The Witness, page 23
Jack stepped forward. ‘We only have bits and pieces of information. None of it is connected yet, but we think it could be. We’re looking for those final pieces of the puzzle to confirm what we believe has happened. And in the meantime we’re concerned for your welfare.’
‘Oh.’ Molly looked down. ‘What if I want to stay here? Tash, you could stay with me, couldn’t you? I was going to start work again and—’
‘I think that you need to be in a place where no one knows where you are,’ Tash said. ‘That’s the safest option. If someone wanted to look for you they’d be coming here or the hospital first, because that’s where you spend most of your time. If we take you to another town, without anyone knowing you’ve left Kalgoorlie, well, that’s going to make it a little harder to find you.’
‘But it’s safe out here. We’re a little bit out of the way and Dad always made sure that the bushes in the garden were kept low so we could see if anyone was in a spot they shouldn’t be. I know there’s a few houses around us now, but if someone was going through their backyards, the neighbours would shout.’
Jack cleared his throat. ‘I agree with the super. It’s better if we can do our investigation without having to worry about your safety, which means you need to be away from here, Molly. I’m sorry, I know this is disruptive and if we could change it, we would. Taking someone out of their day-today life is only done when there are no better options. It also allows us to concentrate on solving the crime without any distractions.’
Molly sought Angie’s eyes. Her expression showed she agreed with her colleagues.
Life hopped onto the top of Molly’s foot and gently ran each side of his beak around her ankle, then gave her a gentle nip. Bending down, she held out her hand for him to jump onto and brought him up, letting him walk over to her shoulder. He settled next to her ear and started to comb her hair with his beak.
‘Let’s pack a bag, Molly,’ Angie said.
‘I’d like to stay,’ she repeated.
‘We’d like you to be able to stay as well, but not now. You can come back as soon as this is all over,’ Angie told her.
‘I’m supposed to be back at work on Monday. Tommy was going to roster me back on. And we organised to have dinner tonight.’ The lump was back in her throat, making it hard to speak.
‘Tommy will be here when you get back,’ Tim told her gently.
‘Molly, we’d like your permission to have a look through the house, while you’re gone,’ Jack said as he leaned against the bench. ‘To see if there’s anything that can help us. Would that be okay?’
‘Of course, but don’t, um . . . don’t leave it in a mess. Mum wouldn’t like—’
‘Molly.’ This time it was Tash who spoke. ‘These officers are under my command. They have been instructed to be respectful as they search the house. Not that they need that instruction because they are professional officers.’ She walked over and tapped her fingers on the bench. ‘Is there anywhere you think the detectives should start? Where did Eric keep his diaries and the things he brought home after he retired?’
‘The shed’s the only place I haven’t looked yet. There’s a cupboard at the end of the hall I couldn’t open, but I found a key and that’s where I found the newspaper articles, packed away . . . And the hot water system.’
‘Do we have your permission to look everywhere, Molly? Inside and out?’
She nodded.
Jack turned to Tim. ‘You take the inside; I’ll take the shed. Let’s go.’
Angie held out her hand to Molly. ‘Come on, let’s get that bag packed and leave these guys to get on with their jobs.’
Molly averted her eyes from the glimpse she got of her parents’ chairs as she passed the doorway into the lounge room. The side table that always held her father’s diary was empty, but the mug Eric had used for his last cup of tea was still there. She hadn’t wanted to shift it in all the time they’d been gone.
In her bedroom, Molly grabbed her suitcase from the top of her cupboard and brushed the dust from it.
‘I used this last when I was at uni in Perth,’ she told Angie, who was standing in the doorway. From the kitchen, she could hear drawers and cupboard doors being opened and shut and the low murmur of conversation between Jack, Tim and Tash.
‘Molly, can you pass me your phone?’ Angie asked.
Surprised, Molly looked up. ‘What?’
‘I want to install a tracking app.’
Wordlessly, Molly dug into her pocket and handed it over.
