Little Girl Lost (5 page)

‘Gettin’ old mate, gettin’ old!’ The hearty slap on his back caused some of the beer in Pete’s glass to slosh over onto his hand. He put the beer on the table and shook off the liquid before clasping the hand of the newcomer.

‘Glad you could make it, Mick.’

‘Wouldn’t miss this for the world. Let me buy you a beer.’ Mick set off towards the bar without noticing either the glass Pete had just set down, or the other full glass queued next to it.

Pete let him go. He didn’t know whether he would be drinking much beer that night, but it wouldn’t be wasted. With six of his driving mates already here, and a couple more expected in later tonight, there would be plenty of people willing to drink whatever was going.

‘Happy birthday, mate.’ Mick was back, holding his beer high.

‘Cheers, Mick.’ Pete raised his own glass, but barely took a sip of the cold amber liquid.

Behind them the clatter of a ball and a chorus of rousing cheers indicated that the most recent pool challenge was over.

‘Want a game?’ Mick asked.

Pete shook his head. Mick deposited his beer on the table and picked up a cue. Pete left him to it. He left his beer on the table and walked towards the back of the pub. Instead of going into the Gents, he quickly slipped outside into the darkness.

The Overflow Pub sat on the Barclay Highway on the outskirts of Mount Isa, just a short walk from the trucking depot where Pete and the other drivers were based. Thus it was their regular watering hole. It was a little like the men who frequented it, a bit rough around the edges, but basically all right. And tonight it was the venue for Pete’s thirtieth birthday party.

Thirty! Pete shook his head. How the hell did that happen? He couldn’t be thirty. He didn’t feel much different to the day he was handed his MR licence – his passport to driving medium-sized trucks and the first step towards the combination licence he now held as a road train driver. He was a better driver now, of course, after that many years on the road. Older, too, of course. But thirty? He couldn’t be thirty.

Where had the years gone?

There was a wooden table and chairs behind the pub for the smokers to use, but they were empty at the moment. Pete leaned back against the table and looked up at the sky. He could see the stars, but not enough of them. Many were lost in the refracted light of the houses and cars and street lights. It was one of the things he didn’t like about living in a town even this big. He liked the vast open skies at night, with so many stars a man would need a lifetime to count them all.

‘Hey, birthday boy. What are you doing out here all alone?’

The scent of perfume cut through the night air as Linda approached.

‘Just getting a breath of fresh air, Linda,’ Pete replied.

‘Do you mind if I join you?’ It was a rhetorical question. Linda had already taken up position next to him, leaning against the same table, her leg gently touching his.

‘I hope you’re enjoying the party,’ Linda said.

‘Yeah. You’ve done a great job. Thank you.’

‘No worries. Anything for you. You know that.’ Her voice dripped with meaning.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Linda was pretty, with shoulder-length brown hair and a trim figure. She looked terrific in a tight T-shirt and even tighter jeans. She was funny too, and kind. All the drivers liked her, but none of them had ever made a move on her. Because she was Pete’s girl.

Pete felt pretty bad about deceiving her tonight. It seemed cruel to pretend all was well between them, when he’d already decided to call it quits. But surely it would be even more cruel to end it now, when she’d gone to all this trouble to set up the party? Let her have tonight. He was heading out on a run to Birdsville tomorrow, stopping off at the mine near Coorah Creek. He’d be gone a couple of days. When he got back, he’d tell her.

He didn’t think she’d be too upset. At least, he hoped she wouldn’t be. In Pete’s mind the relationship had never been more than casual. He thought she felt the same way and no doubt spent time with other men when he was away. That thought didn’t bother him at all. He made no claims upon her – nor she on him.

‘I have a present for you,’ Linda said softly.

‘You didn’t have to. I mean, all the work you put into the party. That was enough.’

‘That was nothing,’ she said. She was looking at him intently now. He could see the emotion on her face. She looked uncertain. That was rare for Linda. She normally exuded confidence. It was part of her appeal.

He didn’t say anything, he waited for her to go on.

‘We’re going to have a baby.’

Pete froze. The world around him did to. He struggled to understand what he’d just heard.

‘A baby?’

