by Loren Teague
He must have heard it, because he reached out for her again, this time drawing her closer by the tops of her arms. ‘I’m sorry. I really am.’
For a few moments, she let herself be drawn into his embrace. Having him so near brought back memories of the past and she remembered a time when Jason had held her like that, apologizing and declaring he loved her. He had almost destroyed her. She would never allow that to happen again.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Rick, his face full of concern.
His voice brought her to her senses. This man was the complete opposite of Jason and this certainly wasn’t a romantic interlude. It was a business arrangement, she reminded herself. He was her bodyguard, damn him. He had no right to do what he did just now but he had done it for her.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied, still trembling. She pulled back from him even further. Her gaze slid to his chest, noticing his body was a deep mahogany, tanned from hours spent in the sun. Rivulets of water ran down his muscled chest, making his skin gleam in the sunlight. Her gaze shifted slowly across the planes of his body, where she saw the white scar, jagged and ugly, right below his breast bone. She stared longer than she meant to.
‘It’s a knife wound,’ he explained, his mouth twisting slightly.
Guiltily she flushed. ‘I … I didn’t mean to—’
‘Yeah, sure you did. I can see the questions in your eyes,’ he said quietly with a directness which disconcerted her. ‘So, aren’t you going to ask how I got it?’
Gina flinched at the hard note in his voice. ‘Would you tell me if I did?’
‘I might.’
She waited. Their eyes met, held. ‘Go on….’
‘I was a cop in Greymouth at the time. It was late at night and I was running after an offender. His accomplice was hiding in the shadows and I didn’t see the blade coming.’ His eyes flickered. ‘I guess you can imagine what happened next.’
She stared at him. ‘It must have been terrible.’ Her curiosity got the better of her. ‘How long were you in the police force?’
He pursed his lips. ‘About ten years … mainly front line duties. Burglaries, domestics, cruising the streets. That kind of thing.’
Her gaze fell to his chest. ‘And you left because of that?’
‘Partly,’ he answered carefully. ‘There were other reasons. But I won’t go into them; they’re long buried.’
Up to now, Gina realized, he hadn’t talked much about his police career, or his private life, and she wondered what else had happened there.
Finally, he said, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here. We can talk back at your apartment.’
‘I need a few more minutes,’ she told him, still feeling raw. He might be protecting her but she wasn’t going to let him take over completely, not after the fright he had just given her. He could wait for her until she was ready. She lifted her chin, ready to challenge him.
To her surprise he relented. ‘OK. Go right ahead. I’ll wait on the beach. Just shout if you need me.’
Being on her own gave her time to think. Rick’s confession had been unexpected. He’d been honest with her and that couldn’t have been easy for him. No wonder he had left the force after something like that had happened.
A few minutes later, she made her way out of the water. When she reached Rick, he was sitting on her towel watching her. He was now wearing a tracksuit top with his swim shorts. Conscious of his gaze, the dark glasses he wore made it impossible to read his expression.
‘Enjoy your swim?’ he asked.
She was going to say she had until he had come along, but the unfairness of that thought prevented her.
She nodded. ‘Swimming always clears my thoughts.’ She stood there, dripping wet. He handed her the towel. ‘Thanks,’ she murmured. After shaking the sand off the towel, she dried herself, then slipped on her sandals.
Rick stood up. ‘Ready?’
She nodded again.
As they walked side by side, he said, ‘I know you’ve been asked this before, but is there anyone at all you can think of who has a grudge against Maria?’
She paused thoughtfully, turning to face him. ‘I’ve been thinking. Some years ago there was a court case involving Maria to do with Rosselini Fisheries. Maria had to give evidence against an employee, Dani Russo. It caused ill feeling with some of his crew.’
‘You mean, someone might have held a grudge?’
‘It’s possible, I suppose.’ She thought again for a moment. ‘Apart from Dani Russo, I suppose Jason is the obvious suspect.’
