by Maggie Mundy
****
Pete brought him home, and Greg hoped this was the last time he needed someone to verify where he had been. He doubted it, though. Whatever the future held, knowing the cops didn’t trust him was a certainty.
“Coffee?” Greg asked. Pete followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the breakfast bar. A whole day had been wasted, and Greg sighed with frustration as he put the kettle on.
“That would be great. You know I’ve never asked you about your past, Greg, and don’t worry: I don’t want to know now. The thing is, whether you like it or not, you are going to have to tread lightly whatever you do.”
“I would do, but I don’t believe we’ve much time. It’s been four days, Pete, and they don’t have a fucking clue. Look, I’m sorry for the girl in hospital, but it’s nothing to do with me. You, Sara, Keri, Tyler, and David said I was here when it happened. Shit, the cloth was cut with scissors––even I could see that when he pulled it out of the bumper. I’m being set up, and I’m sure it’s the asshole over the road. I’d love to get my hands on him.”
Greg put the coffees down and clenched his fists. Killing the guy wouldn’t get Beth back and would get him put back in jail for good. They would probably throw away the key.
“You can’t go over there and beat the shit out of him, even though I would join you if he’s touched Beth. The cops can’t prove anything with you, because there is nothing. Start getting agro and they’ll find something. I can’t believe I’m saying this. I’m standing up for an ex-con.” Pete grabbed his coffee and gulped.
“There’s hope for you yet. Look, his car’s gone, and he used to go up to Gawler to help his aunt. I was going to drive up earlier and go searching, but to be honest I wouldn’t have a clue where to start.” Greg wanted some whiskey, but he needed to be calm and clear-headed.
Pete stared into his coffee, took a sip and looked up. “I don’t believe I’m saying this, and don’t you ever tell Sara, but do you know anything about breaking and entering?”
Greg laughed. “Is the Pope a Catholic? You get educated on a lot of things inside.”
They found an alarm system, but it was easily bypassed. Spend years behind bars and it’s more educational than anything on the Internet. Pete stood back, shuffling from one foot to another as Greg broke in, but now was searching everything. Greg was glad he had gotten him to put gloves on. He would have left prints everywhere.
“Make sure you put everything back as it was. If we can’t find her, it’ll just make him worse if he knows we’ve been here.”
“I don’t think you can make him worse,” Pete said, reading pages that had been crumpled and stuffed in a drawer in a bedroom at the back of the house. Greg noticed the musty smell when they entered the room. Pete handed the letters over.
They were written by Steve, who Beth had said was Will’s younger brother. They were the sad thoughts of someone in a situation he could see no way out of, except for killing his brother. Steve had met a girl, and knew Will would never let him go.
Greg felt for Steve. To decide to kill someone wasn’t an easy thing to do. He sat on the bed and looked around. It was different from the other rooms in the house. It actually had pictures of their parents. Everyone was in the pictures, but no one appeared happy.
“You have to wonder why Will didn’t get rid of these letters,” Pete said, while checking another drawer.
“Will is so out there, I don’t think right and wrong mean anything anymore, and trust me, I know what that feels like. Beth said Steve died of an overdose. I reckon Will killed him before he had a chance to do the same to him.”
“Is that what happened to you? ’Cause it doesn’t make it right, it just makes me wonder what I’m doing here with you.” Pete stood by the door of the bedroom as if he was contemplating leaving.
Greg felt calm as he spoke. “Yes, I killed someone and at that time I believed it was right. I don’t regret killing him, but what followed was sometimes worse. I made my choice, a bad one. I ended up in jail and my aunt hanged herself, and my mother doesn’t believe I exist. I should have sorted it out some other way, but I didn’t.”
He shouldn’t give Pete all this crap. It wasn’t this guy’s fault what had happened to him. He was a friend, and they were hard to come by.
