Things We Cannot See

by Dianne Maguire

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Maddi was glad to see Alex smiling when she met her at the front door, with Bruno nudging her hand for attention. Her smile persisted as she said, ‘We have the house to ourselves, thank God,’ rolling her eyes, turning to Maddi with a suddenly serious expression as they stepped into her room. ‘If Greg and Mum go on the way they do . . . you know, how they go on, you’ll be able ignore them, won’t you?’ she said, her forehead crinkled deep with concern.

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Maddi said, wondering whether Alex was referring to the couple’s arguing – which seemed more frequent of late – or Greg’s moodiness, or perhaps her mother’s sadness, but not really knowing for certain what she meant.

  Although Laura and Noah had warned Alex she should stay away from the store until further notice, she and Maddi couldn’t resist.

  ‘They could be arresting him right this very minute,’ Maddi whispered as they passed on their way to Swiss Chalet, albeit on the opposite side of the road. The store’s frontage – buckets of flowers under the plate windows, the barrow of fruit on the pavement – seemed normal. Maddi noticed Alex’s eyes never left the front door, as though she expected they would slide open at any moment and Fartin’ Martin would emerge to tear across the road and grab them.

  ‘We’re not supposed to be here,’ Alex muttered as though in a daze. ‘Oh my God. What happens if he gets off?’ she said.

  ‘Come on, let’s go. This is giving me the creeps.’ Maddi pulled Alex further along the pavement away from the store, not certain how to answer Alex’s question. ‘When are you seeing the Irish doctor?’ she said, staring down at the dappled footpath as they ambled towards the Swiss Chalet chocolate shop.

  ‘Next week,’ Alex said.

  ‘Are you scared?’

  ‘Yeah. A bit. But Dr O’Leary sounds cute. I don’t think I’ll mind talking to him.’

  Maddi rolled her eyes. ‘He’s not a love interest, Alex. He’s a doctor,’ she said. ‘Do you think you’ll ever go back to the shop to work – like, ever?’

  ‘Yeah, once Mr Martin has gone. I have to. Mum and I need the money,’ she said.

  ‘At least you and Isaac are sweet again,’ Maddi said. ‘Did he tell you what the personal troubles were that were sending him psycho?’

  Alex shook her head. ‘No. But there’s this girl who comes into the shop,’ she said in a conspiratorial rasp. ‘She’s a bit older than him, but not much, and she has a little kid. She drives a totally cool car and always wears the latest clothes and heaps of jewellery – she’s obviously loaded. I’ve only seen her husband once, but he’s heaps older than her. Anyway, I reckon she was Isaac’s problem. Like, whenever she came into the shop he would act cool – like James Bond or something, and they’d end up whispering in one of the aisles or near the freezers. Now all of a sudden, she doesn’t come in any more,’ she said, fingers splayed, palms upturned. ‘I’ve seen her car around, so she hasn’t moved into another district or anything. Next time I see Isaac I’m going to ask him straight. I want to see how he reacts,’ she said with a wry smile as they reached Swiss Chalet. She pushed the door open for Maddi to step in.

  They entered to a knot of people clustered at the cramped counter, the sole barista working feverishly to produce hot chocolates and coffees, occasionally bumping shoulders with two white-gloved girls dressed in caramel and chocolate uniforms, who wore their tedium on their faces while customers chose one chocolate at a time from an apparently daunting selection in the glass cabinet.

  Spotting their favourite table standing empty, Maddi nudged Alex forward through the dithering chocolate selectors. ‘It’s empty. Get moving,’ she said.

  They sipped hot chocolate, occasionally turning to watch the foot and road traffic outside, commenting on something someone was wearing or doing. It felt good for Maddi to be here with her friend. Alex had been awesome, so brave. Maddi knew from her one encounter with Fartin’ Martin she would never want to meet him alone, especially on a dark night. Her stomach turned at the thought – then sank the moment she caught sight of Fullavit. He was at his favourite table in the corner, avidly engrossed in conversation with a Year 9 student she knew only as Wanda, who had no friends and was constantly bullied. Sitting with them was a woman whose dark blond hair was so severely pulled back from her face that it emphasised to her already prominent nose. Maddi stole a glance at Alex, who seemed enthralled with the window display of the fashion boutique across the road. She wondered if she should suggest they leave. Noticed Alex had most of her hot chocolate left and decided that leaving now was an impossible option for an impossible situation.

