Elephants and Ever-Afters [Dark Desires 5] (Siren Publishing Sensations)

by Suzy Shearer

“That would be perfect.”

  Laura wrote out the address of her unit in Canberra, and handed over a set of keys and the alarm combination before seeing Brian out. She was trying to get her head around the fact she’d have at least another four million in the bank soon.

  Laura spent the day clearing out her father’s clothing and personal items. It was extremely awkward to do one-handed, but somehow she managed. After searching the internet and ringing around, Laura discovered a charity that was happy to come out and pick up the clothing and linens later that afternoon. They kindly agreed to drop off some large empty cardboard moving boxes as well in case she had more items.

  Packing the office paperwork in boxes, Laura decided she would keep the laptop as her own was rather old, then tackling the kitchen Laura packed all but a cup, plate, knife and fork in boxes on Sunday. Everything in the pantry went into boxes, the items in the freezer-fridge went into the garbage bin, except enough for meals over the next few days.

  Laura felt drained. It had been so hard packing with her broken wrist and now her arm was throbbing. She pushed the boxes into a corner and would arrange storage for them Monday morning. Exhausted, she fell into bed on Sunday night and dropped quickly into a deep dreamless sleep.

  The next day after contacting a storage company on the phone and organising a pickup for later that day, Laura went through the place again to make sure there was nothing she’d missed. The storage people arrived on time and away went the boxes.

  On Tuesday morning, she stashed the blanket she’d used to sleep in and the towel in the linen cupboard. Unfortunately, she’d have to leave her lovely flowers, there was no way she could carry them and pull her overnight bag as well. Instead she left a note for Brian asking him to water them, and to put the vase somewhere safe for her to collect, she also asked him to get rid of the blanket and the towel. At one that afternoon, she caught a cab to Central Station and boarded a train for home. She’d taken a couple of the sweet peas and a rose bud that hadn’t fully opened and tucked them into her sling, unable to not have something to remind her of Tobias.

  It was close to eight at night when, exhausted, she finally unlocked the door to her unit. It seemed so tiny after living four days in the Sydney penthouse. She was tired, her arm ached, and she was hungry, but all she wanted to do was go to bed. Her lovely buds were bedraggled and she doubted they’d survive even with the water she popped them into. Dropping her bag in the living room, she almost fell into bed.

  She rose late on Wednesday morning feeling out of sorts, first thing in the morning she walked to her local doctor. After examining her arm, he sat her down.

  “Laura, we’ll have to take the cast off and re-plaster. The swelling should have gone down enough now to put a stronger plaster on.”

  “That’s what they said at the hospital.”

  “Just relax, it won’t take long.”

  Her doctor removed the cast as carefully as possible with his nurse holding Laura’s arm. She couldn’t help her gasp of pain or cry of surprise. The arm was black and blue, but thankfully didn’t look swollen.

  “Okay, I’ll put the full plaster on now, but Laura, you need to keep your eye on it. Don’t try and use it or be silly with it. Remember if you get pain, get back here. Because of the swelling, you need to keep it on for another six weeks. So it can come off October twentieth, so I’ll see you then.”

  “Thanks, but I’m moving up to Sydney.”

  “Oh, are you? Well, just get to any local doctor. Once you’ve moved and found a doctor you like let us know, and we can send up your notes.”

  “Okay, thanks, Doc.”

  Her wrist replastered, Laura left the surgery with strict orders to be careful. After banking the cheque Tobias Duncan had sent in the local bank, Laura went home.

  Realising she’d have to do another round of packing, Laura pulled a local phone directory into her lap and found a local removalist. After ringing them and arranging for more boxes to be delivered and a pick-up date, she had a late breakfast. The boxes were dropped off late in the afternoon and Laura spent Thursday and Friday packing. Her furniture was mostly old second-hand stuff so she arranged for another charity to take what she didn’t want to keep. Laura wasn’t sure what furniture would be in the house, but if Peter Bailey had eaten there, she imagined there would at least be the basics to start her off.

