Scared Yet? (26 page)

‘Aren't you?'

She shrugged like it was no big deal. ‘It's a little interesting.'

He raised an eyebrow briefly. ‘I'm in the office for the rest of the day if you need anything.'

When he was gone, she tried calling Kelly's last appointment again. She was scheduled to come in at three-thirty but her phone wasn't answering, not even to voicemail. As she hung up, Ray was waving at her through the glass in the door.

She waggled fingers back at him, made like she was busy.

‘Your door's locked,' he mouthed, pointing at the handle.

Be patient, she told herself as she rounded the counter.

‘Your door's locked,' he said again as she opened it.

‘I know, I locked it.'

‘Ah, that explains it.'

‘Yes, well, thanks for that.' She smiled politely as she started to close the door.

‘A bad business about your young girl yesterday. Is there any news?'

Ray had been there, he'd helped Daniel at the van. ‘She's listed as stable now,' Liv said as she reversed the direction of the door. ‘Daniel said you were on one of the upper levels when it happened. Did you see anything?'

He pulled himself up a little, hitched his tool belt. ‘As I told the police in my statement, I was on the third level when I saw her crossing the lane to the car park at twelve fifty-five, which was about ten minutes before the fall, according to the officer I spoke to. I had just opened the stairwell door when I heard the crash. I saw two people running over to the barrier so I joined them. When I saw what had happened, I immediately asked a man to phone for an ambulance then informed Daniel, who had already reached the van, that one was on the way. I suggested to him that I get my first-aid kit from the maintenance room but when he said there was one in his office, I decided it would be faster to use that. I delivered it and gave medical assistance until the ambulance arrived.'

Liv took a moment to decide how to respond. He'd delivered it like a report, maybe like the statement he must have given to the police afterwards. And he'd embellished it to make his role in the drama more impressive than she knew it was.

She had no idea if he had a first-aid kit in the maintenance room but she knew the only medical assistance he'd given was at Daniel's instruction and as far as she'd seen,
it'd only been to pass equipment. It made her want to call him on it, tell him she knew it was bullshit, that twenty or so witnesses had seen him, that it was horrible to use Teagan's tragedy to try to impress.

But she didn't. She'd searched him on the internet this morning, too. He only had eight Facebook friends, called himself an office supervisor and talked about ‘heavy work responsibilities'. Maybe he felt embellishment was all he had.

Daniel had said last night Ray had called down about the ambulance but more than likely, he hadn't been giving instructions up on the third level. And he may not have known the exact time he saw Teagan crossing the lane until the officer had told him what time she'd fallen. The point was that he'd seen her.

‘Do you know why she was going to the car park?' Liv asked.

‘Well, I don't know for sure but I mentioned to her earlier that there was a three-door hatchback sedan with a
For Sale
sign on the second floor. I assumed she was going to look for it.'

Teagan had told everyone she was after a small car, preferably red. Half the blokes in the suite were keeping their eyes out for her and it wasn't the first time she'd been to the parking station to look at
For Sale
signs.

‘So will you be wanting lunch today? I'm taking orders.' Ray pulled his notebook from the pocket of his shirt, pen poised.

‘What? Oh, right. Thanks.'

‘The usual?'

What usual? Nothing was usual. A teenage girl goes looking for a car and ends up being thrown six metres to the road. There was nothing usual about that.

‘Livia?'

It was chicken salad on multigrain. What could go wrong with that? ‘Yeah, why not? Thanks, Ray.'

When he was gone, she started a search of people she knew from Park Street – business owners, employees, locals she saw regularly. She found more personal titbits, nothing that stood out as stalker material. There were people she couldn't find. Some she didn't have surnames for, others she couldn't find mention of – Lenny's wife Margie, the tailor who'd had the shop across the road since the seventies, the baker at the bread shop in the next block, the retired sales rep who sat in the cafe every morning drinking double-shot coffee and reading the form guide. But there were only a few. The world was a public domain, if you bothered to look.

It was raining when Liv collected Cameron from school and brought him back to the office. It wasn't what she'd hoped to be doing but she couldn't get in touch with Kelly's three-thirty appointment – and Simone was a reliable temp who'd been on their books since they'd opened. Liv didn't want to repay her hard work with a no-show.

