Dangerous Echoes

by Leisl Leighton

  After what seemed an eternity, he nodded and said slowly, ‘We can go this morning as soon as we’ve finished breakfast.’

  She had to stop herself from slumping in relief. He’d understood. Or believed that she was fine. Either way, he was playing along. ‘Good.’ She picked up her fork and shovelled some more egg onto it.

  ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, luv.’ Pip was frowning at Hartley, not looking at her. ‘I think we should ring Jenny again and see what she thinks.’

  She jerked, scattering egg across the table. ‘You called Jenny?’

  ‘Of course, luv.’ Daphne gripped her hand, squeezed. ‘We were worried and wanted to make sure to do the right thing. I mean, after what happened last night…’

  ‘I don’t want to talk about last night.’ Erika dropped her fork with a clang then, seeing their shock, took a deep breath and calmed herself. ‘I don’t need therapy. I haven’t needed it for years. I just need to get on with my work. Jenny will be the first to tell you that.’

  Daphne moved her pleas to Hartley. ‘Coops, dear. You can’t possibly think this is a good idea.’

  Hartley didn’t even pause to think about it. ‘Erika knows what’s best for her, and if she wants to finish the autopsies, then that’s what we’ll do.’ He looked down at her. ‘If you’re finished, let’s go.’

  She nodded and followed him out of the hotel, ignoring the commotion behind her of Pip holding Daphne back, saying, ‘She’s an adult now. Hartley’s right. She knows what’s best for herself.’

  Hartley waited for her as she ran upstairs to get her backpack. It wasn’t there. Of course. Hartley wouldn’t have thought to stop and pick it up the night before. She went back downstairs. She’d be at the morgue soon and would make sure after that it didn’t leave her sight.

  They headed out to his car as hers was still at the hospital. The heat folded around her as they walked, the sky a cloudless bright blue that made the eyes squint even behind sunglasses. They climbed into his Patrol in silence. She knew she should thank him, but then that would mean acknowledging last night, and she couldn’t do that.

  As they drove out of the car park and onto Echo Parade, she turned to look at him, wondering why he had backed her the way he had. It was like the old days, when he always stood solidly beside her, his presence taking the bitter sting out of her life. As she watched him, she realised they’d fallen into that same pattern. Except she was more aware of him as a man than she’d ever been all those years ago. Her gaze jerked down to his muscled thighs encased in faded denim. She dragged her gaze away, only to be caught by the way his soft blue t-shirt pulled across the muscles of his chest and biceps. He had grown up. Changed. He was a man. One with undeniably lovely triceps and bicep muscles. Nicely defined without being overly large. She liked tall men, but she didn’t like overly muscled men. They made her feel small and helpless, like that mouse she’d seen yesterday at Echo Ridge. Hartley was well built, tall, but not body-builder big. Fit. That’s what he was. Athletic. He’d have to keep in shape for his job. He probably had a lot of stamina. In fact, he’d probably last a long time in b…

  Her thoughts skidded to a halt and she jerked in her seat, forcing her heated gaze away from his body and out the window beside her. What the hell was wrong with her?

  She stared blindly out the window, so it took her a moment to realise they weren’t heading toward the hospital. ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘I thought we’d just stop by the fire station first and tell Grim about the kerosene and the blow to the head. See if they’d found anything that might help us with the investigation.’

  She bit the inside of her lip. ‘Good idea.’ Not to mention the fire station was close, just a couple of blocks north of the hotel, and she wouldn’t have to spend more than a few seconds longer in the car with Hartley thinking about just how well built he was and how much stamina he might have in bed.

  She hardly saw the buildings as they flew past, and she tried to remember how to breathe properly.

  Chapter Eleven

  They turned left onto Waratah Street a minute later and came to the fire station half a block down. Like much of the town, it hadn’t changed much in the last sixteen years, apart from a coat of paint on the exposed wood around doors and windows.

  As they pulled in, an attractive man in a fireman’s blues turned from washing down the fire truck sitting in the drive. He lifted a soapy hand and waved to Hartley as he hopped out of the Patrol, but didn’t smile. ‘Hey, Coops.’

