'Vomit.'
'Huh?'
'Here,' he said, pointing to a shrub behind the folded-out doors. 'Someone was sick.'
On the ground, in the bushes, someone had thrown up.
'Could have been one of us,' she said.
'Could have been one of them,' he countered. 'Saw what his buddy did and couldn't take it.'
He watched while Jill photographed the area, and moved the bushes aside for her.
'And that would make it all very interesting.'
He sounded delighted.
7
'I'D PREFER THE movies to the counsellor,' said Joss, falling back on the bed against the pillows. He watched the top of the tree moving outside their window.
'You're bloody hopeless!' said Isobel, dropping down next to him. 'What if I want to go?'
'Do you?'
'I don't know,' she answered. 'But you made me take a day off work for nothing.'
'Well, not for nothing,' he said, wiping drops of water from her bare shoulder, missed when she'd towelled off after their shower.
'But Joss,' she said, pulling away a little and looking him in the eye, 'your nightmares have been worse than ever since the robbery.'
'Haven't you been dreaming about it?'
'Yeah. A few times. I dreamed last night that they broke in here, and we were running, and we couldn't find Charlie.' She paused, pain in her eyes. 'And then there was Andy being cut again, except then it was me getting cut, and you were holding the knife.' She shook her head.
'Shit. Sounds like mine,' he lied. 'Maybe we should go to the counsellor.'
'Would you say anything this time?'
'I think you need it more than me. Talking about shit with a stranger has never helped me. I'll wait outside.'
'It was just so horrible, Joss.'
'I know.' Thwack. Aaarrgh! The sound was on loop tape. 'Do you think we should use today to go out to the hospital to see Andy?' Please say no, he thought, hating himself for feeling that way. He wasn't sure that he could handle seeing Isobel's boss again just yet.
'I thought I told you. Sorry,' said Isobel. 'I called Lucy last night. The doctors are allowing immediate family only. He's still unconscious.'
'Poor bastard.'
Isobel sighed, ran her fingertips lightly over his blackened cheek; the bruise was still spreading. 'Anything good on at the movies?'
'I don't know. Let's go find out.'
She stayed where she was; watched the ceiling fan cycling slowly.
'Work organised a collection for Andy and Lucy,' she said. 'We're gonna try to get ramps built so he can wheel in and out of his house.'
'Sounds good.' Thwack, Aaarrgh. 'Let's get out of here.'
The movie had been a bad idea. He hadn't been able to get a seat in the last row, and that left his back exposed. Joss rubbed at his neck: his shoulders ached from the tension of straining to hear everything behind him. It had been a while since he'd had to sit with his back to the wall.
And now there's this freaking crowd, he thought, trying to surf to the front of the wave that had spilled out of the theatre when the movie ended. Isobel half-jogged along beside him, aware of his need to get out.
'Joss, we've got to pay for parking before we go to the car.' She squeezed his hand.
'Where?' All he could see were the exit doors.
'Just back in the shopping centre a bit. Near the lifts,' she said. 'You want me to go?'
Yes. 'Nah, I'm coming.'
He followed her through the cinema foyer to an alcove between the shops and another parking station. The area was quiet and bare, brightly lit and airless, discouraging people from loitering. An elevator whisked customers to the glamour of the shops below, minimising the time they were away from spending.
Isobel had her purse out, facing the machine, figuring out how to insert the ticket, when Joss, reading the instructions over her shoulder, felt movement behind him and spun on the spot.
The fact that time had slowed to half-speed left him convinced for a moment that this was just another nightmare. But even his worst nightmares did not inject this much adrenalin into his gut. He nearly evacuated his bowels. He backed hard into Isobel, jamming her against the ticket machine. Safe. Between him and the wall.
In front of him stood Henry Nguyen. Cutter.
'Hey!' said Isobel, at the same time that Cutter said, 'Hey. Don't I know you?'
Joss scanned the ground, searching for a bottle to smash. Nothing. No litter, nothing he could use as a weapon. A Coke machine in the corner. The bottles would be plastic anyway. Fuck. He opened his arms, protecting Isobel, ready to fly forward and tear this guy's face off.
'Joss. Aren't you Joss? We used to go to school together.'
'Joss, what's wrong?' Isobel sounded unsure.
'Henry. Henry Nguyen. Remember me?' He was holding out his hand.
Isobel was trying to get out from behind him.
'I saw you back in the cinema,' Cutter continued. 'I can't believe I recognised you. How long since we've seen each other, man?'
The question hung in the air.
'I think we were thirteen or fourteen. Shit. It's been forever,' Cutter continued.
He'd dropped his hand, but hadn't moved forward. Joss saw Cutter's mouth moving, but the words were faint, muffled by the pulse in his ears.
Ready. I'm ready, motherfucker, he told Cutter with his eyes.
Cutter was laughing. Isobel was really struggling now.
'Joss, let me out!'
'You're squashing your wife, man,' said Cutter. 'I mean, is this your wife?'
'I. Don't. Know. You.' Joss's voice was quiet. His eyes never left the other man's.
Isobel stopped struggling. Went small behind his back. Knew, when she heard his voice: danger.
'Yeah, whatever man,' Cutter laughed again, only with his mouth, his eyes stayed dead. He flicked long black hair off his shoulders, exposing the gaol tats on his neck.
'Good to see you anyway, Joss. Maybe you'll remember me later. And we can catch up. I'm sure you'll be able to find me if you come around the old neighbourhood. Or I can find you. Think about it. It would be good to see you again.'
With a sideways step, Cutter was gone.
A polished circular table had been moved into the library. When Jill and Gabriel arrived, Superintendent Last was seated with his back to the door. Next to him, his uniformed driver stabbed with two fingers at keys on a laptop. David Tran had the dragon seat, facing the door. Derek Reid slouched in a deep armchair that had been pushed against the wall to make room for the table.
'Did ya get lost?' Reid asked, arms folded across his huge chest, a suggestive smile on his face. 'Big house. Lots of rooms.'
Three empty chairs waited at the table. Jill took the seat that showed Reid her back.
'Jill. Gabriel.' Superintendent Last acknowledged them. 'Colin here is noting our impressions before we leave the site.' He pointed his chin at the officer with the laptop. 'David's just begun making his comments,' he continued. 'Help yourself to some coffee.'
Jill took a bottle of water from the centre of the table instead. She sipped as she listened to Tran talking about his impressions of the site.
'I couldn't help but notice,' David Tran spoke respectfully, with a faint Vietnamese accent, 'how many items of value the group left behind. I think that is what struck me the most while here.' He sat straight in his seat, and looked at each of them as he spoke. 'If we assume that the whole gang was here last night, then they had four men to carry away stolen property. I was expecting to find the house more… disturbed. I did not expect to find a laptop computer. It was in plain sight in the daughter's bedroom. Also in her room was a box containing some gold jewellery. In the master bedroom, I found an expensive watch, and a mobile phone. These are items that could easily have been taken by the group.'