“How dare you! How dare you!” responded Nadine, her rising anger aiding the recovery of her voice. “I’ll go to the police with you, now! I’ve got nothing to hide. And why wouldn’t I lie to you about Mark? Would you have hired me otherwise? And who would have looked after Samantha then?”
Without waiting for him to answer these questions, she continued.
“As for my connection with these two – all my life I’ve struggled for acceptance by your upper-crust lot, but as hard as I tried, my credentials were never good enough. Even your snobby daughters never really wanted to talk to me. At least these two, and their friend Pat (to whom I gave that bloody denim outfit) accepted me, or so I thought, and I didn’t have to lie to them about Mark. Now I find that they used me too, just like you did. And you should talk about lying?! You’ve been lying to your wife, and everybody else, by fucking my brains out behind all their backs.”
“Come off it, Nadine,” interjected Lee. “You threw yourself at me.”
“Bullshit!” she responded. “You perved on my tits from day one, and started complaining about your wife and your sexless marriage to get my sympathy, knowing I was vulnerable, as a single mother. You couldn’t wait to fuck me. You used me! You know you did. You wanted your fun, but also wanted to keep your precious bloody reputation intact. You’re a low-life, too. The only difference between you and those two is that you’ve got a façade of sophistication, and they haven’t.”
Although he was gob-smacked by the vehemence of Nadine’s attack, Lee managed to get in another shot of retaliation when she paused for breath.
“Don’t play the wounded fucking innocent with me, Nadine. You know as well as I do that you set yourself to entice me away from my family for your own financial gain.”
“Well, even if I did, eventually, it was only so my daughter would have all the benefits, and acceptance, in her life that I never had.”
They both paused for breath, at that stage, and just stood glaring at each other for a few moments. Then Nadine spoke again.
“Come on, then. I said I’m willing to go to the police with you. I’ll tell them who those two are, and Pat as well. I’ll even tell them where they live. I want to be cleared of all suspicion, and I don’t want anything to affect Mark’s parole application, which is coming up soon. I just need to get dressed and leave a note for Mum. She’s taken Sam to her play group.”
“Will you tell them about us?” asked Lee, anxiety moderating his tone.
“Of course not!” she spat back at him. “That’s just so typical of you. You can keep your precious fucking reputation. Don’t you think I’ve got a reputation to protect too, you arrogant prick.”
As she turned towards her bedroom to dress, he called after her, “I’ll wait for you in the car,” before leaving the house and shutting the door behind him.
While sitting in his car waiting for Nadine, he idly scrolled through the remaining photographs in the photo-gallery of the burglar’s mobile phone. He sat stark still with shock, and stared open-mouthed, when he came upon the incriminating photograph of Simone, engaged in a sexual act with another man. The identity of the other man was not discernable, as he had his back to the camera, but Simone’s obviously ecstatic features were in plain view, over that man’s shoulder, and her legs were locked around his waist. His trousers and underpants were on the floor, around his ankles, and her silk panties could be seen dangling from one of her ankles behind his back.
After staring in shock at this photograph for several seconds, and absorbing every painful detail of it, he instinctively deleted it from the camera’s memory, as if to delete it from his own mind. Then, he quickly surfed through the remaining pictures to satisfy himself that there were no further compromising photos of his wife, a fact the confirmation of which did little to alleviate the stunned feeling that had settled upon him.
When, at last, Nadine joined him in his car, she found him staring ahead, unseeing, as in a trance. She had to rouse him from his stupor to urge him to start the car and head towards the police station. It was a journey they completed in absolute silence.
At the police station, after Lee produced the mobile phone, and explained how he had found it, Nadine gave a full and frank account of her knowledge of, and contact with Pat, Steve and Mort. She was even able to give them Pat’s home address, and the name of the street where Steve and Mort lived, although not the exact number of their house. She had driven past it once, with Pat, who had pointed it out, and they had both laughed at the collection of broken-down vehicles in the yard. She also positively identified the photographs of all three in the photo-gallery of Steve’s mobile phone, and confirmed Steve as the person represented in the police identikit picture of Sasha’s and Gai’s attacker.
