‘Hello?’
Soft, ragged sobbing echoed down the line.
‘Hello?’
‘Detective Hunter?’
He recognised the voice from earlier in the day. ‘Charlotte?’
‘I … I …’
‘Are you okay?’
‘Please don’t blame me.’
‘Take a deep breath. Where are you?’
‘Melia’s place.’
‘Are you injured?’
‘No.’
‘Then what’s wrong?’
‘I think she’s dead.’
Chapter Six
Dunton, Tasmania
Saturday, 8.16 p.m.
Shit. What the hell had happened?
Jake walked back toward the family gathered around tables in the portico, signalling for Kelly to join him at the backyard boundary, away from the other diners.
‘All right, Charlotte. I need you to be very clear. Where is Amelia now?’
‘Her mum’s calling an ambulance but I think it’s too late.’
‘Where is Amelia?’
‘On the floor of her bedroom.’ She began to hyperventilate.
Kelly arrived at his side, his hands raised in query.
‘Charlotte.’ Jake adopted his deepest tone while looking at Kelly with what he hoped was meaning. ‘Stay. With. Me. Have you checked her breathing? Does she have a pulse?’
Charlotte’s breathing slowed a little.
Kelly nodded at Jake.
Good, he understood the nature of the situation.
‘Are you with her?’ Jake asked Charlotte.
‘I’m in the corridor … oh my God!’
‘Charlotte, stay calm. What is it?’
‘Mrs MacDonald just fainted.’
Jake whispered to Kelly. ‘One, possibly two, need an ambulance at Amelia MacDonald’s house. Both Amelia and from the sounds of it now Mary MacDonald are unconscious.’
‘Any violence?’
‘Doesn’t sound like it.’ He returned his focus to his panicking caller. ‘Okay. Now Charlotte, we’re going to do this together. Are you with me?’
‘I … ah …’
‘I’ll make the call and drive us there,’ Kelly whispered.
Jake nodded to him, then said loudly to Charlotte, ‘Together, okay?’
‘K.’
Jake watched Kelly return to the house to grab his keys and phone. ‘Right. First, we check on Amelia. Then Mrs MacDonald. Okay?’
‘K.’
Jake moved toward the front of the house and Kelly’s car, which thankfully sat in the driveway with an unobstructed exit.
‘Walk over to Amelia and kneel beside her, Charlotte. Are you there?’
‘Just a sec.’ Her voice had risen an octave.
‘Is she injured?’
‘There’s blood everywhere.’
‘Can you see where it’s coming from?’
‘Her hands, I think. Maybe her arms.’
Had Amelia cut her wrists? ‘Is there blood on her face or neck?’
‘No.’
‘Is there blood on her chest?’
‘No.’
‘All right. Put your finger below her earlobe and trace straight down to just below the point of her jawbone, then press. Can you feel a pulse?
He heard Charlotte suck in a lungful of air then hold her breath.
Seconds ticked by.
‘Yes! Yes! She’s alive!’
‘Okay. Is her head in a good position for her to breathe?’
‘I think so.’
‘Okay, now we’re going to check on Mrs MacDonald.’
Kelly opened the car door for Jake. As he directed Charlotte in her care of the two unconscious women, Kelly tore along the streets of Dunton, siren screaming.
In the midst of providing instructions, Jake couldn’t help reflecting on his move to the middle of the Tasmanian wilderness. It was supposed to be somewhat restful, to offer a calm space in which he could re-evaluate things. The past forty-eight hours proved that few of his plans survived contact with real life.