  ‘Hey, Grim. What did you do to get washing duty?’ Hartley said, voice full of laughter. ‘Did you put too much chilli in the stir-fry again?’

  ‘Very funny, Coops. You know that wasn’t my fault.’

  He turned to Erika as she hopped out of the four-wheel drive, gesturing at the other man. ‘He blames the station cat for upending an entire bottle of chilli flakes into the stir-fry he was cooking. There were flames of a different kind in the fire station that night. We heard the howls all the way down at the station.’

  The man called Grim rolled his eyes. ‘You’ve been spending too much time with Mac, I can see.’ He wiped his hands on his pants and then held one out to Erika. ‘Toby Grimshaw.’

  Erika took his slightly damp hand in hers, shaking firmly. ‘Erika Hanson.’

  His eyes widened a little in recognition. ‘The Erika Hanson?’

  She pulled her hand back, shifting from one foot to the other. She hated this, the moment people recognised her name and thought only of her past deeds and nothing of the person she now was. ‘I don’t know if I’m “The” Erika Hanson.’

  ‘The one who put the teachers at school to shame because you knew so much more about every subject than they did.’

  ‘That’s her,’ Hartley said, coming to stand at her shoulder.

  Toby didn’t smile as he looked at her with too-serious eyes. ‘You know, I always wished you were in my year when I was at school. Anyone who could put old Mr Ashdown in his place like you did in maths and science is a legend in my books. People are still talking about it.’

  Edging from one foot to the other, Erika said, ‘I don’t know why. I simply showed him the calculations he was preparing for his year twelve class during our year nine prac class were incorrect and set him a problem that would truly challenge them.’ The school had suspended her for being rude and embarrassing a teacher, and as a result Mabel locked her in her room for a week with nothing to eat but bread and water each day—a classic punishment technique of her grandmother’s. But they didn’t need to know that.

  Toby snorted. ‘Brilliant. Just brilliant.’

  ‘Wow, you almost made Grim laugh,’ Hartley said. ‘He’s right. You are legendary.’

  Erika wasn’t sure this solemn young man had been anywhere close to a laugh—she kind of liked his seriousness—but they were both looking at her, expecting some kind of comment, so she simply muttered, ‘Thanks.’

  Toby gave her a short nod and then turned to Hartley. ‘I guess you’re here about the explosion and fire and what caused the deaths of those two idiots.’

  ‘Peter wasn’t an idiot. My brother was exceptionally intelligent and he was a good man.’

  His eyes widened. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Peter was your brother…I…I forgot. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘It’s okay.’ Erika held up her hand, making a little brushing movement. ‘From the simple evidence, it did look like he was engaging in something idiotic.’

  ‘No I meant…I’m sorry for your loss. I know what it’s like to lose someone in a tragic accident.’

  ‘As do I. We seem to have that in common.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I’m sorry.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  He glanced between her and Hartley, his brow furrowing, and muttered, ‘excuse me,’ waved Hartley to follow him. Erika stayed where she was, but even though Toby lowered his voice, the acoustics of the cavernous fire station house, with the firetruck in the driveway acting as a re
bounder, allowed her to hear every word. ‘Should we be talking about this in front of her?’

  ‘Erika is helping with the investigation.’

  Toby jerked back a little. ‘She is? Why?’

  ‘She’s a forensic pathologist. She saw some irregularities in the case and offered her assistance given we haven’t been able to replace Dr Metler. She began the autopsies last night and found some interesting evidence.’

  ‘You let her do an autopsy on her brother?’

  ‘Let doesn’t come into it. There’s no stopping Erika once she’s got her mind set on something.’

  ‘But…her brother. It’s just…how could she do it?’

  Hartley’s face broke into a smile as his gaze flickered to her. She turned away, looking out at the street, trying to act like she couldn’t hear them, but she was desperate to hear his response. ‘She is a consummate professional. Besides which, she doesn’t believe the fire was an accident.’

  ‘It’s not.’

