The Girl Who Never : A twisted crime

by HC Michaels

  “Already have.” He scrolled down his screen. “It’s a person with two sets of DNA. One their own and one from a transplant. Sometimes they only have the DNA from their transplanted cord blood.”

  “Dad, how on earth did you know what a chimera is?” She broke free of her dad’s hold and went to Paul.

  “I tells you. I’ve been on googles today!” He shook his head like they were stupid. “Logan showed me how to use it. I read all about Chimeras. Everything! Tino is innocent. The person who gave cords to him, they are the murderer.”

  Paul looked up from his phone. “Are you really expecting us to believe that whoever it was who donated Tino their cord came to this very island at the same time he was here and murdered someone? That’s ridiculous.”

  “But it’s not impossible,” said Elvira, trying to look over Paul’s shoulder at his screen.

  “Oh, come on,” said Paul. “Not you, too. That’s an even bigger stretch than Tessa meeting your brother in Mykonos.”

  “But that happened. Why not this, too?” Hope lit inside her. Maybe her family wasn’t a total loss after all. “We should go to the police.”

  “You think they listen?” Her father’s eyes shone with excitement. It’d been years since she’d seen that glimmer in his eye.

  “Oh, they’ll listen,” said Paul. “Once they’ve finished laughing at you”

  Ignoring the last part of what Paul said, her father reached for a card on the counter and went to look for his phone.

  “Why don’t we leave Columbo to it?” said Paul. “I’m wrecked.”

  Elvira laughed. “Actually, the likeness isn’t too far-fetched. Although, I think I should talk to them. He’s not great at getting his point across on the phone.”

  Paul put a steadying hand on her arm. “I think it’s important to him that he does this himself. This is his theory, not yours.”

  Elvira nodded. Maybe he was right.

  “Dad, we’re going,” she called out. “Let us know what happens.”

  Paul went to the sofa and scooped up Amelia. She nuzzled into his chest without waking. Elvira’s heart swelled with love, and she went to her daughter and pressed her lips to her cheek.

  “Chimera,” he said, shaking his head.

  “I know.” She smiled.

  She did know. It was ridiculous. But admittedly so far, it was the only thing they had.

  Paul transferred Amelia to bed in the apartment, glancing at the other empty bed in the room beside her.

  That should still be Tessa’s bed, instead of the hospital bed she now slept in.

  He hadn’t seen her at the hospital yet. What Elvira had described to him was bad enough. Seeing it in reality would be too hard. He’d had enough of too hard to last him a lifetime.

  Besides, her parents and brother had flown in from London and were keeping vigil by her bedside. The last thing anyone needed was for him to add to the circus.

  He perched on the edge of Amelia’s bed and watched her sleep.

  She was so beautiful. So innocent. This complex creature of intelligence and emotions all contained within this tiny, perfect package.

  He smoothed down the mass of dark curls framing her face only to have them bounce straight back up. That used to happen to Bianca’s hair, too.

  Bianca would’ve been a good big sister to Amelia. She’d have tempered some of Amelia’s stubborn streak and given her someone else to attach to other than Tessa. They’d have been close as sisters, swapping clothes as they grew up and fighting over boyfriends.

  He leant forward and kissed Amelia’s cheek. There was no sense in thinking about any of that now. Amelia was an only child, as Bianca had been.

  They might share the same parents and the same looks, but they were different people with different DNA…

  What Roberto had said was concerning. It was the kind of theory only a desperate father would come up with. It was better just to leave things as they were and let justice take its course, without looking crazy in the process.

  Roberto probably hadn’t made much sense to the police when he called them. He should call them as well and find out what was happening. How hard could it be for them to track down who Tino’s cord came from and find out where they were? Then they could dismiss that theory and get back to focussing on Tino.

  Elvira was in the shower, which gave him a few minutes of privacy.

  He left Amelia, turning out the light and closing the door until it was ajar, and went to the kitchen to find the card the detective had left with him when he was questioned. He was sure he’d been a suspect initially, especially as he didn’t have an alibi at the time of Tessa’s attack. He was one of the few people who knew where she was staying as well. He didn’t have an alibi for when Lena Markovic had been attacked either, given he’d been out for a run that night. If he were totally honest, it’d been a relief when Tino was arrested. All the heat was off him now.

  Detective Hooke answered his phone on the second ring. If he was surprised to hear from Paul, he didn’t sound it.

  “I’ve just had your father-in-law on the phone,” he said, in an exasperated tone.

  “I know.” Paul winced. “He said he was going to call about his crazy chimera theory?”

  “I’ll follow it up, but I think you should have a chat with him. Tell him not to get his hopes up. We don’t even know if the cord came from someone in Australia. The world’s a pretty big place. The chances of the donor being in the same place as Tino when he committed the crime are—”

  “Slim,” Paul finished. “I know. Elvira knows. We all know that, except for Roberto. I was just curious as to what you thought about it.”

  The detective let out a loud breath. “Probably about the same as you, mate.”

  “He’s not crazy, you know,” said Paul. “Just desperate. He’s going to need some time to accept what his son did.”

