Missing (The Cass Lehman Series Book 3) (9 page)

‘I had a shit day. Look, we have a few things to talk about. How about I order some takeaway and we crack a bottle of red?’

‘I’ll be down in a minute. I need a quick shower to wake up.’ I sniffed. ‘And you might want to have one after me.’

Forty-five minutes later we were sitting on the couch, glasses of wine on the coffee table and plates of Thai food on our laps. I was wide awake and Ed smelled of soap instead of a wheelie bin. I kept my eyes locked on my plate. I wasn’t going to start this conversation. As far as I was concerned he’d caused the argument, so he could begin the fixing process.

He wriggled against the cushions, trying to find a more comfortable spot. I’d told him often enough that it was a godawful excuse for a couch. The taupe upholstery barely covered the cheap timber frame beneath it, and it had one of those low backs that look trendy but don’t give you anywhere to rest your head. No point worrying about it now, though. Home decorating would be off the agenda if he was moving back to Fairfield.

I felt his eyes boring into the side of my face but refused to look at him. After another minute he plonked his meal on the coffee table.

‘So where do you want to start?’ Ed said.

I shrugged, and shovelled a huge mouthful.

‘Come on.’ He nudged me. ‘You can’t keep up the silent treatment for long. Spit it out and let’s talk about it.’

‘I don’t want to spit it out. The pad thai is quite good.’

He sighed. ‘All right. I’ll go first, shall I? Seeing Phil yesterday and today made me realise how much I miss working with her. I’m not sure if I want to keep working for MCIB.’

‘Yes, I got that part. You met her new partner and you were jealous.’ I forked more noodles into my mouth.

‘I was not jealous!’

‘If you say so.’ I shrugged again.

He ground his teeth. I could see out of the corner of my eye that his colour had changed. A red flush had crept up his neck.

‘I don’t understand why you’re so pissed at me,’ he said.

I turned to look at him for the first time. ‘Really? You really don’t get it? Think about it, Ed! You came barging in here and
told me you wanted to move back to Fairfield. Did you even consider for one moment that maybe it wasn’t just up to you? We’re sharing a life now, or so I thought. If there are big decisions to be made then I was under the impression that we’d make them together. You, on the other hand, seem to think that it’s OK to make declarations about what’s happening without even asking me how I feel about it. It sounded to me like you were moving whether I wanted to come or not. There was no “we”, it was all about you.’

When I finally finished, Ed blinked a couple of times and ran his hand over his head, messing up his hair.

‘I was just venting. I didn’t mean that I’d move without you. I just assumed you’d be glad to move back to Fairfield,’ he said.

‘That’s the problem. You assumed.’

He shook his head, confused. ‘You don’t want to move back to Fairfield?’

‘Yes, no … I don’t know. What I do want is for you to talk to me before you make decisions for both of us.’

The veneer of control I’d been hiding behind completely shattered. To my disgust, I felt tears welling in my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was cry, but frustration and self-pity got the better of me.

Ed groaned and pulled me into his arms.

‘I’m sorry, all right. I didn’t think about it. I’m out of practice with this relationship stuff.’

‘Relationship stuff, is that what you call it?’ I tried to push him away but he had me locked in an iron grip and refused to let go. I
struggled. He responded by wrestling me down on the couch and kissing me hard on the lips. I was annoyed and turned on at the same time.

‘Not fair!’ I gasped as he ran a trail of kisses down my neck.

‘Who said anything about fair?’ he murmured as he undid the top button of my shirt. The pad thai suddenly didn’t seem so good. I shoved my plate roughly in the direction of the coffee table, not really caring if it made it or not, and wrapped my arms around Ed’s neck. ‘You drive me crazy.’

‘That’s crazy in a good way, right?’ he growled.

‘Our dinner will get cold.’ Not that I cared, but part of me didn’t want to give in without some kind of argument.

‘That’s what microwaves are for.’ His mouth descended on mine, while his fingers made short work of the rest of my buttons.

‘I think I’ve lost all feeling in my back,’ I groaned. It was amazing how the brain could block out pain when it had more important things to focus on.

I buttoned up my shirt and tugged on my jeans, then rescued my congealing plate of food, which was teetering precariously on the edge of the coffee table. ‘I think I’ve also lost my appetite.’

‘Maybe your appetite’s been satisfied in other ways,’ Ed said, looking pleased with himself.

I rolled my eyes. ‘Don’t think one shag is enough to get you off the hook. We still need to talk,’ I said.

‘We do. So who’d you go out with today? Should I be jealous?’

I snorted. ‘Far from it. I tried to ring you to let you know but you were out of range. I had lunch with DCI Arnott.’

Ed froze and lifted his head to look at me. ‘Crackers? Why would you be having lunch with him?’

‘He offered me a job.’

‘What?’ Ed sat up, staring.

‘He wants to hire me as a consultant.’

‘And you said no, right?’

I pushed myself up off the couch. ‘No, I didn’t say no. Why would I say no?’

‘You’re joking.’ He stared at me.

‘No, I’m not. What? Is it that you don’t think I’m capable of doing it, or that you don’t want me on your team?’

‘No, it’s just too dangerous. Every time we’ve worked together, one or both of us have almost been killed. You still have nightmares about Brian Jenson. Plus, do you really want to be having visions all the time? Look at how exhausted you were tonight. Did today’s vision happen when you were with Crackers?’

‘He took me to a scene.’

