"He has," Cooper remembered. "What about Marcus Rose?"
"I don't know, boss. Killing two other innocent kids to cover up the murder of his own son?"
"Stepson. It's an important distinction."
"We haven't even interviewed him, boss."
"Then maybe we should. Make a note."
Quinn sighed and pulled out his notebook. "What about the possibility of a secret boyfriend, or admirer?" he said, when he'd finished writing. "Some kid who liked Sia and was standing up for her honour? Or an older guy, for that matter."
Cooper considered it. They'd seen cases before of grown men infatuated with teenage girls, of course they had. It was at least worth investigating. He pulled out his mobile phone and found Meg Baxter's number.
"How's the sniper case going?" he asked when Meg answered. She laughed at him.
"We've got less than nothing, Coop. It's a dud. No-one saw anything, not on the day or in the days before. People must walk around with their eyes closed, I'm sure of it. No forensics, no cameras anywhere, and ballistics don't match anything. Someone knew what they were doing. How's your case?"
"That's why I'm calling." Cooper explained Quinn's theory of an older admirer for Sia Longhurst, and asked Meg to dig deeper into the girl's life.
"I can handle that. Got nothing else to do," Meg answered. "Oh, there is something we found out you might be interested in. That kid you were looking at, Oscar White? We checked out his old high school down in Melbourne. Apparently a kid from his year committed suicide just a couple of weeks before Oscar left."
Cooper's coincidence radar lit up. "How?"
"Kid hung himself."
Cooper thanked her for the information and ended the call. He told Quinn, who almost spat out a mouthful of lemon squash.
"Can we find out anything else? Whether Oscar and this kid knew each other?"
"Meg's on it." Cooper went to put his phone away, but it rang before he could get it in his pocket. It was Jackie Rose.
"Jackie, how are you doing?"
"Charlie, something's going on. Can you meet me at my place? I think the kids are in trouble."
Cooper grabbed his jacket and signalled to Quinn they had to go. Quinn grabbed his keys and ran to get the car. "What's wrong? Where are you?"
"I'm in my car with Oscar's mum. It's a long story, but I think Oscar might have tricked me. I came to visit him in the hospital, but he wasn't there. I got a call from Ethan, he said Oscar was with them. Ethan said help, Charlie. They need help, and I'm not there. I left them with Simon to go to Oscar, and Oscar… I don't know. Just come quickly, can you?"
Quinn pulled the car up outside the pub and Cooper got in. "We're on our way, Jackie." He turned to Quinn. "Rose house, now."
45
Jackie pulled into the driveway and jumped out, not bothering to close the car door. Janet White was right behind her, still trying to convince her Oscar was a good boy who wouldn't hurt anyone. Then why did Ethan call for help? And where was Simon?
The light was on in the garage. She ran straight there, and what she saw when she got there would be etched in her mind forever.
Janet screamed. Oscar was lying motionless in a pool of blood by the door. She crouched beside her son, looking for signs of life. But Jackie's attention was firmly focused on the trio in the middle of the garage.
"We've been waiting for you," said Simon, calmly. He stood in the centre of the empty garage, Ethan on a stool beside him, noose around his neck. Emma was sobbing quietly at Simon's side; he had one hand holding onto her shoulder, the other clutching a knife.
Jackie couldn't speak. The horror of seeing Ethan up there, the fear in his eyes, the realisation that Simon, a man she thought she could trust, a man she thought understood the pain she'd been through, had actually been the one to cause that pain. And now he was ready to inflict it all over again.
"Simon, please…"
"Please what? Please don't kill my precious son? He didn't mean to hurt Sia? Is that what you're trying to say?" he glanced over at Janet White, and Jackie followed his gaze. Janet was holding Oscar in her arms and gently rocking him. She seemed oblivious to the horror unfolding around her.
Jackie stared at Simon, wide-eyed. She'd dealt with many violent, threatening people in the emergency room over the years, and her tactic had always been talking, trying to reason with them. She had to try and talk Simon down. Her children's lives depended on it.
