Scared Yet? (18 page)

24

Daniel checked the inside of the townhouse then took a good look around the outside. He was in the courtyard, the dog next door barking like he'd found a rat in a hole, when he called Liv over.

‘Do you keep something here?' He pointed to the ground opposite the kitchen window. A patch of tall grass weed that grew between the pavers at the end of the raised garden bed was crushed flat.

‘No.'

‘A bin or a bag of soil?'

She glanced along the bed to where the kid had jumped the fence the other night. There were terracotta pots stacked down there. ‘No.'

He dropped to the pavers, shuffled around on his butt until his shoulders were pressed to the fence and his legs were stretched along the end of the garden bed. He looked down at the weeds that were now underneath him, up at Liv's bedroom window then back at her. Behind him, on the other side of the boundary, Benny barked like mad.

She met Daniel's eyes, saw what he was telling her. Someone had been sitting there – long enough to flatten the weeds. ‘Shit.' Her legs stiffened in alarm as a car rumbled into the driveway.

‘It's probably Rachel,' he said. ‘Make sure she sees this.'

Liv was halfway across the lounge room when she heard the knock. The detective was wearing jeans and a dress shirt, as though she'd conceded to weekend casual on the bottom but stayed with professional on top. Liv felt a rush of words fighting for pole position as the detective stepped through the door but she held them back. ‘Can I get you something to drink? Tea or coffee?'

‘Tea would be great, thanks.'

While Liv put the jug on, Rachel swung a chunky handbag off her shoulder and took a look around the room. When Daniel came in from the courtyard, a brief show of surprise flashed across her face.

‘Daniel,' she said.

‘Rachel,' he returned.

‘Another coffee, Daniel?' Liv asked.

‘No, I won't stay.' He spoke to Rachel. ‘I've checked the premises. There's no sign of a disturbance inside but I think someone's been in the yard.'

‘Thanks.' It was said firmly, the message clear: that was all she needed from him.

He hesitated, perhaps deciding whether to offer more, then flicked his gaze to Liv. ‘I'll leave you to it.'

‘Do you want me to call a cab for you?'

‘No, I'm just a few blocks away. I'll walk it.' He lowered his voice. ‘I'm in Watson Street. Number fifteen. Okay?'

She nodded, got his meaning, hoped she wouldn't need his address – at least not without an invitation. Even then . . . well, she'd have to think about it. ‘Thanks. For everything.'

Rachel followed him to the front door, caught up with him as he pulled it wide. He stood on the mat outside while she directed quiet words up at him. Liv couldn't hear what was said, could only see the edginess of the exchange before Daniel raised his voice loud enough to carry.

‘It's not what you think, Rachel.'

‘I'm not convinced.'

‘I don't give a shit. Stop worrying about me and find this guy.'

‘I'm working on it, Daniel. It's my job, remember? Not yours. You need to stay out of it.'

‘You need to . . .'

He disappeared from the doorway, his voice too muffled to hear the rest. Rachel leaned out after him, said something else while Liv stood at the kitchen counter wishing she could turn up the volume.

‘This one mine?' Rachel asked when she'd joined Liv, pointing at the mug with the soaking teabag.

Liv ignored her question. ‘What was that about?'

Rachel glanced at the front door as though checking the distance for how well sound might carry. ‘Let's sit first.'

‘No. I want to talk about it now. Daniel is the only person who's done anything to help in the last week. If you're arguing about it, I want to know why.'

The detective slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans. ‘All right, we'll talk. The other day you said you
hardly knew Daniel, that you only passed each other in the corridor at work.'

‘That's right.'

‘I'm guessing you didn't run into each other at work on a Saturday.'

Liv frowned, not sure what she was getting at. ‘I ran into him at my son's soccer match. He walked me to my car, he was there when I found the photo. We had coffee and he offered to check the townhouse.'

‘He delivered breakfast to you the other morning and he was here without his car today.'

‘And?'

‘I'm wondering if you're better acquainted than you said or whether you've got . . . close in the last couple of days.'

