Riding the Storm (11 page)

‘I hate that expression – what does it mean, anyway? Did Glen send you here to persuade me?’

‘No! God, no, I wouldn’t do that. I’m just the messenger – you’ll do as you think best.’

Ryan held out his hand for Glen’s letter, unsure whether to open it in front of the others or not.

‘Come on, then,’ Mike said. ‘What does he say? Don’t keep us in suspense.’ He wasn’t about to let Ryan read it in private.

The envelope contained just one sheet of paper and Ryan was pleased to see it didn’t come from a computer but was written in Glen’s generous, rounded hand.

(Not that little – Ryan thought – there was the new stable block and enough land for a market garden. Why was everyone so anxious to make him think small?)

Ryan folded the letter and put it in the top pocket of his shirt.

‘Come on!’ Mike was impatient. ‘I did take the trouble to bring it in person. What does Pa have to say?’

‘Not much. Just that he wants to buy the farm. I’ll need to think about that.’

‘What for?’

‘Leave him alone, Michael,’ Chrissie said softly. ‘Ryan has a mind of his own and doesn’t take kindly to being pushed.’ She was thinking of her father and his unreasonable dislike of her cousin.

Ryan shot her a grateful smile.

Mike glanced at his watch. ‘It’s getting late and I must be going. Things to do. People to see.’

‘Won’t you stay for dinner?’ Chrissie said, standing up. ‘Mum will be sorry to miss you—’

‘Not this time, sweet thing,’ he said, setting Ryan’s teeth on edge. ‘But I have your number—’ patting the mobile phone in his pocket and standing up. ‘And I’ll be in touch.’

‘Will you have time?’ Ryan said sharply, hoping to throw a spanner in the works. ‘I thought your exams were coming up soon.’

‘Nothing serious.’ Mike grinned, realizing what his friend was up to. ‘Not till the end of the year.’

‘I’ll see you out,’ Ryan said, shepherding him out of the kitchen and walking him briskly towards his car.

‘What’s got into you?’ Mike said. ‘You’re not yourself at all. Like a different person down here.’

‘Well, for starters my uncle hates me – I feel as if I’m walking on eggshells here.’

‘All the more reason to sell to my dad and get a place of your own.’

‘I’m not ready for that yet. And besides, I can’t leave Tommy. He needs me here.’

Mike rolled his eyes. ‘It’s just a horse, Ryan. A dumb animal doesn’t care who looks after it, long as it’s fed—’

Ryan shook his head; it was useless to protest: Mike didn’t feel the same about animals and would never see his point of view. ‘And please, Mike, do me a favour and leave Chrissie alone. She’s just come out of a bad long-term relationship and—’

‘That’s good news, then. She’ll be ripe for a new one on the rebound – with me.’

‘For the sake of our friendship – please, Mike – lay off. Do this one thing for me.’

Mike laughed. ‘Oh, now I get it. I know that look. You’ve got the hots for the lovely Chrissie yourself. And you don’t like to think of me getting a piece of her before you do. Your own cousin.’ He tutted annoyingly, wagging his finger. ‘Naughty boy.’

‘Trust you to drag everything down to your own filthy level,’ Ryan said, really angry now.

‘Steady on. Only joking. Didn’t mean anything by it.’

‘It’s just that Chrissie’s one of the best and I don’t want to see you hurt her, that’s all.’

‘Garn – she knows where it’s at. She’s older than we are.’

‘I’m just saying.’

‘Well, don’t. She’s a lawyer, isn’t she? I dare say she knows how to look after herself.’ Mike swung into his vehicle – a two-seater sports car of some kind, in pristine condition and smelling of leather, fresh from a showroom. ‘And don’t forget to think about selling that land. My old man doesn’t like to be kept dangling for long.’

Chrissie was thoughtful after Mike had left. She was no stranger to his type and had not been so taken with him as Ryan thought. She found his brash self-confidence totally unappealing. Even so, she decided she would go out with him if he called. Having had time to reflect, she realized she had misjudged her cousin; he really was falling in love with her. But, although her own heart was breaking over it, Ryan must see there was no future for them and the easiest way to stifle his affection was to form a temporary relationship with his friend.

She didn’t have to wait for long. A day or so later, Mike called, and he arranged to meet her on Saturday evening at Parliament Station in town. She felt mean about it, but she made sure Ryan knew she was making this date and got him to drop her off at the nearest train station. She saw the hurt in his eyes but resolved not to weaken. If he suffered a little
pain now, eventually it would be for his own good.

