Little Girl Lost

by Gover, Janet

  She took a couple of slow breaths.

  No. She wasn’t going to let anything destroy her chance for even an hour of happiness. This one evening, she was going to be normal and have the things that other women had. She would have this one taste of those dreams, because it might be her only chance. Ever. What happened after that would depend on Max and how he reacted to her confession.

  She grabbed the rucksack and tossed it into a cupboard, slamming the door solidly behind it. She also picked up the cutting and slid it under a book on the shelf in what she grandly called her living room. Then she darted into her bedroom and began riffling through her clothes, looking for something more appealing than her jeans and T-shirt.

  ‘You look great.’ Max meant it too. Tia was wearing a short denim skirt and a light creamy blouse, open at the neck to reveal a hint of that tantalising tattoo. Standing as he was on the lower rung of the trailer’s stairs, he had a wonderful view of the shapely curves of her legs, and the small, almost elegant, bare feet.

  ‘Thank you.’ Tia stepped back from the doorway and Max followed her into the trailer. It looked much the same as on his last visit. Clean and tidy, but bare. The dog-eared books on the shelf were the only personal possessions he could see. He looked at the titles. There were history books and travel books, and the sort of classic novels that were required reading at school. It suddenly occurred to him that Tia was trying to catch up on the schooling she had missed when she ran away from home. That was just another thing to admire about her.

  Then he noticed the amazing aroma coming from her oven.

  ‘Is that dinner?’ he asked.

  Tia nodded, grinning shyly. ‘I’m making Greek style lamb and potatoes. I’ve never cooked it before. I hope it will be okay.’

  ‘If it’s half as good as it smells, it will be great,’ Max assured her. ‘By the way, I brought us wine. I wasn’t sure if you liked white or red, so I brought both.’

  Tia took the bottles he offered and grinned. ‘To be honest, I really don’t know. I haven’t ever drunk much wine. I’m more a beer sort of a girl.’

  ‘Oh. Sorry.’

  ‘No. I’d like to give it a try. Shall we open a bottle?’

  Max hesitated. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to forget about the work-related reasons he was there. The last thing he wanted to do was worry Tia with thoughts about the prowler. But he wanted to make sure she was safe. If he did that first, then he could consider himself off duty for the rest of the evening and just be himself and enjoy spending time with the most attractive and intriguing woman he had ever met.

  ‘I’d like to get the business part of this done first,’ he said. ‘I’ll take a look around outside and see if I can see any more signs of that prowler. And I’ll have a look at the locks on your windows too.’

  ‘Oh.’ She looked disappointed. ‘Sure. You should do that. Thanks.’

  Max stepped outside and walked around the trailer. He checked the windows for signs that someone had tried to break in, but he saw nothing. But when he examined the door lock, there were some scratches in the metal around the keyhole, as if someone had tried to pick it. Or possibly even succeeded. He didn’t like the look of that at all.

  He walked to a nearby stand of trees, and there he found what he expected. The dirt was scuffed and there were several cigarette butts. Someone had been watching Tia’s trailer. Was this person a lonely miner or a peeping tom? Or was there something more sinister here? The thought of danger to Tia was enough to set his blood boiling.

  Max glanced around him. He wasn’t sure where tonight was leading for him and Tia. But he was not going to leave her alone tonight. His car was parked a short distance from her trailer, pretty much hidden among the dongas and the other cars. Most people wouldn’t see it. If necessary, he was prepared to spend another night sitting there. Keeping watch. Keeping Tia safe. But he couldn’t stay here every night. He needed to talk to Chris Powell. As mine manager, Chris was responsible for this compound. He needed to beef up his security here.

  When Max walked back into the trailer, Tia was sitting at the dining table. An open rucksack sat in front of her. There was a newspaper cutting next to it.

  ‘Tia?’

  ‘Sit down, Max. I need to talk to you. And to show you some things. I was going to wait until after dinner, but you’re right. We need to do this now.’

  ‘Sure.’

