‘The firies will be here any minute. Where are Kaelee and Aaron now?’
‘I don’t know.’ She sniffled and snuffled and coughed. Each time she moved her arm to wipe the tears, the muscles complained. She ached all over and her lower back was sore. Drinking the water had ignited an intense hunger, and on top of all that the dense stink of smoke permeated her clothes and skin. She’d smell for weeks.
‘When did they leave?’
‘Early this morning. Around dawn, I think. They tied us up last night.’
‘What sort of car did they have?’
‘It was a small white hatchback.’
‘Any idea of the make?’
‘A Toyota. It had that logo thing on the front.’
‘Can you describe them for me? Hair colour, height, age, clothes and so on.’
When they’d both given as much detail as they could, he closed the rear door then slid into the driver’s seat and began reporting in the details.
Abbie watched smoke curling out through the gaps in the windows and around the front door. Her house was on fire but a curious detachment had overcome her now that she’d cried. And Georgia and the unborn baby were safe.
A siren whooped in the distance then cut off abruptly. The fire engine, coming at last. Minutes later, the large yellow truck roared into the clearing. Men bundled out and began unrolling the hose. The purposeful movements and quiet efficiency instilled a trickle of confidence that maybe her house wasn’t completely lost after all. If anyone could save it, these people could.
‘G’day, Rupe.’ A big ruddy-faced man strode across to the police car. Rupe got out to meet him, as did Abbie, on shaky legs. The rain had fizzled to mist now but the air was clear despite the smoke seeping through the gaps in the windows. Every movement she made sent out waves of smoky smell, pungent in the fresh air.
‘G’day, Mike. This is Abbie, the owner. No-one’s inside. The kitchen wasn’t on fire when I went in the back.’
‘Right-o. Do you know where it started, Abbie?’ A pair of piercing blue eyes studied her but the voice was gentle, compassionate.
‘Maybe in my bedroom. It’s first on the right when you go in the front. But I don’t really know.’
‘It was arson,’ said Rupe. ‘Abbie and her daughter were tied up in there.’
‘Bloody hell.’ Mike nodded and began calling instructions to his team. Two men ran around to the rear.
‘The ambulance is on its way,’ said Rupe.
‘How long,’ rasped Georgia from the back seat.
‘Fifteen minutes.’
One of the firies appeared round the corner of the house. He had a couple of bags in his hand.
‘The fire is confined to the bedroom and we’ll have it under control soon. Looked like it started in a wooden box and was slow to get going, made a lot of smoke but it hadn’t burned through the box, so it was still contained and not close enough to anything to catch. It was only a matter of time though, and you were lucky to get out when you did,’ he said. ‘You might be needing these. They were in the kitchen and a bedroom.’ He handed Abbie two handbags and put Georgia’s backpack on the ground by the car.’
‘Thank you very much. I thought my whole house was lost.’ Saved? Only her bedroom burned? She’d been going to destroy that bed anyway. Ironic that Kaelee had nearly done it for her.
‘It won’t be pretty inside but at least it’ll still be there,’ he said before he went back to work.
‘And your work survived,’ said Rupe. He opened the front passenger door and put Georgia’s backpack on the floor and the two handbags on the seat. ‘You should get back in the car, Abbie. Keep warm.’
‘No, it hasn’t survived,’ said Abbie as a new wave of emotion engulfed her. ‘Aaron smashed up my studio.’
Rupe guided her into the back seat, closed the door and got into the front. The tears started up again as though she’d turned on a tap. She mopped at them with her hands and sleeve until Rupe produced a handful of tissues from the glove box. She wiped her face blew her nose, coughed, startled to see the sooty streaks on the white tissue.
‘What? He destroyed your paintings?’ he asked when she was capable of answering.
‘Everything. Paintings, drawings, equipment, paints, the lot. That’s what you fell over.’
‘Why do that? I thought you said he was an art student. And what did you mean they blamed you for what happened?’
‘It’s about my ex-husband,’ said Abbie. Her lips tightened and her jaw clamped shut. That bastard.
