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Avery Francis glanced across the breakfast table at her mother who looked pale as she read the small article on an inside page of The New Zealand Herald.
"It's okay, Mum," she said. "He will never find us here in Auckland and even if he did, it wouldn't be in his interest to seek us out and risk being recalled to prison." She was only half convinced at her statement and, in fact felt as scared as Natalie Francis.
"They gave him nine years for violent assault against me and committing sexual conduct with dependent family members against you and now he is out after only five years." Natalie slapped the newspaper down. "Where is the justice in that?"
"We knew he would come out of jail, Mum. It's just a little sooner than we anticipated."
Avery's mind slipped back a dozen years to when she was twelve. Her mother had been living with her partner Elliot Jones a year by this time and at first it had seemed to be a pleasant situation. Avery hardly remembered her father for he had left when she was only five and for most of her childhood her mother was a solo parent who cared for her and worked as a secretary in the small town of Levin, ninety kilometres north of Wellington, New Zealand's capital.
Elliot was an accountant with his own firm and was well regarded throughout the business community. After only a couple of months, Natalie and herself had shifted into his large home in the small upmarket part of town and she had moved to a new school. All had gone well from her point of view as a child; she was well provided for, was bought new clothes and nice presents and had soon made new friends.
On hindsight though, she realised that Mum had hidden the truth from her and explained away the occasional bruised arms or face as small accidents. The loud arguments often held at night when she should have been asleep were not so easy to explain. Avery was in Year 7 at the local intermediate school when Elliot began to look at her in an embarrassing way. This became worse and she shuddered at the memories of molesting that became so serious that she refused to go home unless her mother was there. Natalie protected her as much as possible but she only found out later that her mother was being bullied and controlled by the man now regarded in the family as her stepfather.
It came to a climax when his molesting turned into rape on a regular basis. It was planned too for he always wore a condom and threatened to kill her mother if she ever breathed a word to anybody about what was happening. She believed him and became withdrawn and stubborn, half blaming her mother for the indignities she had to endure on a regular basis. Again it was only later that she realised that her mother was also being raped more often than herself. Everything came to a climax after her high school teacher noticed that she had become withdrawn and the school principal contacted authorities who provided professional help for her.
The arrest and trial of Elliot Jones almost a year later brought all the terrible circumstances back as the man hired a top notch lawyer who almost succeeded in insinuating that she was sexually promiscuous and had lied to her mother and himself about her behaviour. Even in the courtroom she had been too afraid and ashamed to admit that Jones had raped her regularly so everything ended up with mainly circumstantial evidence and the jury had to decide whom to believe. Avery was sure that her teachers from both the intermediate and high school helped to counteract Jones's witnesses who stated that he was a well respected accounted with an unblemished personal record. The deciding factor though was probably their family doctor who had presented almost overwhelming evidence about physical and emotional abuse they had both suffered. After several agonising hours the jury had found him guilty of all charges.
The following year they shifted up to Auckland to live with her grandmother and her mother won a position as a secretary at a small North Shore law firm. On her grandmother's death three years ago, her mother had inherited the family home where they still lived. Avery had the year before graduated from Auckland University's Faculty of Education with a BA and BEd. She considered herself lucky to win one of the four one year's appointment as a first year teacher at Joseph Ward Junior High School against it was rumoured, over eighty candidates.
"Just be careful, Dear," Natalie said. "Ignore any strange text messages or mobile phone calls."
*
Avery smiled to herself as she drove a zigzag route to Joseph Ward to avoid the bumper-to-bumper traffic the city was notorious for. Though she was now twenty-two, at times Mum still treated her as if she was still sixteen. Oh she loved her and they had supported and depended on each other over the last decade. She guessed that neither of them had really succeeded in placing the past behind them for her mother had never entered another relationship and as for herself... she sighed. Deep down she knew it was silly but she never really trusted males and had only fleeting liaisons throughout her university years.
She found Joseph Ward a supportive and friendly school. The new principal Karla Spicer was well liked by everyone except some of the older traditional staff. Felicja Kraczko was the assistant principal in charge of Shearwater, her syndicate and was also her tutor teacher. They had become firm friends. In New Zealand schools, first year teachers were allowed release time every week to observe other class teachers in action, attend practical courses, visit other schools and to prepare or evaluate work. As well, every first year teacher was assigned a tutor teacher who would help him or her get established in their new profession.
Shearwater was as large as many contributing schools that taught Year 1 to 6 children in the city, with over two hundred and fifty students, seven composite Year 7 and 8 classes, one being her own and eight Year 9 or 10 home classes. Their syndicate was the newest in the school, having only been established a year before to cater for the full four-year junior high. The school had built up to its existing size after beginning with just Year 7s when it first opened and adding the next four levels until the foundation students became Year 10s. These students now attended Joseph Ward Senior High School a few blocks away.
