Blood Tears (9 page)

She hesitated, her lips
pursing with unhappiness. And just when I wondered if she was going
to refuse to cooperate entirely, she reluctantly directed us to
where Dave was working in the fields behind their house.

“
This
is a tough town,” Zelda commented dryly, stepping carefully on the
dirt path leading to the fields, mindful of her expensive shoes. I
felt a momentary tinge of gladness that I didn’t have to worry
about niceties like that in my boots.

“
Everyone seems almost hostile to us,” Mr X agreed, frustrated
yet again.

I shrugged. “What do
you expect? People around here, especially the farmers, don’t have
a lot of time for you fancy folk from Big Town. Especially when you
keep asking them the same questions, expecting different answers.
They’re busy people, and it gets up their noses to have their time
wasted.”

“
It’s
like getting blood out of a stone,” muttered Zelda under her
breath.

“
Believe it or not, they’re trying to help you. The fact is
that nobody saw, or knows, anything, apart from what they’ve told
you already. And that will probably be the same of Dave,” I
replied, riled in a mild way on behalf of the good folk of Little
Town. Because though they were suspicious of Big Town cops, they
were very supportive of the town’s own police, particularly as we
were sometimes the only thing standing between them and the
lawlessness of the Bycrafts. The townsfolk were generous in showing
their appreciation by regularly showering us with gifts of produce,
something for which I was eternally grateful, as it helped stretch
my budget.

Dave saw us approach,
and straightened himself up from a crouching position, from where
it appeared he’d been testing the soil. His face held a resigned
expression, with an underlying hint of utter weariness that I
thought perhaps only I picked up on, knowing him better than the
others. He didn’t speak when we reached him.

“
Hello, Dave,” said Mr X affably, not reprimanded this time
for his over-familiarity. “We were in the neighbourhood, and
thought we’d pop in.”

“
Why?” he asked with quiet flatness, adjusting his hat so his
face was partly in shadow.

“
We
just thought it might be a good idea to run you through your story
again.”

“
It
wasn’t a story. It was the truth.”

“
Let’s not quibble over words,” Mr X replied easily, with a
smile that Dave didn’t return.

“
We
were hoping you might have remembered some further details of the
two teenagers,” said Zelda blandly.

“
I
haven’t,” Dave said, his voice becoming fainter. “And God knows,
I’ve thought about it a hundred times since it happened. Down to
the last detail.”

“
We
thought you might have remembered more being relaxed at home. You
were rather tense when we interviewed you in Wattling Bay,” noted
Zelda.

“
Which we understand, er, given your past interactions with
the police,” added Mr X.

Dave’s glance landed on
me, his gentle brown eyes miserable. He shrugged his shoulders
helplessly. “I’ll never live that down, will I? It’s going to haunt
me forever. That’s the only thing anyone will ever remember me
for.”

“
Dave
. . .” I began, but I truly didn’t know what to say to
him.

He was right – he would
never live down that indecent exposure charge. There were parents
in Little Town who clasped their children closer to them whenever
Dave walked past. I was sure that rebuff hadn’t escaped his notice.
And I knew from talking to my schoolteacher friend, Gretel, that he
was no longer one of the local farmers invited to the local primary
school to talk about his crop, as so many others were.

“
We’re not concerned about that today,” Zelda dismissed
briskly, but I wasn’t sure Dave even heard her, lost in his own
dismal thoughts.

And for the first time
since the Sarge had left town, I’d met someone even more steeped in
wretchedness than me, something I hadn’t thought remotely possible.
It was a depressing scenario for both Dave and me.

“
Describe the couple to us again,” Mr X directed, taking out
his notepad.

Dave complied in a dull
monotone. His description hadn’t changed from that which he’d given
me in his original report.

“
Think back again to everything they said,” urged Zelda, also
with her notepad out, pen poised. “Were any names mentioned? Even
nicknames?”

“
No,”
Dave denied. “He called her ‘babe’ once, that’s all. Like I told
you the other day.”

