Nothing to Fear

by Claire Boston

  “You don’t know much, do you?” her granddad snarled.

  “Granddad!” Hannah said. “They’re doing everything they can.”

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’ve already lost one daughter.”

  Hannah willed Ryan not to say anything about Ivan. The back door rattled open and Hannah looked up. It was too early for Lynette, but maybe it was Lincoln.

  She wasn’t that lucky.

  Nausea stormed into her stomach as she saw her father. “Hannah, I need to talk to you.” Ivan didn’t glance at the others in the room, he had his eyes on Hannah.

  “You!” The shout from her granddad made Hannah jump and she stepped back to put a hand on his arm, her stomach clenching. He shrugged her off as he lunged for the cricket bat.

  Ryan placed himself between the two men.

  Ivan paled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you were back.”

  “What the hell are you doing out of prison?” her granddad said. He turned to Ryan. “Arrest that man. He’s a murderer, he’s escaped from jail!”

  “Ivan got early parole,” Ryan said calmly. “We’ve already interviewed him in regards to this case. Why don’t you put the bat down, Mr Walter?”

  Hannah’s throat tightened at the fury on her grandfather’s face as he held the cricket bat like a baseball bat. He didn’t lower it. “Granddad, put it down.” She stepped over and tugged it away from him. Her nanna was pale, standing there, staring at Ivan, and there were tears in her eyes. She looked older than she had in years. “Sit down, Nan.” She pulled a chair over and her grandmother sat, her eyes never leaving Ivan.

  “I’ll come back later,” Ivan said to her.

  “No you bloody well won’t!” her granddad yelled. “You’re not welcome here. You step one foot on my property again and I’ll call the police for trespass!”

  “I have a right to see my daughter.” Anger tinged Ivan’s tone.

  “No, you don’t. You gave up that right when you murdered her mother.”

  Hannah put her hand on her granddad’s arm. “Granddad, calm down.”

  “Calm down?” He turned to her. “You can’t mean to tell me you want him here? He killed your mother.” The grief of almost twenty years was still there on his face, in his voice.

  Nausea swelled in her stomach. The look of betrayal on her granddad’s face stung. What was she supposed to say? They had taken her in and raised her when she’d had no one left. She loved them, but Ivan was her father. She had loved him once too.

  “It might be best if you left,” Ryan said quietly to Ivan.

  He hesitated a moment and Hannah gave him a small nod. “I’ll call you.” He walked out.

  “You’re not going to speak to him, are you?” her granddad demanded.

  Hannah did not need this confrontation right now. Not when she was so exhausted. She longed to curl herself into a ball and pretend this hadn’t happened, but that was the old Hannah. The new Hannah was stronger.

  Still, that didn’t mean she wanted Ryan to see her family fall apart. He had enough dysfunction in his life. He didn’t need hers as well. “Why don’t you take a look around the park?” she said, the plea clear in her tone.

  There was compassion in Ryan’s eyes and she wanted him to hold her, wanted to go with him so she didn’t have to deal with this. Finally he nodded. “I’ll drop back in when I’m done.”

  When the door shut behind Ryan, her nanna asked, “How long has he been out?”

  “A couple of weeks.” Hannah would stick to the facts. “I didn’t know until he dropped by on Monday. It was a shock.”

  “Did he threaten you?” her granddad asked.

  “No. He wants to get to know me.”

  “Like that’s ever going to happen.”

  Hannah couldn’t meet his gaze, couldn’t see the pain on his face.

  “Do you want to see him?” her nanna asked, her voice quiet.

  “Of course she doesn’t want to see him,” her granddad said. “He killed her mother.”

  “He’s also her father,” her nanna said. She was waiting for Hannah’s response.

  Hannah shrugged, miserable. Her grandparents had been the one constant support for her whole life. She hated to upset them. “I loved him once,” she said. “I remember what it was like when he and Mum were happy.”

  Her granddad snorted. “How can there be happiness in an abusive relationship?”

