by Fiona Lowe
‘Al and Brent know Jon’s coordination is unreliable,’ she said. ‘And that day at brunch, I told you sometimes I have to tie his laces.’
Two bright pink spots flared on Kelly’s cheeks, then her nostrils flared. ‘And I’ve told you how I feel about Fatima, but that didn’t stop you inviting her to talk at book group about something none of us want to know anything about!’
‘What’s that got to do with you supporting me?’
Heads turned, interest clear on faces, but Tara was beyond caring. Her brain hurt from trying to fathom Rhianna’s and Kelly’s thought processes.
‘Look, Tara, we’re sorry Jon’s got Parkinson’s, we really are, but you’re not exactly helping yourself,’ Rhianna said. ‘And flying off the handle at your friends doesn’t help either. You’re obviously not coping so the best thing for you is to go and see Stephen Illingworth. You need to get a mental health plan.’
Tara lurched to her feet. ‘What I need are friends who can think beyond themselves. Friends who don’t wait to be asked for help but actually do practical things like dropping off a meal or inviting my kids for a sleepover or a play date.’
‘Tara,’ Nancy called. ‘Your order’s ready.’
With hands shaking worse than Jon’s, Tara stacked the coffee carriers and left the now silent café without looking back. When she arrived at the store, her heart rate had slowed but she desperately wanted to strap on her running shoes and pound out ten kays.
Instead, she had to host morning tea and check the staff were coping. Jon didn’t join the first tea shift and she hoped that was because the police had arrived.
Her phone rang as the second tea shift ended.
‘Tara, Geoff Rayson. I’ve got good news about the cottage.’
‘Wow, that was faster than I expected.’
‘Well, with Christmas only six weeks away, if we don’t act now nothing will happen until February. I’m emailing you all the details and as soon as you have them, give Ryan Tippett in Engineering a call to set up the move.’
Jon walked in just as she hung up. ‘Guess what? That was—’ But her excitement faded. He was pale under his tan and his big frame was hunched over as if he’d just been winded by a tackle. She closed the door. ‘What’s wrong? What’s happened? Is it Ian? The kids?’
‘Tara, breathe. Everyone’s fine.’
‘Then why do you look like your best friend just died?’
‘I feel like part of me just died.’ A long sigh rattled out of him. ‘Al just called about Saturday.’
The thought of having to see Kelly and Rhianna at the cricket barbecue pumped nausea through her. ‘Actually, I just saw Kell—’
‘They’re replacing me with Paul Simpson. I won’t be playing.’
The nausea churned harder. ‘Bastards!’
He shook his head. ‘I’ve been expecting it. Hell, when I was captain, I changed the team around. The point is to win. I just didn’t think they’d shaft me completely.’
‘So you’re not even twelfth man?’
He shook his head and she closed her eyes as the fallout of the decision battered her. Football and cricket were a huge part of Jon’s life and this was yet another loss—a mighty one.
‘What about coaching?’ she said. ‘Going on the committee? They owe you that. And if they think they’re getting money from us next year—’
‘I know you’re trying to help, T, but I’m not up to problem-solving yet. I’m too raw.’
‘Sorry.’ She squeezed his hands. ‘It’s just I was already angry at Rhianna and Kelly. They gave me a serve at the bakery for letting them down.’
‘How?’
‘By stopping going to coffee. By not inviting them over. By suggesting Fatima talk at book group.’ He crooked one brow. ‘Yeah, okay, that one was deliberately baiting Kelly. But I’m so furious with them. Lorraine said I needed to give them time to adjust, that they’re grieving in their own way for how things have changed. But compared to how our lives have changed, theirs have barely altered. I can’t support them through this as well as you and the kids and work—’
‘And you don’t have to,’ he said calmly.
She sought his gaze. ‘Do you think we’ve only been good-time friends? If this had happened to them, would we be as self-obsessed and clueless?’
‘Who knows. I’d like to think that even if we didn’t fully understand, we’d have at least invited them over.’
‘That’s hardly a change in behaviour. You invite everyone over.’