‘And me,’ Georgia added. Her voice was stronger now, but hoarse, and she stopped every few words to swallow awkwardly. ‘Kaelee wanted revenge, firstly because my father raped her and secondly because she thinks I bullied her at school.’
Rupe frowned. ‘She was a victim. Why did she blame you, Abbie?’
‘By association, because I was there, because I was his wife and Georgia’s mother … who knows? She’s convinced I knew what he was doing all those years and that I knew he had her in his study the day it happened. She thinks I was an accomplice in some way.’
‘Did you? Were you?’
Abbie stared, horrified by such a question. ‘No! How can you even ask that?’
Rupe didn’t react to her raised voice. ‘Okay. What about the boy? What’s his issue with you?’
‘I’d never met him before last week. Neither of us had. His sister was a student of my ex-husband. What he did to her destroyed her life and when he got off she was suicidal. She killed herself recently.’
Rupe nodded slowly. ‘So these two were on a revenge trip.’
‘Yes, but she’s worse than he is. Way worse,’ said Georgia. ‘She told us she pushed her father off the roof and everyone thought he’d died by accident, and she also implied she pushed my father off the rocks, when everyone thought that was either an accident or suicide.’
‘That’s right, Aaron was as stunned as we were when she said that.’
‘And she stayed back for a while when they were leaving this morning. Told him she’d catch up,’ said Georgia.
‘And set the fire, you think?’ asked Rupe.
‘Yes,’ said Abbie. ‘She took something from the pantry. It might have been candles and matches. She’s insane.’
‘Mike will be able to tell us definitely where and how it started.’
‘I think the other guy is right. It smelled like wood smoke. Eucalyptus. Like the fires I light in winter.’
‘He was also right about the timing. I saw a glow of flames so you were in big trouble.’ Rupe shook his head. ‘Unbelievable.’
‘She might not have wanted the house to burn down. She might have wanted to frighten us,’ said Abbie.
‘She succeeded. Mad cow.’ Georgia coughed and closed her eyes. ‘You know she wanted to kill us. Why are you making excuses for her, Mum?’
***
Georgia was kept in the Wagga hospital overnight, but more for the injuries than the smoke-related issues. Abbie was X-rayed and treated for minor smoke inhalation but released in the afternoon. She asked after Rita and discovered she wasn’t allowed visitors and was in intensive care with the possibility of being transferred by air to a larger hospital in either Canberra or Sydney. More information wasn’t available to non-family members. Telling the nurse there were no family members made no difference.
Abbie sat by Georgia’s bed. Only one other bed was occupied in the four-bed ward and that person was turned on her side away from them, asleep.
She’d washed as best she could after the doctor had seen her but the horrible smell clung to her clothes and she suspected they’d have to be thrown out. All her clothes would stink, as would her house. She’d have nothing to wear even if she could go home. At least the fireman had grabbed Georgia’s backpack, which still held most of her things, and they were only mildly affected because her door had been shut.
‘They said the baby is fine,’ Georgia said. ‘And I don’t have any broken bones, just bad bruising.�
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‘I know. I’m so glad.’ Abbie grasped her hand. ‘I can’t believe we made it. That Rupe turned up like that.’
‘He’s a pretty cool dude, Ma. He didn’t even make any cracks about our hair. We’ll have to shave our heads.’
‘It could be way worse. Why are you looking at me like that?’
A suggestive lift to one eyebrow, a little smirk.
‘Do you like him?’
‘Of course I like him.’
‘You know what I mean. He likes you.’
‘I hope so.’
Georgia snorted and closed her eyes.
‘I’ll go, darling. You need sleep. So do I for that matter. I’m suddenly really tired.’
‘Where will you go?’ Eyes still closed.
‘I’ll call my neighbour. Don’t worry about me.’ She kissed Georgia’s cheek. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.’
‘Mum?’
‘Yes?’
‘I’m really sorry … about the house … and everything.’
‘We’re safe, that’s all that matters.’
