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“What? No! I don’t want to hear any more!” Wiri pressed his hands over his ears. Daylight slid between the slats of the blinds to cast scattered patterns across the linoleum floor. Jet had appeared before dawn, uniformed in case of opposition from the nursing staff. Larry had driven him and hung around outside.
“We didn’t mean it to happen. It was an accident.” Jet pursed his lips and glanced towards the door. “Larry said I had to tell you.”
Wiri closed his eyes and blew out a whoosh of disgust. Jet dipped forward in the visitor’s chair and dug his fingers into his fringe. The heavy silence closed around them until Wiri spoke. “You’re corrupt.”
“What?” Jet jerked upright, his irises flashing like diamonds. “I am not!”
“Yeah, you are.” Wiri shook his head. “A bent cop, bent brother, bent tenant, bent everything. You just take what you want no matter who it hurts. The gun. Seline. Your brother’s wife. My gear.”
Jet lifted a hand in placation, though the lines of his jaw showed his veiled anger. “I searched your bag, but I took nothing from you.” He snorted. “Yet you’ve helped yourself to all my stuff back at the house.”
“Yes, coffee, biscuits and laundry powder.” Wiri glared at him. “I intended to replace all of it at the supermarket yesterday afternoon, but got shot by your gun on my way there.”
Jet ran a hand across his eyes. “She’s pregnant. Miriama, Tane’s wife. It’s mine. That’s why I’ve avoided going around there.”
Sickness roiled in Wiri’s stomach. His mother had coupled with his father in a gesture of defiance to his brother. The sordid act of revenge unleashed years of poison on his family.
And soiled him from his inception.
“Get out.” He issued the command from behind clenched teeth. His heart ached for the unwanted child growing within its shocked and disappointed mother. He couldn’t look at Jet. “Just go,” he breathed.
Jet rose. “You can’t tell anyone,” he bit, his tone terse. His eyes danced a desperate jig as his gaze bounced around the room. “Not Tane.”
Wiri squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head back against the pillows. He searched for peace within himself, sending out tendrils of his consciousness to connect with Phoenix. An image of her appeared in his inner vision, smiling and rising onto her tiptoes. The kitten tee shirt pulled tight across her breasts and exposed the soft curve of her waist. He ached to touch her. But he wasn’t like Jet.
The click of the door closing brought him extreme relief, and his shoulders sagged against the pillows. He couldn’t live with Jet anymore. The Plan had no room for loose cannons in its carefully crafted schedule.
The Plan.
It had provided solidity and grounding as he’d struggled to find his way in life. Formulated months ago, after a single moment of passion and elation, it had lasted until yesterday. He’d kissed Phoenix in the barn and birthed The Plan. But did it make him as selfish and manipulative as Jet? The realisation hit him like a king tide. “I don’t want to be like him,” he murmured. He needed to set Phoenix free.
***
The clatter of trolley wheels woke him from a fitful slumber. He groaned as his tailbone complained at his awkward position. Shifting on the mattress set up a bloom of heat in his thigh.
“Steady.” The gentle male voice offered reassurance and firm hands clasped his shoulder. “What do you need?”
Wiri stared up through a fog of pain to find Larry smiling down at him. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “Help me time-walk to before last weekend.”
Larry chuckled, a low rumble issuing from his chest. “I can’t count the number of times I’ve woken with the same thought.” He dipped sideways and retrieved a remote control from the bed rail. The cable swung as he lifted it and inspected the buttons. “Let’s get you more comfortable. You’re laying like a fallen rag-doll.”
“Thanks.” Wiri grumbled as he shifted on the mattress. He used his hands to support himself while Larry fluffed the pillows and raised the angle of the bed.
The remote control gave a metallic clang as he replaced it on the rail. He wagged his index finger at Wiri. “Did you send Jet packing while I ate breakfast in the cafeteria?” He cocked his head. “I should have ordered it to take away. Are you a grumpy patient, my friend?”
