Bitter Nothings

by Vicki Tyley

  Alana huffed. “What good is that now?”

  A young mother with a baby in a stroller gave them a wide berth.

  “Peace of mind?” Dervla glanced over her shoulder. “Why don’t we finish this over coffee? My treat.”

  “Nothing to finish,” Toxic said, tugging on Alana’s arm. “We done talking.”

  “At least tell me how I can get in touch with you,” Dervla said. “Where are you staying?”

  Alana’s top lip curled. “Why do you care?”

  “I’m your sister.”

  Confusion clouded Alana’s pale face.

  “We have to go,” Toxic said, steering his girlfriend away before she could say anything.

  “The funeral’s Saturday,” Dervla called.

  CHAPTER 29

  A steady drizzle had been falling since before dawn. Dervla sheltered with her brothers under the eaves at the rear of the funeral home, well away from the media’s prying eyes. The service was due to start in fifteen minutes.

  Gabe squeezed her shoulder. “Ready?”

  “In a bit. You go.”

  “I’ll wait. We should all go in together.”

  An umbrellaed-figure wearing sunglasses appeared around the corner. “So this is where you’re hiding.”

  Dervla breathed out.

  “I was beginning to think I had the wrong address,” Sophie said, collapsing her umbrella when Emmet moved aside to make room for her. The sunglasses stayed in place. She leaned in close to Dervla. “You okay, hon?”

  A lump rose in Dervla’s throat. She pressed her tongue hard against the roof of her mouth and nodded.

  “Hey, isn’t that your half-sister?” Sophie pointed toward an ivy-covered arbor on the other side of the low box hedge to their left.

  All heads turned. Careful not to slip on the wet concrete, Dervla followed the path around the hedge, then cut across the lawn to where the two Goth-ghost-like figures stood. Except up close, Alana looked more haunted than haunting. Toxic looked like Toxic, scowling at Dervla as if it were all her fault they were there.

  Before Dervla could speak, Alana’s eyes widened, her hand groping for Toxic’s as she stumbled backwards. Dervla turned to see Todd and a uniformed police officer striding toward them. Another officer blocked Alana and Toxic’s exit.

  The look Alana shot Dervla cut deep.

  “I swear I didn’t—” Dervla wedged herself between Todd and his target. “What the hell are you playing at? It’s her father’s funeral, for God’s sake.”

  “They’re not under arrest. We only want to talk to them.”

  Dervla stood her ground. “Can’t it wait?”

  “Of course.” Todd’s breath brushed her ear. “But in the meantime, I don’t want them doing another runner.”

  “You think going about it like this is going to help your cause?”

  “You have a better idea?”

  “Yes.” Dervla glanced at Alana and lowered her voice. “I can look after them until after the service at least.”

  Todd scratched his eyebrow. “I suppose that can be arranged. Not that I’ll be far away.”

  “And I want to be with Alana when you interview her.”

  “That’ll be up to her.” Todd signaled the approach of a reporter and cameraman to the two uniformed officers. “After you.”

  Dervla beckoned to Alana and Toxic. “Coming?”

  The pair exchanged glances. Then shoulders slumped, and without a word, they accompanied Dervla. With Todd bringing up the rear, they made their way back to the path. Gabe and Emmet joined the group at the funeral home’s side entrance.

  “Where’s Sophie?” Dervla asked.

  “She’s gone in,” Gabe said, holding the door open. “Didn’t want to intrude on family business.”

  Dervla entered first, everyone else trailing in after her. The door closed behind them with a solid clunk, cutting off the only source of natural light into the entry. Recessed downlights washed the walls in a soft glow. The heady, almost overpowering scent of roses filled the air.

  A dark-suited man wearing square glasses appeared from nowhere and escorted them along a passageway, the dense-pile carpet deadening their footsteps. He stopped outside a paneled door, pulling it open before stepping aside.

  Gabe disappeared through it, followed by Emmet. Toxic and Alana next, their damp clothes giving off a slight mustiness as they passed in front of Dervla. She touched her hair, suddenly conscious of how she herself must look.

