‘That colour looks good on you,’ Gertrude commented, and Darcy touched her hair instinctively. Gertrude had picked out a warm chestnut colour, and she was right – it suited her. ‘Did you manage to get Jonah into bed?’ Gertrude asked, concern etching her eyes.
Darcy nodded. ‘Yeah. I finally convinced him to come out of the safe room.’ She took up her customary position on the other side of the bench top. In the four days since Dominic’s departure, she and Gertrude had made it a habit to quietly chat in the kitchen at the end of the day before retiring.
‘Where’s Roland?’ If Gertrude was baking, Roland was usually in very close proximity, but the older man was nowhere to be seen.
‘He’s helping Patrick tonight. One of the mares is in foal.’
‘I’m worried about him, Gertrude,’ Darcy said quietly.
‘Roland? He’ll be fine, he does this often.’
‘No, I mean Jonah.’
Gertrude nodded as she set the bowl aside and reached for the greased muffin trays. ‘I know. He’s just processing a few things at the moment.’
Darcy reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a folded square of paper. ‘He drew this, today,’ she said quietly, and slid it across the cold marble counter top.
Gertrude paused in spooning the mixture into the pan and glanced up. She wiped her hands on her apron, then reached for the paper and gently unfolded it. Darcy watched as the older woman surveyed the drawing.
Gertrude blinked. She frowned. ‘Oh, dear.’
There were two little stick figures trapped in a box, surrounded by dark blue and black squiggles, and one larger stick figure, long blonde hair flowing, outside the box.
‘He won’t talk about her,’ Darcy said. She’d tried to initiate conversations with the boy. Julia was always asking where her mother was, and when she was coming back; Jonah, on the other hand, maintained a stony silence on the subject.
Gertrude sighed as she folded the paper and handed it back to her. ‘He’s a lot like his father, in that way. It took a long while for Dominic to talk about what happened, what he’d seen, and I still think he’s kept some of it bottled up.’
Darcy shoved the drawing back into her pocket. Jonah and Julia hadn’t seen their father for four days, apart from a daily Skype chat. Julia was constantly needing comforting, constantly wanting to hold hands or cuddle, seeking reassurance through physical contact. Each night she put Julia in the pink confectionary princess bed, and each morning so far, Darcy had woken to find Julia had crept into her bed during the night. Jonah, though, was building himself a nice fort in the safe room, stocking it with supplies. If he wasn’t packing and repacking tins and packets of food, he was out walking with Roland, carrying a big stick as though on patrol.
‘I just wish there was something more I could do for them,’ she said.
Gertrude placed the muffin trays in the oven and then took a seat next to her, a gentle smile softening her creased face. ‘You’re here. That counts. They’ll slowly adjust, but it’s just going to take some time. You’re doing everything you can for them. You love them.’
Darcy dropped her gaze, and traced a spidery finger of granite in the marble. She did love them. These two kids had squirmed and wriggled their way into her heart, and it scared her. She’d caused a great deal of pain in her own family’s life. She didn’t want to hurt these kids, they’d already suffered so much, lost so much.
‘They love you, too, you know,’ Gertrude said softly, and Darcy winced.
Damn. She would eventually leave – she had to. As soon as her arm healed. The clock was ticking. She had to be back in Sydney in three and a half weeks. Three short weeks. If she could get out without them finding out the truth, these people who had welcomed her and provided her with a place to mend, then that would be a small mercy, but her departure would also have an impact on the kids. The two souls she desperately wanted to keep safe and happy.
‘What’s wrong, Darcy? What’s troubling you?’ Gertrude asked softly, and Darcy looked at her. The older woman’s rheumy blue eyes were full of care and warmth.
‘I’m not going to be here forever,’ she whispered to the woman who had become like a mother to her over the last five weeks.
‘Has Dominic said something? You need to stay until you’re all better. There’s no hurry.’ Gertrude wagged a finger. ‘You stay put. I don’t care what the lad has said to you—’
‘No, no, he hasn’t said anything, Gertrude,’ Darcy interrupted hastily, almost laughing. ‘But the fact is, I’m here to heal. Soon, my arm will be fine. There will be no reason to stay.’
