Echoes Read online

  Echoes

  By

  Angela Verdenius

  Copyright 2017 Angela Verdenius

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover images courtesy of © feedough/istock and IngaIvanova/istock

  Cover by Angela Verdenius

  ebook Edition License Notes

  No part of this book may be reproduced, resold, copied or given away in any form without prior consent of the author & publisher.

  All characters and towns are figments of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any person living or deceased.

  Table of Contents

  Glossary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Bio

  Other Books by this Author

  Glossary

  I found that some overseas readers were having difficulty with the Australian slang, so I thought a list of the slang I’ve used will help while reading the following story. If I’ve forgotten any, I do apologise! Also, you’ll find some of our Aussie words have different spelling to the US. Interestingly enough, as I’ve grown (gracefully) older, I find a lot of our slang is bypassing the younger generation, so if a young Aussie says they have never heard a certain word, don’t be surprised! But trust me, I’ve used these words all my life growing up, and so have a lot of my family and friends. Does that make me an older Aussie? Heck yes! LOL

  Cheers,

  Angela

  Australian Names/Terms/Slang

  AFP - Australian Federal Police

  Ambos - ambulance officers

  Arvo - afternoon

  Barbie - BBQ

  Beaut - beautiful, awesome, great, wonderful

  Berko - berserk

  Bewdy - as in ‘awesome, great’

  Biccies - biscuits. The same as cookies

  Bikie - biker, person who rides motorcycles.

  Bloke/s - man/men

  Bloody - a swear word ‘no bloody good’, in place of ‘no damned good’

  Boofhead - idiot, simpleton, etc. It’s an insult, though sometimes we use it as a term of affection. It depends on how it is said and meant.

  Boot (of a car) - trunk

  Brown nose - currying favour, sucking up. Has a cruder description, but let’s not go into that here. Means the same thing!

  Budgie smugglers - men’s bathers, small, brief and tight-fitting

  Buggered - many Aussie use it as a slang word for ‘broken’ (it’s buggered), ‘tired (I’m buggered), and ‘no way’ (I’m buggered if I’m going to do that). Just some examples

  Bung/Bunging - as in ‘bunging onto something’, putting on something (bung veggies on a plate, putting veggies on a plate), usually in a careless or ‘easy’ manner.

  Bush rangers - outlaws/thieves/robbers.

  Caramel Crowns - one of Arnott’s totally awesome chocolate and caramel biscuit. Gooey yumminess!

  Cark/carked - die, died.

  Chips - in Australia we have cold crunchy chips from a packet, or hot chips known in some countries as French Fries

  Chippie - carpenter

  Crash cart - resuscitation trolley in a hospital or medical setting - used for life threatening situations such as cardiac arrest

  Dander – temper

  Dial - face

  Dill - silly, idiot

  Dogs - (as in attached to a truck) - trailers, enclosed or not, that carry goods or are empty.

  Doona - like a padded quilt that fits inside a cover and lies on the bed. Can have the warmth of two, three or four blankets, etc.

  Donger - penis. Also another meaning is a place people sometimes sleep in, such as ‘dongers’ on mine sites.

  Dunny - toilet. When used in the terms ‘built like a brick dunny’, it refers to something built solid, unmoveable.

  Fire bug - arsonist

  Firies - fire fighters

  Garbo/s - the person/s who drive and/or load garbage onto the garbage truck.

  Gee-gees - horses

  Giggle-box - TV, television

  Gob - mouth

  Got his/her/their goat – annoyed him/her/them

  Hoon/s - person/people who indulge in antisocial behaviour. Great explanation in Wikipedia

  Iced Coffee/chocolate - a milk drink flavoured with chocolate or coffee

  Jumper - sweater

  Kick up a stink - make a fuss, get angry

  Local rag - local newspaper

  Lolly - sweetie, candy

  Loo - toilet

  Lug - face

  Milo - chocolate malt drink. Can have it hot or cold. Yummy!

  Moosh - slang for face/mouth

  Mobile phone - cell phone

  Mozzie - mosquito

  NAD - No Abnormalities Detected

  Nong - idiot

  Nooky - sex

  Paddy wagon - four wheel drive police vehicle carries four police in the double cab and has a filled-in imprisonment section in the back to place prisoners.

  Panadol - paracetamol, similar to Tylenol in the US

  Pav/s - Pavlova/Pavlovas - best dessert ever!

  PCYC - Police and Citizens Youth Club

  Pedal Pushers - three quarter pants/knickerbockers

  Porking - having sex

  Primapore - sticky patch with a pad in it, a medical dressing

  Pub – hotel

  Quack – derogatory term for a doctor

  RAC - Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia. Covers insurance, holidays, loans, etc

  Red backs - poisonous spider, black in colour with a red stripe on its back.

  Root - sex

  Rotty – Rottweiler breed of dog.

  Rubbers – condoms

  Sack - bed - as ‘in the sack’ meaning ‘in bed’

  Servo - service station

  Shag - sex

  Sheila – female

  Slab – carton of beer.