  “Leave it with me,” said Detective Hooke, not giving anything else away. “Will that be all now?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He put down his phone, disappointed not to have found out more.

  “Everything okay?” Elvira walked into the room. Her hair was wrapped in a white towel, with another tucked tightly around her torso.

  “Fine. Have you thought any more about going home?” He smiled encouragingly as he sat on the bed. “We’re going to have to change apartments at the end of the week, anyway. This one’s booked. And I have to get back to work. So do you, don’t you?”

  “I suppose. I was just thinking though…maybe I won’t go back to work. I can spend some more time with Amelia. You know, take a bit of a break.”

  “You mean leave your job?” His eyebrows shot up. “When did this happen? I didn’t know you were thinking about this.”

  “I wasn’t. The idea came to me this morning, sitting by Tessa’s bed. Only a few days ago that was me in the bed.” She removed the towel and ran her fingers through her dark hair. “It made me feel so foolish for putting myself in that position when Tessa fought so hard not to be there. Neither of us should’ve needed to go anywhere near that hospital. Life’s too short and precious to be spent like that.”

  He nodded, wanting her to go on talking. It was rare for her to open up like this. They were making progress.

  “I always thought I was the only one in my family who didn’t run away when Bianca died, but I was wrong.” She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Physically, I might’ve remained right there in Brunswick, but my mind’s been running miles in every other direction, including work.”

  He winced, feeling guilty of exactly the same crime.

  “I’ve been using it as a crutch so as not to think about Bianca,” she said. “I need that to stop. Running away isn’t working. It was never going to. And grieving like this for our daughter who died isn’t helping my relationship with our daughter who’s alive.”

  He put his arms around her, turning his face as her wet hair tickled his cheek. “I think that’s a great idea.”
r />   “But what about my wage?” she asked. “Will we be okay?”

  “We’ll cope. We won’t have Tessa to pay, so our expenses will be less. We can get by on my wage.”

  He held her tighter. What they needed was Elvira’s presence, not her salary. Amelia needed her mother. He needed his wife.

  And maybe if Roberto was right about Tino. They were going to need their daughter and sister, too. This was a good decision.

  “I was worried you’d hate the idea,” she said, undoing her towel and smiling coyly at him.

  He shook his head, his gaze dipping as he took in the sight of his naked wife. “I love it.”

  Tessa looked at Detective Hooke, eyeing him carefully, unable to dislodge the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  He was here to help her. To find who it was who did this to her. He wasn’t going to hurt her. But she’d been fooled like that before. Not everyone was who they seemed.

  She was yet to speak—to him or to anyone—afraid that once she did her world was going to split open.

  Detective Hooke had appeared at her bedside a few times now, encouraging her to talk. She wished he’d go away. Still, it was better than having her parents here. The sad look in their eyes was torturous to watch. She’d put that look there. If she hadn’t come to the island, if she hadn’t gone to Australia, if she hadn’t become a nanny, if she hadn’t been born…

  She hated that she’d done that to them. It wasn’t fair.

  Seeing Darcy hadn’t been as bad. He had a different look about him. Almost like he felt guilty for not being there to protect her, rather than the deep sadness her parents carried.

  “Are you up to answering a few questions yet?” the detective asked.

  He was a large man with broad shoulders and a paunch bulging over his belt. She took note of his wide hands and thought about how easily he could overpower her if he tried. She’d be powerless to fight against a man like him.

  “Perhaps you could just nod or shake your head for now. Would that be okay? It’s really important we understand what happened to you. Whoever did this is still out there. We don’t want them doing this to anyone else.”

  Tessa closed her eyes. She didn’t want that, either. But how was the safety of anyone else suddenly her concern? She hadn’t attacked anyone. She wouldn’t dream of doing to anyone the things that’d been done to her.

  “Please, Tessa. I need you to help me out here.”

  She opened her eyes, noticing she could now lift her eyelids almost halfway. Her swelling was reducing.

  “Do you know who did this to you?” he asked.

  She studied him, thinking about whether she should answer and how. Did she know who did this to her? The voice had been familiar, but her head wasn’t clear enough just yet to place it. It hadn’t helped that he’d been whispering.

  “Did Tino have anything to do with it?” he asked.

  He was in jail! How could it be him? It was about time everyone just left that poor guy alone.

  She shook her head, a slight movement yet one that provoked an excited reaction from the detective. She had communicated at last.

  “Right. But it was someone you’ve met before?”

  She cleared her throat, uncertain if her voice still existed. “I think so.”

  “I need a name Tessa. This is so important. Just a name. Anything you can tell me will help.”

  He leant forward, close but not too close, his eyes not straying from her for a moment. “Can you tell me his name?”

  She shook her head and clenched her eyes closed, squeezing him out of her vision along with any light.

  She wanted to be in the dark. Alone where nobody could hurt her.

  There was a noise. It was the same one she’d heard in the hotel room when she’d been tied to the bed.

  Only this time she knew it was coming from her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  The Break

  Detective Hooke sipped on his low carb beer and grimaced. He waved the bartender over.

  “A real beer, thanks.”

  The bartender smiled as he took the offending amber substance away and replaced it with something far more respectable.