It wasn't an issue for Cam. He loved hanging out in the suite when she had work to finish. Everyone knew him. Mariella would find him sweet Italian snacks, Ally gave him orthodontic elastic bands to play with and he'd come
back talking about gross posters of diseased mouths. Liv would take him to the cafe afterwards, order his favourite banana-choc milkshake and he'd grill Lenny on the English Premier League. Today, she didn't want him wandering the building.

‘Sorry, sweetie, but you have to stay in here this time.'

‘Why?'

‘Because I don't want you playing in the hallway today.'

‘Why?'

‘Just because, okay?'

When Simone arrived, she locked the three of them in – and everyone else out. Liv told her the office would be closing, that she hadn't made a decision on what clients she'd be keeping. The last bit was a lie. She just couldn't bring herself to say out loud that her business was finished.

‘Banana-choc milkshake coming up,' Lenny called as Liv and Cameron walked into the cafe.

‘Yay!' Cam cried.

‘Thank you,' Liv corrected him and ordered coffee for herself.

She took a table against the wall where they couldn't be seen from the rain-slick street and scanned the late customers. A bunch of senior high school kids with hot chocolates and gooey cake. A real estate agent she knew from down the road lecturing one of his young salesmen. Three older women laughing over mugs of cappuccino. Afternoon traffic noise rumbled through the open doors – school buses, trucks and cars travelling fast on the wet road.

She listened to Cameron's babble and thought about Benny the dog. She'd left a message for Rachel, telling her someone had tossed him a bait from her yard. She hadn't heard back.

‘I'm just going to pay. Stay here, okay?'

Cameron had finished his milkshake and had morphed into a TV zombie, staring at soccer on the set above Lenny's counter.

‘Cam!' Liv snapped her fingers in front of his face. ‘Did you hear me? Don't move, okay?'

He blinked, refocused long enough to reply. ‘Okay.'

From behind the coffee machine, Lenny called, ‘How's Teagan?'

Liv filled him in on what she knew but couldn't report on the outcome of today's surgery.

‘Those detectives are sure on the case. I've seen them three times today.'

Liv frowned. ‘The short woman and the young guy?'

‘They're the ones.'

‘They were here?'

‘Yeah. Asked a few questions about Teagan wanting to buy a car. They bought coffee, too. I saw them in your building when I dropped an order off for Mariella, down the end of the hall.'

Liv thought about that. ‘Checking the security door?'

‘Don't think so. They looked like they were waiting for someone to answer their knock.'

Risk Control and the solicitor's office were opposite each other at the end of the hall. ‘Daniel or Anthony?'

‘Yeah.'

‘I mean was it Daniel or Anthony they were waiting for?'

‘Dunno.' He lifted his voice. ‘Large flat white.'

Liv glanced at a man stepping up to the counter for the take-out. Average height, mid-thirties, suit. When she looked back at Lenny, he'd gone into the kitchen. Okay, she'd ring Rachel, find out what that was about.

‘Cam, you ready?' she called as she turned.

Then she saw the plain, white envelope in his hand and her heart stopped.

35

By the time Liv reached the table, Cameron had pulled a brightly coloured, glittery card from the envelope.

‘I got a birthday card,' Cameron said with wide, excited eyes.

As he opened it, Liv saw the big number eight on the front and a slip of paper flutter to the table. It wasn't his birthday. His birthday was in December.

‘Where did you get that?' She picked up the small page of fine notepaper and opened it out. The single line of tight, handwritten capitals made her limbs go weak.

She snatched the card from his fingers.

‘I haven't read it!' he cried.

The writing was in flowing cursive, as though a stylish penmanship implied friendship. But the message was ugly and she wasn't going to let Cameron see it or do what it asked:

‘Cameron, where did you get it?' she asked again.

‘A man gave it to me.'

‘When? At school?'

‘Just then.'

Panic fired as she swung around, frantically searching the cafe. No one was watching, no one was leaving. ‘Is he still here?'

He shrugged, his gaze back on the TV. She sat beside him, grabbed his shoulders. ‘Cameron, pay attention. What man? Can you see him?'

His eyes moved around the cafe. ‘No.'

‘Are you sure? It wasn't one of the men over there?' She pointed at the real estate agent. Was he the freak?

‘Not that kind of man. Mum, you're hurting me.'

She eased up on her grip. Go slower, Liv. He doesn't understand. ‘What kind of man gave you the card, honey?'

‘Like those ones.' He pointed a finger at the high school kids. They had a laptop out, were laughing at the screen.

A surge of anger straightened her up and raised the volume of her voice. ‘One of those boys gave it to you?'

