Hostage (13 page)

Tully’s Story

When I was five I broke my arm and Roo took me to the hospital. Some people came and talked to Roo while I was getting my arm looked at. They went outside the curtain but I could hear them talking and the word alcoholic echoed around my head. Suddenly the jigsaw pieces of my world fell into place. My mother was an alcoholic. I knew that this was a bad thing. I wasn’t sure, but I thought that maybe you could go to jail for being an alcoholic. I didn’t want Mum to go to jail.

That night I stayed in the children’s ward and Roo slept beside me on a fold-up bed. I listened to the sound of the kid in the opposite bed who coughed the whole night. I didn’t want to be in the hospital. I remember that my imaginary friend Sasha had been scared of the white walls and the beds with wheels and the nurses with their cool hands and things to poke you with. She told me that some day I could go and live with her and we could play all the time and I could brush her long gold hair and learn new Greek words from her cocky. She would even get her mum to make me special home made chips. Then she left.

Roo’s chips were okay. I only counted seven different ways that he could cook eggs, but I never pointed this out to him. On the way home from hospital, Roo promised to take me to the zoo one day, but we never did go.

We left Roo and Sasha behind in the Dandenongs. Mum said they couldn’t come with us. She left the hills without her smile—I guess Roo still has it. I kept the sling from my broken arm. When I worked out the idea for my treasure tin, I cut down the material so it wouldn’t take up too much room. It used to be a creamy white colour, but now it’s a dirty grey.

Sasha tried to talk to me a few times when the dark of the night was like a heavy blanket. But I was too scared to talk to her. Too scared about making my mum mad again.

And that’s what I remember about living in the Dandenongs. It was the happiest time of my life.

Christmas Eve

Griffin seemed mesmerised by the flashing police lights, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

‘It’s the Christmas Carols,’ said Tully suddenly. ‘They’ve blocked off the road for the Christmas Carols. Go back up Gleghorn Road and we’ll take a back road.’

‘Right,’ said Griffin.

Tully waited for a minute.

‘Sooooo ... do a u-turn and go back up Gleghorn,’ she said slowly, ‘before you totally screw this up.’

‘Right.’

Tully gave the police car a little wave and shouted ‘Merry Christmas’ as Griffin made three attempts at a u-turn.

‘How
did
you get your licence?’ asked Tully.

They were halfway up Gleghorn Road before Griffin floored the accelerator and spun the tyres in the dirt road.

‘Hey!’ said Tully.

Griffin shook his head.

‘Hey, I was just joking. I told you before. You’re a good driver—’

‘Big joke, Tully. I’m in so much trouble.’ He thumped the steering wheel. ‘If you hadn’t ... I don’t get you. You can be so nice and then, you’re such a bitch.’

‘Turn here, Griffin. Seriously, you are the best driver I’ve ever driven with. Ever.’ She gave his arm a squeeze then wound down her window and the sound of the Christmas Carols rang out clearly in the night.

‘Turn right here.’

Griffin guided the car carefully down the middle of the road that was flanked by parked cars. Suddenly, on their right, the road opened out to a common filled with families on picnic rugs and chairs, and a makeshift stage filled with performers.

‘Do you think...?’ Tully said wistfully.

Griffin groaned.

‘Five minutes. I promise. Then we can go straight home. Or to the police. Or to ... wherever you want. I promise.’

Tully didn’t wait for an answer but unbuckled her seatbelt, thumped the door open, then leaned back inside the car and kissed Griffin on the cheek.

‘You’re sweet,’ she said.

Tully passed a van doing a roaring trade in electric candles, glow sticks and carol programmes. She stood for a moment and watched the performer on stage who was in the middle of a recorder solo, the shiny buttons of his Salvation Army uniform glinting in the stage lights.

It was too dark and there were too many people. Tully couldn’t peer into every face to find Roo or her mother. She wasn’t even sure she’d recognise Roo again. It had been a crazy idea anyway. Too many years had passed and she was way too old for Christmas magic. Recorder Man finished playing and someone announced at the microphone that Santa would be arriving shortly and that kids should keep an eye out for him. That gave Tully an idea. She went up to the stage and talked to one of the choristers who nodded.

The chorister marched up to the microphone and made an announcement.

‘A girl has lost her parents. Could Roo or Sandy McCain please come to the side stage to collect your daughter.’

