Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (40 page)

No response.

Kate slammed to a halt by Grace
’
s side five seconds later
,
grazing her knees on the rocks and weeds at the shallow water
’
s edge. She smoothed the hair back that clung to Grace
’
s forehead as tears flooded down her own face. She watched Jake as he began to feel her neck and her wrist for a pulse. He leant close to Grace
’
s face to feel if she had any breath coming from her seemingly lifeless body.

‘
Jake
,
do something
,’
Kate screamed at Jake.

‘
I
’
m doing everything I can.
’

‘
Should we roll her on her side to get the water out of her airways?
’

‘
No
,
she could have spinal injuries. Let me think.
’
The search for a pulse continued.

The seconds passed like eons for Grace
’
s two friends.

‘
What can I do?
’
Kate asked.

‘
Stay calm
,
please? Panic doesn
’
t help.
’

‘
Jake
,
I
’
m scared.
’

He looked up at Kate and stared into her eyes. Then he looked back to Grace and uttered five barely audible words
,
‘
I can
’
t find a pulse.
’

37

Minister Sleen
appeared out of nowhere and the three men still standing at the top of the dam stared at him.

‘
Minister Sleen
,
where have you been?
’
Christian asked.

‘
Down the hill
,’
he pointed to the dirt road that led away from the dam.
‘
What
’
s wrong with Alex?
’

‘
He was shot for dropping Grace over the edge of the dam
,’
Jock said.

‘
There
’
s a bit more to it
,’
Christian said.

‘
Good shot. Looks like you got him right in the jugular
,’
Sleen said standing over Alex.

‘
I gather you
’
re not too fond of him?
’
Christian asked.

‘
He tied me up in the back of the car and then drove it over the edge of a hill halfway down this mountain. He jumped out and locked the back doors. He took the keys with him. The engine exploded. I managed to get free and jump out of the car before it caught completely on fire. I knew he was up to something. I didn
’
t know what and I still don
’
t know.
’

‘
Minister Sleen
,
Alex here has been using your office as a foil for smuggling conflict diamonds into the country. He had Antonio de Silva
’
s help to do it. He was setting you up as the person in charge of the whole operation. He even dressed in a disguise to make people think he was you. You were meant to be the fall guy.
’

Sleen shook his head.
‘
And who are you?
’

‘
I
’
m Christian Smith. I
’
m an undercover police officer with the AFP and this is where the trail ends. Right here with this guy who
’
s lying dead on the ground.
’

‘
Do you usually shoot to kill?
’
Sleen asked.

‘
No sir. However
,
sometimes they
’
re the consequences.
’

‘
Who
’
s Grace?
’
Sleen continued with his questions.

‘
She
’
s a journalist at
The Sydney Star.
’

‘
I remember her
,
lovely young woman.
’

‘
It
’
s a long story
,’
Christian
’
s phone interrupted their chat.
‘
Excuse me
,
Minister Sleen
,’
he answered his phone.
‘
Kate? What
’
s happening?
’

‘
She
’
s not breathing
,
she doesn
’
t have a pulse. Christian
,
I don
’
t know what I
’
ll do without her. We
’
ve known each other since we were five years old.
’

‘
It
’
s alright
,
stay calm. What
’
s Jake doing?
’

‘
He
’
s administering CPR. She
’
s not responding. Now what?
’

‘
Kate
,
let him do his job. Now
,
I need you to do something for me. Okay?
’
She didn
’
t respond.
‘
Kate? Grace
’
s life depends on it.
’

‘
Okay.
’

‘
Breathe with me
,
take a deep breath in
,
go
,’
he breathed with her as she did it
,
‘
and out. Good
,
again.
’
They took five deep breaths and exhales together.

‘
Now
,
hold the phone to Jake
’
s ear
,’
then he spoke to Jock.
‘
Don
’
t take the gun off him
,
he
’
s likely to run.
’
He was referring to Black Suit.

‘
Here
,
I
’
ll hold it on him for a while
,
give your arms a rest. Is this the first time you
’
ve held a gun?
’
the minister asked Jock.

