by Fleur Ferris
‘My legs!’ he screams.
Smith is out of the car in seconds and runs through the traffic. He rolls over the bonnet of an oncoming car that pulls up sharp then he disappears out of sight.
Zel suddenly appears at the driver’s seat. At first I think he is trying to help Torney, but he pats down Torney’s pockets and pulls out some keys. Then he’s at my window. Zel slips his hand inside the broken window, fumbles for a moment with the handcuff key and suddenly my arm drops down. I’m free.
‘Come on.’ Zel pulls me through the window. We sprint to his car and, with the sound of rubber being left on the road, we’re away.
‘What do I have to say or do to you to make you believe me? I told you, if they find you, they will kill you.’ Zel grinds his teeth so hard a ball of muscle pops out on the side of his face.
‘I didn’t know. How am I supposed to know who to trust? How did they find me anyway? I called the police.’
‘If what I suspect is right, these people have worked closely with the police in the past. They know them, have people on the inside. Hell, they could even be paying them for information. They’re powerful and corrupt and they’ll stop at nothing. You could have got us both killed.’ Zel’s driving becomes more aggressive as he shouts.
‘I’m sorry!’ My voice rises to meet his. ‘Look at what’s happened in the past twenty-four hours. Why wouldn’t I go to the police?’
‘I told you not to.’
‘You also tied me up and abducted me.’
‘I was saving you!’
‘Well, it was a little hard to tell.’ Despite my insides trembling, sarcasm and anger tinge my words. Then my mind starts to race and I can’t grasp hold of my thoughts. My hands move up to my head and press into my temples. My ugly cry face takes over and I start to sob. ‘How am I supposed to know anything?’
Zel slows down. He relaxes back into his seat, runs a hand through his hair and exhales roughly.
‘You’re right. You’re right. It’s okay,’ he says. ‘It’s me who should be apologising. There’s no way you could have known.’
I wipe the tears from my face. We drive in silence while we calm down.
We’re now heading back towards Geelong and are about to drive over the West Gate Bridge. I take a few deep breaths and stare at the city as we rise up with the bridge. If Zel hadn’t got me out … I try not to think about it.
‘The driver was hurt,’ I say. ‘His legs.’
‘Yeah.’ Zel says. ‘Someone would have called an ambulance.’
Again, there’s a pause in conversation. ‘I’m sorry I ran off and put you in so much danger.’
Zel nods.
‘I feel really bad,’ I say.
‘Okay.’
‘I mean, they have guns. They could have shot you.’
‘Yeah. Please, stop apologising. Don’t forget you’re the innocent one in all of this.’
‘So you know them?’
Zel looks at me. I can tell he doesn’t want to answer questions.
‘You’re not really a private investigator, are you?’
He keeps his eyes on the road.
‘I found out something about you at the library.’
A crease forms between Zel’s eyebrows. ‘Really, what’s that?’
‘It was a photo taken about five years ago. You were standing beside a helicopter with some of your family, only it wasn’t your usual holiday happy snap.’
Zel clenches his jaw. It was him in the photo – but which one? I study Zel’s face more closely, trying to work out how old he is but concede defeat and decide it’s impossible to tell the difference between a twenty- and twenty-three-year-old. I guess it makes little difference to me which brother he is. He just rammed a car to save my life.
‘You’ve gotta give me something,’ I say.
‘The less you know the better,’ he says.
‘Clearly, that’s not true. If I know what’s going on, I could help, I could make better decisions.’
He snorts. ‘Not with this. If I’m right about this, you’re way out of your depth.’
‘Look, I didn’t ask to be a part of this. Last night I was at home, minding my own business, and BAM! Two guys enter my life who are bent on destroying me and anyone else who gets in their way. And now, you sit here and say I’m out of my depth, like it was me who chose to dive in. I’m swimming for my life right now! I mean, moments ago, I was handcuffed to a car while that monster leaned all over me. The way he looked at me …’
‘What?’ Zel looks shocked.
‘Smith. The guy that got away. The one with the scar on his face.’
Zel looks at me and almost swerves off the road. He recovers the vehicle and then pulls off the road and comes to an abrupt stop.
‘What did the scar look like?’
I point to my left cheek and make a V shape that points to the ground.
Zel looks out the window.
‘What does it mean?’ I say.
‘Cameron Porter. I know him. You’ve just confirmed it,’ Zel says.
‘Who is he? What does he want? I need details. Why are these people hunting me? You’re one of them, right? I mean, you were on that beach. You’re Knox Chisel.’
‘Oh, no. He’s nothing but a …’ He stops talking and takes a deep breath. ‘Sorry. No. I’m not Knox.’
‘William?’
He pauses, then nods. ‘My mates call me Zel. It’s short for Chisel, Chis-zel.’ He strings out the word so I understand.
‘Well,’ I say. ‘Nice to meet you, William.’ Although that isn’t quite right considering our first encounter.
William gives a weak smile and sighs. ‘I’d hoped to off-load you somewhere and thought the less you knew the better. But they’ll keep coming for you. For us.’
‘Why? What happened on that island?’
