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“Jakov is in jail.”
“What?” The car veered across the road as Wazza turned to her in disbelief. He quickly had it back under control, but the look on his face said it all.
“My ex is a corrupt cop; he’s in jail for the next ten years. The reason his family is trying to take Benni away is because they want to punish me. Because I put him there. I testified against him, so he’d go to prison.” There, she’d said it. It was out in the open. This was the first time she’d told anyone about the sordid details of her life. That she’d been married to a dirty, unscrupulous man, and was tainted by association.
“Oh. Holy. Jesus.” Wazza gave a low whistle. “That’s… Wow, that’s mind-blowing stuff. I can hardly get my head around it.” He gave her another long glance. So long that she almost told him to keep his eyes on the road. Evaluating her. “That must’ve taken a helluva lot of courage,” he said quietly.
She liked the edge of respect in his voice. At least he could see how much it cost her to do such a thing. Most men might only see the faults in what she’d done, see that she’d stolen her child and was now evading the law. Perhaps wanted to turn her in. But he didn’t seem to be condemning her or judging her. It was almost like he supported her frantic decision.
“And Benni knows nothing about all this? What does she think about this little trip you’re both on?”
“No. I told her Daddy had to go away for a while. I said he was in another country.” She hung her head at this admission. She hated to lie to her daughter, but how else could she explain her father’s disappearance? “And I told her we’re going on an adventure. To find a new place to live for a little while.”
“And what about your ex’s parents? Did they not tell her where Jakov was? What he’d done?”
“I don’t really know, but I don’t think so. Otherwise, she would’ve mentioned something. Perhaps they asked her what she thought had happened to him and went with that. I guess I’ll never know.”
“How did you manage to snatch Benni from the grandparents? You said they were keeping her locked up in their house. Not letting you see her.”
“Yes, that’s right. And the lawyer I talked to told me they had the law on their side and there was nothing I could do unless I fought it in court.” Kee had only seen the lawyer once, a rotund man with buttons that strained over a large belly. He’d smirked at her from behind his desk. Fat lot of good he’d done; he hadn’t been able to tell her anything that the man at the Family Court hadn’t already said. His fee had been preposterous, and Kee knew she could never afford to pay him. Then he’d told her it might take months or even years for the court case to be scheduled and she knew she couldn’t be without Benni for that long.
“I began to stake out their house. I already knew a lot of their habits and timetables from when we were…more of a family. They had a big, old house, only a few blocks away from where we lived, with a big, rambling back garden.” In her mind’s eye, Kee could picture the yard, with its large fruit trees and vegetable garden, taking up most of one side. “I knew Marta went out to do the grocery shopping at the local farmer’s market every Saturday morning. And I knew Ivan liked to spend that time in his shed—he’s very old school, he likes to fix things like a broken lampshade, instead of buying a new one—and Benni would play in the garden. I climbed over the gate and snuck down the side of the house. Benni was right there, playing in the sandpit and when she saw me, she squealed so loud, I was sure Ivan would come out of his shed to investigate. I hugged her so tight.” Tears pricked the back of her eyelids at the memory. “As quick as I could, I bundled her back over the gate and into the car, which I parked a few houses down, out of sight. Then we got out of there as fast as we could and have been driving ever since.”
“Wow. That’s almost cloak-and-dagger kind of stuff.” Again, she thought she caught the hint of admiration in his tone. “So, it’s not just that your husband has friends in the force out looking for you? Do you think they’ll have reported her missing? That the police are on the lookout for you? Issued a warrant for your arrest?”
Kee licked her lips and made a noise in the affirmative.
Wazza’s eyebrows drew together as he contemplated her answer. A small furrow appeared right between his eyes, and she couldn’t drag her gaze away. This was the second time she’d noticed that crease; it must be a sign of whenever he was in deep thought. It was appealing, in a strange way that he was that worried about her. “Are you sure, though? Is there some way you can find out if the police really have issued a warrant?”
Yes, she knew without a doubt that the police were looking for her. But that wasn’t the worst of it.
“Oh, I’m sure. The texts Jakov’s parents sent me—before I turned my cell phone off—made it very clear they were going to bring the full force of the law down onto me. But Jakov has an older brother, Bruno, who also used to be a cop. I think the parents have sent him after me. I’ve seen him. He’s following me. Trying to track me down.”
“What?” For the second time that day, Wazza let the car drift to the middle of the road as he stared in bewilderment at her. “Holy shitpile.” Wazza’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he directed the vehicle onto the correct side of the road.
He didn’t know the half of it. Bruno wasn’t a man to be messed with. He was very good at holding a grudge, and he had a violent streak, much the same as Jakov. Kee had seen it all firsthand over the years she’d been part of the family. So far, no one had been able to link Bruno to any of Jakov’s dirty deals, but Kee had no doubt he would’ve been involved, somehow.
“I saw him a couple of weeks back. Benni and I stayed the night in a little motel on the outskirts of Beaudesert, just this side of the Queensland border. We were packing up to leave, and I saw him through the window. He got out of his car and went into the hotel reception. I don’t know how he found us. I paid cash for the room and gave a false name, but I knew without a doubt he was there for me. It was more than a coincidence.” From that night on, Kee and Benni had slept either in the car or in an out-of-the-way campsite. She was taking no more chances. Which was why she didn’t want to stay at the hotel in Dimbulah.
Wazza suddenly slowed the vehicle, and for a second, Kee thought he was going to stop and make her, and her daughter, get out of the car; that he wanted nothing more to do with them. But no, there was an intersection coming up. And miracle upon miracle, it was a bitumen road.
“The turnoff to Daisy’s place is farther down this road,” he said, guiding the car skilfully onto the bitumen and accelerating.
Kee checked on Benni, but she was still fast asleep, her chin resting on her chest, dolly still resting in the crook of her elbow. So sweet. So innocent.
“Daisy lives on what we call the outstation,” Wazza said, dragging her attention back to him. “It’s situated on the Koongarra Station, which is owned by a community of indigenous people, and run by the Kuku Corporation as a pastoral lease. But they’re also branching out into other more sustainable agriculture, growing bush foods and the like.”
“Right,” Kee said when he looked at her expectantly.
“The old outstation was set up as a temporary residence while the main house was built. There’s a good twenty kilometers between it and manager’s place. And the community is situated farther north again, so no one should bother you out there.”
That was good. No neighbors for miles and miles suited her just fine.
The low drone of the wheels on the road and the gentle rocking of the vehicle became too much and Kee’s eyelids drifted closed of their own accord. She awoke with a start around half an hour later, as Wazza slowed the car again and took a right-hand turn onto yet another dirt road. So much for the small luxury of bitumen. The car bumped along at a slower pace as Wazza negotiated potholes and deep ruts. “Daisy needs to get Bryan out here with his dozer,” Wazza mumbled to himself.
Benni gave a yawn from the back seat, and Kee turned to put her hand on her child’s knee. The bumpy road must’ve woken her up. “Did you have a good sleep, my love?”
“Mm-hm.” Benni rubbed her sleepy eyes. “I’m hungry.”
