“Should we drop by the pub?” Adam asked.
“Yeah, and we need to ask Shirley about her chickens.”
Adam grimaced and it made Ryan smile. “I’ll protect you.”
It was a short drive to Shirley’s place. She had a pretty good view of the park office from her porch.
“Ryan! Adam!” The yell came from over at the caravan park. Shirley was waving at them as she strode across the lawn.
They changed direction and walked over. There was none of the flirtatiousness about her today. “Are you here about my chickens?”
Ryan nodded.
“Were they the ones left for Hannah?” she asked, her expression concerned as she led them up to her house.
“Possibly. Can you describe them for me?” Ryan said as he got out his notebook.
“They were ISA Browns,” she said, as if that was all the information he needed.
Adam appeared as clueless at him. “So they were brown?”
Shirley sighed with exasperation. “Of course they were brown, with a red comb on top. Come in and I’ll show you the other girls and you can see where they were taken from.”
They followed her through the house full of knick-knacks, and out into the large backyard. Fairy Floss trotted up to greet them and Ryan patted her head. The chicken coop took up the back corner of the yard and there was the quiet cluck of chickens as he approached. “Was anything damaged?”
“No. I don’t lock the coop. Anyone could have waltzed in and taken them.”
“You didn’t hear anything last night?” Adam asked.
She shook her head. “I went to the pantomime. They must have been taken while I was out, otherwise I would have heard my girls making a fuss.”
“What time did you get back?” Ryan asked.
“About eleven.”
Ryan took notes and listened as Shirley talked about her chickens. It was obvious they were dear to her.
“Were they my girls?” Shirley finally asked.
“I’d suggest so,” Ryan said. “They fit the description.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “Why would anyone do such a thing?”
“We’re still figuring it out.” This was the part of the job he disliked. Not being able to assure people that they would catch the culprit.
“Well thank you, gentlemen. You can go now.” She walked briskly towards the house.
Ryan hurried after her. “We’d like to check for fingerprints.”
She stopped, tears glistening in her eyes. “All right. I’ll be over at the park office if you need me.”
Before she could leave, Ryan asked, “Did you see anything at the caravan park last night when you got home – any lights or noises?”
“No.” She frowned. “Do I need to be careful? Is someone likely to break in here?”
“We believe Hannah is the target, but you’d be wise to lock your doors until we catch the person,” Ryan told her.
“All right.” Shirley hesitated. “Can I have my girls back? I’d like to give them a proper burial.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Ryan promised.
After they’d dusted for prints and got nothing of note, they drove to the pub. “Do you think it was Justin?” Adam asked.
“He couldn’t have been the person who followed us last night,” Ryan said. “But the two events might be unrelated.”
“What about Smithy? Maybe he didn’t have gastro,” Adam said.
“Yeah.” It was possible. Perhaps he’d liked Hannah more than he made out. He definitely had the opportunity.
At the pub, Ryan showed the barman a photo of Justin. “Did you serve this guy last night?”
He squinted at the photo. “Yeah. Him and two other guys.”
“What time did they arrive?” Adam asked.
“About eight-thirty,” he said. “They had a couple of beers.”
“When did they leave?”
“Near closing time – about ten. They were my last customers to leave.”
“No one left during that time?” Ryan asked.
“Not that I noticed.”
Damn. “Thanks.” Ryan headed outside. Justin’s story checked out.
They drove back to the station and updated Lincoln and Sue.
“What do we do now?” Adam asked.
Ryan and Lincoln exchanged a look. “We wait for forensics,” Ryan said.
But he’d keep a close eye on Hannah.
Chapter 8
After leaving the police station, Hannah’s head was foggy and the last thing she felt like doing was going out to her retreat and working on the cabin. And that annoyed her. She loved working out there and now this admirer had taken it from her. Bastard.
Holding on to the glimmer of outrage, she drove to Mai’s place.
“Hannah, you look like crap,” Mai said as she opened the door to her apartment above the bakery.
Hannah chuckled. “That’s what I needed to hear.”
Mai tutted and led her into the kitchen. “Take a seat. I’ll make you a Vietnamese coffee and you can tell me what Lincoln said.” She put the kettle on and then placed a plate of dumplings on the table. “I whipped up these for you.” She gave Joe a homemade dog treat and he went into the small living room to eat it.
Hannah smiled and took one of the dumplings. They were her favourite, but Mai only cooked them on special occasions. “Thanks.”
“Tell me, what did Lincoln say?”
As she told Mai the details of her stalker, Mai’s ragdoll cat, Calypso, jumped onto her lap and demanded attention. Happy to oblige, she stroked his soft fur as he draped himself across her.
“So either Justin is your stalker, or there’s someone completely unrelated who is crushing on you?” Mai summarised.
Hannah nodded. “Pretty much.”
“I hope it’s Justin. I’m sure they could charge him with something.”
“I kind of hope so too.” The idea that there was someone else out there she needed to be scared of was even more frightening.
“We need to get your mind off this,” Mai said. “Do you want to go to the beach?”
