Sacrifice (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 2) (11 page)

‘No. He’s just an idiot. Not worth bothering about. Claire and I spoke to him for a few minutes one night, and I guess he recognised her face. He must have confused her for someone who likes him.’

Claire looked up at Tom, and put her arm through his, leaning into his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry, Tom. I took Lili out for drinks one night after work, and we …,’ Claire was saying, but the music got louder suddenly so I never heard the rest of what she said.

Tom looked at her and his face melted. I could tell he’d do anything that Claire asked. Even if it meant leaving this guy alone when he was itching to take him outside and teach him a lesson.

I looked at Tom, and then leaned toward Sam and said, ‘Well, I’ve had enough if you have. I’d be just as happy bringing in the New Year in our own living room—just the four of us. What do you say?’

‘Sounds good to me,’ said Sam, looking at Tom.

Tom smiled then, and I knew the worst of his anger had passed. He took Claire’s hand, and the four of us left to walk the few blocks back to our house.

When we got home we made ourselves comfortable in the living room. My little Christmas tree was still set up, so I switched on the lights and it made the room look festive. I went into the kitchen and found the bottle of champagne that Crystal had given us on our wedding night, so I brought it out with four glasses. Only two were champagne glasses but I didn’t think the boys would mind using water glasses.

We put on the TV and watched fireworks displays from around the country. Tom and Claire were snuggled up next to each other on the sofa, while Sam sat in one of the big comfy lounge chairs with me curled up on his lap.

I struggled with emotions as I thought about my family; mostly about my father as I always did at this time of year. Then I thought about how much he would have liked Sam. And as much as I was missing Mom and Raye, I knew I was in the right place.

At midnight we drank a toast and wished everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Oh, and world peace too, of course.

~ Chapter Eleven ~

Mr Shaw was being held at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, affectionately referred to as ‘The MAP’. I’d agreed to accompany his lawyer, Mr Cameron, to meet with him.

The guards were polite but unsmiling as they led us to a room where we’d be allowed to speak with Mr Shaw. They instructed us to stay on the opposite side of the table at all times. They would remain nearby.

As I sat down on the hard plastic chair, I felt as though I was in a scene from a movie. I blinked a few times to get my mind to focus. Mr Shaw sat across from us. He didn’t look like a murderer, or at least, not what I expected a murderer would look like. I could sense no anger in him. But what I could sense was sadness—an overwhelming sadness. I was reminded of the first time I’d seen Sam, but Mr Shaw wasn’t a gorgeous twenty-four year old. He had greying hair and colourless eyes, and he looked sort of empty.

‘Thank you for coming, Ms McIntyre. Or would you prefer I call you Mrs Todd?’ he asked in a kind voice.

‘Lili will be fine.’

‘Thank you, Lili,’ he said, then followed it with a deep sigh. A furrow appeared between his brows. ‘I’ve read the notes that Cam took when you met with him in November. And the statement you gave to the police—about your vision.’

He was the only one other than Debs to say the word vision without that weird emphasis.

‘You believe me?’

‘Yes, of course. How else could you have found the gun?’

‘True,’ I replied slowly, nodding in agreement.

He paused, and I wondered if he knew more than he was letting on. ‘And so, in this vision, you saw my daughter. You saw Rachel. But you didn’t see the others?’

‘No. In fact, I didn’t know about the others until I saw the article in the paper.’

‘I see.’

‘Look, Mr Shaw, I’m really sorry. I mean, I had to call the police. You realise that, don’t you? I mean, you don’t blame me … do you?’

‘Blame you? No, I don’t blame you.’

It was my turn to sigh—from relief. I don’t know why I needed to know he didn’t blame me, but it seemed awfully important.

‘But I am curious about something. You said, in your statement, that you saw a man burying the gun under the tree. And that he was in the shade which is why you couldn’t make out his details. Is that right?’

That sick feeling started to return. He wanted more details. I didn’t know how to answer him.

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘Shade. You specifically said
shade
. Correct?’

‘Ya-ess,’ I said, nearly chocking on the word.

‘So, you saw Rachel very clearly. You described her perfectly, even down to the colour of her nail polish. But the man, he was in …
shade
.’

I felt like I was in a courtroom, being cross-examined. And I knew that when I spoke, my voice would falter again. But something told me I had to answer him.

‘Yes. I saw her clearly. But with the man, the vision wasn’t clear. He was in some sort of shadow.’

‘I see. Ms McIntyre, Lili, do you believe in ghosts?’

‘Ghosts?’ I asked, taking in a deep breath. I hadn’t expected him to ask this. And I doubt Mr Cameron did either, by the look on his face.

‘Yes, ghosts. It’s not a trick question. Do you believe in ghosts?’

‘Yeah, no, I mean, yes … I suppose so.’

