Page 76 of The Question of Us
Marty fired me a withering look. “And you thought trespassing on my property in the middle of a party was better than simply knocking on my front door?”
Lee sat in stony silence, clearly hanging on my answer. Which made sense since it wouldn’t go well for him if I admitted to seeing him in the supermarket.
I huffed. “If Lee—Gray was really in trouble, knocking on your front door would hardly be the smart thing to do, would it? I was trying to fly under the radar. The party seemed a good opportunity, that’s all.”
Marty snorted. “And how’s that working out for you?” His hand continued to caress Gazza’s calf, which I figured was deliberate. He was taunting me. Pushing boundaries to see if I’d come to Gazza’s defence and give myself away. It took everything I had not to do precisely that.
“Not as well as I’d hoped,” I admitted, keeping my expression blank.
Marty actually laughed, and for a second, I glimpsed that easy charm that reeled people into his sphere of influence. But the second he turned to Lee, all that charisma dissolved into a simmering rage he made no attempt to hide. “So, is he telling thetruth? Or maybe you did talk. Maybe you even helped him get in tonight. And don’t lie to me. You know how much I hate that.” The threat was unmistakable.
But Lee didn’t flinch. His expression hardened, and I had to give the young man his due. His composure was admirable; honed through years of practice, I imagined. The thought turned my stomach.
“I repeat,” Lee said icily. “I’ve never seen this man before in my life. Believe what you want. You know damn well I’m not going anywhere, just like you know why that is.”
Marty studied Lee’s face for an excruciatingly long time before he finally seemed to relax. “I’ll admit that’s a credible performance, boy. I only hope for your sake that it’s true. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Boss.” Freddie held his phone to his chest and waved Marty over.
I caught the relieved sag of Lee’s shoulders as Marty left, the slight shake of his hands, and a long exhalation like he’d been holding his breath. Our eyes met and I tried for a quick reassuring smile that fell miles short of its intention. Lee’s equally quick are-you-kidding-me expression lacked only an eye roll for emphasis. It was there and gone in an instant, replaced by the blank, disinterested look he’d favoured so far. But those icy blue eyes told another story, one that went along with his voice in my head.
Keep to your story. Follow my lead. We’re in trouble here.And on top of all that,Where’s Madigan?Or maybe that last part was just me.
Freddie drew Marty out of hearing distance and the two men talked. At one point Marty’s head snapped around to stare at us, wide-eyed. It was the first time I’d seen him genuinely shocked and figured it didn’t bode well for our current situation. But anger quickly took its place, and as he ambled back to where wesat waiting, his unhurried, relaxed demeanour was chilling in its very deliberate unconcern. This was a man used to wielding power and being obeyed. And nothing I said had changed that.
“Just let me go,” I tried. “I trespassed, sure, and okay, you were entitled to hit me, I get that. It was a mistake for me to come tonight. Lee made it clear he’s staying, so I’ve found out what I came to. I’m done. I’ll fly back to New Zealand tomorrow.”
A slow smile spread over Marty’s face. “I wish it was that easy, but there remain a few too many unanswered questions. One is your boyfriend’s whereabouts.” He drilled me with a cool look. “I don’t believe that he would let you come alone. Another question is exactly how involved my little Gray has been with this plan. As much as I’d like to believe him, he’s proved that he has no qualms lying to my face. He’s quite skilled at it, in fact.” He caught Lee’s chin in his hand. “Aren’t you, baby?”
Lee jerked free of Marty’s hold but kept his mouth shut.
Marty switched his attention to Gazza, running a hand down the length of Gazza’s back to cup his arse.
A fiery rage ignited in my belly and I had to bite my lip to stop from launching myself at the odious man. It must’ve shown because Marty grinned salaciously. “Another little niggle is our sleepy boy here. I was genuinely looking forward to the two of us getting better acquainted. He’s quite the beauty, isn’t he? But alas, he’s proven to be a bit of a disappointment.” Marty glanced toward Freddie and my heart took a dive.
Something was definitely up.
Marty turned back to me, his expression stormy. “It’s just come to my attention that young Carey is driving a rental car that is apparently registered in Victoria. Not a crime in itself, of course, but definitely curious.” He paused for effect and it worked. “As is the fact that he happens to be booked into the motel room next to yours. The proprietor also mentioned thatthere were two men in that second room. You and... shall we guess?” He left the bombshell hanging in the silent room.
Oh, shit.How in the hell?—
“It’s a small town, Mister Fisher.” Marty shot me an amused look. “I bring in a lot of business, and people owe me favours, what can I say? But it shines a whole new light on this evening’s events, don’t you think?” He leaned down and licked a deliberate stripe up the side of Gazza’s slack face.
I almost vomited on the spot and jerked forward on my seat. Amused at my revulsion, Marty’s mouth tipped up in a lewd grin. I was going to fucking kill the man if it was the last thing I did.
But then he straightened and the grin was wiped clean, cold calculating anger taking its place. “Talk, Mister Fisher.”
“Yes, a friend came with me,” I blurted. “AMelbournefriend. He picked me up at the airport. He knows where I came tonight.”
“I somehow doubt that.” Marty’s hand reached almost in slow motion to Gazza’s neck. He pulled the scarf free and rubbed some of the concealer off Gazza’s tattoo. Then he looked to Freddie. “A match?”
Freddie nodded. “The hair colour is different and the dress, all of it. I wouldn’t have picked him if it wasn’t for that. Gary or Gazza, they call him. He’s Madigan Church’s apprentice.”
Marty studied Gazza for a few seconds and sighed. “Such a waste.” He dropped the scarf on the floor and stood. “You can appreciate my dilemma, then. Two out of the three of you who came here are now in my house. It’s no stretch of the imagination to guess the third is somewhere close. Our little book restorer, no doubt. Thatiswho I spoke to on the phone, isn’t it? Nothing else makes sense. It was a good little act he put on, but pointless, as it turns out.”
“He’ll have called the police,” I blurted.
Marty sighed. “No doubt. Which is why we got his car off the property.” He indicated Gazza. “No car. No Carey. No... you. They all left, officer. It was a large party. Can’t expect me to keep an eye on everyone. My men will vouch for me. My guests as well. That’ll slow them down and give me time to figure out how to solve this mess.”
