by Rae Vine
Paradise Broken
A Starling Bay Novella #2
Rae Vine
Paradise Broken
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Books by Rae Vine
Chapter 1
The walk to the police station seemed to take forever even though it was just around the corner from the diner.
Emma didn’t remember how she got there. She half-walked and half-ran, crying the whole way as tears streamed down her face.
She looked like a wreck by the time she got there. “I need to see Ty,” she said to the police officer at the main desk. He took one look at her tear stained face and disappeared through the door behind him, no questions asked.
Emma rubbed her wrists as she waited, still trying to come to terms with the news she had just heard.
It couldn’t be right. It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be. Her mind refused to accept that Stacy was dead. She paced around, trying to imagine a world without her sister.
How could this be?
Chaotic images buzzed rang loud in her head at the thought of Stacy being harmed, at the idea that someone had viciously and deliberately taken her life away.
In the next moment Ty rushed out. As soon as she saw Emma’s face she gently took her by the hand. “I just need a moment,” she said to the policeman behind her. “She’s a family friend.” She led Emma outside and took her around the corner of the building.
“You’ve heard, haven’t you?” She loosened her grip on Emma’s wrist. This confirmation sent Emma into a fresh round of tears, and her sobs broke out again.
“Shhhhh, honey.” Ty held her close as Emma sobbed uncontrollably. Ty was the only person she could seek comfort from and she held on tightly, crying until her throat was hoarse and there were no more tears left to fall. When the sobs gradually subsided Emma reluctantly pulled herself away from the warmth and safety of Ty’s body.
“I am so sorry. How did you find out?”
“On the news,” Emma sobbed and wiped her nose.
Ty shook her head made a disapproving growl. “I didn’t want you to see it that way. I wanted to tell you myself. I felt I owed you that much.” Disappointment spread across her shiny face. “I should have called you when I found out. I’m sorry, honey. I got all tied up at work. Couldn’t get away to make the call in private. It’s become mad ever since the news broke.”
“S’okay.” Emma blew her nose again and her body felt hollow as though she was just an empty shell. The day had turned ugly, and she was now more lost than ever.
Her life had disintegrated and she didn’t know if she could ever move on from this.
“Who found her? How did she…?” She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t bring herself to ask the policewoman how her sister had died.
“There, there,” soothed Ty. She put her arm around Emma’s shoulder. “I can’t give you any definitive news yet.” She glanced around her uneasily, as though she was looking for someone. “I don’t know much myself, except that the body was discovered early yesterday evening.”
“Yesterday?” sniffled Emma. She wiped her nose again with a soggy tissue. Ty pulled away and settled her hands on her hips. “Unfortunately we don’t have much involvement with the case at this point. It’s in the hands of the Murder Squad now. But I can tell you this, and I don’t know if it will be much of a consolation. We don’t have a proper ID on the body yet. Don’t lose hope.”
Lifting her head, Emma looked at her in surprise. “Don’t lose hope?” Whatever did she mean by that?
“Who else could it be? Who else, Ty?” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if her sister had been missing for a week, and a woman’s body had now been found—it was obviously her sister.
But the policewoman leaned over and whispered. “Don’t lose hope. I’ll call you as soon as I hear something.”
Emma frowned, not understanding. She knew the policewoman was concerned about her. But this, giving her false hope, it was wrong.
“I’ll be waiting. But Ty, I want to know how she died. Please. Please.” Her hands were clammy and her heartbeat hadn’t stopped racing. The very act of talking to Ty made it all too real.
She didn’t think she would ever get over this gruesome event that had stained their lives. Now, more than ever she hungered for familiarity, for her friends and work colleagues. She was desperate for support, and right now, the only person who understood her pain was Ty—a total stranger.
She wanted to know what had happened to Stacy. Where she had been, how she had died, whether she had suffered much…
She wanted to know everything, and yet she didn’t want to know a thing. Would they expect her to identify the body? She didn’t think she could do it.
“I’ll do what I can, I promise. But you mustn’t tell anyone what I tell you. Promise me? I’m not supposed to pass on information but—” Ty looked away and Emma saw the lump in her throat as she swallowed. “I saw you the day you came in straight from the airport. You were worried sick about your sister and my heart went out to you. I understand how you must feel. You think the police weren’t there for you, but there is nothing we could have done, as callous as that might sound. And now this has happened, well, I feel as if I owe you something. I’ll do my best to tell you whatever I find out.”
Emma managed a half-smile in gratitude. But the thought of what lay ahead frightened her. She didn’t want to identify her sister, or to deal with going through her belongings. She didn’t want to tell Cindy, or Gregory or Blake Cartwright.
She didn’t want their pity. For a moment she wondered whether to tell Ty about the argument between Cindy and Gregory.
“Thank you, but…” She felt the anger start to grow inside her. Now that her sister was dead, the police seemed eager to help her. “It’s ironic isn’t it,” she looked at Ty, not caring how her words came out, “now that she’s dead, you have a team of detectives working on her case. She had to die for you to take notice.” Emma’s voice was bitter.
