The Defendant (17 page)

His boys.
They’d have no one. Some aunt they didn’t know who lived in some dumb-ass town he’d never heard of. That’s what would happen to his boys. As if they hadn’t already endured enough pain…

His chest tightened on a surge of emotion. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do it to his sons. He couldn’t abandon them like their mother had abandoned them. He loved them way too much.

His jaw clenched, but a sob escaped, quickly followed by another. The gun slipped out of his hand and landed with a thud on the floor. Bent over, he held his head in his hands and cried like he didn’t know how to stop.

“I’m sorry, Kelly. I’m so sorry,” he gasped. “Forgive me, darling. I can’t do it. I want to, but I can’t. I can’t do it. I can’t do it.”

He shook his head back and forth with increasing vehemence and began to claw at his hair. The sobs came harder and faster and tore him up inside. He needed help and he needed it now. For his boys’ sake, he had to make the call.

Stumbling out of the chair, he made his way to the phone and fumbled for the receiver. With hands that trembled violently, he dialed the police.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Josie pulled out the file for her next patient and glanced at her watch. It was a little after three. She bit down on a sigh. The child was late. The phone on her desk rang and she picked up the receiver.

“Josie, I’m sorry, it’s Moira. I’ve just had a call from Sandra Duckworth. Her daughter’s been sick in bed all day. She rang to cancel their appointment.”

Josie bit her lip in annoyance, but kept her tone light. “That’s fine, Moira. I wish she’d let me know a little earlier—like before her appointment started, but thank you anyway.”

“No trouble, honey. Some people are so inconsiderate. Can I get you a— Hang on, the phone’s ringing again. I’ll be right back.”

Josie hung up the phone and collected the file off her desk and returned it to her filing cabinet. One good thing about having her last appointment for the day cancel was that she could go home early for a change. She might even pour a glass of wine and enjoy the breathtaking view of the mountains from her back porch. It was one of the reasons she’d been drawn to the place. And then, she could run a bath…

With her mood picking up, she pulled on her jacket and smiled in anticipation.

The phone on her desk rang again and she shook her head slightly and gave a wry smile. It was probably Moira apologizing for cutting their conversation short. She picked up the phone.

“Coffee, cream and one sugar, thanks Moira,” she chuckled.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Josie. I-I have Belinda Murphy from the Department of Family and Community Services on line three. She wants to speak to you about the Logan children.”

Josie frowned. She’d only met Daniel. She wasn’t sure what she could say to the woman about his younger brother. With a shrug, she answered. “Okay, thanks,” and she switched lines. “Josie Munro, can I help you?”

“Doctor Munro, it’s Belinda Murphy. Thank you for taking my call.”

“No problem. I understand you’re calling from Family Services about the Logan boys.”

“Yes, I am. I hope you don’t mind, but I was given your name by an officer at the police station. I believe he said he was your brother. Riley, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Riley’s one of my brothers. Is anything the matter?”

“Your brother received a call from Trevor Logan a short time ago. I understand he called the police in a distraught state of mind and told them he was thinking of committing suicide.”

Josie gasped in shock. “Oh, my goodness.”

“From what I understand, he’s in pretty bad shape. He begged the police for help. They’ve contacted me because the children are due out from school shortly and no one’s at home. The police and ambulance have attended the Logan farm and Trevor’s been taken to the hospital. I believe he’s undergoing psychiatric assessment as we speak.”

Josie shook her head slowly, still struggling to take it all in. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Ms Murphy, but I’m not sure what you want me to do.”

“Your brother told me you’ve been meeting with Daniel and he’s comfortable with you. He knows you and he trusts you, or so I’ve been led to believe. Unfortunately, the Logans have no relatives living close by and our regular foster parents are already overloaded. I’d go down to the school and collect them myself, only right now, I’m in Grafton. It will be late when I return. My colleague has been off all week with the flu. There’s no one else to call. I was hoping… That is, I was wondering if you’d be able to collect the boys from the school and perhaps keep them with you for a little while. Just a few hours, if you wouldn’t mind? Or perhaps overnight? I’m not sure what time I’ll be back…”

Josie’s head spun with the sudden deluge of information. Realizing the woman was waiting for a response, she shuffled through the flood of thoughts surging through her head and stammered out a reply.

“Um…I…I…um…”

“It will only be for tonight, I promise and maybe tomorrow morning. If you could just get them to school… Please, I wouldn’t be asking unless I was desperate. They’re only children. They can’t stay out on the farm on their own.”

“No, of course not,” Josie hurried to agree. “It’s okay, I’ll work something out. Daniel has his competency hearing tomorrow. Don’t worry, leave it with me.”

Belinda let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness! You’re a lifesaver. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”

“Sure. Um… Which schools do they attend?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t even give you that information. “Daniel’s at Watervale High on Oxley Road and Jason’s at Watervale East Primary School on Stubbins Avenue. I’m sure you’ll find them.”

“Do they know about their dad?”

“I’ve called both schools. The principals were going to speak to the boys in the company of the school counselor. I assume they will have been told what’s going on by the time you get there.”

Josie closed her eyes briefly, glad that at least that much had been dealt with. “Okay, I guess I’ll head over there now. They’ll probably be getting out soon.”

“Yes. Daniel gets out at three-fifteen. Jason at three-thirty.” After promising once again to call her the next day and offering another round of sincere thanks, Belinda ended the call.

Josie replaced the receiver. Another glance at her watch told she didn’t have a lot of time if she was to get to the high school before the bell. Collecting her handbag from where she’d put it and inwardly giving up on her plan to spend the afternoon relaxing in solitude, she opened the door to her office, filled in the receptionist and left.