Hannah hesitated. She’d love to go to the beach, but she didn’t want this guy interrupting her plans. “I wanted to get the first coat of paint on the new cabin.”
“I can help with that.”
Hannah bit back a laugh. “Really?” The first and last time she’d seen Mai with a paintbrush was when she’d repainted her bakery. It had not been pretty. In the end, she had been given the task of making refreshments and the rest of the musketeers had finished the job.
“I’m not that bad,” Mai protested, placing the coffee in front of Hannah.
“Yes you are.” Hannah stirred the condensed milk so it mixed with the strong black brew.
Mai laughed. “OK, you’re right. There must be something I can do to help.”
Hannah thought about it. “I need to create a website. You manage your own, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I can set you up something basic.”
They spent an hour discussing options before heading out to Hannah’s place. On the drive out, Hannah kept checking her rear-view mirror, but it was pointless. She wouldn’t be able to tell if anyone was following her. This was one of the main roads out of town – everyone used it.
When they arrived, Hannah set up her laptop on the card table she had in the cabin, and pulled over a deck chair. When Mai was settled, Hannah gazed around the cabin. It was well built and she was proud of her work. She’d designed the kitchen so she could use flatpack cupboards for it and had only got an electrician and plumber in for installation. She’d stuck with a crisp, clean white and accessorised with colour. The splashback was a soft green that picked up colours from the trees outside.
She’d start painting in here.
Normally she liked the task, enjoyed the mindless way she could paint and plan at the same time. But today, instead of planning the next steps in her project, her mind went back to the gifts. Why would some
one get so angry about her going on a date with Ryan? It made no sense. No one had asked her out in months, not since the motocross two-day event when an out-of-town visitor had taken a liking to her, and she’d knocked him back firmly. Surely, asking someone out was the first step of showing you were interested, not leaving anonymous gifts.
And the escalation was crazy – from pretty trinkets to dead birds overnight. She shuddered, pushing away the image. There were better, more useful things she should be thinking about, like what equipment she needed to hire to put in the paths, and what was the best way to fence off the lookout while still making it a nice place to hang out. She wanted multiple places around the property where guests could be alone, some garden benches where they could sit and enjoy the bush, or perhaps a gazebo with a picnic table where they could enjoy lunch.
Places where her stalker could leave nasty gifts without anyone seeing.
Hannah scowled. She wasn’t going to think about him, wasn’t going to let him ruin this for her. She loved her retreat, loved that she was finally working on it after years of planning. Turning to Mai, she asked, “Anything new in your world?”
Mai glanced up from the laptop. “Not really.” She pursed her lips. “Well sort of.”
“What’s happening?”
Mai squeezed her eyes closed and then opened them again. “You know how I was considering buying the bakery building?”
Hannah nodded. The owner had died and the heirs wanted to sell it.
“Well, I got my loan pre-approval yesterday.” She laughed, her delight clear. “Now, I just need to wait until they finalise probate and put it on the market.”
“That’s incredible! Congratulations.” Hannah put down her paintbrush and threw her arms around her friend. Mai had worked damned hard over the last three years to make her bakery a success.
“Thanks. I’m terrified,” she confessed. “It’s a lot of money.”
“But you’re doing well, and the business is growing. You can expand and you won’t have to worry about your lease expiring.” Mai had inspired Hannah with her business savvy and her determination to make her business work.
Mai nodded. “I can’t wait. I’m going to call Aaron if I haven’t heard from him by Christmas. I thought probate would have gone through by now.”
“Those things always take time.”
“While we’re talking about nice things, tell me about your date with Ryan.”
“It wasn’t really a date.” She was like a broken record on repeat. Maybe if she said it enough times she’d convince herself and her friends.
“He kissed you, didn’t he?” Mai asked.
“You’ve been talking to Fleur.”
“Kit actually, but she heard it from Fleur.” Mai grinned.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “He didn’t mean it. It was an instinctual reaction from almost dying.”
Mai laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so. Was it a good kiss?”
She didn’t have a lot to compare it with. Perhaps it was her lack of experience that had made it so good.
“Hannah?”
She sighed. “Yes. It was a very good kiss.”
Mai clapped her hands together. “Tell me more.”
“No.” Hannah chuckled. It was kind of nice to finally be the one who had a story to tell, but she didn’t want to dwell on it. It wasn’t real. “It hardly matters because he’s not going to kiss me again.”
“Do you want him to?”
Yes. There was a part of her that definitely wanted to kiss him again, but she hesitated. “Maybe … I find it hard to be close to guys since Justin.”
Mai was immediately contrite. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t tease. I don’t know what it must be like for you.”
Hannah was quiet for a long moment, surprised by her desire to confide in Mai. She’d kept it a secret for so long, but there was a sense of relief from having people know what she’d been through.
“I hate being alone with men,” she admitted. “Anyone between eighteen and sixty-five freaks me out.” She took a deep breath. “Today I was in Lincoln’s office with him and Ryan. Joe was getting treats from Adam and they shut the door to give me privacy. I panicked.” She shook her head. “It was Lincoln for God’s sake. Rationally I know he would never hurt me, but there’s another part of my brain that refuses to listen.”