‘No, he was
like
that but he didn't have a uniform on.'

‘You mean he was young?'

‘Yes.'

‘And he's not here anymore?'

‘Yes.'

She wanted to run into the street, find the arsehole,
smack him across the face for talking to her son. But she didn't want to leave Cameron. Christ, she'd only turned her back for a minute or so.

‘Come on, honey.' She grabbed his hand, pulling him to the counter. ‘Lenny?
Lenny!
'

He stuck his head out of the kitchen.

‘Did you see a kid talking to Cameron while I was up here paying?'

He hadn't. Neither had the real estate agents or the high school students or the three older women. She stood in the doorway looking into the street, holding the back of Cameron's shirt as though it might stop him from being ripped away from her. ‘Can you see the man anywhere? Have a good look, sweetie, both ways. It's really important.'

It was raining hard now. People ran for cover between awnings or hunkered under umbrellas. He took his time, shook his head.

‘What about across the road? Is he over there?'

He shook his head again.

Shit. He'd been right there. Behind her. She could've put a face to the threatening image in her mind. She could've kept him there, called the police, finished it. She should've been more alert. She shouldn't have turned her back on Cameron. What was she thinking?

Okay, get out of here. She kept her arm around her son as she hustled him through the rain to the car, locked him in before running to the driver's side. As she pulled into the traffic, the reality of the moment hit her with a jarring clarity. He'd spoken to Cameron. He could've taken him. He could've . . .

Hands trembling, lungs gasping for air, she pulled to the kerb.

‘I didn't mean to talk to a stranger,' Cameron said. ‘But he talked to me first.'

Liv took hold of his hand. ‘It's okay, honey. Do you remember what he said? What the words were?'

He rolled his eyes up and chewed his bottom lip. ‘Um, he said he was told to give it to me.'

‘He was told to?'

‘Yup.'

‘Are you sure?'

‘Uh-huh.'

Liv stared out the windscreen, her heart thumping. What did that mean? That there were two of them? Or that the note writer got someone to make the delivery?

‘It's not my birthday for ages, though.'

‘No.'

‘Who was it from?'

‘I don't know.'

‘There was something in it.'

‘That was for me.'

‘What did it say?'

‘Nothing important.'

Except it was important. More important than the rest.

That one brief message had done more than scare her. A whole lot more.

It had told her Cameron could be reached. That Cam was at risk while he was with her. It proved she couldn't keep her son – her lovely, beloved son – safe.

And with that, someone had just taken the last of what was left of her screwed-up life.

It was obvious now. Cameron couldn't stay with her. She couldn't protect him. She couldn't expose him to the kind of risk that'd left Sheridan and Teagan fighting to survive. She couldn't live with herself if anything happened to him. She couldn't bear to let him go – but the alternative was . . .

She gripped the steering wheel with both hands, struggling to hold back the howl of grief and rage that was building in her chest. Don't let Cam see it, Liv. He didn't need to know. She pulled into the traffic once more, watched the cars behind them.

A year ago, she would've taken him to her father without hesitation. He would've protected Cameron with his life.

A year ago, there'd been other friends she'd trusted. A week ago, she had three friends left she could count on. Now Sheridan was in hospital. Kelly, despite everything, was still her friend but she had her own problems with Teagan and going to her meant involving Jason. And after last night, she didn't want to see him. It wasn't just the kiss. The thought of him made formless, wordless suspicion prickle under her skin again. He said they'd been heading down a track for months – and she'd never had an inkling. Maybe she'd been too caught up in her own disasters to see what was happening but it made her wonder what else he was thinking. Or hiding. He'd been a brother to her but she wasn't going to risk leaving Cameron with him.

There was only one other choice and it made her teeth clench so hard she thought they might break.

She forced calm into her voice. ‘What time does Michelle get home on Tuesdays, Cam?'

‘In the afternoon.'

‘So she'd be home now?'

‘S'pose.'

Don't ask, please don't ask, she willed him. She didn't want to say it out loud. She drove the long way to Thomas's house, taking detours and backtracking, watching the rear-view mirror in the falling light, feeling like she was driving to the end of her life. Wishing there was another way. One that didn't mean handing her son over to the woman who'd taken him away.

Cameron didn't speak until she stopped at the kerb outside the house. Then he burst into tears. ‘I'm sorry, Mummy. I didn't mean to. I didn't know you'd be mad.'