  The matter was taken out of her hands moments later when a burst of Fullavit’s laughter made Alex immediately turn towards him. Maddi watched as blotches of red crept up her friend’s neck.

  ‘Do you see whose over there?’ Alex murmured, eventually turning back and stirring her hot chocolate.

  ‘I saw him before. I didn’t say anything because I thought it would upset you,’ she said.

  ‘Yes. But do you see whose with him? What’s he doing with her?’ Alex hissed. ‘Give me a break – Wanda doesn’t even have boobs. And that must be her mother with them. What the fuck is going on?’

  ‘Why are you so angry?’ Maddi said, intentionally injecting calm, lowering her voice.

  ‘I’m not angry. I just don’t get how he’s dropped me and taken up with Wanda.’

  ‘Because he’s a sick pervert. He’ll take up with any chick vulnerable enough to believe what he tells her. And you can’t see this, Alex, but he’s trying to charm her mother as well. I’ve heard that’s what peds do,’ Maddi said, unable to drag her eyes away from Fullavit, who was putting on his best George Clooney impersonation, Wanda and her mother hanging on every word. ‘Someone should report that he’s still doing it,’ she murmured.

  ‘He’s not a ped.’ Alex spat, leaning even further forward. ‘And if you report him I’ll never speak to you again . . . I wish I could turn around and watch,’ she said in a calmer voice.

  ‘You don’t want to see it, Alex. Believe me, it’s sickening,’ Maddi said, finally looking out at the traffic. There was a beat of silence before she added. ‘What’s the name of that doctor you’re seeing next week?’

  ‘Dr O’Leary. It’s OK to call him a shrink, Maddi, because that’s what he is,’ Alex said, her face twisting, her mood suddenly melancholic.

  Maddi leaned back in her chair. ‘Well, you should ask Dr O’Leary about Fullavit. Men know how other men think.’ She watched Alex’s vague expression and wondered if her friend had taken any notice, realising that what gnawed at her most was Fullavit’s determination to keep on doing what he did, despite being warned against it by the police. She lifted her eyes as they all rose from the table and Fullavit, wearing his smiling snake grin, ushered Wanda and her mother towards the front door. Her stomach sank at Alex’s potential reaction as they passed. But there was no reaction.

  Not another word was spoken between Maddi and Alex on the topic of Fullavit. Not while they finished their drinks. Nor while they wandered through the shopping centre, flicking through racks of clothes and sampling makeup. Not even as they dawdled away from the main road into the streets where residents mowed or clipped or raked in their gardens. Alex chattered about the films they would watch tonight and Maddi had stopped to watch a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets disappear into a hollow of a jacaranda tree, when they noticed Roger Grenfell lumbering towards them, apparently dressed for spring in light-coloured shorts and a green short-sleeved checked shirt.

  ‘Hello,’ he said as he approached. ‘Where’s your dog, Alex?’

  ‘He’s home. We went to Swiss Chalet and I can’t take him in there,’ Alex said. She cleared her throat. ‘Um . . . Roger, thanks for chasing off the guy who attacked me.’

  He studied her face. ‘I didn’t chase him off on purpose. But it was good I was there to protect you. You shouldn’t walk around alone at night,’ he said.
‘Even I get scared when I walk around now since I was bashed.’

  ‘Did they catch who bashed you?’ Maddi asked.

  ‘The police think the first lot who bashed me and threw eggs at my house were different to the second lot who painted those words. I don’t know if they arrested them. No one has told me anything.’

  Maddi watched Alex, knowing her guilt would be gnawing at her like a rat at a rope. Alex would be thinking that Greg’s supposed commissioning of the second attack on Roger’s house was inexcusable, especially now it had become glaringly obvious that Roger had saved Alex by interrupting her attacker.

  ‘I’m really glad you were there that night. And I’m sorry that I thought you were my attacker,’ Alex said with a light shrug of her shoulders.

  Roger continued to study her face, as though taking in each pore, every hair. ‘That’s OK. I guess that means we can be friends again,’ he said.