‘I can give you money, I can hide you for a while, but if something happens to me and I don’t come back, you’ll be on your own. They’ll come looking for you.’
‘Why?’
‘Why do you think?’
‘I don’t know. What could be so bad?’
‘You find a note from a guy who went missing after a boating accident, what are you thinking?’
‘That Christian Chisel is alive. Or was alive.’
‘So what are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know. Tell someone to go and look for him, I suppose. Someone needs to go and find him.’
‘Exactly.’
‘But why wouldn’t they want him found? His parents would still be grieving for him.’
‘Yes. They are. But what if he’s missing because of something someone did? What if he was left behind on purpose when he could have been rescued, and the rest of the family don’t know?’
‘That’s murder,’ I say. ‘If someone did something like that they should be in jail.’
‘So, someone who has everything faces losing it all. What are they going to do?’
I nod. I see where this is going.
‘He will kill anyone who threatens to expose him,’ says Zel.
‘Who?’
‘My half-brother, Knox. Knowing Cameron is involved cements my suspicions even further. If what I think is true, none of this will ever stop.’
‘What do you think he did?’
‘I … I saw something. When we were on the island I saw something but at the time I didn’t realise what I’d seen. It wasn’t until we were home, weeks later, that I started putting together what might have happened.’
‘What did you see?’
‘I saw Knox on the beach. I think he had found Christian. I think Christian was alive and Knox dragged him into a cave so he couldn’t be found.’
‘Surely you’d know for certain if you saw that.’
‘No, I could only see Knox from where I was standing. Part of the beach was obscured from view. He was on the beach when the plane came and I saw him diving around, picking up stuff that had washed in from our boat. Then he ran towa
rds the cliffs and disappeared for a while. But I saw him looking at something when the plane was approaching. It looked like he’d found … like he’d found Christian. Now, with everything that’s happened to you, and the others who found notes, I’m certain it was Christian that he saw and that he’s been forced to hide more and more to cover up what he did.’
Great. He saw nothing. I wanted to hear something concrete, something that clears this mess up right now.
‘Why would he have done that to Christian?’ I ask.
‘There was a lot going on at the time. He was so jealous of Christian, always had been. When Christian started working at the family business Knox was furious. He was overlooked because Dad and Uncle Oliver didn’t think he was responsible enough. And then there was Portia. Christian and Portia were inseparable and Knox wanted Portia almost as much as he wanted in on the business. Knox felt that Christian was getting everything and he was getting nothing.’
‘Wait. Aren’t Knox and Portia married?’
‘They are now, but back then she was Christian’s girlfriend.’
I realise I’m scowling. Zel’s story is suddenly more believable. Jealousy and greed certainly bring out ugly behaviour … But murder?
‘Did you ask Knox about what you’d seen?’
‘No. There was a big blow-up on the beach and Knox stormed off in a rage. When he saw me at the top of the cliff looking, he climbed up and punched me in the face for spying on him.’
I think about how small Zel looked compared to Knox in the photos of them from that day. I remember his eye, swollen up like a rotten plum.
‘That day on the beach he completely lost it, punched me right in the face over and over.’
‘So, me finding the note has confirmed that Knox deserted Christian, left him to die, and has been covering it up ever since?’
‘Not just you finding it,’ Zel says, shaking his head. ‘Them coming for you. Them killing your colleagues for knowing about it … I’ve never been more convinced of anything in my life.’
The reference to Darryl and Simon is like a stab in the heart. Zel is right. Knox, or someone, is doing more and more, desperate to cover up something. Whatever happened on that island, someone definitely wants it buried there.
‘How many people did you say had found notes?’
‘You’re the fourth, and the only one still alive.’
Suddenly it’s hard to breathe. How do I get out of this? How many people have to die for these people to keep their secret? Darryl was spot-on about the Chisel family.
‘The first note was found eighteen months after Christian went missing. The man who found it contacted my family to tell them. The guy lived in Melbourne, which is where I went to school. I was so excited I went straight over to see him, but was met at the door by his wife and told he had committed suicide that day.’
I wince at the thought.
‘The second and third notes were similar,’ Zel says. ‘One had disappeared and the other had died of a drug overdose – which is why it was a bit of a shock to find you alive.’
I feel sick rise into my throat and I breathe deeply trying to hold it down. If someone as powerful as Knox Chisel wants me dead, I have little hope of escaping.
‘So now that you think you’re right, what can you do? Can’t you go to your family?’
‘I’m not sure they’d believe me over Knox. After the accident Dad fell apart. He blames himself for everything that happened. Losing Christian that day just about killed him. I moved down here to boarding school and I rarely go back to Sydney. Mum suffered too. She threw herself into charity work after I left. Selena and Oliver, well, they’ve never recovered. They cleared out. Went overseas to get away from everything, then broke up for a while, then got back together again. Mum says sometimes Aunty Sel is there, sometimes not. And while all of this was going on, Knox stepped up and became the son Dad always dreamed of. Eventually he took over the business. He’s the only one who came out of it okay. He got everything he wanted.’
‘What about Portia?’
Zel shakes his head. ‘The little I’ve seen of her, I can say she changed too. She was different with Christian.’
