Blood Tears (16 page)

“
What
an old windbag,” the Sarge exclaimed when we escaped back to the
patrol car.

I entertained him on
the drive to the approximate spot Dave’s ute had been abandoned by
telling him about Grimmell’s lecherous advances to me as a teenager
working part-time in his supermarket.

“
Dirty old pervert,” judged the Sarge in distaste.

“
Now
he acts as though I’m a complete stranger to him. Just one of the
town’s cops that he’s on passing acquaintance with,” I
laughed.

“
He’s
probably afraid if he pretends to recognise you, you’ll remember
everything he did and go for his dangly bits with your
knife.”

“
I
hope so. That would make me happy,” I said with quiet
satisfaction.

We spent the rest of a
fruitless afternoon searching through the bushes near the abandoned
ute site for any sign of the missing girl, or any site that looked
as if it had been used as a camp. Scratched, hot and bothered, and
ultimately unsuccessful, the Sarge suggested we ask around the
neighbouring properties again.

“
No
way!” I declined firmly. “They’ll tear us apart if we ask them one
more question. I have no doubt that if anyone discovers something,
they’ll report it to us as soon as possible.”

And with the sunset
colouring the sky to a beautiful pink, we decided to call it a day.
As we parted ways, he offered to drive me to and from dinner
tonight so that I could have a few drinks. I tossed it over in my
mind, but on remembering the sheer luxury of his sporty little car,
I couldn’t refuse. It had been a while since I’d been treated to a
spin in it.

I decided I had enough
time for a bath before he came to collect me, and lay ensconced in
scented bubbles, my feet propped up on the bath ledge. I thought
about what the Super had said to me earlier in the day – it was
time for me to move on.

Was I ready to move
on?

Fiona had always been
supportive of me, so why should I doubt that what she’d done had
been done in my best interest?

The Sarge had kept his
promise to return to Little Town, so why should I stay angry with
him, and keep blaming him for something he had no ultimate control
over? He’d taken on board what the Super had said to him about how
I’d felt abandoned and had apologised sincerely for that. Shouldn’t
I be prepared to do the same in return for him?

Baz had given me a pass
mark, and he’d had to wrangle enough bad apple cops to be able to
pick one worth redeeming over one who wasn’t. He’d thought my
career was worth saving, and didn’t that mean something?

Mocking myself for
being so over-philosophical, I decided as I towelled off, listening
to the water gurgling down the drain, I’d just take one day at a
time from now on.

And I thought that was
all anyone should expect of me.

*****

Dinner was nice. I
hadn’t gone to excessive trouble to dress up, but both the Sarge
and Baz were kind enough to compliment me on my appearance, which
gave me a warm buzz I hadn’t felt for a while.

“
Geez, Tezza. You look like a different woman all prettied up
like that and almost smiling.” He rolled his eyes in the Sarge’s
direction. “I see it makes a difference who’s around.”

I scowled at him, not
amused by his attempt at humour.

“
Now,
Baz,” the Sarge admonished. “Don’t go spoiling her sunshine by
bringing me into it. She still hasn’t even welcomed me back yet.
She’s just excited by the prospect of having a never-ending supply
of Tim Tams again.”

“
That
is true, actually,” I said, studying the menu. I was starving, and
as he was paying, I wasn’t going to hold back.

“
You
spoil her,” Baz scolded with a hearty laugh.

“
Yeah, but you can see why I do. It makes such a difference to
her attitude.”

“
You’re telling me. She was Miss Vinegar Tits the whole time I
was with her.”

I looked over the top
of my menu at him. “That’s Senior Constable Vinegar Tits to you,
thank you very much.” I shifted my eyes to the Sarge. “And I’d
appreciate it if you two would stop talking about me. Especially
when I’m sitting right here in front of you.”

Romi almost tripped
over herself rushing down the stairs. She hung around, not quite
daring to approach, until Abe, taking our orders personally, shooed
her back upstairs to do her homework. I smiled up at him, and
reeled off my huge order. The three men stared at me.