* * *

From his position at his desk, Chase watched his boss pick up his coffee mug and head out of his office toward the tea room. His face looked drained, his mouth tight. After the past few hours spent at the Logan farm, Chase understood why.

“How did it go with Trevor?” he asked quietly.

Riley’s shoulders slumped on a heavy sigh. “You were there. It was bloody tough.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “For Christ’s sake, how much of this shit is one family supposed to take? Right now, I could do with a stiff drink, but I guess I’ll have to settle for a hit of caffeine.”

“Let’s hope Trevor gets the help that he needs.”

“Yeah, he’s been voluntarily admitted to the psych ward for assessment and observation.” Riley bit his lip and shook his head, as if chasing away the memories of the way they’d found Daniel’s father after his desperate call.

“He’s a broken man, Chase. He’s endured more than any man should have to bear. I don’t know if anyone will be able to fix him.”

Chase nodded grimly. “His family’s been torn apart through the worst circumstances imaginable. I can understand why he might be feeling a little less enamored with his life.”

“Yeah, there but for the grace of God… I honestly don’t know what I’d do if something like that happened to me. Just the thought of someone assaulting Kate… Christ, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“I can’t help thinking about Daniel. He’s not even thirteen! How the hell is he going to deal with something like this? Grown men would struggle with it. And now, he knows his father considered blowing his brains out. Please tell me it wasn’t with the same gun?”

“No, we still have that one in the evidence room.”

Chase breathed out on a sigh of relief. “Perhaps we should confiscate whatever other firearms he still has? If I remember right, he had at least three or four rifles in that safe. No sense in tempting him unnecessarily.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll speak to him about it straight away.”

“What’s going to happen to the kids while he’s in there? The other boy is even younger than Daniel.”

“Jason. Yeah, he’s eight. I called Family and Community Services. Unfortunately, they’re out of options at the moment. Their foster families are at capacity and the two women who man the Watervale office are unavailable. I gave them Josie’s number.”

Chase sat up in surprise and straightened in his chair. “You mean, they’re going to see if she can take the boys in?”

“Yes, at least for tonight. They can’t stay at home alone and she’s had a fair bit to do with Daniel, at least. Given the circumstances, she seemed like the best person to call.”

“Yeah, I guess and of course, they can’t return home without a parent in tow.” He paused and did his best to slow his pulse rate that had taken off at the mention of Josie’s name. “Is-is Josie agreeable?”

“Yes. She called me a short time ago. She’s on her way now to collect them.”

A pang of emotion tightened Chase’s chest. Josie would get her chance to be a mother, if only for a little while. He wished the thought didn’t hurt so much and then immediately felt guilty. She was doing what any good, decent person would do. She was offering help to two young boys who were greatly in need of it. He couldn’t help but admire her for her courage. There would be plenty who’d turn away, unwilling to get involved.

“She always wanted kids.” Chase didn’t realize he’d said the words aloud until he noticed Riley’s sharp look.

“I thought you only took her to her graduation? I didn’t realize you knew her that well.”

Chase blinked and quickly hunted around for a reasonable explanation. “Yes, um…that’s right. We did a lot of…talking…between dances.” Heat stole up his neck and he kept his gaze fixed firmly on the floor.

When his boss didn’t respond, he risked a glance upwards and then wished he hadn’t. Riley’s eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

“Are you sure you didn’t know her before that? I noticed the two of you seemed quite familiar with each other at the barbeque. More than what I’d expect from people who’d spent only a matter of hours together a decade ago.”

“Well, we’d been liaising over the Daniel Logan matter. It wasn’t like I hadn’t spoken to her since she arrived in town.”

The suspicion in Riley’s eyes barely lessened. His lips pursed. “It’s funny, you know. Kate told me last night that Josie asked about you. She wanted to know if you had any kids.”

Chase’s heart stuttered in surprise and he felt a momentary sense of elation.
She had asked about him.
Just as quickly, his heart plummeted, quieted and almost stopped. The fact that she still cared was exactly the reason he’d stuck his tongue down Lucy’s throat at The Bullet. He wasn’t what Josie needed. He had to accept it and move on. Riley’s voice intruded on his dark thoughts.

“Do you know why I think it’s funny?
You
asked me much the same thing a couple of months ago.” Riley closed the distance between them until he was mere feet away. “What’s going on with you two?”

Chase yearned to tell Riley the truth, but ten years ago, he’d made Josie a promise and even though he’d broken it when he’d told his mom, this was different. There was no longer any expectation of a happily ever after. It wasn’t his place to breach Josie’s trust with her brother. Besides, hadn’t he already convinced himself to let her go?

“Of course not. Like I said, we’re just friends, that’s all. Until that night at the station, we hadn’t seen each other since her high school graduation. We’ve spent a little time catching up, reminiscing—you know how it is—and of course, we’ve been communicating over the Logan case. The competency hearing’s on tomorrow.”

Riley’s stern expression relaxed marginally. “Just so you know, if you break her heart, you’ll have me and four other brothers to answer to, you got it? She doesn’t need to get caught up with a bloke like you. We both know you’re not into commitment. Josie deserves more than that and I’m going to make darn sure she gets it. Are we clear?”

Chase held Riley’s gaze and did his best to swallow his anger. There was no point antagonizing his boss over it. He and Josie were never going to work, no matter how much he wished things were different.

“Yes, sir. We’re clear,” he said, his voice steady and strong.

“Good,” Riley replied dismissively. “Now, I need coffee.”

* * *

Josie walked into the Watervale High School office and tried to quell the bundle of nerves that somersaulted inside her. Having completed her senior schooling in Grafton, she’d never stepped foot inside the grounds of Watervale High and although she’d been an exemplary student, being summoned to the principal’s office was always cause for disquiet, even a decade after she’d finished high school. Coupled with the reason for her visit, it was no wonder she was on edge.