A Time to Run (23 page)

‘I thought about trying to build a fire,' Sammi replied. ‘Then I would have had warmth as well as a little protection if there were wild dogs or something around. But the light from the fire would have shown him exactly where I was. I knew I also had to keep moving, keep the blood flowing. It was back to putting one foot in front of the other. I just kept repeating to myself – one more step, just one more step.'

‘No wonder you slept till midday today, you poor thing,' Gavin said, giving Sammi's hand a squeeze.

‘It's easy for me to say that I just wanted to give up. But when I was actually facing it, I was surprised just how far I could push myself. I desperately wanted to live. So I just focussed on that one next step and kept going,' Sammi said, a note of steel creeping back in her voice. She paused. ‘I thought I . . .' Sammi glanced at Gavin, then at Janine, who nodded encouragingly at her. Sammi gave a little shake of her head. ‘I made it through the night. Somehow or other, I just managed to hang in and keep going. Once the sun came up, I found a little spot in the sun and had a nap. I had the feeling that if he had some other way of finding me, he would have done it by now. And everything seems less scary in the daytime. I woke up about two hours later. I had defrosted a little and the overwhelming sensation I had now was hunger.

‘I knew if I wanted to keep walking, I needed to eat. And I needed to make plans for the next night. I still had my sharp stick. I didn't think I would be quick enough or have a good enough aim to hit a bird. I even tried to spear a fish. That ended badly.' Sammi gave a short laugh.

‘In the end, I was sitting in the dirt when a snake came past me. And I thought, this is food, people eat snake. So I hit it with my walking stick, but it was such a piss-poor whack, I didn't kill it. It turned on me. It reared up and bit me,' Sammi said.

She pressed her fingers over a small bandage on her wrist. ‘I could see the puncture marks, I knew I hadn't imagined it. I started throwing up and I just thought, that's it. That's the end. I just collapsed on the ground and got ready to die.'

‘After everything you went through, you survived a snake bite as well?'

‘Yeah. That puzzled me a bit. Once the snake got me, I thought I had no hope of surviving. I talked to the doctor about it. She asked what sort of snake it was. I really couldn't say, it was brownish and I just assumed it was a King Brown. The doctor said it was either a non-venomous snake or it was a venomous snake but it only injected a small amount of venom, and my body could cope with it. I didn't know that snakes can control how much poison they sink into a bite. Anyway, the doctor said they actually didn't need to treat me for snake bite.'

She gestured to the bandage in her wrist. ‘They just covered it to make sure it doesn't get infected. But I've got a thousand other cuts and scratches, and a body full of antibiotics.'

Gavin shook his head. ‘So you were going to eat snake?' he asked.

‘Yep. That was the closest thing to food I saw,' Sammi replied.

‘Raw snake?' Gavin clarified.

Sammi nodded.

‘Wow,' said Gavin. ‘You realise you can never complain about my cooking again?'

‘Even hospital food tastes great,' Sammi said with a wan smile. ‘I will never complain about anything again. I'm so grateful just to be alive,' she said.

‘So you said you collapsed after the snake bit you,' Janine said. ‘But that's not the end of the story, is it? It can't be. Because you are here.'

‘After the snake bite, I thought I was gone. So I made one last decision, which I guess saved my life.' Sammi nodded. ‘I was thinking about my family and how much I loved them.'

She squeezed Gavin's hand as she said this. ‘I thought no one would ever find me tucked away under the trees. They'd never be able to bury me, put me to rest. That got me thinking about the other girls. About their families never knowing what happened to them. So I thought I'd leave my body somewhere where it might actually be discovered some time. It was so important to me that I hauled myself back out to the creek. I found a rock in the middle of the water and plonked myself on it. I figured that was where I was most likely to be seen if anyone ever went by. I passed out shortly afterwards.'

Sammi stopped and swallowed hard. ‘The next thing I remember was a man shaking me, and the sound of the helicopter. I've only got flashes of memories after that. Nothing seemed real until I woke up here this morning,' Sammi said. ‘What a beautiful morning.' She once again reached for Gavin.

