Page 60 of Bay of Plenty

Sarge made a sour face. “I’m surprised he’s here, to be honest. He doesn’t make the cut for your dad’s best mates.” Just what we expected—Sarge, competitive even in this.

“Obviously, you’re Dad’s best friend and top of the list,” I said.Ugh.I hated that this man was so close to my family.

Sarge nodded, accepting his due.

Laughter burst from the table at Rosemary’s story about turning a client’s BDSM chamber into a toy room.

While it was noisy, I took my chance. “Seeing Janey’s dad reminds me,” I spoke softly. “He said you came around the day before Janey died. That Janey accused someone of what sounded like sexual abuse.”

“Really?” Distraught, Kui leaned towards him. “Oh, Sarge. That’s awful. What did you do about it?”

Sarge froze. The laughter at the table died away. Please answer. Now.

“I don’t have to answer anything that man says.” Sarge gritted his teeth. “I mean, look at the poor bastard. He’s lost the plot.”

Mr.Saunders turned twitchy. Did he feel our eyes on him? Both Dad and Declan looked over at us; Dad worried, Declan suspicious.

Sarge bolted up. “You guys are having all the fun,” he called over to the table. “How about coming over here, Rosemary? We need a few laughs.”

Rosemary went to grab her plate to come over. Mum rested a hand on her arm to delay her and prompted one of her other stories about a client couple whose kink was to wear diapers around the house.

“But why would Mr.Saunders lie about something so important?” I pressed Sarge.

Like a ticking time bomb, Rosemary would be over here at any minute. Kui leaned closer to Sarge as if to hear his answer, wielding a gentle, clever pressure.

Sarge’s lips opened and pressed shut in a sort of toggle, maybe between what he wanted to say and what he needed to say to cover himself.

“I did come over, but as a neighbor, not as police. Told him about the complaints that she was mean and a bully. Of course, he was clueless.”

His answer fit with what I expected him to say. I was annoyed he’d called Janey a bully. But that’s what CeeCee said too. I went to ask more.

“I told you at yoga. Leave it.” He fisted his hands, angry. “Look. I have to be very careful about anything concerning police matters.” His voice was getting louder and louder. “Ido notwant to get in trouble with the unions and lose my pension.”

Dad’s forehead creased as if he was trying to figure out why Sarge was so angry. Declan and Clarebear stood up.

Mum, Kui and I caught one another’s eye. We needed to calm things down. I felt proud of us, that we’d worked so well together to get even this admission out of Sarge.

But what was that rant about?

*

Everyone had left. Declan, between giving me wary looks, was trying to sort out the TV. Dad, tired and confused, had “clicked the funny button.”

I sought out Kui, who was stacking dirty plates in the dishwasher.

“Thank you, Kui. That was tough. But why did Sarge start ranting on about his pension? I know police have a generous pension, but it seemed like he overreacted.”

Kui paused with a plate in the air. “Hmm.”

“C’mon, Kui. What is it?”

She took a deep breath. “He wants us to be together, says he’s hopelessly in love with me—been saying it for years, silly old fool. I don’t love him, and even if I did, I wouldn’t do anything about it because of Clarebear.” Her face tensed, then turned somber. “I’ve had enough sadness without creating more. But he keeps saying he’ll hand his pension over to her, and we can get together and live on what’s left over.”

I knew Sarge was besotted with Kui, but this was almost an obsession. He wanted to provide a decent future for her and was worried about his finances.

My mind turned, of course, to the winery. Was Sarge involved in the drug ring? It was one way to ensure he had money to fund a new life with Kui. Pretty extreme, but people had done worse for love.

Chapter Forty

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