the highlands to the coast. Crows’ calls dominated the soundscape with a persistent ‘Caw, caw’—sounds that were more drawn out and eerie as the shadows got longer.

  As she waited, Dee opened Google maps and the blue dot showed her that she was right. The property was at the bottom of the mountain, only a few kilometres from where the road became bitumen. Maybe twenty to thirty minutes from Moruya.

  The treetops shifted in the wind and the shadows changed. Different spots were highlighted as the angle of the sun changed. A dozen sheep moved into view in front of the shed. A pair of lambs played at headbutting each other and Dee saw Leah come out to watch them.

  A foot from her left elbow there was scuttling in the grass. Dee jumped up. She couldn’t see anything. Let it be a lizard. When she clomped about in the heavy boots the scuttle moved away. Snakes avoided people if they could, except for tigers or if they were protecting their young. Leah’s shed with the woodpile and the bales of straw would be highly desirable accommodation for breeding snakes. It was dangerous out here. Dee had to get Tom’s girlfriend back to her life.

  The sun glinted off the second creek crossing and Dee was surprised to see a patch of uniform colour, a square of silver, at the edge of the track just past the last gate. She looked harder. It was a big four-wheel drive, parked off the track in the bushes. Was it Joe? It didn’t look like a Jeep but from so far away it was impossible to tell. There wouldn’t have been time for him to have received the message from Misty and get down the mountain though. Must have done it off his own bat. Funny place to park too. Why didn’t he just drive up to the shed?

  Dee didn’t want to think who it could be if not Joe.

  Leah stood at the front of the shed watching the bucolic scene. The vehicle couldn’t be seen from where she was. The girl walked about thirty metres, looked around and then turned back towards the shed.

  There was a flash of movement from the bush behind Leah. Dee wanted to yell but from this distance it was useless. Suddenly Leah looked towards the trees behind the shed. The sheep startled and ran in the opposite direction. Then Leah started to run. A black-clad figure came into view only ten metres behind her. Dee was too far away to tell who it was. A tiny pang triggered in her heart. All dressed in black in the country—who else but Adam? It had to be him. Someone she’d had feelings for was a murderer. All those deaths—she shivered—how lucky she was to have escaped from their relationship alive.

  Had Dee led him to Leah? There’d been no sound of a car. He must have been here already. The grey nomads were working for him—she had been right to be frightened when she was pursued down the mountain. It didn’t make any difference now though.

  Leah stumbled and Adam threw himself on top of her. She was face down; so thin and weak that she had no hope of shifting under his weight. Adam held both her arms as she scrabbled with her legs to get traction to turn over. He twisted till he sat on the small of her back as he held her arms stretched up towards her head. Several times he held both her hands with his left as he reached to his belt but her struggles forced him to use both hands again. Next time she struggled he punched her in the ribs, hard. Dee saw the fragile girl go limp.

  Dee shouted. Her instinct was to run down the hill and pull him off. That was useless. Adam was strong and smart, there was no way she could deal with him alone. The police were her only hope. She had to stop him before he got away with Leah or the girl would never be seen again, a suicide, a runaway, a crazy girl who’d thrown herself over some cliff in these remote mountains. Nothing to do with the respected Professor Fairborn who would have his love-struck practice manager as an alibi.

  Dee took a series of photos. You couldn’t make out who the people were but it was clear something bad was going on. This time he got a roll of tape from his belt and wound it around her arms. Then he tore off a piece to cover her mouth. He tied her arms to the lower rail of the fence and went back to the shed.

  He’s looking for me, that gives us time, Dee told herself.

  She rang 000. There were three rings before they answered.

  ‘Police, Fire or Ambulance?’

  ‘Pol
ice.’

  ‘Police emergency service,’ a young woman answered in a singsong voice.

  ‘Please, there’s a woman being abducted. I need police. I’m near Moruya. I’m not sure where.’

  ‘Okay, slow down, I understand you’ve got an emergency, but first we need to know your name and where to find you.’

  ‘I don’t know where I am, somewhere up a hill near Moruya, I think. Can’t you find me from the phone tower?’

  ‘Settle down, first tell me your name.’

  ‘Look,’ Dee wanted to shout but tried to speak calmly, ‘this is Dr Dee Flanary and a woman is going to die if you don’t get someone out here.’