"Ethan is a child, Simon. Just like Sia was. He made a mistake, but he doesn't have to die for it."
"His brother died for his mistake, you know that, don't you? I thought it was him who sent those messages. Him and those other two, kicking my beautiful girl when she was down. I took care of them, made sure they wouldn't hurt anyone else. But then you tell me it wasn't Lachlan, it was these two."
Jackie tried to reassure Ethan with her eyes, but she could see how frightened he was.
"I'm sorry, Jackie," Simon went on. "Lachlan shouldn't have died for what these two did. But that's on them, not me. What am I supposed to do? Ethan and Oscar drove my Sia to her death." Jackie looked again over to Oscar, his limp body cradled in his anguished mother's arms. All that blood.
"No-one else needs to die today, Simon. Ethan did the wrong thing, and he'll suffer with the consequences of that for the rest of his life. But how does this help Sia? Taking these kids' lives isn't going to bring her back. End this now, Simon. Let me and the police deal with Ethan."
"No. He has to pay now. Then it will be over."
Jackie realised then that Simon had no intention of getting out of this. Retribution for his daughter's death had become his sole purpose in life. Nothing was going to stop him completing his task and ending Ethan's life. Why, oh why had she trusted him? Why hadn't she listened to Charlie? Marcus was right; she wasn't fit to be a mother. She'd invited this man into her house, left him alone with her children. She'd put their lives at risk.
Jackie kept switching her gaze between Ethan and Emma, trying to reassure them both, while trying to figure out how to get Simon to at least let Emma go. She decided to straight out ask him.
"Simon, can you let Emma come to me? She's scared. She's only six, she has nothing to do with this."
"Your son should have thought of that before." He tightened his grip on Emma's shoulder, and she cried out in pain. Jackie's heart was breaking.
"What do you want with Emma?"
"I lost my daughter."
"I know that. I lost my son. I thought we were friends, Simon. Emma hasn't done anything wrong."
"Sia didn't do anything wrong, either."
Ethan spoke up. "I'm so sorry, Mr Longhurst. I never meant for Sia to get hurt. I'll never do anything like that again, I promise you. Please, let my sister go."
"There's only one way you can save your sister, son. I'm sorry, but you have to pay for what you did. You have to step off the stool. Do that, and I'll let your sister live."
"No!" Jackie lost it. "How can you be so cruel! I thought you were a nice man, but you're a monster! You'll never get away with this." She took a step forward, but Simon put the knife to Emma's throat. Emma began screaming, and Simon shook her, telling her to stop. He held the knife tight.
"Don't come any closer, Jackie." He looked up at Ethan. "It's up to you now, kid. Save your sister, or save yourself. You choose."
Jackie looked at Ethan, horrified by what she saw. The fear in his face was gone, replaced by a look of determined resignation.
"No, Ethan!"
Jackie watched, helpless, as her remaining son smiled at her, looked down at his sister, and stepped off the stool.
46
Cooper heard voices in the garage, and with Quinn on his heels he got there just in time to see Ethan step off the same stool his brother had, months before. As he stepped, though, Ethan kicked out with his right foot, and Cooper could see he was aiming for the knife Simon Longhurst held at Emma's throat. He missed, but Simon's surprise at the attempt gave them precious sec
onds to act.
Cooper bolted straight for Ethan, grabbing his body just before the rope snapped around his neck. As he did so, he heard the shot from behind him and watched Longhurst go down, dropping the knife and letting go of the little girl. He held Ethan while Jackie embraced Emma, and Quinn secured a bleeding Simon in cuffs before grabbing the knife and cutting Ethan down. It was over in seconds, but Cooper knew this family would relive it for the rest of their lives.
"Is everyone okay?" he asked.
Jackie turned to Ethan and held him as Cooper removed the noose from around the boy's neck. It had made a mark, but the kid was still alive. Tears streamed down his face, and he coughed a few times, but he nodded to reassure Cooper he was all right. Cooper left the three of them huddled together on the floor, and turned his attention to Oscar White.