‘This way, I’ll always know where you are,’ Angie said. ‘And there’s a silent panic alert on it. If something goes wrong, then you hit it and the alert comes to me.’ She glanced up at Molly and then down again. ‘I’m not saying this to frighten you, or because I think you’ll need it. I don’t. You’ve got one of the best coppers keeping an eye on you, in the super. She’s experienced and knows the law backwards. Really, it’s only a safety precaution for my own peace of mind. Maybe it’s because I’m a new mum.’ Her fingers flew over the screen as she put in all the information that was required.
‘Does it work when we’re out of range?’
‘No, as far as I know there isn’t an app that allows sharing of real-time locations unless it has access to mobile towers or wifi. This is the best I can do in the circumstances, I’m sorry.’ Angie handed the phone back as she heard steps in the hallway. ‘It’s our secret, okay?’ She winked and opened a drawer as Jack came in.
‘Molly, do you know if there are any keys for the back shed?’ he asked.
‘In the pantry, behind the first-aid kit, on a hook on the wall,’ she told him, piling T-shirts into the suitcase.
‘Thanks.’ Jack withdrew and Angie opened the second drawer.
‘Why is it our secret?’ Molly whispered angrily. ‘I thought you trusted everyone here.’
‘I do. I really do.’ Angie nodded as she spoke. ‘But you might meet someone when I’m not around who I don’t trust.’
CHAPTER 29
‘Where are we headed?’ Molly asked Tash, who’d stopped the car at the end of the driveway and seemed hesitant about which way to go.
‘I was thinking I’d put you on a plane from Perth. Maybe Broome. I’ve got contacts up there. We could take a roundabout route back to Perth just in case anyone’s following us.’
Molly looked at the urn in her hands. ‘Could we spread Mum’s and Dad’s ashes at Lake Ballard before we get too far away? I don’t want to not be able to do it, if something warped happens and I never get back here again.’
‘Oh, don’t worry, Molly, you’ll be back. I’ve said to you numerous times: Jack and his team are excellent. Efficient and competent. I’m sure it won’t take long for them to get to the bottom of whatever this is all about.’ She flicked the blinker and pulled out onto the highway. ‘Lake Ballard it is.’ Out on the highway, Tash gave a lopsided smile. ‘Should I ask why you want to scatter Eric’s and Iris’s ashes at Lake Ballard? That seems like a . . . different type of place.’
‘Dad asked Mum to marry him out there – at the top of this funny-shaped little island.’ Molly was looking out the open window as they sped up. The trees were blurring as they passed, partly because of Tash’s speed and partly because of the tears in Molly’s eyes.
‘I didn’t know that.’
Molly kept her face turned away from Tash to hide her tears.
‘Oh, Molly.’ Tash hadn’t been fooled. ‘I’m so sorry this is happening to you.’ She reached across and held Molly’s hand.
‘I’m sorry too,’ Molly whispered. ‘I want to be strong.’
‘You are very strong. Amazingly strong.’
Swallowing hard, Molly sniffed. ‘Can you tell me how you met Sammi? At school, wasn’t it?’ She glanced in the side mirror to check behind them. The road was empty.
Tash was silent for a few moments, seemingly not wanting to talk. Then she cleared her throat. ‘Yeah, in Year Two. I peed my pants in the playground and one of the boys laughed at me. Sammi went straight up to him and gave him a whack. Told him not to be naughty. We were inseparable from then on. Walked to school together every morning. You’ve got to remember we grew up in a small country town so we could do that sort of thing. She was really happy when we left that tiny one-horse town we grew up in and went to boarding school. That was one of the happiest times we had.’ She looked at Molly. ‘We played on the same netball team and even went out with two brothers for a while. That was fun.’ Tash was watching the road but Molly thought she might only be seeing her and Sammi dancing at a school social or something from the past.
‘I can’t imagine being friends with someone for as long as you two were. It’s a pretty cool story. Did you like boarding school?’
‘Yeah, but not as much as Sammi did. She made friends easily. Whereas I liked reading and music so I spent more time in the library, rather than out in the courtyard at lunchtime. She was like a magnet.’
‘A magnet? What do you mean?’
