Killarney, p.5
Killarney, page 5
Dana felt a flicker of interest. ‘The daughter of the hit-and-run victim your sister mentioned?’
‘Yes. It looks like the mother, Amber Lanaski, might be struggling with her mental health and addiction issues. She and Johnny used to lead a bit of a druggie lifestyle before they had Brooke, but once their daughter was born they cleaned up their act. They separated last year. Yesterday, Amber had a meltdown when she was dropping Brooke off at kindy. She screamed at the staff and told them to get out of her face. They’re worried she’s slipping back into old habits. We’ll need to leave in the next half-hour and head out to Killarney to do an assessment.’
‘No problem,’ she said, beaming up at him, knowing that being back in Killarney would give them another shot at finding Jayden, and another chance to redeem herself. Perhaps they’d even bump into Sean again. Her good mood continued in the car and she tolerated Lachlan’s Eagles CDs for the duration of the trip.
When they reached Killarney, they pulled up in front of a small worker’s cottage with a wildly overgrown lawn. Christmas lights were still dangling over the fence beside four crooked candy canes. Further up the road there was a man sitting on his front steps singing a Johnny Cash tune. The house was painted green and stood out in the street.
Lachlan waved. ‘Sounding good, Arthur!’
‘Great to see you back in town, Lachy,’ Arthur called out.
‘There’s another person who’s still talking to me,’ Lachlan said to Dana as they made their way up the front path. ‘Arthur’s a local legend. He’s out on those steps rain, hail or shine.’
‘Hard to miss that house,’ Dana observed as they approached Amber’s house.
A woman with dangly earrings and a long floral skirt opened the door before they could knock. There was a tightness in her face – he look of someone who wasn’t sleeping.
‘Amber?’ asked Dana.
‘Seriously?’ replied Amber, before Dana had the chance to introduce herself. ‘Like I haven’t got enough going on without the bloody Department coming around.’ She waved them inside. ‘I’m stressed out of my head and some bastard has made a complaint that I’m neglecting Brooke.’
‘That’s not why we’re here,’ said Dana, evenly. ‘The father of your child has just died under tragic circumstances, and we thought we’d check in and see how you’re doing. I’m Dana Gibson. My colleague is Lachlan O’Malley.’
Amber rubbed her eyes. ‘Fine,’ she said, with resignation. ‘But do you mind if I smoke? No offence, but the sight of you people after all these years makes me nervous as hell.’
They walked through a lounge room with children’s toys stacked neatly in the corner, across the lino floor of the kitchen and out onto a small deck with a table and chairs. Amber sat down and reached into her pocket for a slim packet of Winfield Blues. She gestured to Lachlan and Dana to sit as she lit a cigarette and stared at a wall of grass growing along the back fence.
‘I’ve been meaning to fix the yard and get some mowing done but it hasn’t stopped raining in weeks,’ said Amber.
Dana smiled at her. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve had the exact same problem.’
Amber’s foot jiggled nervously as she exhaled smoke from the side of her mouth. ‘What did you want to talk about?’
‘We wanted to have a chat about how you and Brooke have been coping since Johnny’s death?’
‘Pretty shit, really. Brooke keeps asking me when her daddy’s going to come back from heaven and she’s started having nightmares.’ She shook her head. ‘Johnny might have been a shit boyfriend when we were together, but he’d really got his act together since she started kindy.’
‘How were you getting on when he passed away?’ asked Dana, noticing that Lachlan was silent and presuming it was because she’d managed to establish a connection with the mother.
‘We broke up last year.’ Amber took a drag on her cigarette. ‘We were just arguing all the time and decided that we’d be better parents if we were separated.’
‘That sounds wise.’
Amber shrugged. ‘We went off the rails after Brooke was born, but after you guys threatened to remove her from us it scared the shit out of us, so we went and got help. He’s been great with Brooke and tried to see her every other day.’
‘And do you feel …’ Dana could see Amber was on the brink of tears and chose her words carefully ‘… like you might be about to go off the rails now?’
