Turtle Island (13 page)

The drive back to the precinct was tense but without further
incident. She left her car to be dusted for prints and other DNA
matter the intruder may have left behind. After a brief phone call
to Norman Frusco, she borrowed a car from the car pool and drove
out to Rick’s for the barbeque.

Stephen England was sitting up in bed. His eyes had blackened,
his nose and jaw was broken, as was every tooth in his mouth up to
his molars. His cheekbone was shattered and his skull was fractured
in two places. From his neck down to his waist he had another
fifteen broken or fractured bones, including his elbow. Stephen
England was very unlucky to be alive; the living nightmare to which
he was trapped made a life spent in this condition nothing to be
envied. He did not know how he got into this condition and found
comprehending anything other than the fearsome memories that
flashed through his mind impossible. Who the strange girl was who
was holding his hand?

Dr Martinez shone a torch into Stephen’s eyes looking for
pupil dilation, only the left eye dilated the right was blown.
Indecipherable words spewed rambling and incoherently from his
pulpy mouth. Cara Morton sat quietly, waiting patiently for the
doctor to finish his examination. She had a thousand questions that
were burning down the length of a fuse.

The temperature on the thermometer read 97 Fahrenheit,
Georgina looked at her watch it was a little after three in the
afternoon. Police guards sat discreetly across the street watching
the house. She recognised the large ginger headed man from the
precinct as Detective Walberg and his partner as Officer Collins,
both of them were assigned to protect Rick’s wife and son. She
waved to them before pressing the doorbell. Walberg lifted his
coffee cup in salute to O’Neil. She watched Collins lean over and
whisper in his partner’s ear. Whatever he said made Walberg smile.
Georgina couldn’t hear but had worked long enough around a
predominantly male workforce to guess that the content of his
amusement probably involved her body. The shorts that she wore,
while not tight were short and the vest was loose and baggy,
neither items designed to flatter, but O’Neil knew that most women
could wear a sack and invite sexual abuse. Walberg’s tongue snaked
and this time it was Collins turn to laugh.

‘Come on, come on; open up.’ Georgina was pleading with
whoever was going to reach the door first. She never did like being
in a shop window and it pleased her even less to give letches like
Collins and Walberg a hard-on. She could hear noise and the sound
of footsteps running to the door. Small feet, the sound of a
child.

‘I’LL GET IT.’ A wee voice called.

Ray opened the door and his face became a Christmas tree whose
lights had just fused.

‘Oh.’ he said not bothering to hide his disappointment. He
turned ignoring Georgina and called. ‘It’s some woman.’

‘Some woman.’ Georgina thought to herself, feeling the
juxtaposition of her sexuality from the males of this world whose
hormones had yet to kick in. From the North to the South Pole in a
matter of seconds, another eight years and he would be tying his
dick to his leg to keep it down. Ray trotted off without another
word.

Georgina called after him. ‘Hey Ray, you not gonna say
hello?’

Ray stopped. ‘How’d you know my name?’

‘I know lots about you.’ She lied. ‘I’m a friend of your
dad’s. I work with him.’

‘You a policewoman?’ Ray turned his head to face
Georgina.

‘Something like that.’

A woman came from the kitchen.

‘I’m sorry, has little Ray not invited you in?’ Jo-Lynn
Montoya was holding out her hand as she walked down the hall. Her
grip was firm and warm, her eyes smiling.

‘Rick has had to go out. A bit of a personal crisis but he
said he won’t be long.’

‘Oh...I’m sorry. Is everything alright?’

‘Yeah, come on in. Don’t look so concerned. You’re Miss O’Neil
right?’

‘Georgina.’

‘Well the problem's Leroy, Rick’s partner.’ Jo-Lynn began to
explain. ‘Leroy is having the crisis actually.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Georgina said. She followed Jo-Lynn through to
the kitchen. Ray ran ahead of them.

