Starting Over (New Beginnings #1)

by Gillian Joy

Beth entered Connor’s number; she was good with numbers, always had been, she'd memorised her mum's number and her home number and her grandparents’ numbers from the time she was about four. Her Mum probably didn't realise, but she had memorised almost every number in her contacts list. Every time she played on the phone, she'd check out the numbers and see how many she didn't know.

  ****

  Connor looked at the unknown number on his phone and answered it anyway. He wasn't going to risk Ash getting her hands on a phone and calling him.

  "Connor speaking."

  "Connor..." Was all he heard before the sobbing started, he knew Liam was on the phone to Jamie, he'd assumed it was an update to say they were on the move again, but at the sound of the little girl crying on the other end his heart missed a beat; he had no idea if he was speaking to Beth or Sarah but took a stab at Beth being the leader.

  "Beth?"

  "Mummy... left... us..." She said between sobs. The phone clinks and clunked.

  "Beth... Beth? Where's your Mummy Beth? What's happened? Beth!"

  "Connor?"

  "Who's this?"

  "Lydia."

  "What's going on? Where is Ash? What's happened Lydia?"

  "Calm down Connor, she is fine..." She waited a minute for him to get himself back under control.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah. What's going on?"

  "They took off and left the girls behind when they went to the toilet."

  "Ash would never leave the girls..."

  "Connor, she probably didn't have a choice."

  "Where is she?"

  "Jamie's still following them, she's fine. I stayed behind when they drove off so the girls wouldn't be alone."

  "Thank you. Thank you Lydia..." He started to ramble again.

  "Connor, I need you to tell the girls I'm okay, that I'll look after them. They're very stranger aware, which is great, but doesn't help me to help them."

  "Is Beth okay? Put her back on."

  Lydia handed the phone back over to Beth.

  "Connor?"

  "Hey gorgeous."

  "Hey."

  "The lady who's phone you are using; her name is Lydia okay? She's going to help you. I'll come and get you as soon as I can, but for the time being stay with Lydia and she'll take care of you. Okay?"

  Beth nodded, oblivious to the fact they Connor wouldn't be able to see her.

  "Why did Mummy leave us?"

  "Sweetheart, your Mummy would never just leave you, okay? Something happened and she had to go, but only because Lydia was there to take care of you."

  "She's with Daddy, is he going to hurt her?"

  Connors stomach lurched and he swallowed back the bile that was trying to rise.

  "She'll be fine sweetheart, he's your daddy." He felt sick trying to tell Beth that her Mummy was safe because she was with her Daddy, but aside from the fact that he didn't want to scare the poor girl any more than she already was, he also didn't want to bad mouth her father to her.

  "I think he had a gun." She whispered between sobs.

  "What?"

  "He was sitting on it, a small one, but he had it under his leg."

  "She'll be fine Sweetie, can you put Lydia back on the phone for me and look after your sister. I'll be there soon. Okay?"

  "Okay."

  Lydia got back on the phone.

  "Yeah."

  "They'll be okay now, Lydia. Look after them. I'm on my way."

  "I've got them." She replied.

  Connor stormed out of the room they were sitting in, to find Liam at the counter with Senior Sergeant Callum.

  "He's got a gun." He interrupted.

  "Are you sure?" The police officer asked.

  "No. I'm passing on what Beth said. He's dumped the girls in a damned rest station toilet, and he has a gun. Beth said she saw it under his leg on the seat. I need to get out there to the girls. Lydia's with them, but they don't know her from Adam and they're scared."

  "Okay. I'll have a car pick Lydia and the girls up; they'll take them back to the station at Wallan where you can meet them."

  "What's happening with Ash? He's got that damned gun and will kill her if he thinks he can't have her."

  Tyson put his hand on Connor’s shoulder. "We've got it okay. If you go to the Wallan station, she'll be there waiting for you. I'm leaving now. Liam, I need Jamie and Lydia's direct numbers and you need to inform them that they have to do exactly what I say, exactly when I say it."