  He sat down. Silently, Tia pushed the cutting towards him. He was shocked to see the angry red slash across the image of Tia.

  ‘Where did this come from?’ he asked.

  ‘I found it after we had dinner in the pub. When you dropped me off, it was waiting here for me. On the table.’

  ‘Someone had broken in? Tia, why didn’t you call me back? This looks like a threat to me. And now there’s that prowler. You shouldn’t be here on your own.’

  He reached out to hold her hand. He wasn’t surprised to find it was shaking. He squeezed it gently, hoping the need to comfort Tia would control the anger that was surging inside him at the thought of someone invading her home.

  ‘I know who it was,’ she said in a very tiny voice.

  He could feel her fear. Was it the echo of fears from her past, or was it a present fear? There was nothing he could do about the past, but he would not have her sitting alone and afraid. Not while he was around.

  ‘Who was it?’

  Tia’s fingers gripped his hand so hard it was as if she wanted to break his bones. He didn’t flinch.

  ‘It’s a long story, Max. I have been wanting to tell you, but I was too afraid of what you would think of me when I did.’

  ‘Tia, I won’t think—’

  ‘Stop.’ She held up a hand to silence him. ‘Please, just let me tell you everything. Don’t say a word until I’m finished. I may never find the courage to do this again.’

  He did the only thing he could. He nodded, holding her hand tightly as she began her tale.

  ‘You know I was a runaway. And that I lived in squats. And I told you about the gang I joined. I was sixteen then. The gang leader was a few years older. I thought he was so handsome. And he had this power and charisma about him. His name was Andrew Kelly – he called himself Ned Kelly – after the bushranger. I think that’s how he saw himself, as some sort of cult hero. He had a girlfriend when I joined. But he got rid of her and chose me instead. He was the one who made me get this.’

  Tia pulled open her shirt to reveal the tattoo that had so tantalised Max. For the first time he could see it clearly. It was a highly stylised image of a man with a rifle. A man wearing an iconic metal helmet. Max felt his stomach clench in revulsion. How could he have been teased by this? Or thought it sexy?

  ‘He branded you?’

  Tia nodded.

  ‘I thought it was cool at first, but I soon figured out just the sort of person he was. He used me … in a lot of ways.’

  Max tightened his fingers around hers again, feeling a surge of hatred the strength of which shocked him. How could someone do that? To the young and vulnerable girl Tia had once been. His heart cried for her while his fingers itched to grab the man’s throat.

  ‘I stayed because I had nowhere else to go. I stayed because I was afraid that if I left, he would track me down and drag me back. I didn’t think there could be a better life for someone like me. I did drugs sometimes. When I had to. To blend in with the others. Or to escape reality. But never the hard stuff. I wasn’t quite that much of a mess. And I wasn’t a dealer either.

  ‘We had always stolen – food, booze and a bit of money when we could. But he started taking the whole Ned Kelly thing too seriously. They started mugging people. Sometimes they beat the victim up. Max, I didn’t ever do that. You have to believe me.’

  Her lovely green eyes pleaded with him. In his heart, he knew she wasn’t lying. And ev
en if she had been, he was not going to lay any blame at her door for the sort of life that no young girl should ever have to experience.

  ‘Of course I believe you,’ he said gently.

  ‘They had guns and started robbing stores. Ned got greedy. Every time they got away with it, he wanted more. Then one day, while we were walking through town, he saw this.’

  She reached into the rucksack and pulled out a small black velvet box. She put it on the table and left it for Max to open. He was shocked to see a man’s diamond ring nestled in its velvet holder. He lifted the box and looked more closely at it. He was no expert, but his every instinct told him this was a valuable piece. He closed the lid and turned the box over. The jeweller’s name almost leaped out at him.

  ‘This is from that hold-up last year. The one where—’

  ‘—a cop was killed.’ Tia finished the sentence for him. ‘Yes, it is.’

