Flirting With Danger

by Jade Winters

  Star or not, on that cold blustery evening, Callie prayed to God Lori was somehow keeping Lexi safe. Wherever she was.

  Reaching the glass-frosted front door, Callie pressed the bell and took a step back. The chime’s melody had just sounded when the door opened and a frazzled looking Roxy appeared. Her face, normally tanned and healthy from the outdoor walking she did, looked pale and wan. To Callie’s eye, even her slender frame appeared frail.

  Roxy let out a breath upon seeing Callie. Her shoulders slumped. Callie’s heart went out to her.

  Roxy reached out and touched Callie’s arm. ‘Thank you so much for coming over.’

  The women briefly embraced before Roxy led her inside. Callie followed her along the hallway and into a well-designed living room with solid oak floors. A black plasma wall fire hung on the ivory coloured wall, and a large black leather L-shaped sofa dominated the room. Robert, Roxy’s husband of three years, stood at the window. One hand rested on the back of his tilted neck. The other, held the white wooden shutter open. Even though it was pitch black outside, Callie knew he was looking towards Helm Crag. Their living room had a clear view of the distinctive fell during daylight hours.

  ‘Robert, Callie’s come over to see if there’s anything she can do.’ Her words were spoken softly, so much so, Callie was convinced Robert hadn’t heard her. He remained fixed to the spot. Callie’s gaze dropped to the ground. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what Robert and Roxy were going through. Even though Lexi had only been missing for a day, to a parent those twenty-four hours must feel like a lifetime.

  ‘Robert—’

  ‘I heard you.’ There was no malice in his tone, only frustration. Not that Callie blamed him. What could she do that Search and Rescue hadn’t done already?

  He turned slowly and Callie rose her head to meet his gaze. To a casual observer it would seem like the first time they’d met. As if she were a stranger visiting. Not the woman he’d known since she was a little girl. Who was there supporting her father when her own family was going through their private turmoil.

  ‘I would have got here sooner,’ she said as a way of explaining why she hadn’t turned up the day before. ‘But I was on a training course. I heard about Lexi’s disappearance on the news on my way back.’

  She paused when she saw Robert’s mouth tighten.

  ‘It’s okay,’ he said.

  ‘Can I get you something to drink? Coffee?’ Roxy asked.

  ‘No, please let me make something for you both.’

  ‘All I want is Lexi back,’ Roxy said sinking onto the sofa. She buried her face in her hands.

  Robert was at her side in an instant. His large hand covered the length of her shuddering shoulder. It was a touching scene. One that caused Callie’s eyes to brim with tears. The love between them was so obvious, despite the trying circumstances. It was an emotional bond she could only dream of sharing with another person. The thought of allowing herself to be that vulnerable in the presence of someone else made her feel nervous. Fearful even. According to her deceased father’s daily mantra; Opening yourself up to someone only leads to heartache. To say he had a rather cynical outlook on life was an understatement. Her dad was a master at holding his emotions in check. Callie didn’t know if his observation was right. No one had ever got that close to her.

  ‘I heard on the radio she went hiking up Helm Crag. Are Mountain Rescue still searching there?’ Callie asked tentatively, blinking away the tears. She didn’t want to break their emotional connection, but she was feeling awkward. Out of place. As if she were a peeping tom, observing an intimate moment that she was not a part of.

  Robert slowly blinked as if coming out of a trance, but remained silent. Roxy dropped her hands away from her face. Her eyes were swollen and puffy. ‘No. They searched it but couldn’t find her.’

  ‘What about her mobile phone? Have they tried tracing it?’

  ‘The last location it shows is here. They said maybe her battery ran out or she didn’t have a signal. I’ve checked her room and the rest of the house. It definitely isn’t here.’

  Callie found it hard to believe Lexi would go for a hike on her own without her phone being fully charged. There had to be an explanation, although she’d be damned if she could think of one.