‘Yes. I’m pregnant. Isn’t that wonderful!’ Her voice held a slight tone of desperation.

‘But we … always used … How?’ Pete fought to get the words out.

‘Just one of those things. It really doesn’t matter now. We’re going to have a baby. I love you, Pete. And I’m so happy.’

She stopped speaking, obviously expecting him to reply in a similar way. He struggled to find some words.

‘How far? I mean … when …’ he stammered.

‘I’ve only just found out. I’m only a few weeks along. Please don’t tell anyone. Not yet. I want to wait.’

Linda stopped speaking and stared into his eyes. Hers began to well with tears. ‘Oh, Pete, tell me you’re happy about this. That you and I …’ She started to step away from him. ‘You’re not going to dump me, are you? You can’t.’

The fear in her voice snapped him back. He reached for her and pulled her tight against his chest. Not because he wanted to hold her, but he had to get away from the accusing look on her face.

‘Of course I won’t,’ he said. ‘I’m shocked by the news, that’s all. I’m here for you. And for the baby. I always will be.’

‘I love you, Pete.’ Her voice was muffled against his chest.

He knew the answer she was expecting, but he’d never said those words before. Not to Linda. Not to anyone. He couldn’t do it now because it would be a lie.

‘Have you seen a doctor?’ he asked instead. ‘Had a check-up. Made sure … that everything is all right.’

‘I did this week,’ she said. ‘He says everything is fine. He says I’m healthy and so is our baby.’

Pete wondered just how much they could tell about the child this early. His mind went back to the last time he and Linda had been together. She hadn’t looked any different. Even now she still looked as slim as ever. But, he suddenly realised, she hadn’t been drinking tonight. Linda had always liked a couple of glasses of wine at a party. Or something stronger. But tonight he’d seen her drinking orange juice.

She really was pregnant.

Linda took a step away from him and her eyes searched his face.

‘I’m happy about this, Pete,’ she said slowly. ‘I’ve always wanted to be a mother. And you’ll be a great dad. You will be there, won’t you, Pete?’

‘Of course I will,’ he said. ‘And the baby …’ he couldn’t bring himself to say our baby ‘… couldn’t have a better mother.’

Linda brushed a tear from her eye and kissed him. He kissed her back, although at that moment it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do.

‘It’s a shame we can’t tell everyone yet,’ Linda said. ‘But we should wait for the end of the first trimester. That’s what everybody says, anyway. Just in case.’

It was a whole new language, and a little bit more than he could cope with right now.

At that moment a yell from the direction of the pub told them they had been missed.

‘We’d better go inside,’ Linda said, tugging gently on his hand.

‘You go,’ he said. ‘I think I need to take a couple of minutes.’

Her face fell.

‘It’s all right,’ he hastened to assure her. ‘This has just been such a surprise. I want to digest it properly before I go back in. I don’t want to accidentally let the secret out.’ He forced a smile onto his face.

Linda looked uncertain. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘But don’t be too long. People will think there’s something wrong.’

Something wrong? Pete watched her walk away. That wasn’t exactly the right term for it. But in the space of a few minutes his whole world had been turned on its head.

A baby?

He had always been careful in his sexual encounters. In fact, there was always a condom in his wallet. Condoms weren’t guaranteed, of course, but he couldn’t remember one breaking.

But he was going to be a father. Put like that, he felt a small quiver of pleasure. A father. That had a nice ring to it. He’d always assumed that some day … Well, some day was here. Linda might not be the woman he would have chosen, but he liked her. She would be a good mother. They could make a good life together.

There was no way he was going to abandon his child.

The pocket of his jeans began to vibrate, and he fished out his phone.

‘Hi, Mum,’ he said.

‘Happy birthday, darling. How did you know it was me?’

‘Caller ID.’ Pete’s mother wasn’t known for her technical skills.

‘Isn’t that clever. Anyway, where are you, Peter?’

‘Back at the Isa. I’m having a few drinks to celebrate.’

‘That’s nice. It’s a shame you couldn’t have come here. Thirty is, after all, an important milestone.’

‘Thanks, Mum, but it’s busy at the moment. I think I may be doing a run down your way soon. If I do, I’ll drop by.’