  Smoko - morning tea and afternoon tea break

  Snaggers - sausages

  Soft drink - soda, fizzy drink

  Sparkie - electrician

  Spider (drink) - soft drink of choice with a scoop of ice cream in it

  Stiffy - erection, boner

  Subbies - sub contractors

  Tea - some people call the evening meal dinner. In my family, we’ve always called it tea, as in breaky, dinner and tea, or breaky, lunch and tea.

  Thongs - worn on the feet, same as ‘flip flops’

  Tickled pink - delighted

  Tim Tams - a brand of Arnott’s Biscuits. Yummy!

  TLC - Tender Loving Care

  Togs - bathers, swim suit

  Torch - flashlight

  Toot - toilet

  Tradies - tradesmen

  Tucker – food

  Twistie – a brand of cheese-flavoured snack food. Yummy!

  Ute - small truck

  Vegemite - most Aussies find this spread yummy, many non-Aussies find it too salty. Here’s the hint - if you ever have Vegemite, use it spread thinly, never thickly!

  Vollie - volunteers

  Wacky baccy - marijuana

  Wanger - penis

  Waterworks - crying

  Whopper - a lie

  Yamaha & Suzuki - ‘brands’ of motorcycles.

  You wally - silly

  Foreword

  As with “The Wells Brothers: Aaron”, my research showed that security covers so many different areas, including - but not limited to - security teams, bodyguards, static guards, patrols, crowd control and threat assessment. Security guards also come from different backgrounds, depending on the needs of the company and what they
do, from ordinary civilians with training to do basic security, to the more highly-trained ex-military, ex-police, etc. They have my respect for the jobs they do.

  The Australian Federal Police do such a wonderful job in often overwhelming situations which takes expertise and commitment of the highest standards. While we may never know to what degree they risk their lives every day for us, they deserve the highest respect and gratitude, and they certainly have mine.

  So, confession time! I have taken liberties for the sake of the story, characters, and our enjoyment of reading about yummy men in uniform and decisive, take-charge heroes with a backbone of steel and take-no-prisoners attitudes. (Wait, did I say yummy men in uniform out loud? Oops!) Anyway, veering off that little slip of the tongue…I hope you enjoy the story because at the end of the day we all want a HEA. And, let’s admit it, a decisive, take-charge man in uniform is hot *wink*. Enjoy!

  Cheers

  Ang

  Chapter 1

  The early morning breeze was chilly, a fine spray of rain misting through the air. Traffic was slowly picking up as shift workers passed the service station on their way to work, several cars pulling in to fuel up.

  Nice weather, but it made her leg ache a little.

  Pulling on her jacket, Ella stuck her hand in the pocket to pluck out the car keys.

  “’Bout time you got a new one.” Wiping his hands on a dirty rag, Vangard surveyed the old car.

  “No point wasting good money.”

  “A reliable car is never a waste of money.”

  “This is reliable.”

  “It’s decrepit.”

  “Just keep it going, Van, and I’m a happy camper.”

  Tucking the rag into the back pocket of his already oily overalls, he shook his head. “Ella, you can’t-”

  “Can, have done, will do.” Sliding behind the steering-wheel, she started the engine. “Purrs like a kitten.” Putting it in gear, she studied the traffic on the road. “Take the bill out of my pay.”

  Driving out of the garage, pulling into the morning traffic, she didn’t need to look in the rear-view mirror to know he was watching her. But she did it anyway. It never hurt to check behind her.

  Ever. That had been a rather painful lesson that ensured she’d never forget.

  Pointing the bonnet towards home, she threaded her way through the traffic that was slowly increasing. A police car approached from behind, siren blaring, and blew on past her to disappear into the misty distance.

  Not even curious, she flipped on the radio to listen to the morning news. All bad, as usual, but she listened nevertheless, smiling when a particularly juicy bit of news came on.

  “And news breaking story, a well-known prestigious lawyer, Harld Becker, has been questioned by police, the subject as yet unknown. There is no comment from police at this time other than he is helping them with inquiries. We await further updates.”

  “Yeah, you do that.” Turning into her street, Ella tapped a forefinger against the steering-wheel. “It’s coming. Trust me.”

  As she rounded the gentle curve, she noticed several people standing on the sidewalk. In front of her house. Gawking, she saw as she turned into the driveway and drew to a stop. Braking, she studied the house. “Well, dear me. Guess I ruffled someone’s feathers.” At the knock on her window, she obligingly rolled it down. “Good morning, Mrs Featherstone.”

  “Did you see what someone did to your house?”

  “Kind of hard not to.”

  “Your landlord will be livid!”

  Very true.

  Lips pursed, resting an elbow on the door frame, she surveyed the front of the house. Painted in dripping red paint - nice touch - were the words ‘wore of a gosiper’.

  “It’s outrageous!” Her neighbour announced.

  “Absolutely. They could at least get the spelling right.”

  Mrs Featherstone tugged her cardigan closer around her. “This is bad.”

  Getting out of the car, Ella slung the strap of her bag over one shoulder. “Could have been worse.” At the askance glance thrown her way, she explained, “Could have been a broken window. Now that would have sucked lemons. Imagine all that rain getting onto the carpet.”