Liv's eyebrows rose slowly. Rachel thought she was sleeping with him. That she'd brought him home in her car last night and thanked him for his efforts by slipping him between her sheets. The assumption ticked her off, even as she wondered what the hell difference it made.

‘I don't know where you're going with this but I'd barely spoken to him before Monday, like I told you. Yes, we've talked since then and he installed new locks. I also rang him last night after I found the letter in my mailbox and he checked the townhouse for me then, too. I didn't sleep with him afterwards. He went home and I sat at the hospital hoping it wasn't my goddamn stalker who'd hurt Sheridan. As far as I can tell, he's done more to help than your questions and the patrol car making the occasional pass down my street. So, frankly, I don't see what you've got a problem with.'

Rachel watched her for a moment, no offence taken, just silent scrutiny. ‘I need to know you're telling me everything.'

‘I've got no reason not to.'

‘The thing is, Livia, that sometimes in these situations, people attempt to take matters into their own hands. Is that what's happening here?'

‘I wish there was something to take into hand.'

‘So you have no idea who's sending the notes?'

Liv frowned. Why would Rachel think she was lying about it? ‘No.'

She kept no-comment eyes on her for several more seconds. Then nodded. ‘Okay. Show me what you found in your yard.'

Liv walked her to the end of the garden bed, still piecing it together.
You need to stay out of it
, Rachel had told Daniel. Did she think he was doing his own investigating? That he was encouraging her to hold something back? As far as Liv was concerned, while he was happy to keep checking the townhouse, he could investigate all he liked.

Rachel took photos of the flattened weeds, poked her head over the fence, where Benny had started up again.

‘In a neighbourhood like this, there are cats and possums on the prowl at night so we can't assume it was a person but you should secure your gates. Okay,' she said like a full stop to the inspection. ‘We should grab those mugs now.'

‘They've probably gone cold.'

‘Then perhaps you should make fresh ones because I need to talk to you about Sheridan.'

*

She didn't start until Liv had poured a new round of hot drinks and they were facing each other at right angles on the sofas.

‘I spoke to the team investigating Sheridan's crash and there's evidence at the scene that suggests it may not have been an accident. It appears a rock was thrown at the car, causing her to run off the road.'

Andy had said she'd hit a tree near the studios. The station was surrounded by bush with one two-lane road in and out. ‘How?'

‘There's an old rail overpass from a coalmine that used to be out that way. The investigator thinks someone stood up there in the dark, watched the cars coming around the bend one way then tossed the rock as hers passed underneath. It appears the windscreen was penetrated making her lose control at the next corner.'

Liv squeezed her eyes to block out the image that careered through her mind. A rock didn't just
penetrate
a windscreen. It would have struck with a deafening, stunning howl of sound, shattered the glass, blinding and terrifying Sheridan. ‘Did it hit her? The rock, did it hit her?'

‘It hasn't been confirmed but it looks like some of her injuries were caused by the projectile.'

Anger tightened the skin on Liv's scalp. ‘She's got a head injury. Did she get hit in the head with a
rock
?'

‘No, not her head. Some of the injuries to the left side of her torso.'

Sheridan had broken ribs and a punctured lung. Head, ribs, what did it matter? Someone had thrown a
rock
at her. Liv stood up in one fast, fluid movement. ‘It was him.'
She held a hand to her face. ‘The bastard who did this, hurt Sheridan.' Then the anger was flooded out by guilt. Some bastard had done it to prove a demented point to her. She slumped back down. ‘Oh, Christ, Sheridan is hurt because of me.'

Rachel said nothing as she picked her mug up from the coffee table and took her time blowing the steam and taking a sip. Maybe she was giving Liv a chance to pull herself together before she went on but Liv thought she saw more than empathy in it. Her back was straight and her jaw was tight. He'd got under her skin, too. Good. Rachel hadn't done much more than ask questions and make assumptions but she didn't seem the type to give up in a hurry, either.