  He took a long slug and let out a satisfied sigh.

  To hell with trying to be healthy. Right now, all he wanted was somewhere quiet to think.

  This case was troubling him. How had Tino managed to be in two places at once? Because while he was certain Tino had killed Lena, the timings didn’t match for Tessa’s attack. He’d been locked up at the time.

  Were there two killers on the island? Was Tino working with someone else? Did he have a secret twin? Or did Roberto’s theory of someone sharing Tino’s DNA actually hold weight? Or were the two cases totally unconnected. Because there was also that story Tessa had told him about the murder in Mykonos. He was still trying to get hold of the police over there to find out more details about that.

  Detective Hooke had obtained a warrant to contact the cord bank for Tino’s file, deciding to humour an old man. At the very least, he just wanted to rule out this line of questioning if it came up in court. Juries could sometimes acquit people for the flimsiest of reasons. Besides, it wasn’t like he had too many other theories to follow up.

  From what the nurse had been able to tell him, it was very likely that Tino would indeed either carry all his donor’s DNA, or a combination of both his original DNA and the donor’s. She even used that same word Roberto had—a chimera.

  A freakin’ bloody chimera!

  Now he was just waiting on a call back with the donor’s name. It could be some woman living in Switzerland for all he knew, and he’d be back to square one. He couldn’t just sit idly waiting for the information.

  In the meantime, he planned to look a little more closely into Tino’s family. There were a few people he needed to rule out, just to be sure there wasn’t an accomplice.

  Tino’s sister, for a start. From what he’d heard, she was a terrible boss to Tessa. And her daughter had drowned years ago when Tino had been watching her. That was worth looking into again just in case.

  Then there was the sister’s husband, Paul, who’d made several trips to Queensland recently according to flight records. He didn’t have any kind of alibi for either Tessa or Lena’s attacks. And there was that nasty cut on his hand…He was definitely suspicious.

  Tino’s mother had also died recently under suspicious circumstances. It was just a shame they didn’t have a body they could exhume. Could Tino have been behind that somehow?

  Or was his father responsible? Was this whole chimera thing just a ruse to distract him from what was really going on? He’d also mentioned some guy called Logan to Detective Hooke. Apparently, he worked on a fancy yacht and had befriended the older couple. Was there more to that friendship than met the eye? He certainly knew how it felt to get lonely working so far away from home. It wasn’t totally implausible he’d been lured in by a plate of home cooked lasagne and glass of red.

  There was also Tessa’s brother, Darcy, who he didn’t trust as far as he could throw. He had a smarmy look about him. There was something off about the way he skulked around Tessa’s room, trying to eavesdrop. He’d met types like him before. There was more to him than met the eye. Plus, he’d been in Mykonos at the same time as that other murder.

  The detective sipped his beer, fighting the feeling that all the pieces he needed to fit this case together were right there at his fingertips. He just wasn’t sure exactly which pieces to pick up first.

  Elvira watched Amelia fly into her grandfather’s arms.

  “Nonno! Nonno! Nonno!”

  “You have a fan,” said Elvira, smiling.

  Her father looked up from behind Amelia’s curls. “Thank you, Elvira.”

  “What for?” She wheeled her suitcase to the kitchen and leant it against a stool.

  “For coming to stay with me,” he said. “It very difficult.”

  Her father seemed to have aged
ten years over the past couple of weeks. Wrinkles were lining his tanned face and more grey flecks had begun to come through in his hair, particularly around the temples. It was more than that, though. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping. His eyes were bloodshot, and his skin hung loose on his cheeks.

  “Well, we couldn’t stay at the apartment.” Elvira pushed her suitcase further into the room. “It was costing us a fortune, and Paul had to go back to work sometime. Don’t thank me. It just made sense.”

  “So, Paul back in Melbourne now?” Her father set Amelia back down on the ground.

  Elvira nodded. She hadn’t been able to bear the thought of leaving just yet. Not with Tessa still in hospital. And not with her father so fragile. Now was the time to work together, not fragment apart.

  “Do you like my dress?” Amelia twirled around, making her skirt fly out.

  “Bella! You like a princess. Bella!” He beamed like the proud nonno he was.

  She’d made the right decision to stay. Amelia had a way of taking back the extra years that had been added to her father’s face. His eyes sparkled with youth when he looked at her. It was the same way he used to look at Bianca. Coming here had at least given him the opportunity to develop that kind of relationship with Amelia. It was just a shame her mother hadn’t had that same chance.

  It was going to be strange staying with her father without her mother here. The dynamics were so different now. It was still so hard to believe she was dead.

  “I talk to detective about chimera,” he said, smiling proudly. “He was very interested. Very.”

  She doubted that. But at least the detective hadn’t laughed in his face. Her father had been stripped of enough of his dignity lately with his only son in prison and his wife sitting in an urn on the bottom of the ocean.

  “Mummy,” said Amelia. “I’m hungry.”

  Elvira’s eyes widened. This was the first time Amelia had spoken to her since she sent Tessa away.

  She resisted the urge to run to her daughter and pull her into her arms. That would only make certain she’d push her away. Baby steps were what was needed here. This was a start. She could build on this.