by Shaw, Vicki
‘I’m sitting in my Dads room next to his bed. It’s a week before he dies. He has been sleeping more and we have had to turn his oxygen up. He should really be in the hospital, but he refuses to stay. He wants to die in the house and room he shared with Mum. I can understand why he wants to be here so I don’t push. We have a nurse that is here now 24/7.
“Roxie I know you don’t like talking about this stuff, but I need to make sure you are going to be alright and know what to do after I’m gone. All the important papers you are going to need are in the safe. Everything is in order so you don’t need to worry or be stressed about anything. My funeral is all paid for and organised, all you have to do is set the time and date when the time comes.”
“Dad please, do we have to talk about this right now. You are not going to die for a long time. You will fight this infection and be up and about in no time.”
“Roxie you have got to listen to me. I don’t know how long I have left, but I need you to know everything so please listen.” I saw something in his eyes right then that told me he really might not have long left.
“Ok, Dad tell me what you need me to know.” A lump formed in my throat and tears were burning behind my eyes, but I couldn’t let Dad see me cry. I swallowed a few times, blinked my eyes and took a few deep breaths.
“You know the combination to the safe. Mr Smith from the bank knows you will be handling all my finances and Mr Greenwich has my will and all my instructions. There is a list of contact numbers in the safe for all the people you will need to let know when the time comes. And Roxie just one more thing, Don’t forget about the time capsule that we buried in the back yard. I think it will bring you comfort after I am gone.”
I jolt awake with the dream still running through my head. I remember that day sitting next to Dad’s bed now as if it was yesterday. Could the file be in the tin we buried all those years ago? I try to remember when Mum, Dad and I put together the time capsule. I thought they were being lame. I was a teenager; you do that kind of thing with little kids, not someone my age. Mum and Dad convinced me to get a few things to add to the tin. I knew Mum added some old photos, but I didn’t really pay much attention to what else she had put in there all I wanted to do was get it over with so I could go to Carly’s house. It has to be in there. Why else would Dad bring it up before he died? We have been through just about the whole house without finding it.
Oh God, what am I going to do? I have to keep this information to myself. I can’t let them get the file. I need to get a message to Martin or Jake, but I don’t know how. Steve has already said he will not help me. Surely someone has to miss me by now. I told Carly that I would get a ride back to her house from the airport instead of her picking me up. I wonder if Martin rang her after I got off the phone with him. They would have to of figured out that something wasn’t right. I told Carly I would see her that day, but then I told Martin I was staying. Jake should also know something is wrong because he would not be able to track my phone and none of my calls or messages have been answered. All I can do is bide my time until they work it out and come for me. They are due here any day anyway, but I’m sure The Boss knows they are coming back and that is why he is in such a hurry for me to find it.
The first rays of sunrise are just starting to filter through the small window. I don’t know how much time I have before someone comes back down here. I hope they bring food and some clothes with them. I don’t feel like parading around in just my bra and panties. I still haven’t come up with a way to get a message out after sitting here for what felt like hours just trying to come with a plan. I think I am truly fucked. I can’t see any way of me getting out of this without giving up the file. I have a throbbing headache from lack of sleep and stress. I also need to use the bathroom really badly.
I hear footsteps and the click of the lock. I don’t hear any talking so I’m hoping it is Steve again by himself so I can try and convince him to help me. My heart sinks when Andrew walks in the door. The only thing that stops me deflating completely is that he has a tray of food and what looks like clothes hanging over his arm.
“Please, can I go to the bathroom? I can’t hold on much longer” He looks at me with a look of disgust on his face but walks over, puts the tray of food and the clothes on the floor near my feet and un-cuffs my ankles and wrists. “Make it quick and no funny business. You don’t have long before The Boss and the others get here.” I rush to do my business and exit the bathroom. As I walk over to where Andrew is waiting, he throws the clothes at me. “Get dressed. I don’t really want to see you in just your underwear.” He growls at me. I hurry and get dressed with my back to him. “You had better eat if you want to. You will not get the chance once The Boss gets here.” It’s the first time I look at what is on the tray. There is two pieces of dry toast and a cold cup of greyish liquid in a cup that I can only guess is coffee. I am so hungry that I don’t care that the toast is cold and dry and that I have to wash it down with weak, unsweetened coffee.
I am dreading the time when The Boss gets here. I still have not worked out how I am going to stall him.
TEN
Martin
“What do you mean you don’t know where she is? Carly just rang and told me she wasn’t home yet. When I was speaking to her, she said she was staying in Perth for another week but she told Carly she would be home tonight. Have you tracked her phone?” I am more than pissed. Jake assured me she would be safe.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Martin. Aiden took her to the airport and made sure she got through the security checkpoint. We have tried to track her phone but we are unable to. We thought that that was because she had it off for the flight and forgot to turn it back on again. We haven’t been able to get hold of Mr. Richards yet to see if he knows anything. I have Aiden and a few others checking the airport and seeing if the security staff will let them look at the footage without a warrant. It’s going to take time to get all the information we need. I bet she is just lying low like she told you she wanted to do to get her head together.”