  “It wasn’t abusive,” Hannah argued. “Sure they used to fight, but they loved each other.”

  “He stabbed her.”

  She couldn’t deny it. She’d seen him with the knife. Not that she’d ever told anyone that. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t come here anymore.”

  “You’ll make sure you never go near him again,” her granddad growled.

  Guilt stabbed her at the pain in her granddad’s eyes. “He’s my father.”

  “And we raised you,” he argued. “If you continue to see him, you’re not welcome here.”

  Hannah gasped. “Granddad!”

  He stared at her. “He murdered your mother.”

  She glanced at her nanna, whose eyes were wide in surprise.

  Nothing she could say would make this right. She couldn’t decide anything while there was so much anger in the room, and while she was so tired. She needed time to think.

  Her grandmother nodded towards the door and mouthed, I’ll talk to him.

  Hannah took a step back. She wasn’t going to make any promises she couldn’t keep. “We can discuss this later. I’m going to get some sleep. Lynette will be in at nine.” Not waiting for a response, she walked out.

  What the hell was she going to do now?

  Chapter 18

  Ryan made a quick, thorough tour of the holiday park, but couldn’t see anything out of place. He was more concerned about the threat that had been made against Hannah’s life. They had to find this guy now. As he walked back towards the office Hannah came out of the door, pressing her fingers to her eyes. He hurt for her. First Joe had been poisoned and now this confrontation. He’d wanted to drag her away and tell her everything was going to be all right, but he couldn’t lie to her. He jogged over, intercepting her on the way to her car.

  “How are you holding up?” he called.

  She stopped, waited for him, tears glistening in her eyes. “It’s been a hellish week.” She hugged herself in a protective gesture.

  “It sure has.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. She stiffened only for a second before relaxing and clinging to him, sobs racking her body. He rubbed her back, wishing he could take away all of her pain.

  When she stepped back, he let go and asked, “How did your grandparents take Ivan?”

  Her laugh was harsh. “Granddad gave me an ultimatum – Dad or them.”

  He grimaced. She didn’t need this extra grief right now. “I’m sorry.”

  She sniffed. “Yeah, so am I.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m so damned tired, I can’t think straight at the moment.”

  “You need to get some sleep.” And she shouldn’t be alone. “Can you go to Fleur’s?”

  Hannah checked the time. “She’ll be asleep already. I don’t want to wake her. I’ll call Mai though. She’s at work.”

  “Why don’t you call her now?” He wasn’t going to let her leave until he knew where she was going to be.

  Hannah got out her phone and after a short conversation she hung up. “Yeah, Mai said I can crash at her place.”

  “Good. Do you want me to drive you over there?”

  She shook her head. “I’m OK to drive.”

  He wasn’t convinced, but he recognised the stubborn expression on her face. “Don’t go anywhere alone today, Hannah. Promise me.” Today’s threat had completely escalated matters. He wanted to keep her by his side, where she’d be safe, but it wasn’t possible.

  Her eyes were tired. “I promise. I’ll spend the day with Mai and stay at her place tonight as well.”

  He hat
ed the defeated expression on her face. “Call me if you need anything.” He embraced her again, wanting to give her his support. “I’ll follow you to Mai’s.”

  She nodded.

  He drove the short distance to the bakery, keeping watch for anyone following them. His hands clenched the steering wheel as she trudged into the building. She was hurting so much and he couldn’t find the guy responsible for some of that pain. Frustration coursed through him as he watched the place for a few minutes, unable to summon the will to leave. Finally, when he was sure she wasn’t coming out again, he headed for the station.

  Lincoln was in his office, talking on the phone, when Ryan arrived. He indicated he would be out in a second so Ryan sat at his desk and put the latest evidence – the screwed-up note – in front of him, staring at it as if it could give him answers. This time it wasn’t typed, it was printed in capital letters, the letters sharp and the paper indented as if the person who’d written it had pressed down hard. If only they could find a suspect to match the writing to.