Rick removed his sunglasses. ‘We’re looking for a motive. But sometimes people don’t need a reason to hurt others. There’s a lot of crazy people out there.’
‘Jason got angry when I refused to go back to him,’ she pointed out.
‘Angry enough to shoot Maria?’
Gina hesitated. ‘I don’t know. Surely he would have shot me, not Maria.’
Rick shrugged. ‘He could have shot her to get at you. He’d know how close you were. Or maybe he hit her by mistake. Realistically, there could be a thousand reasons and scenarios. We need some leads and at the moment there aren’t any. Not until the police come up with something, anyway. Or until they find Jason and question him.’
Gina bit her lip. She dug the tip of her sandal into the sand making a pattern. ‘Maybe the attacker was after Anthony and hit Maria by mistake?’
Rick’s eyes narrowed. ‘What makes you think that?’
She shrugged. ‘Just an idea I had.’
His finger brushed against her shoulders briefly. His touch was so light, she almost thought she imagined it. She hadn’t.
‘Just because you don’t like Anthony, that doesn’t mean to say he’s a suspect. You need to have a stronger reason.’
Gina shook her head, not convinced.
He took hold of her arm, his expression serious. ‘Gina, what is it? Is there something you’re not telling me about Anthony? If there is, I’d like to know what it is?’
Gina hesitated. Anthony and Rick had been good friends for a long time. They had even gone through high school together. ‘You’re right; I was just speculating. Anthony has been known to be very fond of women. Maybe some woman took offence after he dumped her and wanted revenge.’
Rick frowned again. ‘You mean a disgruntled girlfriend?’ He thought for a moment. ‘You really don’t like Anthony, do you?’
She cocked her head to the side. ‘I guess that’s obvious. We have never got on. And that makes things difficult because he was made a trustee of my financial affairs. My grandfather made an arrangement with him to safeguard both Maria’s and my inheritance. It’s not something I agreed to. I had no choice.’
‘He’s a trustee?’
She nodded. ‘Our parents left us five million dollars each. Half was paid to us when we reached twenty-one, the other half when we marry.’
Rick whistled. ‘That’s quite an inheritance.’
‘My parents loved us,’ she said defensively.
‘What about Maria? How do you feel about her marrying Anthony?’
‘Things won’t be the same without her, but I’m not selfish enough to prevent her having the happiness she wants. I do know she loves him and wants to marry him. I would never stand in her way. We might be twins, but we respect each other’s opinions and choices.’
Rick flashed her an odd look. ‘At least you’re honest about it.’
‘Why shouldn’t I be? I’ve got nothing to hide.’
He caught on quickly. ‘Meaning Anthony has?’
A disapproving note crept into her voice and she felt she ought to give him some justification for her reasoning. ‘Anthony is known for his philandering ways and I can’t see him changing because he’s married. Maria deserves someone who won’t hurt her.’ She shrugged. ‘I guess I can foresee problems when the novelty of marriage wears off for him.’
‘Perhaps, Maria knows already. Have you considered that?’
‘What? No way. If she did, she would
have told me.’
‘Are you sure? Maybe she just accepts him for what he is. Some women do, especially if they’re in love.’
Gina looked at him in disbelief. ‘You don’t understand. Maria has these visions of sweet love … living happily ever after. But life’s not like that. I’ve tried to warn her….’ She shook her head in frustration.
‘Don’t you think that what happened to you is maybe prejudicing your feelings a little? She has every right to her dreams, Gina.’
That gave her a jolt. Maybe he was right, she considered suddenly. All the same her voice became defensive again. ‘I just want her to have the happiness I didn’t have when I got married.’
‘I know,’ he offered gently. ‘But what about you? Where are your dreams now?’
Her shoulders stiffened. If only he would stop prying. She kept her voice steady, though inwardly she felt herself tremble again.
‘What do you mean?’ she said, playing for time.
‘Would you fall in love again?’
