Blossoms in the Wind

by Ross Richdale

  Instead of the polite conversation she was expecting, the woman seized her door handle and the door was open. "Turn your engine off and place your hands on the steering wheel, Madam," she said in a steel like voice.

  "Who are you to order me around?" Nicole retorted.

  The woman held out a police identification card. "Detective Sergeant Gloria McKenzie. Slowly step out of the car and place your hands on your head, Miss Wilks. Do not make any sudden movement."

  Nicole froze but did as she was told. How did they know her name?

  "The baby is in the rear seat, Sergeant," a police constable said as the back door opened. "She appears to be unharmed."

  Nicole gasped in utter disbelief and fear. They also knew about the baby! But how? She had planned everything so precisely. Everything around began to spin and she would have collapsed onto the ground if someone behind hadn't grabbed and held her up.

  CHAPTER 12

  Jeff looked at the dismal faces around him. Everyone was depressed, Adrian was unsuccessfully attempting to console Chloe at the moment, though, it appeared that the reverse was happening with his mother having her arm around his shoulders and was trying to be optimistic. Ava just sat staring into space, looking miserable.

  The doorbell rang and she looked at Jeff. "If it is another reporter or TV crew, tell them we have nothing to say."

  He sighed and made his way to the door. Outside stood Senior Constable Beth Williams who had been assigned to the family and, until an hour earlier, had stayed with them. She was probably in her thirties and had the type of personality that showed empathy without being gushy or sentimental. She had told earlier reporters and two TV crews politely but firmly that they should respect the family's privacy and that her detective inspector would make an official statement in due course.

  An hour earlier she had received a mobile phone call and had hastily left after reassuring them that progress had been made on finding Baby Shona.

  "It wasn't necessary to knock, Beth," Jeff said. "What's happened?"

  "Is your mother still here, Jeff?"

  "We all are," Jeff muttered while his stomach lurched. "Please come in."

  "Can I bring in Chloe's midwife, Moana Paewai? "

  Jeff's heart sank. He was certain the news would be bad.

  "Mum," he called after he walked back into the kitchen. "Beth is back and has Moana with her. Apparently, there is important news."

  When Chloe stood up her chin shook. She swallowed and brushed a shaking hand across her forehead. "Do you know more, Jeff?" she whispered.

  "Only that they want to speak to the whole family."

  Chloe seemed to freeze as she gripped Adrian's arm and stared at the door. It opened and Beth stood there. Her face told nothing as she stepped back and a grinning Moana walked in with a bundle of infant blankets in her arm.

  "She's asleep and is in perfect condition," she said and handed Chloe her baby.

  It was as if Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny the Good Tooth Fairy and every other good omen arrived at once.

  "Shona!" Chloe cried. She hugged and kissed her daughter as tears of relief flooded down her cheeks.

  Jeff grinned and hugged Ava who was almost in tears while Adrian tucked an arm around Logan who stood there trying to appear grown up

  "Well, Big Sister, Little Sister is back home," he said before walking across to Chloe and squeezing her arm.

  Everyone hugged and kissed with even the two bearers of the great news included.

  "I must feed her," Chloe gasped. "My breasts are aching."

  When Shona awoke, the plaintive cry of a hungry baby was the sweetest sound in the world.

  "So you knew?" Jeff accused Beth.

  The constable nodded. "Yes, I knew she had been found but was ordered not to tell anybody until she was checked out."

  "I was called in," Moana continued. "Shona is in perfect condition and did not suffer at all during the time of her abduction."

  "So who did it?" Adrian asked.

  "It was a sad rather than criminal situation." Beth continued on to tell everything she knew about Nicole and the reason behind everything that had happened. "We were onto her from the beginning and our detectives acted fast. We actually found that her plan to leave the country was an illusion for she had no ticket on Singapore Airlines, no fake driver's licence and the rental car had been hired under her own name."

  "But why Shona?" Chloe asked.