‘No,’ Amber said with a level gaze. ‘There was a blow-up the other morning at the kindy and I know they dobbed me in, but they were hassling me about Brooke’s speech and I hadn’t slept all night and just wasn’t in the mood.’
‘Do you think Brooke needs help with her speech?’
‘Maybe.’ She chewed her thumbnail. ‘But taking her to a speech therapist is bloody expensive and there’s no way I’ll be able to afford one – especially now that we won’t have Johnny’s income to rely on.’
‘We can look into it for you,’ said Dana. ‘See if there’s anything we can do.’
‘Is there anything else you think we might be able to help with?’ asked Lachlan.
Amber pursed her lips. ‘I’d like to have a babysitter occasionally. Mum helps out a bit but Dad’s not very well – it’s hard for her to get up here, so I always feel bad that I’m piling it on when I ask her to look after Brooke.’
‘Okay,’ said Lachlan, ‘there should be something we can arrange.’
Amber ground her cigarette into the step. ‘What’s going to happen now?’
‘I think that under the current circumstances, you’re doing everything that you could possibly be doing, so aside from making a few referrals and offering you a support service, I don’t think we’ll need to be involved. But I’ll give you my card, so if you have any issues or you feel like you need some more support with Brooke, just let me know.’ Dana took a Departmental business card from her purse and scribbled her name and number on the back.
‘Thanks,’ said Amber, her body sagging with what appeared to be relief.
Lachlan, Dana and Amber returned inside to the dark alcove between the kitchen and bathroom. ‘Do you mind if I do a quick check of the house before we go?’ added Dana.
‘Do what you have to do.’
Dana took a tour of the house while Lachlan chatted to Amber on the front verandah. After noting nothing of concern she made her way outside.
‘Have you heard whether the police have made any headway in finding out who was responsible for Johnny’s death?’ Lachlan was asking as Dana joined them.
‘Nope.’ Amber shook her head. ‘They spoke to me once and I haven’t heard from them again. It pisses me off. Johnny and I might not have always seen eye to eye, but at the end of the day he’s Brooke’s dad and I want to be able to tell her that the bastard who killed her father is now behind bars and won’t be coming out for a very long time.’ She stared down at the government car. ‘But I’m not holding out much hope. To them Johnny was just another one of those guys from the sawmill who liked to drink too much and was a pain in the arse they needed to put in the cells every second Friday night.’
‘Still,’ said Lachlan massaging the back of his neck. ‘They should be able to give you an update. I can call the sergeant for you, if you like? See if I can find out what’s going on?’
‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘He might actually listen to you. Pretty sure this wouldn’t be happening if we were one of the posh families in town who go to church.’
Lachlan was silent, making Dana wonder if he agreed.
‘Well, lovely to meet you.’ Lachlan gave her a reassuring smile. ‘Take care and get in touch if you need anything.’
‘Thanks,’ said Amber standing on her front step and watching until they were in the car.
‘What did you think?’ asked Lachlan as he started the engine.
Dana pulled the seatbelt across her body and waited until she heard it click. ‘She was reasonably insightful. Of course, we’ll have to sight Brooke and do a check with the kindy, but given her ex-partner’s basically just been killed and she’s got almost no support, I think she’s doing about as well as can be expected.’
‘Agreed,’ said Lachlan as he did a U-turn and headed out of Killarney. ‘So, what’s the plan now?’
‘First stop is the kindy. Then I thought we could swing through Warwick on the way back and pay Brother Blair a visit. See if there’s a grain of truth in those rumours that he has something to do with Jayden’s disappearance.’ She looked pointedly at Lachlan. ‘Seeing as I’m taking the lead on this one now.’
They were buffeted by the wind as they ran up the stairs of St Mary’s Catholic Parish and through the heavy wooden doors. Dana was met by the scent of incense as she stepped inside. Though it had been years since she’d attended mass she felt strangely emotional under the high vaulted ceilings and large stained-glass windows. Out of childhood habit, she dipped her fingers in the holy water and crossed herself before following Lachlan down the scarlet carpet between the pews. The wind whistled through pillars of marble as they passed the grave of an Irish priest and a set of stairs that led to the bell tower. When they reached the altar, Lachlan called out to Blair, his voice echoing through the cavernous space.