In the hospital foyer, she phoned Connie and Tim. As the ringing went on and on, doubts crept in. Don’t worry about me, she’d said. She had no clothes and nowhere to go. Kaelee had done something to her car so there was no point even getting a taxi to take her home. It would be a crime scene there now anyway, and soaking wet from the firemen. At least they hadn’t had to smash their way in.
Connie answered.
‘Abbie, my goodness. Are you all right? And your daughter. We had no idea what was happening! And poor Rita, too.’ She sounded close to tears. ‘We should have known.’
‘You couldn’t have known. We’re okay now. Has Jet come home? She was wonderful. She barked so much Rupe came in to see why. She saved us. And Rupe did too, of course.’
‘Yes, she’s home. She’s fine, she turned up a few hours ago. Where are you?’
‘At the hospital. They discharged me but Georgia’s staying in overnight. She was badly bruised when she fell, and hurt her shoulder. And she’s dehydrated.’
‘Poor girl. She must have been in awful pain.’
‘She still tried to untie me.’ Tears formed again and Abbie sniffed hard. ‘Connie, could I come and stay with you, please? I can’t go home.’
‘Of course you can, but Rupe said you were going to his place. Both of you.’
‘Did he? I haven’t seen him since this morning.’ She never would have asked him for that type of help. Why would he offer? Why would he assume she’d accept without asking her?
Connie didn’t think it odd, she surged on and over it like a high tide.
‘He called in to tell us when he came back. You’ll be comfortable there. It’s quite a big house at the back and it’s probably better for you to be in town at the moment. He said he was concerned about that pair who attacked you and you’d be safer there with him. I agree, Abbie. Ring him and tell him you’re ready to go.’
‘But I can’t. I don’t have any clothes or … anything. All I have is my handbag thanks to a firie.’
‘Don’t worry. I packed a bag for you with underwear and some tops and pants and a skirt that should fit. I put in some toiletries, too. You’ll have to make do with whatever shoes you have on, I’m sorry. Good excuse for a shopping excursion when you’re up to it.’
‘Oh Connie!’ Rising sobs drowned her voice but she swallowed and sniffed and managed, ‘Thank you so much. Thank you.’
‘And Marlene said she’d pop in too, with some things. She’s more your size.’
‘I don’t know what to say. You’re all so kind.’
‘We help out when we need to. It’s nothing.’
‘It’s not nothing to me.’
‘Glad to help, Now, hang up and phone Rupe. Bye.’
***
Rupe didn’t bring the patrol car, he turned up in his own car wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt with a Chinese hexagram on it.
Seeing him so neat and clean rammed home how filthy and smelly she was in the smoke-ridden clothes she’d worn for a day and a half, and with her hair ugly and roughly chopped off. Seeing herself in the ladies washroom mirror had been a shock, even though she knew how Georgia looked. She’d never seen her own bald skull, pale by contrast with the relatively tanned skin of her neck and face, but a dear friend had undergone cancer treatment five years ago and bravely faced the world with a similar lack of hair, so this was the least of her problems.
He strode forward to where she stood in the shade outside the main entrance, a wide smile on his face, the lock of hair flopping into his eye as he walked. All she could do was stand there with a heart doing a sprint and breath coming in shallow gasps at the sight of him. Her hero coming to rescue her again.
‘How are you?’ He kissed her cheek, holding her in a brief hug. She closed her eyes and breathed in his fresh, clean scent then hastily stepped back, afraid of contaminating him.
‘I stink and I need a week-long bath but apart from that, stiff, tired and my throat is a bit sore. I’m okay though.’
He wrinkled his nose. ‘You do smell a bit. How’s Georgia?’
‘Exhausted but she’ll be fine. She’s badly bruised, not broken. She’ll be out tomorrow, probably.’
Rupe took her arm and guided her to the car. The solid bulk of his body beside her radiated security and right now she needed plenty of that.
‘Do you want me to sit in the back?’
He laughed and opened the front passenger door. ‘I’ll wind all the windows down and crank the fan up.’