Mike greeted her with a wet and lingering kiss on the lips that she found rather disgusting, although she tried not to show it. She realized, with a jolt of surprise, that there was no chemistry between them at all. Certainly not on her side. His kiss didn’t make her heart thump in her chest as it had when she kissed Ryan. But no! She really mustn’t let herself think about him. Mike was supposed to be her cure.

He had made a booking at a new restaurant in the centre of the city on the fringes of Chinatown.

‘I do hope you like Chinese?’ he said, which was rather too late as they were already seated and looking through elaborate, tasselled menus. ‘I suppose I should have asked.’

‘No, I love it,’ she said. ‘But in a conservative way. I like prawn crackers, sweet and sour prawns and vegetarian fried rice but I’m not too keen on pork or dishes with too much hot chilli.’

The waiter seemed to know Mike and greeted him like an old friend and when the food arrived, Chrissie started to enjoy herself. She had been feeling more than a little guilty for using Mike to put Ryan off. Right now he was fishing to find out what was going on in her life.

‘I hear you’re a lawyer,’ he said, ‘but not working at present?’

Concisely, she told him the story of the ‘almost honeymoon’ that nearly took place in Europe and how it had resulted in her getting the sack. She avoided telling him about Tony’s death.

‘But I can’t be sorry,’ she said at the end of it. ‘That firm has a reputation for using people and spitting them out. In hindsight, I’d have left sooner or later, anyway.’

‘So what now? Are you trying to get another job?’

‘No. Because the old firm bad-mouthed me all over town. My mother’s uncle, who’s also a lawyer, tells me it’s best to lie low till the fuss dies down. Going to tribunal will only get me a reputation as a troublemaker.’

‘But that’s not fair. Those people shouldn’t be able to ruin a person’s life in that way.’

‘Ho, no? They have a lot of influence in Melbourne – Sydney too. They can do whatever they like. I just have to wait until they have someone else in their sights. Then I can slip under the radar.’

‘And on the personal side you don’t have a significant other right now?’

‘No.’ She frowned at this line of questioning, wondering just how much he’d been told. ‘And I’m not at all sure I want one.’

‘Go on. A lovely girl like you?’

‘I’m not lovely at all. My hips have spread and my nose is too big.’

‘I don’t like button noses. They make me think of pigs.’

She giggled. ‘This food is delicious. Thank you, Mike.’

‘Good. Would you like something to follow? They do a great banana fritter.’

Chrissie would. And she drank a lot of delicious green tea, refusing his attempts to ply her with alcohol although she noticed he had an exotic cocktail himself, followed by several shots of neat vodka. When the meal was over and he had paid, he slung an arm around her shoulders and propelled her towards the street. Outside, the fresh air hit him and she felt him stagger.

‘Sorry.’ He burped and gave her a lopsided grin. ‘I’m too
pissed to drive you home. You’ll have to sleep at my place.’

‘No, Michael. I have no intention of sleeping at your place – even if it’s not in your bed.’

‘Come on, sweet thing. Don’t play the innocent. You always knew tonight was going to end up in my bed. After all, I just bought you a big Chinese meal – with dessert.’

‘Then I’ll pay for my share.’ She removed his arm from her shoulders and reached into her purse, pulled out several notes and tucked them into his top pocket. ‘I don’t have to prostitute myself for the price of a dinner.’

He winced. ‘Ooh, you have a wicked turn of phrase.’

‘You haven’t heard the half of it. I wish I could say I enjoyed myself but I didn’t. Goodnight to you, Mike. I’ll get a taxi now.’ She peered up and down the street, looking for one.

‘A taxi?’ He sniggered, making himself even less appealing. ‘At eleven o’clock on a Saturday night. I don’t think so.’

As if giving the lie to his words, a taxi swooped to a stop beside them but before she could take it, a laughing foursome pushed her aside and got in, slamming the door in her face. Chrissie blinked, surprised and shocked by their rudeness.

‘Come on, sweet thing.’ Mike was trying to take her hand. ‘Stop playing hard to get and come back to my place.’ If anything, his speech was even more slurred and she cursed herself for staying so late. She should have realized he was drinking too much and made her escape sooner. ‘It’s only a block or so – we can walk.’

‘Mike, forget it.’ She disengaged herself and pushed him away. ‘I’m not going anywhere else – not with you.’