  Liam nodded. "Already done." Security firms didn't always see eye to eye with the police, but there was no way they were going to do anything to mess this up.

  Tyson nodded. "Thanks. Connor, go! I'll meet you there."

  ****

  Tyson was sure everything would be fine, he wished he could be there, but there was no way he'd make it to the road block before Mark Cross got there with Ash. The gun complicated things a little bit. The approaching officers would be made to wear vests and they'd have to act quickly to get him out of the car. But the plan should work, a pretend booze bus set up on the side of the road. They could pull him over for a random and when they did they'd arrest him instead. So long as he assumed all was good, he should pull nicely in for a random breath test, because the alternative was to get involved in a police chase, so long as he had no idea they were onto him, it should go down without a hitch. Pull him over, ask him to blow into the bag then ask him to step out of the vehicle when the results come in. It should be simple. A piece of piss as the saying goes.

  ****

  Chapter 26

  Connor's phone rang as he was getting into the car.

  "Yeah?"

  "What's happening?" Deb asked.

  "He left the girls at a service centre out the other side of the city. I'm going to pick them up at Wallan station now. Deb, he's got a gun. Beth saw it...Christ I feel sick."

  "I'm coming to get you; you're not driving out there on your own."

  "No it'll take too long. I'm leaving now."

  "Connor, we don't need you involved in an accident because you're distracted."

  "I'm fine Deb, you're the only one distracting me." He said as he started the car and the call transferred over to the inbuilt Bluetooth.

  "At least pick Hayden up then, you can drive past the shop without really going out of your way."

  "You call him, I'll drive by. If he's not there I'm not stopping."

  "Argh. You are so frustrating." she shouted as she ended the call.

  ****

  Liam called Lydia as he was leaving the police station. There wasn't anything more he could do, as much as he wanted to stay in the loop all he could do was keep in touch with Jamie and Lydia.

  "The police have your number," He said as soon as she answered. "They're going to pick you and the girls up and take you to Wallan station. Connor’s on his way and he'll meet you there."

  "Okay. What about Ash?"

  "The police have it under control. I can't tell you more than that because I don't know any more. Jamie's still following them. Keep me in the loop if anything happens and remember to help the police with this, whatever they need."

  "Sure thing Liam."

  "And Lydia..."

  "Yeah?"

  "You girls have done great with this. Awesome work."

  "Thanks Liam, I appreciate that. Bye."

  Lydia hung up the phone and looked at the girls. "What do you say we go inside and see if we can get an ice cream or something? The police are going to come and get us so we can go and meet up with Connor."

  "Yes please." The girls said in unison with a half hearted smile. Lydia didn't expect them to be happy under the circumstance, but if an ice cream lightened their moods, then she'd do what she had to do. She put an arm around each of the girls and led them into the shop.

  The girls went straight up to the freezers and started picking out what they wanted, when Lydia realised her bag, and her wallet were back in her car, still parked outside the target store where Ash worke
d. Crap, she thought as she tapped her pockets hoping she had some change, as well as hoping her bag hadn't been stolen when she left the car, unlocked, behind. She found a total of four dollars and fifty cents in her pocket and the girls each pulled out a three-dollar chocolate coated ice cream. Damn.

  Beth and Sarah walked up to the counter with their ice creams and placed them on the top. Lydia followed them up.

  "Girls, I'm so sorry, I haven't got enough money for those ones."

  The twins’ faces dropped as they headed back to the freezer with their ice cream but they didn't complain, not even a mumble.

  "I've got it." A male voice said behind her. "Girls bring them back. It's okay." He added.

  Sarah and Beth looked expectantly at Lydia, waiting to make sure it was okay to accept the gift.

  "Are you sure?" She asked, smiling at the elderly gentleman. He was nicely dressed and carried himself well. Too old to be trying to hit on her and he had a wedding band on his left finger.

