Page 168 of Sugarloaf Ridge Lies

Chapter Fifty-Five

Liv

“It’s official. I’mthe size of a house,” Nat says as we monitor the playground. “Thank God this is my last day before maternity leave. I can barely find shoes that fit. I swear my feet have grown a size.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” I slide my hand into the crook of her elbow, bringing us closer. We must look a treat, two heavily pregnant women waddling across the basketball court. They probably shouldn’t have rostered us on together. Neither of us would be able to move into a sprint in an emergency.

She hums and rubs her large bump. “Only three weeks to go and it’ll be worth all the crazy things my body’s gone through.”

A beaming smile hijacks my face. “Absolutely.” Nat and Carter are going to be the most amazing parents. It fills my heart to overflowing, knowing their dream of having a child is so close. I catch her up on my recent midwife appointment. They’ll be more regular now until I hit thirty-six weeks.

“So, any word from your baby-daddy yet?”

I release a heavy sigh. Nat’s been my sounding board this week. Whilst I can confide in Aunt Jean, being able to talk about Kurt with Nat has really helped.

“No. I’m guessing he’s either trying to find another lawyer, or he’s decided to let it go. I guess that comes down to him trusting me to keep it quiet.”

“Girl, you tried to do the right thing. Now just focus on you. And word of advice, if you can afford to finish work earlier than me, you’d be doing yourself a favour.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I let it go to voicemail. We’re now not permitted to have our phones with us when we’re on duty thanks to Paula spending more time scrolling Facebook than supervising. She’s lucky the young girl only sustained a sprained ankle rather than a serious break when she fell from the high fence near the carpark.

“I’ll see what the midwife says.”

The bell rings and we make our way back to class. On my way, I sneak a look at my phone.

Missed call: Alex O’Neill

Wow. He’s contacting me so soon? It’s been seven days since I gave him all the details. Has he found something?

With no time to call him straight back, I assemble my class and walk them to the library for the afternoon session. Miss Cavalier is happy to take the group for a few minutes so I can return the call. There’s no way I can wait until school’s out. The suspense will strangle me, minute by minute.

The call connects after the first ring. “Ms Rosehill. How are you?”

“I’m fine thanks, Alex.”Apart from my erratic thumping heart. “Sorry I missed you. I was on playground duty. How did you go?”

“I’m afraid not great. I didn’t get much further.”

Hope sinks to the pit of my stomach like a giant stone. I wanted this so badly for Jerry.

“That’s a shame.” As sad as it is, relief trickles into my veins. Thank God I didn’t tell Jerry about this. To build up his hopes only to have them crushed again would be cruel.

“I’d say the trail went cold a long time ago. She may have remarried. Moved overseas. Without knowing her date or place of birth, I hit a brick wall. As for Nate, apart from a few assault charges in the late nineties, I couldn’t find anything else. Seems he went off grid about fifteen odd years ago.”

“Hmm. Okay.” That’s weird. Two dead ends.What are the odds?

Jean said something about Nate having sketchy people visiting at the complex they both lived in. Did his lifestyle lead him down a path where he was forced to go underground? Or is it something more sinister? Did he meet his end messing with the wrong person?

“Your best bet would be to go to your local police station and ask if they can cross-check the missing person report with the additional info you have. It might get somewhere?”

“Thanks, Alex. I appreciate you trying.”

“My pleasure. Wish you all the best with it, love. Do me a favour?”

“Sure.”

“Say hi to Jeanie for me, will you? It’s been too long.” The reminiscent tone of his voice has me wondering how they know each other. Did Alex go to school with her? Was there something between them once upon a time? Jean didn’t explain the connection.

“Of course. Maybe you guys should catch up?” I may be overstepping, but Jean doesn’t have many friends. She’s all about work and Jay. Her social life has always come a distant last.

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