Kate interrupted his reverie. ‘Do you think Sandy was bashed up by the Grub?’
Rex shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but it’s possible.’
Burning hatred, the like of which he had never felt before, pumped through his veins. He had to get out of here.
‘They mentioned a gun found in her bag. Rowdy told Sandy he had a gun under his bed, in case she needed it. She must have taken it. That will get Rowdy in the shit.’
Rex was having trouble thinking. Emotional overload was giving him a headache like no other.
‘I can’t believe Sandy – Alexandra – is my daughter. I don’t know how to feel at the moment.’
They lapsed into a long silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
Warm tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as the years of pain and grief dissolved inside him. He had his daughter back. He knew what he had to do. He would compensate for all those lost years and make the most of whatever time they had left together. Surely the universe couldn’t be cruel enough to take her away now, not just when he’d found her again?
Please don’t let my daughter die.
His mind swung to thoughts about Max Croft. Hands clenching the side of the bed, he felt his blood pressure rise, the feeling of rage was so intense he wanted to smash his fist through the closest wall. The man would pay for the pain he’d caused, but not now. Max could wait! His priority now was Alexandra. And stopping the monster who’d started all this!
‘Why would the Grub hurt Sandy?’ Kate blurted out suddenly. ‘What did she have to do with anything?’
‘Maybe he thought she knew more than she did. Maybe it’s her connection to . . .’, he didn’t even want to say the man’s name, ‘Max Croft. I don’t know.’
With the thought of Croft, one thing became clear. Croft’s inexplicable hatred towards Rex now made sense. It had nothing to do with club conflict or rivalry. It had started before that; before they were members of opposing bikie clubs. His aversion to Rex was completely personal. Though the perplexing question was, since Croft had stolen from him, taken his woman, his daughter, his life away, why did Croft harbour such ill will towards him?
Rex hoped the man had just a shred of decency, enough to be riddled with guilt and remorse, the likes of which would eat him alive. That was the least form of punishment he deserved.
‘What’s stopping the Grub from walking in here right now? The cop at your door won’t be able to stop him, will he?’ Kate was starting to get worked up. ‘What’s stopping him from following me back to the motel? Why can’t we just let the cops deal with him? I’m scared. I don’t need this shit.’
Rex sighed. ‘We’ve been through this before. You tell the cops and it will ruin everything.’
‘Why? Why?’ Kate was yelling now. ‘You tell me why! Because Bluey wants you to get revenge for him? Well, bad luck. Bluey’s dead. As long as someone takes the Grub down, I don’t care who does it.’
Anger spiked the hairs on the back of his neck.
‘Will you keep your fucking voice down, Kate! You know there’s more to it than that. The Grub’s smart. He’ll say we’re making shit up to frame him. He’ll worm his way out of it. He’s done it before.’
‘So what are you going to do, Rex? Kill him?’ She was crying now. ‘That is what you were going to do last night, wasn’t it? And look how that turned out.’
Kate put her head in her hands and proceeded to sob loudly.
Just then a nurse walked into the room, took one concerned look at Kate and said, ‘Is everything all right in here?’
Rex replied. ‘She’s just upset about my accident. You know what pregnant women are like.’
The nurse gave Kate another cursory glance before explaining she was going to take the drip out of his arm.
‘I understand the police are going to escort you down to ICU. It will be easier without this thing dragging along. We were going to take it out soon anyway.’
Rex nodded politely. ‘Thanks, nurse.’
Kate looked up. Her eyes swept over the nurse from head to toe and then, as if realising the middle-aged woman was no threat, put her head back down and continued sobbing.
The male detective, Harrison, stuck his head through the door.
‘Two officers are ready to take you to see your daughter now, Rex.’
The nurse, who was pulling the needle out of his arm, turned and told Harrison she would be just a minute. More like five minutes later he was free, detached from the monitor, machine and bag. And he was ready to see Sandy. Getting out of the bed too fast, his head swam and the room went into a spin. He grabbed the wall for support.
