Last Known Contact

by Phillipa Nefri Clark

  She took her wine glass, opened the sliding door, and stepped onto the balcony. The evening was beautiful, warm and it was beginning to quieten on the streets. How she still loved living here. But other dreams were emerging, or more accurately, forcing their way back to her. Long buried beneath her guilt about Michael, and Dad’s relentless demands.

  You gave my job away.

  Ellie understood he’d needed to have Dennis there to take over when she left with only a note to say she’d be back in a few months. He’d had no time to prepare for her going and for that, she’d paid dearly. He almost refused to have her back at Bannerman.

  A breeze from the sea found its way to the balcony and she breathed deeply. Gabi never got over Dad buying the house in Canterbury and selling the waterfront home they’d moved into as newlyweds. A home she adored. He wanted something grander and simply sold up without a word. Gabi tried to forgive him and move on in their new and lovely upmarket home, but the lifestyle took a toll on her and then she was gone.

  “Why does everyone leave?” Ellie glanced at her watch. Kerry would be calling any minute and she needed to sort her head out first. No more sad ponderings about what might have been.

  Back inside, she prodded the ball of dough and moved it to a warmer spot.

  The phone rang and she started, then shook her head.

  “Ellie Connor speaking.”

  “Mrs Connor, this is Kerry. Are you free to speak?”

  “I am. Thank you for calling me. How is Michael?” Ellie settled onto the arm of a sofa.

  “He’s well. Lots of swimming over the last day or two which he enjoys immensely.”

  “Oh, that’s good. He was an amazing surfer.”

  “I’m sure.”

  There was a silence and Ellie gathered her thoughts. “I’d love to take Michael out for a day or two sometime. Once all this mess with Dad is sorted, of course. What would it take to make this happen?”

  “Do you think that’s wise?”

  “I would pay for his carer to come with us. Surely, he can stay a night at my home, and go to the sea for a short time?”

  Kerry’s voice hardened. “Of course, he can. It might be much harder than you think though. He still is prone to unpredictable behaviour, as you’ve seen firsthand. He really is best left here, with us, where we understand him.”

  Ellie pushed away the hurt from those last few words. “I’d like to talk to his specialist at some point. Would you arrange this?”

  “Which one in particular?” Kerry’s tone held contempt.

  “Kerry, what you and your wonderful facility do for Michael is amazing and deeply appreciated. He is comfortable and safe and you all work so hard for the best outcomes. All I want is to expand his horizons a little bit.”

  “Fine. I’ll email you the details of those who make the decisions about his care. If they are happy to let him come with you for a short break, then I’ll make one of his carer’s available.”

  “Thank you. You’ve been most accommodating.”

  “If there’s nothing else?”

  Nothing except a personality makeover.

  The call ended and Ellie sighed. Was nothing easy anymore? The phone rang again. Ben.

  “I’m home. Locked in.”

  “Good to hear.”

  “What’s happening with gym man?”

  “Admitted to hospital.”

  “Did I do that much damage?” Ellie grinned, but it was borne from a strange sense of unreality. Three minutes in a lift with a maniac.

  “Doubt it, but we want to do things in a way he can’t wriggle out of. Better to let him have his night of observation and then tomorrow he gets to spend some quality time with me.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  Ellie stood and stretched. She glanced at the dining table, covered in paperwork.

  “I know you’ve probably had enough of people for one day, but may I come and see you? I’ll only stay for a few moments…I want to be sure…”

  So much emotion behind the words. It clutched at Ellie’s heart. “Still like pizza?”

  “Are you making it?”

  “Uh huh. One condition. Bring some sourdough bread and a salad. Any salad. Not much in the fridge again.”

  “Half an hour?”

  “Perfect.”

  She hung up, smiling. It was perfect.

  52

  Use By Date

  Sea Angel was the only yacht tied up tonight. Perhaps the other owners thought they might be the next victim if there was a serial killer about. He almost smiled at the image of them all racing to leave the pier.