Ty listened to her calmly.
“But when she was only a missing person, it didn’t matter.”
Ty shook her head. “If there was a way to make this better for you, honey, I would. I don’t set the rules. I just work here. Yes, of course there’ll be a major murder investigation now. And news cases such as this will attract the media’s attention. They’ll be like vultures all over this. I’d lie low if I were you.”
“Why?”
Ty exhaled loudly then examined the floor. “Because until we identify the body, we don’t know if that poor girl is your sister or not. If it is…”
“If it is then the media will come after me?”
“Do you want that, honey? I pray to god it isn’t your sister. But she’s someone daughter, someone’s sister, maybe even someone’s mother. Poor girl. A family is going to be broken because she’s gone now. The press are going to have a field day anyway, they won’t care about the grieving, hurting families. All they care about is the sensationalist headlines and nothing stirs up the interest more than a woman being discovered—or a child.”
An idea came to Emma. “It would be easy to blow the whole thing out of proportion. Imagine, I could tell the press that the police didn’t help when my sister was reported missing. I could tell them my story. That they didn’t do anything to find her or make any enquiries concerning her disappearance.”
Ty looked at her calm
ly. “You’re hurting, honey. It’s only natural that you are.” She glanced at her watch again and looked toward the entrance to the police station.
“Imagine the media circus then. This could go international.” Emma said, and she imagined getting her revenge.
If she did this it would only serve to help her get over the rage and frustration that were beginning to eat away at her. None of this would bring Stacy back.
“Death matters, more than life,” said Emma in a faraway voice. “Death elevates the priority of a case. It is tragic that this is how it is.”
My sister is dead.
Now that she knew—now that she was so certain, more than Ty, there was no need for her to stay in Bermuda any longer. The dead body lying in a morgue was Stacy, and it was only a matter of time and procedures before a pathologist cut her up and sliced her this way and that to determine what had happened to her.
Shivers scampered across her body at the very thought of it. She blinked back her tears and knew it was time to leave. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She wanted to know how Stacy died but she wanted more than anything, to get away. She wanted to return home, to a familiar place where she could grieve in peace, and safety.
Never again would she think of Bermuda as one of the most amazingly stunning places on earth. It was easy enough for an unsuspecting young woman to let her guard down.
But the island was deadly and she would never return to it.
“I have to get back,” said Ty, looking at her watch. “It’s going to get busy in there. The phones are already starting to go wild. Once the press get wind of a case, and this one will be high profile, they’re like vultures. You take care of yourself.” She told Emma and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. She headed back towards the entrance and Emma followed her blindly, her mind distracted and her thoughts elsewhere.
Ty stopped at the entrance and lowered her voice. She put her hand on Emma’s shoulder. “Stay strong, honey. I’ll be in touch with you soon.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Emma said, feeling the need to get as far away from this place as possible. Then she thought better of her brusque tone. “I appreciate you talking to me, Ty. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
Chapter 2
She returned to her apartment in a haze.
It didn’t matter anymore if she had to face Cindy or Gregory. It was done; the very outcome she’d been most afraid of had happened and nobody could ever hurt her again.
But as she walked into the apartment, she heard crying noises and they appeared to come from Stacy’s bedroom.
Someone was inside.
Her eyes widened with fear and her fingers trembled as she reached for the door handle. Even as she opened it her stomach fluttered nervously on edge.
A startled Cindy looked up at her. She sat hunched over on the floor, with her knees bent and her arms crossed over on top. She pinned her gaze on Emma and stared at her with bloodshot eyes.
Go away. Emma didn’t want to see another person, let alone talk to them. But Cindy sat there, immobile and now stared at her silently.
She’d obviously heard the news.
Emma wanted her own space, she wanted to cry alone, not with company. She crinkled her nose, wondering how best to ask Cindy to leave. At this moment, Cindy’s state of mind wasn’t a major consideration of hers.
“Oh, god. I can’t believe it,” Cindy whimpered and for one awkward second Emma had the dreaded feeling that Cindy was going to get up off the floor and hug her. She looked as if she was considering the idea, but Emma sat on the bed, her body closed, her face downcast. It was as if she was staring at a movie and this wasn’t really happening. She felt as though she was observing someone else go through the pain. Her mind refused to accept the fact and it was only when she looked at Cindy’s face that she realized Stacy’s death was real.
Cindy burst out into a fresh round of tears again, and buried her face into her folded arms. Her body shook as she tried hard to stifle her sobs. Emma felt detached, removed from everything. She had no desire to comfort Cindy, and she didn’t want or need the bullshit. So she said nothing, and the minutes passed by in awkward silence.
It was odd, her reaction, but she had no more emotion left. She had been wrung dry. Time had stopped the moment she saw the dead body on TV. She was like a shell, empty inside going through the motions. She had no more tears left to cry.