‘Are you all right?’ Kate asked, concerned again.
Rex nodded his head, ‘Yup, yup. Just got up too quick.’
Two uniforms appeared at his door. The young cop with a body like a beanpole spoke to him formally.
‘We’re here to take you to ICU. Detective Harrison has told us to remind you to be on your best behaviour. Max Croft has been removed from the area. Though if for some reason we run into him, you are to remain calm and not attempt to approach him. Do you understand that, Mr Donaldson?’
Rex wanted to laugh at the tremor in his voice. The boy was absolutely shitting himself. The two detectives came back into the room.
‘That’s right, Rex,’ Rogers said. ‘Any sign of trouble and you will be barred from seeing Sandy. So this is serious. I cannot even begin to imagine how you must be feeling but getting even with Croft right now is not the way to go, all right?’
Right now he didn’t give a shit about Croft. He’d keep. Right now all he cared about was seeing his daughter, so he had no choice but to comply. He nodded his head again.
‘I know that. I just want to see Alexandra.’
The detectives moved towards the door.
‘Okay then, let’s go.’
—
Lexie watched Rex and Josh, flanked on either side by two uniformed officers, disappear down the corridor on their way to visit Sandy. Seconds later, Kate waddled out of Rex’s room and made a beeline for the ladies’ toilets.
This is it.
A surge of excitement sent flutters around her stomach and, for a moment, Lexie was torn. Should she run to Rex’s room and retrieve her phone to discover what the recording revealed? Or should she seize her chance to get Kate alone? She decided the phone could wait.
Kate was hormonal and emotional. And despite being consistently hostile, especially towards her, Lexie had at times glimpsed a deep-seated fear in her eyes. That, combined with her hysterical and uncontrollable display at Bluey’s murder scene, suggested that under Kate’s rough and tumble exterior existed a very insecure and damaged young girl.
Any investigator worth their salt knew to find a weak link and work it. Lexie figured Kate was that weak link – the only link. No one else was going to open their mouths and talk. So how could she work this to her advantage? How could she get the girl, who so openly despised her, to spill everything she knew? She prayed for some brilliant insight to emerge and give her the answer.
The ladies’ room was virtually empty when Lexie walked in. There were five toilet cubicles. Two doors were closed. Kate had to be in one of them, so she leant against the washbasin and waited. A heartbeat later she heard the sickening sounds of retching and gagging. One of the doors burst open and a middle-aged lady scurried out. Pulling a disgusted face at Lexie, she hurriedly washed her hands and rushed outside.
The revolting noises continued. It had to be Kate. Was she seriously sick or just upset at the current turn of events? Lexie would guess the latter.
‘Is that you, Kate? Are you all right?’
There was a groan, then more heaving from the other side of the door; a bit of spitting into the toilet bowl and then a moment later she seemed to get her breath back.
‘Do I sound fucking fine to you?’
That was definitely Kate. Always the charmer, even with her head down the toilet, Lexie thought, turning as
the door to the ladies’ room opened. She had hoped it would remain empty to give her the chance to speak to Kate privately. When she got a glimpse of red hair she was instantly relieved to see it was Sue.
‘Are you all right?’ Sue asked. ‘I heard a lady telling her friend someone was sick in here.’
‘I’m fine,’ Lexie replied, moving towards Sue and guiding her outside; out of earshot. ‘It’s Kate Bushell. I think she’s making herself sick with worry. I’m going to wait to speak to her, see what I can get out of her. Can you stand guard at the door and direct anyone to the other toilet just over there?’ Lexie pointed to a ladies sign in a corridor across the hall.
Sue looked baffled but shrugged. ‘Um, okay.’
Kate was bent over the washbasin splashing water on her face when Lexie walked back into the ladies’ room. Deciding to go in hard, Lexie came up to stand beside her.
‘Look, Kate, it’s clear you don’t like me for whatever reason, and that’s fine. But what I want you to know is that I know Sandy. I’ve helped her out on too many occasions to remember. I’ve even saved her life once. What has happened to her is horrible and I hope to God she survives. You can stop all this before anyone else gets hurt. You have the chance to do the right thing and make a difference here. I think you know who’s behind Sandy’s bashing, Rex’s accident and Bluey’s murder? Don’t you?’