*
Room 241 was on Floor 2 of Shearwater Block and close to a stairwell that led down to Floor 1 and the rest of the school. This was Avery's room where she taught twenty-three Year 7 and 8 students. At quarter to four the building was almost empty with most teachers having left early on a Friday and even the cleaner had been through to vacuum the carpet.
Avery had stayed at school because she wanted to pin up her student's latest project work. She was proud of their efforts and collage work that reflected the integrated studies theme of People Who Make a Difference. She climbed down from the stepladder and stood back to study the wall chart. Damn, it wasn't straight. She shrugged, moved the ladder across, hoisted one end up a couple of centimetres at and re-pinned it.
Good, this time it looked fine! She only had to deliver a pile of folders to Felicja's office just down the adjacent stairs and drive to the local mall where she had arranged to meet her mother for a coffee. With the folders in her arms, she headed out the classroom door and towards the stairs. A slight cough made her turn.
The sight of the man standing there grinning made her blood chill. It was Elliot Jones!
"Oh my God!" she gasped and shrunk back as dark memories filled her mind.
"Oh you weren't hard to trace, Avery. The cleaning lady was even kind enough to tell me that you were still in your room. Said she was speaking to you mere minutes ago."
Thoughts rushed through Avery's mind. There was a panic button under the teacher's desktop but it was several metres away. She was holding the files with both hands and had no free one to reach for the mobile phone in her jeans' pocket.
"Just leave, Elliot," she hissed.
His grin turned to a sneer. "Five bloody years in jail and my career in ruins because of your slut of a mother and yourself," he whispered. "The time has come for you to realise that nobody crosses me and gets away with it."
A knife appeared in his hand, one of those long sharp ones liked by criminals and gangs.
Avery thoughts raced. It was hopeless trying to talk to the man; she had seen this dark expression many times when she was a teenager. Every time it resulted in her being thrashed or raped for yet another time. And this usually happened on a Friday!
"Just settle, Elliot." She was shaking and realised he knew she was terrified. The sadistic brute liked to watch her cringe before he attacked. Perhaps this could give her just those few seconds. The stairs were only half a dozen metres away; she was fit and could outrun him to find help.
He hesitated and studied her. "You're not a dirty little girl, now are you? Nice figure and..."
Avery charged forward, knocked him sideways with the pile of files, ducked left, attempted to avoid the stabbing knife and like a crouched rugby player, headed for the stairs.
"Cow!" he screamed.
She almost made it!
A sharp pain cut through her side and she felt herself propelled forward. An attempt to remain upright failed and her blurred vision was that of the stairs leading down before her. She toppled forward, lost her footing and dropped the files. They went everywhere as she crashed down with legs and arms sprawled out and landed on her stomach. Her head hit a stair and she blacked out.
*
Karla always carried two mobile phones with her. She frowned for it was the school one that rang, as she was about to climb into her car and head out to pick up Alexia at the crèche. Ryan did this every other day but she enjoyed doing it on Friday when she left school earlier than the rest of the week. She glanced at the screen icon. The call was coming in from the school in-house emergency number available to all staff and students.
"Good afternoon. Karla Spicer speaking."
A girl's sobbing voice screamed in her ear "It's Ms Francis. She's lying on the stairs with a knife in her back." The hysterical words continued but became indecipherable.
"Slow down, young lady," Karla's own heart raced but she forced herself to be calm. "What is your name?"
"Leah Weller. I came back to school to get my mobile that I left behind and found her." She began sobbing again.
"Where are you?"
"The east stairs of Shearwater Block. That's where she's lying"
"Right. You've done very well. Don't try to move her. I'm only two minutes away. Just wait for me, Leah."
Karla cut through the administration block and ran across the courtyard to where a white-faced senior girl waited at the door.
"Leah?" she asked.
The girl nodded and led her along the corridor. There, lying on the stairs was Avery Francis, face down with a knife buried half way between her left arm and waist. A line of blood ran down her blouse and dripped onto a lower stair. Folders and sheets of paper were scattered everywhere further up the stairwell. Karla rushed up and felt for a pulse. There was one!
"She's still alive, " she said to Leah who had crouched beside her.
The girl looked up nervously. "I thought..."
Karla nodded, punched in the emergency number on her mobile and gave precise details about Avery and where to find them. Next she flicked over to the staff list and punched in another number.
"Felicja, this is Karla speaking. Are you near to the school?"
"Still here actually, printing off some papers. Is something wrong?"