  “Are you going to call the police?”

  “Did you see who did it?”

  “No. It was like that when I got up.”

  “Then I doubt they left a calling card.”

  “Ella-”

  Limping slightly, she started up the path. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Ella!” With an exasperated sigh, Mrs Featherstone strode back to her own home, the few gawkers doing the same.

  Stopping next to the wall, Ella touched her finger to the paint. It was wet, but then again the misty rain wasn’t going to help it dry. There were no drops of paint on the ground, so it had done early in the night before the rain started. Handy. At least Tom wasn’t going to bitch about paint on the path.

  Going up onto the veranda, she was greeted by the old, crabby, one-eyed, one-eared tabby tomcat who had adopted her soon after she’d moved in.

  Squatting down, she gave his ears a rub, rewarded by his purring. “Now, if I hadn’t seen you sitting on the chair waiting for me to come home and bring you breakfast, Boof, I would have been worried. Good thing you gave me the slip last night and took off before I could lock you inside.” Giving him a last rub, she straightened and looked at the security door, pleased to note the lock hadn’t been forced. Tucked into the door was a slip of paper. Plucking it out, she read the typed words. It was short and to the point. “Huh.” Thoughtfully, she rolled the paper up and tapped it against one open palm. “Okay, Boof, maybe it’s time I got a little security.”

  She detoured around the back to check the surroundings but nothing was disturbed, the security screen door undamaged and all locks intact. The laundry on the right of the back veranda was still securely shut, not that there was much to steal there, but a bottle of laundry detergent was still a bottle of laundry detergent. Stealing just got right in her craw.

  Along with a lot of other things.

  Unlocking the back door, she pushed it wide open, eyes scanning the interior. All was quiet so she reached around and snapped the light on, the glow filling the kitchen to reveal emptiness.

  If anyone was inside, they weren’t making it obvious. She doubted very much that anyone lurked within, but one could never be too careful.

  When Boof walked past her inside, she raised her eyebrows. “Okay, then, no one lurking in the house.” If anyone had been inside, the cat would never have set foot in the doorway.

  Regardless, she did a tour through the old house, checking the rooms. Once satisfied that it was empty of intruders, she returned to the kitchen to feed Boof before setting the kettle on to boil and retreating to the shower.

  The hot water running over her leg eased the ache. Leaning back against the wall, she let the wet heat beat down across the scars as she lathered up the face washer and scrubbed the scent of fuel and deep fried food from her skin and hair.

  As the soap swirled down the plug hole, she felt a small measure of contentment at knowing someone else’s life was going down the drain just as fast.

  Bastard.

  Later, sitting in the kitchen with a hot cup of tea steaming at her elbow and a plate of toast slathered in butter and Vegemite, she started to flip through the phone book.

  Security cameras were a good idea.

  ~*~

  Entering Wells Security, Ryan took off his sunglasses, glanced around and found everything in order as usual. It’d be a rare day that Raymond didn’t have control of the reception, ruling it with the iron fist of an ex-college professor with an IQ that was almost off the charts.

  Anyone would think a man of his calibre would have found a high paying job elsewhere, but the burned out professor had found this job at Wells Security and was more than happy with it. It also helped that Aaron, boss and owner of the company, used him to help plot strategies when needed,
and do research at which Raymond excelled.

  “’Morning.” Raymond’s voice was deep for such a skinny little bloke.

  Ryan nodded.

  “Aaron’s with a client.”

  Ryan nodded again.

  Raymond turned back to the computer. “Two sets of security cameras to go in today, the mayor’s office called to see if anything else was required for you to know in time for the convention next week, the new shopping arcade wants a quote done for both security cameras and a static guard.”

  “Onto it.” Walking past the reception desk, Ryan went through the door into the office where desks were set. One was his alone, several others for the other security team to enter their data and do their paperwork.

  Marietta was already seated, brow furrowed, chewing her bottom lip as she concentrated. Going behind her, Ryan stopped and surveyed the screen.

  On it was a photo of a car. Raymond’s car. She hadn’t bothered to even blot out the number plate. She had, however, in artistic abandonment, added a pink banner down the side emblazoned with ‘Shag Wagon - for a good time call Ray-Ray! Double rates for double-ups!

  Silently shaking his head, Ryan started past her. Raymond would wig out when he saw it, which was just what the mouthy and sometimes outrageous Marietta was aiming for, much to the security team’s amusement. They did a dangerous job, though, and fun times helped ease the tension, so he wasn’t going to stop the fun until he decided it had run its course - or Aaron decided it.

  So caught up in her nefarious deeds, she suddenly realised someone was walking behind her and quickly flashed up some form onto the screen, twisting in the chair to give Ryan a smile as sweet and innocent as a newborn babe.

  A babe that could appear from seemingly nowhere to slip a knife between your ribs before fading back into the shadows.

  Sitting behind his desk, Ryan fired up his computer.

  “Hey,” Marietta greeted him. “Aaron is seeing a possible client which you would normally deal with, seeing as it’s just security cameras.”

  He nodded.

  “And, you know, I only just got in from shift and no one else was available to do it.”