Hostage (14 page)

25 December

Laney swept the rubbish off her passenger seat and helped Tully into it, then buckled up her seatbelt. It was only a short drive home and neither one spoke.

Laney found a park right outside the house and declared it a Christmas miracle.

‘We’re home,’ said Laney.

‘Yes,’ said Tully. She sat watching the coloured lights of the Christmas tree flicker from the lounge room window. ‘Bamps got the lights working,’ she said finally.

‘Of course,’ said Laney. ‘He’s a stubborn old bugger.’

Tully smiled.

‘And your mother. After the trouble...’

Tully continued to watch the coloured lights flicker.

‘She won’t see you until she’s better ... sober. After the trouble ... she was scared, Tully. Being drunk and in charge of a car is like aiming a loaded gun—’

‘I only had concussion,’ said Tully.

‘It wasn’t just the accident. She’s been running for so long now, that she doesn’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore. Running from your father. Running from Craig. Running from landlords she couldn’t pay. I think ... in the end, though, I think she’s really been trying to run away from herself. She doesn’t like herself very much, Tully. I don’t know why. She didn’t mean to hurt you—’

‘It was my fault—’

‘No!’ Laney grabbed Tully’s hands. ‘Look at me. It was not your fault. She wanted to be with you for Christmas, but she had a setback. She doesn’t want to see you until she’s better. She’s trying her best, but, well, you know...’

Tully nodded.

Laney let go. ‘She sent you a card. Said I should give it to you on Christmas day.’

‘I have a present for her,’ said Tully.

‘I can get it to her ... Dad went out and spent a fortune on food yesterday. Right after he got your message off the answering machine,’ said Laney. ‘I hope you know how to cook turkey. He invited Larry over for Christmas lunch.’

‘Larry!’ Tully snorted. ‘I hope he’s not wearing his bathers.’

Laney gave a dry chuckle, then leaned into the back seat and grabbed her handbag. She opened it up and drew out an envelope and handed it to Tully.

Tully recognised the writing on the envelope. She carefully opened it, pulled out a Christmas card and read the enclosed letter.

Tully read the letter twice, before folding it and putting it back into the envelope with the Christmas card.

‘Would it be okay if I stayed with you for a while?’

‘Of course,’ Laney said briskly. ‘Stay as long as you like.’

Outside the early morning sky was tinged pink from the streetlights and city glow. One star twinkled bravely through the streetlight pollution and Tully murmured, ‘We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand.’

‘What’s that?’

‘An old guy said it once. I wrote it down because...’

Laney pulled a photo from her handbag. It was the picture that Tully had stolen from her bedside table. ‘Do you want to tell me about this?’ she asked.

‘Sorry. I took it because it was such a nice photo of Mum. She looks really well there. Why did you cut Remo’s face out?’

‘We had ... a fight. You have that letter I sent your mum—’

‘No, I mean, why did you cut out his face? Why not Mum’s?’

‘She’s my sister,’ said Laney, as if that explained everything. Then she handed Tully a folded piece of paper from her bag.

Tully unfolded it. It was Griffin’s receipt from school.

‘I found it in your tin,’ said Laney. ‘The cops asked me if you knew someone called Griffin Sorenson. I didn’t want the them getting the wrong idea.’

‘Thank you,’ said Tully hoarsely.

‘We look after our own,’ said Laney, closing her bag with a snap.

‘Listen, Aunt Laney, it’s not what you think,’ said Tully.

‘So what should I think?’ said Laney. ‘Tell me, Tully. Tell me what really happened.’

Tully’s Story

The thing I remember, the one thing that is really clear to me, is that the chemist floor had a large black scuff near the counter. You’re big on scuffing the floor. You hate when I do it. So I remember the scuff, and the way Griffin’s left shoe was frayed at the side so that you could see part of his sock. Which looked pathetic and slightly sad.

Griffin’s long cold fingers were pressed against me and I smelled like flowers. Something I’d sprayed on while I was waiting to be served. I remember a customer rushing at Griffin and Griffin pushing him aside so that the man fell to the floor. And then we were leaving the shop.

That’s when I saw him. Someone else had walked in. He was hunched over in a way that said ‘Don’t look at me’ and the hood from his yellow hoodie was pulled down low over his face. As Griffin pushed past him I caught a glimpse of startled eyes, then a knowing smile, and a knife glinting in the chemist display lights.

I remember the knife.

But it was the scuff I remember the most. I was thinking, ‘Someone should really clean that.’

And then we were in the car.

And then we were gone.

As always, to the team at black dog books who make this possible.

Maryann for her enthusiasm and guidance during the editorial process.

Andrew who kept his powder dry for a last read and added insightful recommendations.

Melissa for the amazing cover image and daily grind of making it into a book.

Kristen, the publicity guru, who read the book on the tram and gave away the ending to anyone listening.

To Regine Abos, a fantastic design as always.

To Tim Wall, my police fact checker, who spent a lot of time with me getting the police scenes right. Any errors in these scenes are my fault and mine alone.

To my family who supply me with hot drinks and support.

And finally, to my daughter, Cait, who hates reading but managed to read this book in undesigned pages and ‘got it’.

Karen Tayleur is author of the best-selling
Chasing Boys,
the
David Mortimore Baxter
series and
Halloween in Christmas Hills.

Karen has worked in advertising, the print media, publishing and as a singer in a dinner-dance band for approximately five minutes. She married her husband because she liked his surname. Her books are published in Australia and overseas.

Her ‘things to do’ list is so long she fears she will run out of time before she can get to everything. Her favourite motto is ‘Life is not a dress rehearsal’.

Chasing Boys

Younger Readers:

David Mortimore Baxter series:

Liar!

The Truth!

Promises!

Excuses!

Secrets!

Manners!

All Stars series:

Mel: Goal Attack

Bree: Centre

Picture Book:

Halloween in Christmas Hills

Image I

Image II

What happens when you’re not the cool kid at school any more?

CJ has been banished to the country to live with his grandparents. No one asks him if he wants to be there.

It seems like no one really cares. And no matter how hard he tries to outrun it, trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes.

Image III

‘Then I found what I was looking for. A photo of a man in army uniform. Written in pencil, on the back of the photo, was Darcy Charles Fletcher, 1941.’

By Finding Darcy, Darcy Abbott discovers exactly what she has been searching for all her life—except she didn’t know it.

Image IV

Georgina has escaped to a small town in the middle of nowhere, searching for the one person in the world that she can count on. But Georgina will discover that growing up means accepting the consequences of her actions. Whether she is ready to or not.