‘That’d be lovely. Will you stay the night? We could have a small gathering for your birthday. Invite some friends. Maybe the Hoopers from down the road.’

She was matchmaking, again. That was an irony. For a moment he was tempted to tell her about Linda. And the baby. But he’d given his word. And besides, his mother would be on the next train west to come and visit. He definitely wasn’t ready for that.

‘Mum!’ Pete scolded gently. ‘I’ve told you before to stop matchmaking. I am not going to get involved with Joanie Hooper. Anyway, she’s not interested in me.’

‘You say that—’

‘I do, Mum.’

‘But she’s such a lovely girl,’ his mother persisted. ‘And let’s face it, son, you’re thirty now. It’s high time you settled down and started a family.’

The irony of that almost made him laugh out loud.

‘All right. I know. I promise I’ll stop nagging if you’ll promise me just to stay in one place long enough to meet some nice girl some time. And soon. I do want grandchildren, you know.’

That was going to happen sooner than she expected. He said goodbye and slipped the phone back in his pocket.

His mother meant well. She had been happily married to his father for thirty-five years. They lived in a medium-sized brick home on the outskirts of Toowoomba, where his father ran a car sales yard. They were good together, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses and still very much in love. On his last visit he had walked in on them kissing in the kitchen. It hadn’t just been a peck on the cheek. And they were best friends too. If he was ever to marry, that’s the sort of marriage he wanted.

But he wasn’t ready for a life away from the road. Tied down to one place. Going to the same place of work day after day. Staring at the same four walls while he tapped away at a computer or shuffled paperwork. That wasn’t for him.

It hadn’t been for him. It was beginning to look like he’d have to get used to that sort of life … and far sooner than he had ever expected.

Max sat at his desk, staring at his computer, oblivious to the words on the screen. Unusually for him, he was still in uniform and still at his desk as the clock ticked over to eight o’clock. Outside, dusk was turning into night. There was no reason to be working this late. No emergency was claiming his time. There wasn’t even outstanding paperwork to do. He was at his desk because from there he could clearly hear the sounds of traffic on the road. Not that there was much traffic. So far he’d heard a single truck and two cars. He hadn’t heard what he was listening for … a motorcycle.

Tia Walsh was a mystery to him. She hadn’t appeared again at Trish’s pub and Trish had offered no gossip about her on his visits. Nor had she been seen at the Mineside, the pub where the mine workers mostly drank. He’d been there to check too. According to Sarah Travers, Tia had bought supplies which had been delivered to the mine compound. Of course, that told him nothing except it seemed she was planning to stay a while, judging from the purchases Sarah had mentioned.

That was as far as his investigation had taken him, which was probably a good thing. He was already feeling a little uncomfortable. He really couldn’t argue that his interest in Tia was professional. She’d done nothing to provoke official enquiries. At least not since she’d arrived in his town. He knew his preoccupation with her was purely personal, aroused by a mane of dark auburn hair, a pair of brilliant green eyes and a set of motorcycle leathers that did more than just hint at a lovely body beneath. He looked at the screen in front of him. He could enter her name into the police system and see what it had to offer. He clenched his fingers into fists. No. He couldn’t do that. Tia had a right to her privacy.

Then he heard it. The throaty rumble of the Harley passing through the town on the road leading north. As she had done several times this past week, Tia was taking her bike onto the highway for a late night ride. Of course, she had every right to do that too. What she didn’t have the right to do was break the speed limit, and Max was pretty sure those late night rides were not defined by anything as mundane as the speed limit.

Before he could think it through and before he could tell himself this wasn’t right, Max grabbed his hat from the hook on the wall and headed for his car. He slid behind the wheel and started the engine. A tiny voice at the back of his head was whispering that this was not the kind of policeman he was, but he ignored it and turned onto the road, heading north.

There was no sign of a tail light ahead. Max kept his speed down as he passed through town. He wasn’t that obsessed with catching the Harley. But as soon as he was on the highway heading north, he pushed his foot down. The police vehicle was a big four-wheel drive Land Cruiser. He couldn’t hope to catch the hog if Tia really opened it up. But …

Max put his foot to the floor.