  "She thought it was David Sutton who impregnated you. In her warped mind, she thought she had every right to have the baby. Unless you want to make an official complaint, the police will not be charging her. Instead we have referred her case to the hospital board who have an excellent grief and counselling service."

  Chloe glanced at those around including Jeff who looked at Ava who shook her head. He did likewise and it was Adrian who replied. "No we don't want to do that. Shona is safe and it appears that Nicole made no attempt to harm her."

  "But what if she is responsible for David's death?" Chloe asked.

  "That is an entirely different case," the police constable replied. "However, she was, like yourself on our initial list of suspects."

  "Me!"

  "Close relations are always investigated in any suspicious death. Don't take it as a slur on your character, Chloe. I can't say any more except that you are not under suspicion any longer."

  "That's something," Adrian whispered.

  Jeff looked at Ava's father, Ava herself and the others in his family. It felt like his family now and in a strange way he found it hard to think back to when it had ever been any different. He stepped forward, placed his arms around Ava and rubbed his chin through her hair. She cuddled back, glanced up at him but didn't say a word.

  There was no need for words at that moment.

  THE FOLLOWING DAY EVERYTHING was more or less back to normal. It was mid-morning and Shona had just awoken when there was a knock on the door

  A woman stood there. "Hello," she said. "Are you Chloe Sutton?"

  Thinking it was a sales woman or religious person, Chloe replied in a stern voice. "I am but have no interested in door-to door sales people."

  The woman smiled and produced a blue badge. "They can be a pain can't they? I am District Nurse Jade Wright who has been assigned to help Nicole Wilks and, if you agree, I would also like to see how you and baby are coping."

  Chloe relaxed. "Thank you. Come in Jade. I was about to feed Shona and have a coffee. Everyone else has gone to work or are visiting friends."

  Jade obviously knew about newly born babies and complimented her on how well the baby looked. She chatted away as if she had all the time in the world. The topic turned to David after she said she was one of the first to discover his body and talked about Salty O'Hannigan and how he had helped the investigation.

  "He's a likeable old chap who comes across as a grumpy old bastard to strangers. It is all a façade though. Underneath he is like many of my clients, quite lonely and interesting to talk with." Jade sipped her coffee and reached for a muffin. "I believe you walked away from a violent marriage with David Sutton a little over a year ago?"

  Chloe nodded. "I stayed with him for years hoping that he would improve. It was Jeff, my son who saw him for what he really was." She gave Jade a brief summary about how Jeff had finally turned on his father and threw him out.

  "It's happened before but sons in a violent marriage often grow up to repeat the same violence for another generation."

  "Jeff didn't. He met Ava at high school and through her I met her father Adrian. He is now my partner and Shona's biological father."

  "I was curious about that," Jade said. "Nicole still insists that David was your baby's father."

  "So how is she? We told the police we didn't wish to charged her."

  Jade grimaced. "She collapsed at home yesterday, was rushed to North Shore Hospital and has been admitted to a general ward. We are assessing her at the moment and will probably admit her to a rehabilitation ward."


  "And that your main reason for being here?"

  Jade smiled. "Not entirely. I was about to visit you anyway but admit that Nicole's position has made everything more urgent. If you have a birth certificate confirming your partner as Shona's biological father it could help in her recovery."

  Chloe nodded. "I have more proof. After Shona was born we had a DNA sampling taken that proves that Adrian is her father. At the time we thought we might have trouble with David being vindictive." She grimaced. "He was that sort of person."

  "I had heard," Jade said. "That DNA document is exactly what we need. Birth Certificates rely on the parent being honest and can be challenged in a court whereas a DNA report is almost impossible to disprove."

  "I'll get it for you" Chloe stood up. "Is there any other way I can help?"

  "You could take Shona and visit Nicole. I would accompany you and we could also have a security guard present so there will be no physical risk to either of you."

  "Will it help?"

  "I believe so but realise it's a big ask. Perhaps you'd like to discuss the idea with your family and get back to me."