The boy lay motionless in the arms of a woman Cooper assumed was his mother. He touched two fingers to Oscar's neck. The pulse was weak, but it was there. He pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance. Only then did he realise that the way his mother was holding him was applying pressure to his wound.
"I didn't want that man to know he was still alive," she said, looking up at Cooper.
"You did good," he said. "The ambulance will be here soon. Hold on."
She nodded, and Cooper went over to Quinn and Longhurst.
"He hurt bad?" Cooper asked.
"Not bad enough," Quinn replied. He touched the wound on Simon's arm, causing the prisoner to cry out in pain. "Flesh wound, just winged him, that's all."
Cooper breathed a sigh of relief. A fatal shooting was definitely not what they needed right now. "Patch him up, I'll call for back up."
After making the necessary call, Cooper went back to Jackie and the kids.
"Why did you step off the stool?" he heard Jackie ask Ethan.
"He was going to hurt Emma, Mum. I couldn't let him do that. I thought I could kick the knife out of his hands…"
"And get yourself killed in the process." Jackie shook her head.
Cooper intervened. "I saw what you did, young man. That was very brave. Stupid, yes. But very brave. You sure you're okay?"
"Yes. Thank you. For saving me."
Cooper smiled, tried to lighten the mood. "I had to, mate. Your mum's friends with my wife. I'd never hear the end of it if I'd let anything happen to you."
"Is Oscar…" Jackie didn't finish the sentence.
"He's alive. His mother knew it, she kept pressure on the wound. Ambulance is on the way. He's got a good chance. Come on, let's get the three of you outside, into some fresh air."
He moved them all out into the front yard, just as two ambulances arrived. The first team went to work checking Ethan and Emma, while Cooper directed the others into the garage to attend to Oscar. Longhurst could wait.
More blue and red flashing lights signalled the arrival of back up, and when Longhurst had finally been taken to hospital, accompanied by two uniformed officers, Cooper went in search of his partner. He found him securing the scene in the garage.
"Nice work, Joe."
Quinn smiled. "Yeah, we did all right. They going to be okay?"
"Physically, yes. Paramedics had Oscar stable by the time they left. You didn't hesitate."
"What?"
"Shooting Longhurst. You saw the girl was at risk, and you didn't hesitate. I don't know many cops who would have reacted as quick as you did."
"Army training, boss." Quinn shrugged. "It brings out your best."
47
"Your dad'll be here in a minute," Jackie called from the kitchen. She looked up to find Emma playing with her dolls on the living room floor, and Ethan walking towards her from his room.
"Why's Dad coming? We're not supposed to go to him this week, are we?"
"No, you're staying here. I just need to talk to him, that's all."
"About Perth?" Ethan's shoulders slumped.
"Yeah, about Perth. Look, it won't be so bad, mate. You can get a fresh start over there."
"I don't want a fresh start. I want to stay here, with you." He opened his arms and wrapped her in a big hug, something he'd done a lot over the last few days. His counsellor had told her he'd either withdraw completely, or become closer to her. Jackie was so thankful it was the second one, she didn't know how she'd cope if he'd withdrawn from her.
"I know. Let me speak to Dad, okay? We'll sort something out. Are you seeing Oscar this afternoon?"
"Yeah. His mum's picking me up after lunch to go to the hospital." Oscar had spent nine hours in surgery to repair the damage caused by Simon's knife, and Ethan had insisted on waiting at the hospital the whole time. He explained how Simon had taken his phone and texted Oscar to say the whole family, including Jackie, was in trouble, luring the boy out of hospital and to the house so Simon could kill them both. Simon had stabbed Oscar the moment he arrived, frightening Ethan into doing whatever he wanted. Jackie shuddered at the thought, and returned her attention to her son.
We're going to work on his website," Ethan was saying.
"What website?"
"Oscar wants to set up a kind of anonymous support group, you know, for other kids like him. His psychologist said it was a good idea, as long as he was really strict about the rules of being in the group. His mum's going to help us, she's really good at IT."