“I never expected someone like Beth to come into my life. It was a random meeting, she was sad and I was just out of jail. She was a gift I couldn’t turn down, even though I didn’t deserve it.” Greg didn’t expect understanding, but Pete walked across and touched his arm.
“We have to put this stuff back and hope the police eventually find it and accept what it says. We need to get going. Do we take your pick-up or my car?” Pete said, as he put the letters back in the drawer.
“Shit, you’re driving, man. I don’t want to have to show my license to any cop at the moment, or we’ll be wasting even more time. I’ve seen the inside of the City Watch House and I don’t want to see it again.”
The street was empty as they made their way back across the road. “Stick the gloves in your pocket, Pete. We’ll get rid of them along the way somewhere. No one’s going to check a random street bin.”
Trudy would help them, her husband knew everyone. Greg didn’t want to come between them but he needed help. As they drove down the street, his fists were clenching. He didn’t like asking anyone for anything––but he would get down on his knees and beg for Beth.
We need help. I’ve a feeling she’s hurt already. You need to hurry.
****
Beth woke up and her body hurt like hell, but no tears came. Some stupid fool wrote: where there is hope, there is—something, what was it? She crawled back under the bedclothes. How long had she been there? She wasn’t even sure if it was day or night, or how much time had passed. Had she been here days, or just one? She didn’t know. Her breasts ached, partly from bruising and because she hadn’t fed Josh. He was only having a night feed, and she had almost dried up. She needed to drink again. If she couldn’t stay strong, she would never last. Her kids needed her.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d used the toilet. Will changed it for her. Said he wanted her to be comfortable as he settled her battered body into bed. She wouldn’t fight him anymore. She knew where it would end. She saw the glee on his face when he hit her. He got off on his power over her. There was blood in the toilet, and she didn’t believe it was her period. It was her urine. Beth wasn’t surprised, as he had kicked her in the lower abdomen and back. He must have damaged her kidneys. She needed to do something, or she would surely die in here.
****
Greg and Pete drove through the streets of Adelaide, watching people go about their business. There seemed no justice people’s lives could just go on when Beth was lost. How was this going to end, because Greg couldn’t see anything but death and bloodshed? He would either end up dead or back in jail, which was as good as being dead. Pete broke into his morbid thoughts.
“So, has your sister spoken to you since Beth went missing?” Pete asked.
Greg didn’t want to talk about his family. It would bring things out. It already had.
“She phoned me the first night she heard it on the news. Her husband Phil came in and she had to call off. He hated her having anything to do with me after I went to jail. She used to visit and it caused problems. This is so stupid, that people wouldn’t want to help Beth because of me. She would’ve been so much better off without me.” Greg thumped the dashboard.
“Hey, mind my car. Look, a year ago, I would’ve agreed and been glad to see the back of you, but you brought her back to life in a way none of us could. We tried so hard to help her get over Jeff, but Sara and I were losing the battle. We were worried she was getting depressed and going to do something stupid. Then you came along and things changed. Look, we need to hold it together if we’re going to help her.”
“I need to tell you something else.” Greg shook his head knowing Pete would say he was mad, and he was probably
right. “Did you know Beth said Jeff used to talk to her after he died?”
“She mentioned it to Sara once, but neither of us believed it. I mean the dead don’t talk to people.”
“I used to think so too, until I met Beth. I can hear him in my head talking to me, since my operation.”
Pete pulled over and turned off the car.
“What the hell are you on about? The man’s been dead for over four years, and you talk to him? Beth used to come out with all this stuff, but we put it down to her losing him. As for that Christine, I told Beth, I thought she was taking her for a ride. There should be a law against people like her.” Pete crossed his arms over his chest.
“We’re wasting time, Pete. Believe me or not, I don’t care. I just want to save Beth.”
“I don’t believe it, and anyway, why would he pick you? The man sleeping with his widow? This is all crap and you know it. I’m just not sure what you think you’ll gain by this little carry on.”
I’ll tell you something about Pete.