  He pulled Hannah’s file in front of him and flicked through it in frustration. They’d gone through everything last night and found nothing new. Smithy’s alibi had checked out, so their best lead was Hannah’s older brother, Marko, with whom they still hadn’t been able to make contact. The office he worked at had been at their end-of-year Christmas party yesterday. He’d try again today and find a photo of Marko to circulate as a person of interest. It might be a false alarm, but he wasn’t willing to bet Hannah’s life on it.

  Lincoln came out of his office. “Did someone break into the caravan park?”

  Ryan shook his head. “Hannah’s grandparents are back in town. They wanted to surprise her.”

  “Probably more of a surprise than she wants right now,” Lincoln said. “At least they can keep an eye on her.”

  “It gets worse,” Ryan said. “While I was there, Ivan arrived.”

  Lincoln swore. “That couldn’t have been pretty.”

  Ryan told him about the ultimatum.

  “Christ. She doesn’t need that shit right now.”

  Ryan nodded in agreement. “And then there’s this.” He pointed to the note. “It was stuck on the front door of the office this morning. Hannah’s grandmother had thought it was rubbish.

  Lincoln scowled. “Where’s Hannah now?”

  “She went to Mai’s,” Ryan said. He’d drop by when he finished work to check on her.

  “We’ve got next to nothing. How can we have next to nothing after a week?” Lincoln was disgusted.

  Ryan was trying to stay positive. “I want a photo of Marko Novak,” he said. “It’s the best lead we’ve got so far.”

  “Will Ivan or Phillip give us one?”

  Ryan shook his head. “We can ask.”

  “Sue, call Ivan Novak and ask if you can get a photo of his son Marko,” Lincoln said. “If that doesn’t work, check if he’s on social media.”

  “Will do.”

  Ryan flicked over the rest of the suspects. Justin and his friends were no longer under suspicion.

  Sue hung up the phone and let out a deep breath. “It’s a no on the photo from Ivan. He was pretty darn mad that I asked him.”

  So much for doing anything for Hannah.

  “Check the internet, then,” Lincoln ordered.

  Sue nodded.

  Before Ryan could get back to his file, a flood of calls came in, and he and Sue were directed to attend a domestic in town. He hated putting aside Hannah’s case, but he had other responsibilities as well. She should be safe as long as she stayed with Mai.

  As he left the station he couldn’t shake the sensation that they were rapidly running out of time.

  It was one o’clock before Hannah woke up. Her head pounded and her brain was still fuzzy. She stretched out the kinks in her back and groaned.

  “Are you finally awake?” Mai asked.

  Hannah sat up. Mai was sitting at the kitchen table, her laptop in front of her.

  “What time did you get back?” She hadn’t heard a thing.

  “Just after ten,” Mai said. “I’ve had my siesta.” She got up to put the kettle on. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I could sleep for another few hours.” But she didn’t want to. She wanted to check how Joe was and work out what to do about her grandparents and her father.

  Calypso jumped up on the couch and pushed his head into Hannah’s hand to be scratched, so Hannah picked him up and carried him over to the kitchen table. “How are you?”

  “Fine. I’m used to small amounts of sleep.” Mai poured them both coffees.

  Hannah hated disrupting her friends’ lives. “What are you working on?”

  “My business plan. I’m putting together the costs to expand into the shop next door when I buy the place.” Mai held out a shaky hand.

  “That’s fantastic.” Hannah knew how nerve-racking it was. Her grandparents had loaned her money to build the cabins and the responsibility of paying it back sat heavily on her shoulders. Would they demand its return if Hannah continued to see her father?

  The idea left her cold.

  Calypso butted her hand to remind her she’d stopped stroking him. She smiled as she brushed over his soft fur.

  Mai placed a mug in front of Hannah and she put Calypso down on the floor. “Thanks.”

  “So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?” Mai asked.

  She wanted to do something normal, but she hated that her grandparents weren’t talking to her. “I need to talk to Granddad, but first, I need to call Oscar.” She dialled the vet. A short conversation later she was reassured that Joe was resting comfortably and had even eaten a little bit of food.