He was glassy-eyed and said nothing as he took her in his arms. Janine looked at the floor, biting the inside of her lip as her own tears sprang to her eyes.

Sammi pulled away from Gavin and dabbed her eyes with another tissue.

‘My turn for a question,' she said. ‘I've been wondering – how did you know where I was?' Sammi asked.

‘We found a map when we did the search warrant at his house,' Janine explained. ‘There was also a Crime Stoppers call. Somebody had seen him out in that state forest before, probably when he had one of the other girls. She might have been so close to being rescued. I think he shifted location deeper into the bush after that. We knew you were in Captain's Creek State Forest somewhere. We arranged for the helicopter to go up and they did the rest. They didn't have much time before dark but we told them to follow the creek.'

‘It was a miracle,' Sammi said. ‘It was like someone was watching over me.' She stared off into the distance, engrossed in her thoughts.

Suddenly she turned to Gavin. ‘Gav, would you mind getting me a cuppa and maybe some biscuits?' she said. ‘I still feel so cold,' she said by way of explanation.

‘Sure,' Gavin said. ‘Can I get you anything?' he asked, turning to Janine.

‘No, thanks. I'm fine,' Janine said.

Gavin left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Sammi turned to Janine. ‘I feel a bit weird telling you this,' she said, ‘but it's part of the story.'

She paused.

Janine met her eyes and gave her an encouraging nod.

‘I saw angels out in the bush,' Sammi said.

‘What do you mean?' Janine asked softly, leaning in a little.

‘It was the middle of the night and I was so exhausted that I could barely stay on my feet,' Sammi said. ‘Dawn seemed like an eternity away and I was so cold that I couldn't feel my hands or feet. I fell over and it was just the last straw. For the very first time since I'd been abducted, I started to cry. I couldn't stop. I just curled up on the ground and gave in to despair. It was exactly then that I heard someone say, “Hey”. Somehow, it didn't scare me. I looked up and saw Tahlia standing in front of me. But she was kind of glowing in the dark with a shimmery sort of light.'

‘Really? A ghost?' Janine didn't want to challenge Sammi, but was surprised by this description. Sammi had shown so much level-headedness and practicality that this seemed out of character.

‘I know I was probably hallucinating,' Sammi said. Although she added this quickly, Janine noticed she had still used the word ‘probably'.

‘I like to think of her more as an angel than a ghost,' Sammi said. ‘At the time, it seemed so real. And it wasn't just Tahlia. There were the other girls as well. All four of them. I wasn't scared of them. I guess part of my brain knew that I was imagining them. It made me feel like I was no longer alone, that I had help. Tahlia reached down to me. I took her hand and she helped me to my feet. It really felt like someone was there holding my hand. I swear I could feel the warmth from her hand.'

‘Did she say anything else to you?' Janine asked.

‘She said, “You need to keep going, we're counting on you.” That was all I needed to hear. Then it was back to putting one foot in front of the other. That was how I made it through the night. It's more compelling if you are doing it for someone else. There's that feeling of not wanting to let another person down.'

‘How long did you see them for?' Janine asked.

‘I don't know. Long enough to get me through the night,' Sammi said. ‘They were walking with me, and faded away when the sun came up. I don't know how far I'd come, but I was still next to the creek and I was still alive – that was more than I had expected. After that, I had a sleep. I didn't feel like I was going to die if I shut my eyes. Even though I couldn't see the girls anymore, I felt like they were still there, watching over me. And I promised them I would get them justice. I need you to help me do that. And I want you to understand how committed I am to following through on this.'

‘Thank you,' Janine said. ‘Thank you for trusting me with this.'

‘I don't really want to tell Gav. Not at the moment. I don't want him freaking out, thinking I've lost my mind. He's worried enough already. But I needed to tell someone.'

Sammi took a deep ragged breath. ‘And now I feel like crying again.'

‘I appreciate the huge effort it's taken for you to tell me everything so soon after it's all happened,' Janine said. ‘You know yourself how important it is to get the story when everything's fresh. But it's horrendous. I'm going to do what I can to make sure you get some peace and recovery time. We've got enough to go on for now. We'll have more questions, but they can wait.'

