The Twisted Knot (5 page)

‘It wasn't fair. We had to move away from our family and friends. He didn't have to move. His life continued on exactly as it had before. Sure, the story got out around town and he was hassled a bit. But because Janey was a bit out of control by then everyone seemed to think maybe she'd had something to do with it, led him on or something. Everyone forgot that it had happened years earlier when she was a sweet little girl. He was the one who had destroyed her. Things only got worse in Brisbane. We tried so hard to get her the help she needed. She ended up on drugs and then it was a downward spiral.' Kayleen's eyes were welling with tears, but she squeezed her eyes shut and wiped away the tears before they had a chance to fall. ‘She was only twenty-two when she was found in an inner-city squat. She'd taken an overdose. Or someone had given her a “hot shot”. Police couldn't tell. And they weren't that interested. She was just another druggie to them. But she was our daughter.' Kayleen fell silent now, staring at her hands.

‘We blame Woodford,' Wendy said in a soft low voice. ‘It all started after he raped her.'

‘You can see why we're angry with Shane. And the police,' Kayleen added.

‘I'm so sorry to hear what happened to Janey. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child,' Sammi ventured. ‘I'm really grateful to you for sharing your daughter's story with me. It's given me a lot to think about.'

They both nodded.

‘But it's not the police you're angry with. It's the law,' Sammi ventured.

‘No, we're angry with the police,' Wendy said, matter-of-factly. ‘People in town still remember what happened. Everybody was quick to meet us here at the station today, make sure our voices were heard, so that bastard gets locked up this time. You saw that.'

‘We don't want anyone else to have to go through what we went through,' Kayleen said. ‘There's a . . . rumour . . . around town that he's at it again. No other girl, no other family, should have to go through what we did. He's a predator. He needs to be put away. We won't have him living in our community, preying on our children. You've seen that we have a lot of people on our side.'

‘We demand action. You have to do something. Or we will,' Wendy said softly. Those eyes bored into Sammi again. The anger and frustration had clearly affected Wendy and Kayleen in different ways. There was something menacing about Wendy. Sammi could imagine her bailing up Peter Woodford with a rifle or a butcher's knife.

‘We need to have the victim, or their family, come forward and tell us what has happened,' Sammi explained ‘Although I'm not disregarding what you're telling me, it is not enough for police to act on.'

‘No more bloody excuses,' Wendy said in the same low voice.

‘It's not an excuse,' Sammi countered. ‘We need to know at least who the victim is. Can you tell me who the victim is, please?' She looked at both women. She felt sure they knew more than they were letting on. ‘If you can tell me then I can follow it up. It would probably be counter-productive to speak with Woodford when we have no basis on which to take any action.'

‘We told you our story so you'd understand how hard it is for the victim. We're talking about a young girl here,' Wendy said.

‘If you can tell me who it is, I can do so much more. Even if I can just talk with them,” Sammi interjected. She was certain they knew who it was.

‘It's so hard on a child. We saw how scared and confused Janey was, how long it took her to be able to even tell
us
what had happened, much less the police. You can't expect parents to subject their child to that. Surely it would be easier this time because you can use Janey's case to show he's done it before,' Kayleen said, a note of pleading in her voice.

‘Unfortunately, you can't raise past history in relation to a new offence. Especially if he didn't get charged. It's not permissible in court. That's the way the system works. It's not up to us.' Sammi's response was a duck and a weave. An answer without saying anything.

‘That's bullshit. And you know it,' Wendy said.

‘Whether I agree with it or not is beside the point,' Sammi said.
‘The legal system doesn't allow for us to say “he must be guilty because he's done it before”. The magistrate can only take past history into account in sentencing if they're found guilty.'

‘And if they're never found guilty?' Wendy didn't even bother to hide her anger.

‘It's an imperfect system. But that's all that we – the police – have to use. And I'm sure Shane did everything he could within the constraints of that system,' Sammi added. Sammi's own words sounded hollow to her. There were so many things bothering her about this conversation – her frustration at not finding out the name of the victim, the uselessness of the system she was bound by, the threat of violence simmering under Wendy's words.

‘There has to be something you can do to remove that the dirty bastard from town,' Wendy said.

‘I'm so sorry. But I can't guarantee that.' More weasel words. ‘We've got so little to go on and police are only a part of the process anyway,' Sammi explained. She desperately wanted to know who the victim was, to find out the facts, know for sure what police could or couldn't do in this case.

Wendy stood up. ‘We've told you what's going on. You pass it on to your boss. Sort it out. It won't be tolerated for much longer. You saw how many people turned up here this morning, how angry they were. You want people to become vigilantes? Because that's what you're forcing us to do.' Wendy turned to Kayleen. ‘Come on. We've had our say.'

The two of them filed out of the interview room and then out of the station.

