Forgotten (44 page)

He stroked
my face and winced. “I thought I lost you.” I could hear his fear,
this man that seemingly feared very little.

“Sorry… still here.”

That
skin-crawling noise of a crunching car snapped us apart. About two
hundred yards away a black 4WD had smashed into one of the
industrial bins. Intermittent sparks crackled from the vehicle. The
driver’s door flew open. A man stumbled out. He swayed for a bit,
then landed butt on the ground and head in hands.

I heard
Saul’s name. Ethan was sprinting towards us. “There’s another one,
nine o’clock,” he yelled.

Tires
screamed, rubber burnt and smoke filled the air. Headlights spun
around the other side of the hospital. We ran, past the creepy
industrial bins, the concertina car and its half-dazed driver and
around another bricked corner. Ahead, tucked amongst innocent
bushland, was Saul’s Jeep. Saul chucked the keys to Ethan, almost
pushed Mel into the front seat. I jumped into the back with
Saul.

Ethan fired the ignition “So where was that
little sucker hiding?”

“
Always has
to be one more,
” Saul said, pulling out
his gun. For the first time, I noticed it was a Walther PPK. And
how did I know that exactly?

The unexpected sound of the rear window
whirring caused my thinking to change directions. When it was fully
down, Saul straddled it as easily as if he were brushing his teeth.
He grasped the roof with one hand; held his gun with the other.

“
All
seatbelts on,” Ethan announced, as one piloting a Boeing
767.

My heart sped up. What was with Saul hanging
out of the car?

“Ready?” Ethan.

“Ready.” Saul.

I closed my eyes and prayed for salvation.
The car lurched and propelled forward.

Shit.

I had to
open my eyes. And immediately wished I hadn
’t. Ahead, nothing but massive tree trunks closing in
fast.
I flicked to Mel. She was gripping
the dashboard with both hands, her knuckles an unusual shade of
pale. I called out to her.

No answer.

I wanted to
yell something…
anything
.

Ethan
slammed the brakes and instantly swiveled into a forty-five degree
turn. My seatbelt grabbed my chest as I snapped forward. I sucked
in air; snapped back again. I shot a wary glance from my window,
didn’t like what I saw. Those bright, menacing headlights, heading
straight towards us.
My now runaway
heartbeat tortured my ears.
A shot fired.
Another instantly followed. Brakes
shrieked, thankfully not ours.

“Now!” Saul yelled.

Ethan again burst forward, then slammed
still. Another shivery, crunching noise, another concertina car
bonnet, this time, hugging one of the old, thick tree trunks. I
fell back into the leather seat and blew out mouthfuls of air.

“
Think you
only got one of those tires,” Ethan said.

Saul climbed back in, slid the safety catch
on his gun and returned it to the back of his jeans. “No, Ethan,
got two.”

“
Nope, mate.
Got two with mine, you only one.”

“
You
’re wrong; besides I’m the one
with the clipped wing, remember?”

“Always the excuse,” Ethan revved up the
engine. It sounded like a beast waiting for his master to set him
free. “I presume we now get the shit out of here.”

Saul curled his arm around my shoulders and
semi-smiled. “Absolutely.”

Ethan
shifted the gears and with his head half way out of the window,
roared a primeval,
Wahoo
before speeding
off.

Adrenaline was running rife. I smelt it,
sensed it stimulate my own stressed body.

I laughed. We were alive and it felt
remarkable. Saul pulled my head towards him and kissed the top of
it. From the open window, fresh, flowing air spoilt us.

That was until Mel.

“
What
is
the fricking matter with all of you,”
she shrieked from her small dark corner of the world. “I’ve been
shot at, pulled, pushed, slapped, almost smashed into, and all you
lot can do is cheer and laugh. You’re all bloody mad!”

Ethan
flinched. “Ooo… I’m guessing you’re Mel.”

Mel
scrutinized him with an expression I couldn’t fully interpret.
“You?” she said. “Aren’t you the one…?”

“
The one.
Mmmm, I like it. What do you think, Angel? An apt title for me…
‘The One.’”

I
laughed
. “Definitely you,
Ethan.”

Mel turned
to me. “Angel? Claudia what
is all this?
Who is this absurd man? And why are you openly encouraging these
cowboys?”

Cowboys?
Had shock dulled her
memory that much? “You mean, you don’t remember the guy at The
Local, the one who, in your words, was ‘soooo cute’ and ‘could keep
me entertained these holidays?’”

Mel studied
Ethan some more. A serious shade of red colored her cheeks.
“You
weren’t
interested in him,” she hissed.

“
No, I
wasn
’t,” I hissed back. “As I wasn’t with
the other ‘cowboy’ you practically guilt-tripped me into an
appointment with
, the one you also
thought was very cute.”

Ethan took a
sharp swerve in the road and groaned. “Ouch, mate. Don’t know about
you but I’m feeling a tad crushed.”

“Totally obliterated,” Saul said.

“
Far prefer
devilishly good looking than… arrgh… ‘cute
.’”

“
I can live
with ‘cute.’”

I glanced at
them. Ethan focused on the road; Saul focused on me, both wearing
mischievous, boyish grins.

Ethan
stopped at a red light. A group of jovial, mixed-aged teens hung
off each other and swaggered across the road. As he watched them,
his expression changed to something strangely more
solemn
, like worry lines I’d never seen
before, a fierce fire in his eyes.

Everyone has a story
,
I heard Papa say as he had so
many times before.
Some good,
some not so good. They may want to tell you, they may not. You need
to be patient, non-judgmental.

I was
suddenly curious what Ethan’s story was.

The light
turned green. Ethan soared off. “Don’t you girls stop because of
us,” he said, sounding like his old self. “It was just getting
interesting. Was even thinking of throwing in a bit of mud in case
it got physical.”

