Courting Lamara Pt. 04

"Don't be a stranger and if you feel like talking at three in the morning I'm here. Just give me a few minutes to wake up, okay?"

It took at least three days for the fog to lift and I felt as if I was trudging through a swamp and by then the police had released our names and stated that an inquiry was going on. Reading my name in the paper was bizarre, most of the comments were positive but some were negative.

I was supported by the department though. The formal debriefing happens naturally but Byres told me the following day that I'd been cleared of any wrongdoing but I was still on light duties so I was kept in the office answering phones and doing paperwork. Paula was still off and I dropped in to see her a few days after the shooting. She looked okay but when I asked her she shrugged.

"I'm still trying to take it all in. I was told that if I hadn't turned when I did the bullet would have gone into my back. I don't know what I was thinking talking in plain view of the house."

"It happened and you can't keep going over it and reliving it," I replied.

"I mean I could've said something but you weren't directly opposite the house and I'd called to see if he was home and then hung up, it probably put the wind up him."

She merely nodded at that.

"Were they the ones who did the drive by?"

"Yeah, they did the ballistics tests that day, they were both positive. Tony's out of intensive care but he's still in hospital in a secure ward. He'll be released in the next few days and remanded until his committal hearing, he'll be questioned tomorrow and his lawyer has asked for a psyche report."

"He'll probably get a reduced sentence," she replied.

"What're you going to do? Are you coming back or not?"

"I'll be back," she replied, "I have to push through this but it's causing tensions between my partner and I, he thinks I should quit but I've never been a quitter."

"Well you've earned your stripes, for sure," I told her.

We talked a little more but then I had to leave and go home. I called Lamara from home.

"Are you all set for your interview tomorrow?"

"More or less?" I opened the wardrobe door, "I just have to work out what to wear."

"Keep it simple, a good rule of thumb is to stick with a white blouse and a trouser or skirt suit, it's functional and formal without going over the top. You're applying for a job in security, you're not applying for a modelling job."

Ultimately I chose a pink blouse, it was one of the blouses Danita had given me and a dark brown trouser suit and tried to keep my mind calm and clear.

***

Job interviews are always hard for me and I don't know if it's because I'm a perfectionist but I have always felt like a goldfish in a bowl. The interviewer(s) are always totally focused on me and I am a self conscious person. The hardest interview I ever had was the one for the police force years ago, I was in front of three interviewers who wanted to know all kinds of things. Some questions came out of left field and I was sure I'd fluffed it but apparently it's a deliberate strategy to assess how you act under pressure.

John McGill was one of the interviewers along with another manager, Katrina Sutcliffe. She was a sales manager for the menswear department. I instantly felt out of my depth. Her skirt suit looked a lot better than my trouser suit and she reminded me of Lamara in a way, maybe it was her age or the way she carried herself. She had the confidence of a manager and although she smiled it came over as fake, it's the retail smile and I got the feeling she was sizing me up. My picture had been released to the press by that stage, the usual Academy picture of me in uniform but other reporters had found more recent photographs. One left wing blogger had found one of me frowning and he was on a rant about armed police on the streets of Melbourne and suggesting we should all be unarmed just like in Britain, where he'd lived for awhile.

"How are you coping with the attention from the press?" John asked.

"It's a little different but I'm learning to cope. I can't comment on the investigation though."

"Of course not," Katrina's eyes shifted, "personally I think you're a hero."

"I think what Katrina wants to know is does this affect your decision to change careers," he looked over at her briefly, "after all, you're a hero now."

"It doesn't, it could so easily have been much much worse. If my aim had been a little off then he'd be dead and I'd have to live with that fact, or I could be dead myself."

I shifted in my seat as I continued.

"Ultimately it's a split second decision. If my colleague hadn't turned at the moment he fired she'd have ended her shift in the morgue and drawing my gun was the last resort. I've drawn it before but never had to use it until the other day and one of the things I like about this job is that I don't have to carry a gun."

"No," he smirked, "we don't have armed guards on site, unless they're a company picking up cash from the safe room of course."

"Can you tell us why you'd be good at this job?" Katrina shifted in her seat.

"I stay calm under pressure," I replied.

"Can you give us a couple of examples?"

I could have told them about the incident in Broadmeadows but instead I picked one at random, a time when I was in uniform and facing down three guys intent on beating the shit out of me until I casually informed them that backup was on the way. It changed the situation instantly and by the time backup arrived they were actually polite. I explained the simple technique, lowering your voice gradually, it subconsciously forced them to lower their voices and de-escalated the fight or flight response. That caused Katrina to raise her eyebrows.

"I must remember that when I'm dealing with angry customers."

The interview continued and overall it seemed to be decent. John reiterated his earlier comment about needing a woman running security instead of the man doing it now. Katrina smiled at that and the interview ended shortly afterwards with a promise to get back to me within forty eight hours. I stepped out into Bourke Street mall and felt a weight lifting from me. I'd been sweating on it for the last couple of weeks and it was over before I knew it. I sent Lamara a text.