Once they had left, Sammi breathed out heavily as if she'd been holding her breath the whole time. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Without looking at Mel, she walked straight from the interview room into the ladies bathroom.

She stopped in front of the bathroom mirror and stared at the woman looking back at her. She recognised her but felt little connection to her. So familiar, yet so strange.

My ability to overcome my obstacles is limitless.

The blonde hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, the stray wisps of hair plastered into place with mousse to present a neat and tidy appearance. She looked like an experienced police officer, someone who could easily tackle difficult problems. Sammi saw right through her.

There was only one cubicle. She locked the door. She flipped the toilet lid shut and slumped down on it. She put her face in her hands, concentrating on breathing and nothing more.

13

She looked at her hands. Sometimes she hardly recognised them. Since when had the lumpy veins developed? It was like they had aged overnight. She pinched at the back of one hand. The skin puckered and wrinkled, then slowly pulled flat again once she let go.

Yesterday she had felt old. Old and powerless. And yet, at the same time, a seething fury had churned her stomach. The mere thought of Peter Woodford brought bile to the back of her throat.

Today she knew she had to do something. Anything. She didn't want the anger to eat her alive. She had seen how powerlessness could destroy a person from the inside out.

She pulled on a pair of latex gloves, snapping them high at the wrist. She went to the small printer next to the computer and pulled out a single piece of paper. Pure white and unblemished. She selected a black marker, the type that most households had tucked in a drawer somewhere. This would be the easy part. The rope would be more difficult. She had googled it. The instructions were in front of her on the computer. But, although she was a practical person, her fingers fumbled, the gloves getting repeatedly caught between the rope.

She appraised it when it was finished. She had twisted and pulled until it looked right. There was no mistaking what it meant. Hopefully they would act. Surely they would do something now.

She found a large brown envelope. She brought it into the kitchen and ran a little water over her gloved finger to moisten the seal. She knew better than to lick it, she understood what DNA was. The rest of the task would have to wait until night time.

It wasn't much. But it was something.

14

By the time Bob came back, the shake in Sammi's hands had subsided.

‘My son got a silver medal in backstroke, and bronze in the relay,' he announced with a big smile.

‘And you and the boss get a gold medal in bad timing,' Sammi replied.

The smile faded from his face as he sat down opposite her. Mel came around from the counter and leant on the door jamb.

‘Uh-oh,' Bob groaned.

‘We had a friggin' lynch mob at the front counter,' Sammi said. ‘And the boss did a runner.'

Mel nodded her head. ‘Janey,' she said simply, as if it needed no further explanation. Bob winced.

‘None of my business though?' Sammi asked. Although she liked Bob, she couldn't stop the sarcasm tinging her words.

‘It happened so long ago. He's been quiet for years, you hardly even see him around town. I didn't think we should be dredging it all back up. Shane took it badly. I think that was one of the reasons he left the CPIU all those years ago. I told him about the note but we thought it was someone shit-stirring.'

‘It must have been a huge job back then. Now, the same guy gets accused of doing the same shit, of course there's going to be some backlash. You and the boss aren't the only ones who remember it.' Sammi shook her head.

‘I really didn't think he would have the gall to do it again,' Bob said. ‘A lot of people were keeping a close eye on him for a long time. Everyone referred to him as ‘Pete the Ped', like a reminder to keep away from him. He got beaten up a couple of times from memory. One time he even tried to make a complaint. But mostly he kept to himself and people started to forget him.'

‘They're remembering him now,' Sammi observed. ‘It was like a proper lynch mob out of a movie. They might as well have had burning torches and nooses.'

‘I'm surprised that Shane left you to deal with it. You should have called me,' Bob said.

‘I didn't have the chance. It was lucky Kayleen had them all under control.'

‘I would have liked to have seen who was there. We've got to keep an eye on them. Tempers start boiling over like that, someone's going to get hurt.'

‘Mel knew most of them,' Sammi said.

Mel nodded and rattled off a few names.

‘Maybe we should let it go for a couple of days and see what happens,' Sammi said. ‘Might be easiest if someone went out there with a rifle and popped him. Sounds like what he deserves.' It was mostly a joke. ‘I reckon even if he was lined up for it, he'd get bugger all jail time, and be back out still young enough to do it all again.' Her voice was starting to rise. ‘It stinks. Where's the support for the victim?'

‘We all felt sorry for Janey,' Bob said. ‘I never had much to do with her till she was on the gear and it was too late.' He shook his head. ‘I've got a lot of time for Kayleen though. She's always reasonable and helpful. Despite everything.'

‘I'd say it's Wendy we've got to watch out for,' Sammi said.

‘Yeah. She'd have a bullet with Woodford's name on it.'

‘Can't we go out and grab Woodford? Surely there's enough to interview him at least?' There had to be something they could do. Sammi couldn't forget the look on Kayleen's face as she described Janey's decline.