At last he saw the glimmer of red light up ahead. He glanced down at his speedo and whistled under his breath. Now he did have an ‘official’ reason to pull her over. But even as he reached out to activate his police lights and siren, he knew it was highly unlikely he’d actually book her. He rarely booked anyone for speeding on these roads, where traffic was thin on the ground. Drink driving was another matter. Drunks on the road were a danger to themselves and everyone else. But he didn’t expect Tia to be drunk. He might have only seen her once, but everything about her had told him she was both smart and wary. She would take risks; but not stupid or unnecessary ones.

The harsh wail of the police siren split the stillness of the night. Immediately, Max saw the Harley’s brake light flash. He eased off the accelerator and followed the bike as it pulled over to the side of the road. He reached for his hat as he got out of the car because this was official business, but he left his ticket book behind. A girl on a Harley pushing the limit a bit was hardly a major crime. He would give her a stern warning though. Outback roads had dangers that city folk didn’t understand.

The bike stuttered into silence. The night suddenly seemed eerily quiet. The road was empty except for the police car and the motorcycle caught in its headlights. Max’s footsteps on the grey bitumen sounded very loud.

The girl on the bike turned her head towards him, but made no move to remove her full-face helmet. In the reflected light of his headlight, Max couldn’t see her eyes. And he very much wanted to.

‘Good evening, miss,’ he said in his most official voice. ‘Would you please remove your helmet?’

Without a word, she reached for the strap. She leaned forward as she pulled the helmet over her head, then placed it on the fuel tank in front of her before she turned to look at him again with those flashing eyes, so bright that even in this light he could see a glimmer of emerald. Her hair was caught back in a ponytail that vanished under her leather jacket.

‘Miss, are you aware that you were speeding?’

Her eyes remained intensely fixed on his face, but she merely lifted a shoulder in a suggestion of a shrug.

‘Could I see your licence, please?’ Max said.

Without a word she began to slowly unzip her jacket. There was nothing sexual about the way she did it, but to Max it was the most erotic thing he’d seen in a very long time. His eyes were glued to her fingers as she slowly slid the zipper down and pulled the jacket open. She was wearing something white and tight fitting underneath. She reached into an inner pocket of the jacket. Her fingers felt around the pocket for a moment, then they emerged empty. She looked into his face and shrugged. She wasn’t carrying a licence.

For the first time this evening his professional self took over from the part of him that was having trouble dragging his eyes off the woman in front of him.

‘You’re Tia Walsh, aren’t you? You work at the mine.’

Her strong eyes met his and held his gaze as she nodded slightly.

‘You need to present your licence to me at the Coorah Creek station within forty-eight hours.’

He paused, waiting for her to speak, but she didn’t.

‘If you don’t you may suffer a penalty fine which could be one hundred and fifty dollars. Do you understand?’

Still she didn’t speak. Max felt a childish urge to yell something, just to make her react. But he fought it down.

‘If you do produce your licence, I won’t take any action about the speeding … this time,’ he said in his sternest voice.

Still she said nothing.

‘You can go now. Don’t make me come looking for you.’

Her lips moved then, sliding into the merest hint of a grin. Max almost blushed. That grin seemed to say that she knew very well he’d been looking for her on more than one occasion already.

She reached for her helmet.

‘One more thing,’ Max said, before she could pull it over her head. ‘There are a lot of roos on the roads out here. At that sort of speed you’d have trouble avoiding one. Slow down for you own sake. All right?’

The cheeky smile got a little bit broader. She slipped the helmet over her head and touched the starter. The engine roared into life. With a great deal of skill, she steered the bike into a very tight turn with Max at the centre, and headed back the way she had come.

Max watched her go, his jaw tightly set.

She hadn’t said one word during the entire encounter. Nor had she spoken during their previous encounter at the pub. More than anything in the world, he wanted to hear her voice.

It didn’t take long for his headlights to appear in her rear-view mirrors. Keeping herself carefully just under the speed limit, Tia rode back towards town, her mind racing.