‘There won’t be any reason to leave, either,’ Gertrude stated abruptly. ‘No, you stay on for as long as you need, Darcy.’ She gave Darcy a quick smile. ‘I kind of like having someone else do bath duty with the kids. Besides, where would you go?’
Darcy averted her gaze. Gertrude had a beautiful spirit, and in a normal situation she’d make sure to visit frequently – but this wasn’t a normal situation. Neither Dominic nor Gertrude would welcome her once the truth came out.
‘I like being here, too,’ she said. ‘But I also like to travel. I like…new experiences.’ The line was a little harder to recite these days. Returning to the road, camping in parks or sleeping in vehicles, surviving on a pittance – or stealing – after spending time with these people, in this home? The prospect was enough to make her stomach knot. That kind of attitude might make her sound shallow, but living like she had made her appreciate security and comfort. But her exit from Jirralee would also mean leaving those two precious children behind. And Dominic. No more shared tea at sunrise, or quiet evenings together. No more quietly drooling over Mr Hot Property.
Gertrude snorted. ‘New experiences – you could have fooled me.’
Darcy smiled with a tinge of sadness as she bade the woman goodnight. That was the problem. She had fooled her.
Alex ducked the blow aimed at his head and followed with his right hook, smiling in satisfaction when his mitt sank into flesh. When the shin connected with his cheek, he stopped smiling.
‘Hey, since when do we use the legs?’ He spat the words out past his mouthguard.
‘Since always,’ Bern answered around his own mouthguard, and tried to punch him again, only this time in rhythm with the Pitbull song playing over the gym’s sound system. The gym manager, Simon, must have selected the playlist, as opposed to the owner’s preference for AC/DC and the Hoodoo Gurus.
‘Nuh uh.’ Alex blocked it easily and jabbed his brother again in the gut. ‘You must be confusing me with Eric.’
‘Oh, yes, he likes dirty fighting,’ Bern wheezed, backing up a little to jog from one foot to the other. ‘Keeps you on your toes, though. Or are you getting slow in your old age, bro?’
Alex dropped and slid his legs out, catching his brother behind the knees. Bern yelled as he fell, rolling instantly to pummel Alex with a flurry of fists and kicks.
‘Who’s calling who slow?’ Alex got to his feet, sweat dripping from his brow.
‘Yep. You’re getting soft,’ Bern said, laughing. His laugh was cut off when Alex’s mitt caught him in the jaw, then there was another tackle, more punches, more laughs, more groans, before the younger man finally pulled back.
‘Okay, okay, so you’re not quite all pudding.’
Alex sat up on the mat, ignoring the aches as he eyed his brother. Bern’s blond hair was sticking up in tufts through the gap of his protective helmet, his blue eyes crinkled with laughter. ‘Respect your elders, boy.’
Bern nodded. ‘Sure. It’s probably the only thing you can handle right now, anyway,’ and easily avoided the mock-punch Alex aimed at his shoulder.
‘Thanks, Bern. I needed to blow off some steam.’ The faint draught of the struggling air-conditioning wafted across his shoulders, bringing with it the stench of sweat that seemed to embed itself in every component of the gym, and couldn’t be gotten rid of, no matter how often the gym was cleaned. He remembered menti
oning it when he and his brothers first started to use the gym, eons ago. Old Marty Neene, the owner, had promptly barked that if the scent of hard work was so off-putting, they could always take their business to the women-only gym down the road and join those princesses. He and his brothers had been coming to Neene’s Gym at every opportunity ever since.
Bern shrugged. ‘That’s what I’m here for. How’s Dom doing? Does he need a workout, too?’
Alex grimaced. ‘I’m sure he does, he just doesn’t have the free time at the moment. He’s had to listen to the report at the coroner’s, and afterwards he plans to return to Bowral.’
‘There’s no body, so it won’t take long to hear that report.’