  ‘D, is that your initial? You’ll need to spell the name for me.’

  ‘Listen, the property where I am is about five kilometres off the Araluen Road on the south side, the only building is a shed and there are two creek crossings on the track close to the shed. The turnoff is about 500 metres beyond the first cleared land at the bottom of the mountain. That’s the best I can do with location. The local police might recognise where I am.’

  Adam was nowhere in sight. Leah half stood, twisted and turned to free her arms at the fence.

  ‘I didn’t get the spelling of your name.’

  ‘It’s D-e-e F-l-a-n-a-r-y. Please just listen,’ she said slowly and deliberately. ‘I’m a doctor and I need police now. And an ambulance. This is not a hoax. Get someone here.’ She hung up.

  The recent case of a boy who had died in the Blue Mountains because triple-O had to have a street address was fresh in her mind. The passive aggressive nonsense from the operator was a waste of time she didn’t have. The operator had the information, she needed to do something. It was either going to happen or not—probably not.

  Marlena’s mobile number went straight to voicemail. ‘This is Dee. Adam Fairborn has Leah. We’re near Moruya. He’ll kill her if the police don’t get here soon. Triple-O has the details recorded but I don’t think they’re going to do anything. I’ll give Raj the details and he’ll get back to you. I have to—’

  The voicemail dropped out. The main message had gone through.

  Raj had to be there. There was the noise of an international call then silence. At last the phone rang. He picked up straight away.

  ‘Dee, where are you? The kids said you’d gone away. Are you—’ His voice was panicky.

  ‘Stop, Raj. I need you to listen. Adam has Leah. I haven’t got much time. Once Adam gets away I’ll be just another crazy menopausal woman accusing him. We’re down the south coast. You have to get the police here.’

  ‘Okay, keep talking. What should I do?’ Raj’s instant unconditional support was like a mother’s embrace. There was hope.

  ‘Try Marlena first, then the Moruya police. Marlena said if you use the words “concern for the welfare of …” the police will take it seriously.’

  ‘Okay,’ Raj said. ‘I need to know where you are. Take the phone and open the compass, I’ll wait.’

  He had a task and was focused, cool and deliberate. Dee tried to be the same. Her fingers trembled. She fumbled till she found the compass app. She reconnected the call.

  ‘I need to get down to them.’ Her voice was sharp.

  ‘You’ve got the compass? Follow the instructions to calibrate it and then take a screenshot. It’s got your latitude and longitude. Send it to me. And a photo of any landmarks.’

  Dee took a slow breath. If Leah was to survive, Dee had to calm down. Her hands were clumsy as she rolled the phone to calibrate the compass. The concentration helped her into a zone where all that mattered was the most efficient way to rescue Leah.

  ‘There’s no mobile signal except at the top of this hill. I’ll send you the photos and screenshot then I’ve got to get back down to delay him.’

  ‘Dee, there’s no use both of you being killed—’

  She hung up. There was no time to talk about anything except rescuing Leah. If Adam got away the girl would be dead and no body would ever be found. Dee’s pictures were too distant to identify him, and who knew what a clever defence barrister could do with evidence from someone under investigation by the medical board? The only chance for Leah was to get her away from him. Dee had to delay Adam until help arrived.

  The screen shot of the compass, a shot of the valley and shed and the photo that best showed Adam dragging Leah by the hair went quickly by SMS. There were others of Adam and Leah together—evidence but low resolution, not enough to definitively prove it was him. Dee’s brain had switched to emergency mode—narrowed focus, no emotion—the task to rescue Leah became a logical puzzle.

  She had to choose. Keep the phone or risk Adam getting it off her.

  The pictures were too far away. She had to get more. The phone could be useful as a distraction.

  Dee had done all she could to get help. The rescue was up to Raj. There was no one she trusted more.

  The quickest way down the hill came out near the second creek. Halfway down she saw Adam in the shed. He had her handbag in his hands and was sitting on the edge of the slab tipping it out beside him.

  The rest of the way, Dee mostly slid on her bottom. In the glimpses she had of the shed and paddock, Adam wasn’t in sight anymore.

  ‘Keep on looking for me,’ she urged.

  63.