  ‘What? Have you found something?’

  Erika gave up any pretence at pretending she couldn’t hear their conversation and joined them. ‘You found evidence of an accelerant, didn’t you? I found it on the body, too, with burning that suggested he was soaked in it and set on fire.’

  Toby’s gaze became even more intense. ‘That backs up what I’ve found so far.’

  ‘Which is what?’

  ‘There was evidence that the fire started where the bodies were found. Yet the bodies weren’t near where the meth equipment was set up. I thought it was strange as it looked like the bodies had been thrown where they were by the explosion and the fire had caught them there, but when I looked at the path of the fire, it didn’t seem to fit the version of the story the scene was telling me. I believe the fire was set in the corner where the bodies were, given the marks on the concrete around them, then ran along a path on the floor from the bodies and made contact with the chemicals being used to make the meth. The explosion was the last thing that happened, not the first.’

  ‘I knew it,’ Erika said, excitement buzzing through her veins. She was so close to proving Peter’s innocence. Closer than she’d thought. ‘I’d like to look at the scene.’ Toby’s brows shot up in surprise. ‘I often go to scenes in Melbourne to help build a case for the police because the crime-scene photos don’t always show what I need to complete my work, to build the story of the victim’s death.’

  ‘But this isn’t like those other scenes. This is where your brother died.’

  She looked down her nose at him—although that wasn’t that hard given he was only a little taller than her. ‘I’m not squeamish, Mr Grimshaw. Nor am I maudlin. My brother is dead. I want to find out how it happened and catch those responsible. To do that, I need to see where they were found, how they were lying. The placement of the bodies and the way they fell will tell me if they were blown there by the explosion or placed there. Also, there might be blood sprays and splatter or pooling that you missed seeing in the fire detritus. If I don’t have a problem seeing the evidence, I can’t imagine you should have one.’

  His brows rose again. She braced herself for the usual comments about her cold practicality, but instead he said, ‘You really are legendary, aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes, she is,’ Hartley agreed.

  Erika snorted, not sure why she was so embarrassed by their approval. ‘So, shall we go now?’

  Toby nodded. ‘Just let me grab my kit.’

  As he hurried back into the fire station, Erika endeavoured to ignore the way Hartley was looking at her. It was too intimate. Too knowing. She didn’t like it. ‘He seems nice.’

  ‘He’s had some tragedy in his life, but he’s a good man.’

  She didn’t like the silence that followed. Took a step away. ‘I think I should go to the morgue first and send those samples off that I put aside last night.’

  ‘I already did it first thing this morning.’

  She looked up at him. ‘You did?’

  He nodded. ‘There was a mail plane leaving at six, so I made sure they were on it.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Her throat felt thick.

  He stepped a little closer. ‘I knew it was important to you.’

  ‘It was.’ She swallowed hard. ‘But I didn’t think it was that important to you.’

  His finger brushed against her cheek and she couldn’t help but lean into the caress, her gaze fluttering up to meet his. ‘It’s starting to be more important by the second.’

  Her lips opened on a gasp. He moved closer, leaning down toward her, breath brushing across her lips. She swayed forward.

  ‘Thanks for finishing the truck, Carl. I should be back in an hour or so.’ Toby’s voice echoed out of the cavern of the fire station.

  Erika stumbled back. By the time Toby reached them, she and Hartley were standing a few metres apart, Erika looking down the street, Hartley with his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, rocking backward and forward on his feet, whistling as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

  ‘Whose car should we take?’

  ‘Mine,’ Hartley said, gesturing to the Patrol.

  Erika hurried into the back seat before Toby could do the chivalrous thing and take it—she really didn’t want to be sitting so close to Hartley again. Toby didn’t seem to notice the tension in the air, but took the front seat and swivelled to face her as Hartley backed out and started driving down Waratah Street towards the Mitchell.

  ‘Have you analysed any of the samples you took in the autopsy?’ Toby asked.

  ‘No. I haven’t had a chance yet. You?’ He shook his head. ‘You don’t do a chemical analysis yourself?’