  Wednesday afternoon a colleague dropped in with a box containing her personal items from her desk. She thanked them and told them she hoped they would have better luck with her ex-boss than she did. He told her everyone in the office knew she’d told him off. Apparently one of the bookkeepers had gone into his office to drop off papers, he actually had the phone on speaker and she’d heard everything Laura had said. Naturally it went around the place like wildfire.

  On Thursday, she got a phone call from the Canberra real estate agent who Brian had contacted, so she arranged for him to come to the unit on Friday afternoon. Thursday morning she got a call from Brian.

  “Hello, lovely Laura, it’s Brian Wilson,” a cheerful voice said.

  “Hi, Brian.”

  “I have a nice couple here who are very interested in your apartment. They’ve given me an offer of 4.5, but I told them as it was furnished it wasn’t enough. Their second offer is 4.55.”

  “Are they with you now?”

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “Okay. Do you think that’s a good price?” she asked nervously.

  “No. No I understand. One moment.”

  Laura realised Brian must be talking with the buyers, she could hear a murmur of voices over the phone then Brian came back on.

  “Laura, the offer on the table is 4.6. What do you think?”

  Feeling overwhelmed Laura answered honestly, “I think that’s bloody wonderful, don’t you?”

  “Oh, I agree,” Brian’s cheery voice answered.

  “Then tell them I accept.”

  “One moment.”

  More murmurs.

  “Congratulations, Laura, you’ve just sold your apartment for four point six million dollars. We’ll pop the champagne for you.”

  “Oh, thank you, thank you, Brian, this is totally amazing.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy.”

  “Oh wow.”

  “I’ll get things signed this end and take a deposit. The buyers would like a fast settlement so I said they could have three weeks if that suits you.”

  “Yes, that would be great. I’ll be back up in Sydney soon.”

  “Perfect. I’ll get the paperwork to Peter and he’ll sort things out this end.”

  “Thanks again, Brian.”

  “You’re very welcome, Laura, and congratulations.”

  Laura hung up on such a high. Just over another four and half million!

  All those years of scrimping and saving, trying to make the pennies last until payday, and now, hell now she had over twelve million dollars to her name. It was something she was having a lot of difficulty understanding. The next morning the other agent turned up. After introducing himself as Allan Restrota, he walked through the place, and then they sat and discussed the sale.

  “This is an older place, Laura, but it’s in a good location, walking distance to plenty of shops and offices, plus it’s been well kept. I think we should be able to get between three hundred and three fifteen for it.”

  “That would be great. I only paid two-sixty for it, so that’s a good profit.”

  “Okay. Well, I’ll put it on the market when I get back to the office. Will you be here?”

  “I’m moving up to the Blue Mountains near Sydney so I’ll give you keys now. Did Brian give you my solicitor’s details?”

  “Yes, I’ve got them all.”

  “I’ve got the deeds here.”

  “Right. Let’s do the paperwork and get things signed and sealed.”

  After another twenty minutes of paperwork and talking, Laura ushered him out the door. He would take the deeds with him so she wouldn’t
have to come back to Canberra once the property was sold, and everything else could be done via Peter Bailey and e-mail.

  By the following Tuesday Laura was all packed up and ready to move. Picking up a take-away meal from the local Thai restaurant, Laura spent the remainder of the day resting, although she did ring Denise at the Bendigo Bank head office, asking her to forward the new credit card to the Kurmond address.

  On Wednesday, she finished packing her personal items and rang the removalists. She arranged for things to be picked up on Friday, then transported up to Kurmond on the following Tuesday. The last of her furniture was collected by a charity van on Saturday morning, so all that remained was to clean out the fridge and pantry. Most items were donated to a local soup kitchen and the remainder dumped.

  Laura had decided to spend Sunday night in a motel, and then catch the train up to Sydney on Monday morning. She’d had a couple of calls from Peter and Brian keeping her in the loop on the apartment sale. Allan brought a few people through the unit while she was there, but she’d heard nothing else, so obviously they hadn’t put in an offer. Peter had given her travel directions to Kurmond from Central Station, so she gave Canberra one last look Monday morning before catching the train north.

