by Loren Teague
He paid for another drink, downing it in one go, then checked his watch. Time to get going. He’d only called in briefly to question some of the patrons to see if he could get any leads on Gallagher. No one knew anything. He was just about to leave when his mobile rang. It was Brougham. ‘We’ve got something. Get down here as quick as you can.’
‘On my way.’
Twenty minutes later, he sat opposite the detective.
‘Looks like Denise Thompson’s been in on this all along,’ said Brougham. ‘But says she didn’t know Gallagher was going to shoot Maria.’
‘You believe her?’
‘I’m not sure.’
Rick’s grimaced. ‘If anything happens to Gina, I’ll find Gallagher myself and kill him.’
‘You do that and you’ll be breaking the law,’ replied Brougham quickly.
His reminder didn’t sit well with Rick.
Brougham stood up. ‘Denise has given us the address of a flat in town where Gallagher has been hiding out. We’ve sent someone round to check it out now and I’m heading down there in a few minutes.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ offered Rick.
They reached Gallagher’s flat accompanied by two squad cars. When the officers piled out, the neighbours stood looking over the fence at what was going on. They were used to the police turning up in this part of town but seeing this many at once was a little unusual. Statements were taken, but no one had seen their elusive neighbour for some time.
Inside the flat, Rick had a good look in the bedroom. There were no clues, nothing that would indicate where Gallagher had gone. There was an unmade bed, a rumpled towel lying on the floor and some worn trousers hanging in the wardrobe. Rick was just about to walk out when he saw a bit of paper lying on the ground. It had caught underneath the door. He kneeled down and pulled it out. Unfurling it, he saw it was a receipt from a local outdoor and mountaineering shop in town. Gallagher had bought candles, a small camping stove and a length of rope.
Rick shouted through to Brougham. ‘This could mean he’s got a hideout in the bush somewhere.’ He showed him the receipt. The name of the shop was printed at the top.
Luckily, Rick had done the shop owner a favour in the past when they’d had a problem with shoplifting and the owner was only too pleased to help. Rick spoke to all the staff asking if they remembered anyone coming in recently to buy some camping gear, in particular the items listed on the receipt.
‘I remember that customer,’ one sales assistant said. ‘The guy was a bit creepy if you ask me. He wanted a map of the Nelson coast. He mentioned something about Kokorua.’
‘Did he say anything to you about where he was going?’ Rick asked hopefully.
‘Yeah, he said he was living rough for a few days. That was why he needed the candles.’ She thought again. ‘When I asked him what the rope was for, he clammed up. Then he paid his money and left.’
They were still no further forward, Rick thought, disheartened. Kokorua stretched for many kilometres along the coast and the thick native forest of pungas and palm trees could hide anything since it was so dense. Still, at least it was a start.
‘We’ll get search and rescue on to it,’ Brougham said.
Rick knew it was a slim chance of finding her but anything was worth a try.
The darkness lasted for hours. The cold silence made it worse as Gina wondered when Jason was going to return and what he would do to her. Sometime during the night, she had heard the unmistakable sound of a car and had thought someone had arrived, but quickly realized Jason must have gone out. She tried to move to a better position as she lay on the bed, but it was impossible. Her legs were tied so tightly.
Her mouth was dry and it was painful to swallow. She licked her lips to try and moisten them but all she could taste was the salt from her tears. She glanced upwards, towards the window, seeing a welcome shaft of morning light filtering through the dark green wooden shutters. Odd patterns shifted upon the water-stained walls. She watched the movement for a while, because there wasn’t anything else she could do.
She thought of Rick and wondered if he was looking for her. His strong image appeared, lingering for a few seconds in her mind, and giving her much-needed courage. More memories flooded back as she remembered the strong feel of his hands as they caressed her body and those blue eyes of his as they looked at her.
She loved him. Oh God, she loved him so much. She didn’t want to die like this without him even knowing how she felt. Her breath caught in a sob. Rick would find her. He was a private investigator and an ex-cop, and he was clever, she told herself. She just had to buy herself enough time until he did.
It took Gallagher an hour to reach his flat from the shack. He’d wanted to pick up a couple of things he’d left there. But when he saw the police cars parked out front, he didn’t stop. He increased speed, cruising on by hoping no one would recognize him with his cropped blond hair. The fake suicide note should have thrown them off the track for a while but he should have guessed that Denise would have proved difficult. In the beginning, she’d been only too keen to help him. Anything to get Maria out the way and get Anthony to come back to her. But she’d panicked, especially when he’d told her he’d abducted Gina. So he’d threatened her and, under duress, she had gone to the police just like he had planned with his ransom threat. They didn’t know where to find him though. And he had Gina, he thought, smiling. And very soon he’d have the fifty million dollars as well. He smiled. The Rosselinis would only be too willing to pay up.
Rick looked up at his sister as she entered his office. She was always so calm. That’s probably why she made such a good nurse, he thought.
‘Ben and Sam are playing outside,’ she told him. ‘Has there been any word?’