  Once inside the chapel, she took a second to get her bearings, her heart beating faster at the sight of the gleaming bronze and ebony coffin holding centre stage. Gabe had spared no expense. She gulped air.

  Emmet caught her attention, motioning her forward. She forced her feet to move. A sea of heads turned as the Johns’ family filed into the empty front pews.

  The service passed in a haze, her mind too numb to take it all in. She rose on unsteady legs and looked around. The other mourners were already on the move, the large double-doors parting on cue. She recognized a few of the faces. At least two of her father’s employees, Genevieve and Vince, had turned up to pay their last respects.

  Dervla’s gaze travelled along the departing procession. She stopped breathing. Walking shoulder to shoulder with Sophie was Dervla’s ex, Nathan. The man whom she’d done her best to protect her friend from and the last man she’d expected to see at her father’s funeral.

  Gabe hooked her arm. “Forget about them. I have a car waiting out the back.”

  “What about—” She whirled. “Shit. Where did they go?”

  He gripped the top of her arms, bringing her to a standstill, then spun her around. Waiting with Emmet near the side door they’d entered through, were Alana and Toxic. Dervla breathed a sigh of relief.

  The car turned out to be a black stretch limousine. Gabe keeping up appearances.

  Toxic’s eyes boggled. He couldn’t check out the vehicle’s plush interior fast enough. Dervla was just grateful for the tinted windows. She sank into one of the bucket seats and laid her head back, inhaling the smell of leather. Gabe dropped into the seat next to her.

  The mood inside the limousine remained solemn as they moved off, the silence broken only with the occasional whispering between Alana and Toxic. Emmet sat at the far end, the side of his face pressed against the glass, his eyes vacant. A family gathering.

  “I take it Kilbourne’s cut and run,” Gabe said.

  Dervla looked at him sideways. “What do you know about it?”

  “Nothing. Simply making an observation.” He glanced out the window.

  “So why don’t I believe you?”

  “Your prerogative.”

  “What did you do, Gabe?”

  “I told you,” he said. “Nothing. Unlike Kilbourne…”

  “And what do you mean by that?”

  “Let’s just say, he’s not the sort of guy you’d want around.”

  She gritted her teeth. “For God’s sake, if you have something to say, say it.”

  Her brother just smiled and tapped the side of his nose.

  CHAPTER 30

  Fluorescent tubes cast a harsh light over the police station foyer. At the counter, an officer dealt with a middle-aged, conservatively dressed couple reporting the theft of the woman’s handbag. Behind an interview room door somewhere waited Alana and Toxic, a uniformed officer delegated to chaperone them.

  Dervla drew Todd aside. “Have you no respect? Today of all days. Couldn’t it have waited until tomorrow?”

  “Not with the flight risk those two pose. Sorry if this comes across as insensitive.”

  “Yeah, but you have a job to do,” she said.

  “I call it respect for the victims.”

  Her throat tightened. Unable to meet his gaze, she glanced at her watch, then at the doors. “What’s taking that damned lawyer so long?” Alana had refused Dervla’s offer to sit in on the interview but had consented to legal representation.

  “While we’re waiting, c
an I get you a coffee?”

  “No, thanks.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “By any chance, did you lock up Harry Kilbourne in one those rooms, then forget about him?” She was only half-joking.

  “This place isn’t that much of a maze.” The corners of his mouth twitched. “I’m sure someone would’ve found him by now if I had.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “Long gone, I’d imagine.”

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Between his and Gabe’s veiled remarks, she didn’t know what to think.

  Todd frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dervla. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on something.”

  A buzzer sounded and he disappeared through a door, leaving her to wait alone. She studied a crime prevention poster, walked around, sat down, crossed her legs, uncrossed them again and stood up. Her body, like her mind, refused to remain still.

  Five minutes later, the lawyer rang to inform her he’d been caught in traffic. There’d been an accident on the freeway and he didn’t know how long he’d be. Great. Now what? she thought, hanging up.