  This was a peaceful spot to contemplate the future. The sun had dipped below the horizon and all that was left were fading tendrils of pink and gold across the sky. He’d miss Melbourne. Best coffee and food. Nightlife wasn’t bad either.

  His phone rang. “Why are you calling?”

  “It’s about Dale.”

  “What has he done now?”

  Panic filled the other voice. “Arrested.”

  “What the hell!”

  “Don’t have all the details but what I do know is he tried to grab Ellie.”

  He dropped the phone away from his ear. Under what circumstances would even that idiot do something so dangerous?

  “Are you still there?”

  He put the phone back to his ear. “Did he hurt her? And, where is he?”

  “Hurt her? The little bitch punched him in the balls. Sent him to hospital.”

  This was too good. His burst of laughter cut into the air.

  “Yeah, you laugh. But now he’s arrested and will fall apart when he’s questioned.”

  He stopped laughing. “Dale needs to keep his mouth shut. They’ve got nothing on him, except whatever he’s done to Ellie. Have you cleared out of your place?”

  The other man grunted. “Dale was the only one who dragged his heels. You and I just need to keep our heads down.”

  “It’ll be worth it. No more calls.” He hung up.

  Another blip in the plan. He was sick of the problems. Dale’s arrest now stamped a use-by date on everything.

  53

  Sourdough And Salad

  Ellie buzzed Ben up, but left the door locked until he knocked.

  “What’s the password?” she asked.

  “Sourdough and salad.”

  “And what am I making for dinner?”

  “I could just eat these out here.”

  She flung the door open. “Wrong answer. But come in anyway.”

  He sniffed the air and moaned. “Oh…how do you do that?”

  “Ellie’s Pizza and Pasta Bar open for business. Let me throw some butter and garlic on this and it can join the pizza for a few minutes.” Ellie took the bread from Ben.

  “Your supermarket downstairs has all sorts of nice things. I got what appears to be fresh Greek salad.”

  “Yum. There’s a salad bowl on the table if you’d like to use it?”

  Ellie glanced at Ben as he tipped the salad into the bowl. He’d changed from his normal suit and tie into jeans and T-shirt. With his too-long hair, perpetual three-day growth, and the hard condition he maintained, he was more surfer than detective. But that’s why people trusted him so readily. People like Michael.

  “Shall I pour you another glass?” He was on the other side of the counter, fingers curled around the bottle she’d left there.

  “As long as you join me. There’s another glass on the table.”

  Ellie removed the pizza from the oven, pushing the bread in a bit further. “Not bad for a handful of ingredients!” Hunger gnawed at her stomach. Much better than panic, or tension, or shock. “You might need to fight me for it.”

  He poured two glasses of wine. “I’ve seen how you fight and much as I want pizza, I’d like to avoid any injuries to my…er…”

  “Oh, that wasn’t fighting. I was helping you do your job.”

  How she kept her face straight was a miracle. Something like happiness bubbled up insid
e and for the first time in forever, Ellie’s heart didn’t ache. Her stomach was only hungry, and the tension she’d carried for so long lifted.

  “Are you laughing?” Ben was suddenly in the kitchen beside her, his eyes dark pools, but ones with mirth lurking in their depths.

  Ellie picked up the pizza cutter and waggled it at him. “Out of my kitchen, Detective. You’ve seen me in action without a weapon so imagine what I could do with—”

  Ben captured her hand and gently removed the cutter. “I’d rather not consider it. Why don’t we eat on the balcony? I can cut the pizza if you like.”

  The warmth of his hand crept along her arm, then swept through her body until the heat rose to her neck, then face. She looked away. He mustn’t know what he still did to her after all this time.

  He released her hand. “Shall I slice the bread as well?”

  She nodded. “Um, sure. I’ll move everything outside.”