I know Jake is doing everything he can but it does not stop me being pissed at him and also myself. I should not have let her go or I should have gone with her. I can’t sit still. I feel like a caged animal. Where the hell is she? She has to know that Carly would be worried about her.
Jake called in the rest of his team and they are setting up computers and phones on my dining room table. Carly has rang a few times wanting to rush over here. I had to calm her down and explain that she is better off staying there just in case Roxie showed up. Jake got me Matts phone number because I knew Max was out of town again and asked Matt to go and sit with her. I needed to focus on Roxie and didn’t need Carly ringing every five minutes in hysterics and I really didn’t need her here crowding my place. I don’t have a small place but with Jake, his team and all their equipment I felt like I was being boxed in.
I may have told Roxie that I would leave her alone but I only said that so she didn’t feel so much stress. I was still going to help her find the file and the people who were after her. Once all that was over I have every intention of getting her to admit that she does have feelings for me. She may not love me. Yet. However, I intend to do everything in my power to change that. I have never felt like this with anyone. Not even my ex-wife Lisa. Yeah, at the time I was young and thought I was in love with her but within the first 6 months I knew it would never work. She wasn’t really interested in me, she was interested in what she saw in the future, the dollar signs and the lifestyle she thought she was entitled to. Needless to say, the fights got bigger and I would stay at the office longer. One day I came home at lunchtime to pick up some papers I had left in my home office and found her screwing someone else. Lucky for her she was in love with this guy and he had all the money she could ever want. The divorce was quick and I didn’t have to give her a cent. I chalked it up bad judgement on my part and never looked back once the divorce was final.
Roxie is so different from Li
sa. Roxie has such a kind, sweet soul that draws people to her. She may not show it to many people but I can see that it is because she is scared. I knew from the first time I saw her in my office building that she would be mine. When our hands touched and there was that spark, which I know she felt as well, that just sealed it for me. She would be my wife and the mother of my children. I will do whatever it takes for her to agree.
Jake calling my name brings me out of my thoughts. “Martin I just got off the phone to Mr. Richards. He said that Roxie was coming back to Brisbane to finish editing the photos and to do some other work for him as well. They had talked about her going back in the future to do some more work for him as well.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Why would she tell Mr. Richards and Carly that she was coming home and get Aiden to drop her off at the airport but then tell me she was staying for another week? What happened between the time she talked to them and got dropped off to the time she told me she was staying?”
I’ve got this feeling in my gut that I really don’t want to know. It is going to be bad and it’s all my fault. If I had not of pushed her like I did maybe she would have let me go with her and she would be safe now. I run my hands through my hair to try to clear all the bad thoughts that are running through it. My imagination is running wild with all the things I am imaging that could be happening to her. Everything from her being kidnapped, tortured and raped. Her lying somewhere on the side of the road hurt or her just locking herself in a room somewhere by herself. I am praying to God that it is the last one. That her phone is broken and that is why she hasn’t rang Carly to let her know she is ok.
Aiden finally rings with the good news that the airport is going to send all the footage from the time Aiden dropped Roxie off until the time her flight was due to take off, without us having to get a warrant. Saving hours of time. It is already 3 pm the next day and hours have already passed with no word from Roxie.
Jake and his team are watching the footage from the airport when he calls me over. He has taken the footage back to where what looks like a woman in airport uniform walks up to and talks to Roxie. Roxie gets up and follows her. She walks out of view from that camera. “Where the hell is she going? Someone find what camera we need NOW.” I could not help yelling in frustration. I start to pace back and forward waiting for more footage. There are hundreds if not thousands of cameras around the airport and finding the right one and the right time is going to take hours more of watching the footage. Thank goodness, Jake got extra personal to help go through the hours of footage. Now we know which way she went we are hoping we can follow with the cameras in order.
Someone calls out to Jake a short time later with more footage of Roxie and the woman walking down to what looks like the private part of the terminal where people with private plans wait. “What is she going there for? She is booked on a commercial flight, not a private one.” She would not just go with anyone. She knows the danger she is in. They have had to of said something to get her to follow them.
“Get an ID on the woman. Make sure she is an airport employee. Track her down and get Aiden to talk to her and find me the footage from the next camera,” Jake barks out orders and the room becomes a hive of activity. Jake calls his head office to request more stuff to help with going through the hours of footage that still needs to be watched.
There is not much for me to do. I can’t sit long enough to watch any of the footage so I am keeping everyone’s coffee cups full. Most of the people here have been working since Jake called them hours ago. It has now been over 15 hours and we are all running on adrenaline and caffeine.
The hours just keep ticking away. Everyone is doing everything they can to speed things along so we can work out where Roxie is and if she is safe.
Aiden has tracked down the woman that led Roxie to the private lounge. “She is an airport employee. Someone claiming to be you Martin rang and asked for someone to take Roxie to the private lounge because you had chartered a privet plain for her. Roxie didn’t want to go at first and tried to ring you but her phone was flat. The worker led her to the private lounge and left her there. That’s all she knows.” Jake explained. The only explanation is that someone rang pretending to be me. That explains why she went with only a little fight. It also confirms my biggest fear, that someone has staged this and she has been kidnapped.