A faint smile tugged at his lips. ‘True, but we’ve done other stuff for them. When Kelly had Hudson you took over a few meals and ended up cleaning their kitchen and bathroom.’
‘Why do you remember that?’
‘Because Al thanked me for sending around a tiler to regrout the shower as a baby present.’
She laughed. ‘I’d forgotten that. I think because Tingledale has the space and lends itself to entertaining, we became the social glue for the group without realising.’
He shrugged. ‘All I know is that every time I catch up with Brent and Al for a drink, I miss Chris.’
‘I think our best friends went to New York and left us with pale imitations.’
‘I think you’re right.’
‘So what do we do about Saturday? If we don’t go they’ll call us bad sports, and if we do go, we’ll have to endure them either telling us how we’ve failed them or have them carry on as if nothing’s changed when everything has.’
‘I reckon by Saturday, there’s a pretty big chance one of the kids will be conveniently sick.’
She smiled. ‘Well, there’s a lot of gastro going around. Poor Monique had all three kids home with it.’
‘There you go. Problem solved.’ He kissed her. ‘Let’s talk about something else. What were you telling me when I walked in?’
It took her a moment to remember, then she clapped. ‘You won’t have time for cricket anyway. We got the cottage!’
His face brightened. ‘That’s awesome.’
A knock sounded on the door and it opened. ‘Police are here,’ Samantha said.
Sergeant North stood in the garden section surveying the damage. ‘The fact we’ve got the same tagging and general trashing says it’s the teenagers again. I hear you’ve employed the Atallah boy. You might think you’re helping, but you’re just making things harder for yourselves.’
‘We were being broken into before we employed Amal,’ Tara said.
‘But as you’ve pointed out, never this way. Does Amal work in this part of the store?’
At training, Amal had asked if he could work in the garden section. Given Darcy and Sabrina didn’t know a sprinkler from a shovel or a vegetable from a vinca seedling, Tara had thought it a great idea. Three customers had sought her out to tell her how helpful he’d been. She’d even sent him home with a small gardenia they couldn’t sell, saying he had time to nurture it into a healthy plant for Fiza for Christmas. He’d smiled politely and she’d realised her faux pas—of course the Atallahs didn’t celebrate Christmas.
Now Tara swallowed, unwilling to answer the question—not just because Denny North would give her an I-told-you-so look, but because she didn’t want doubts eroding her new faith in the young man they’d trusted. ‘He does but—’
‘And is that ladder usually there?’
‘No.’
‘Have you ever seen it there before?’
She glanced at Jon who shook his head. ‘No.’
‘I think we can safely rule out teleporting, although there might have been some black magic involved,’ Denny said.
‘Amal’s our best casual,’ Jon said.
‘And I know him,’ Denny said. ‘Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, but insolence runs just under the surface. There’s more than one way of being a shit and there’s a pattern. Every time something like this happens he’s never far away. The smart ones are the ones to watch.’
‘There’s nothing smart or intelligent about trashing th
e garden centre and sticking condoms on gnomes,’ Tara said.
‘I didn’t say his mates were smart. I suggest you check your stock levels of previously stolen goods along with things like knives and machetes.’
‘Why?’
‘Look around, Tara. It would be easy to smuggle stock out here and stash it in those big pots, ready to go out and over the wall.’
‘But we traded on Monday. Surely someone would have noticed if things were hidden.’
‘Sell a lot of those giant glazed pots every day, do you?’
Jon swore. ‘We’ll do a stocktake.’
Faith fought disbelief. ‘But if we find missing items, there’s still no proof it’s Amal.’
‘I get that you want to believe that giving Amal a job is insurance he won’t steal from you, but I’m the police officer. If goods are missing from the store, it’s strong proof it’s an inside job.’ Denny put on his cap. ‘Give me a call when you know.’
As soon as he’d left, Jon turned to her, his face grim. ‘We need to keep a lid on this. I’m not asking the staff to check the stock. We have to do it.’
‘I don’t want to look.’