At the conclusion of the interview, after Nadine had signed her formal statement, the police sergeant in charge of the investigation told her that her evidence was most helpful, and, along with the mobile phone, would probably be instrumental in the cracking of a large ring of professional thieves and fences. He described the mobile phone as “a treasure trove of information”, which police experts were already analyzing. Then, as Lee and Nadine were about to leave, he spoke again briefly to Lee.
“I doubt very much that these crims would be so stupid as to return to the scene of their crime to recover their mobile phone, even assuming they know where they lost it,” he said. “I’m pretty sure they’ll be well and truly on the run by now. We’ve already put out a general alert to all police to be on the lookout for any of them, and I’ve dispatched a squad to each of the residences Nadine has identified for us. Nevertheless, it’s probably wise for you to be on the alert to the possibility of them coming back, and for you to give me an immediate call if any suspicious activity occurs around your place. Here’s my card, with my mobile phone number, so you can have direct access to me at any time.”
“Thanks,” replied Lee. “Now that you mention it, I wonder why it never occurred to me that they might come back to try to retrieve the phone. I should get home as soon as I can. My wife’s there alone. Would it be possible for you to arrange a lift home for Nadine, here?”
“Certainly,” replied the sergeant. “It may take a few minutes to arrange. Nadine can wait in my outer office until a driver becomes available – and you too, if you’d like to wait with her.”
As soon as they entered the outer office, Lee spoke quietly to Nadine.
“I’m very proud of you, Nadine. You handled all that really well. You know you’re welcome to come back to work for me.”
“You patronizing bastard!” she hissed at him. “Who are you to be ‘proud’ of me? And, why would I want to work with an arsehole like you again? What I want is a glowing reference, and your influence to get me a job with one of your better colleagues.”
Although taken aback by the vehemence of her response, Lee responded, warmly enough, “You’re a very good dental assistant, and some of the patients have already said they miss you. Of course I’ll give you a good reference, as well as a generous bonus to tide you over until we can find you another position.”
“Good! I’ll gladly take my prostitution money and run.”
“Contact me next week,” he replied, “and we’ll sort out the details. And thanks, again, for not dobbing me in.”
“Aw – piss off, Lee, and run home to your darling wife,” she concluded, dismissively.
Lee quickly departed then, too pre-occupied with the picture of Simone that was indelibly etched in his brain to be too concerned about Nadine’s outburst. However, he did feel some grudging admiration for the way she had behaved, not only with the police, but also with him. She had displayed more backbone and a greater depth of character than he had thought her capable of.
As he left the police station, it did occur to him that he ought to phone Simone to bring her up to date with developments, and to warn her to be on her guard for a return of the burglars. However, he did not know how to tell her about his finding the phone, an
d why he did not tell her about it immediately. In addition, he was still smarting from the shock of seeing the photo of her illicitly fornicating with another man, and was unsure how he could talk to her without blurting out that he knew about that, and berating her for her infidelity. The incongruity of his being jealous, despite his own philanderings, did not entirely escape him, but it did not prevent his feeling angry and hurt by hers.
CHAPTER 20
Steve was silently fretting over the loss of his mobile phone. He did not dare tell Mort, for fear of the tongue lashing and ridicule, if not worse, he would receive for his carelessness. He had no idea how or when he had lost it, but, since he had it immediately before their burglary of the Boothby place yesterday, and discovered it missing soon after, he assumed he must have dropped it somewhere, either in the house, or just outside it while they were making their hasty getaway. All night he had lain awake waiting for the sound of police sirens, signaling their descent upon him and Mort. The fact that the night had passed without that occurrence gave him some confidence that his phone had not yet been discovered, and each passing hour increased the level of that confidence.