  Chloe nodded. "Yes, I'd like that. Everyone's opinion is important to me, you know."

  "And so it should be. In so many cases like this I have found the mother concerned is completely alone. Often the ones from so-called good families are the worst. They have been cut off from their family when they are needed the most."

  Chloe found the DNA document and gave Jade a photocopy of it.

  Just before departing, Jade smiled at her. "Thank you Chloe. I guess we talked mainly about Nicole and her problems. I know your midwife still visits but would you like me to add you as a client and call in every so often, even if is just for a coffee and chat?"

  Chloe smiled. "I'd like that Jade. Perhaps we could even go out and visit that Salty some time?"

  "Okay." the district nurse replied. "As long as you don't mind also visiting my other clients you can accompany me on Thursday. Bring Shona too. Many of my clients are elderly and love babies."

  "I'd like that."

  Jade squeezed Chloe's arm and drove away.

  Chloe smiled and walked inside feeling that she had made a new friend rather than just being visited by some remote government official. Their talk also gave her a different view of Nicole Wilks and her plight. As the police constable had told her earlier, it was really a sad case so perhaps she could help her.

  WHEN CHLOE ACCOMPANIED Jade to visit the hospital three days later she noticed that Nicole looked slimmer than at David's funeral and appeared apprehensive. She stood up from the armchair in the hospital day room and looked Chloe in the eyes.

  "I meant your baby no harm, Mrs Sutton," she said. "I'm sorry for any stress I caused you and your family."

  "Call me Chloe." She held out her baby. "Would you like to hold Shona?"

  "Please," Nicole had tears in her eyes as sat down again and held the baby gently in her arms, said soothing words to her and looked up. "He was really a horrible chauvinistic creep, wasn't he?"

  "You mean David?"

  Nicole nodded, gave the baby another cuddle and handed her back. "I never had an abortion you know. When David heard I was pregnant he went berserk, called me a whore and slut before he beat me up. I think a kick in the stomach brought on the miscarriage, for that was what it was."

  "He could be violent," Chloe replied. "I was scared of him, too. It took Jeff, my son who is now eighteen to retaliate after being frightened of him all his life." She continued on to tell Nicole about how Jeff stood up to his father.

  Nicole gasped. "So that's what really happened? David told me he was set upon by a group of thugs paid by you to belt him up. He'd walked out of the family home and that was when he asked me to shift into his apartment."

  "So afterwards the violence and bullying started?"

  "He changed from being a loving friendly guy to becoming ... well you know?"

  "I do," Chloe said.

  "I didn't kill him, Chloe," Nicole whispered. "Nor did I get some criminal to do it for me."

  Chloe glanced at Jade who had accompanied her to the hospital but had remained in the background. The district nurse gave a tiny shoulder shrug but never entered the conversation.

  "I didn't think you did," Chloe replied. She had originally thought this woman could have been responsible for David's death but had since changed her mind. She was no flirty bimbo attracted to David by his lavish living style but an educated person who appeared quite remorseful about their probably similar experiences with her former husband.

  "The police do," Nicole whispered. "They even insinuated that I am faking by health and abducted your little girl in a gigantic hoax so I could get off any murder charge."

  "But they have no proof," Chloe said. "I think they're just trying to build up circumstantial evidence against you."

  "That's what my lawyer said," Nicole replied "Sometimes I wonder if I did do it. There are bits missing in my mind. I can't remember what I intended to do with Shona. The police said I had fabricated up some story about leaving to go overseas with her. In their eyes it is part of my plan to plead insanity if they charge me with David's murder."

  "The police can be ruthless," Jade cut in. "However, Nicole has a good lawyer who won't let them entrap her."

  "SO HOW MUCH OF ALL that was true?" Chloe asked Jade as they drove away from the hospital half an hour later.