‘Be damned to you, then. You little coldwater fish – frigid as the arctic winds that batter your coastline. I’ll bet you don’t
even know what it’s all about. Good luck with Ryan, then. Two novices stumbling about, not knowing what to do—’ And, laughing helplessly at what he saw as his own wit, he lurched away from her and set off down the street.

Chrissie closed her eyes for a few seconds in relief and then set about the serious business of hailing a cab, desperate enough to run into the street and try to flag one down. Finally, as she leaped for the kerb in despair, she heard one pull up behind her with a screech of brakes. She turned, ready to climb in, and then hesitated at the open door.

‘Hey, wait a minute. You’re not a cab—’ she started to say and gave a small shriek as somebody reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her roughly inside and slamming the door before taking off at speed.

‘No, darl, we’re not,’ said a gravelly voice. ‘But you’re coming with us just the same.’

At that time of night in a busy street, it all happened so quickly that no one saw the abduction and Mike Harrison, angry and unused to being rejected, had long since disappeared into the crowd moving up the street.

‘I
DEMAND THAT
you let me out at once.’ Terrified as she was, Chrissie tried to assert herself.

‘Sorry, luv. No can do. We’re on the freeway.’

‘So I see. Where are you taking me?’

There were two men in the car: the driver and this other one, sitting uncomfortably close to her on the back seat. Both wore army fatigues but neither man was wearing a mask. The driver was young but the man sitting beside her was in his late forties at least. Appearing completely at ease, he smiled at her, showing white, even teeth.

‘I said – where are you taking me?’ she repeated, trying to conceal her terror.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said. ‘We’ll be there soon.’

Chrissie thought fast. Who in the world would want to abduct her – it didn’t make sense. She tried to sound reasonable although this man frightened her: he seemed so calm and assured. ‘Look, this is obviously a case of mistaken identity. I don’t know who you think I am but you have the wrong girl. My people aren’t wealthy. We don’t have the sort of money kidnappers want.’

‘But if they dig deep enough, they can find it.’

‘I doubt it. My father used to be well off but now he’s a cripple in a wheelchair. My mother and I are doing our best to hold his business together.’

‘Oh, my heart bleeds.’ The man mocked her, pressing a hand to his chest.

Although she was scared and breathless, Chrissie forced herself to try again. ‘So if you’ll just pull off the freeway and let me out at the nearest train station, I’ll forget that this ever happened. I won’t say anything about it at home and no one will notify the police.’

He applauded gently. ‘Nice try.’ The man was still smiling but his pale eyes were boring into her, cold as ice. ‘But I don’t make mistakes. You are Rob Lanigan’s daughter, Christalynne, and you’re here because I have issues with him.’

For a split second she thought of denying it but her shoulders drooped and she nodded instead. ‘Money issues, I suppose?’

‘That’s between him an’ me, luv. And if I know your father, he’ll pay us handsomely for your return.’

She laughed shortly. ‘If that’s what you think, you’ve been sadly misled. My father and I don’t get on. He wouldn’t give you so much as the small change in his pockets – not for me.’

‘But your mother would.’ His tone was sly. ‘I’ve known women who’d give the clothes off their backs to save the life of a child.’

Seeing cars passing close by, she moved without warning and started to bang on the side window, trying to catch the attention of other motorists. ‘Help me! Help!’ She was trying to scream but the man was twisting her wrist and crushing her painfully against the door so it came out as a scarcely
audible squeak.

The younger man who was driving looked at them in the rear-view mirror.

‘Everything all right back there?’ he said. Chrissie thought he sounded almost as scared as she was.

‘No. I can handle it,’ the older man said over his shoulder before giving Chrissie a sharp slap on the cheek, making her gasp. It stung rather than hurt but she wasn’t used to physical punishment and it shocked her.

‘Dad!’ The driver was watching them in the rear-view mirror. ‘Please don’t rough her up. You said you weren’t going to harm her.’

‘Shut up. Keep your eyes on the road and stop calling me dad,’ the older man snapped before lowering his voice and whispering so that only Chrissie should hear. ‘Behave yourself. I don’t like hurting women but if I have to, I do. Be a good girl now and hide your head under this rug.’ He picked it up from the floor and threw it at her. ‘I don’t want you to see where we’re going.’

Chrissie did as she was told. The rug made her feel sick as it was dirty and smelled of some animal, probably a dog, but she didn’t want him to hit her again.

