Chapter Twelve

Molly brought a cup of tea to Dan’s desk, put a chocolate wheaten biscuit beside it on the blotter, and gave him a smile. He liked tea and biscuits, but he liked her smile better.

‘Mmm, chocolate bikkies,’ he grinned, ‘is that in the office budget?’

‘It’s in the treats budget,’ she told him, perching on the corner of his desk.

Dan took a sip of tea and patted her knee.

‘Oh, you’re a good girl Mol, you’re a good girl.’ He gazed at her for a moment. ‘I don’t know why you waste your time with a guy like me, but I like it that you do.’

She swatted his nose with her finger and scolded him.

‘Don’t say things like that, I wouldn’t be with you if I didn’t love you, would I?’

He hiked his shoulders and grinned boyishly.

‘Now do some work while I pop down to the post box. Won’t be long.’

She scooped some mail off her desk and headed off, knowing that he was watching her backside as she did so. And she liked it that he did.

Dan took the first bite of his biscuit and dropped crumbs down his shirt, trying to grab the ringing phone at the same time.

‘Good morning, Chase Investigations, how can I help you?’

It was Mike. He quickly filled Dan in on the capture and arrest of Ben, with obvious pride in his voice, and Dan grinned to himself.

‘Good work mate,’ he said, ‘that’ll learn him. Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, no dramas mate. I’m on the way back now, you can buy me lunch.’

Dan laughed.

‘Don’t you worry about that, son. See ya soon.’

They rang off and he took another slurp of tea before returning to the computer. He had a couple of email enquiries to follow up on, then he would call Buck and get some more info on the arrest. One thing at a time.

Down at the Post Shop Molly dropped the mail in the slot, cleared the PO box, and headed back upstairs to the office. She heard footsteps on the stairs behind her but ignored them as she scanned the mail. Just a phone bill, a couple of bank statements, and what looked like a file from an insurance firm.

She opened the office door, stepped inside and said to Dan, ‘Did I miss anything?’

He started to reply without looking up, then she felt something nudge her in the back. As she started to turn the pressure increased and she was pushed into the office.

Dan leaped to his feet, seeing a young woman he didn’t know pushing her way into the office behind Molly. She gave Molly a hard shove and kicked the door closed behind her.

They both saw the steak knife in her hand and the wild look in her eye. She was well dressed but had mussed up blonde hair and no make-up, giving her a somewhat dishevelled look.

Dan knew immediately that she was mentally disturbed, and that they were in serious trouble. He came around the desk with his hands out in front of him.

‘What’s going on here?’ he asked softly, ‘who are you?’

He continued forward, even as she raised the knife in front of her, and he held her eye contact.

She didn’t reply, just stared at him with that crazy look in her eyes.

‘My name’s Dan,’ he told her, ‘what’s yours?’

‘I know who you are,’ she spat, gesturing with the knife at him, ‘you’re the man!’

‘Which man are we talking about here?’

‘You’re the man that ruined my life! You took away the only thing I love!’

‘Okay...’ Dan edged forward further, one hand out in front of him and the other gesturing at Molly to get behind him. She stepped around him, keeping an eye on the woman as she did so.

‘Now I have nothing!’

‘What exactly did I take away from you?’ Dan asked calmly.

‘Ben! You took away my Ben!’

It all dawned on him now.

‘You must be Kerry,’ he said, ‘I’ve heard a lot of lovely things about you.’

‘Shut up!’ she screamed suddenly, waving the knife in front of her and taking a step towards him.

Molly let out a shriek as well, recoiling with fear.

‘You took my life away from me, and I hate you! I hate you!’

‘Hey, look,’ Dan said softly, ‘you need to talk to your Dad about all this, okay?’

‘I hate you!’ she screamed, and lunged forward with the knife, slashing at him.

Dan weaved and caught her wrist with both hands, twisted it around, and tried to shake the knife from her grasp. She arched around and grabbed at his face, screaming like a banshee, and dragged her fingernails across his face.

Dan pulled his head back, increased the pressure on her wrist, and saw the knife drop free. He grabbed her elbow with one hand and held the wrist with the other, locking her arm straight, then drove forward and down, using his body weight to drive her down across the back of one of the soft chairs.

He twisted her arm up behind her back and locked it in tight beneath his chest, her screams almost deafening in the confined space. Her free hand scrabbled at him but to no effect.

‘Stop struggling,’ he said calmly in her ear, ‘if you don’t stop struggling you’re gunna get hurt, okay? Stop fighting me and just behave.’

Molly was already on the phone to 111 and as soon as she was finished, she came over.

‘The Police are on the way.’

‘Good, ta. Can you just get me some string or something to tie her hands please. Try that duct tape in my drawer.’

Kerry Standen’s screams began to ease off into sobs, at first small sniffling ones then big choking ones that wracked her frail body.

Dan held her arms while Molly strapped her wrists together behind her, then they sat her down in the chair and Dan stood over her.

The Police arrived at the same time as Mike, who ran in looking worried. That changed to confusion when he saw the small, crying woman wrapped in tape.

‘Kerry Standen,’ Dan told him, and Mike’s eyes widened. ‘She came in with a knife.’

Mike nodded slowly as things fell into place.

‘Did she get you?’ he asked, pointing towards Dan’s face.

‘Fingernails.’ Dan touched his face and his fingers came away bloodied. ‘Man, I was having such a pretty day today, too.’

He stepped back as a couple of uniformed cops hauled Kerry to her feet and started to remove the tape to handcuff her.

Molly stood aside, holding herself and watching nervously as the cops arrested Kerry and walked her from the office. It seemed so surreal; such a bizarre, extraordinary thing to happen in the place she came to work every day, the business she had built with her husband.

Dan and Mike were acting almost normal, as if this happened every day to them, which just added to the bizarreness of it all. She watched as Dan wiped his face carefully with a hankie and touched his strapped ribs briefly, wincing as he did so, then pulled a straight face before turning towards her.

He took her in his arms and pulled her close, protectively, letting her feel the safety and warmth of his body. She stayed there, feeling his heart beating in his chest and his breathing still recovering to normal, and let herself be protected.