  ‘We’ve got to try and think positively about this situation. Lexi knows these mountains inside out.’ Callie thought of the unforgiving rocky terrain. How it looked deceptively easy to hike, even in bad weather, to the untrained eye. ‘She’s heard me talk about the dangers enough times. If she’s lost she’ll know what to do. Touch wood the weather will be better tomorrow—’

  ‘Tomorrow? Tomorrow will be too late. What if she’s fallen? She’ll be suffering from hypothermia now. Wet and cold in the dark. Lexi hates the dark. Hates it.’ Roxy’s bottom lip trembled as she spoke. ‘I can’t bear to think about her out there all alone. She must be so scared.’

  Callie took a step towards her. ‘Do you know for sure that Lexi was going up Helm Crag? Maybe she decided on a different trail.’

  ‘I’m positive. She wanted me to go with her, but … I … I was too busy.’ She brought down her small fist against her knee. ‘If I’d have just gone, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.’

  ‘You can’t blame yourself, Roxy. You weren’t to know,’ Callie said.

  Robert stood abruptly and walked back to his spot near the window.

  Callie didn’t like to press. She only hoped she wasn’t coming across as being insensitive by asking questions they had no doubt told the police the answers to several times.

  ‘Did any of her friends go with her?’ she asked.

  ‘No. The police have spoken to them all.’

  ‘And the police are satisfied that they aren’t hiding anything?’

  Robert spun around. His eyes boring into her own. ‘Like what?’

  Callie leant back, away from the ferocity of his tone. ‘I don’t know. Maybe there was a party she wanted to go to so she’s hiding out at a friend’s house.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Roxy said hopefully.

  ‘Just say what you mean. A boy’s house. Lexi would not do something like that. How could you even think such a thing?’ His scorn was directed at Roxy.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Roxy said. ‘I just don’t know what to think at the moment.’

  It’s too soon to tell him about Luke. If she comes back and finds out I’ve spilt the beans she’ll never trust me again.

  ‘Look I’ve got Elaine and Pauli outside. Once I’ve dropped them off, I’ll pop by where her friends hang out,’ Callie said. ‘Have a talk with whoever’s around. They might open up to me rather than the police.’

  ‘Or her parents,’ Roxy finished for her.

  ‘Believe me, if they’re covering for her, there’s not a chance in hell they’ll give her up,’ Robert said.

  ‘I can at least try.’

  Roxy stood. ‘Not tonight. Go home. You look exhausted.’

  ‘No point. I won’t be able to sleep.’ How could she? Every space in her mind was consumed with Lexi. Sweet natured Lexi who was so many things. Talented. Gifted. Funny. A rare person who had the compassion of a saint. Callie would never forget the kindness Lexi bestowed on those less fortunate than herself. Each year, since she was eight years of age, she donated one of her Christmas presents to a children’s charity. Each birthday she gave her birthday money to animal rescue shelters. How was it that someone so young could do that? Give so selflessly for nothing in return.

  Callie opened her mouth to say something, but immediately clamped it shut. She didn’t have to tell Robert. He knew that Callie was no stranger to having a loved one go missing from her life. Buried in the deepest, darkest corner of her mind where she kept her painful memories hidden, she knew how Robert felt because she had walked the same path, suffered the same heartache.

  Thirteen years ago to be exact.

  Chapter Three

  ‘Are you taking the piss, Ross?’ Astrid hissed into the m
outh piece. ‘Hounding me for some girl who’s probably hiding out at her boyfriend’s.’

  Teenage angst and drama was nothing new. Every living adult had passed through the stage. The way people carried on, it was as if it was exclusive only to today’s kids.

  Astrid glanced down the hallway behind her, imagining what she was missing out on while having this meaningless conversation with her boss.

  ‘Astrid …’

  She shivered as the hairs on the back of her neck pricked. Ross never called her by her first name. Ever. It was normally Williams, love, pet or an expletive if he was having a bad day. But never Astrid. She pressed the receiver closer to her ear, and said, ‘Go on. I’m all ears.’

  ‘Do you really think a woman of Roxy’s stature would report her stepdaughter missing to the police knowing if she so much as farts in public, she’d draw a media frenzy?’

  ‘Maybe not but—’

  ‘No buts allowed. I want you in the office now.’

  ‘Now? Why can’t the late staff work on it?’ she whined. ‘Why do you need me?’