“Sweetie, it’s OK to be scared,” Mai reassured her. “Someone you trusted assaulted you. It’s normal that you would have issues trusting again.”
Hannah sighed. “What should I do?”
Mai pursed her lips. “Trust isn’t an issue when it comes to Lincoln, is it?”
Hannah shook her head. Logically, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
“So maybe you need to work on the instinctual part of your brain. Would you be less likely to panic if you knew how to defend yourself?”
She’d forgotten she’d agreed to ask Lincoln about lessons.
“I did some self-defence classes when I began my apprenticeship,” Mai said. “Starting work in the middle of the night was scary sometimes. I knew at my size, I’d never overpower anyone, but I wanted to learn some techniques to help me escape a hold so I could run.”
Hannah’s stomach clenched. “But I don’t fight and I don’t run, I freeze.”
“Maybe it’s because you haven’t had any practice,” Mai said. “Why don’t you ask Lincoln to teach you some moves, and when we’re finished here, you can come for a run with me and Fleur – get your body used to the activity?”
Hannah laughed. If only it was that simple. “All right.” Maybe it would help. She was determined to get her life back on track.
But right now, she needed to get back to the painting before her brush dried out.
When Hannah woke the next morning, every muscle in her body screamed at her. With a groan she got out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen, where Fleur was making breakfast, already dressed in her work scrubs.
“What’s wrong with you?” Fleur asked.
“You never mentioned jogging was a torture sport.” Hannah slowly stretched out her muscles.
“Bit stiff this morning, huh?” Fleur grinned.
“A lot stiff,” Hannah corrected.
“You did well. I’m surprised you kept up with us for as long as you did.”
“Stubborn.” Now she was cursing her stubbornness. It had seemed like a good idea to exercise, to get used to running, but perhaps a five-kilometre jog up the beach wasn’t the wisest move. Not that she’d done the full distance. She’d fallen behind and turned around when Mai and Fleur had reached the halfway mark and come back towards her – so maybe she’d done two.
“Have a hot shower and do some stretching. It’ll help.”
She’d give anything a shot. Hannah got Joe some breakfast before pouring herself a bowl of cereal and gingerly sitting down. She should have started off easy.
“You going to come with us again today?” Fleur asked.
“It depends on whether I can move,” Hannah said. The exercise had felt good for the first few minutes until her lungs had begun to burn and she’d had trouble focusing on anything other than putting one foot in front of the other. At least it had made her forget about Justin and her stalker for a while. As soon as she thought of him, dread filled her stomach. She pushed away her bowl.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m wondering what I’ll find on the office doorstep this morning.”
Fleur put her hand over Hannah’s. “Do you want me to come with you? We could go now.”
Was she being a complete wuss? There might not be anything at all. Whoever it was might have got his anger out and would leave her alone now.
But if he hadn’t …
“Yes, please.” She got to her feet. “Let me have a quick shower.”
It took her only a few minutes to get ready and the hot water did ease some of her aching muscles. As she came back into the living room and picked up her bag, Fleur opened the door.
&nb
sp; “What’s this?” Fleur asked.
There was a white envelope tied with the same red ribbon that had been around the chickens’ necks on the doorstep. It had Hannah’s name typed on it in big bold letters.
Fleur bent down to pick it up.
“Don’t touch it!” Hannah’s heart pounded as she stepped in front of Fleur. He’d been here, he’d been to her best friend’s place. He’d been watching them.
“Shit, sorry – reflex. I’ll call Lincoln.” Fleur pulled out her phone.
Hannah stared at the envelope. What was inside? Could it simply be a letter of apology – an I-won’t-bother-you-again?
She couldn’t get her hopes up. She scanned the street, but there was only Mr Corson walking his dog. She returned his greeting, trying to work past the tightness in her chest.
Lincoln arrived shortly after and documented the scene. Hannah checked the time. “You should go to work,” she said to Fleur. “You’re going to be late.”
“I’ll call them,” Fleur said. “I’m not leaving you here by yourself.”
Hannah frowned. “Lincoln’s here – and I should be getting to work anyway.”
Fleur ignored her. “Lincoln, should Hannah go to work alone?”
Hannah rolled her eyes at her friend as Lincoln looked up. “Will anyone else be there?”
“All of my guests,” Hannah said, trying to keep things light. She didn’t like the idea of being alone, but she wasn’t going to be a victim any longer. She wasn’t going to let this interrupt her life.
“When will Lynette arrive?” Lincoln asked.
“Nine.”
“Let me call Ryan.” He pulled out his phone. “He can drop by the caravan park on his way in.”
The thought of seeing Ryan again made her body warm, but her chest tightened at the thought of being alone with him. “Don’t be silly, Lincoln. He’s got Felix to take care of.”
“He’s the closest,” Lincoln said. “Adam lives in Albany, it’ll take him forty minutes to get here, and Sue isn’t rostered on until this afternoon.” He watched her for a moment, clearly reading her thoughts. “I’d trust him with my life.”
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