“
What? I’m hungry,” I said, slightly defensive.

“
Apart from the fact that she’s always hungry, she does need
some fattening up,” said the Sarge with a smile. “She’s much
thinner than when I left.”

“
That’s what I thought when I first laid eyes on her – nothing
but a bag of bones,” agreed Baz, comfortably patting his expansive
girth. “I like a woman with a bit of meat on her.”

“
You
want some bread with your order too, Tessie?” asked Abe with a
smirk.

“
You
men are just plain rude.” I glanced up at Abe again with defiance.
“Yeah, why not? Bring out two serves of bread while you’re at
it.”

Much later, I pushed
away my dessert plate, absolutely stuffed to the gills.

“
Unbelievable,” commented Baz in awe, watching me.

“
Not
to mention rather frightening,” agreed the Sarge.

“
I
never thought she be able to do it. I’m not sure whether to be
shocked or impressed.”

“
It
was like watching a boa constrictor consuming its prey. I think she
has a detachable jaw.”

“
I’m
pretty sure she didn’t chew anything. It went straight
down.”

“
I’m
convinced she inhaled all three courses.”

“
Shut
up, you two,” I complained, glad I’d worn a dress and not a pair of
jeans, because I’d be busting out of them by now. “Just because I’m
a woman doesn’t mean I have to eat nothing but lettuce
leafs.”

“
You’ve well and truly proven that point tonight,” said the
Sarge. Then with a sly smile, he asked, “Do you want anything else
before I ask for the bill?”

“
Very
funny. I’m going to the ladies, so I’d appreciate it if you have
any further smartarse comments about me, you make them in my
absence.” And I stalked off, leaving them chuckling behind
me.

While I peered in the
mirror, freshening up my make up, my phone rang. I inwardly groaned
when I saw my caller.

“
Hi,
Jakey.”

“
You’re having dinner with him? The second he gets back into
town? Really, Tess?”

I lost my temper
straight away. “It’s Baz’s last night, so it’s a goodbye dinner.
It’s not as if I’m dining alone with the Sarge.”

“
I
don’t like it. I don’t like him.”

“
You
tell me exactly what you think I’m doing wrong, Jacob Bycraft. I’m
not cheating on you. I’m not flirting with anyone. I’m just having
dinner with two colleagues in a room full of other people.” I was
on a roll and I didn’t plan on stopping now. “And please, do tell
me who you’ve recruited as your new spy to replace
Denny.”

I’ll admit that was
below-the-belt, so I wasn’t terribly surprised when he hung up on
me.

I tracked the two men
down to the lounge bar where they’d moved from the bistro.

Clocking my cranky
face, the Sarge asked, “Everything okay?”

“
Yep,
everything’s just dandy,” I replied through clenched
teeth.

“
Drink?” he enquired.

“
Yes,
please. And make it a big one.”

We spent another
half-hour just chatting idly in the lounge bar before we all called
it a night, none of us having slept particularly well the night
before.

To my surprise, Baz
gave me a big bear hug goodbye, nearly crushing my ribs in the
process.

“
You
stay strong, Tezza. You hear me?”

“
Thanks for giving me the all-clear, Baz. I really appreciate
that.”

“
Look, love, I think that if some of the brass could spend a
couple of days in your shoes, they’d get their heads out of their
arses, and actually thank you for remaining a cop. You’re an asset
to the force.” He considered. “Though perhaps one that needs more
corralling than most.”

I laughed. “You had to
go and spoil it, didn’t you?”

He patted my shoulder,
and leaned in to whisper, “I still reckon you’ve got a nice arse on
you.”

“
Baz!
”

He waved casually,
laughing as he walked away upstairs to his room.

Chapter
11

My tummy bulging with
good food, and with a couple of glasses of wine under my belt, I
was almost asleep when the Sarge drove me home. He didn’t linger,
probably thinking longingly of his own bed.