‘I guess I can tell you, considering you’re a work colleague
an’ all. Leroy’s girlfriend Lia has upt and left him. The big old
softy is pretty upset. So Rick’s over there doing his ‘she was no
good for you anyway’ speech.’ She laughed ‘Not that that’s true.
It’s quite ironic, Lia was the best thing that could happen to
Leroy.’

As Georgina entered the kitchen she noticed another woman
standing near the sink. She was preparing salad, washing vegetables
and dicing tomatoes and onions.

‘Georgina, let me introduce you to Korjca. Ray’s nanny.’
Jo-Lynn explained ‘I am a working mother, so Korjca here helps keep
my little one in line during the day and school
holidays.’

The young white woman turned around and said 'Hello' her
accent was eastern European. She was 19 or 20. Slightly overweight
but the weight flattered her features, her hair was dark brown,
pulled back, secured with an elastic. She wore a straight skirt,
which touched her knees and a crisp white blouse, which nearly
matched her complexion.

‘Her second name is something unpronounceable.’ Jo-Lynn
smiled.

Korjca laughed. ‘Piekarska.’

‘See I told you.’

Georgina shook Korjca's hand.

‘Hello.’

Korjca smiled. ‘Hello...I’m from Poland, so you must forgive
my English.’ She seemed to be apologising, there was unsureness in
her voice, even though her English was far better than Georgina's
Polish ever would be. ‘So my English is still not too good, but I
am learning.’

‘Yeah, I teach her.’ Ray sidled in to grab some
attention.

‘We were going to eat outside but I think it may be too hot.’
Jo-Lynn was standing at the open rear door leading in to the
garden.

‘I like the heat, it can get a little sticky but when you’re
raised in Maryland you learn to appreciate the hot days.’ Georgina
joined her at the door and looked down the length of the
garden.

A paved patio area was home to a sun lounge and a table. To
the left was a hardcore area with some familiar looking painted
markings and a basketball hoop. Further up was a large lawn with a
huge hole being dug at the very foot of the garden.

‘Good, I like the heat too; I was just saying that so as to be
polite.’

‘It’s a nice garden.’

‘Don’t you mind the mess at the end there. That’s where we’re
having a pool built, come down I’ll show you what we have planned.’
Jo-Lynn stepped into the furnace of heat outside; Ray pushed past
Georgina and ran down the garden shouting at the top of his lungs
with his arms outstretched pretending to be a plane. Jo-Lynn and
Georgina walked up the garden toward the construction area. The sun
was high in a cloudless sky and for a brief time the world seemed
at ease.

‘I don't blame Lia for leaving Leroy. The job takes too much
from relationships; time, energy...don't you find that?’ Jo-Lynn
spoke as she walked.

‘During training they prepare you for everything except the
sacrifices, both personal and mental. You seem to be coping
though.’ Georgina replied.

Jo-Lynn laughed sardonically. ‘Yeah, I'm coping but I feel I
shouldn’t have to cope. Ray suffers. He misses his father. I try to
be here as much as possible but there are times when it seems I
don't see my son for days. That's not unusual for the both of us
because of our work commitments; there was a time last year where I
never saw Ray for nine days. Korjca is invaluable, I don’t know how
other families cope, families that can’t afford to buy
help.’

They reached the large hole; mounds of earth were piled to one
side of the rectangle ditch. A small digger lay dormant a few yards
away.

‘The compensations for our sacrifices, the loss of time and
family against a nice house, a new car every other year, a pool and
a foreign holiday. We truly are children of the new millennium.’
Jo-Lynn sighed.

‘A beautiful son. Some people would swap the world for a
child.’ Georgina was watching Ray bounce a basketball on the
hardcore. He was throwing the ball up to the hoop.

‘Yeah, I know, it would seem that when you have everything you
never realise what you truly have, only what you don’t. I should
thank God. I know how precious a child’s life can be.’

Georgina knew that Jo-Lynn was alluding to Jordan. ‘I was
sorry to hear about your loss.’