Jeff chose his moments of revelation like a charm. Greg had a feeling this wasn’t going to go down well. “He’s talking to me now, and wants me to tell you something.”
Pete just sat and stared at him with folded arms and a scowl on his face. “He says, when you and Sara were having infertility treatments, you told Jeff there was a girl at work coming on to you. You told him you kissed her and felt like shit, but things were rough at home. He said he told you that you were an idiot, and the only other woman he would have married was Sara. He said if you lost her, you’d never find another like her.” Greg waited for a response, but could see from Pete’s wide-eyed expression he’d hit a spot.
Pete glanced away and then back again. “I never told anyone else. I wish I could say there was another way you knew about that other than having a dead man talking to you, but I can’t. I feel like I’m being drawn into an episode of Supernatural, but believing you is the only way I can explain what just happened. So, Jeff’s here to help us?”
“I certainly hope so, or I’m going mad. He’s picked up Beth’s hurt and that Will’s not alone. Another spirit is in his head, and I don’t think they’re happy. I hate to say it, but you’ve probably guessed there are a few ghosts out there not too happy with me.”
Pete started the car up and headed off, putting his foot down. Greg told him to slow down. They didn’t need the cops pulling them over. When they pulled up out front of his sister’s house he could see Phil’s station wagon in the driveway. This wasn’t going to be good. A door slammed in their face was all they would likely get. Pete went up to the door and knocked. Trudy answered and chatted for few minutes, then looked across at the car and motioned for Greg to come over. She was crying and hugged him. He loved her so much and didn’t want to upset her, but Beth needed help.
“I’m so sorry, Greg. I’ll tell Phil he has to help or I’m leaving with the kids, and I mean it.” Trudy turned and walked inside.
It was six o’clock and the kids were in the lounge room watching The Simpsons. Georgia pouted when she saw he didn’t have Josh with him, but Sam didn’t take his eyes off of the screen. Phil sat at the kitchen table eating. He stood up with his hands fisted at his side as Greg walked in.
“What’s he doing here? I told you I never wanted him in my house.”
“Phil, sit down and listen or so help me I’ll make you regret it. And before you forget, it’s our house. He’s my only brother and his partner Beth’s been kidnapped. He’s asking for your help. If you don’t back down, I swear I’ll get a rolling pin out of that drawer and try and knock some sense into you.” Trudy stood in front of her husband, who was a good six inches taller than she was, and stared him out. Phil sat down.
“I won’t say I like this, but I’ll help. Tell us what’s happening.”
Greg sat down opposite. “This is Pete, a good friend of Beth’s and mine. We’ve some clues that make us think she’s somewhere around Gawler. You know most people around here and we thought you could help.” Greg hated putting Trudy in this situation, but would do whatever it took to find Beth. Phil was a big guy and if he wanted to throw him out he could, but Greg couldn’t do that to Trudy or the kids. If it came to it, they would find another way to find Beth. He would not be the cause of her marriage breaking up.
“And why haven’t the police come up and asked me for something? Is this one of your shady contacts?” Phil pushed his plate of unfinished food aside.
“Phil.” Trudy pursed her lips and shook her head but he just shrugged.
“I told the police about the guy we suspect and they interviewed him and said he was clean,” Greg answered, still angry with the cops.
“But you know better.” Phil laughed.
Pete stood in front of Phil with his palms flat on the table. “I didn’t believe Greg at first, but last night we broke into this guy’s house and found letters showing he’s unstable, and Beth’s diary states he was stalking her.”
Greg shook his head. Why did Pete have to talk about the B&E? This wasn’t going to help their cause.
“So, you’re a crook too. The police use warrants before they go looking through people’s stuff.” Phil peered down his nose at Pete.
Greg sighed: this was going nowhere. “Look, the guy is called Will Kearns. His Aunt Emily has a place around here somewhere. He’s doing it up, or so he said. Just tell us if it rings a bell, and if not, we’ll leave.”