  ‘I can. We don’t have the equipment. There usually isn’t a need, as most fires out here are caused by old wiring or nature doing its thing. Anything that needed more analysis than that was usually sent to Metler and if he couldn’t do it, it was sent to forensic units in Dubbo or Sydney.’

  ‘I can probably do some of the tests for you, if you haven’t already sent them off. Or you can come to the morgue and do them yourself.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d say that. They were going with a courier later today, but we’ll swing back and get them when we’re done at the site.’

  ‘Sounds good. Do you think…’

  She was interrupted by a burst of static from the police radio followed by a voice hailing Hartley.

  Hartley picked up the handset. ‘Echo 4 here. Out.’

  ‘Echo 4, the Boss wants you to come in and see her. Out.’

  ‘Copy base. I’m just on my way to the explosion site with Grim and Dr Hanson. Can it wait? Out.’

  ‘No. The Boss says she wants to see you now. Out.’

  ‘Copy. I’ll be there in five. Echo 4 out.’ He put the handset back. ‘Sorry folks. We’ll have to do this later.’ He pulled over onto the verge and then turned the car in a wide arc back the way they’d come.

  She touched his shoulder before she could stop herself. ‘My car’s at the hospital. As is my backpack. I need both. I know it’s out of the way, but can you drop us off there first? I can drive us out to the site.’

  Hartley’s gaze met hers in the rear-view mirror. ‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’

  ‘Why? Mr Grimshaw—’

  ‘Toby,’ Toby interrupted, shooting her a serious smile.

  ‘…Toby will be there for the sake of investigational integrity. And I’m hardly likely to do anything to damage the sanctity of the scene.’

  ‘I’m happy for that,’ Toby said.

  She shot Hartley a ‘see, what are you worried about?’ look via the mirror. Hartley took a deep breath and she realised she was still gripping his shoulder. She dropped her hand back to her lap, her fingers tingling.

  Hartley didn’t say anything, but he took the turn down Main Street that led to the hospital. Ten minutes later, they were at her car. ‘I’ll meet you out there after I’ve finished with the Boss,’ he said through the open window.

 
‘Your superintendent has found out about me doing the autopsy, hasn’t she?’

  ‘Probably. Either that or your boss has got you assigned to the case and she knows you went over her head.’

  ‘Sorry.’ He waved away her apology and reached to put the car in drive. ‘Wait. I’ve got something for you that might help. Stay here.’ She ran inside the hospital and down to the morgue, grabbed her backpack and ran back to the lift. In the lift, she pulled out a pad and scribbled a note to add to the manila folder she pulled out of the backpack. She’d just finished when the doors dinged open and she ran out to the car. ‘Give her this. It’s my notes so far. It might make a difference.’ She handed him the folder.

  ‘Thanks.’

  She wanted to tell him she was sorry for getting him into trouble, but couldn’t. She wasn’t sorry he’d been there for her. She pressed her lips together, nodded, then turned and went to her car. She hopped in—it was already boiling inside—so she turned it on to start the air-conditioning and watched through the rear-view mirror as the two men shared a few words before Hartley drove off with a little toot. She looked suspiciously at Toby as he got in but he just turned to put his kit on the back seat before securing his belt.

  Consternation hummed through her. She couldn’t help but think the two men had said something about her, but she didn’t want to ask, so simply said, ‘Where to?’

  ‘The old warehouses near the railway line on Old Station Road.’

  ‘Okay.’ Pulling out of the hospital car park, she headed toward the Mitchell.

  Chapter Twelve

  Superintendent Katherine Stuart was pissed. Majorly pissed.

  Hartley wished she was a yeller like the superintendant in charge of his old station in Sydney. That would have been easier to deal with. Her cold disappointment in him and how he’d ignored a direct order to help Erika flout the rules made him feel like crawling from the office and back into the swamp from which he must have originated. The only thing that saved him from immediate suspension was the fact that Erika had gone over the Boss’s head and now had permission to work on the case, not to mention the folder she’d given him with the findings that proved murder.