So, by mid-morning Steve had determined to return to the scene of their bungled burglary to try to recover this most incriminating piece of evidence, which also included, in the shape of the tell-tale photograph of Simone Boothby and her lover, the means for him and Mort to recover some of their loss from the previous day’s debacle. Again, he did not tell Mort of his plan, or the reason for it. From the moment they escaped the scene of their failure, Mort had descended into one of his very black moods, and showed no sign of emerging from it this morning. Steve knew that when in such a mood, Mort was capable of almost anything.
To minimize the chances of his being recognized near the scene, he took a different vehicle, a non-descript Toyota van. He planned to try to do a quick search of the area between the front door of the house and the spot where Mort had parked their Monaro, in the hope that his phone was lying somewhere there, unnoticed. If that proved fruitless, he would try to gain entry to the house by masquerading as a workman from the security company, come to check the cause of a faulty signal that was being transmitted since the triggering of the alarm the previous day. He tried to dress for the part by wearing a red baseball cap and a dark zip-up bomber jacket, with long dark trousers. He also donned sunglasses to make his face less recognizable. He had a small portable toolbox, and a clip-board to complete his disguise. So outfitted, he set off on his ill-conceived mission.
Teale was sitting on the front verandah of the Braithwaite residence, drinking a mid-morning cup of coffee. From time to time he looked over towards Simone’s residence, hopeful of catching a glimpse of her, and even more hopeful that she might pay him a visit. He realized that the latter was unlikely, being aware of the drama that had unfolded there the previous day. He had been out at the time of the attempted burglary, having gone for a drive to try to clear his head and do some rational thinking about his future. On his return he had seen the police activity around the house, and his concern for Simone was quickly alleviated by his bumping into George, who told him the whole story, with emphasis on his own important role in foiling the would-be burglars.
Teale acknowledged, only to himself, that he had felt a sharp pang of jealousy when he heard that Lee and Simone had been out boating together before the robbery. That was the sort of activity that he would dearly like to have had the opportunity to share with Simone.
As he found himself, now, looking long and often towards her residence, he realized that he was being obsessive about her, and that some others might even view him as a stalker. He wished he could shake off those obsessive feelings, and go back to his normal life, including his relationship with Megan, who had called him several times to check on his wellbeing. But, he knew he was powerless to do that while he felt as strongly about Simone as he presently did.
After he had been conducting his vigil for some time, it suddenly dawned upon him that he had seen the same vehicle (an inconspicuous van) drive slowly along the street several times, before stopping outside Simone’s residence. When it eventually stopped, the driver did not immediately disembark from his vehicle, but spent what seemed to Teale to be an unusual length of time just sitting in it, apparently watching the house.
After parking his vehicle opposite the Boothby house, Steve looked carefully up and down the street several times to check for any potential witnesses. He particularly scrutinized the house next door, to make sure that the neighbour whose nosiness had thwarted their plans yesterday was not on guard duty. Seeing no-one, he summoned up his courage to undertake the task he had set himself. Before getting out of the car, he checked his appearance in the rear-view mirror, and pulled down the peak of his cap a little to better conceal his face, which was further hidden by his sunglasses. He then took a short, sharp knife from his toolbox on the seat beside him, held it in one hand, and took his clip-board in the same hand so as to hide the knife behind it. Then, taking his toolbox in the other hand, he exited the van and, with one final look up and down the street, crossed to the driveway of the house he had been watching.
As he walked slowly down the driveway, his eyes were anxiously scanning the ground for any sign of his missing mobile phone. He paid particularly close attention to the area just in front of the main door, where Mort had parked their Monaro the previous day. To his disappointment, there was no sign of his phone. Accordingly, he steeled himself to follow through with the more difficult, and dangerous part of his plan.
Approaching the front door, he put his toolbox down beside him, took a deep breath, and flexed his muscles, before ringing the doorbell. After only a few seconds, the door was opened by an attractive, mature woman, whom he recognized as ‘the snobby bitch’ in his compromising photograph.
“Yes?” she said.