  Ellie slipped out of the kitchen. She was sure Ben watched her, probably wondering why she’d suddenly stopped the banter. In a few minutes she’d relocated the contents of the dining table to the table on the balcony and turned on an overhead light.

  “Ready! Don’t you have one of those bells?”

  Back inside, Ellie shook her head at him. “Just yell ‘service’.”

  Ben topped up their glasses. Nothing remained of the pizza, and only a few slices of the bread was left. Whatever Ellie touched turned to gold, at least around food. Her earlier happy mood disappeared the minute he’d touched her and try as he might over dinner, the light in her eyes was down a notch.

  “Twice in a week.”

  Ellie tilted her head to one side.

  “Home cooked meals from Chef Ellie.”

  She gave him a small smile and picked up her wine glass. “I admit to enjoying cooking. I’d forgotten how much.”

  “Then, don’t stop.”

  “I want more, I think.” She sipped, then gazed out across the city. “Once Dad comes back, or…well, you know, then I have some ideas I might explore.”

  “Such as?”

  “Not really formed yet, but something around food.”

  “About time.”

  She finally looked at him. “I’m single again. Dennis will be out of my life one way or another, so as long as Dad can find a way to keep the business and find someone else…to take my role…”

  “Even if he doesn’t.”

  Doubt crossed her face.

  “Jack will always want you at Bannerman Wealth Group. He can’t help himself.”

  “You don’t know what drives him.”

  “Oh, Ellie. I do.” Ben chose his words with care. “Jack had the childhood from hell. He looked out for his mother and siblings when nobody would only to lose them in a car accident just as things were getting better. One way or another, he dragged himself out of a life of misery. I have more respect for your father than you think. And I don’t dislike him, never have.”

  “Why am I hearing this now? Not then?” Her face was so troubled he wanted to reach across and touch it. But he didn’t.

  “Would you have listened?”

  “Yes.”

  Ben leaned back in his chair. “Will you listen now?”

  “I’m not certain revisiting the past is a good idea. So much happened, Ben. To me. To Michael.” Her voice was a whisper. “I’ve lost my brother because you arrested him.”

  “That’s what you believe?”

  Sorrow welled inside him. Michael was his friend before he met Ellie and fell so far in love with her there was no coming back. All this time she’d thought he was the reason Michael overdosed. He took another mouthful of wine, using the moment to think. “If Michael could coherently speak, he’d say otherwise.”

  “Coherently speak? He can’t really talk at all.”

  “Sure, he can if you listen hard enough.” Ben said.

  “How on earth do you know what he can and can’t do?”

  “The point is, after prison and once he got clean, he thanked me for saving him. You might not like this, but he knew he was out of control and the arrest and prison time changed his life.”

  Ellie was on her feet, fury pouring out of her. “He thanked you? For taking him from the career he loved and throwing him behind bars? My God, Ben, will you say anything to make yourself look good?”

  “You have no idea, Ellie. No idea! He was a drug addict on the verge of ruining the lives of other people. If you think for one minute I wanted to arrest my friend—my best friend—then you don’t know me.”

  “Then I don’t know you.” Her shoulder slumped and she went to the railing, leaning against it with her arms crossed. “Did I ever?”

  “Yeah.” The anger drained away and he joined her. “You do. You have fine instincts and a beautiful heart. That same heart sees the good in Jack and never the control he has to have.”

  For a while they both stared down at the street. For the first time in his life, Ben wanted to swap the city for something else. Anything. Mountains or ocean, but not here. Take Ellie and run away, run so fast the sadness and tragedy of their past would be lost forever. His fingers clenched around the railing and his head dropped at the futility of his thoughts.

  “I wish we could sail away.”

  She spoke so softy he thought he’d misheard her. Perhaps he’d wished the words into existence. He shifted his stance to watch her. Her eyes were toward the distant sea framed between buildings.

  “Every time I’m on Sea Angel, she yearns to be free. I feel her tug at her ropes, teasing me with the promise of a full spinnaker on the open sea.”