‘Yeah, they’ll have to call for an inquest, but this is just one step towards that. We’re just waiting for the Gosford detectives to contact him for questioning. Should be any day, now. So, not much free time at all.’
Bern unclipped his helmet and drew it off, grinning. ‘Nah, he just can’t face my fists of fury.’
‘Please. Fists of fluffy, more like.’
‘Anytime you want to go another round, just let me know. Seriously, though, how is he coping with all this? And the kids? My sarge knows I know Dom, so obviously I’m out of the loop on this investigation.’
‘Dom is – pissed. Someone went after his family. His kids nearly died. Someone is trying to sabotage his company. Now the cops are looking at him, and he knows that while they do that, the real perpetrator is getting away, or plotting some more carnage.’ Alex nodded. ‘The kids are trying to cope, but it’s early days. It’s rough, though, when they can’t get closure on their mother’s death.’
Bern nodded. ‘I can imagine. I thought she was a bit of a psycho, but I wouldn’t want her dead.’
‘You think everyone is a psycho.’
Bern unstrapped his other mitt. ‘You see a lot of them in my line of work.’ He wore a smile, but it wasn’t quite as relaxed as before. He was a homicide detective for the New South Wales Police Force; Alex knew Bern had seen more than his fair share of the darker side of humanity.
‘If you girls have finished dancing to this rubbish for the day, why don’t you go hit the showers? Free up my mat,’ Marty Neene barked as he crossed the floor to his office.
‘Who you calling a girl?’ Bern yelled back.
‘Oh, is that you, young Bernard? I couldn’t tell, before. You hit like a girl.’
Alex started to laugh.
‘And you’re getting slow, Alexander. Probably because of that extra weight you’re carrying. Maybe you should try some cardio next time, fat boy.’
‘Anytime you want to step into the ring with me, old man, just say the word,’ Alex yelled over Bern’s laugh.
Marty nodded. ‘Yeah, I guess a sixty-four-year-old man is about your speed now.’ The proprietor slammed his office door behind him, ending the conversation. There was muffled swearing in the office, and the music changed to the rhythmic beat and chant intro of an AC/DC song.
Alex shook his head. ‘Why do we come here again?’
‘He’s cheap and can knock us both on our arse with one hand tied behind his back. And the music is good, whoever is in charge of the stereo. And he’s Mum’s second cousin. Can you imagine the walloping we’d get if we went somewhere else?’
‘Marty wouldn’t care.’
‘I was talking about Mum.’
Alex nodded. ‘True.’ He rose, trying not to rub the arm he knew was already coming up in a bruise. There was nobody else in the gym at this late hour of the morning. Nearly lunchtime, most patrons had left for the work day, and it was still too early for the trade workers to have finished their shifts. The lunchtime crowd would come in for a quick workout, but he and Bern had managed to catch the gym at a quiet time, and although there was nobody around waiting to use the ring, he wasn’t going to give Marty a second chance for a telling-off. He climbed through the ropes. ‘Did you get that information I asked for?’
Bern bit at the Velcro strap on his mitt, unstrapping it with his teeth. He put the mitt under his arm and pulled his hand free. ‘Nope. I’ve got nothing.’
‘Nothing?’
‘Nothing.’
‘What do you mean, nothing?’
‘Nothing. You know, it’s like something, but…not. Nothing.’
‘Smart-arse.’
‘You asked. Seriously, though? This woman is like a ghost.’
‘I sent you her address, her van registration, her licence…’
‘And I found nothing. No tax file number, no employment record, some bank account that has jack-all in it and next to no activity. The address she gave you doesn’t exist. Like, no such number, no such street, no such suburb. Her van was still registered under the previous owner. Her licence – well, her licence gives good information, but I can’t find anything on her beyond that. I can find a birth certificate, but that’s pretty much it.’
Alex frowned. ‘She does live off the grid, I noticed. No permanent job, just drifting from one role to the next. I think Dom called her a gypsy.’
Bern shrugged. ‘She might be earning cash in hand. She hasn’t filed a tax return, I can tell you that.’
‘What about schools? Education? Training?’
‘Nothing.’