Only now did she realize she was in deep trouble. She was dealing with a ruthless man who would show no mercy and stop at nothing. Even if the impossible happened and her father paid up, she didn’t think her prospects were good. It seemed unlikely that she would get out of this situation alive.

Ryan was the first person to worry, realizing she hadn’t come home. Trying to sound only mildly interested, he question
Val although his heart was heavy. Since Chrissie wasn’t there, making breakfast as usual when he came in after exercising and feeding Tommy, he believed she had stayed in Melbourne with Mike. He had a horrible mental picture of her lying tousled and sated across an enormous king-sized bed.

‘No, I haven’t heard from her, Ryan.’ Val seemed a bit irritated by this line of questioning. ‘She’s a grown woman and I like to give her some space. She doesn’t have to explain herself to me if she chooses to stay at a friend’s place overnight.’

‘But surely—’

‘And I’d much rather she did that than try to drive herself home after a night on the town.’

‘She wasn’t driving. I took her to catch the train.’

‘Fine. And what she’s doing now isn’t any of my business – or yours,’ she said as an afterthought. ‘If you must know, I’m pleased that she’s starting to get out and about again. I was beginning to worry. She looked to be falling into a depression after what happened to Tony.’

‘I just wish she wasn’t with Mike. Oh, I know he’s my friend and it sounds disloyal to say so, but he has a habit of chasing a girl till he gets her and then discarding her like an old shoe.’

Val laughed. ‘And you think your friend is such a Casanova that he can lure Chrissie into his bed in the space of one night? A young man not much older than you are?’

‘Age has nothing to do with it. I’ve watched Mike in action for years. He can turn on the charm when he wants to. And Chrissie’s vulnerable right now.’

‘I promise you, she’s no fool and a lot tougher than you think. She’ll see through any superficial charm.’

Ryan sighed. ‘I hope you’re right.’

‘And you’d better stop this or I’ll think you’ve got a crush on her yourself.’

Ryan looked away, cursing the telltale colour that he felt sweeping up from his throat. Fortunately for him, at that moment his bread started burning in the toaster as it was turned up too high, setting off the kitchen smoke alarm. By the time the noise had been stopped with much laughter, flapping of tea towels and the barking of Tinka, the awkward moment had been forgotten.

But even Val became anxious when another twenty-four hours passed and there was still no word from Chrissie. She had made coffee and was sitting with Ryan and Margie, the young woman who came in to clean for her twice a week.

‘It isn’t like her to leave me without word for so long,’ Val said. ‘She usually checks in to say if she’ll be in for dinner or not. You’re quite sure, Margie, she didn’t leave a message and you forgot to tell me?’

‘I never forget your messages, Val.’ The girl looked injured. ‘You know me better than that.’

‘Sure I do. Sorry.’ Val laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder. ‘It’s just that I’m starting to worry.’

‘I could call Mike,’ Ryan offered, sounding hesitant. ‘Find out if he knows where she is.’

‘Thank you, Ryan,’ Val said. ‘You were right to be concerned. We should have started checking before.’

But only an answering service responded at Mike’s flat and Ryan had to leave a message, asking him to call back. Mike didn’t respond until late on Monday evening, sounding breezy and without a care in the world.

‘Hi there,’ he said. ‘When are you coming in so we can have
a night out on the town? There’s this great place that’s just opened and—’

‘Mike, wait. It’s about Chrissie – she wouldn’t still be with you – would she?’ He took a deep breath, hoping the answer would be in the negative.

‘That one? Hell, no. She lit out on me right after dinner. I left her hailing a cab.’

‘And you didn’t wait to see that she got one?’

‘No, because she didn’t want me to. Feminine equality and all that. It wasn’t very late, anyway. If you must know, we had a bit of a disagreement over where she was going to spend the night.’

‘Oh? Turned you down, did she?’ Ryan’s heart was singing.

‘Ssh! And don’t let it get around – you’ll ruin my bad reputation. She’s a right little harpy, that one – she gave me the real stink-eye and her acid tongue. She’ll make a good lawyer all right. In the olden days she’d be sending good men to the gallows.’

Ryan had to laugh. But when he put down the phone, he didn’t feel quite so happy. No one had heard from Chrissie for almost forty-eight hours.

Val was really concerned now although she was trying not to show it – nobody liked a stifling, overprotective mother. But she did start ringing around some of her daughter’s old friends, including Michelle. The two girls had once been very close.

‘Sorry, Mrs L. I’ve hardly seen anything of Chrissie lately – I’ve just come back from overseas. Is she still engaged to that blond fellow – Tony, wasn’t it?’