‘
Does it show?
’

‘
No
,
you look like a professional. Hey
,
what do I know? I
’
m a politician
,’
and the pair laughed together. He then said to Black Suit
,
‘
So
,
was it worth it?
’

The henchman let out a grunt.

‘
Jake?
’
Christian asked.

‘
Yeah
,’
he responded
,
puffing.

‘
Get Kate to help you
,
any signs of life yet?
’

‘
No.
’

‘
Now is the time to keep emotions out of it
,
mate. I know you love this girl but you have to put feelings aside for now and get the job done. You do the compressions and let Kate do the breathing. Count her through it
,
tell her what to do. Put her on the phone now. Kate
,
listen to Jake and do exactly what he tells you. Don
’
t argue with him. Do it because every second counts. Yeah?
’

‘
Yeah
,’
she said.

‘
Go for it. By the way
,
The Voice is dead. Call me ASAP.
’

Kate clicked the phone off and stuck it in her pocket. She watched Jake count out the compressions on her chest.
‘
Get ready
,’
he said to her.

She squeezed Grace
’
s nose together
,
took a deep breath and enclosed her mouth over her friend
’
s and blew. 

‘
Fabulous
,
Kate. One more
,
go.
’

Kate repeated her breath and they watched Grace
’
s chest rise and fall.

‘
That
’
s enough for now
,’
and Jake continued the compressions.

‘
Come on
,
come on
,
Grace. It
’
s not your time
,
wake up. I mean it
,
girlfriend. Snap out of it. Jake
’
s here
,
I
’
m here and they
’
re all waiting up at the top of the dam where The Voice is lying in a pool of blood. He
’
s not getting away. Come on
,
girl.
’

‘
Your turn
,
Kate. Is The Voice dead?
’
Jake asked.

‘
Yes.
’

‘
Damn.
’

‘
Hardly an appropriate word at this time.
’

The routine continued for several minutes until Kate started praying.

‘
God
,
I
’
ll do anything
,
I swear. I
’
ll go to church every week
,
I
’
ll do good
,
I
’
ll help the poor
,
I
’
ll –
’

‘
Kate
,
those prayers don
’
t work. Besides
,
you won
’
t keep your promises so don
’
t say it. Your turn again.
’

Kate exhaled two more deep breaths into Grace.
‘
How long
’
s it been?
’

‘
Only two and a half minutes
,’
Jake said.

‘
Only? How long do we have before –
’

Without warning
,
Grace
’
s body heaved and she spewed up a large amount of water. She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes to see Jake and Kate over the top of her as she started coughing.

Kate grabbed her first
,
wrapped her arms around her neck and back and started sobbing.
‘
Oh
,
Grace
,
are you alright?
’

‘
I will be if you stop strangling me.
’

‘
She could have a neck injury
,
Kate
,’
Jake said.

‘
I can
’
t help it. Twice in one week is too much. In fact
,
this is the third accident in as many days.
’

‘
Grace
,’
Jake cut in.
‘
How are you feeling? Anything broken?
’

She patted her body down and as she twisted from side to side
,
she let out a small cry.
‘
My leg
’
s not good.
’

The lower half of her legs and feet were still in the shallow water
’
s edge. Jake scooped Grace up and carried her to drier ground. He stood her on a patch of soft grass in the sunlight to warm her up. She balanced on her good leg.

Kate already had her jacket off and with Jake
’
s help they wrapped it around Grace
’
s shoulders.

‘
Thanks
,’
she said. As she placed the sprained foot on the ground she fell to a sitting position.

‘
Here
,
let me take a look at your foot
,’
he cradled her ankle in his hands as Grace suppressed a scream.
‘
You could be right. Looks like you may have broken it. Good job
,’
he said.

The rescuers sat on either side of Grace and for the first time in a week
,
they all sat quietly
,
listening to the water of the flowing river.

‘
How
’
s The Voice?
’
Grace asked no-one in particular.

‘
I
’
m afraid it
’
s not good news
,’
Jake said.
‘
I think I must have shot him in the jugular.
’

‘
Damn
,’
she said.