‘So you’ve already started working for him. Weren’t you the one who just said we should talk about all major decisions?’

I stared at him with my mouth open before turning and walking across the room.

‘Where are you going?’

‘I need some air.’

I strode down the hallway and out into the night.

Dusk was settling over the streetscape. The autumn night was warmer than it had been for a while, but there was still a chill in the air. The sky was glowing orange as the sun sank below the horizon. I paused at the front gate, but not for long. I didn’t want Ed to catch up if he decided to follow me.

We’d been living together for a couple of months but I hadn’t spent a lot of time exploring our suburb. I drove to the local shops, I met up with Claire in the city. Ed and I sometimes went out for dinner, but most of my time had been spent working in the house. I visited Mum and Gran in Jewel Bay when I got too homesick or craved Gran’s cooking. I realised I hadn’t tried very hard to settle into living in Adelaide.

I decided to turn left, purely because it was towards the sunset. I brushed away the tears leaking from my eyes. With no idea where I was going or what I was going to do when I got there, I stalked off down the street. By the time I’d reached the T-junction at the end, I’d simmered down and realised I wasn’t going to get very far without a phone, cash or keys. I stopped and looked up and down the adjoining street. There was a park a couple of hundred
metres to the right. I decided I’d sit there for a while and watch the sunset, then once I had my head together I’d head back home and face the music.

The park was on the opposite side of the road. I walked along the footpath and crossed when I got close. There was a fenced play area with a slippery dip, some swings and a climbing frame. The rest was open grass, for kicking balls or picnicking. A couple of boys were over by the swings. They were probably about twelve or thirteen; too old for the equipment but too young to be in a park by themselves at night. I wondered where their parents were. There was a wooden bench under a tree on the right side of the park. I headed for it.

The boys spotted me. One of them whistled. They laughed.

I gave them a wave and went to sit on the bench.

Suddenly it was pitch black, the sunset vanished completely. The only light came from the street lamps that ran along the road, and a light near the play equipment. I realised I was standing on the bench. I was down one end with my toes hanging off the short edge. I looked down; I was wearing worn boots and ancient jeans with frayed cuffs.

The cold sent shivers over my skin, making it pucker into goosebumps. Hunger gnawed at my stomach and it growled noisily. I reached out and grabbed for a rope hanging down from the tree above. With hands that were calloused and filthy I slipped the loop at the end over my neck. Looking up, I could see the faint glimmer of stars in between the tree branches. Relief and calm settled over me and a single thought filled my mind: ‘It’s finally over.’

I closed my eyes and pushed off. The jolt sent pain searing through my neck. My eyes snapped open. I tried to breathe but couldn’t. Instinct made me struggle and fight as panic took over. My will to live was a fierce, all-consuming fire and I grabbed at the rope, tearing my nails. My feet lashed out, looking for purchase on the edge of the bench, but I was swinging too wildly. I touched it with a toe but the worn sole of my shoe slipped against the gloss of painted timber. My line of sight narrowed and shrank to a pinpoint as the pain was swallowed by numbness. Calm settled over me, blanketing me with warmth, and the world receded.

‘Lady? Hey? Can you hear me? Are you all right?’

‘Of course she’s not all right, shit for brains. Didn’t you see how she was thrashing around? I reckon she’s had a fit or something.’

‘We should call an ambulance.’

‘There’s a bloke walking along the road over there, he might be able to help.’

‘Hey! Mister!’

I wanted to open my eyes and tell them I was fine, but the effort was just too much. I lay there, drifting in a half-aware state, trying to find the will to surface into consciousness.

‘Cass?’

The voice was Ed’s. I opened my eyes a crack.

‘He was
relieved
,’ I mumbled, tears filling my eyes.

‘Come on. I’ll help you up. It’s all right boys. She’ll be fine now. Thanks for your help.’

The boys’ voices faded as they walked away.

‘Told you she was epileptic.’

‘What are you, a doctor now?’

‘Whatever.’

‘Cass? Can you sit up?’ Ed was gazing worriedly at me.

I nodded and he put an arm around me, helping me up. I realised I’d been lying on the ground. I looked at him. There was no hint of anything but concern on his face.

‘Let’s go home,’ he said.

CHAPTER
9

‘Morning, sunshine!’ Janice intercepted Ed as he made a beeline for his desk. ‘Your interstate visitors have arrived. They’re in meeting room two. I organised coffee and a bowl of water and told them you’d had an emergency at home but that you wouldn’t be too far away.’

Ed’s stomach dropped into his boots as he regarded the detective. He’d completely forgotten about the cadaver dog and its handler. Dave was taking his mother to the doctor so Ed had promised he’d come in early to meet Maria and Bruno. He was supposed to be in at eight. It was nearly nine.

‘Janice, you’re a treasure. Thanks for covering my butt. I owe you a drink.’

‘You owe me a whole pub’s worth! If you want to go straight in, I’ll duck out and grab you a coffee. You look like you need one.’

‘Thanks.’ He had to fight an impulse to smack a big kiss on her cheek. The spectre of sexual harassment claims had long since put paid to any physical displays of gratitude around the office.

He dragged himself towards the meeting room. As he passed the window, his reflection in the glass told him just how rough he was looking; ruffled hair, crooked tie, wrinkled shirt and dark circles under his eyes. It wasn’t pretty.

He was still feeling the aftermath of the night before. He’d half-walked, half-carried Cass home from the park and tucked her into bed. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately, leaving him wide awake next to her, staring into the darkness.