‘I had to tell you everything for the other girls' sake. You need to get justice for them, more so than for me. I'll do whatever you ask of me. You have to put him away for good,' Sammi said. Despite the quaver in her voice, her gaze was fierce.

Janine hugged Sammi so hard she could feel her trembling.

‘We will. I promise,' she whispered.

Seventeen months later

Sammi grabbed her mobile on the first ring when the display confirmed it was Janine calling.

‘It's over, Sammi,' Janine said. ‘He's been found guilty. He's off to jail.'

Despite herself, Sammi started crying. The relief was immense, more than she had expected.

‘It all gets better from here, darl,' Janine said.

It could hardly get worse, Sammi thought to herself. It had been a rough seventeen months, and had taken many rounds of medication and counselling for her to overcome her paranoia. She had only recently gone back to work but she wasn't sure she was a good copper anymore. She tended to overreact, and knew this made some of her colleagues wary and uncomfortable.

Gavin hugged her as she tried to settle down enough to have a conversation with Janine. He had spent the morning by her side, both of them doing very little except pass the time until her call.

It had been a tough time for Gavin too. He had changed, found strength when she had been weak. He had supported her in a calm and patient way, and surprised her with his consistent consideration. As he kissed her forehead, a tear dripped from his face onto hers.

‘I've got to tell you, he only got five years, to serve a minimum of three. That's just on . . .'

Sammi cut Janine off, as anger cut through her tears. ‘But he's already served a year-and-a-half waiting for trial! He could be out in another eighteen months. After what he did to me!'

‘It's OK, darl,' Janine said. ‘That's not going to be the end of it.'

‘How can trying to kill someone only be worth three years' jail? That's obscene,' Sammi's voice was rising both in volume and pitch.

‘The solicitor argued that there was no proof he was actually going to kill you. I know – it's shit, but you know that's usually the way it goes,' Janine said.

‘You've got to appeal it. I can't bear the thought of him getting out,' Sammi said.

‘There's no point,' Janine said. ‘That sentence was just on your charges. He's still awaiting trial on Tahlia's murder, plus we're still investigating the three other girls. By the time we're finished, he'll never see the light of day.'

‘He can never be allowed out again,' Sammi said.

‘He won't. I promise. But we'll still need your help. You're still our star witness,' Janine replied. ‘Can you do it?'

Sammi drew a deep breath.

‘Yes. I can.'

Acknowledgements

The first thankyou goes to the first person who helped me to write this book, Si
â
n Eldridge. Your confidence in me was an invaluable gift. Thank you for being my sounding board and always encouraging me to keep moving forwards.

Next, to Les Zigomanis – thank you for bestowing magnificent editing on me, and for being so overwhelmingly generous with your time and knowledge. And to my fellow literary travellers – Laura Elvery, Kathy George, Kim Lock, Mhairead MacLeod and S.C Ridout – thank you for sharing this adventure, listening to me whinge and cheering me on. May this start an avalanche of H8 novels.

To the team at Pan Macmillan – eternal gratitude to Haylee Nash for dismissing all the unknowns and taking a chance on me. And to Libby Turner for judicious and thorough editing. Also the numerous other people who worked to transform my scratchings into a novel. It's been fun. Let's do it again . . .

Finally to my family – thank you to my parents for a lifetime of unwavering support. Thanks to my children for giving me the reason to chase my dreams and for getting so excited about every small step. And thanks to my partner for walking beside me.

About J.M. Peace

J.M. Peace is a serving police officer who would rather be writing about policing. Over the past 15 years, she has served throughout south-east Queensland in a variety of different capacities. Her voice of authority shines through in her debut crime thriller,
A Time to Run
. Jay has also written various short stories, blogs regularly about policing and writing, and is currently working on her second novel. She blogs at
www.jmpeace.com
.

She lives on the Sunshine Coast, juggling writing and police work with raising two kids along with her partner.