‘And say what? There's a rumour around that you've been abusing some kid and would you like to tell us about that?' Bob shook his head. ‘We need to talk to CIB or CPIU, see if they've got any tricks up their sleeves. But it's not our job, Sammi. Pete's bound to have heard the rumours by now. Probably someone's even gone out and fronted him already. He might feel confident because he got off last time. Until we can identify the victim, all we can do is sit back and see how it unfolds.'

*

The senior sergeant slunk back in at 3.55 p.m., in time for the end of his shift. No one knew where he had been since the mob's arrival at lunchtime. No one would usually dare to ask him. He was the boss, he didn't answer to them. But Sammi had an axe to grind with him. Her anger had surfaced after the anxiety subsided, and it had been simmering most of the day. So when he reappeared just as quietly as he'd left, sidling in through the back door, Sammi could not hold her tongue.

She stormed up to him. ‘I think you owe me an apology.'

‘We'll discuss this in my office, Sammi,' he said in curt tones.

She stomped to the back of the station with him and shut the door to his office behind them.

‘That was out of order,' she said in clipped tones. ‘Friggin' mob at the front counter and you do a runner.'

‘You're a police officer. You were behind security glass. Don't act like I fed you to the wolves,' he replied.

‘Did you see how many people were there before you left me with them? I'm surprised the glass held them.'

‘Don't blow it out of proportion. It was a few angry people,' the boss said.

‘You think I'm blowing it out of proportion? You're the one who couldn't even face them,' Sammi said. She kept the volume of her voice in check. He was still her boss.

Shane sighed heavily. He put his hands up to his face, then ran them both through his hair. He shook his head.

‘Sorry, Sammi. You're right. I should have stayed. I couldn't face them. Wendy mostly. I thought it would be worse if they saw me here. If they had a target. They couldn't blame you for anything.'

‘They explained the whole story to me,' Sammi said.

‘I have so many regrets about that job.' He looked away. ‘Prosecutions recommended that I didn't press charges against Woodford. I wanted to give it a run, let a jury decide, but it never happened. Initially, I tried to avoid the family around town, but it was too hard. I had no answers for them. I got sick of apologising. I took a posting somewhere else not long after. Seven years passed before I came back. I almost considered turning the senior sergeant's job here down because of it, but I thought everyone might have moved on.' He shook his head. ‘They're right. I failed them. The system failed them.'

‘You can't blame yourself. Even if a jury had found him guilty, what would have happened to him? A couple of years jail and nothing to stop him coming back here anyway. The girl would never have been the same. Woodford's responsible for what happened to her. Not you.' Sammi's anger had almost entirely evaporated in the face of Shane's sadness.

‘I should have charged him, stood up against Prosecutions. There was no doubt in my mind he did it. And he's probably done it again.'

‘They wouldn't tell me who's involved. I'm sure they know. They just wanted us to lock up Woodford.'

They were both quiet.

‘Could we try to bluff him into doing an interview?' Sammi ventured. She was desperate for something to be done.

‘That could do more harm than good. If he does a runner, we might never be able to charge him if the victim comes forward, especially if he moves interstate. God, I'd love to string him up with a charge he can't wiggle out of. No doubt in my mind that he did it to Janey. No doubt at all. Couldn't nail him for it though.'

‘That's got to be hard for you as well as them,' Sammi said.

He shrugged. ‘There's no comparison really.'

Sammi chewed her bottom lip. ‘I'm not sure why the family would rather have it go through the town gossip machine than come and talk to us about it.'

‘Maybe the victim's friendly with Kayleen and Wendy. The victim's family might have told them about it but didn't expect them to come to us like this. Or maybe they don't want to put their daughter through it all and are hoping if there's enough gossip stirred up someone might go pop him. Or maybe it is only a rumour and no one's come to us because nothing's actually happened.' The boss sighed.

‘I'm sorry you of all people copped all that anger, Sammi,' he said, meeting her gaze for a moment. ‘I knew Mel would back you.'

‘Yep. She was great. She stood up to them.'

He regarded her for a moment. ‘It seems like you coped okay. Do you think you're ready to get out from behind that counter yet?'

She focused on a point on the wall to the left of his ear.

‘Soon. I'm getting there.'

‘It's completely up to you.'

She didn't drop her gaze, it was almost as if she was looking him in the eye. ‘I appreciate that.'

They sat in silence for a minute.

‘I hope you understand why I want to remove myself from this whole situation. I really feel like it will make things worse if I'm involved. For them, I mean, not me. But I do intend on supporting you from here on in. Next time, I'll face up.'

‘Hopefully, there won't be a next time,' Sammi said.

The boss gave her a wan smile. ‘Hopefully. Are you working tomorrow?'

‘Eight to four counter.'

‘Do you want to do some digging on this?'

Sammi nodded. ‘Yeah, I'll see what I can find out.'