He grimaced. ‘None.’ He glanced out the window at the two children, sitting outside in the morning sun beside his father in his wheelchair. They were giggling and playing cards, oblivious to the drama playing out in real life. Innocence, thought Rick. There was a lot to be said for it. Seeing them sitting there, Rick realized it was at times like this he appreciated his family around him.
Elena put her arms around her brother’s shoulders. ‘You should eat, or at least get some sleep,’ she told him. ‘You were up all last night.’
He swung around in his swivel chair still holding the map of Kokorua in his hands. ‘I can’t. I’ve just got to keep going,’ he said, his voice breaking. He laid the map down on a desk already cluttered with a heap of paper. He tried to concentrate, but couldn’t.
‘Come and have something to eat,’ she said gently. ‘It will make you feel better.’
‘The only thing that will make me feel better is finding her,’ Rick replied wearily. He leaned forward, then slumped back again. ‘All I can hear is her voice. See her face. I keep imagining what must have happened to her after I left the beach house. She would have been terrified.’
‘Stop torturing yourself. No one could have known what was going to happen. As far as everyone was concerned the man responsible for Maria’s death was dead. And from the sound of it,’ she added, ‘he’s been harbouring a grudge for a long time. Didn’t the psychiatrist at the rehab clinic mention that in his medical report?’
‘They should have warned her what he might have intended doing.’
‘He could have fooled them,’ she replied.
He got up and opened the cupboard in front of him. He took out his gun and knife. Elena put her hand on his arm. ‘Don’t take those … it could leave you wide open.’
Rick ignored her and took out an orange and black packet. He opened it and pushed the brass .9mm into a spare magazine for his Glock.
‘Elena, we’re dealing with a psychopath: he’ll stop at nothing.’ He flashed her a determined look. ‘And neither will I.’
Ellen nodded as she sighed. ‘You love her, don’t you?’ One quick nod from him confirmed her question. ‘For Christ’s sake, be careful. I don’t want to lose a brother.’ She gave a worried frow
n and then a smile, as she touched him reassuringly again on the arm.
A knock at the door interrupted them. It was his mother. ‘There’s a police car waiting for you.’
Rick nodded. ‘Good. Right on time.’ He grabbed an iced can of Coke from the fridge as he passed. ‘I don’t know when I’ll be back.’ He shut the door behind him and made his way down the steps. In exactly fifteen minutes, they’d be flying in an Iroquois helicopter and begin searching the Nelson coast.
Gina heard a car pull up. Daylight filtered through the shutters. She was desperate to use the bathroom and just hoped Jason would let her. When he opened the door and entered the room, she asked him. He untied the rope binding her to the bed and freed her feet but didn’t untie her hands.
‘The bathroom is through there,’ he said, indicating a door off the hallway. Jason had a broody look on his face and Gina wondered what had happened to make him so withdrawn compared to his arrogant state he was in last night. Even so, she knew any mood of his could be dangerous. He was so volatile, anything could set him off.
She lowered her gaze as she walked in front, hoping nothing she did would antagonize him. After entering the bathroom, she tried to shut the door.
‘Leave it ajar,’ he demanded.
Humiliated, she did as he said and, as she stood in the small bathroom, she spied a small piece of broken glass lying on the floor. It had obviously come from the cracked window above her. If she could get it, she might be able to saw through her ropes. Bending down, she tried to pick it up.
When she almost had it within her grasp, he opened the door and peered in.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked suspiciously. He leaned forward, pushed the door open wider. His hand clamped on her shoulder, digging in painfully.
Gina’s fingers curled around the glass shard quickly as she twisted around to look at him. ‘I was dizzy. I lost my balance.’ She put her elbow on the toilet and hoisted herself up slowly.
He gave one quick look around as if to make sure she was telling the truth and then went back out again.
Her hands were tied in front, so at least she didn’t have the indignity of asking him to remove her clothes. He didn’t give her long before he came in again and hauled her out by the arm. This time she did lose her balance and fell forward against the wall. Determined to say nothing in case a beating ensued, she righted herself as quick as she could. Then she shuffled back to the room, where she sat down on the bed while he retied the ropes around her feet.
‘I’m so thirsty. I need a drink,’ she said, pleading. ‘Please….’
For a moment, she thought he was going to ignore her, but when he finished what he was doing he left the room. Gina let the small piece of glass fall under her body to hide it when he tied her hands to the top of the bed. He brought in a bottle of water and let her drink through a straw. When she had enough, her head fell backwards onto the bed and she closed her eyes, pretending to be too weak to do anything else.
Jason checked the ropes were secure and then went out the room locking the door behind him.
Gina had intended using the shard of glass straight away, but she felt as if she was going to black out. She must have drifted off to sleep and wasn’t sure what time it was when she finally woke. Her back was sticky with sweat and her limbs were stiff. She glanced upwards at the shutters across the windows and realized it must be early evening from the light filtering into the room. A bell bird sang nearby in a tree outside the window, and she listened for a few seconds to its haunting bell-like sound which unexpectedly soothed her. As the light faded, her hopes did as well. They would never find her, she realized, dully. There were hundreds of kilometres of native bush all around them and no one would think to look in an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere.