‘No, she broke it off a while ago and he’s – well, he’s not
around any more.’ Val wanted to avoid the subject of Tony’s death.

‘Good. I always thought that was an unequal relationship – he stifled her, pulling her down. And the last time I saw her, I said so. That’s why we fell out.’

‘I’m sorry, Michelle. I thought you were such good friends, you wouldn’t let Tony come between you.’

‘He monopolized her. Didn’t like her seeing anyone else, especially me.’

‘So she hasn’t been in touch?’

‘No. Why, what’s happened? Are you saying you don’t know where she is?’ Michelle was nothing if not direct.

‘Not at the moment. No.’

‘It’s not like Chrissie to play games and disappear. Maybe I shouldn’t ask but did you two have a row or something?’

‘No, we’re very close. There was nothing like that.’

‘I’ll ask around some of our old mates, if you like. Better coming from me than her mum checking up.’

‘Thank you, Michelle – I’d be grateful. It’s been more than two days now and I’m beginning to think something’s wrong.’

‘You’re right. It isn’t like her. Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can find out. In the meantime, maybe you should report her missing.’

Val sighed. ‘Oh, I do hope it won’t come to that.’

Another day was to pass before the kidnappers’ note turned up. Robert came bowling into the kitchen in his wheelchair, waving it at Val. Ryan, startled by Robert’s unusual arrival downstairs, had just finished breakfast and stood up, ready to leave. He spent as little time as possible around his uncle; an
arrangement that suited both of them.

‘What d’you make of this?’ If anything, Robert sounded more grumpy than usual. ‘Came in the post this morning. Says they have Chrissie. I thought she was staying with friends in town?’

‘No. She’s been missing for several days,’ Val said, standing up from the table where she was eating toast.

‘And nobody thought to tell me?’

Val shrugged.

‘Better read it, then. I thought it might be a joke.’ Robert tossed it onto the table. It was a printed note from a computer, brief and to the point.

‘End badly?’ Val finished reading it. ‘Rob, this is no joke. I don’t like it at all. And what do they mean – our old meeting place? You know who sent this, don’t you, Robert.’

‘Maybe. There’s more than one possibility. I used to meet up with some guys who sold imported drugs from the US – a lay-by at night off the highway near Dandenong. An excellent place to meet away from prying eyes.’

‘Heavens, Rob.’ Val was struggling to digest this news.
‘How long have you been doing this – taking illicit drugs?’

‘They weren’t for me, stupid. Performance-enhancing drugs for the horses. New on the market and quite undetectable. Get past any test.’

‘But that’s horrible. You never told me you were experimenting with drugs on our horses.’

‘No, o’course not. If you knew nothing, you’d have no trouble playing the innocent if the authorities got wind of it and came sniffing around.’

‘Rob, that’s so irresponsible. Those drugs are illegal because they haven’t been fully tested. No one knows what the long-term effects might be on the horses.’

‘Oh, spare me. You’ll be joining Animal Rights next. How many times must I tell you, there’s no room for sentiment in this business. Horses are raised for the racing industry – to be useful only so long as they can run. Just a commodity between the racetrack, the abattoir and the cat’s meat factory.’

‘How can you be so callous?’ Val’s shoulders slumped. ‘I thought you loved our horses as I do. I never realized that’s how you thought of them.’

‘Well, now you do. Maybe it’s time you faced up to some of the realities of life. And if you’re wondering why we haven’t had so many in the winners’ circle lately, it’s not through any lack of skill in our training regime but because I can’t drive out at night to meet our supplier.’

Val watched him, considering this for a moment before giving a mirthless laugh and shaking her head.

‘No, Rob, you’re lying. I don’t buy that story at all – it’s a total fabrication and doesn’t make sense. If you had such a sweet arrangement with these people before, why should they
ruin it all by taking Chrissie? Drug smugglers don’t like to draw attention to themselves. But obviously you’ve upset someone. So what did you do?’

‘I dunno. They’re not regular business people, they’re part of the underworld. Anyway, they could be bluffing. If we ignore them, they’ll realize it’s not going to work and let her go.’

‘I won’t risk it, Rob. By the tone of that note, these people mean business and we have to take them seriously.’

‘How? I don’t have thousands of dollars stashed in my bottom drawer.’

‘Nobody does. But you have shares, don’t you? You must sell some.’

‘Now?’ Robert frowned. ‘It’s hardly the best time—’