Wiri exhaled. “He got his sister-in-law pregnant,” he said with a sigh. “I can’t live with him anymore. He makes me sick!”
Larry tutted. “Watch your words, young padawan. If you overuse that expression, you will indeed become sick.”
“You think?” Wiri rolled his eyes and spread his hands to encompass his various injuries. He thudded his head against the pillow and groaned at the tug of the stitches in the back of his head. “Is this not sick enough?”
Larry pursed his lips and sank back into the visitor’s chair. Then he rose as if electrocuted. “You’d rather I leave? I wanted to check on you before Matins, but I don’t mean to make things worse.” He cleared his throat. “Your current predicament is my fault.”
“No,” Wiri sighed, dragging out the word. “Your involvement was a fluke, but at least you’ve owned it. Jet seems to think he’s made of Teflon and nothing will stick to him.”
Larry nodded and sank back into the chair. “I told Tane the truth, but he intends to perjure himself for his brother, despite my advice.”
Wiri snorted. “Until he finds out what Jet’s done behind his back!”
Larry flattened his lips into a sad smile. “Perhaps he won’t find out.”
Wiri swallowed and blinked away unexpected tears of regret. “The truth always comes out,” he whispered. “Lying is like trying to hold back the tide with your hands.”
Larry nodded. “What will you do?” he asked. He silenced as an orderly knocked before pushing open Jet’s door.
“Tea or coffee?” she sang, her rounded pink cheeks and wide smile lightening the atmosphere.
Both men settled on tea and sipped in silence, waiting for the trolley wheels to squeak along the corridor. When Larry repeated his question, Wiri shrugged. “What will I do about what?” he asked. “About my job, my relationship, or Jet?”
“All the above.” Larry wrinkled his nose and peered into his cup. “I should have asked for sugar.”
Wiri stared at the ceiling, creating a blank canvas for his mind to sift through his issues. “I could go home,” he mused. “Ma and Logan know everything now. I could work on the property and wait for Phoenix to reach sixteen.”
“Is that what you want?” Larry cocked his head and studied him.
Wiri sighed. “Yes and no. I’d love to, but proximity drives the temptation to jump further into our relationship than we should. It needs to be her choice. And living under the same roof might make things awkward for the family. Logan will grow tired of watching me and eventually bury me somewhere remote.” He shrugged. “It’s safer to stay away and return for visits. I’ve waited for Phoenix since just before my fifth birthday. At least I have more hope now than I did then.” His lips twisted into a grimace. “But first, I need to offer her the chance to just be friends. I’d hate to feel she fell into this through some misguided sense of obligation.” He sighed. “I also refuse to live with a corrupt cop, so if I stay here, I’ll need to find somewhere else.”
“Move in with me.” Larry’s gentle smile flickered as though he feared rejection. “I could use the company.”
“Thanks.” The word caught in Wiri’s throat and he bit down on his lower lip. “I’d like that.” Larry’s sparkling irises contained kindness, but Wiri feared guilt lurked beneath the offer. It was impossible for him to live like that again, always watching for another’s hidden motives. He decided to test the friendship by moving in with the vicar, promising himself he could always leave again if necessary. He changed the subject. “Where’s Jet? Outside?” He glanced towards the door.
Larry’s grey curls bounced as he shook his head. “No. He has another day of giving evidence. A colleague picked him up in a patrol car and drove him to the courthouse.”
“Another drug dealer?” Wiri’s eyes narrowed. Logan Du Rose tolerated no such organisations to stain their small township with their poison. He’d run the last group out of town, using broken bones and threats to reinforce his message. Wiri twisted his lips. “Your town is a hotbed of vice.”
Larry chuckled. “It’s not so bad. A few gamblers, weed smokers, and the odd alcoholic.” He patted the dog collar at his throat with tentative fingers. He sighed. “Today’s case is a gentleman who believes the highway rules don’t apply to him. He met Jet while driving on the wrong side of the road. At speed.”