‘How do you know she wasn’t with Knox back then? She wasn’t in on it?’
‘I’m sure she wasn’t. They couldn’t have planned it. The boat going down was an accident and Knox was blind drunk when it happened. What he did was opportunistic, carried out in a rage.’
‘That’s if what you saw is what you think you saw.’
‘It has to be. Besides, there’s no turning back for me now. Knox knows I’ve worked it out. Cameron will report back to him that it was me who rammed their car, that it was me who rescued you from your house. I need to act fast and make things right, as much as Knox needs to keep it covered up.’
The way he says it makes me think there will only be one Chisel brother left standing at the end of this and it scares me. If Knox wins I will be dead too.
‘What do you need?’
‘Evidence.’
‘You have me. You just rescued me from Knox’s henchmen. We should go to the police now and tell them the whole story. They can work out the rest. They can investigate those other murders.’
A crease forms between his eyebrows. ‘I don’t know. I don’t trust the police. Knox has too many friends there.’
‘But it’s their job, and our only option.’
He sighs. ‘I don’t think you understand how far Knox’s sphere of influence extends. It’s probably best if I give you some money, find somewhere for you to hide. Keep you safe while I work things out.’
‘No way. What if something happens to you? What do I do then? I can’t hide forever. Won’t they come for me as soon as I surface?’
Zel nods.
‘What about Christian’s parents? Tell them what you saw. Tell them about the notes and the other people.’
‘Oliver thinks I’m a loser. He’d never believe me over Knox. Besides, it’s too cruel.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘To give them hope that Christian might still be alive. I couldn’t do it to them.’
‘Do you think Christian is still alive?’
Zel’s quiet for a moment. ‘I don’t know,’ he says. ‘Even if Christian was alive and got a few notes away, what’s to say he’s still alive now? It was five years ago. Anything could have happened.’
We drive on in silence for a while and I think about everything Zel has said. The more I think about telling the police and Christian’s parents, the more I think it’s our only chance of getting out of this alive. Zel’s reluctance irritates me. Simon and Darryl are dead. By the end of today, I might be dead, Zel might be dead, but hey, as long as we don’t give Christian’s grieving parents false hope …
I can’t let it go.
‘You need to face this,’ I say. ‘Those guys killed my friends. How many more people have to be killed to protect your brother’s secret? I’m sorry your aunt and uncle are grieving, but you should have spoken up at the time. People are dying and you’re still keeping secrets.’
Zel doesn’t say anything.
‘You had better come clean.’
‘Okay.’ The muscle on the side of Zel’s face pops out as his jaw clenches.
‘And be open with me about what the plan is. I’m in this too.’
‘I said okay. We’ll go to the police.’
‘Now?’
Zel nods.
A rush of relief washes over me. I put my head back on the seat and close my eyes, trying to calm myself down. I want to go home, have a shower and go to bed. I want to wake up and find that all of this was just a bad dream. I wish there was a pause button that I could press, rewind back to a week ago, change to a different track then press play. I would never have come into contact with that note, would never have given it to Darryl, would never have written a story about it, and I would be at uni now, with Relle, enjoying my life like I’m supposed to be doing.
The cloc
k on the dash says it’s two o’clock. My parents are in the air for another eight hours. Twenty-two hours in total. That’s how long their flight is. It’s not even a whole day … Anger resurges as I think about Knox, what he’s done and the ripple effect that’s still occurring.
‘Do you mind if I turn on the radio?’ Zel asks.
‘Sure.’
The news is on:
Victoria Police are on the hunt for eighteen-year-old Tamara Bennett, who resisted a citizen’s arrest and escaped the custody of two private investigators earlier today. Bennett is wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of two men, Simon Camden and Darryl Green. She absconded with the help of an unknown accomplice. The fugitives are considered armed and dangerous.
Dad approaches the four guys who have emerged from the chopper. One of them turns back and retrieves two large red bags. They make their way over to Uncle Oliver and squat down beside him. They pop a mask on his face and connect it by tubing to a bag. The other medic places a cuff on his arm and takes his blood pressure.
My chest tightens at the sight and I feel lonely sitting up here observing my family. Mum, Dad and Selena hover around Uncle Oliver while the medic does his thing. Mum and Dad hold hands. Another rescue worker is at the helicopter, talking into a radio. Hopefully he’s arranging a search party for Christian. The red and white plane is swooping over other islands and circling over the water. Knox and Portia stand away from the others. Knox pulls her to him and wraps his arms around her. Portia places her head on his shoulder like she’s crying. My stomach turns at the sight and I look away.
My eye throbs and I run my fingers across the swelling. No one has looked for me yet. A hollow feeling enters my body and I wonder what the family would be doing if it was me who was missing. Would Mum be yelling at everyone, saying it was their fault? Knox would be thrilled if I disappeared. He’d love to be an only child. The only heir.
The plane flies over us, then turns around and flies over us again. Searching, searching, searching.
The tide is coming in. I realise they are going to have to move the chopper soon.
Mum must have suddenly noticed I’m not there and she looks up at me. She waves for me to come down. I’m not ready. Every breath I take still triggers a sob. I can’t stop it. I sit and wait a bit longer.