Lexie instinctively believed that if Rex knew, then so did Kate.
Kate didn’t respond. Instead she continued to douse herself with water, refusing to meet her eyes in the mirror. Lexie waited for an answer. A long minute went by before Kate straightened, smoothed her peroxided locks with her hands and stared at herself in the mirror. Lexie observed her reflection thinking she really did look terrible; more so than usual with red-rimmed watery eyes and pale, clammy skin. For a moment she wondered what she would do if the girl walked straight past her and out the door.
Better keep talking.
‘Kate, I’m sure you’re very shocked right now, but I’m begging you to just think for a minute. Right now I don’t care if you know her or not. Sandy Croft is your boyfriend’s daughter; your unborn baby’s half-sister. I know the bikie way of doing things is to deal with issues themselves, but it seems it’s only a matter of time before someone else ends up dead. That person might well be Rex, or you.’
She let her words hang in the air, praying they would have some impact.
Without moving, Kate’s eyes narrowed as they shifted from her own reflection to Lexie’s.
‘Thank God you didn’t turn out to be Rex’s daughter. You know I think he was thinking that, or maybe hoping that . . . when he heard your name. Sandy I can deal with. You . . . I don’t like cops.’
Lexie was taken aback. So that’s why Rex asked her about her name and told her about his daughter?
‘It’s pretty obvious you don’t like cops, or me, but put your personal feelings aside for a minute. Be smart. You have your whole life in front of you; a new baby to look forward to. Do you really want to be living in fear? Do you really want more bloodshed? If you don’t speak up, you may very well be bringing up that child alone.’
Lexie watched Kate’s eyes widen in alarm. She pushed harder.
‘Do you seriously want to end up a single mother? Whoever wants Rex dead has attempted to kill him twice now. I don’t think he’s going to stop, do you? Maybe that’s why Sandy’s in there fighting for life, maybe he thought she knew too much. Maybe you know too much?’
Kate’s eyes welled with tears and her shoulders slumped.
‘Rex will kill me if I say anything.’
Lexie felt the beginnings of anticipation jolt through her body. It was working. Kate was weakening. She had to press further.
‘Rex won’t be around to kill you, to be angry with you. He’ll be dead and you’ll be without a father to your baby.’ An idea popped into her head. ‘If you can’t say it, write it down. Here,’ Lexie shoved the small notebook she kept in her pocket at her. ‘Write it down.’ She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. ‘No one will ever know. You can make a difference here.’
Kate snatched the pen from her outstretched hand, then, looking at the notebook indecisively, turned away and scribbled something onto the paper. She ripped it from its plastic spine, folded it in half, over and over again until it became a little square. Then she handed it to Lexie with a straight face.
Lexie’s breath caught and her stomach flipped as she slowly opened the folded piece of paper. It couldn’t be this easy, could it?
The words ‘Fuck you’ were scribbled across the page.
Lexie’s heart did a swan dive as she watched Kate’s face spread into a grin. Turning proudly, she strutted her way to the door. Then, seeming to remember something, she turned and pulled a phone out of her pocket.
‘This is yours.’ She took a few steps towards Lexie and tossed it at her. ‘Play it. See what it says.’
Scowling, Lexie took it and pressed the play button. Rex’s voice resonated around the hollow room.
‘Good try, Detective.’
Lexie’s body stiffened, every part of her tensed in frustration. And when Kate laughed, a high-pitched screech that sounded more crow than human, her anger turned palpable.
‘I feel so sorry for that kid.’
Kate stopped laughing instantly. Placing her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes at Lexie.
‘What did you say?’
Lexie gritted her teeth, her own anger pushing her past caring whether she was being unprofessional or inappropriate.
‘I said I feel sorry for that kid in your stomach. Having such a stupid, stubborn mother like you, it has no hope. It will probably end up in child services. I might adopt it one day.’