  Max remembered the incident. He was a cop, and any crime where another officer was killed struck home with great force. The hold-up had taken place at the very end of the business day. Three men; all armed. The local beat cop had just happened to walk past in the middle of the hold-up. He’d tried to stop the robbery, and lost his life. The reports said the killer had laughed as he walked out of the door.

  ‘I was there, Max. Ned made me go with them to grab as much jewellery as I could, then carry it while the others took care of the staff and witnesses. I wasn’t part of the shooting. I didn’t know that was going to happen.’

  ‘I saw the reports. They were looking for three men, all armed, and a female accomplice. That was you?’

  She nodded. ‘One of the men was Ned. He was the one who did the shooting. He was proud of it. Boasted about it. Thought it made him such a big man. That’s when I knew I had to get out. I waited for my chance and took off.’

  ‘Why did you take the ring?’

  ‘I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want him to have it.’

  ‘So you stole the Harley and took off?’

  ‘That wasn’t the only thing I stole.’

  Tia reached into the rucksack once more. Max heard the rustling of the plastic bag, but it wasn’t until it was lying on the table in front of him that he realised what he was looking at.

  ‘This is the gun that killed that constable,’ he said.

  ‘Yes. It’s Ned’s gun. I put it in a plastic bag to preserve the fingerprints, or whatever. I thought if he ever found me, I could trade this and the ring. Give it back if he promised to let me go.’

  Max carefully picked up the gun. He looked at it through the plastic. The safety was off. He weighed it in his hand.

  ‘This is loaded?’

  ‘I guess so. I don’t know anything about guns. I just took it and threw it in my bag. I didn’t ever want to use it. Or even look at it.’ Tia took a long slow breath. ‘I guess Ned saw that piece in the newspaper and came looking for me. Just when I was starting to think I was safe from him. Not that I regret helping find little Renee, but I wish that reporter had used a different photo.’

  ‘But it’s good that you’ve told me,’ Max said. ‘You really can’t spend the rest of your life running from this guy. And carrying all this with you.’

  ‘I know I can’t.’ Tia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if she was pleased to have finally broken her silence. ‘So what happens now? I guess you arrest me.’

  ‘No!’ The word came out far more vehemently than Max intended. He paused for a second to calm himself. ‘You are not the criminal here. You’re a victim. And you’re a witness too. You need to give evidence against him. Then we can put him away and you’ll be safe.’

  ‘Really?’ The question in her eyes almost broke his heart. Max got to his feet and pulled her into his arms. He held her close, as if he would never let her go.

  ‘Yes, really. Tia, you’ve overcome the most shocking past. And you’ve made a new life for yourself. I will not let anything destroy what you have accomplished.’

  ‘Well, isn’t that just lovely,’ the sarcastic sneer from the doorway took them both by surprise.

  Max spun to face the intruder, pushing Tia behind him to shelter her with his own body. The man standing in the doorway wasn’t as tall as Max, but he was heavily built. His clothes were stylish and his hair was neatly cropped. There was a tattoo on his arm. In an instant, Max knew who he was. The gang boss wasn’t holding a gun, but he exuded danger all the same.

  ‘Take it easy,’ Ned said. ‘We don’t want anyone to get hurt now, do we?’

  The explicit threat to Tia made the hairs on the back of Max’s neck stand up. He cursed himself for leaving his own weapon back at the station, but he’d been coming off duty and this was supposed to be a date.

  ‘This doesn’t need to get nasty,’ Ned continued in that same sneering tone as he studied the items lying on the table. ‘I came to get what’s mine. The bike. That ring. The gun.’

  Max opened his mouth to reply … then froze as Ned continued. ‘And her too, of course.’

  Chapter Thirty-One

  He shouldn’t stare at the pub door. That wasn’t going to make Sarah appear. Pete lowered his eyes back to the beer in his hand. It was his first and he’d been sitting there not drinking it for almost an hour now.

  She wasn’t coming. That was becoming very clear. He should have realised that when he saw her shake her head just before they were interrupted in the store.