She pulled her arms towards her abdomen, stretching the rope. The glass shard was lodged near her back. She twisted around but couldn’t reach it. She tried repeatedly. Frustrated at her efforts, tears ran down her cheeks as she realized how helpless she was. Then she had a thought. Maybe if she was to bounce on the bed it might move the shard to where she could reach it. After a couple of movements, all she succeeded in doing was making a thumping noise as the ancient bed springs protested at her weight. She hoped Jason couldn’t hear her although she wondered if he had possibly gone out. He could have come back while she had been asleep and she hadn’t heard him. But there was nothing to lose, she thought. She had to try.
For another half-hour, the glass shard bounced around the bed until finally it fell off the bed on to the floor. Gina sobbed. When no tears were left, anger shot through her. He wasn’t going to get away with this. She wouldn’t let him. She wrenched the ropes really hard, again and again, knowing what she was doing would have no effect at all. Her arms ached. She cried again. Then gave one last heave. To her surprise, there was a cracking sound and the post at the top of the bed came away. Gina couldn’t believe it. The thin post had split in two. For a few seconds, she stared at it, knowing that if Jason came in and found what had happened, he’d be furious.
Although her hands were still tied, she was now free to sit up, but her legs were tied to the bottom post. Leaning over the bed, she reached out for the glass. With one swoop it was in her hands and she began sawing. Half an hour later she had her hands free and then she started on the ropes on her feet.
The sound of a car again made her start. It was Jason. He had returned. He’d find her any minute. Hurriedly, she unwound the rope, dropped it from her ankles and stood up. Her legs were stiff. Moving to the window quickly, she tried to unbolt the shutters. The bolts were rusty and difficult to slide back. She beat at them with her hands but they refused to budge. She needed a lever. But there was nothing in the room apart from the broken bed post, so she picked it up. Using all her strength, she started to beat at the bolts, forcing them to slide along. All of a sudden, one of the shutters swung open into the night and crashed against the outside wooden wall. Fresh air hit her face. The sweet fragrance of the native forest at night overwhelmed her. The moon was high in the sky, its brilliant white glow bathing her in light. She climbed up to the window ledge. It wasn’t too far to jump. She tensed. Then she heard the door swing open in the room. Her heart catapaulted. She glanced over her shoulder briefly at Jason’s surprised face and with one leap was sailing through the air. She fell to the ground heavily. Winded, she lost valuable seconds. When she heard Jason climbing out of the window after her, fear gave her extra strength and she pushed herself up and started to run.
If only she could reach the bush, she could hide. Sharp branches scraped her face as she fought her way through the thick foliage. Finally the bush cleared a little. She increased speed, not knowing in what direction to head. It was only when she stopped, her chest heaving from the exertion, she realized she was completely lost. But at least she was safe and away from Jason. Her legs finally gave way and she sank to the ground amongst the ferns and the soft leaves. And she thanked God she was alive.
At first light, on the second day, the Iroquois helicopter hovered at points along the coast, the pilot pointing out various abandoned dwellings dotted below. Rick peered out the window. He could see trackers and search dogs. He adjusted the headphones and microphone before he spoke. ‘What do you think, Dave?’
‘We need to find out who owns all this coastal property on this stretch of the coast. The City Council should have that information.’
Rick pointed to the map. ‘It’s possible he could have hidden for a while in the bush, then doubled back to any one of these deserted dwellings.’
‘We have to consider every possibility. This guy knows what he is doing.’
Brougham talked through the radio. Then he hung up, and turned to Rick. ‘Sounds like someone rented out an old shack to a guy who fits Gallagher’s description. It’s further up the coast. About here.’ He pointed to an area on the map, quite a distance away from Rick’s beach house. ‘Let’s check it out.’
It didn’t take long
for them to reach the place by helicopter. The pilot managed to land in a clearing though it was tight. Rick made a quick check of the shed. Brougham came up behind him. ‘Any luck?’
‘A car. No number plates. Probably stolen,’ Rick remarked.
Brougham went to have a look. ‘We’ll get the tyres checked. See if they match the ones in your driveway.’
Both men made their way to the shack nearby. Brougham ordered two men to watch the front of the place while Rick offered to check out the back.
‘I’m going inside,’ Rick informed Brougham.
‘No. We’ll wait for more men to arrive,’ Brougham said firmly. ‘We’ll surround the place. It would be safer.’
‘Forget it, we haven’t got time. Chances are high he heard the chopper overhead.’ Rick pulled out his Glock, a determined look on his face and continued to make his way around the corner of the wooden building. An opened shutter banged against the wall. Ducking underneath, he crept around to the back door, noticing it was wide open. Entering quietly, his feet making no noise on the wooden floorboards, he crept down the hallway.
In the kitchen he found a camping stove and tins of food sitting on a table. Obviously someone had been living here. He swung the torch light around. No sign of movement. His heart hammered in his chest as he approached another room, just off the hallway. Pushing the door open slowly with his foot, he peered inside. It had no furnishings apart from a bed. Ropes were tied to the bed. One part had broken off and was lying on the floor. His chest tightened at the implications.