  This was a vastly different train trip. Last time she’d been on the edge of her seat wondering about her father and what his death meant for her, this time she was filled with excitement. A new chapter in her life was beginning and she couldn’t wait for it to start.

  It was just after midday when Laura got off the Canberra train and boarded another to take her to Richmond, at the end of the line. She would have to catch a taxi the rest of the way. Another hour and a half and she was standing outside the station at Richmond. Tired, but still filled with excitement, she looked around.

  There was a McDonald’s right next to the station and Laura was desperate for a coffee. Pulling her suitcase along, she went into the McCafe and ordered a Latte to take-away then went back outside, crossed the road and looked around.

  Where can I catch a cab? Duh, obviously back at the station.

  Chapter Seven

  “Stop the car!” Tobias screamed at Julian.

  “What the fuck, Toby? What’s wrong with you?”

  Julian pulled over to the curb with a start, amid honking horns from angry drivers.

  “It’s Laura!”

  “Laura? Don’t be fucking ridiculous,” Julian said angrily. “How could it be Laura out here?”

  “It was Laura I tell you,” Tobias said as he jumped from the car. He glanced back at Julian as he closed the door. “Just go around the block.”

  Julian shook his head in frustration but pulled out, cursing Tobias at the top of his voice as he drove off. Tobias almost raced back to where he thought he’d seen Laura opposite the local Maccas. He looked around wildly but couldn’t see her, then he caught a glimpse of her between the trees heading back toward the railway station. Waiting for a break in the traffic, Tobias felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest.

  He hadn’t been able to sleep without dreaming about her. His waking hours were spent in daydreams of her contacting him, even though he knew she wouldn’t.

  Finally, there was a break in the traffic and Tobias raced across the road and dashed through the McDonald’s car park. He arrived at the station just in time to see Laura get into a taxi.

  “Laura!” he shouted. “Laura!”

  But she obviously didn’t hear him. Frustrated, he ran closer to the taxi but it pulled away as he shouted one more time. This time he thought she glanced his way and gave a look of surprise as the cab shot past him.

  He groaned in dismay as he darted back to the corner searching for Julian in the car. Dodging the traffic, he raced back as Julian pulled up.

  “That cab,” he panted breathlessly, gesturing ahead with a finger. “Follow that cab.”

  “You said it! I always wanted someone to say that,” Julian shouted gleefully.

  He laughed as he pulled out after the taxi. It was three cars ahead and Tobias was worried they would lose it. He kept his eyes on the cab, trying hard not to blink.

  Tobias pointed to the cars in front of them. “Can’t you get ahead of these guys?”

  “Duh, not really, unless you want me to drive on the wrong side of the road. I gather it was Laura.”

  “Yes, and she’s in that cab.”

  “Boy have you got it bad, you’ve been mooning over her since you almost killed her.”

  “I have not, and I didn’t almost kill her,” he said indignantly.

  Julian risked a glance at Tobias, which spoke volumes.

  “I didn’t,” he reiterated.

  “Toby, if she hadn’t grab that door handle she’d been fucking dead, you moron.”

  “Okay, okay. Just…just drive,” Tobias told him angrily.

  “They’ve turned into March Street, must be going into North Richmond along Kurrajong Road or up the mountains,” Julian said, nodding as he drove.

  They could still see the cab ahead, but then the light changed to red and they were caught while the taxi sped off up the main road. Impatiently, Tobias drummed his hand on the dashboard until the lights turned green and they took off again. They followed the cab through North Richmond and then onto Bell’s Line of Road. The taxi driver put his foot down and they were quickly pulling far away. There were still a couple of cars between them and the taxi, but Julian couldn’t overtake those because of the unbroken white center line. They lost sight of the cab, then Julian managed to pass the other two cars as they drove through Kurmond village. He sped up and both men looked for the cab in vain.