‘Yes, of course you do. And so do I,’ he said, his face starting to show more life.

I looked deep into his eyes. Was he being truthful with me? It felt like he was. And then it hit me, and I felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Maybe he knew. Maybe he would believe me if I told him the real truth.

‘Richard, please, I don’t like where this is going,’ said Mr Cameron, speaking for the first time since we’d sat down.

‘It’s okay, Cam. I trust her. And I think she’ll believe what I have to say. You’ll want to listen carefully to this, old man.’

I looked at Mr Cameron, but he just shook his head and pursed his lips, raising his hands in defeat.

‘May I tell you what I think really happened, Lili?’

I just nodded.

‘I don’t know when, or where, or even how … but I think she came to you. Am I right?’

Again, I nodded—afraid to speak.

‘And I think she told you where to look for the gun. And maybe even that I had killed her. Am I close?’

‘Yes,’ I whispered.

‘I knew it,’ he said, his voice stronger and louder than it had been since we’d arrived. And there was suddenly a spark of life in his eyes.

‘I felt her there. I felt her, watching me as I buried that gun. But there was no shade, no shadows. It was three in the morning and the mist was so thick not even the streetlights could pierce it. There were no shadows that night, Lili. You couldn’t describe me because you didn’t see me. But you saw Rachel.’

I couldn’t look him in the eyes, so I looked down at my hands. They were shaking so I clasped them in my lap.

‘It’s okay, Lili. None of this is your fault. You did what you thought was right. She was always a very manipulative child, and it seems she still is.’

‘Richard, stop. Please, this isn’t helping anything,’ Mr Cameron said, shaking his head, but Mr Shaw interrupted him.

‘No, this is what happened, Cam. I know it now. And because Lili believes me, I can tell you both. I can tell you the whole story.’

~~***~~

I wanted to tell Sam everything—about the gun, about the girl and mostly, about Richard Shaw. But Sam wasn’t there when I got back to the house. I paced around the kitchen for a bit, trying to think of something to take my mind off it. I wasn’t working today, and the only thing I could think of to do was to book our flights to California.

I’d promised Mom we would come in early January, but I’d been struggling with the logistics of how we could manage. I’d worked some things out, like how we could hire a car when we arrived, and that would give us some independence. And how we’d explain that Sam was a fitness fanatic and that he’d have to take off at least every second day for a really long run up along Crystal Springs Reservoir. I knew there were deer and rabbits everywhere up there, so he’d have no trouble hunting. And being winter, hopefully there wouldn’t be that many people around. He could be up and out before the rest of us got up. He could throw a couple of slices of bread in the toaster and dirty a plate to make it look like he’d eaten. That part would be easy. But I struggled to come to terms with how we could spend two weeks with my mother and sister without going out to lunch or dinner. I knew Sam could eat a small amount of food if he had to, but not every day for two weeks.

I rang Debs to see if she’d mind if I came over to use her computer, but when there was no answer I decided to go around to Crystal’s for a coffee. I no longer had the spare keys to Debs’ apartment, and besides, it might be good to get Crystal’s views on this planned trip to see my family. If she agreed with my logic, I could use Michael’s computer to book our flights.

‘Just exactly when were you planning to take this trip? Hopefully not for a couple of months, right?’ asked Crystal.

‘Well, actually we were thinking we’d go soon. I’d said early January, and Mom’s pretty keen to meet Sam.’

‘Hmmm … I guess you haven’t worked it out yet, Lili, but you’re pregnant again. I don’t think you’ll be going over to visit your family for a little while, not unless you’d like to have your next baby there at your mother’s house?’

‘Again? No … I mean, I wouldn’t have thought I could be … again, so soon?’

It hadn’t even occurred to me that we needed to be careful. I didn’t think you could get pregnant so soon after having a baby.

‘Yes, it is rather soon. It’s not common, but not unheard of either,’ she replied, smiling.

‘What am I going to tell Mom? She’s expecting us within a week or so.’

‘You’ll think of something. You’ll have to.’

‘But I feel great,’ I said, still struggling to believe her. ‘Then again, I suppose I felt great the whole time I was pregnant before.’

‘Well, my dear friend, I think we’ve found your calling,’ Crystal laughed. ‘You’re the best little dhampir producer I’ve ever heard of. Michael and Mladen will both be very proud of you.’

And Sam was proud too. I told him later that afternoon, and he beamed with pride. I was excited too, as it would give us a chance to see little Benjamin when we went back to Mladen’s. By then, Benjamin would be just a bit over three months old, and that would make him nearly like a two year old in human terms. So the only issue was making an excuse to Mom.

~~***~~

It wasn’t until the next morning that Sam asked me about the visit with Richard Shaw. We were still in bed, and he was behind me, rubbing my shoulders. His cool breath blew onto the back of my neck as he spoke.