He laughed. Mel crossed her arms and
grunted. Surprisingly, she said no more.

Saul
breathed in heavily, a semi-calm oozed from him. Ethan continued
driving. And as the well-lit road darkened, I melted into Saul’s
warm body and unraveled.

“Everything go well with your father?” His
voice was soft, misty, smooth as the road ahead.

There was so
much to tell Saul but I knew this wasn’t the time. I thanked him
instead, snuggled closer to him, enjoying the special scent that
was only his.

I noticed scores of insects magnetically
drawn to the car. They shifted like weightless clouds worshiping
the light, perhaps even the warmth; some forever trapped by its
charm.

Charm.

Saul
’s charm had already trapped
me.

December 28, 2010

10:2
5 pm

REARDON
LEANED AGAINST
his car, his thumbs hooked
lazily in his front pockets. He watched Claudia and Mel chat
beneath a bright patio light. Small, fluttering creatures haloed
their heads. From the other side of the meshed security screen, a
sprightly, red-haired girl bounced and screeched “Mummy’s
home.”

Claudia had freed her hair from the many
pins. It spilt in soft, natural waves down her slender back and
over her straight, bare shoulders. Hospital scrubs removed, she now
wore a tight, pale tank shirt and cut off denims.

Reardon
loved those shorts, the way they consistently showcased her tanned,
lithe legs. He conjured up wayward images of those same legs
wrapped around his hips, of Claudia and him moving slowly and
rhythmically together. A certain part of his anatomy began reacting
and he swore. Bugger if this woman didn’t do all the right things
to him at all the wrong times. He shifted, whistled out a chest
full of frustrated air.

“
You okay
there, mate?” Ethan was next to him, also pressed against the car.
His arms folded squarely across his chest.

“
What’d you
mean?”

“
You look
like you
’re wide-awake
dreaming.”

Reardon grimaced. “You mean
day-dreaming.”

“
Na. Look
around you. It’s night-time. No day here.” Ethan shrugged.
“Wide-awake dreaming.”

“
You know
you
’re an idiot.”

“Been called worse.”

Any lustful
thoughts Reardon had quickly faded. “Who’s in the white Honda
across the road?”

“
Manning.
She and Jonesy will
take watch just for
tonight; make sure no one bothers Mel or her family.”

“
Trust
them
?”

Ethan glared
at Reardon as if he had just said multiple
f
words at a local parish
meeting. “Of course. Why?”

“
Not
entirely sure. It
’s just the whole
debacle at the hospital. I’m thinking someone tipped our doers
off.”

“A mole? Amongst our guys?”

“
I don’t
want to believe it. But, who else knew of tonight’s
plan.”

Claudia
glanced at him and smiled. Reardon smiled back and tapped his
watch. “It
’s just that we’ve never had
problems before this case.” It hurt him to say it. But there it
was, the black and white truth. “Anyway, we have a killer to
catch.”

Ethan
stepped onto the sandy-loamed footpath;
his abundant keys rattled noisily in his large hand. “Think
the plan will work?”

“
It has to.
I need this person out of the picture before we reach
Araneya.”

Reardon
turned back to Claudia. She and Mel were hugging. A few words
later, Claudia made her way down the broad, paved steps and along
the driveway.

“
See you
around, cowboys,” Mel yelled, before her eager family swallowed
her.

“
She’s one
intense chick,” Ethan said, as Claudia pulled up.

She laughed in that beautiful singsong laugh
that was only hers. Reardon felt his heart melt.

“
Yep,” she
said. “But she’s a good friend.”

Ethan
grinned, then spread out his arms. “Come here and give me a hug
before you go.”

She did,
nestling comfortably into Ethan’s chest.

“
Glad
you
’re okay,” he whispered.

Something
pinched Reardon, nothing major but just enough, like a small,
simple ‘watch out’ sign. Reardon noted Ethan’s expression. He knew
that look. He thought of Ethan’s name for Claudia.

Angel.

And he wondered.

He hoped he
was bloody wrong. Complications, the three of them didn’t
need.

Headlights
appeared from further up the road, grew larger until they screeched
to a stop across from Reardon’s car.

A black
Porsche.

The door
swooshed open. A willowy blonde, wearing a tightly fitted, sequined
mini dress smoothed out of the car. She leaned against the opened
door, pouted her lips and stared directly at Ethan.

“Annabella,” Ethan said and followed it with
a heavy sigh. “Hot with a capital H.”

“You gave her a key to your car?” Reardon
played the stunned guy well.

“
My
chauffeur for the night.” He winked at Reardon. “Got to love a
woman who likes control.”

Within
seconds, Ethan slid into
the passenger seat of his Porsche and they sped away.

Reardon
chuckled as he
strode to the driver’s
side of the car. Claudia was beside him in an instant. Her hand
curled out towards him.

“
I
’m driving,” she said. “You have
an arm to rest and I’m perfectly capable.”

She jutted
her small, rounded chin and whipped her thick, dark eyelashes
several times. If it weren’t so important for him to control the
wheel, he would’ve handed her the keys in an instant.

He stroked
her soft cheek; it was unusually warm, a little flushed. He
grinned. “I know how capable you are. But it
’s only for a short time. Once we hit the highway and put
some distance behind us you can take over.”

She squinted, bit her bottom lip and watched
him. She then pressed her fingers into both of his dimples. “I hate
these.”

“Really? My mother loved them.”

“
That’s
because your mother didn’t know how dangerous they were. Either
that or she didn’t mind being sucked in by them.”

Her large, dark eyes glimmered with
mischief. He decided he probably loved them more than her glorious
laugh and her incredibly sexy legs.