Jo-Lynn stared into the freshly dug pit, remembering a day
three years previously when she was staring into a different pit.
‘Yeah, everyone’s sorry.’ She turned and looked at her son trying
to shoot a hoop. ‘His father said he’d help him practice
today…another broken promise.’

‘Put your weight on your back foot, then lean in to the shot.’
Georgina shouted to Ray.

Ray did as told and put the ball clean through the hoop. He
yelped with delight.

‘Rick promised, hand on heart, that he would shoot some
baskets today.’

‘But he wasn't to know about Leroy?’

‘No....but there is always something.' Jo-Lynn began to walk
back to the house.

‘Do you think Ray would allow me to practice a few shots with
him?’

Jo-Lynn stopped. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Deadly. I may be white but I can shoot hoop.’ Georgina threw
an imaginary basketball at an equally imaginary hoop.

‘No, that’s not what I meant...I mean of course you can. Ray
has been on to me an’ Korjca all morning. Ever since his father
left this morning. Tell you the truth I may be black but I ain’t no
good. Korjca plays with him sometimes, but right now she’s more use
to me in the kitchen, another place that's not really my domain,
I’m happier in court.’

Georgina and Jo-Lynn walked together back up the garden toward
the hardcore area where Ray was practicing shooting.

‘Rick mentioned that you were a partner in a practice just out
of Springfield.’

‘
Yeah, it’s just small. Mainly divorce work, lord knows
there’s enough of that, and a few local issues, planning that sort
of thing, nothing too exciting but that’s the way I want it. My
partner Phillip Galloway, had to defend a man charged with murder
about a year ago, domestic violence, but most of the big stuff goes
straight to the attorneys in Missouri.’

They stopped at the edge of the miniature basketball
court.

‘Hey, Ray?’

Ray looked sideways at his mother and totally missed the
shot.

‘Ah, mom.’

‘What you say if Miss Georgina here wants to practice with
you?’

Ray looked Georgina up and down disapprovingly, while bouncing
the ball.

‘But mum, she’s...’

‘White.’ Georgina chipped in

‘A girl.’ Ray said with disgust.

‘Now Ray, you know what your Mama says about working with
minorities.’

Okay.’ Ray groaned reluctantly giving in.

Georgina smiled and stepped onto the court

‘Ray, like my husband and myself, never see colour in skin,
only the heart that beats behind it. Good or bad.’

‘I guess that’s twice that I've put my foot in my mouth
today.’

‘Nonsense.’ Jo-Lynn bent down to her son’s level and spoke to
him sternly. ‘Ray, I want you to play nice. No rough
stuff.’

Ray smiled his best, most mischievous smile

‘Pass me the ball, Ray?’ Georgina called. Ray passed the ball
straight to the detective. Georgina caught the ball expertly and in
one fluid movement twisted and shot the ball straight through the
hoop. Ray stood open mouthed.

‘WOW.’

‘I am impressed, Miss O’Neil. Would you like to be my son’s
personal coach?’ Jo-Lynn said obviously impressed. Georgina ran
over to the hoop and collected the ball.

‘Okay Ray, how about a little attack and defence? You try to
score and I'll defend. One on one.’ Georgina passed the ball to
Ray, bouncing it off the ground. Ray caught the ball and
immediately went on the attack, bouncing the ball, moving forward,
shimmying to one side, trying to faint a dummy to throw Georgina
off her stride. She stood in front of him, arms flapping trying to
block any potential shot. They were in front of the 'D' ring. Ray
took two quick steps to his side and launched a shot, which
ricocheted of the hoop board.

‘Good shot, Ray.’ Georgina praised the boy’s
effort.

Sweat was beginning to run down her back, she used the bottom
of her vest to wipe her forehead. Ray watched fascinated, studying
her stomach, looking at the half exposed cups of her sport bra.
Something caught the light, dazzling reflecting from the
sun.

‘What's that?’ Ray pointed to a shining object that appeared
to be growing from Georgina's navel.

‘A stud.’ Georgina explained. Ray still looked puzzled. ‘You
know like ear rings, but I've had one put in my tummy
instead.’