Jake is yelling out even more orders now but I can’t focus on what he is saying and to whom. My mind is racing. I need some air to get my head together. I walk out my front door to the lift and go downstairs. I rush out the front door off my building. The hot, humid air hits me as if I was walking into a steam room. The air felt so heavy. Instead of letting me breathe easier, it feels as if I’m not getting any air at all. I slump down on a street bench, put my elbows on my knees and rest my head in my hands. I close my eyes but quickly open them again. Every time my eyes are closed, all I can see is Roxie petrified and hurt. From the information, Jake has gathered on the people who are after her, and now more than likely have her, we know that anything is possible. We know they are involved in drug trafficking, prostitution, gun running and human trafficking. They are ruthless, they don’t care the age or the sex of the people they hurt, sell and ship off and they certainly don’t care who they sell these young girls and women to. I am starting to wonder that even if Roxie found the file and gave it to them they would let her go. With their resources all over the world, it would not be hard for them to make Roxie disappear and make a profit by doing so. They may even just kill her.
I jump when a hand is placed on my shoulder. I’m about to punch the face of whoever the hand belongs to when Jake grabs my fist before it even makes it half way. “It’s only me. We have some more information. I think you should come back up so we can go over it all. It might also be time to get Carly over here so we can get some answers from her as well.” Jake said as we walk in the front door towards the lift. “You don’t think Carly has anything to do with this do you?” I ask in a drained voice. At this point, I am too exhausted to even get aggravated that Carly could be involved. All I want right now is some answers, a strong cup of coffee, a long hot shower and the one thing that is so out of reach right now, Roxie in my arms in a nice warm bed. “There is a very slim chance she could be. However, my gut is telling me she isn’t.” Jake’s exhaustion is starting to show in his voice. We all need to get some rest or none of us are going to be any good when we finally track down where Roxie is. I text Carly to come over as soon as she can. It’s not long before she replies that she is on her way.
Once we are back in my apartment, Jake starts to go over what they have found out. A young male lead Roxie out to a private plane, as soon as she was on board he shut the door and went back the way he came. Jakes team are trying to find an ID on the guy because they know he is not employed by the airport. They are also trying to get the flight plan to work out where the plane was headed. As soon as that information comes in Jake has organised for the team to be flown to where the plane landed. There is a plane on standby at the airport and cars on their way to wait for us downstairs. Jakes team start to pack up some of the equipment so they can grab and run as soon as the time comes.
A short time later Carly arrives with Matt hot on her heels. I get the feeling something is going on with them, but right now I don’t care who she is with just as long as she gives us any information we need. We don’t have time to even start asking her questions. Jake gets the call we have all been waiting for. The plane landed in Rockhampton. There is utter chaos. People are packing up equipment, others gathering any papers that are lying around. Jake is yelling orders again. “My team, Martin, Carly and Matt are leaving now. The rest of you I want you to stay on whatever you have been doing until told otherwise. If you find any helpful information, ring air traffic control and they will patch you through while we are flying. After we land, ring my phone. I don’t care how small you think the information is I. WANT. TO. KNOW.” Jake made the last 4 words very clear.
It does not take long for us to get to the airport and get everything loaded onto the plane. The flight gives Jake some time to talk to Carly about her and Roxie’s childhood. The only thing that adds to the puzzle is the summer Carly went away with her family and Roxie stayed home. She said it was because she did not want to leave her father alone. When Carly got back, Roxie seemed more withdrawn than before she left. She told Carly that it was just because she was missing her Mum, but Carly got the feeling there was more to it than that but never found out what had happened. Jake and I had a chance to catch a little bit of sleep before the plane landed. It was nowhere near enough. However as soon as the plane landed it was as if I had slept all night. The adrenaline kicked back in and I was wide-awake. I think the whole team was the same.
ELEVEN
Roxie
Andrew’s phone rang and my heart sank. It could only be one person. “Yeah, Boss, she is here and awake.” He looked at me and grinned. “Ok see you in a few.” He slid the phone back into his pocket. “If you were listening, you would know that was The Boss. They are just down the street so I hope you’re ready to cooperate. But then I hope you don’t because I enjoyed whipping you and would enjoy it even more a second time.” He has a smirk on his face and rubs his hands together. I can now see some resemblance to Dad in some of his facial features, which make me hate him even more. I loved Dad but now all I can see is Dad in Andrew and it rips at my heart. I am so aggravated at Dad for the way he dealt with Andrew and treated him. In some ways, I do feel bad that Andrew had the life he did, but it had nothing to do with me and even if I wanted, too I wouldn’t be able to change anything. When he came to the door all those years ago, I was still a kid myself. I had no say in anything. I would have loved to of had an older brother to look up to and for him to look out for me. I would have had someone to of helped me look after Dad. Nevertheless, there is no point in what ifs. I need to keep my mind one what is happening now.