And on and on they went
questioning him, not grilling him in any aggressive kind of way,
but probably making him think they hadn’t believed a word he’d told
them in his interview with them in Big Town. But finally their
questions puttered out, and they were left realising they hadn’t
uncovered even a tiny smidge of any extra information.

“
When
can I collect my ute?” he asked.

“
I’ll
contact forensics when we get back to Wattling Bay and let you
know,” promised Mr X. And with that, we left Dave to return to his
farming duties.

When they dropped me
off at the station, they didn’t tear off as fast as possible, as
most cops from Big Town usually did, eager to shake the dust of
Little Town off their shoes. Instead, they came inside to the back
room to take both Baz and me through our accounts of events again.
Dishearteningly for them, neither of us had anything further to add
to what we’d already detailed in our reports on the accident, and
for me, also about my initial interview with Dave.

I walked them to the
front door, Zelda bounding down the stairs and to their car,
talking on her mobile. Mr X lingered in the doorway.

“
Is
everything okay?” I asked him. “You don’t seem your normal cheery
self.”

“
God,
look who’s talking,” he retorted.

I gave him a tight
smile. “I’m never cheery at the best of times, and this is
definitely not the best of times, so it’s no comparison
really.”

He sighed and rubbed
his chin. I heard the rasp of his stubble as he did. “It’s
Blondie.”

“
Oh.
Is everything okay with you guys?”

“
I
don’t know.” His eyes met mine. “Look, I haven’t told anyone, but
she’s pregnant.”

“
Oh,”
I said again, but this time with a lot more surprise. “I take it
from your expression that news was unexpected.”

“
Highly unexpected.”

“
Congratulations, though. That’s very exciting for you
both.”

“
Is
it?”

“
Isn’t it?”

He sighed heavily again
and leaned against the doorjamb. “I don’t know, Tess.” He beseeched
me with his eyes. “I don’t know if I’m ready to be a father. The
thought of it is scaring the crap out of me.”

“
I
take it you haven’t discussed all the available options in regards
to the pregnancy?” I asked, hesitantly tiptoeing around that very
delicate subject.

“
No,
no, no,” he said strongly. “That’s not an option for either of us.
We’ll be having the baby. And besides, Blondie’s over the moon
about being pregnant. She wants to tell everyone. I’ve managed to
convince her to keep it a secret for now until I can get my head
around it.”

“
What
worries you the most?”

“
The
commitment. It’s not just the baby, but also now everyone will
expect us to get married.
She
expects us to get
married.”

“
You
don’t want to get married?”

“
I
don’t know. I don’t feel like I have a choice. I have to do the
right thing. I’m the one who knocked her up before she even had a
chance to start her career, and I feel terrible about that. I’m
responsible for her and our baby.”

“
You
wouldn’t be the man I thought you were if you felt differently.” I
looked at him. “You do have feelings for her, don’t you? I mean,
you’re still together after all this time, and you’ve moved in
together. And you’re obviously being intimate with each
other.”

“
Of
course I have feelings for her, but perhaps I would have preferred
to explore them more before having this responsibility handed to me
without warning.”

“
I
think you’ll make a great father,” I said sincerely.

“
Do
you really?”

“
Definitely. And you’ll make a wonderful husband too, if you
do decide to get married. Blondie’s a lucky woman, and I hope she
knows it.”

“
Thanks, Tessie.” He leaned down and kissed me quickly on the
cheek. “I guess I needed a pep talk.”

“
Well, you know my number if you ever need to talk some more.
And I promise I won’t breathe a word about it to
anybody.”

“
I
know you wouldn’t, and I appreciate that.” He smiled briefly before
joining Zelda in the car.

I watched them drive
away, lost in thought. I wondered how I’d feel if I found myself
accidently pregnant. Considering that Jake would be the father, I
was pretty sure my feelings would be fairly negative. I refused to
even consider the possibility of being responsible for bringing yet
another Bycraft brat into the world. It was unthinkable to me. I
made a mental note to myself to check how many repeats I had left
on my current pill prescription. There was no point in tempting
fate.

