Deadly Deeds (24 page)

EPILOGUE

I
t’s Easter Saturday morning, and I have been sleepless all night once again. My breasts are killing me. There’s little traffic outside my bedroom because of the long weekend.

I stayed at St Patrick’s Hospital for three days before being discharged with two fractured ribs and a bruised chest. Dr Larousse said my injuries would heal with time if I didn’t strain myself. The only reason I go to the gym now is to talk to Ken and thank him over and over for saving my life. I hated not being able to workout. I feared becoming overweight and lazy, especially when I’d gotten used to going to the gym at least three times a week.

Ken passed Teresa on High Street on his way back from the gym the night she tried to kill me. When he saw her going inside the gym, he knew who she was.

‘
I’d never seen that person before, but I knew she wasn’t a member. You and I are the only two people who workout between nine and twelve at night. I went back upstairs and listened to your conversation. I have to admit it took a bit of doing to walk up to her and hit her on the head with a dumbbell. I never hit anyone before, let alone a woman.’

Teresa pleaded guilty at her trial and seemed in no way overwhelmed by the three life sentences with no parole handed down by the Supreme Court. Teresa’s defense made no application for an appeal.

Dr Charles W. Main wanted me charged for stealing documents from his office, but Trevor Mitchell talked him out of it.

Frank had in fact gone on holiday for a week when I got assaulted. He’d been so confused about what I told him about Teresa that he left for Sydney by himself without telling anyone.

I’ve begun a relationship with Garry Wood.

Michael and I have booked each other a full day every week to make sure we wouldn’t miss out on the more valuable parts of a mother-and-son relationship.

My contract with the VFSC and the CIB is re-instated, and they threw in a bonus as well. From now on I’m the only unsworn member of the VFSC who’s not a police officer, but licensed to carry a weapon.

When Frank came to see me in hospital, he brought in twelve red roses and a brand new silver .380 semiautomatic pistol.

I’m now sitting at my kitchen table with a cup of black coffee. In one corner of the kitchen is Claire Kendall’s plant, which I begged Frank to get for me. The plant is fully restored now and looks glad to be alive, just like I am.

This afternoon I will go and deliver it to Louis as an Easter present and a thank-you for all the trouble he went through for me.

I think about my future a lot and wonder if I want to continue working for the police or set myself up as a private investigator instead. It’s a difficult choice either way.

I take a sip of coffee from my mug and think about people for a while. But Teresa’s voice and laughter keeps ringing in my ears. I only saw her yesterday at the prison. She got away with an undisplaced skull fracture. We had a little chat. She seemed perfectly calm and aware of her situation and surroundings. For a moment, while talking to her, I forgot I was having a conversation with someone who tried to kill me. She was the same friendly Teresa I met weeks ago at the hospital.

When I was about to leave her in her tiny prison cell for the rest of her life, she said, ‘If I had to do it again, I would do it again. I recommend it to other women out there. Get the bastards before they get you.’