The chorister smiled at Tully and Tully looked out over the common as the band broke into ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’. Tully wondered whether Griffin was still waiting for her and hoped that he was. She looked out into the crowd which was a sea of flickering candles.

Sing choirs of angels

Sing in exaltation...

A seed of hope niggled in her stomach and Tully tried to tamp it down. Too many times she’d watched her hope wither and die. Hope that her mother would change. That they could live together as a real family. Yet the niggle stayed with her and her breath quickened as the choristers took turns blending their harmonies. And then she noticed it. One candle making a steady trek towards her. As it came nearer to the floodlit stage, she could see that the candle was held by a man walking carefully through the picnic rugs and deck chairs. It was only when he was up close to her that she got a good look at his face.

What had once been a nest of dreadlocks was now a shaven head and the trim blonde beard was threaded with grey. But his blue eyes were still bright and they mirrored the blue of his check shirt.

‘Tully?’ he said.

He stood still, holding the candle up to her face as if he was searching for the five-year-old girl he’d waved goodbye to so very long ago.

‘Roo!’

‘I can’t believe it.’ He shook his head. ‘Can’t believe you’re here. Spitting image of your mother. But different. In a Tully way.’

‘Is is okay that I’m here?’ she asked.

‘Best Christmas present ever,’ said Roo. ‘Gee it’s good to see you.’

Roo blew out his candle, threw it onto the ground and held out his arms. Tully folded into him like she was coming home, her forehead resting against his chest, the sound of his beating heart near her ear. A familiar smell of cigarettes and woodsmoke tickled at her nostrils and echoed in her memory. Tears leaked out of her like warm rain onto his shirt.

Roo felt solid. Not like the warm stuffed-toy feeling that she got from a yellow hoodie Nathan hug, or the creaky closeness of Bamps, or even the skeletal embrace from her mother.

‘Is Mum here?’ she asked finally.

Tully’s Story

Anyway, I talked Griffin into going to Kallista before taking us home. I just needed a little detour because I was looking for Mum and I had a hunch that I would find her there. So taking me to Kallista wasn’t his fault. I just thought you should know that.

For some reason I had it in my head that Mum had hooked up again with a guy she’d been with before—when I was really little. His name was Roo and he kept in touch a bit after Mum and I left. I thought if I could find Roo I would find Mum.

Griffin took me to my old house but there were only strangers there. Then I got the idea to see if they were at the Kallista carols, which is a really big deal for the locals every Christmas Eve.

Amazingly, I found Roo at the carols. Seems he’s got a new family now, with two little boys and a woman called Bonita. Roo introduced me to them before the fire truck came with Santa ho ho hoing from the back and Bonita had to take the boys down to get lolly bags. Before she left she held both my hands and told me I must come and visit them and that it was lovely to finally meet Roo’s daughter. Roo was the closest thing I’d ever had to a dad so I didn’t bother to fix her mistake.

Then Roo told me about Mum. How he’d tried to keep in touch with her over the years. How he’d finally given up. And then Laney had contacted him because Mum wanted to see him.

‘You’ve seen her?’ I asked.

‘I couldn’t see her,’ he said. ‘I don’t think Bonita would be happy if I started hanging out with my old girlfriend. Anyway, I’ve moved on. We both have.’

‘So where is she?’

‘She’s in rehab. Laney said Sandy didn’t want you to know. Didn’t want to get your hopes up.’

We talked a bit. Roo wanted to know what I’d been up to, so I told him about living with Bamps and Laney and Smith Street and finishing school but of course I didn’t mention the whole chemist thing because, well ... I did wonder if Griffin was still waiting for me, though, so after a while I told Roo that I had to go and he followed me to the road.

Griffin was there. I wasn’t sure he would be, but he’d waited and his window was wound down, so Roo just stuck his hand right through the window space and shook Griffin’s hand and asked him if he was looking after me or not. Then Roo pulled out his wallet and showed Griffin a picture of me in my school uniform.

‘Nice freckles,’ said Griffin.

Roo said that Laney had his contact number. That we should come back after Christmas and have a proper catch up. He said I could bring my boyfriend if I wanted to, which was highly embarrassing. Griffin just raised his eyebrows then said he’d love to come.

And then Griffin said that it was time to go home.

And I agreed.

And I know you will probably think I’m crazy, but as we drove off, I looked back on the common and saw something—a young girl of about five standing near a tree looking out at us. She looked so much like a girl I used to know called Sasha that I waved to her.