  “Looks like the lawyer is going to be a no-show,” she said, when Todd reappeared. “Can I talk to Alana?”

  “Sure.”

  He showed her through to the same grey room where Todd and DSC Stewart had interviewed her. Or at least it looked and smelled the same. Alana was slumped forward over the table, her head resting on her arms. Next to her, Toxic leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, cheeks sucked in.

  “Can we go now?” Toxic asked.

  When Alana lifted her head, her eyes were dull and filmy. “What?”

  Dervla relayed the lawyer’s phone call. “It could be a while…”

  “Ah, shit.” Alana’s head flopped back down.

  Toxic squared his shoulders, sitting up. “We got rights.”

  “You’re not under arrest,” Dervla said. “The police just want to ask you a few questions. It’s your choice whether you have a lawyer present or not. If you want a third party observer, my offer still stands. I’ll keep my mouth zipped. Promise.”

  Alana turned her head, shielding her mouth with her hand as she whispered to Toxic. His mouth twisted from side to side. She said something else.

  With that, he leaned back in his seat, legs stretched out in front of him, feet crossed at the ankles. “Let’s get this bullshit done with then.”

  Todd tilted his head toward the uniformed officer. “Please escort Mr Paulson to one of the other interview rooms.”

  Toxic reared back in his seat. “What the—”

  “We need to talk to each of you separately. Standard procedure.”

  “You think we got somethin’ to hide?” Toxic bared his teeth, his top lip twisted in a sneer.

  “At this stage, I don’t think anything. Do you want get this ‘bullshit’ over with or not?”

  Leaning across to Alana, Toxic whispered in her ear. She nodded, a hard set to her face. He rose, alternating his glare between Todd and Dervla as the officer ushered him out of the room.

  When the door closed, Dervla took Toxic’s place next to Alana. The seat was still warm, unlike Alana’s expression.

  Todd pulled up a chair opposite and after confirming her name and address – the share-house in Dandenong – launched in. “Tell me about your relationship with your father.”

  Alana blinked. “No comment.”

  “When was the last time you had any contact with him?

  “No comment.”

  “What about his wife, Lucinda?”

  “No comment.”

  “What about your little brother and sister? How often did you see Oliver and Kayla?”

  Straight for the jugular. If Dervla could’ve kicked Todd, she would’ve.

  Silence ensued. Alana’s bottom lip trembled. Dervla reached across, her hand stopping short of touching her half-sister. Alana caught the movement and glanced up, her eyes damp.

  “No comment,” Dervla said. “We could do with a glass of water here.”

  Todd took the cue. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  As soon as the door closed behind him, Dervla dug in her handbag for a tissue and handed it to Alana. “Try not to let Detective Gleeson get under your skin. He asked me the same questions. Actually, I had two of them to contend with. I know Toxic probably told you to say ‘no comment’ and that’s your right, but why drag this out if you have nothing to hide?”

  “It’s my business, y’know. Nobody else’s. ”

  “In normal circumstances, I’d agreed, but this is a murder investigation.”

  Alana’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing to do with me.” She sucked in a breath. “Or Toxic.”

  “Nothing to do with Gabe, Emmet or me either, but we answered all their questions.” Or at least, she assumed her brothers had.

  “What the fuck am I supposed to say? My father didn’t want me and the closest I got to…” She coughed. “…to… his brats was the other side of a playground.”

  “Not in quite those words, no.”

  “What then?”

  “Stick with the facts,” Dervla said.

  “They are the facts.”

  Maybe a ‘no comment’ response was best after all. “Look none of that matters. It’s more important that you be honest about your whereabouts at the time of the murders.”

  Alana’s gaze shifted.

  “Alana?”

  “Camping. Satisfied?”

  Like father, like daughter? “Who with? Where?”

  “Who cares?” Alana hunched her shoulders. “No one’s gonna believe me.”

  “I will.”