His blue eyes were so piercing, Gina felt they were stripping her of her senses, one by one. She tried to dismiss it all lightly with a shrug of her shoulders, but somehow couldn’t prevent the bitter note creeping into her voice. ‘I once believed in love but look where that got me.’ She held his gaze. ‘You ask a lot of questions.’
His mouth twisted. ‘Put it down to the job I do.’
She took a deep breath. ‘You would have heard a lot of gossip about Jason and me.’
He pursed his mouth. ‘Some. But I never took any notice. Small towns are like that.’
‘Do you want to know what really happened to me?’
Rick nodded.
‘OK.’ She took another deep breath to steady herself. ‘My husband came home in a rage one night. He had lost a heap of money at the gaming tables. And he was drunk. I challenged him about it and told him that unless he quit drinking, I was leaving.’ She paused slightly. ‘He lost his temper and hit me. The next day I lost the child I was carrying.’
Rick’s jaw dropped.
It explained a lot of things about her, thought Rick afterwards, and the things he’d heard about her too. Her relationship with a man like that would have left its mark in more ways than he could ever imagine. She’d told him her grandfather had cut her off financially once he’d learned she’d married without telling him, especially to a man her grandparents disapproved of. Gina knew that a condition of her inheritance was that her family had to approve of the marriage, but she hadn’t told Jason that. When he found out, he was furious. That’s when things started to slide downhill. Pride had made her hold out in the marriage for as long as she could.
Her grandmother, knowing she was in dire straits, had secretly arranged some money to be deposited in her bank account on a regular basis to help Gina when she was in need. It wasn’t enough; Gina’s husband had spent it on high living.
Rick didn’t know that Gina had lost her child though. That came as a surprise. But he suspected the Rosselinis were pleased she divorced Jason to avoid any long-term scandal. It was obvious Gina didn’t like Anthony being in charge of her financial affairs, but Rick knew her grandfather, Luigi, had a shrewd business mind and he’d made these legal arrangements to protect her from any other men who were after Gina’s money. Anthony was trustworthy where her finances was concerned, even Rick knew that, no matter what other weaknesses Anthony had in his personal life. Rick suspected there was a clash of personalities between Anthony and Gina due to a number of reasons and that was going to make it difficult for her unless she could come to an understanding with him. He only hoped time would ease her hurts.
Rick sat at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and mulling over the facts. Brougham had rung him earlier to say that he’d gone through the case notes. Maria had been the whistle blower in the quota fraud case. She’d turned Russo in to the police. Her evidence in court stated that Rosselini Fisheries never knew what was going on; Dani had acted on his own. The court case had caused a huge rift between the employees at Rosselini Fisheries, depending on whose side they took in the affair. Dani Russo was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and Rosselini Fishing Industries were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.
Rick told Gina about Brougham’s phone call. ‘Did Maria talk much about the court case?’
‘Often,’ she admitted. ‘She felt pretty bad about it. She hadn’t wanted to give evidence at first, but once things were set in motion, she couldn’t back down. It was a pretty tough time for Maria, but I admired her for seeing it through.’
‘What about the crew on the boat? They must have known what Russo was up to.’
Gina shrugged. ‘I guess some of them must have. Everyone was interviewed by the police. I know some of the staff in the factory resented Maria. She had new ideas. I guess they’d been working there for years and didn’t like her coming in to tell them what to do.’
‘Tell me about Maria.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘What is she like?’
Gina gave a sigh. How could she describe her sister? ‘Maria is thoughtful and kind. She’s passionate about what she believes in. When she left school, she went to university to study marine biology. She’s also a great believer in protecting our environment and our fisheries. At university, she organized a demonstration against Japanese whaling. She was unpopular for a while in the factory because of her beliefs. But it sounded like she won most of them over with her arguments.’ Gina hesitated. ‘She loved working at Rosselini Fisheries, but Anthony wanted her to give up the job when she got married and start a family straight away. I think it was the only thing she held out on because she loved her job.’