  ‘I’ll explain when you get here.’

  The phone clicked off.

  ‘Fucking great! Just what I don’t need.’

  Astrid replaced the handset and walked back to her bedroom. Keri was still laying on top of the covers, shamelessly. Astrid groaned. If there was one saving grace, it would be that Keri would understand her predicament, also working in the media as she did. Keri would be used to dropping everything to cover a news story. Even hot sex. All the same, it didn’t stop the dull ache Astrid felt down below.

  Astrid grabbed a towel from the hook on her bedroom door.

  ‘What’s the story?’

  ‘You heard?’

  ‘It was difficult not to,’ Keri said.

  Astrid reached down and picked her hairband off the floor before tying her hair back. ‘Roxy Palmer’s stepdaughter has gone missing.’

  ‘I see.’ Keri rolled off the bed and gathered her clothes.

  ‘You don’t have to leave. I mean I might only be gone for an hour.’ Astrid knew she was clutching at straws the minute she saw Keri slip her bra on.

  ‘It’s not a problem. I’m sure we can get together again soon. I’m not going anywhere. Are you?’

  Astrid walked over and embraced her. ‘No. But something tells me you were going to take me places I’d never been before.’

  Keri pressed her body against Astrid’s. ‘And I will. Soon. I promise.’

  Their lips met and passion once again swept through Astrid’s body.

  Reluctantly Astrid pulled away. ‘I’ll hold you to that. Anyway, I’d better get ready before my boss turns up at my door.’

  Keri raised an eyebrow.

  ‘He hasn’t overstepped any boundaries yet, but I wouldn’t put it past him. My boss always gets what he wants, despite any obstacle in his way.’

  ‘In that case he sounds very much like me.’

  Astrid didn’t mind. It was one thing being determined in the work place, and something totally different in the bedroom.

  When Astrid returned from the shower a few minutes later, Keri was nowhere to be seen. Her damp towel dropped to the floor and she stepped over it on her way to the wardrobe. She took out a pair of jeans and a black V-neck jumper and threw them on the bed. The same bed that she nearly … just let it go. Like Keri said there’ll be plenty of opportunities in the future.

  Moving around the room, from wardrobe to drawers, Astrid dressed, grabbed her keys and headed down the stairs. At the entrance of the communal hall, she unlocked her mountain bike and wheeled it outside. Though it was September and the days were mostly at a bearable temperature, the night air had a cold chill to it. She tugged her jacket closer together, mounted her bike and rode off along the pavement, her mind full of naked images of Keri.

  Chapter Four

  Damn, damn, damn. I was so close.

  Keri slowed the car down as she neared the turning for home. Her eye’s still fixed on the road in front, she reached over to the glove compartment and withdrew a packet of cigarettes she kept stashed there, for emergencies. This was definitely an emergency. She took out a cigarette and stared at it momentarily, as if it would light itself. Things hadn’t gone exactly as planned. The part where she ended up in bed with Astrid had been totally unexpected, but what was a girl to do? Keri had her needs. Mixing business with pleasure wasn’t anything new. Not by a long shot. But even as she thought this she knew in this instant things were different. More urgent. If she didn’t penetrate Astrid’s wall, the future looked pretty dismal.

  As she drove along the tree-lined driveway towards the sprawling detached house, she saw a golden glow filter through the blind in his office. All the way home she had been hoping, no praying, he would be asleep. She hardly dared look at him these days. Had it only taken six months for the ‘bruiser’ as he was known in his inner circle, to be reduced to a frail old man? His once bulky frame, now skin and bones, looked like it belonged to someone else. Not her father.

  It had barely been five minutes since Keri had turned off the engine when a feeble tap against her car window caused a thump in her chest. She hadn’t seen her father leave the house. She lowered the window. Alcohol breath seeped through, filling her nostrils.

  Putting the cigarette back in the box, she turned to face him. The false smile she forced made her cheek muscles ache.

  ‘Did you see her?’ His voice wavered. Unsure. Another sign that he was weak.

  ‘Yes, Dad, I saw her.’

  He bent over as far as his body would allow. ‘Good, good. And what happened?’