“What’s wrong, Mum? Why’s Dad shouting at Uncle Greg?” Georgia asked, as she cuddled her mother.
“It’s nothing, just two grownups being silly. Now you tell me about the new episode you’re watching?” She glowered at all three men as she left the room.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say my kids have met you before today,” Phil said.
“I brought my son, Josh over a while back when I was visiting someone up here.”
Phil picked up his plate of food and reheated it in the microwave. Then he sat back down and casually started to eat. Greg knew where the whiskey was, but it wouldn’t look good for Trudy if he helped himself to it.
Phil chewed on his steak, swallowed and looked up. “It’s a few months back, maybe six even. I notice strangers. Up here, you get used to the same old faces. Most new ones only ever come in once. There was one though, who came in asking for stuff we don’t stock. Port-a-loos and the like. Thought he must be off camping. Then he came back for locks and a drill that could cut through concrete.” Phil shoved a mouthful of food in as he stared at Greg.
“And he lives where?” Greg asked.
“This could be some innocent guy you’re going to go out and attack, and you want me to be a party to that? I don’t even know the guy’s name. It might not be the same person. He always paid in cash.”
“The notes we found in the guy’s house show he has killed his brother already.” Pete interrupted. “He believes he’s justified in his actions because he’s insane. We don’t want to take him on. If we think he has Beth, we will let the police deal with the situation. We just want to go there and find out,” Pete said.
“I know others who believed what they did was right.” He stared at Greg as he spoke. “You have to promise to let the police deal with it, or I won’t tell you anything. I’ve your word on that? I won’t be a party to someone who might be innocent being killed.”
“Yes,” Pete replied.
They both turned and stared at him.
“Yes,” Greg answered through gritted teeth.
Chapter Twenty-One
Phil had been true to his word and given the address. It was dark as they pulled up on the road, and they drove in with lights off so they wouldn’t alert anyone to their presence. The house had a light on. It didn’t look very big, just a little old weatherboard place. Greg wanted to go in, but needed to be careful: he’d watch and find out what was going on first. Patience, control the anger. More than one person had said that to him when he was on the inside.
“He’
s moving out the back of the house,” Pete whispered.
With the light coming from the backdoor, Greg watched Will walk across to the water tank. It had a door. What the hell? The door shut and there was darkness again. Phil said someone had brought a concrete cutter. Maybe it had been used to make this door.
She’s there. I sense her. You can’t do this, Greg. I want her safe too, but he’ll kill her before you get to her. Phil’s right: get the police here.
“They never listened before, why would they listen now?” Greg didn’t realize he’d spoken out loud.
“Who never listened?” Pete asked. “Jeff’s talking again, isn’t he?”
Greg nodded. “He says Will is in there with her, hurting her. I want to kill him, Pete. I want to kill the bastard so much.” The anger simmered like the day of Dad’s funeral, and he knew soon it would build to a point he couldn’t control. He was a killer at heart.
“Don’t you dare!” Pete hissed at him. “I’ve broken into someone’s house, and I’m consorting with a known criminal who’s done time for murder. I won’t do well in jail, and I want to live. Do something now that risks her getting out alive, and I’ll kill you!” The words were spat out in a whisper.
“Jeff can feel her pain. We need to stop this.” Greg’s hand was on the door handle.
“Trust me, I want to do him harm as well. You don’t want to go back to prison again, and I would imagine it could be for a long time if you kill again. What good are you going to do Beth then? She doesn’t want to go on without you and the kids.” Pete rubbed his temples. His phone went off. Greg could hear Sara’s voice, but couldn’t make out what she said.
“Greg and I had things to do, but we will be back in an hour or so.”
The conversation ended with her being scared because Pete was with him. When push came to shove, she still saw him as a killer, not Beth’s partner. Killing wasn’t the way to deal with things, but these people would want him to do the deed if they couldn’t. At least he knew he could if he needed to.