  "Most of it, I'm afraid." Jade said. "I am not a detective but have studied human nature most of my adult life. She could possibly have killed David Sutton but if that is the case, her lawyer will claim self-defence rather than insanity as the reason. If found insane she could be confined to a secure unit every bit as bad as imprisonment."

  "She appeared very coherent and regretful. Was that a ruse?"

  "No. She is under medication that calms her down but the dosage is relatively mild and is being reduced every day. She should be discharged within a few days."

  "And is handed over to you to monitor and help."

  Jade sighed. "I guess so. Mild cases like her one do come my way. Your ex's death complicates everything, though. I am obliged to be neutral in cases such as this."

  "That can be hard."

  Jade grinned. "Part of the job. Miserable old sods that won't take any notice of anything I suggest are far worse. Sometimes, we just have to cut our loses and remove them from our books. The ones that we help more than make up for the others."

  WITH DAVID DEAD, THERE was no reason that Chloe and Adrian couldn't get married and they did on the second Saturday in January. Piers, an old friend of Adrian's who was a marriage celebrant performed the brief ceremony at a city park. Chloe was dressed in a summer frock, as was Ava who was her bridesmaid. Jeff was the best man and, in Ava's eyes, performed admirably. The sun shone and at a nearby lake, ducks quacked as mother ducks tried to keep their ducklings out of trouble.

  Afterwards they had a meal for close friends in an uptown restaurant and enjoyed each other's company with Piers cracking jokes about Adrian and his mischievous university days.

  Ava dug Jeff in the ribs and whispered at him. "Now don't you start getting ideas Young Man?"

  "Me?" chuckled Jeff. "Now why would I want to raid a girls' dorm with flour bombs? Anyway there are no girls' dormitories left now-a-days."

  "True," Ava replied and squeezed his hand. "They were somewhat conservative and formal then, weren't they?"

  "So let's be creative and liberal, this evening?"

  "Meaning?"

  "I've got a motel room booked."

  "Meaning?"

  Jeff flushed. 'I just thought we might..."

  "Might what?"

  "Oh hell, Ava, don't go all formal on me."

  Ava laughed bent across and kissed him on the lips. She noticed an old aunt across the table frown, gave her a wave and kissed Jeff again. Conservative old aunts were an anachronism, too.

  Late that night in the small but friendly motel, Ava had sex with Je
ff. It wasn't awkward or embarrassing at all but a combination of love and respect as her body responded to the urgent fondling and kissing by her boyfriend and lover. Jeff showed remarkable restraint but when they climaxed together she responded with the first orgasm in her life.

  ON MONDAY, AVA AWOKE as Jeff tore into her bedroom. She stared at him and screamed. "Not here, Jeff. You know our agreement!"

  "The NCER and Scholarship results are on line," he gasped. "If we get in early the site won't be jammed."

  Ava flung her blankets aside and reached for her own iPad, found the government site, punched in her password and waited impatiently as the tiny wheel spun. Already, it seemed, thousands of candidates around the country had found the results were already online well before the official ten o'clock release.

  Her head whirled as her results came up with Outstanding Scholarship almost flashing in her mind as well as high NCEA 3 results. Jeff grinned as he hugged here from behind and read the page over her shoulder. "Well, you showed those Asian girls, didn't you?"

  Ava shrugged. "And how did you do?" She grabbed his iPhone and read his page. "Well, there's nothing wrong with those results," she said.

  "Well, I even passed in Math that I thought I'd stuffed up."

  "It was those two questions everyone complained about and even math teachers said were not fair."

  "Yeah, I guess they took that into consideration and upped the marks."

  "Oh don't be so hard on yourself. You did well!"

  She kissed him and tore out to tell Chloe and her dad their results. Everything was so exciting at the moment.

  "Dad, Chloe," she screamed as she rushed into their bedroom. "The exam results are out. We both passed!"

  Adrian sat up with his eyes looking groggy from being awoken and nudged a still sleeping Chloe. "The kid's results are in. Have a look!"

  CHAPTER 13