Liv's heart felt like it was being crushed. She threw off her seatbelt and pulled him to her. ‘Oh Cam, no, honey. Don't cry. I'm not mad at you.'

‘But it's not time yet. I only got to stay one night with you.'

Oh God, God. How could she explain it? How could she tell her son he might die if he stayed with her? That she might die if he left? ‘I know, Cam, I know. But something's happened and you have to stay with Daddy for a little while longer this week. Just a little while.' Please, only a little while.

His hand gripped at her shirt. ‘But I'll be good. I promise.'

She squeezed him tight, shutting her eyes on the tears that were forming. Don't let him see the pain, Liv. It
would only hurt him more. He needed to know she was in control, making decisions for both of them, even if he didn't understand.

‘You're always good, Cameron. You're the best a boy could be. And I love you so, so much. You're stuck in my heart forever. Which is why, even when you're not with me, we're still together. Okay?' She cupped his face with her hands, tipped it back so she could look him in the eyes. ‘Okay?'

He nodded.

‘I was cross at the card, not at you. The letter in it said I have to do something that I don't want to do and you can't come with me.'

‘Can't you do it next week?'

‘I wish I
never
had to do it but sometimes, when you're a grown-up, you don't get to choose.'

He pulled his mouth to one side as though that was a crap excuse.

‘It's like when you have to tidy your room and you get in big trouble when you don't do it.' She raised her eyebrows at him. He twisted his mouth the other way – guilt. ‘And by the way, if you were naughty, I wouldn't send you away for punishment. I'd make you eat all your broccoli.'

He rolled his eyes. She wiped his wet cheeks with her knuckle, kissed his forehead. She needed to be strong for just a while longer. ‘Come on, we'll see if Michelle's home yet.'

Liv held Cameron's schoolbag over his head as they ran to the front porch through the rain. It was dark now,
and quiet in the plush neighbourhood. A dim light glowed somewhere towards the back of the house. It was almost a minute before the chime brought a shadow to the door. Liv squinted as the outside bulb flicked on, her heart pounding in the back of her throat as the lock turned.

As the entryway opened, the half-formed smile on Michelle's lips dropped as though she'd been struck with sudden facial paralysis. She stared at Liv through the security screen, wariness as obvious as the pregnant swell of her belly.

Liv watched her back, the thrum of rain beating into the drawn-out silence. It wasn't the first time they'd come face to face. But it was their first without Thomas. If she'd planned the moment, she wouldn't have turned up with her clothes drenched and her hair dripping and not a skerrick of make-up on her stressed and bruised face. She had no idea what thought went through Michelle's mind – maybe suspicion, maybe triumph, possibly alarm – but she lifted one pale hand to the baby curled inside her.

Liv dropped her eyes. ‘I'm sorry to just turn up. But I can't . . . I'm not . . .' She took a breath, lifted her chin. ‘Can Cameron stay here tonight?'

Michelle glanced at Cam as though she hadn't noticed him there then pushed open the security screen. ‘Come in.'

Liv handed Cameron his bag as he went in.

‘
Both
of you,' Michelle said.

‘No. Thank you.'

Cameron stood between them, one foot inside the house, one still on the threshold. She should say goodbye. Do it quickly before she shattered into a million pieces.

‘Is this about . . . ?' Michelle started but Liv shook her head in warning. She seemed to get the message. ‘Have you told Thomas?'

‘No. Can you tell him it might be tomorrow night, too?'

‘Oh, Mum,' Cameron said.

‘Maybe. We'll see.' She tried for a hopeful smile but felt her face start to crumple and turned quickly away so he wouldn't see.

‘Well, come on in, Monkey, and get those wet clothes off.' Michelle's voice had turned chirpy but her face was uncertain. ‘Why don't you give your mum a hug and then put your shoes and backpack in the laundry for me.'

Cam threw his arms around Liv's neck, held on tight as he whispered in her ear, ‘Do I have to?'

She thought she might crush him if she let herself hug back. She prised his fingers away, kissed them, kissed his cheek. ‘I love you, Cam. Remember what I said in the car. Now go and do as Michelle asked.' She waited until he'd disappeared down the hallway then spoke fast while she still could. ‘He had a big milkshake about half an hour ago, so . . . he . . .'

‘Livia, this is ridiculous. It's pouring. You can tell me inside.' Michelle pulled her in by the shirtsleeve, closed the screen, left the front door open.