  “He’s doing well?” Mai asked.

  Hannah nodded. “I can pick him up this afternoon.” She blinked back the tears of relief. Oscar was pleased with his progress. “Now, I need to talk to Granddad.”

  “He’ll come around,” Mai told her. “He loves you, he’s just upset at the moment.”

  Hannah hoped she was right, but she’d give him a couple more hours to calm down.

  Mai placed some Vietnamese spring rolls on the table in front of Hannah. “I made these for lunch.”

  “Thanks.”

  “When we’re finished eating, I’ll take you through your new website,” Mai said. “Then you can update it yourself.”

  “That would be great.” It would keep her busy for a short while.

  She needed the distraction.

  A few hours later, Hannah pushed away her laptop. “I’ve had enough,” she declared. “If I look at the computer for much longer I’m going to go cross-eyed.”

  Mai grinned. “I know what you mean. Did you get much done?”

  “Yeah, once you showed me how to use it, it wasn’t difficult. I just need photos and prices to finish it off.” And she wouldn’t get photos until she’d done some more work on the site. She checked the time. “I should visit my grandparents before I pick up Joe.”

  “All right. Let me pack up.”

  “No, you don’t have to come with me,” Hannah protested.

  “Yes, I do,” Mai said. “I promised Lincoln I wouldn’t let you go anywhere alone.” She shut her laptop with a smile. “Besides, it gives me a good excuse to put this aside.”

  Hannah hated the guilt that had found a home in her stomach. She was nothing but a nuisance, a bother to her friends. She didn’t protest further though. She’d promised Ryan as well.

  As they drove up to the caravan park, Felix was playing with Jacob on the lawn.

  “Check out that woman,” Mai said with a laugh. “She looks like she’s going out to dinner.”

  Hannah disliked the blonde woman on sight. She oozed glamour and had a body like a model on the cover of a swimsuit magazine. Why she was carefully picking her way across the lawn to avoid her four-inch high heels from digging into the soil was a mystery, but she was heading straight towards the boys. Maybe she was going to tell them off for
being noisy.

  Mai pulled into the car park as Felix noticed the woman. He took a couple of steps back from her, obviously afraid, and the blonde grabbed his arm, pulling him towards a car parked on the street. Jacob yelled and gripped Felix’s hand, tugging him back, but the woman was too strong.

  Hannah’s heart raced. “Mai, find Lynette.” She jumped out of the car and ran over. “Hey!” she yelled. The woman ignored her, but Felix’s face lit up in relief. “What the hell are you doing? Let Felix go.”

  “I’m taking my son—” The woman’s smile froze on her face. “You,” she snarled, dropping Felix’s hand. Felix scurried away and stood next to Jacob.

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open.

  This beautiful woman was Ryan’s ex.

  She wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Felix. Hannah put herself between Felix and Paula. “You must be Paula.” Anger simmered in her belly. This was the woman who had trashed her shed and her cabin. There was no way she was letting her take Felix anywhere.

  “You’ve done enough to break up our family, you slut.” Paula lifted a hand to slap Hannah, but Hannah deflected it, anger bubbling in her stomach. She couldn’t let it go, not with Felix here to witness it.

  Hannah raised her eyebrows and continued to smile. “You won’t endear yourself to Felix by hitting me.”

  Paula didn’t as much as glance at him, but snatched her hand back. “You can’t stop me taking my son.”

  “Sure I can,” Hannah said. She turned to Felix. “Who are you supposed to be with today?”

  Felix’s eyes were wide. “Mrs Z dropped me off to play with Jacob. Dad’s picking me up after work.”

  That’s what she thought. “So, you didn’t know your mum would be here?”

  He shook his head.

  “I rang Ryan. He obviously didn’t tell Felix or Felix forgot,” Paula said. The anger slid off her face and she became very earnest, and almost sweet.

  Hannah didn’t buy it. “I’ll call Ryan and check.”

  “There’s no need. I don’t have time to wait.” She tried to reach around Hannah to get to Felix. “Come here.”