Jackie ignored the implication that she, on the other hand, was not. True though it was. She was just glad that Oscar was getting help, and glad that Ethan was still friends with him. They both had a long road ahead, for different reasons, but at least they had each other to lean on.
The doorbell rang, and Emma jumped up to get it. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she let her father in.
"Well that's a lovely greeting," he said, lifting her up above his head and lowering her for a hug. "I need to talk to Mum. Grown up stuff."
Emma groaned as he put her down, and went back to her doll's house.
"How's she doing?" Marcus asked after greeting Jackie and Ethan in the kitchen, looking back over his shoulder at Emma.
"Pretty good," Jackie replied. "They say it'll take some time, but she's doing okay. As long as we shower her with love, rather than conflict."
Marcus nodded. "And you?" he asked Ethan.
"I'm good, Dad. I don't want to go to Perth, though."
"Well that's what I'm here to talk to your mum about. Can you give us a minute?"
"Sure." Ethan trudged back up the hall to his room, and Jackie took the pot of coffee she'd just made and two cups out onto the back deck.
"Plunger," Marcus observed as they settled in chairs outside.
"Bought it yesterday. A step up from instant, at least." Marcus smiled. "Don't be too kind to me, Marcus. I'm never going to forgive myself for what happened."
"It wasn't your fault. The man was crazy. A distraught father with a screw loose. You couldn't have known what he'd do."
"I thought I knew him, but I didn't. I didn't have a clue. I left our children in the care of a virtual stranger, while I raced off to save someone else's child."
"You were doing what you thought was right. Please, Jackie, stop beating yourself up over this. The children are safe, and so are you. And we finally know what really happened to Lachlan."
Jackie flinched at the mention of her eldest son. Yes, they knew what really happened to Lachlan. What he must have gone through, in those last moments, at the hands of a distraught madman. Charlie had told her some of what Simon had confessed, but none of it made her feel any less pain. Simon had held a gun to Lachlan, told him he'd hurt his brother and sister as well if he didn't step off the stool. Her poor boy, he'd made the ultimate sacrifice to save his family. Simon had used different tactics with the other two kids he killed, playing to their weaknesses once he found out all about them online. Then he'd left that stupid toy butterfly at each scene, why? Because Sia had liked butterflies.
"Are you okay?" Marcus asked.
"No. I don't think I'll be okay for a very long time."
>
"I don't believe that. You're stronger than you know. Tell me, when was the last time you had a drink?"
Jackie hadn't even thought about alcohol since before it all happened. She thought about it now. Did she want a glass of wine? Did she want to drown her sorrows, like she'd done so many times before? No. It had been the furthest thing from her mind, until Marcus brought it up.
"A week ago, before," she replied.
Marcus smiled. "I'm proud of you, you know. You've stepped up, Jackie. You've done everything in the last few days to protect our children, to help them heal. You're working your way back to your old self, the mother I knew before we lost Lachy. You're the best mother I know, and the kids need you. They need to be here with you. I'm not going to Perth, Jackie. I'm not going to take them away from you. It was wrong of me to ever consider it."
Jackie couldn't believe her ears. Was this really happening? "But what about your job? I thought you'd already accepted the transfer?"
"I'll just un-accept it. Perth can wait. We'll get over there eventually, Charlotte wants to move closer to her family. But for now, she understands my place is here. There're plenty of opportunities for work here in the meantime."
Jackie was so relieved. The thought of losing the kids to the other side of the country had kept her awake for the last three nights in a row. She was running on adrenaline and coffee, and all of a sudden she couldn't keep her eyes open.
"Am I keeping you up?" Marcus asked.
She explained how tired she was.
"Say no more. I'll take the kids to lunch and then we'll go see a movie, let you sleep."
"Ethan has plans with Oscar this afternoon."
"I'll make sure he keeps them. You need to rest, Jack. You've done your bit for now. Let me help."
Jackie nodded, and for the first time in a long while she was happy to see Ethan and Emma walk out the door with their father. She locked the door behind them, dragged herself down to her bedroom, where she curled up under the covers and sank into a deep, restful sleep.
The Dark Series Page 88