  Her half-sister gave her a yeah-right look. Not that Dervla could blame her. When was the last time she’d taken anything Alana had said at face value?

  The interview room door opened and Todd entered carrying a file under one arm and two bottles of water. “Are we right to continue?”

  Alana folded her bony arms. “No comment.”

  CHAPTER 31

  Dervla sighed and unscrewed the cap from her bottle of water. At this rate, they’d be there all weekend.

  A knock sounded at the door. “Solicitor’s arrived. Wants to see his client,” said a male voice from outside when Todd answered it.

  “Show him through.”

  A thickset man, his smooth olive complexion glistening with sweat, bustled into the room and plonked his briefcase on the table. Ignoring Dervla’s extended hand, he turned to Todd. “This interview is over until I have a chance to speak with my client.”

  Dervla opened her mouth to correct him, then thought better of it. Even though she was footing the bill, he was working for Alana not her.

  “In private,” he added.

  “I can stay if you’d like me to,” Dervla said, talking to Alana but looking at the lawyer.

  Alana shook her head.

  Dervla followed Todd out into the passageway. “If the lawyer advises her to refuse to answer your questions what happens? You can’t detain her indefinitely.”

  “We can if we charge her,” he said.

  “Charge Alana? With what?”

  “Homicide.”

  “On what grounds? You don’t even have a motive, let alone any evidence.”

  “You don’t sound so sure about that,” he said.

  “Well, do you?”

  “You know I’m not at liberty to discuss details of the case.” He checked his watch. “Time for a quick coffee. Care to join me?”

  “Thanks, but I think I’ll wait here.” Caffeine wasn’t going to cut it. A stiff whisky or a whack across the back of the head might, though.

  After Todd left, she texted both Gabe and Emmet with updates. Her father’s wake would have to continue without her. She rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Memories of not only her father, but also her half-siblings and stepmother, flooded in. So vibrant, so alive. So dead.

  None of it felt real. How could it? Families weren’
t slaughtered in cold blood for no reason. Was it possible that Alana, in a drug-induced psychosis, had sought revenge on the man who’d refused to acknowledge her as his daughter? Was she even capable – drugs or no drugs? No matter which way Dervla looked at it, she couldn’t reconcile the fragile girl in the interview room with a killer. Not unless she’d hired someone to do it. Dervla’s eyes sprang open, a sharp shake of the head dislodging the thought before it could take hold.

  She heard voices and straightened up. Two police officers walked past without much more than a cursory glance in her direction. A minute or so later, Todd appeared with another detective. At the same time, the interview room door opened. The lawyer stepped out, conversed in hushed tones with Todd, then re-entered the room. The two detectives followed close behind.

  Checking first to see if the coast was clear, she crossed to the door, trying to look as nonchalant as possible as she edged in close. Muffled voices, the words not discernable, reached her. She pressed her ear against the door. The handle moved. She jumped back, her mind scrabbling for an excuse for her presence.

  When the door didn’t open, she breathed out, but her heart continued to race. She needed air. After leaving messages with the officer on the front desk for Alana and Todd to call her, she headed out onto the street.

  Grey cloud shrouded the city, the atmosphere sticky as a cold sweat. A group of teenage girls larked about outside a clothing discounter. A plump woman laden with shopping bags skirted around them.

  With no destination in mind, Dervla turned right, away from the police station and the giggling teenagers. She stuck close to the curb, striding past pedestrians in no hurry to go anywhere.

  Her step faltered. Ahead of her on the other side of the street, waiting to cross at the lights, were Sophie and Nathan. Dressed in the same dark clothes they’d worn to the funeral, they stood close but not touching. Sophie threw her head back, obviously laughing at something Nathan had said. Like a coward, Dervla ducked behind a lamp post, sucking in short breaths. She tasted bile. What the hell was wrong with her?

  The lights changed. Steeling herself, she waited a second and then stepped out into the footpath. Pedestrians mowing her down was the least of her worries. She stood her ground and the crowd parted.