‘So what are you doing about it?' Liv asked.

There was the hint of a nod from Rachel, as though she approved of the way Liv had rallied. ‘Look, there've been some rock-throwing incidents in Newcastle over the past twelve months and this one will be absorbed into that investigation. Having said that, I think the case is strong that your guy is responsible this time and I intend to be investigating along those lines. I know you're upset and worried about Sheridan but I need you to answer some more questions. Can you do that?'

‘I wish I could do more than that.'

Rachel found a notepad and pen in her bag before she started. ‘Who knew Sheridan was coming here last night?'

‘Her partner Andy and his daughter Ashley. My business partner Kelly. Probably her husband Jason. I think Teagan, our office junior, who is also Kelly's niece, may have
known, too. There was a bit of a fuss around the building after Sheridan did the interview. People were talking about the story and seeing her there. It's possible Teagan told a few people.'

‘You think the rumour mill might have picked it up?'

‘Yes.'

‘How far does that stretch, do you think? Just the corridor or out to the street?'

‘The cafe outside is a bit of a hotbed. People come from up and down the street for Lenny's coffee. Anyone in the street could have heard it in there, I suppose.'

‘Yeah, I know how it can be. We've got one like that near us.' She wrote a note. ‘Did your husband know?'

Liv hesitated. ‘I thought you were trying to find a connection in Park Street.'

‘At this point, I'm just looking for connections.'

‘But it wasn't Thomas in the car park. I know I didn't see a face but I would've known if it was Thomas. And his face isn't bruised.' It was a waste of time talking about him. Anytime.

Rachel clicked her pen in and out. ‘The thing is, Livia, I don't know what's going on here. I can't rely on some bruises that may or may not be there to point me to a suspect.'

‘I hit him.'

‘And it was dark and you were fighting for your life. I don't know how hard you hit him or where you hit him or whether in fact you made contact. All I know is that there's more than one way to look at your situation and my job is to find out the right way.'

That punch was all she'd been able to do to help herself in the last week. It hadn't just saved her in the car park, it'd felt like evidence – find the man with the bruise and the case was over. Now Rachel's words made her shift uncomfortably. ‘How else can you look at it?'

‘There are a lot of pieces to your puzzle.' She lifted a thumb, started counting off on her fingers. ‘A planned assault in a car park, the break-in and vandalism of your office, a motor vehicle accident involving a TV reporter, anonymous notes, a business with financial problems, a domestic dispute involving your husband, Daniel Beck. I don't know how much of that is connected.'

She made it sound like a complex plot to hurt her. For what purpose? Something to do with the business? That would mean Kelly and Jason and that was ridiculous. And what did Sheridan have to do with it? Or Daniel? ‘What about Daniel?'

Rachel shook her head like it was a mystery she couldn't fathom. ‘He finds you unconscious on Monday then he's doing security detail on Saturday. I don't know what that's about yet but I want to head somewhere else for a while. Who knew you were going to the soccer this morning?'

Another round of questions was coming so Liv leaned back on the sofa. ‘No one. I didn't decide to go until the last minute.'

‘Did you see anyone you knew at the soccer?'

‘My son, my husband and his . . . partner. And Daniel.'

‘No other parents of kids that you know?'

‘I'm not supposed to make an appearance during my
son's weekends with his father. I didn't want anyone telling him I was there so I stayed out of the way.'

‘Have there been custody issues over your son?'

Liv opened her mouth, uneasiness squirming in her chest.

‘Livia?'

‘Not really. Thomas and I have Cameron alternate weeks.'

‘Did either of you apply for full custody?'

‘I did.' She'd argued she was the primary caregiver, assumed Thomas was trying to off-load his responsibilities when he walked out.

‘How did your husband react to that?'

‘It pissed him off. I didn't really think he'd agree to full custody but I was angry and hurt and I wanted to spread it around. I thought we'd end up at Cameron with me during the week and alternate weekends with Thomas but he insisted on the two-week cycle. I accused him of doing it out of spite.'