Blood Tears (42 page)

“
If I
agree to speak to the Super personally, as a hostage, and intercede
on your behalf to retrieve your valuables, can we make a deal that
you’ll leave Annabel and her baby behind when you move
on?”

“
Listen to you, trying to make a deal with a gun pointed at
your head,” he laughed. “You’re ballsy, Officer, I’ll give you
that. But as for your offer, we’ll see. I haven’t decided yet if I
even want to keep the girlie. As an employee, she’s not much chop.
As a companion, she hasn’t proved to be as loyal or grateful as I’d
have expected.”

“
Employees? Is that what you call your little
gang?”

“
Why
not? They work for me, after all. I pay them in kind with shelter,
food and teaching them life skills.”

“
Theft skills, you mean.”

“
So
cynical, Officer,” he tutted. “I think you’d have to agree that I’m
quite the benefactor.”

“
Quite the beneficiary, I’d prefer to say.”

“
You’re a bit lippy for a hostage, aren’t you? But I must say
that it’s quite delightful to have another adult to converse with
for once. My employees are charming in their own youthful ways, but
they lack a certain something.”

“
An
education?”

“
Now,
now,” he tutted again. “They’re learning about the important things
in life. They don’t need any book learning. Now, enough yapping
from you. Just drive.”

“
Where am I driving to?” I asked when I reached the turn off
to Big Town. I wanted to keep him talking in case he told me
something that could be used for my advantage in this
situation.

“
Wattling Bay.”

“
Are
you still hanging around there? We were all so sure you’d have
taken off by now.”

“
I
would have, believe me. But I have some, er, friends, who owe me
money for some goods I sold them. And I’m not leaving until they
pay up.”

“
And
who are your friends?”

He laughed heartily.
“Oh, Officer, if you’re going to try to pump me for information, at
least be more subtle about it.”

“
You
know how it is – once a cop, always a cop,” I said congenially,
looking at him in the rear view mirror.

Perhaps if I was
moderately friendly to him, he might let his guard slip? Then
again, probably not. He was a seasoned professional criminal, and
it was beyond the realms of likelihood that he’d suddenly feel
amicable towards a cop.

Annabel sat in the
passenger seat, her body stiff and her face pale with anxiety. She
hadn’t uttered a word since we’d driven off. Her hands twisted
uncontrollably in her lap, and she wore an expression on her face
of all-consuming worry about her baby.

“
It
will be okay, sweetheart,” I assured her in a low voice.

“
No,
it clearly won’t be okay,” Merrick said stridently. “If I don’t
retrieve the property that
she
stole from me, it will be far
from okay for her. Or you.”

Silent tears plopped
off Annabel’s chin on to her jeans. Not wanting to make matters
worse for her, or to cause her any further mental anguish, I kept
quiet for the next hour until we reached the outer suburbs of Big
Town.

Merrick directed me
along a route that I tried to memorise, but it was impossible. He
took me on a torturous twist of streets to get there that I’d never
be able to replicate. Eventually, we turned into a street similar
to the one on which his other house had been located. A mix of
residential and light industry, most of the houses in the street
looked as though they’d seen better days.

“
Pull
in here,” he instructed. I turned into the driveway of one of the
more dilapidated specimens as the sun set. “Park around the
back.”

I did what I was told,
drinking in every detail of the property, including the fleet of
old clapped-out vehicles parked haphazardly.

“
Out,” he ordered. “And don’t forget I have a gun, so don’t
try on anything funny.”

“
Wouldn’t dream of it,” I lied, looking at the
house.

It was utterly without
any redeeming charms, a virtual box of a house, two storeys high,
paint peeling, and part of the roof guttering collapsed.

“
Lead
the way, girlie.”

Annabel walked quickly
up the three steps of the back verandah to the door. I followed
her, my own gun prodding me in the back when I took too long about
it.

Inside, the house was
dingy and unkempt. A television blared loudly from a room off to
the side. Annabel hurried through the doorway and again, Merrick
indicated I should follow by poking me in the back.

A group of teens
lounged around on the ancient, musty couches watching a sit com on
the TV.

“
I’m
back,” Merrick announced. He gave me a little push into the room.
“Look who I’ve brought to visit. Let’s make her feel
welcome.”

“
Pig,” said one teen, while another made oinking
noises.

“
That’s not very polite,” Merrick reprimanded mildly. “Jonah,
tie her up to one of the wooden chairs. We want her to stay for a
while. Or at least as long as it takes me to get what I
want.”

I didn’t resist being
restrained, but I flexed my wrists as much as I dared to avoid
detection. When he’d finished tying me up, I tested the looseness
of the rope, satisfied I’d be able to get out when needed.

Annabel rushed over to
a corner where a baby lay on an old-fashioned bouncinette.

“
Oi!”
Merrick snapped. “I never said you could go near the
baby.”

“
She
needs a feed and a change,” Annabel said, showing the first sparks
of defiance I’d seen yet. “Her nappy’s soaking wet. Didn’t any of
you people look after her at all?”

“
Not
our problem, sis,” Jonah replied in an uninterested voice, eyes
glued to the TV.

“
You’re lucky we didn’t smother the brat,” said another teen
in a bored voice. “Didn’t stop fucking crying for ages. It did my
head in.”

“
Mind
your language,” scolded Merrick. “We don’t want the officer to
think we’re uncouth.”

“
Un-
what
?” asked that same teen.

I looked around at
them, wondering which of them was ‘Derek’, the person willing to
deliberately injure or kill an innocent baby at Merrick’s
request.

“
Let
her feed and change her baby,” I said.

“
There you go again, Officer,” said Merrick, shaking his head
in disbelief. “Thinking you’re in charge of things.”

“
Let
her feed and change her baby,” I repeated deliberately.