  "Not a problem at all. I noticed you with the girls while I was filling up. They seemed upset, so if an ice cream can fix that then I'll be damned if I'm going to stand in the way for the sake of a couple of dollars."

  "Thank you so, so much, I forgot I didn't have my wallet when I offered, we're just waiting for the police and I thought an ice cream would cheer them up a bit."

  "The police? Why?"

  "Oh, long, long, story. But they'll be here soon. Sarah, Beth, bring your ice creams back here." She said to the girls.

  "Thank you so much again." She said to the man.

  "Not a problem at all." He replied before asking the attendant to add them to his bill.

  "Did you want one too?" He asked before handing his card over to pay.

  "No, no. I'm good. Thank you." Lydia replied.

  The man smiled and paid his bill before nodding to her as he walked out of the store. He felt good for having done a good deed for the day, and later that night, when he watched the news and saw the story of the kidnapping and child abandonment that occurred, he realised those were the girls he had helped to feel marginally better, he felt even better.

  ****

  Hayden was standing out the front of Target when Connor pulled up, and drove off as soon as he’d closed the car door. He didn't even wait long enough for Hayden to get his seatbelt on.

  "You okay Cuz?" He asked, concerned.

  "I've been better." Connor replied.

  "She'll be okay."

  "So everyone keeps saying."

  "You think different?"

  "I can't think about it at all. But I can't stop thinking about it. Don't ever fall in love Hayden. It's not worth the heartache."

  "So you admit you're in love then?"

  "I don’t want her to get married to me; I need her to marry me, so yes, I'm that hard in love."

  "Does she know?"

  "That I love her, or that I to want to marry her?"

  "That you love her. Don't mention marriage around her. I think she'd head for the hills."

  "Yeah, I told her ages ago that I loved her."

  "Did she return the sentiment?"

  "Not at the time."

  Hayden glared at Connor with an eyebrow raised.

  "She told me a couple of weeks ago. When all this shit started with her ex."

  "Him coming back into the picture made her realise her true feelings?"

  "Yeah, I guess so. God Hayden, I need for her to be okay man."

  "I know," He replied, patting his cousin on the shoulder. "I know."

  ****

  Lydia sat at a table inside the service centre with the girls while they ate their ice creams. Beth was already finished and Sarah was almost done when her phone rang.

  "Lydia speaking." She answered.

  "Lydia, this is Senior Sergeant Callum. Do you have Sarah and Beth Cross with you?"

  "I do."

  "And you're at the Kalkallo service centre on the Sydney freeway?"

  "Yes, we are, we're inside eating some ice creams."

  "Okay, a car is about ten minutes away. I'll meet you at the station when I get there."

  "Okay, thank you Sergeant."

  She'd wanted to ask after Ash, to make sure she was alright and find out what was happening, but she didn't want to mention it in front of the girls, and she wasn't going to walk away from them.

  "The police will be here in about ten minutes." She said to the girls. "We're going to get to ride in a police car."

  "Really?" Beth asked, excitement raising the pitch of her voice.

  "Can't be positive, but I think so. I don't know if it'll be marked car or not, but it should be full of police radios and radars and all the other fun stuff the police get to play with.

  "Cool.” Sarah said as she licked the stick of her ice cream.

  Lydia saw the police car pull up through the sliding doors.

  "Looks like a marked car to me." She said as she gestured for the girls to get up. "Let's go."

  She walked outside as two uniformed police headed towards the doors, they looked at her and the girls and stopped in front of them.

  "Lydia St James?" The shorter guy asked.

  She nodded.

  "So this must be Beth and Sarah Cross." He added.

  Both girls nodded quietly with looks of awe in their eyes.

  "Let's go for a ride then and we'll meet up with Connor Maise at the station."

  "Can you put the sirens on?" Beth asked as they walked back towards the police car.

  "We're not allowed to put the sirens on for no reason girls." He said sternly. "But..." He added in reply to their falling faces. "We can give them a blast when get into the car park back at the station."