  Alex cleared her throat, and Maddi thought her tone surprisingly assertive. ‘Yes, Roger – friends. But I don’t want to be your girlfriend. And I don’t want you to send me any more notes, OK?’

  ‘I know all that,’ Roger said, rubbing the back of his head. ‘One day you won’t mind. When you’re older. I thought you were older than fifteen, but yeah, fifteen is probably too young. Anyway, I have a new girlfriend now,’ he said, holding the same bland expression. ‘She’s a volunteer, and a data processor. She’s not as good as me with computers, but she’s very smart. She’s pretty too.’

  ‘That’s great,’ Maddi said in unison with Alex.

  ‘How did you meet her?’ Alex added.

  ‘She came to my house. She was one of the volunteers who cleaned up the graffiti. She’s very responsible. There’s a film we both want to see so we’re going out tonight.’

  Alex beamed. ‘That’s really cool, Roger.’

  ‘Yeah. So I’ll see how it goes, but I probably won’t watch you through my window any more either,’ Roger said.

  The smile slid from Alex’s face. ‘Is that what you used to do?’ she said, her lip curling. ‘That sort of creeps me out.’

  ‘I know. But I thought you were older and I thought you wanted to be my girlfriend.’

  As they headed back to her house, Alex said, ‘Ew. I had no idea he was watching me. That’s really creepy.’

  ‘I don’t think he’ll do it anymore,’ Maddi said. She watched her friend study the pavement as they continued walking and was suddenly struck by the realisation of how much Alex and Roger had in common – how they both had things swirling around in their heads that absolutely no one else would understand.

  They ate freshly cut ham salad rolls at the timber table under a blossoming tree in Alex’s backyard, Bruno snoring on the lawn at their feet, the phone suddenly ringing inside. Seconds later Cynthia’s anxious face appeared through the sliding doors from inside. ‘Alex, Noah Tamblyn is on the phone. Can you come in, please?’

  Alex turned wide eyes to Maddi, her fingers pressed against her lips. ‘Oh my God. That has to be about Mr Martin. My heart is thumping,’ she said, putting both hands to her chest. She stood, somewhat dazed. Turned back to Maddi and gestured frantically with one hand. ‘Come on . . . Come with me,’ she said.

  Maddi hesitantly followed Alex across the family room towards the kitchen bench, still strewn with ingredients from lunch.

  ‘Alex is coming now, Noah,’ Cynthia said over the speaker. ‘She has her friend Maddi with her. Is that OK?’

  ‘That’s OK,’ Noah’s deep voice intoned. ‘But I have to ask you all to keep what I’m about to tell you strictly to yourselves, at least for the time being.’

  Maddi glanced at Alex, whose eyes were like saucers, then at Cynthia, who had blanched to the same colour as the paper wrapping for the sliced ham.

  Noah continued. ‘Alex, the man you know as Mr Martin is actually using the alias Derek Martin. His real name is Dwayne Malone. The reason we didn’t interview him straight away was because we were waiting for our forensics people to analyse the balaclava. Well, long story short, forensics compared DNA from the balaclava with Malone’s and we have a match. We’ve placed him under arrest, so he’s currently being held in custody and has been refused bail. He’ll be arraigned in court on Monday, which means the judge will decide if there is a case for Mr Malone to answer. We’re confident there will be. So in other words, he’s off the streets, hopefully for a long time. Your ability to remember something as simple as the way he smelled has helped us a great deal, Alex. You should be proud.’

  She nodded, her chin dimpled as tears streamed down her face.

  ‘That’s brilliant news, Noah. Thanks so much for letting us know,’ Cynthia said, fighting back tears. ‘Um, Alex is too overcome at the moment but I know she would want me to thank you as well.’

  ‘We have your underwear, Alex. We will need you to identify it, but we’ll keep it for a while as evidence. Is that OK?’

  Maddi watched her friend’s silent nod as Noah Tamblyn continued. ‘This is hot news for the media. They’re hounding us already,’ Noah said. ‘So you should discuss between you whether you’re up for seeing it blasted across the television, online and in the papers. Sometimes it’s therapeutic for victims to see news accounts; other times the media sensationalises matters in ways that make victims feel worse. In any event, you must not speak to them if they ring or visit you. I’ll ask Laura to phone you on Monday when she’s back at work. Any questions?’ Noah concluded.