‘So, how was the meeting with that lawyer? Why did he want to see you?’

‘Oh, it was good, and I felt … I don’t know, sort of comfortable in his presence, not scared or anything.’

‘That’s good. But, what did he want?’

‘He wanted to know more about my
vision
. Only he didn’t say it like that. I could tell he believed me.’

‘You think? And so, what did you say?’

‘I didn’t have to say much. He guessed. He picked a flaw in my story. Then he said that Rachel had been manipulative all her life, and that he figured she still was. And he said he’d felt her watching him while he buried the gun. He knew that was how I worked out where to dig.’

Sam stopped rubbing my shoulders, but left his hands where they were. When he spoke again, he sounded unconvinced. ‘So, he believes in ghosts, does he? That’s interesting.’

‘Yes. And then he told me that he didn’t do it.’

He rolled me over, and now that I faced him, I could see the sarcastic smile on his face.

‘None of them have done it, Lili. You know that’s what they all say.’

‘No, it wasn’t like that. I believe him. And he wants me to help him, so I’m going to.’

‘Help him? Don’t you think you’ve helped that family enough?’ He looked like he was about to laugh as he said this, but he controlled himself at the last minute.

‘No, unfortunately, I haven’t helped at all as it turns out.’

‘Lili, my love, the last thing we need is to have the police looking closely at us. I think it would be best for everyone if you just stayed away from him. He’s an adult. He’s made his bed, let him lie in it.’ He reached over and stroked my cheek, and the look on his face suggested that he thought the subject was closed. But I had no intention of dropping it.

‘No, it’s not like that. He didn’t kill them. She did.’

‘She? Who, his daughter?’

‘Yes. He says she killed her mother and sister, and then turned the gun on herself. They were all dead when he got home.’

He frowned, and took a deep breath. ‘Lili, seriously, that’s not what happened. She was a child—she wouldn’t have shot her own mother. Besides, the police would have investigated. They wouldn’t have charged him if there wasn’t evidence. He’s in jail, and that’s that. I think it’s best if you just stay out of this from now on.’

‘They didn’t charge him. Not at first. There was no gunshot residue on him—they checked, you know, for forensic evidence and all that. He said they checked everything. And he was questioned at great length. But they let him go as there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him. Not until I found that gun—with his fingerprints all over it—the gun that she had me dig up.’

‘But if he didn’t do it, why were his fingerprints all over the gun, eh? And why did he bury it? He’s admitted to that already, hasn’t he?’

‘Yes, he has. There’s no use pretending he didn’t bury it. But he’s never admitted to killing them. He just wouldn’t say who did—not until now.’

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t think he’s telling you the truth. He buried the gun to hide the evidence. If he didn’t kill them, why hide it?’

‘Because he panicked.’

‘And what makes you so sure he’s telling you the truth?’

‘I’m not sure. I mean, of course there is no way I can know for sure. But it just felt like the truth—he seems so honest. There’s that, and also … there’s the way she looked at me, after the police left. She was wicked, Sam.’

‘She’d been murdered. I think that would be enough to make anyone seem a bit wicked, don’t you?’

‘No. It was more than that. Anyway, he’s asked me to help him. What if he is innocent? I have to try, don’t I? If it turns out he’s lying to me, and he isn’t innocent after all, then the most that will happen is that I’ll waste a bit of time.’

Sam shook his head, but I could see that he was coming around. He believed in justice, and I knew he wouldn’t want someone to be punished for a crime they didn’t commit.

‘So,’ he finally said, ‘what does he want you to do?’

~~***~~

I sat cross-legged on the ground, next to the tree where I’d found the gun, and tried to clear my mind of all thoughts. It was hard—but I remembered what I had done the first time I met Elizabeth. I had simply thought about waves rolling in at the beach, and nothing else. I tried it again, and when my mind was as clear and relaxed as I could get it, I thought about Rachel, and how innocent she’d looked that first time I’d seen her wandering around in the gardens.

When I opened my eyes, she was standing in front of me. Without even looking up I knew it was her by the red painted toenails and oversized sandals.

‘Hello, Lili. I didn’t think I’d see you here again,’ she said. Her voice was sweet; like it was when I first met her.

‘Hello, Rachel. No, I must admit I didn’t expect to come looking for you again. But I’m awfully glad you’re still here.’

‘Yes, I’m going to hang around until the trial. I want to know what happens to my father. But what are you doing here? You looked quite strange sitting here, under this particular tree. Were you looking for me?’

‘Yes. Something’s happened. Something I need to tell you about.’

She titled her head, and looked at me with something between suspicion and curiosity. After a few moments the suspicion faded. ‘What?’

It worked. I had her. My fears that she might have learned to read my thoughts, the way Elizabeth and Henry could, had been unwarranted. She still seemed only able to hear what I said out loud.