  She was quiet through the creek and kept to the scrub on the side of the track. As she came up the rise, Adam had his full attention on Leah. Dee watched him detach Leah from the fence, grab her by her dreads and force her along the track towards the car. Their progress was slow as Leah stumbled and resisted but she was no match for Adam’s strength.

  Near the gate, Leah made a huge effort and twisted suddenly to knee Adam in the balls. The full weight of her skinny body wasn’t enough. He stiffened but didn’t let go of her hair. Another punch to the ribs. Dee saw the force as Leah was lifted off the ground. She must have broken ribs by now, possibly a punctured lung. A punch from the right was marginally less dangerous. A ruptured spleen was possible but less likely than a ruptured liver if he was left-handed. Dee stopped the medical analysis and made herself concentrate on what to do.

  They were at the car. All Dee could do was hope Raj had got help while she delayed Adam’s escape. If Adam knew she’d seen him with Leah he’d take the time to get her too. Or maybe not. She needed to get close enough to show him she had photos—dangle the bait to hold him here till help arrived. If help arrived? There were too many ifs to waste time on. The only hope was to act on the assumption that help was on its way.

  The back doors of the big four-wheel drive were open. Dee could see it perfectly from the creek side of the gate. She waited till Adam bent down to tape Leah’s feet.

  ‘Adam, hello,’ Dee said as he turned full face into the photo she took.

  ‘Dee, what a pleasure. I hoped I might find both of you here. Lovely place, so peaceful and remote.’ He was perfectly calm; didn’t miss a beat.

  ‘Might not be such a clear-cut outcome once they see these.’ Dee held up the phone. ‘I’ve got a few now.’

  This time there was a pause. For a second Adam hesitated, blinked his eyes as if the scene in front of him was out of focus. But the smooth, in-charge professor took over again in a moment. A switch was thrown from sarcasm to concern.

  ‘Dee, this doesn’t have to happen like this. All I want is to talk. No one likes their reputation trashed by insane accusations. Once we’re somewhere safe, I can untie Leah and we’ll sort it all out. It’s not a decent life for a young girl out here; and all for nothing.’

  He started to move towards Dee but as his grip loosened, Leah bent her head down then jerked it back up. There was a sickening thud as the full force of her skull connected with the tip of his chin. He stumbled back against the open boot of the car. There was blood on his chin. Please let it be his not Leah’s, Dee prayed.

  ‘The police know about all the other deaths too,’ Dee shouted but it was useless. Adam was totally focused on Leah. Dee fumbled wi
th her phone and started to video the scene.

  Leah tried to run but Adam’s right hand was still tangled in her dreads.

  ‘Enough. Stay still or I’ll make you still!’ he shouted.

  Leah continued to struggle. Adam turned her around, changed hands on her hair and stepped back. He swung his right fist upwards and the uppercut connected with her chin. Leah’s head jerked sharply back. Her eyes were half open but blank as she slumped against the back of the car.

  Dee gasped as if she had felt the blow herself. She waited, breath held, for movement from Leah. There was none. Was she dead?

  Adam hoisted her backwards into the car and slammed the doors closed onto her thighs. He used his weight against the almost closed doors to pin her inside. That gave him two hands free to tape her legs together.

  Dee videoed it all. As he got Leah under control, Dee gradually moved in a circle till she was at the open gate. There wasn’t much time. She was sure he was fitter than her and could run faster. She closed and latched the gate.

  Adam pushed Leah’s taped legs into the boot and closed the doors. He turned around and saw Dee on the other side of the gate. He stopped.

  ‘Dee, it’s okay, come and get in the car so we can get the girl to a hospital.’

  His calm and reasonable tone sent a shiver through Dee. Only a monster could sound like that after what he had just done to Leah.

  ‘You’ve probably killed her. This time you’re not getting away with it. It’s all on video.’ Dee held up her phone.

  Adam started to move towards her. Dee backtracked.

  Adam stopped and held up his hands. ‘It’s okay, I’ll stay here. Just listen. The child is psychotic. For her own sake, I had to subdue her till we reached help. You should be thanking me. Look, once we get her safe I can help with the medical board. You’ve been under a lot of strain. Some time off and a counsellor for a few months and everything will be back to normal.’

  ‘That’s not going to wash anymore. I’ve got the video.’ Dee waved the phone at him.