Deadly Start

by Clark Phillipa Nefri

  “I know the way. See you soon, Charlie.”

  Charlotte stepped away from the minibus, scanning the trees. Nothing. If anyone had been out there, they’d gone.

  As cars joined the minibus, people began unpacking tables. Everyone was occupied. Charlotte took her phone out and found the flashlight app, not turning it on just yet. Not unless she needed to.

  She reached the trees at the edge of the carpark and walked a short way in. Still no lights or signs of anyone. About to turn back, a noise drifted through the pines. A motor running.

  I’ll look. That’s all. Just look.

  Flashlight on, Charlotte wound through the trees, avoiding branches and watching her step. She wanted to be quiet.

  The motor was louder and now there was some light. Headlights.

  She glanced back but the carpark was out of her sight. Charlotte turned her flashlight off and inched forward. Two figures crossed back and forth between her and the headlights, dragging what looked like branches.

  There was a wire fence. Charlotte stopped at the edge of a small clearing between the trees and fence. On the other side, the blue ute idled. Darro and Hank were tossing all the evidence over the fence. The broken parts of synthetic Christmas trees, and then the highchair, one of its legs breaking as it hit the ground.

  “Hold it right there!”

  Sid?

  Darro and Hank froze, then burst into laughter. Hank picked up branches and threw them into the back of the ute.

  “Hands behind your heads. I told you to hold it.” Sid’s shadow approached.

  Charlotte struggled to see with the headlights in her direction, so she darted a few trees over. Sid stood near the front of the ute.

  “Hey, Sid. Come to give us a hand, mate?” Darro leaned against the bonnet.

  So, Sid was involved. Or complicit. Or just didn’t care. Charlotte’s heart sank. By the time she got back to the carpark for help, these three would be gone.

  “You’re an idiot, Darro. Just like your idiot father.” Sid’s hands moved fast and Darro was face down on the bonnet. “You think I’m gonna let you ruin everything?” In an instant, he had handcuffs on Darro.

  Hank was backing away.

  “Freeze, Hank. Freeze.”

  Sid raised his gun and Hank stopped, hands hovering in the air. But Darro slipped out of his grasp and sidled away in the other direction. Sid swung the gun from one to the other. “Dammit, you’re both under arrest. Do I have to shoot you both?”

  They kept moving, mocking Sid with sneers.

  Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment, feeling for the bracelet. In the bin in the alley.

  Rosie wouldn’t be happy with her. Or Trev. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

  “You shoot one, Senior Constable Morris, and I’ll take out the other.” Charlotte’s voice rang out.

  “What the hell?” Sid glanced her way, then back at Darro. “Last warning, idiot.”

  Hank had halted at Charlotte’s voice and one hand covered his crotch.

  Still hurts?

  “Better get down on the ground, Hank. Got you in my sights and I already told you, I don’t miss.” She yelled in her toughest tone.

  If this didn’t work, she was going to have to run the fastest she’d ever run. And hope Sid didn’t shoot her accidentally. Sid rolled his eyes. It wasn’t going to work.

  “Don’t shoot!” Hank dropped to his knees.

  “Dude, she’s bluffing.” Darro tried to run and Sid kicked his legs from under him.

  “She’s dangerous.” Hank threw himself on the ground, face down.

  The expression on Sid’s face was priceless. If only she’d had her camera ready. It didn’t last as he cuffed Hank and dragged him to Darro, kicking his legs again for good measure.

  “Show yourself, doctor.”

  Damn. What does he think he knows?

  Charlotte stepped into the clearing and waved. “Looks like you have everything under control, Sid. Good work.”

  “Get over here. Hand me your weapon.”

  “Can’t. Sorry. Only made a verbal threat and that’s a bit difficult to hand over. Anyway, got a party to attend.”

  She spun the other way and sprinted.

  “Oi. Get back here.”

  As if.

  “Merry Christmas!”

  The carpark was quiet. Charlotte stopped at the edge of the trees, confused. The tables were full of Christmas fare, people stood around, and the minibus’s headlights beamed light over the area and toward the house.