  “She’s yours to take.”

  Ellie turned to face him. Tears sparkled in her eyes. “Remember when I told you there were conditions around her? When Dad gave me Sea Angel, I had to work seven full years for him and then she was mine.”

  “You’ve done more than that.”

  “Apparently my taking a year off started the clock again. He said I’d broken our agreement and I was lucky he was prepared to start over.” Her eyes never left his. “Exactly like my job. Gone and given away when I only needed the first break from work or study of my life. And us. How much time was there for us to spend together?”

  “Never more than a long weekend.”

  “We didn’t stand a chance.”

  “Ellie—”

  “Is there any wine left?”

  Ellie collected the wine glasses and went inside. He grabbed the plates and followed her. She was opening another bottle. “I hope you didn’t leave your car downstairs again. Tyres are expensive.”

  “Andy dropped me off. I’ll be discussing the damage done to the last lot with Dale Grant tomorrow.”

  “How did you know about him?” Ellie sploshed wine into both glasses, her hands visibly shaking. “I know you rang, and I’d missed your calls. But what made you find him and how did you know he’d go to the carpark?”

  Ben took both glasses and led the way to the sofa. Ellie sat and curled her legs under her and accepted the glass he offered.

  “Meg traced the signal from the camera in the guest house to him. His previous employer identified him as the possible thief of something we found in the empty apartment overlooking the pier. His description rang a bell with me.”

  “Oh. Do you mean his smell?”

  “I do. And there’s a camera in the elevator. Your concierge knew exactly where you were and was in something of a panic.”

  Nothing like the panic I was in.

  He’d burst through the fire door and taken the stairs in leaps, only just making it to the elevator as the doors opened. Ellie’s face behind her captor almost tore his heart out.

  “Did he kill Frank Barlow?”

  “No idea.” Ben sighed. “Hopefully, he’ll be talkative in the morning. His apartment had only a handful of clothes and a bed. Nothing else. And that gym bag he carried? Found it in his car with a balaclava, black pants and top, and bags of pills.”

  “He was dea
ling?”

  “Dunno. But he will be off the streets for some time. I need to use your bathroom.”

  “Feel free.”

  A few minutes later, Ben wandered back, stopping again at the photos on the wall. There was a new addition. Ellie, her eyes alight with happiness, stood on a beach with an arm around Michael and the other around Ben. They’d been dating for a few weeks and he had no idea then about the drugs, or Jack’s controlling ways.

  “We were happy.” Ellie was at his side, her finger tracing Michael’s smile. “I found it the other day at the back of a drawer.”

  “When did you see him last?”

  Ellie walked away to the kitchen. “Michael? A couple of days ago.”

  “I can wash up.” Ben leaned on the counter.

  “Maybe you should go.” She ran water into the sink.

  “Okay. You’re mad at me.”

  “All I know is Michael will never be the same. Maybe he forgave you.”

  “How often does Jack visit him?”

  “Dad pays for everything for him.”

  “I didn’t ask that. He won’t visit him because—”

  “Because what?” Ellie turned the tap off and spun around. “Go on, tell me what your theory is.”

  “For God sake, Ellie, it isn’t a theory. I was there when Jack told Michael to his face what a disappointment he was. His exact words haunt me.”

  “He would just have been upset.”

  “Stop defending your father! What he did was indefensible.”

  Ellie pushed past him, to the front door. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”

  Ben got the message and met her at the door, but he wasn’t ready to go. “Jack disowned Michael. He told him to never be in his sight again and never contact you or your mother.”

  “No.” Ellie’s voice wavered. “He…wouldn’t.”

  “I was there. Jack said he was arranging an order to ensure he stayed away and would prosecute him for trespassing if he stepped foot back on Bannerman property. A few hours later, Michael overdosed. You want someone to blame? You’re looking at the wrong man.”