Wiri winced. “Right. So, he’ll lose his licence then.”
Larry waggled his eyebrows. “More than that. He wrecked Jet’s personal vehicle and then picked a fight with him next to the remnants of a rather nice Mustang. I believe he’s defending himself against a few charges.”
Wiri’s gaze strayed to the ceiling tiles. “So that’s why Jet has no car. I wondered.” Speaking about the law gave him a strange sense of security. “Please, can you pass my phone?” He jerked his head towards the side table where Hana left his bag of belongings. Tane had taken his jeans and tee shirt as evidence against Ted.
Larry rose and dug in the bag before handing over his phone. Wiri wrinkled his nose and tutted. “Damn,” he breathed. “I only have twenty percent of the charge left.” He unlocked the screen and opened Vaughan’s email containing a wonky scan of his contract with Hendricks. His lips parted in a smile. “I didn’t need Aunty Liza,” he mused. Larry looked up from his teacup, one eyebrow raised in question. Wiri shook his head. “The interest rate is extortionate. It’s a loan shark agreement. There’s anti-profiteering legislation against this type of lending now. Whoever inherits Hendricks’ estate will struggle to enforce this. They’ll need to come to an arrangement through mediation. But Vaughan’s actual debt is a fraction of the total.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Larry shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter.” Wiri leaned back against the pillows. “I’ll let Aunty Liza’s interns rip it to pieces just for fun. But it’s void. No wonder Vaughan couldn’t keep up the repayments. I bet Mari has something similar.” He sighed, the irony painful. “And Ted.”
Larry wrinkled his nose and took another sip of his tea. “I’m not great with money things.” He cocked his head. “Or legal things either. You obviously are.”
Wiri pursed his lips. “Yeah.” He let his phone fall onto the mattress next to him. “I love it. It’s like tracking something through the bush. It offers the same thrill of success when I find it. The signs are there in the legislation and the case law. It’s a hunt.” His irises glittered, and then the light faded. He shrugged. “Anyway, the agreements weren’t enforceable. I got shot for nothing.” He closed his eyes and his hair shuffled against the pillow as he relaxed. Regret bore his shoulders lower. “I wish I’d thought about it earlier. I saw Vaughan throw Hendricks out on my first night at the farm and sensed it related to money. None of this needed to happen.”
“I’m sorry, my friend.” Larry sighed. “I wish I could help you.”
“You can.” Wiri winced as he shifted in the bed. “I remembered something in the early hours. Did you tell Tane about the face you saw at the window the night we moved the gun?”
“Yes.” Larry nodded. “But the darkness stopped me from recognising them.”
Wiri tapped his left wrist with his right index finger. “You mentioned something sparkling on their arm. What was it?”
“A watch, a bracelet.” Larry shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe they carried their car keys in their hand.”
“Fair enough.” Wiri inhaled. “But we assumed you saw Seline.”
“You guys did.” Larry shook his head. “I never identified the person.”
Wiri sipped his cooling tea and mused over the important nugget of memory. “The thing which convinced me Seline closed the tank was the dragging of the lid across the roof. It took time for her to lift it up over the inspection tunnel. It’s heavy concrete and needs muscle to raise it the full distance to sit over the hole. She had as much difficulty getting it off later.” Wiri tapped his teeth with his fingernail. “I know she opened it, but I’m no longer convinced she shut me in there and closed the lid.”
“Leilah?” Larry’s eyes widened, and the cup tilted in his hand. Wiri noticed tea leaves forming a pattern against the white ceramic where the bag had split.
Wiri shrugged. “Why not? Having a threatening ex-husband in prison seems convenient.” He stared around the clinical room as another puzzle piece dropped into place. “Oh, wow,” he whispered. His eyes widened as he gaped at Larry. “I need to go back to town.”