She especially didn’t want break down in front of Cindy.
Why can’t you leave me in peace?
She wanted to lie on Stacy’s bed and lose herself in her solitary despair.
After a few minutes Cindy composed herself and turned to her side, still on the floor. She placed her hand against Emma’s hands which lay folded in her lap.
“Say something.”
“What do you want me to say?” Emma asked and moved her hands away from Cindy’s touch.
“Emma, I’m—I’m—so…” but she couldn’t finish, and wiped her nose again. It was red, like her eyes and most of her face. Cindy was falling apart in front of her eyes and here she was, calm and composed. But it still hadn’t fully seeped into her soul yet.
Any moment soon Emma expected the punch to hit her hard and suck the life out of her body. It felt odd that she could still breathe, still see, still hear. It was odd that she could sit here calmly in Stacy’s room, on Stacy’s bed, talking to Stacy’s friend—but Stacy herself would never again see this room, or sleep on this bed, or speak to her friend.
Stacy would never return. Emma swallowed and waited for the tears. But they didn’t come.
“When did you find out?” Cindy asked her.
“This morning. I was at a diner having breakfast.”
Cindy made an appropriate pained noise.
Emma continued. “The breaking news segment flashed on the screen.” She slid to the floor beside Cindy as she relived the terrible moment. She rested her back against the bed. “I can’t believe she’s gone.” The words turned to a whisper as she drank in the full meaning of what she had said. “How did you find out?”
“I heard on the radio this morning.”
“What did Gregory say?” Emma was more interested in his reaction.
“I don’t know. He left early.”
“Did he?” Emma wondered. “Did he see the news?”
Cindy shook her head. “He was gone before I got up.” She hugged her knees closer to her chest reminding Emma of the way she used to sit often as a child.
“Apparently they said they found the body yesterday evening.”
“Huh?” asked Emma. She’d been lost in childhood memories of her and Stacy walking to school together. Of Stacy discovering make-up at the age of twelve and buying her first roll-on deodorant which Emma used when Stacy wasn’t looking. She was also guilty of ruining a few of Stacy’s new lipsticks and had accidentally trodden on her favorite one, breaking the plastic casing. It was called ‘Heather Shimmer’ and it was by Revlon. Emma had thrown it away at school, not daring to dispose of it at home and with a guilty conscience she had watched as Stacy had desperately tried to find it. To earn extra money Emma had done double chores for a few weeks and earned more pocket money from their dad who had regarded her with suspicion. With her extra money she’d gone and bought a replacement lipstick and slipped it into Stacy’s holdall without her sister realizing.
“On the radio they said the body was discovered yesterday.” Cindy repeated.
Emma let out a breath. “I know.”
“I don’t understand what she was doing by the beach.” Cindy mumbled.
“Where is that place?”
“It’s at the other end of the island.”
“Near Tucker’s Town?”
“No, it’s at the other end. It doesn’t make any sense.” Cindy shook her head and looked away as though lost in another time and place.
Emma told her, “It’s a murder investigation now. The police will be asking questions and you’d better have the answers.” If Cindy
insisted that she and Gregory had nothing to hide now was the time when the truth would come out.
“They can ask what they want,” said Cindy, “I’ve got nothing to hide.” She looked at Emma with her brows knitted together.
“Where’s that boyfriend of yours?” Emma asked in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“No reason. I just wondered.”
“I know you the two of you haven’t exactly hit it off,” said Cindy, defensively, “but he’s not that bad. I know you think he might have something to do with what’s happened. He doesn’t.”
Emma wrung her hands together. “That argument last night between you and him. What was that about?”
“It was nothing, Emma. It’s got nothing to do with Stacy.”
“But you said it might help if the police knew.”
“It’s nothing to do with Stacy.”
Emma glared at her. “You’re hiding something and I don’t know if you’re protecting Gregory or if you have information on Stacy that you’re not telling me.”
Cindy lifted her head up and gave her a defiant stare. “There were rumors that there was a politician over from the US. I didn’t see him but what do I know? I wouldn’t even know who he was. I barely take notice of politics in Canada.”
“And why would you and Gregory argue about that?”
Cindy looked uncomfortable. “We were discussing something—it had nothing to do with Stacy. I keep telling you. I came home early before Stacy.”
“What about Gregory? Because he was there wasn’t he? That’s what the two of you were arguing about.”
“Of course he was there. Stacy asked me to come and she told me to bring him if I wanted to.”
“Did Gregory come home with you?”
Cindy seemed to hesitate before answering. “No.”
Emma looked at her curiously. “He stayed on at the party?”
“Yes.”
“So Gregory and Stacy both stayed on at the party?”
“So?” said Cindy. “What if they did? It’s not a crime is it?” It wasn’t a crime, unless he’d done something and clearly something had happened that night but Cindy wasn’t about to tell her what it was.