Abbie smiled and climbed in and clipped her seatbelt. ‘Thank you for coming to get me, Rupe, and for letting me stay, but shouldn’t you be doing police things?’ she asked when he was in the driver’s seat.
‘I’m off duty. It’s after five. Anyway, the team from Wagga are investigating both attacks. They’re using the station as a base. Detective Sergeant Jill McGrath is in charge and she wants to talk to you this evening some time. They think there might be a connection.’
Abbie looked at him in surprise. ‘Really? Our loonies and Rita?’
‘Yes. Too much of a coincidence to ignore.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought either of them would bash up an old lady.’
‘Rita might have surprised them or made them angry.’
‘I suppose so. But I doubt whether Aaron would do that. He wasn’t physically violent and he’s weedy. Rita could knock him out easily.’ She smiled but it faded immediately.
‘He smashed your paintings.’
‘Yes … but he was truly shocked when Kaelee as good as said she’d killed her father and my ex. He never actually hurt us even though I wasn’t sure what he would do at first. Kaelee, on the other hand … she’s very unstable.’
‘Do you think she’d harm him?’
Oh! I don’t know. She loves him so I doubt it. She was going on about how he was the first person who liked her for herself. She’d been abused by her father—emotionally and physically; not sexually, I don’t think. He hit them all, she said, the whole family.’
‘Let’s hope he doesn’t get scared and try to leave her.’
‘Gosh. She’d go berserk.’
Abbie stared out the window, unseeing. This whole avalanche of events had been caused by her ex-husband. He was the trigger that set Kaelee off, compounding the wounds inflicted by her abusive father and involving Aaron through his sister, the rape victim. It was his walk free from his trial over that stupid technicality that triggered Aaron’s sister’s suicide and thus gave Aaron motivation for revenge.
‘I wonder how they met. Did they say?’ Rupe asked.
‘Not really. They haven’t known each other very long, though. Maybe at art school somehow.’ Abbie frowned, running back through the conversations. ‘No! Hang on, she did tell me, when they first turned up. They met at a party, she said, and it was only recently. A few weeks ago. But she also said that was where she ran into Georgia, which was a lie—so who knows?’
/> ‘That bit could be true. What if he engineered it?’
‘Why?’
‘Revenge. Maybe he knew Kaelee knew you. Maybe he found out by accident, talking to people about the case, his sister even, or saw her at your ex-husband’s trial or something. There could be a victims’ support group.’
‘And used her to find me because he knew they both had the same goal?’
Rupe lifted his shoulders as he glanced her way then refocused on the road. ‘It’s possible.’
‘And then he discovers she’s actually a homicidal maniac...’
‘Exactly.’
‘She’s certainly the right sort of girl to be flattered by his attention. Lonely, low self-esteem, no boyfriends, bullied at school. Sad.’
‘Plenty of people experience those things and don’t go on murderous rampages,’ Rupe said grimly. ‘And we don’t want to find Aaron’s body somewhere and discover he accidentally fell off a cliff.’
‘How will you find them?’
‘We don’t have a lot to go on but we’ve sent out descriptions of them and the car. It’s a pity we don’t have the number. No car is registered in Kaelee’s name so it must be his. They stayed at the motel but Mike is away until Monday and the place is closed.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t remember the number. It was a black and white NSW plate though.’
‘You had no reason to remember it.’
Abbie rested her head back and closed her eyes. The next thing she knew the car slowed, turned sharply and stopped. She blinked and yawned. He’d parked under a tree at the side of the police station, down a narrow driveway with a garage and shed at the far end of the yard.
‘Gosh, I went to sleep.’
‘I’m not surprised. Come on. Inside for a wash and a change of clothes.’
‘Is it that bad?’
‘Worse.’ But he grinned and she smiled in return.
She’d never been into the police station before and had had no idea there was a three-bedroom house attached to the rear of the modest redbrick with white pointing frontage.
‘Luckily the place came partly furnished because I don’t own three beds,’ he said. ‘Marlene loaned me some extra bed linen.’
The Secrets that Lie Within (Taylor's Bend, #1) Page 20