  “Did you see where it went?”

  “No. It must have stopped or pulled off on one of these side streets.”

  “Fuck! Fuck!” Tobias shouted and thumped the roof with one hand.

  “Steady, old man. If she caught a cab then she’s either visiting someone or else she lives around here.”

  “That’s about as useful as tits on a bull,” he retorted angrily.

  They pulled to the side of the road and Julian turned the car around. He began driving back slowly.

  “Go down Kurmond road,” Tobias suggested.

  “Why?”

  “Well, it’s the only other main road we’ve passed. I didn’t see a cab parked anywhere, did you? And we haven’t seen one ahead.”

  “No.”

  Julian turned off and continued down the road.

  “Flash your lights, quick and stop!” Tobias ordered as he hit Julian on the shoulder.

  “What?”

  “The cab. There. Coming toward us.”

  Tobias barely waited for the car to come to a standstill when he was out of the car and flagging down the cab. Warily, the driver stopped, leaned an arm out the window then poked his head through.

  “What’s wrong mate?”

  “Did you just drop a woman off with a broken arm?”

  “Yeah. What’s it to you?”

  “Where did you take her?”

  “To her home,” he answered curtly.

  “Here on Kurmond road?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Which house?”

  “Look mate I’m not that stupid. Bet you gave her that bloody broken arm,” the driver countered angrily.

  “No. I mean, yes but it was an accident. I need to speak with her.”

  “Forget it, mate, I’m not saying.”

  “I’ll give you a hundred if you’ll just tell me.”

  The cabbie pointed to Julian’s car.

  “Listen you better just get back in your posh car, or I’ll call the fucking cops. Got it?”

  The driver rolled up his window and sped off before Tobias could answer.

  “Fucking hell!”

  “What did you expect, Toby? The guy could get into serious trouble if he gave you her address. He obviously thought you were her abusive husband,” Julian added cheerfully.

  “Shit!”

  Tobias kicked a large rock, d
iscovered it was embedded in the ground, and then hopped about in pain. It didn’t help that Julian burst out laughing at his antics. Furious with himself and the cabbie, he got back into the car, folded his arms, and slumped down in the seat.

  “Toby, she couldn’t live far away, the cab was on the return journey. We weren’t that far behind, so it stands to reason she could only be in this first kilometre. Now we saw the cab coming toward us just about here,” Julian said rationally.

  Julian had been driving slowly. He stopped the car approximately where they had first seen the cab. Tobias looked at him as he turned to face Tobias.

  “I’d say there are only about eight or ten homes where the cab would have time to drop her and then get back to this point.” He gestured with one hand. “Easy.”

  “So you think we should drive into each one and knock on the door asking for her?”

  “Nah. What if she’s married?”

  “She wasn’t wearing a ring.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything. She could have a partner, and you wouldn’t want to get her into trouble.”

  “No. So what’s the idea?”

  Julian gave Tobias a sneaky look, he was always plotting something.

  “Get one of the apprentices to pretend he’s doing a survey. He can call in each house until he finds the right one.”

  “That could still get her into trouble if she’s with someone.”

  “Not really, we give him a clipboard, make sure he’s wearing a pair of coveralls. Tell him to say he’s trying to determine who has gas or solar or something. He can figure out some bullshit story.”

  Tobias thought about it.

  “That might work. Let’s go back down to the office and plan.”

  “You know Jake Wynn would be perfect, he’s always up for a lark.” Julian grinned as he spoke.

  “Okay. Let’s go talk to him when we get back.”

  “You really are desperate to meet this woman, aren’t you?”

  Tobias looked out the window, watching the scenery flash by. He took his time before answering.

  “There’s something about her. I don’t know what. Look at the way she acted when I hurt her. Let’s face it, a lot of people would sit there and cry or scream or something, but she got stuck into me.” He looked back at Julian. “Don’t get me wrong, Jules, she had every right to rant at me, I know that but…”