‘Neither do I.’
The eddies of doubt swirled faster. ‘He wouldn’t have done it. Surely he wouldn’t have done it. Not after we gave him a chance.’
‘Saying it over and over won’t change a thing.’
Morning tea rose to the back of her throat. ‘Oh, God. You think he did it.’
‘I think we’re going to find things missing, otherwise there’s no reason for anyone to break into the garden section.’
‘I can’t believe I woke up so happy and excited this morning.’
A long sigh rumbled out of him. ‘Come on. Let’s get this over and done with.’
They checked the spray paint first. Six cans were missing. Tara’s trust shattered, falling to dust around her feet on the concrete floor.
Her phone rang and she checked the caller ID. Fiza.
My son has never, would never, steal anything from your shop.
Tara didn’t know if she wanted to rage or cry. After everything Fiza had been through, now she had to break her heart all over again.
CHAPTER
39
Jade’s fingers clicked Duplo blocks together but her mind wasn’t on the big red barn; it kept flashing back to Serenity Street. To the terrifying moments under the table. Her heart rate picked up again, just as it had been doing on and off all day.
‘Moo,’ Milo said. Since Bob had unearthed the box of Duplo from the shed and spilled the contents onto the sunroom floor, he’d been clutching the cow as if it was sacred.
‘Cows say moo and sheep say baa.’ Jade bounced the sheep up his leg, thankful for his giggles.
She hated that he’d been alone and scared in his cot during those long and petrifying minutes. Hated that Corey had deliberately instilled fear in the son he’d told her over and over she had to protect. Hated her own stupidity of clinging to empty words when actions spoke the truth.
She thought of Lachlan. His actions and his words were unambiguous. Right now he was furious with her over something she couldn’t control and she was mad right back at him. She was sick of men blaming her not only when she hadn’t done anything wrong but when she was trying to do the right thing.
The police had interviewed her and for the first time Constable Fiora had been sympathetic, promising he’d call as soon as he had any news. She and Helen had applied for personal safety intervention orders against Corey and Macca and the magistrate had granted an interim order, although it hardly made Jade feel safer.
Since they’d arrived at Bob’s, he and Helen had been on the computer making their IBAC report. Jade had wanted to help, but Milo was clingy and every time she tried to write something, she heard those bloody throwdowns in her head.
‘Go and cuddle with Milo and Daisy,’ Helen had suggested after Jade had scrunched up paper for the third time. ‘It’ll make you feel better.’
Jade had wondered if anything could do that. ‘How can you think straight?’
‘Right now I’m running on anger and adrenaline, but I’ll reach a point when I fall in a heap. Hopefully by then you’ll be feeling better and we can tag team.’
Bob set up a porta cot in one of his spare bedrooms and suggested Jade try to nap too. But whenever she lay down her brain sped up, so she’d retreated to the sunroom. She and Milo had snuggled up on the couch with Daisy at their feet, watching some old show on YouTube Bob had recommended called Little Bear. Milo loved it and it was so slow and comforting, it had sent them both to sleep for an hour.
Just as Jade snapped on the barn’s yellow roof, Helen and Bob walked in, each carrying a tray.
‘Bought and brought your favourite,’ Bob said, indicating the pink-iced matchstick.
‘Why are you being so nice when this is all my fault?’ Jade savagely swiped at unwanted tears.
‘Being nice is my superpower, right, Helen?’
Helen rolled her eyes. ‘It’s definitely not being humble.’
Bob passed Jade the tissue box. ‘None of this is your fault. You’re not responsible for Corey’s behaviour.’
‘But I chose to be his girlfriend. I thought if I loved him better than his mum, I could change him.’
‘Sadly, we can’t change anyone. It’s a hard lesson we all learn at some point.’ Helen passed her a mug. ‘Here, drink your tea.’
‘Thanks.’ Odd how a warm drink soothed. ‘I thought the coppers would have rung by now.’
‘First they have to find them and if Macca and Corey share a brain, they’ll be in New South Wales. That means working with their police force. When the police find them, they have to apply for an extradition order, which slows things down. It won’t be any time soon.’