‘What do you mean nothing?’
‘Seriously? Get a dictionary.’
‘Are you really looking?’
‘No, bro. I’m just pretending to do all these unofficial background checks my siblings ask me to do, when I’m really checking my online dating account.’ Bern shook his head. ‘I’ve just spent a large part of my spare time tracking down a woman who doesn’t exist. Unless I get more information – like maybe where she grew up, I can’t track her – but I can tell you Darcy McKenzie doesn’t have a record, which is a good thing, right? She’s done nothing illegal that I can see. She’s protecting her privacy.’
‘How can she not exist?’ Alex ignored his brother’s last words as he walked across the gym floor, manoeuvring his way between weight machines and punching bags. ‘You know, she acted all funny when Dom offered her a reward. Didn’t want anything.’
‘Sounds commendable.’
‘And now we know the address she gave me was false. Why would she do that? What is she trying to hide?’
Bern followed him and they walked to the locker room and showers. ‘Maybe she’s hiding from an ex? Maybe she’s earning enough black money under the table that she doesn’t want to ruin it by having to declare it? Maybe she’s a drug dealer? Maybe she grew up in a hippy commune? Maybe it’s against her religion? There could be any number of reasons why she’s given you rubbish info.’
They entered the locker room. Bern shook his tousled hair out of his eyes. ‘Are you going to tell Dom?’
‘Tell him what? The woman saved his kids, and got her van blown up because of it. She lost everything – and now doesn’t want to give us any concrete, identifiable information on herself.’ He opened his locker with more force than necessary.
Bern smirked as he opened his own locker and drew out his towel. ‘That does sound sane and cautious on her part, doesn’t it?’
‘So we don’t know much about her… Dom thinks he knows enough about her. She risked her life to save his kids.’
‘What do you think?’
Alex slung his towel over his shoulder and closed the door to face his brother. ‘He’s right. She dived in and pulled those kids out of a sinking car. She hurt herself, and then she just wanted to disappear. She’s not out to hurt him, or the kids.’ He gazed at the vent on the door of the locker as he realised what he was saying. He might not know all there was about her, but he didn’t see her as a direct threat against Dom or the kids.
‘So, basically, you’re just being a nosy parker.’
‘Basically.’
‘So let it go.’
Alex sighed. He couldn’t. ‘She’s living with Dom and the kids.’ That was the only issue. So she didn’t want everyone knowing h
er business – he could respect that, but she was living with his friend, a friend who trusted him – and paid him – to look out for him.
Bern’s smile dropped. ‘Get me her fingerprints.’
Alex nodded. ‘Thanks.’
Bern shook his head. ‘Don’t thank me, bud. You might not like what I find.’
‘I’ll deal with it.’ He started walking to the showers, then turned back to his brother. ‘Your online dating account? You got tired of being rejected in person, so you want chicks to make it official and put it in writing?’
He dodged the first towel flick. Wasn’t so lucky with the second one.
CHAPTER
13
Darcy strode along the gravel drive, waving with her good arm as Alannah approached the property gates. She smiled when the physiotherapist tooted the horn. Apparently her business partner had finally taken the hint and the two were going on a date.
She sighed, a sweet, insidious envy unfurling inside her. Just the idea of dining out in a restaurant, or walking down the street hand in hand with a guy seemed so far out of her realm of current possibilities, it was depressing. What she wouldn’t give to have the attention of a handsome man who made her heart trip with excitement and anticipation, her senses tingle with awareness, and her inner dreamer ponder the future. She couldn’t help but think of her absent host. Even if he was here, he’d be the last person she’d go on a date with. Not only because she was trying to hide, but he was… Well, he moved in a world she’d only caught glimpses of up until now, and from what she’d seen, she knew it wasn’t a place she would be comfortable in. Still, the man was definite daydream material.
But she couldn’t think about the future, no matter how fantastical and unrealistic – not yet. She just had to get through the next few weeks; that was about as far ahead as she could plan. After that – well, there would be other forces in control, then. For now, she’d decided to enjoy the time she had.
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