  Rosie appeared out of the darkness from the house and then Darcy. He held Abbie’s hand and she pulled back, so he stopped. Lachie grabbed his father’s other hand.

  The family gazed around as though not understanding what was happening in their carpark. Abbie shook her head.

  Charlotte stepped out from the trees, ready to go to them. Tell them they were wanted and cared for and very welcome. But how could she speak for the town?

  “Good tidings we bring, to you and your kin,” Lewis sang loudly, perfectly, in a deep baritone, his arms outstretched to the Forests.

  For a long moment, there was silence, then Rosie wheeled herself to Lewis. “Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!” The love in her voice reached across the distance to the family. Lachie jumped up and down, grinning.

  Everyone sang. Charlotte sang, Doug and Esther, every person she saw. Except Abbie and Darcy. Their arms were wrapped tightly around each other in a hug and their shoulders shook. Abbie’s head was on Darcy’s shoulder and Lachie was patting them both in sympathy.

  As the last notes of the chorus died down, Glenys planted herself halfway between the tables and the family.

  “Please. I need to say something.”

  Lachie hid behind Darcy, who looked up, tears on his cheeks. Abbie raised her head, her face wet. All three were expecting the worst. Silence fell.

  Glenys shifted her weight from one foot to the other, leaning heavily on her walking cane. “I must apologise, and I can only ask you to forgive me. Darcy, Abbie, and you, little Lachie, you’ve all been subjected to some awful accusations. Some of this is my fault. I believed what people said.”

  “What your friends did earlier was cruel, Glenys.” Darcy spoke without malice, just with truth. “It hurt my family.”

  “I know. Tonight, I’ve discovered who the Christmas tree thief really is.” She gulped, faltering. Her shoulders went back, and she found her voice. “My nephew has been staying with me with his friend. I don’t know why they would, but I’m terribly sorry to say they were stealing from our town.”

  “Your nephew?” Abbie walked to Glenys. Darcy was close behind. “That’s so awful for you. Are you alright?”

  Glenys burst into tears and Abbie put an arm around her shoulders.

  “See, knew they had nothing to do with it.”

  Charlotte hadn’t seen Rosie approach and quickly wiped away some moisture that had strangely appeared on her own face. Even Rosie’s eyes were suspiciously bright.

  “You sing well.” Charlotte said.

  “Me? I’m in the local choir. So is Lewis. And wasn’t that an inspired choice of song to show the Forests how much we love them?”

  Inspired indeed. Rosie and Lewis are a good team.

  “There’s something I need to tell you, Rosie.” Might as well get it over with and hope the Christmas spirit was going to keep Rosie from having a melt-down.

  “Shall we get a drink and food while you tell me? I haven’t had anything since lunch.”

  The opportunity passed as more carols were sung and people mingled, ate, and laughed. Darcy and Abbie were the happiest Charlotte had ever seen and even Glenys, although sad, sang along a couple of times. Lachie talked to everyone.

  “Does your tree require my expertness to see if it’s an alien?” he asked Charlotte. “If it is, we can call for help. But no returns.”

  “But I bought a tree. So, if it is an alien, I might want my money back.”

&nb
sp; “No returns, ma’am. That’s the rules.” He ran off to speak to Rosie.

  “Charlie?” Abbie leaned a hand on a table, rubbing her back.

  “Are you okay? Not going into labour?”

  Abbie laughed. “Better not. January baby not a Christmas one. No, just tired and I’m going to bed soon.” She took Charlotte’s hand. “You’re incredible. You made this happen.”

  “Hardly. Just made a suggestion.”

  “Uh huh. And worked out who the Christmas tree thief is. And gave us this beautiful evening. We’ve been struggling since we moved in.” Her smile faded. “Darcy’s father left things in a mess and with the town against us…well, we didn’t know what to do.”

  “The town is behind you now. The three of you can do anything.”

  “Oh, what’s happening now?” Abbie looked past Charlotte to the driveway.