  "Yes!" Beth replied with a huge smile and Sarah grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

  "This might sound like a silly question, but is this THE Connor Maise who will be meeting you back at the station?" The driver asked as they pulled out of the service centre and merged back onto the highway.

  "Yeah!" Sarah answered before Lydia even had a chance. "He's our Mummies boyfriend."

  "Yeah, they kiss and everything." Beth added.

  Lydia caught the officers’ eye in the rear view mirror and raised her eyebrows and smiled.

  "So you think he's a good singer?" He asked.

  "He's the best; he sings us songs at night when we go to bed." Sarah said.

  "He does the silliest nursery rhymes," Beth added, "he gets them all wrong."

  Lydia was thankful the officers were keeping the girls occupied while they drove back to the station.

  ****

  Chapter 27

  Jamie saw the flashing lights as soon as she rounded the bend. The police had the breath test signs up and she followed the officer’s instructions and pulled up behind the black Audi. Her heart was pounding through her ears as the officer tapped on her window. She put her window down while she collected her thoughts ready to try to explain to the officer that he needed to detain the driver of the car in front.

  "Afternoon ma'am." He said.

  "Listen," she interrupted "I am more than happy to do a breath test, but I really urgently need to explain something to you about the Audi in front of us first."

  "Are you Jamie Maddison?" He asked.

  Jamie faltered for a second, confused as to how the officer at a random breath test stop would know her name.

  "Yeah?"

  "It's all good. We know all about Mark Cross, that's why he's been pulled up; this is a ruse to catch him. Stay in the car and we'll go through the motions of a breath test so we don't alert him to what's going on."

  "The girls! He left the girls back at the service centre."

  "It's okay, we got them. They're already on the way back to the station in a marked unit, along with your partner."

  "Oh thank God. Let's do this then." Jamie said.

  She was watching the goings on in the car in front while she counted into the breath analyser.

  "Why don't they drag him out?
What's the hold up?"

  "They're being cautious. We have reason to believe he might be armed."

  ****

  Ash didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified when she saw the flashing red and blue lights up ahead. She noticed Mark stiffen beside her for a few moments before he noticed what she noticed a few seconds earlier, it was a random breath test stop. He relaxed marginally as they were directed to the side of the road.

  "If you try anything at all Ash, I won't hesitate to shoot you." He pulled the gun out from under his leg on the front seat and leaning forward, he tucked it quickly into the back of his pants untucking his shirt and pulling it over the gun. "It is loaded. Fully." He added as he pulled the car up beside the officer standing on the side of the road holding a breath analyser unit.

  Mark put his window down.

  "Good afternoon officer." He said politely.

  "Afternoon sir," The officer replied, "have you had anything to drink today?"

  "Not today officer."

  "Would you count to ten for me please?"

  The officer held the analyser in front of Mark and he started counting. Ash sat quietly in the seat beside him, her fists opening and closing on her lap. She was desperate to say something, what was he going to do? Shoot her in front of the police? They'd shoot him in the head. She thought about opening the door and making a run for it. But she didn't know how the locks in this car worked, she didn't know if the door would automatically unlock if she pulled on the handle, or if he had the ability to keep her locked in.

  She heard Mark continue counting until the machine beeped.

  "Thank you, sir," the officer said as he looked down at the machine and waited for the reading. Ash knew her time was running out, quickly.

  "Would you wait here a minute sir?" the officer enquired, looking at the machine, confusion etched across his face.

  Mark nodded as the officer walked towards the back of the car and the other officer who was waiting beside the car behind them. Ash watched him leave, her attention drawn towards the other car and the driver sitting behind the wheel. Jamie was right behind them, and surely she told them what was going on. She turned back towards Mark and noticed him eyeing the police car sitting on the side of the road about fifty metres in front of them, ready to chase down anyone who thinks it's okay to try and do a runner. Obviously, that’s exactly what was going through Mark’s mind at the time.