In the back office, Baz
was tidying his desk while his computer shut down. I glanced at my
watch. “You’re packing up a bit early today, aren’t you? It’s not
knocking-off time yet.”

“
Be a
love, and lock up the station tonight for me. I have a dinner date
with Foxy that I’m expecting to turn into a pretty raunchy
night.”

I screwed up my nose.
“Blech. Spare me the sordid details, please.” I gazed at him
expectantly. “Does this mean I get an early pass too?”

“
When
you’ve tidied up your desk a bit.” I groaned loudly. “You can’t
even see your keyboard under all that paper. I don’t know how you
work there. Remember, messy desk, messy mind.”

“
That’s better than clean desk, empty mind,” I spat back,
uselessly moving paper from one side of my desk to the
other.

Baz laughed. “Oh,
Tezza. What am I going to do with you?” He grew thoughtful. “Mmm,
maybe I should stay behind for a bit longer until it’s time for you
to leave, if you’re going to be in a mood.”

“
No,
no,” I assured hastily, seeing an hour or two free of him slipping
away from my grasp. “I’m not in a mood. I’ll clean it, I promise.
You run along and get ready for your date. You don’t want to keep
Foxy waiting.”

At the doorway, he
paused and turned. “Stay out of trouble.”

Oh brother!
“Cut
me some slack, will you? What possible trouble can I get into
tidying my desk? It would be nice for once if you treated me like
an experienced officer, and not some green academy graduate who
doesn’t know her arse from her elbow.”

He judiciously ignored
my rant, picking up the keys to the patrol car. “Almost forgot
these. Enjoy your filing, Tezza.”

“
Are
you taking the car?” I complained. “What happens if I get a
call-out?”

“
It
can wait until tomorrow.”

“
What
if it’s urgent?”

“
Then
you’ll ring me, and I’ll make a judgement call on it.” He smiled.
“But I won’t be rushing away from the delectable Foxy in any hurry,
so make sure it’s not urgent.” And with that, he sauntered off
whistling.

Muttering under my
breath about stupid sergeants and the selfish way they hogged the
patrol car, I reapplied myself to sorting out my desk. I’d barely
had a chance to read a half-dozen pieces of paper, screwing them up
and chucking them in the bin, when the bell to the front door
sounded.

Always expecting a
Bycraft to be at the counter, yet again, I wasn’t disappointed. But
at least this time it wasn’t trouble – I hoped.

“
Jakey,” I said. We each leaned across the counter to share a
brief kiss. There was a time I would have almost vaulted the
counter to let myself be wrapped tightly in his arms, latching my
mouth on to his luscious lips. But I stayed on my side, and he
stayed on his. And whether it was the natural cooling of wild
passion that happened to most relationships over time, or a sign of
the invisible barrier Denny’s death had created between us, I
couldn’t say. But I knew I wasn’t imagining it by the hint of
tension in Jake’s shoulders, and by the way we were less easy with
each other than we used to be.

“
You
all alone, baby doll?” he asked, propping himself up with a hand on
the counter and peering around the doorway into the back
room.

“
Yep.
Baz has a date with Foxy tonight.”

He smiled. He had a
beautiful smile. “Poor him.”

I smiled back. “He
doesn’t think so. Have you come to town to visit your mother?”

“
Partly. But I came to see you too. I’m off duty tonight, and
thought you might like a sleeping buddy.”

“
I
might,” I smiled again, knowing there would be little sleeping
involved if he stayed over.

We’d both been working
a lot, and hadn’t spent much time together lately. An evening of
blissful, physical pleasure with this gorgeous man sounded about
the most perfect thing I could think of at that moment. It wouldn’t
just be Baz who’d be getting lucky tonight. The police station
should be a pretty contented place tomorrow.