  Sid’s patrol car, lights flashing, drove into the carpark and pulled up. Charlotte knew he’d come for her. After her antics in the trees, he probably believed she had a gun on her and was going to arrest her in front of everyone. Great timing.

  He climbed out. Wearing a Christmas hat. There were a few giggles as he strutted around the door to the backseat.

  “Aren’t you lot missing someone?”

  With a flourish he opened the door.

  “Santa!” Lachie squealed and ran toward the man in the red suit.

  “Merry Christmas!” Santa rang a bell as Sid dragged out a large sack from the seat. “Santa’s here with some presents. Now, who’s been nice?”

  Santa was led to a stool that Lewis had grabbed from the minibus. Was there nothing he didn’t have lying around? Sid carried the sack over and placed it on the ground, then headed back to the patrol car to turn off the lights.

  Charlotte stood back. This was why Sid was here? Was there really a heart beating under all the rudeness and bravado?

  “Don’t imagine I’ve forgotten about you, missy.”

  She jumped. How had he snuck up on her?

  “No idea why Hank was so scared of you. Helped, though.”

  “Have they told you why they did it?”

  “Both insist they were hired anonymously and paid in cash left at an agreed point.”

  “There has to be more to it.”

  Sid scowled. “Not your problem.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He grunted. “I don’t trust you, doctor.”

  Feeling’s mutual.

  Santa extracted the baby hamper from his sack and Abbie was again in tears. Darcy grinned at Charlotte and she shook her head with a smile, pointing to Rosie.

  “You’ve done a good thing here, missy. But don’t let it go to your head.” Sid leaned closer and Charlotte wrinkled her nose. “Gonna find out exactly what made you come to my town. And what you left behind. Merry Christmas.”

  He headed to the table and began loading up a plate. Charlotte waited for the anxiety to rise. For the stone in her gut to make itself known. She touched her wrist. It would take a while to learn not to reach for the bracelet.

  Lachie sat cross-legged on the ground near Santa, unwrapping a book. Rosie and Lewis chatted with Doug and Esther. People wandered around. Glenys and Sid were talking, and Charlotte’s heart went out to her. But it was better to know. Somebody began singing ‘Jingle Bells’ and once again, the Christmas tree farm was alive with music and laughter. There was love here in this town.

  Love and hope. Charlotte inhaled the heady scent of pine and night air. Love and hope.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Charlotte stared into the box in the spare room. To one side was a small collection of Christmas cards inside a plastic sleeve. Before she could change her mind, Charlotte grabbed them from the box and returned to the kitchen, where a half-finished cup of coffee cooled on the counter.

  She’d slept so well last night. Yes, there were some concerns, mostly around Sid, but those paled against the incredible outpouring of support for the Forest family from so many people in the community.

  Now mid-morning, Charlotte had a few hours before heading up to Rosie’s place for dinner. Something led her to open that box again. She wasn’t ready to go through the whole thing, but she wanted to look at these cards. The coffee was awful now, so she made another, then took it and the cards out on the balcony. The little tree sparkled as the sunshine lit up its ornaments.

  “I can’t return you, according to Lachie. Guess we’re stuck with each other.”

  The tree swayed a little, obviously happy with its home.

  One by one, Charlotte took the Christmas cards from their sleeve and made a small pile. She didn’t remember any of them. There were nine in all. Each was a work of art as if created just for the recipient. And so individual. One was a white Christmas scene with a little town, another a beach Christmas. The card used was thick and of quality.

  Why would her mother keep these, when she didn’t do anything for Christmas? No presents or cards for her own family or anyone else. No dinner or decorations. No leaving stockings out for Santa. It wasn’t that Angelica disliked Christmas, but as with every celebration she simply couldn’t be bothered. Something about these cards meant something to her.

  Charlotte opened the one on top. The handwriting was beautiful.

  Merry Christmas, sweetie. You are loved. Z.

  She frowned. ‘Z’ didn’t tell her anything, and who was ‘sweetie’? One by one she opened each card. The greeting was the same in each. Going through them again, she noticed a year written on the bottom right corner. After putting them in order, she read from oldest to newest.