When it was clear there was no-one around they retraced their steps. They were heading down the front stairs when a man got out of a car in a black clerical shirt and white collar. ‘Can I help you?’ he asked.
‘We’re after Brother Blair,’ said Lachlan.
‘He’s at the old butter factory in Killarney with some boys from the youth group – he’s trying to find a missing kid.’ He frowned and shook his head. ‘I told him he was crazy, that it was a police matter, but he wouldn’t listen. Said the mother of one of the kids had told him that her son had been squatting there for a week with a group of teenage boys and was refusing to come home.’
Dana grabbed at the sleeve of Lachlan’s shirt and tugged it. ‘Jayden.’
They ran for the car.
Half an hour later they arrived at a dilapidated brick building where the windows that weren’t boarded up sported jagged holes through the glass. They parked out the front beside a swamp-green VW Golf.
After a few determined yanks Lachlan managed to open the sliding door and they stepped into a pitch-black room smelling of mould.
‘Whose bloody great idea was this?’ Lachlan joked as they waited for their eyes to adjust.
Dana took a step forward and something furry brushed against her ankle. The hackles on her neck rose and she stifled a scream. She had a flashback to the year before when Angus had been held hostage in a darkened shed in Crows Nest as she had pleaded for her life. She turned and pushed back through the door, waiting in the bright light until Lachlan joined her.
He followed her back outside, his eyebrows knitted together with concern. ‘You okay?’
‘Fine.’ She shook her head, annoyed with herself. ‘Just a bit claustrophobic. There’s a lean-to attached to the back of this building. I think we should check there.’
They went around the side through waist-high grass and wildflowers to the rear of the building. Lachlan knocked on the door of what appeared to be a small office and when no-one answered, he pushed it open. They were met by the powerful smell of hot chips and three boys lounging in ancient low-set sofas. A man with large ears and a balding head, who reminded Dana of a marsupial, was sitting at a table and eating a burger from a white paper bag. When he looked at Lachlan his face broke into a grin. He wrapped up his burger and stood up.
‘Lachlan O’Malley,’ he said, arms outstretched for a hug.
‘Blair!’ Lachlan pulled him into a bear hug and slapped him on the back.
‘What are you doing here?’ asked Blair. He adjusted his glasses and stared at Lachlan. ‘It’s been years.’
‘I’m working for the Department of Families these days.’
‘I heard you’d thrown in the carpentry and had gone back to uni. Good on you.’
‘Thanks.’ Lachlan’s expression turned serious. ‘Blair, this is my colleague, Dana Gibson. The reason we’re here is that a young boy in foster care has gone missing. Jayden Maloney. You haven’t seen him, have you?’
Blair took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. ‘We’ve spent all morning looking for him. We just came back here for a break and a bite to eat. We searched the area around Browns Falls, Queen Mary Falls and the school, but no luck.’
Dana recognised the name from her conversation with Susan. Queen Mary Falls was where Tina had been working, where Angus was staying with his Mum – she hadn’t realised it was so close to Killarney. She had a sudden pang of missing him.
‘The last time I saw Jayden,’ Blair went on, ‘was on Wednesday afternoon when I gave him a lift out to the waterfall.’
Dana’s heart swooped with disappointment, but she looked at Blair with renewed interest. ‘Do you have much to do with Jayden? The people he worked with at the sawmill said he is a regular at church.’
‘He’s a member of our youth group and he’s training as an altar boy. Lovely kid. I hope nothing’s happened to him.’
‘Well, that’s what we’re trying to find out. Would you mind if we asked the kids a few questions?’
‘Be my guest.’