Lexie knew she had gone too far. Kate looked ready to rip her throat out.
‘You bitch.’ Saliva sprayed from her mouth and her face twisted. ‘You’ll never get your hands on my baby. And, as for being stupid, have a look at yourself,’ she spat. ‘Have a look at your whole fucking stupid detectives’ office. You can’t even figure it out and it’s not that hard.’
Lexie hardened her voice, still trying.
‘Not only do you have the intelligence of a goldfish, you’ve also got the spine of a jellyfish. I should have known you don’t know anything about anything. You’re nothing but Rex’s bikie moll.’
‘I do so,’ Kate yelled, taking a few steps towards her. ‘I know more than you think.’
Lexie watched her reflection in the mirror, preparing herself for an attack. She pushed further.
‘Go away, Kate. You know nothing. You’re just a waste of space.’
Kate turned red, looked as if she might combust.
‘You’re the waste of space,’ she spat ferociously. ‘You’re the fucking idiot who can’t figure it out. You just need to turn it around, you stupid bitch. Just turn it around.’
With that, Kate stormed through the door, leaving it flapping back and forth in her wake.
Lexie stood motionless, staring into the mirror, at the empty space where Kate had stood a moment ago.
‘Turn it around.’ What the hell did that mean? Turn what around?
CHAPTER 53
Leaving the hospital, Lexie and Josh headed straight to Rowdy’s place.
‘Let’s hope Sandy’s boyfriend’s home,’ Josh said.
The next priority was to speak to him about Sandy, gauge his reaction to the news of her condition and see what he knew about the gun in her bag.
When they arrived the house was as silent as a tomb. Rowdy’s bike was parked directly out front, so Josh guessed he was probably in there. But after knocking continually for five minutes they gave up and headed back to the car.
‘He’s going to keep avoiding us,’ Josh grumbled. ‘We might have to put in a search warrant application. Now there’s firearms involved we should have enough to get one.’
Lexie agreed as she pulled away from the kerb.
‘Perhaps news about Sa
ndy has already reached him and he’s raced to the hospital?’
Josh shook his head.
‘His bike’s out the front. Unless someone picked him up? I might ring one of the guys still at the hospital. Tell them to keep a look out and nab him if he shows.’
‘Imagine if Rowdy decides he’s going to keep a bedside vigil beside Sandy, together with Max Croft. Wouldn’t the shit hit the fan then?’
Josh nodded. ‘So, did you get anything out of Kate?’
‘What do you think? She was just playing with me. She is seriously the biggest bitch . . . I felt like smacking her in the mouth,’ Lexie said vehemently. ‘And that’s not like me at all. I’m not usually violent.’
Josh laughed. ‘I don’t know about that. You were pretty vicious last night. I’ve got the scratch marks on my back to prove it.’
Lexie took one hand off the wheel and slapped him on the leg.
‘See,’ he laughed, grabbing her hand and bringing it up to his lips. ‘So aggressive.’
Lexie snatched her hand away and shook her head. ‘Not at work, Harrison.’
Josh’s stomach had been rumbling for what seemed like hours and he couldn’t ignore the gnawing emptiness any longer. He hadn’t eaten since earlier at the hospital when, out of pure desperation, he’d devoured a packet of chips from the machine dispenser in the emergency waiting room. It wasn’t much of a breakfast but it had done the job for the short term. It was now way past lunch time and his reserves were running very low.
‘Can you duck into Maize’s and get me a caesar roll?’ He handed Lexie a twenty dollar note. ‘Get yourself something, my shout; you paid for dinner last night, or should I say this morning?’ They exchanged an intimate look. ‘I’ll update the boss.’
Minutes later he was sitting opposite Casey Blair.
‘Do you think we have enough for a search warrant on Rowdy’s place?’
Casey looked thoughtful. ‘We have no solid evidence to link Sandy Croft to Bill O’Grady other than the surveillance footage at the hospital, which is sketchy at best.’
Sinister Intent Page 35