  Nothing was familiar. The years were those from her second to eleventh birthdays. Without envelopes or further details there was no way of knowing who the sender, or the recipient was. Most likely this was a friend of her mother’s who’d now lost contact. Except, Charlotte could not remember her mother ever having a friend. Or even talking about a past friend. So, what was the story with these beautiful cards?

  “It sounds as though your lunch was delicious, Mum.” Charlotte listened to Angelica chatter about the Christmas Day lunch at Lakeview Care. Maggie had been thrilled to hear Charlotte’s voice and promised to keep an eye on Angelica during their conversation, as she was prone to reacting badly to goodbyes.

  “Best of all was having Daddy there.”

  Charlotte pulled her legs up under herself on the sofa. “Okay, Mum. That’s nice.”

  Dad was so long gone it surprised Charlotte her mother remembered him. But sometimes Angelica’s memory was razor sharp.

  “Mum, can I ask a question?”

  “Of course, but I’m not allowed to give away the recipe for the Christmas cake.”

  That made Charlotte smile. “Darn. I was hoping you could, but secrets are important to keep. I found some rather lovely Christmas cards but don’t know who sent them.”

  “I have a Christmas card. It’s from you.”

  “Yes, it is. I thought you’d like the kookaburra wearing the Christmas scarf.”

  “He’s very cute.”

  “These are older cards, Mum. There’s nine of them and they are really beautiful. Inside, each one says, ‘Merry Christmas, sweetie—”

  “You are loved. Z.”

  Charlotte’s jaw dropped her mouth. That was one of her razor-sharp memory moments in action. “Wow wish I had such a great memory! So, who is ‘Z’?”

  Angelica laughed. “Stop teasing me. You know who.”

  “Must have forgotten. Can you remind me?”

  There was a long silence. Charlotte knew she’d lost the moment. “Mummy?”

  “I don’t want to be here, Charlotte. Can you find Daddy and get him to pick me up. Now, please.”

  As her mother’s voice rose, Charlotte heard Maggie in the background making soothing noises and then a minute later, she’d taken the phone from Angelica.

  “Sorry, Doctor Dean, I think it might be time to take your mother for a nap.”

  “Thanks, Maggie. Tell her I
love her and thank you for everything you do.”

  It was always the same now. Moments of clarity before the plunge back through time believing Charlotte was little and Dad was still there. Coupled with her other mental diseases and a lifetime of next to no treatments, Angelica’s life had been empty of happiness.

  “Not for you and not for me, Mum.”

  And unless Charlotte knew she wouldn’t go down the same path, she wasn’t about to bring another person into her life, only to destroy theirs.

  “Those look delicious, darling. Thank you!” Rosie’s smile lit the room, which was pretty enough already. The table was set outside and looked amazing. No food was out there yet, but candles nestled amongst flowers, and the setting of red and gold was so traditional Charlotte wanted to take a photo.

  The delectable aromas from the kitchen made Charlotte’s stomach rumble, and both cats sat on the back of the sofa staring into the kitchen. She set the salads down on the counter. “What can I do to help?”

  “Pour us both a pre-dinner drink, if you will.”

  “Anything in particular?”

  “You choose.”

  As Charlotte arranged drinks, Rosie went outside to check the table. “It looks wonderful.” Charlotte brought her drink out. “To Christmas.”

  They clinked glasses and sipped.

  “So, four places set?”

  “Oh, one never knows who might need a meal. I always set an extra one.” Rosie grinned, put her glass into the cup holder on her wheelchair, and went inside. “Wasn’t last night wonderful? Apart from the dangerous stuff, but we will discuss that a little later.”

  Great.

  “I think the Forests know they are welcome.” Charlotte said.

  “It certainly has shown a lot of people for who they truly are. I have to say, I am impressed by Glenys. Which reminds me. She phoned before to say Darren claims Veronica is involved. Trying to drum up her own tree sales.”

  “You don’t believe him.”

  “It seems like a risky proposition just for a few sales.” Rosie shook her head. “But this isn’t our call. At least now there has to be an investigation.”