The next morning, after
tending to my chickens and taking a few minutes to enjoy watching
them jostling for their food, I dressed for jogging. To my
surprise, both Romi and the Sarge waited at my front gate for me.
Romi stared up at him with unadulterated admiration, even though
she’d been slowly developing a relationship over the last few
months with a local boy, Deepak.

We set off together,
but my culinary excesses the previous night left me slow and
sluggish. I struggled to keep up with them, and eventually lagged
behind the others.

Back at my place, they
waited as I slowly jogged up, my stomach churning unpleasantly.

“
Are
you all right, Tessie?” asked Romi, her face furrowed with concern.
“You’re really off your pace this morning. Are you coming down with
something?”

“
She
came down with an extreme case of gluttony last night,” laughed the
Sarge. “She’s paying for it now though.”

“
Don’t be mean,” I moaned. “I don’t feel very well. I don’t
think I’ll ever eat again. You guys can make your own breakfast. I
need to lie down.”

I left them to their
own devices and lay on my bed for ten minutes, feeling sorry for
myself. When my stomach finally settled, I joined them in the
kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out the milk, rummaging in
the pantry for a box of cereal.

“
I
thought you were never eating again,” laughed the Sarge.

“
I
haven’t eaten since last night. That’s practically never,” I said,
pouring a big bowl of bran flakes.

I didn’t really like
them, but uncharacteristically, had been virtually brainwashed into
buying them by the oversaturation of a cheesy TV ad with a pretty
young woman singing an irritating jingle. She didn’t have a great
singing voice, and I cringed every time I heard it. But the jingle
was an earworm, and I’d found myself humming it more than once as I
went about my day. Unfortunately, one of those times had been while
I was in Big Town doing the grocery shopping.

Dad rolled into the
kitchen, and I waggled the box at him.

“
Bran
flakes, Dad?”

He groaned, and pulled
a face. “I hate those things. They’re almost inedible. The
cardboard box they’re in would taste better. Why did you have to
buy the jumbo pack, love?”

“
I
dunno. I had that stupid jingle stuck in my head, and they were on
special.”

“
I
don’t want to waste food, so I suppose we’ll have to finish them,
but promise me to never buy them again.”

“
That’s a promise I’m happy to make.”

“
I
don’t mind them,” said the Sarge. “They’re very
healthy.”

“
That’s probably why they taste so awful,” I grumped, flopping
on to a chair next to him. “Trust you to like them. You’re probably
the only person in the whole country who does. You’re probably
hanging out for tuna-flavoured ones.”

I commenced shovelling
flakes into my mouth, figuring if I ate it fast, I wouldn’t taste
it as much. Dad and the Sarge exchanged a glance.

“
She
hasn’t changed much since I left,” the Sarge noted.

“
She
got crankier,” Dad smiled.

“
I
did not,” I denied, my mouth full of food. “Everyone else just got
happier.”

“
Hard
to dispute that kind of logic,” said the Sarge dryly, taking his
dishes to the sink to wash up. “Okay, I’m off. I’ll see you at the
station soon, Tessie.”

“
Yeah, yeah.”

“
Romi, do you need a lift home?” he asked nicely.

“
Thanks, Finn. But I have my bike,” she replied, clearly
crushed by having to turn him down.

“
Let’s see if we can fit it in my boot. I’m sure we did it
once before.”

Her eyes lit up at that
offer, and for the first time ever, she scooted after him without
clearing her dishes or saying goodbye to Dad and me.

“
Hmm,” I said, watching them leave. “I think she’s forgotten
about Deepak.”

“
Don’t worry about her. I’m sure Finn will find a new
girlfriend soon now that he’s single again.”

I shot him a look. “How
do you know about that? I didn’t tell you.”

“
It’s
a small town, love.
Everybody
knows.”

“
I
wonder if Gretel knows,” I pondered.

I found out the answer
to that as soon as I walked into the station. Gretel was draped
over the counter, propping up her head with one palm, flirting
outrageously with a bemused Sarge.