Jade’s fingers tightened on the mug. ‘So we’re going home?’
‘Not without getting the locks changed.’
‘I can’t afford that! Can you?’ Panic skittered. ‘And we can’t do it without asking the real estate agent. I’m already on a warning because I’ve been late with the rent a few times. This will be their excuse to kick me out.’
‘You don’t have to make any fast decisions,’ Bob said. ‘There’s room here for as long as you need it.’
Relief streaked through her and she tried really hard to say thank you, but the stupid tears came back. She shoved a piece of matchstick in her mouth.
The back door slammed.
Jade gasped, then coughed violently on pastry. She gulped tea.
‘I thought you’d locked it?’ Helen’s voice wavered.
‘I did,’ Bob said.
‘Uncle Bob?’ Lachlan’s voice called from the kitchen.
They all slumped.
Bob managed, ‘Sunroom,’ and Lachlan appeared in his socked feet, wearing grimy work gear. ‘You gave us a hell of a fright, Lachie! Why didn’t you ring the bell?’ Bob demanded.
‘Because I’ve got a key …’ He glanced around the room and suddenly his ears boiled red. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I should have thought.’
Milo broke the taut silence. ‘Moo.’ He offered Lachlan his precious cow.
‘Thanks, squirt.’ Lachlan accepted it before sitting down next to Jade. ‘How are you?’
‘Rattled,’ Helen said.
‘How about you and I go into the kitchen and give Milo something to eat?’ Bob said to Helen. He retrieved the cow, caught Helen gently by the elbow and steered her out of the room.
Jade’s eyes were still streaming from her coughing fit and her wildly seesawing emotions. She wiped her eyes and sucked in a long steadying breath, and immediately coughed again. ‘Oh, my God! You reek!’
‘Oh hell.’ Lachlan pulled off his socks and deposited them outside the room before sniffing his feet and returning to the couch. ‘Sorry. I should have gone home and had a shower first, but I wanted to see you. I would have come earlier, but I got a late start because of the police interview and—s
hit. Sorry. None of it matters. How are you?’
‘Weird. I keep crying.’
‘That’s pretty normal after a big fright. Do you need to see a doctor?’
‘No. I just want the police to catch the bastards.’ She risked looking at him. There was no sign of the tight anger of a week earlier, just sympathy etched around his eyes. Her resentment towards him softened. ‘I’m really sorry they involved you.’
‘I can get a new bin.’
‘You know what I mean. It’s a warning to stay away from me.’ She twisted the tissue in her fingers. ‘Maybe you were right. Maybe if I’d sent a text instead, this wouldn’t have happened.’
Lachlan winced. ‘I know I said you should have told him, but I didn’t get it. I do now. Sorry. No matter how you did it, I think he’d have done something. I can’t stop thinking that if you’d broken up with him in person, he’d probably have hurt you.’
‘Six months ago I would have told you he wouldn’t hurt me,’ she said, ‘even though he shook me once when Milo was six weeks old. I was so desperate to be a family that every time he did something that didn’t fit the story I needed to believe, I made up excuses for him. I didn’t want to believe the signs that he only cares for himself. Or that you and Bob, and now even Helen, take more notice of Milo than he does. Even when you said you wanted to date, I tricked myself into thinking that Corey could still be part of Milo’s life. But last night changed everything. Corey doesn’t care about Milo and me. But he doesn’t want anyone else to care about us either.’ She pressed her lips together, trying not to cry. ‘It makes me too difficult to be around.’
He slid his hands into hers. ‘No, it doesn’t.’
‘You say that now, but next time it won’t just be setting your bin on fire.’
‘The police will catch them before anything else happens. Besides, I have a personal protection order.’
A hysterical laugh burst out of her. ‘So do I, but it means squat. People like Corey don’t live by the rules. He’ll be holed up somewhere and then, when we least expect it, he’ll ride in one night and do some real damage. I don’t want you or Helen or Bob to get hurt.’