We eyed off each other
for a long moment.

“
All
right,” he finally conceded, turning to Annabel. “Tend to the brat.
At least it will shut the damn thing up for a while.”

Annabel threw me a
grateful glance and gathered her baby to her breast, taking her
upstairs, presumably to one of the bedrooms.

“
Right,” said Merrick, looming over me. I stared up at him,
not hiding my contempt. I wasn’t personally afraid of him – I was
afraid of what he’d do to Annabel and Jamie. “I’m sure you’d like
to get out of here as soon as possible and, not to be rude to you,
I want to get rid of you as soon as possible. So let’s get this
ball rolling.”

“
What
do you want me to do?” I asked.

“
I’m
sure your fellow officer has contacted the big wigs in the police
station here in Wattling Bay.”

I thanked heaven that
I’d turned my phone to silent earlier. The last thing I needed
right now was an ill-timed call from a worried colleague giving
away the fact that I actually did have my phone on me.

I knew the Sarge would
remember that I’d taken my phone with me as he’d made such a point
about it, and would realise that it was a ruse. He would be able to
pinpoint my current location using the app that tracks phones. All
I needed to do was stay calm, and drag it out until the Big Town
cops could come to my rescue. At least I hope that’s what I
communicated to him in that long gaze we’d exchanged back in the
shed.

A couple of the teens
came over to me too, and stood looking down at me. Despite my
earlier bravado, I suddenly felt vulnerable in this house with a
gang of criminals, with no weapons and tied up like I was.

One nudged the other
and with what could only be described as an evil grin, asked
Merrick, “Are we allowed to have some fun with her?”

Chapter
29

“
Don’t be stupid,” Merrick answered, clipping the kid across
the back of his head. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay
right away from cops? Especially female cops. Nothing will get you
a heap of attention from the boys and girls in blue than to mess
with one of them.”

“
You
got her,” sulked the teen, rubbing his head.

“
Her
nosiness landed her in my lap. It was too good an opportunity to
pass up, but make no mistake,” he held up a finger, “I know the
danger I’m putting us all in by bringing her here. So the sooner I
can get rid of her, the better.”

“
Why’d you bring her here then, if she’s so much trouble?”
asked Jonah.

“
Because she is going to help me get my property back, and
she’s going to guarantee us a safe passage out of this town.” He
placed his hand on my head. I wanted desperately to shake it off,
repulsed by his touch. I couldn’t imagine how Annabel had endured
it. “But while she’s here, I want you all to consider her to be a
guest. Understand?”

He seemed satisfied
with the sullen murmured responses he received in return.

“
Let’s get to it . . . What’s your name? I can’t keep calling
you Officer, and I can’t remember what your colleague called you.”
His smile was a mere grimace. “Our third meeting was rather
stressful. Even more stressful than our second.”

“
Tess.”

“
Okay, Tess. Let’s not drag this out. Let’s get on the phone
to the highest cop in Wattling Bay. Who would that be?” He laughed.
“Luckily, I’m not that familiar with the police force
here.”

“
Superintendent Fiona Midden. She’s the commanding officer of
the entire district. But I won’t speak to her unless you agree to
let Annabel and her baby stay here when you leave Wattling
Bay.”

He was thoughtful for a
long moment, his eyes considering me. “All right. They can stay.
That baby was driving me insane anyway. Now will you speak to the
Superintendent?”

“
Yes.”

“
Excellent. Nobody gets to such a high rank without being a
reasonable person, willing to see sense and negotiate. This should
be a breeze. Right, Tess?”

“
Um .
. .” I didn’t know what to say to him. He’d obviously never met the
Super before.

“
Good,” he said, almost as if he didn’t hear my hesitation. He
turned to one of the teens. “Find me the number for the Wattling
Bay police station.”

I rattled it off for
him. “You’ll need to ask to be transferred to her,” I told him
helpfully.

He chuckled.
“Naturally. I wouldn’t expect a superintendent to be answering the
general phone number at the station herself.”

He rang the number and
waited patiently for it to be answered. He was obviously fobbed off
when he requested to speak to the Super in person.

“
I’m
positive she’d be interested in talking to me,” he told the
receptionist politely. “Tell her it’s Merrick calling.” He took a
moment to spell out his name. “Let her know I have something
important to tell her about Tess.” He listened for a moment. “I’m
not sure. Let me check.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “Are you
Senior Constable Tess Fuller?”

“
Yes.”

“
This
person wants to know your service number.” He spoke into the phone
again. “One moment, please. I’ll put her on, and she can tell you
herself.”

He held the phone in
front of my mouth.

“
I’ve
put it on speaker phone,” he warned. “So don’t think you’ll get
away with any coded talk.”

I told the receptionist
my service number and she immediately transferred me to the
Super.

“
Tessie Fuller,” said that familiar growly voice. “What the
fuck are you up to now? When I get my fucking hands on you, you’re
going to wish you’d taken up flower arranging as a
career.”

“
Ma’am, we’re on speaker phone.”

“
I
don’t give a flying fuck if we’re being broadcast to the entire
galaxy and E-fucking-T is listening in. I am personally going to
kick your arse black and blue when this is over. I do
not
have time for this fuckwittery today.”

Merrick’s eyebrows
rose.

“
I’ll
be looking forward to that, ma’am,” I said, with a level of dryness
that probably wasn’t appropriate for the situation.

She rightly ignored me.
“I cannot believe what Maguire told me, no matter how many times I
made him repeat it. No officer of mine, and I mean
no fucking
officer of mine
, hands over her weapon to a Z-grade criminal
piece of dickscum like some pimply-arsed, shit-scared new recruit.
Especially when that officer is allegedly a senior constable.”

“
Excuse me,” protested Merrick. “No need to be so rude about
me.”