Tonight’s meeting hadn’t been an accident. The cop had planned it. He’d been checking up on her since that day he’d first laid eyes on her. A couple of her workmates had mentioned he’d been at the pub looking for her. Chris Powell’s secretary had also mentioned a visit and the day before yesterday, Tia had changed her mind about doing some shopping when she’d spotted a police uniform through the glass window of the general store.

Why was he stalking her?

She sort of expected it. He was a cop, after all. One of the pigs. He wasn’t the first one to follow her and she doubted he would be the last. But despite the badge, he didn’t feel as threatening as some of the other police who had crossed her path. There was a kindness to his face that she would have liked had it not been attached to the uniform.

She slowed even further as the lights of the town drew close. By the time she passed the town sign she was within the speed limit. She thought about stopping at the pub. What would the cop do, she wondered. Would he wait outside in the hope of busting her for drink driving? Would he follow her inside? Would he …

No. She gripped the handlebars more firmly and powered past the pub back towards the mine. She had already attracted far too much of his attention. And there was also the matter of producing her licence tomorrow. There was risk in that, if he looked too closely. If he checked her records or did a search on the Harley’s reggo. Just because he seemed nicer than most of the cops in her experience, she couldn’t afford to let down her guard. Not even out here, in a place so far removed from the rest of the world that it might as well be on another planet.

There were a few lights on in the dongas when she arrived back at the mine compound. And the mess was bright and noisy and crowded, as it always was. Tia rode past it, as she always did, and returned to her trailer.

Once the door was safely locked behind her, and the curtains pulled tight, Tia removed her leathers. From her fridge she took a can of beer. Pulling the ring top, she put it on the table, and dropped to her knees. From the back of a storage cupboard, under the bench seat, she pulled out a small vinyl rucksack.

She dropped it onto the table and slid onto the bench seat along the trailer wall. She glanced around to double check that no one could walk in on her, or see what she was doing.

She unzipped the bag and emptied the contents onto the table.

The gun landed on the wooden surface with a dull thump. It was enclosed in a plastic bag. Tia assumed it was still loaded. She had never checked. She hadn’t touched it since the moment she’d picked it up and sealed it to preserve the evidence on it. She’d been around enough cops to know that was how it was done. She laid her hand on the cold plastic, feeling the hard shape inside and remembering what it represented and how she had come by it.

Tia didn’t consider herself a criminal. Sure, she’d stolen a few things from time to time. You had to if you were fifteen and living on the streets. But she’d never mugged anyone. Never sold drugs. Never sold her body. Well, not for money. There were times she had used her body to help her survive. And, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with that. She would do it again if she had to; although she hoped it would never come to that again.

She had stolen the gun from her boyfriend on the day she fled her old life never to return. She wasn’t really sure why she had taken it. She told herself it was to stop it being used again. Her one little contribution to crime control. Sometimes she thought it was for her own protection. She would never use it herself, but if Ned ever found her, she could trade the gun for her freedom. For her life, maybe.

As she looked at it her mind turned to the cop who pulled her over tonight. Sergeant Delaney. While he’d been checking her out she’d asked some questions of her own. He was an honest cop. That’s what everyone said. If he found that rucksack and the contents …

She should get rid of the stuff. It would be easy enough way out here. All she had to do was head off into the bush somewhere and dump it. But it was her safety blanket, and she wasn’t ready to let it go yet.

Tia pushed the gun aside and found a small sandwich bag. Inside were her driver’s licence and a credit card that she never used. The rucksack also held some paperwork – letters and a very old, and slightly tatty, Christmas card. It was red and had once been covered with golden sparkles; the sort of card you might give to a young teenage girl. And there was a small velvet box. She immediately tossed that back into the rucksack without opening it. She knew only too well what it contained.

She’d show her driver’s licence to Delaney before the forty-eight hours were up. He’d no doubt check on it, but that was okay. It was real and legal and valid. With luck he’d stop there and wouldn’t look any further. She put everything back in the rucksack and shoved it back into its hiding place. It occurred to her that the cop might already have taken a note of the Harley’s reggo, if he’d been able to read it under the layer of mud. If so, there was nothing she could do about it. She’d face that problem when and if she had to.