  He ran his finger down the damp side of the beer glass, watching the droplets slide down the glass onto the red and gold beer mat underneath. He should just go. Maybe if he gave her some time – a few days, a few weeks, maybe – she might forgive him. He was willing to wait as long as it took.

  ‘Is there something wrong with the beer, mate?’ Behind the bar Jack North was stacking clean glasses from the washer.

  ‘No. I guess I’m just not in the mood,’ Pete said.

  ‘Are you sure?’ Jack nodded in the direction of the door.

  Pete looked up. Sarah was there, looking straight at him. He moved as if to rise from his bar stool, but before he could, Sarah slid onto the stool next to him.

  ‘Do you also want a beer that you don’t drink and leave on the bar to get hot and flat?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Yes, please.’

  Sarah and Pete sat in silence until after Jack had done his duty and moved away to the other end of the bar.

  ‘I thought you weren’t coming,’ Pete said quietly.

  ‘I knew I was. You just won’t believe how long those people took to buy some cat food. It must be a pretty fussy cat.’

  Pete blinked a little. Sarah was smiling at him. Joking. This wasn’t how he had imagined their next encounter. He had been sitting here trying to find the words that would convince her to give him another chance. The words he’d rehearsed now seemed totally inadequate, and had all vanished from his mind.

  ‘Look, Pete,’ Sarah continued. ‘I’ve known you since I was ten years old. In all that time, you have always been straight with me. And you have never done anything to harm me – or anyone else – as far as I know. You always did the right thing by everyone.’

  ‘But sometimes the right thing isn’t right,’ he said, with a slow smile as the memory of the first time she had said those words came back to him. ‘A very wise woman told me that once.’

  ‘And I was right.’ Sarah reached out to lay her hand over his. ‘Pete, I know you wanted to help Linda and the baby. But even if it had been your child, marrying her for the wrong reasons would only have hurt both of you, and the child, in the end. A child deserves to have parents who love each other and can be a proper family. I am so glad you finally recognised that. Should you have kissed me? Yes. Of course you should, because that was a moment of absolute honesty. For both of us.’

  As she looked up at him from under her
eyelashes, Pete felt the world shift once more. The earth was back on its proper axis. He let out a long slow breath.

  ‘So,’ he said barely able to believe what was happening, ‘if I was to suggest that we go out together some time. You’d say…?’

  ‘Yes.’

  When it was right, it really was as simple as that.

  ‘And if I was to ask you to stay and have dinner with me tonight before I head back to the Isa?’

  ‘That would be a yes too. And before you ask, if you wanted to kiss me again before you left, that would also be a yes.’

  Pete smiled as happiness replaced the uncertainty that he had been wearing like a cloak. He reached out to take Sarah’s hand. It felt so right in his. Their fingers twined together and, oblivious to the watchful eyes around the bar, he lifted her hand and touched his lips ever so gently to her skin.

  He let go of her hand and only then did he finally lift his beer and take a drink. Sarah smiled and did the same with hers.

  The phone at the end of the bar rang. Trish Warren appeared from the direction of the kitchen and answered it.

  ‘What? No. He’s not here. I don’t know where he is. Hang on, I’ll ask.’ She held the phone aside. ‘Does anyone know where Max is?’ she asked the bar in general.

  ‘Yes,’ said Sarah. ‘He’s having dinner with Tia. At her place in the mine compound.’

  ‘That can’t be right,’ Trish said, frowning. ‘I’ve got Blue here from the mine. He says that prowler is back hanging around the dongas. Near Tia’s trailer. He’s looking for Max. But if Max is already there, wouldn’t he—’

  Sarah and Pete exchanged a look.

  ‘Can I talk to him for a second?’ Pete said.

  Trish handed over the phone.

  ‘Are you sure you can’t see Max’s car?’ he asked the man on the other end of the line.

  ‘I can’t see it,’ Blue said. ‘But if he’s put it under the trees where he kept watch last time, I might not. Maybe I should go and have a look. But last time, Max said to get in touch with him before doing anything.’