A flock of noisy white cockatoos flew overhead and came in to land on the honeycomb rocks. They settled quickly, tearing at the grass that was dying off in the cracks.
‘She attracted people to her. Her warmth and smile. I always found it odd she became a police officer. You’ve got to be tough, which she could be, but overriding everything was her kindness.’
‘Do I look like her?’ Molly turned fully towards Tash so she could quickly assess her face before looking back at the road.
‘Yeah, you’re a mini-me. As in a mini-Sammi. The older you’ve got the more you’ve become like her. Your nose is the image of hers and the corners of your mouth kick up the way hers did.’
Molly saw Tash tighten her hands on the steering wheel and she shifted her gaze to the mirrors, expecting to see a vehicle coming up behind them. Then she realised. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t think. I guess talking about Mum is hard for you as well. I should’ve thought about that. Do you still miss her?’
‘I was lucky,’ Tash told her. ‘I had longer with your mum than you did and I thought she was the most beautiful and kind woman I ever had the privilege of knowing. And she loved you so, so much. I think being a mum was her proudest achievement, you know.’ Tash looked over with a sad smile. ‘I’d love to find the bastard who did that to her. I’d lock him up and never let him out.’
Molly rested her head against the back of the seat, suddenly exhausted and it was only eleven in the morning. ‘I remember her smile. I used to think the world lit up when she smiled.’
‘Hmm, it probably did.’
‘I know we’ve talked about this before, but is there anything you can tell me about my father?’
Tash shook her head. ‘I’ve got nothing,’ she said. ‘It’s the only thing your mother and I fought over. She wouldn’t tell me, which makes me suspect he was married or unavailable in some way. Maybe he was her boss or something like that. But I don’t know anything.’
Molly looked out of the window, digesting Tash’s information. Then she frowned. ‘Hang on, I thought you told me you met in kindy, not Year Two.’
Tash turned with an incredulous look on her face. ‘Molly, it’s more than forty years ago and you expect me to get every detail right? Come on! We were kids – it’s almost the same thing when you’re that small.’
Molly smiled. ‘I guess you’re right. Isn’t it funny how we only remember the good bits of people when they die? Sometimes I reckon people try and make saints out of the dead. I see it all the time at the hospital. Some little shit who has broken into his mum and dad’s place and robbed them blind gets brought in with a needle hanging out of his arm and dies from an overdose and then all of the family conveniently forgets all the bad things he’s done.’
Tash laughed softly now. ‘No one’s perfect.’
‘Sammi must’ve had some bad points?’
Cocking her head to one side, Tash chewed her lip. ‘Yeah, I guess, but it’s been a long time. Like you say, they’re harder to remember. Someone coined the phrase Don’t speak ill of the dead for good reason.’
Molly held the urn up to eye height and kissed it. ‘Dad used to drive Mum nuts because he’d always leave his empty mug next to his chair, on the bedside table or on the desk in his den. And Dad used to get cranky with her because she’d keep every tiny thing that was sentimental. I think she’s got every workbook I had from school, plus every merit award and report.’ She laughed. ‘And she used to make up care packages for people in palliative care. Hand cream and lip balm. A lovely smelly lavender bundle. That sort of thing.’
‘Your mum’s big heart wouldn’t have upset Eric,’ Tash said as a truck rumbled by.
‘No, but spending too much money did. She’d never spend it on herself, always for others.’
‘Ah, well, Eric was known to be tighter than a fish’s bum.’
‘Does a fish even have a bum?’ Molly looked at Tash sideways, with a cheeky grin.
‘That is a question from a five-year-old Molly, rather than twenty-five.’
‘No, that’s an example of what used to drive my parents to distraction about me. I was always asking questions.’
‘They loved you.’
Tash said the words so simply, it caught Molly off guard. ‘I was so thrilled when I found them through Legacy,’ she continued. ‘I never thought I’d find a couple as perfect for you as they were. Because they’d never been able to have any kids, I knew you’d be their life for good, not just a short time. Iris told me they’d thought about adopting for a while, but that hadn’t panned out for them, so when the opportunity came up for them to look after you, they were so happy.’