  ‘Nothing. Something came up. She was called into work.’

  ‘Fuck that interfering bitch.’

  The ferocity with which he spoke belied his fragile appearance. It was hard to believe that the bitter man standing beside her car was the same man that had the public rushing to the ballot box to vote him into Parliament. They trusted him. Thought he was a man of the people. If only they knew the truth.

  ‘Dad, you’ve got to take it easy. She wasn’t called into work about you. Roxy Palmer’s stepdaughter has gone missing. It’s all over the news. I’ve spoken to Tyler. I’m trying to convince him it’s a big news story so that I can cover it and keep tabs on Astrid.’

  ‘You leave Tyler to me. I’m the one that got you the job, aren’t I? If I tell him you need to be on that story, that’s where you’ll be.’

  ‘Okay, but leave it until tomorrow. Before I plan my next move, I want to see what direction Astrid’s going to take with the missing kid story.’

  At that, Lloyd gently pushed himself away from the car and opened the door. ‘If you’re sure.’

  ‘I’m sure. Trust me.’ Keri grabbed her bag off the passenger seat and got out the car. The gravel crunched beneath her feet.

  ‘Just out of curiosity. What’s she like?’

  Keri paused. Her hand still on the door. ‘Astrid?’ She recalled the vibrant excitement they had been caught up in barely an hour ago. A sensational shiver made its way down her spine. ‘She’s a reporter, Dad.’

  ‘Is that all?’ he asked studying her closely.

  ‘Yes, that’s all.’

  He made her feel like a teenager again. A time when he would scrutinise every detail of her life. Who she was dating, whether she smoked, drank or took drugs. Not that he actually cared. It was the thought of her behaviour taking the shine off his sparklingly clean image. It had been a relief to be packed off to boarding school when she was fourteen, despite Lloyd’s reluctance.

  Keri was convinced her mother stood up to Lloyd for the first time in their marriage because she saw the emotional damage he was inflicting on Keri.

  Not only was he a controlling father, but also a controlling husband. One that had caused her mother to leave him after twenty years of marriage. The funny thing was that no one else around him knew she had left. Not family or friends. Nor the public. Her father’s tentacles reached high places. He had
the ability to shut down anything he didn’t want made public. Even using his own daughter to do so. He had made a bargain with her mother. He wouldn’t destroy her life if she played along with the charade. It was a small price to pay for freedom.

  He raised his thick, bushy brows. ‘Is it true she bats for the same team?’

  Keri’s eyes flickered. ‘What the hell does it matter? If I was you, I would be more concerned about her exposing your backroom dealings. Not who she sleeps with.’

  ‘Is that so?’

  Keri nodded. ‘I need to get some sleep. I’m exhausted.’

  ‘Hmm, you must be,’ he said jerking his head towards her skirt. ‘Seems you put it on inside out.’

  ‘What?’ She ran her hands down the seam of her skirt and realised with a start he was right. Such was her rush she had pulled it on without checking. Her mouth opened. She felt the need to explain, but what could she say? That she was sleeping with the enemy for the sake of saving her father? It wouldn’t wash with him and she knew it. The atmosphere became more uncomfortable with every passing second.

  ‘It’s not what you think,’ was all she could muster.

  Lloyd took a step towards her. His breath on her face. ‘I couldn’t care less if you fucked the pope. You just get me out of this mess. How you do it is of no concern of mine.’

  Her voice was a whisper as she tracked him to the entrance of the house and disappeared inside. ‘And that’s never going to change, is it?’

  Chapter Five

  The normal buzz and excitement in the spacious office was noticeably mute. There were no manic clicks on keyboards to be heard. Nor loud, frantic phone calls. No people rushing to and fro like ants, trying to meet their deadlines. Unlike during the day, it felt relaxed. Serene even. A large screen TV hooked on a wall, showed the latest news. Astrid barely acknowledged it.

  ‘You took your time, didn’t you?’ Ross barked, storming out of his office at the far end of the room. He was followed by a young, sheepish red-haired intern, named Billy … or was it Bobby? She gave up trying to remember. Whatever his name was, she knew it began with B.