"Yes..."
Within minutes Felicia appeared and stared at the scene. "Oh my God! Who did this?"
"I thought you might have an idea."
"Avery never says much about her personal life but I know she still lives with her mother, Natalie." The assistant principal frowned. "Wait a minute; yesterday she mentioned something about a step-father who was recently released from jail and she feared for her mother’s wellbeing."
"Why?"
"Sorry, I've no idea. She didn't say any more and I didn't like to push it."
Karla nodded. "Can you escort Leah home? She found Avery and..."
"I'll be okay," Leah protested but obviously wasn't.
"Come on, Leah," Felicja said in a kind voice. "Will there be anyone at home?"
"My mum, brother and sister. They're younger than me."
"Good. Let's get you home. You've had a terrible experience."
"Can I wait until the ambulance crew arrive?"
"Of course," Karla replied. "They shouldn't be long."
A moan interrupted them, Karla turned and saw Avery's head turn and her eyes flutter. They suddenly shot wide open and she attempted to get on her knees, failed and would have crashed back down if Karla hadn't reached across to grab her.
"It's okay, Avery. It's Karla and Felicja is here too. You fell down the stairs..."
Avery's eyes were terrified. "Mum. I need to call Mum. He's mad I tell you and will stop at nothing. She's in serious danger. I..." Her eyes sort of rolled and she collapsed back, unconscious.
"I've met Natalie," Felicja said. "Works for a local law firm but I'm not sure which one."
"Right, I'll call her." Karla thought for a second and reached across Avery. Yes, in her jeans was a mobile phone. Karla searched the addresses and found the number needed.
"Hello Dear, " said a female voice. "I'm at the mall but if you're running late..."
"I'm sorry but it is not Avery calling. This is Karla Spicer, Joseph Ward's principal speaking. I'm using her mobile to call you. Am I speaking to Natalie?"
"Yes." The tone in the voice became serious.
"There's been an emergency and..." Karla downplayed her description of the scene before her and omitted mentioning the knife in Avery's side. "She woke up for a few seconds and was worried about you being in danger."
"My ex-partner," Natalie gasped. "He abused her as a teenager and has just been released from jail. He's a dangerous man. Has anything else happened?"
"She has been stabbed in the side," Karla admitted. "The ambulance is on its way."
"I'll come straight over!"
"There will be heavy traffic. Perhaps you should go to North Shore Hospital and meet her at the emergency department there. We will look after her until the ambulance arrives."
"Thank you, I'll do that." Natalie's voice had turned to a desperate sob as she rung off.
"I hear sirens," Leah interrupted.
Felicja jumped to her feet. "I'll get them," she said and disappeared down the corridor.
"Thank you again for calling the school emergency number," Karla said to Leah. "That was quick thinking."
Leah smiled slightly. "Never thought I'd be one of the first to use it. The boys chuckled when you told us about it and reckoned only geeks would use it. They were wrong though, weren't they?"
"They were," Karla whispered and squeezed Leah affectionately on the arm.
*
Four police and two ambulance officers arrived. Within minutes the medics had examined Avery and given her oxygen. As she was lifted onto a stretcher, her eyes opened and she smiled faintly at Karla.
"I called your mother," Karla said. "She'll be at the hospital when you arrive."
Avery turned and focused on Leah. "I remember seeing you arrive, Leah. Thank you for your help."
"No problem," the girl whispered. "As long as you're okay. All the kids love being in your class."
"I'll be fine." Avery reached out and squeezed her hand before she closed her eyes again and the medics carried her away.
After a couple of quick questions one of the police officers called up to report on the possibility of Elliot Jones being in the vicinity.
"We know about him," a sergeant said. "If he's around we'll find him."
"Avery was worried about her mother being in danger, Sergeant," Karla said. "Can you follow that up, too?"
"We will, Mrs Spicer. Now, if you don't mind we'll need to examine the whole area, as it is now a crime scene. The CIB will be here soon."
Karla nodded and glanced at Felicja "I want to accompany Avery on the ambulance. Can I leave you to help the police and get Leah home?"
"Yes," Felicja replied. "Leave it all to me."
*
Elliot Jones grinned when he heard Avery's scream of terror suddenly stop as she crashed down the stairs with his knife imbedded in her side. One of the few things he'd learnt in prison was how to use one. Pity the silly bitch had moved at the last moment but by the look of her bleeding down there, he was sure she was a goner. He considered going down and stabbing her again but the sounds made could have attracted attention. Instead he gave her once last glance, shrugged and headed back along the corridor to the other stairwell that he had originally come up.