Molly gave a watery smile. ‘I think I was the lucky one. To be loved like that for twenty years. And loved by my mum for five. Some kids don’t get to be loved at all.’
Silence ticked through the car.
Molly moved her head to the window and let the vibration of the car fill her body, as a type of meditation. The heat coming in through the window made her sleepy and she desperately wanted to close her eyes. She must stay awake. When she got to Perth, she could sleep then.
She glanced in the side mirror again, then sat forward and stretched.
‘Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye out,’ Tash said.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re watching the mirrors. That’s the sixth time you’ve checked since we left Kal.’
‘Hey.’ Molly swivelled in her seat. ‘You said him. What did you mean by that?’
‘Sorry?’
‘Before. When you were talking about Mum’s killer. You said you’d love to find him.’ She stared at Tash. ‘Who’s him?’ She paused. ‘Him, like Martin Rogers?’
Tash frowned. ‘Martin? What?’
‘Martin was at the apartment after Sammi was murdered.’
‘Martin?’ Tash paused, but Molly could see her thinking. ‘No, Molly. Him as in, on percentages, a murderer is likely to be a male.’
‘So not Martin?’ Molly persisted.
‘Why do you think Martin has something to do with Sammi’s murder?’
Molly shrugged now. ‘I don’t know. He was there.’
‘As was I and I didn’t murder her,’ Tash answered stiffly.
‘I suddenly thought you might know who . . .’ She pushed the urn in between her thighs and then linked her fingers together. ‘Sorry.’ They’d hit the dirt road now and Molly told Tash how she’d nearly come a cropper when she’d visited yesterday. God, was it only yesterday? It felt like a whole year had passed since then. ‘Anyhow, the cattle thought I was being overly friendly.’
‘I’d better be careful then. There was a sign back there for Niagara Dam. What’s that place? Don’t think I’ve heard of it before.’
‘I’ve never been there, but it’s a dam of some sort. It’s on the way to Kookynie. The pub there has an old retired racehorse or pacer or something like that. I think his name is Willie. He goes to the pub most days from what I’ve heard.’
‘Oh, we should go and see him.’ Tash’s face lit up with a smile. ‘I’d love to meet him. Sounds like a character.’ She checked the mirrors. ‘And I guess we really don’t have anywhere to be at any particular time.’
‘I guess not,’ said Molly. ‘The turn-off to Lake Ballard is just up here.’
Tash lifted her foot from the accelerator and slowed down. ‘It feels like we’re the only people in the world out here.’
‘Yeah, it might feel like that,’ Molly told her. ‘But people just seem to come out of the bush. There was a bloke here yesterday who gave me a bit of a fright. I didn’t see him arrive and then suddenly he was at my window, telling me women shouldn’t be out here by themselves.’
Tash raised an eyebrow. ‘Hmm.’
She pulled into the car park and stopped the car, without turning the engine off. ‘The temperature gauge is saying it’s thirty-eight degrees.’
‘Cool change for here,’ Molly joked.
The island loomed above them, the salt plain reflecting the heat upwards, the sky nothing but a blue expanse that never seemed to end.
‘Okay,’ Tash said.
‘Okay,’ Molly repeated, unclipping her seatbelt. As she stepped out, the force of the heat hit her as if she’d opened an oven door. ‘There might not be a lot of ceremony here,’ she apologised to her parents as she walked towards the island.
‘Are you taking them to the top?’ Tash asked.
‘Yeah, that’s where Dad got down on one knee.’
‘Romantic old sod.’
The hot wind swept over them, drying their perspiration and making them sweat in the same breeze. As Molly started to climb, some of the loose stones caught under her shoes and made her feet slip out from under her.
Tash didn’t ask if she was okay when she let out a sob. She understood it wasn’t the stinging of her knees that made the tears come. She was so close to saying her final goodbyes.
At the top, Molly turned so the wind was at her back and then unscrewed the lid.
‘I’ll always love you,’ she whispered as she upended the urn and a long stream of grey ash was taken and tossed by the wind.