The three boys looked up at them wearily as Dana and Lachlan entered the room. Dana was shocked by their fresh, soft faces. The youngest looked about eleven; the eldest couldn’t have been more than thirteen. The hideaway was well set up with a heater in the corner, beanbags on the floor and an old television on a crate against the wall. Dana glanced at the pile of blankets and clothes under the window and wondered how much time they spent there.
‘Do any of you know Jayden Maloney?’ she asked.
The youngest of the boys, with a wide pale face, shoved a chip into his mouth. ‘Yeah, he’s our mate.’
‘Well, at least he was till he took the job at the mill and didn’t have time for us anymore,’ said the older boy with glasses. ‘We were dragging him down.’
‘That’s not true,’ the moon-faced boy shot back. ‘He was just busy because he wanted to buy some cool stuff when he got older. He used to sleep at the clubhouse before he moved into the caravan – on that beanbag over there.’ He pointed to a deflated brown beanbag. ‘It was pretty much his bed.’
‘When was the last time you saw him?’ asked Dana.
‘Dunno. Probably out at the falls.’
‘And when was that?’
The boy shrugged. ‘A couple of weeks ago.’
‘Do you guys spend a lot of time out at the falls?’
‘Yeah, Browns Falls has been epic with all this rain. We’ve been doing backflips, front flips and just hanging out there.’
‘Sometimes we go there with a few beers and that’s when it’s really fun to jump in.’
Lachlan’s neck was red above his collar. ‘You realise that years ago a girl called Marnie Lisotte jumped into the swimming hole from a high rock and fractured both her legs? She’s paralysed from the hips down. In a wheelchair for life.’
The older boy looked at Lachlan with disdain. ‘That’s because she didn’t know how to jump properly. We’ve been going there since we were little so we know where it’s safe to jump and where it’s not.’
Dana suddenly had a thought. ‘Do you think Jayden might have gone for a swim on the day he disappeared? After he was dropped off at the waterfall?’ she asked the moon-faced boy.
‘We’d done it a few days earlier and it was our best day ever. We took some ham and cheese sandwiches Mum had made us. We hung out there for hours.’
‘Sandwiches your mummy made,’ mocked the older boy.
‘Shut up, pizza face.’
‘Okay, boys, that’s enough,’ said Dana. ‘If you see him, please let us know.’ She held up her business card and placed it on the crate in front of the TV. ‘And we’ll have a chat with your parents about the underage drinking.’
The boys groaned in unison, then returned their gaze to the TV.
Outside, Blair walked with them to the car.
‘So what’s the story with the boys?’ she asked Blair.
‘They’ve been shoplifting and getting into a bit of mischief. Just last year one of their brothers was sniffing a can of Rexona and died of a heart attack. They have no idea how dangerous it is. I’ll never forget that poor kid being loaded into the ambulance – it was the worst thing I’ve seen in my life.’
‘Was Jayden into chroming?’
‘No, never.’ Blair shook his head. ‘It’s not something he was interested in at all. I would say he was focused for a teenager. Wanted to make his fortune and get out of here. At least, that’s what he told me.’
‘Look, I should probably let you know,’ Lachlan said to Blair, ‘I’m a bit concerned that as you were one of the last people to see Jayden, you’re going to end up being scapegoated for his disappearance. You know what this town’s like. People get an idea in their head and it’s hard to convince them otherwise.’
Blair stopped dead, his spine bolt upright. ‘What do you mean?’
Lachlan turned to face him. ‘There’s a rumour that there were previous complaints about your involvement with a boy, when you worked in Sydney.’
‘But they looked into it.’ His voice rose an octave. ‘It was unsubstantiated!’
‘Sorry, mate. I wanted to give you the heads-up.’
Blair’s shoulders slumped. ‘What am I supposed to do? I work with these kids day in, day out.’
‘Make sure you have professional boundaries in place. No giving kids lifts or buying lunches.’
Blair’s eyes bored into Lachlan’s. ‘If a kid comes to me from a disadvantaged background saying they haven’t eaten since the previous day, I’ll buy them food. If they tell me they can’t get to football training, I’ll drive them there. For the love of God, what’s the world coming to?’