He cut back across the school's playing field and within moments had found a car parked on someone's front lawn with the keys still in. That was something else he had learned in prison: people who had their car parked on private property often forgot to remove car keys, especially when they would arrive home to grab something. He grinned in delight as he reversed the car back, shifted to drive and noticed a woman running out on the road waving in frustration as he drove away. Silly cow shouldn't of left her keys in it.
One down, one to go! He had not found out where Natalie worked but it was easy enough to find where she lived. The sound of sirens shook his nerves a little but when an ambulance rushed through the traffic lights ahead he relaxed. It was lucky he had decided to leave the school quickly. Someone must have heard the bitch and called the cops. He drove a couple of kilometres, parked in a supermarket lot and left the keys in the car. With a little luck some kid might notice and nick the car. This was the second most popular place where drivers left keys. He caught a suburban bus and headed to the suburb where Natalie Francis lived.
Using his mobile phone map, Elliot soon found the Francis house half way along a suburban road that was relatively quiet with only three cars moving along it. Someone was mowing a lawn and some typical teenage boys were leaning on an ancient car chatting up a couple of giggling girls. The house itself appeared deserted but more important was that it was one built twenty or thirty years ago with wooden exterior walls, none of this synthetic wood the new sub-division houses had. A plan entered his mind. What if he waited until the early hours of the morning, poured a can of petrol along under her bedroom and tossed in a match? Probably the cow would awaken and have a few moments of agonising terror before being burned to death. Yes, he'd do it that way!
Now all he had to do was to plan an escape route, perhaps through a neighbouring property. He walked up the drive and around to the back yard.
All was quiet... but was it?
He heard the sound of a neighbour's dog barking. Stupid creature had probably seen him walking around the back. He hated dogs. He was about to return to the driveway when a massive Alsatian dog charge around the corner and all teeth and aggression, leaped at him. He tried to defend himself from the biting jaws but fell backwards with the dog on top of him.
"Don't move!" said a harsh male voice. "Blanch will not bite if you remain still."
He looked up and saw a police officer standing in the driveway.
"But how? " he muttered as he was handcuffed and lead out to a police car.
"Your victim was a teacher at Joseph Ward Junior High. Bad choice, Mate! Karla Spicer, the top-notch principal there has just brought in new security measures." The police officer grinned sarcastically. "Aren’t you lucky to be one of the first to prove how efficient they are? "
Elliot scowl darkened. Karla Spicer, another female bitch and a name he would make sure he remembered.
*
The operation to withdraw the knife from Avery's side was relatively easy, well that was what the surgeon told her when she awoke in a room with the battery of overhead lights making her blink.
"You were a lucky young woman if being stabbed in the first place can be called lucky. The knife went in at a shallow angle and missed any major organs or arteries. If it went in at a different angle I doubt if I'd be talking to you now," the surgeon continued.
"I was dodging away from him," she whispered. Apart from feeling numb from her left shoulder to waist she felt amazingly calm. She had probably been pumped full of drugs. "Thank you."
The middle-aged man took off his surgical mask and smiled at her. "We'll keep you in for a the night but you should take it easy and have next week off work. Your mother and boss are out in the waiting room. She's probably going to reprimand you for spilling blood all over your school stairs."
"Mum and my boss?"
"Mrs Spicer came in with you on the ambulance," a nurse added.
Avery frowned for she could remember nothing after seeing her stepfather standing before her.
*
By morning the drugs had worn off and Avery felt nauseous and sore down her left side. A nurse stood beside the bed and held out a small plastic mug. "Take this for the pain and to settle your tummy. I recommend that you have a light breakfast even though you may not feel like one. I've a menu here for you."
"Thank you," Avery replied. "Do you know if my mother is okay?"
"She's fine. I heard that the guy that attacked you has been caught and is in police custody."
"Thank God!" Avery whispered.
"Oh yes," the nurse said. "We don't usually allow visitors this early in the morning but there's a young man here to see you. Shall I let him come in?"
Avery frowned. Who could that be? She had no boyfriend and her friends were all female. "I guess so," she muttered.
A moment later she recognised the tall slim guy who walked in carrying a string bag of oranges and bananas in one hand. It was Hunter Meehan, one of the other first year teachers at school but why would he bother to visit? She flushed and realised that that funny little waves of excitement ran through her veins.
"Hi Hunter," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"
He grinned and his face looked as red as her own felt. "Thought you might like something better than the bland hospital food." He placed the fruit on the side-table next to her bed. "We all got a hell of a fright when we heard what happened and I ..." He gazed straight into her eyes. "I just wanted you to know we're all feeling for you."
"Oh Hunter, thank you." It was strange but the sunlight shining in the window now seemed just that little bit brighter.
*