“G’day, Missus,” he responded. “I’m from Home & Business Security. We’re receivin’ a faulty signal from this property since your alarm went off yesterdee. I’ve been sent out to fix it. I’ll ‘ave to check the system in the house.”
After bending to pick up his toolbox again, he made a move to enter the house, but Simone blocked his path.
“Hang on!” she commanded, “Show me your credentials first.”
He immediately dropped his toolbox and his clip-board, then, to reveal the knife. Pushing Simone back into the house, he snarled, “Get out of the way, bitch! And don’t make a sound, or I’ll slit y’r fuckin’ throat!”
Before he could advance further into the house, however, he heard a noise behind him, and saw the woman look, wide-eyed, at something over his shoulder. He turned quickly, to be confronted by a young man hurling himself at him.
“Look out, Teale. He’s got a knife!” shouted Simone.
Her shouted warning came too late to divert Teale from his intended path, and the two men collided violently, falling to the floor beside the door, where they wrestled frantically for a few seconds. Simone attempted to assist Teale by attacking the knife-wielding Steve from behind, but he managed to extricate himself from them both, by first plunging his knife into Teale’s abdomen, and then slashing Simone across her left forearm. He then scrambled to his feet, and bolted back to his van, which he entered and accelerated away from the scene as quickly as it would respond.
“Teale! Teale!” cried Simone, fighting to ward off the blackness that enticingly beckoned her. Unaware, for the moment, of her own wound, the sight of Teale, writhing in agony on the floor, clutching his abdomen, with blood oozing between his fingers, drove all concern for her own wellbeing from her mind. She knelt over him, and desperately tried to stem the flow of blood from his wound, her own blood mingling with his on the floor beneath him. With her other hand, she gently brushed his hair from his forehead, as she called to him, repeating his name over and over, and begging him to hold on. Then, as she became a little more rational, she grabbed his mobile phone from its pouch on his belt, and quickly dialled the emergency
number, 000, and pleaded with the operator to urgently dispatch an ambulance to her address.
“Someone has been stabbed, and is in a very bad way,” she sobbed.
Just then, as a paramedic was beginning to ask Simone some detailed questions about the extent of the injuries involved, Lee suddenly appeared and took the phone from her hand. He received the paramedic’s instructions, after relaying to her his own observations about the injuries he could see to Simone and Teale. That completed, he rushed into the house, to return quickly with some towels, which he used to try to stem the blood flow from both of the victims’ wounds. Although Teale was obviously the more seriously injured, and appeared to be lapsing in and out of consciousness, his main concern was for Simone, whose injury, although obviously less serious, was nevertheless very concerning, as it was bleeding profusely. He tried to comfort her, while she tried desperately to comfort Teale and encourage him to stay awake. Her affection for him was plain to Lee, and he was left with little doubt as to the identity of her lover in the photograph he had deleted from the burglar’s phone.
Although it seemed like an eternity to Lee and Simone, it was, in reality, only a short time before the ambulance arrived, with siren wailing, and pulled up in the driveway. Paramedics sprang into action to quickly render expert first aid to Teale and Simone, following which they were rushed into the ambulance which set off, siren again wailing, for the emergency unit of the nearest hospital. Lee made a quick phone call to the police sergeant in charge of the burglary investigation and informed him of the dramatic developments, before hurrying to follow the ambulance to the hospital.
When he arrived at the emergency unit of the hospital, he found a scene of organized chaos. Teale was surrounded by a large team of doctors and nurses who assessed and stabilized him before he was rushed to the operating theatre for emergency surgery.
Simone, after being assessed, was taken into a treatment room, where her wound was cleaned, sutured and dressed, and she was given an anti-tetanus booster. Fortunately, there was no major damage to muscles or tendons and, apart from scarring, there were expected to be no permanent consequences of her injury. Nevertheless, she was advised to remain in hospital overnight for sedation and observation, mainly in relation to a potential shock reaction to the trauma she had experienced.
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