A thoughtful look crossed Rick’s face. ‘Do you share the same interests?’
‘No, our interests are very different. I studied drama and theatre at university.’
‘That explains a lot.’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, interested.
His mouth twitched. ‘Your temperament.’
She smiled ruefully. ‘It has its downside.’
‘Yeah, I’ve noticed.’
‘I’ve been trying hard to curb my temper.’
‘Yeah, I’ve noticed that too.’
‘How do you do it?’ she asked.
‘Do what?’
‘Keep so calm.’
He shrugged. ‘Years of being a cop, I guess. During an emergency it comes in handy. The last thing people in trouble want is someone who can’t control a situation.’
‘You’re lucky.’
‘Luck’s got nothing do to with it: it takes practice.’
‘Maria is always telling me to calm down. To think before I act.’
‘Does it work?’
She laughed. ‘No, I still get into trouble. I am always the impulsive one.’
Detective Brougham had been pressurizing Gina to speak with Maria all day.
‘How is she?’ he asked.
‘Getting better, but it’s going to take time.’
‘Can she talk?’
‘A little, but she’s not that coherent.’ Her sister’s words were slurred due to the drugs. Gina could see it was an effort for her to talk.
‘Can we ask her some questions? It could help with the investigation.’
‘She’s not well enough.’
Brougham exhaled impatiently. ‘Any idea when?’
‘I’m not a doctor, Detective Brougham. She needs a few more days.’
He nodded. ‘Call me.’
Gina nodded, feeling irritated. Couldn’t he see how ill her sister was?
Gina was standing beside her sister’s bedside when Maria’s eyes fluttered open as if she sensed her presence. Her lips moved slightly. Gina leaned closer. ‘What is it?’
‘He … he … might try again,’ murmured Maria.
Gina didn’t tell her sister the same thought had occurred to her. ‘You’re safe. The police are outside your room twenty-four hours a day.’ Gina told her brie
fly about Rick but she had no idea if Maria heard her. ‘I’ll go along with it for now, but I don’t like it.’
A flicker of a smile.
Gina’s heart rose. At least, it was a start.
‘Maria, do you know who shot you?’ The words slipped out before she could stop them.
No answer. A few seconds passed. Maria’s lips moved slightly. Gina couldn’t make out what she was trying to say. A solitary tear ran down her sister’s cheek. It was obvious she was becoming distressed.
‘It’s OK,’ soothed Gina. ‘Don’t try to talk if it’s too much.’
After Gina left, Maria’s eyes fluttered. She could see images. Many faces of those she used to work with at Rosselini Fisheries, all swirling around her. Dani Russo’s furious face emerged from the shadows, more prominent than the rest. Fear struck her. She could remember every little detail of that day. The day she’d told him what she’d done.
He had been in the factory office, talking to some of his crew. He’d been in good spirits, having just returned the day before from being at sea for four weeks. Things had gone well. Their catch had been the best for months. She had called him over to the side, so the other staff couldn’t hear. ‘Got a minute, Dani? It’s urgent.’
‘In here.’ He beckoned her into a small side room. ‘What is it?’
She sat down, her heart beating out of control. ‘A Ministry of Fisheries officer came to see me. He said there had been a lot of dead fish found floating around your trawl area. He accused us of dumping fish of poor quality and size, and catching more to make up for it. I had to tell him the truth – that you’d falsified the quotas from the last catch. If I hadn’t, he was going to lay charges.’
Russo gasped. ‘You what? Are you crazy?’
‘I warned you the over-fishing had to stop. If everyone fished like you do, ignoring the quotas, only taking the best, we’d have no fish left in the sea.’ She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. ‘The officer said if we came clean, he’d see what he could do. Perhaps we’d get a fine. It would be heavy, but it would mean we could start again. Keep to the quotas. Keep everything legal.’