  Cynthia shook her head and looked to Alex.

  ‘Does that mean we can go to the store now?’ she said.

  Noah chuckled. ‘Yes, that’s OK. Remember not to say anything about this to anyone. We want the media releases to be done properly. It’s a good idea not to discuss the offence further anyway, just in case the matter goes to trial. Look after yourselves. Ciao for now,’ he said, the line immediately going dead.

  ‘They got him. He’s in jail. He can’t get me again. That’s awesome.’ Alex and her mother stared deep into each other’s eyes for just a moment before Alex buried her head in Cynthia’s shoulder.

  When Greg’s car pulled into the driveway, Cynthia had been sitting on the end of Alex’s bed, dressed for work, chatting about the nuisance of having to take a double shift on Saturday night, especially when they should be celebrating. At the sound of Greg’s tyres crunching on the gravel, Bruno lifted his head from where he was stretched out on the carpet then just as suddenly dropped it down again. Cynthia stood and smoothed the front of her shirt, stepping into the passage.

  ‘Hi. I’m on my way to work,’ Maddi heard her say as the front door opened and closed again.

  ‘What’s for dinner?’ Greg snapped, his feet thumping along the passage and into the bedroom.

  ‘I thought you could get fish and chips for the girls. It’s Saturday night . . . And there’s been some good news,’ Cynthia said, following Greg into the bedroom, their murmurs floating back along the passage. Moments later Cynthia stepped into Alex’s room again, issued a hurried ‘Bye girls’, and bent to give Alex a kiss on the cheek. ‘Greg is thrilled about the news about Martin, by the way,’ she said, rushing to the front door before pulling it closed behind her.

  ‘What will Greg do while we’re watching movies?’ Maddi said from where she was reading a magazine on the bed.

  ‘He’ll probably be working in his office like he always does,’ Alex said, tapping her pen on the desk as she peered at her laptop.

  ‘Cool,’ Maddi said profoundly relieved.

  ‘Leave your homework, Alex,’ Greg said at the doorway minutes later.

  ‘But I’ve almost finished, then we have a stack of movies to watch,’ Alex said.

  Greg stiffened. ‘Do you want to eat or starve – make your choice. I need someone to run in and get the fish and chips.’

  Alex threw her pen down while Greg continued to glare from the doorway. She dropped down on the edge of her bed and tied the laces of her runners. Madd
i shot her a quizzical lift of her brows.

  ‘You should come with us, Maddi,’ Alex said, glancing up at Greg.

  From the back seat of the car, Maddi watched Alex and Greg’s unmoving heads in front, sensed the tension. Pondered why Fartin’ Martin’s arrest had not relieved everyone of the family pressure that had obviously been growing for weeks. And felt increasingly unsafe when Greg squealed the tyres at corners, cut off other drivers or accelerated towards stationary cars before jamming on the brakes at the very last moment. Her mother’s words immediately echoed in her ears, and she wished she’d listened, noticing with a jolt, the moon-shaped indentations her nails had cut into her palms.

  Relieved to finally arrive at the fish shop, despite knowing there was still the journey to be made home, Maddi wondered why Greg had forced Alex to stop her homework and come with him in the car. Several spaces stood vacant immediately in front of the shop. He could easily have walked in and collected the fish and chips himself. He was just a bully.

  ‘I’m having my dinner in my den,’ Greg said when they got back home, rattling around in the cutlery drawer and picking up a full plate before heading down to his office.

  Maddi glanced up at Alex, sitting opposite her at the table, but her eyes were firmly on the television as she ate, leaving Maddi uncertain as to whether she’d even heard Greg’s announcement. They finished dinner with Alex’s attention frozen to a television reality show. Maddi felt on edge for the entire meal, expecting that at any moment Greg could come bellowing back into the room and knowing there was nothing she could do about it.

  The opening credits for the first movie rolled on the screen when Maddi’s phone rang. ‘Oh maaaan,’ Maddi moaned as her mother’s image flashed at her. Alex pointed the remote and paused the movie.

  Maddi sat up on the sofa and swung her legs onto the floor. ‘Hi Mum,’ she said.

  ‘Hello Madeline, darling. How has your day been?’