And she waved back to me.

Police Station: 25 December, 4.38a.m.

‘And then we ended up here,’ said Tully. ‘That’s pretty much it.’

Officer Fraser nodded. ‘So you came straight here from Kallista?’

‘We did pick up some Maccas on the way,’ said Tully. ‘We’d hardly eaten all day. Then we came straight here. Griffin really wanted to set things straight. He wanted to drop me off at home, but I thought you would need me to answer some questions.’

‘I see,’ said Officer Fraser.

‘Is he okay? Can I see him?’ asked Tully.

‘Perhaps later,’ said Constable Tognetti.

There was silence for a moment, save for the murmur of the tape machine as the reel moved forward in its never-ending loop. Laney straightened in her seat and snapped her bag shut as if ready to leave.

‘Tully, I need to ask you again to recount what happened in the chemist yesterday morning,’ said Constable Tognetti.

Aunt Laney grunted and Tully rolled her eyes.

‘I already told you,’ said Tully. ‘I’ve told you, like, ten times.’

‘Tully, as you were leaving the store, can you describe your surroundings?’ asked Constable Tognetti.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Tully. ‘I was just looking at the floor. I can’t really remember leaving.’

‘So you don’t remember anyone entering the store as you and Griffin left?’ asked Constable Tognetti.

‘I ... I don’t ... I hardly remember any of that,’ said Tully. ‘It was just all so quick.’

‘Tully, you maintain that Griffin Sorenson did not take anything from the chemist yesterday morning except for you. Is that correct?’

‘I didn’t see anything else,’ said Tully.

‘Tully, Helene Bukor was held up at knife-point yesterday morning. A large amount of cash and drugs were stolen from the pharmacy.’

Tully shook her head. ‘No,’ she said. ‘There wasn’t any cash. She’s lying—’

‘There was another person involved in the incident.

Someone who entered the store as you and Griffin Sorenson left the building. It was this person who perpetrated the armed robbery. We believe this person and Griffin Sorenson were working as a team.’

Tully rose out of her chair. ‘What? No! I don’t believe you,’ said Tully.

‘Sit down, please Tully,’ said Officer Fraser.

‘I told you, it was all a mistake. Griffin didn’t mean to ... wait, do you think I...?’

Officer Fraser answered with a raised eyebrow and Laney exploded from her seat.

‘Okay, that’s quite enough!’ said Laney. ‘This is ridiculous! My niece has been through a terrifying ordeal. She has come here looking for your protection, and suddenly she is the criminal? Well, I’ll tell you who the criminal is—’

‘Miss McCain,’ said Officer Fraser, ‘I must remind you that you cannot interfere with this interview.’

‘And I’d like to remind you that I pay your wages. My taxes keep food in your mouth. They probably paid for the presents under your Christmas tree, so don’t forget that.’

Tully began to shake as she sank back down into her chair.

‘It’s past four in the morning. How long has she been here?’ Laney demanded. She knelt down beside her niece and grabbed her hands. ‘How long have you been here, Tully?’

Tully shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I’m not sure.’

‘Do we need a lawyer? Are you going to charge her with something?’ Laney demanded.

Constable Tognetti shook her head. ‘Tully is just helping us with our initial inquiries.’

‘Fine,’ said Laney. ‘Then we’re going home. You know where we live. We’re not going anywhere. But I need to get this girl home into bed. She is obviously suffering from shock.’

Constable Tognetti shot a glance at Officer Fraser and he nodded slightly. More legal jargon was spouted for the benefit of the tape, then the tape machine was turned off.

‘Can I have my tin back?’ asked Tully.

‘We’d like to keep it a little longer,’ said Constable Tognetti. ‘Don’t worry, Tully. We’ll take care of it.’

‘You say there was another person? Did you catch them?’ asked Laney.

‘We’re hoping the in-store security footage might help us,’ said Constable Tognetti.

Then Officer Fraser opened the interview room door and Laney ushered Tully out before her. As they walked down the hallway, a door opened to reveal Griffin sitting inside. Beside him was a woman sobbing quietly into her tissue. Griffin looked up in time to see Tully who held up her hand, palm out. Griffin mirrored her action and held her gaze before the door slammed between them.

‘Merry Christmas,’ said Laney loudly to the officer behind the front desk.

And somehow she made it sound like an insult.