Lisa: Interview is over, they'll tell me in 48 hours but it feels like it went well.

Lamara: I'm sure you've got the job. Going by what you told me the other day it sounds like they're looking for an image change. Fancy catching up tonight? I'm on a half day so I'll be leaving work in about fifteen to twenty minutes.

Lisa: No worries, I'll swing by about four or thereabouts.

***

Milo greeted me at the front door, his tail was wagging furiously and Lamara greeted me with a kiss on the lips.

"Come on in," she stepped back, "you're looking as flash as a rat with a gold tooth."

Despite my rather formal attire she still looked better dressed than me in a white blouse and brown three-quarter length skirt.

"Thanks," I replied, "I did a bit of shopping in town today. I thought if I bought a few things from Myers it might improve my chances."

"I'm not sure their recruitment process hinges on that kind of thing," she pursed her lips.

"I hope you're not allergic to nuts because I've added it to the stew."

"Nope, not this little black duck."

I followed her into the kitchen.

"Good news on Mylene though, the department will give her a new identity as long as she testifies via video link, it's to stop any of Barrows' old comrades from tracking her down."

"Any idea where she's going or is that a state secret?"

"I don't know, she'll be given a list of places and asked to choose one but it all go downhill if she doesn't like any of her choices."

"Do you want me to have some input? It's still within our remit."

"I'll speak to her tomorrow," I replied.

"No worries," she shrugged.

"How're your sessions coming along or haven't they started yet?"

"I've got an appointment tomorrow arvo. No idea who though, he's got an Indian name that I can't pronounce," I took a card out of my handbag and squinted at it, Samiksha?" I handed it to her and she glanced at it.

"Oh, Sammi," she grinned, "yeah, she was working for us a couple of years ago, I didn't know she was working with the police."

"What's she like?"

"Very understanding but don't try to pull the wool over her eyes, she interned at Johns Hopkins in America years ago. She's got a doctorate in psychology and a few other degrees."

"Much like yourself."

"Yeah but her speciality was a lot harder than mine," she smiled slyly.

She didn't offer up any more information however and we sat down a little while later to dinner at the dinner table that she rarely used.

"Most of the time I sit in front of the idiot box," she smiled, "but for special occasions I do set the table for a proper dinner."

"Like your mum coming around?"

"God no, where do you think I picked up the habit of having dinner in front of the telly? When we were kids it was different but by the time I was in high school it'd all changed. Mum was too busy to set a table she just wanted to sit down and put her feet up and eat."

"I'm not sure I qualify as a special occasion," I replied.

"Oh I don't know about that," she eyed me, "you're the best thing to happen to me in years."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Before I met you I was convinced that love had passed me by. Don't get me wrong I had affairs with guys but I always knew it was a transient thing, they'd move on and I was only too happy to let them keep going."

"And now?"

"Now I'm quite content to have a woman in my life. I don't know how long it'll last but I'm fluid when it comes to my sexual orientation so if you're happy with that then I can set the table a little more often."

The conversation moved on from sexual orientation to other subjects and back to sex, which seemed uppermost in her mind and for the first time in years I felt as if I'd found myself. It was odd to me, I've always prided myself on being more together than the women I've dated. Lamara had to be the most stable woman I've ever known and perhaps that's why it took so long for me to make a move on her. I've been the rescuer, the white knight charging to the rescue but over the years I've learned that rescuing people has its own pitfalls. Armour might start out shiny but it soon turns rusty and the woman you rescued soon sees that.

Lamara is the first woman I haven't rescued and there's something in that. It means I don't have to keep up an image, I can let my hair down and it'd started getting easier although I was a little wary in some ways. I stayed the night with her that night and yes, we did have sex!

***

The next few weeks seemed to fly by but that was because I was successful at my interview and that meant finishing up with the police force and despite the drama of the last few weeks it was hard to say goodbye to a way of life that had been my bread and butter for years. There was the final big piss up down the pub and my colleagues poured me into a taxi at the end of the night and hung a sign around my neck for the driver as a joke.

I settled into my new job relatively quickly but a few weeks later I went to court when Barrows was put on trial. There were a couple of star witnesses who gave more evidence but I thought Mylene was the real star because she'd come from nowhere and her testimony was the icing on the cake as far as I was concerned. The defence lawyer tried to write her off as a druggie but he was overruled by the judge.

Nobody was more surprised than Barrows judging by the look on his face. He'd written her off as just another junkie but what he hadn't reckoned on was her survival skills. To survive on the street as a working girl you've got to be streetwise and she knew when to make herself invisible. If a dealer gets the idea that you might know too much about him he might bump you off. Barrows was that kind of drug dealer and by the look of his eyes in the dock it was obvious he'd found a ready source inside.

His lawyer was confident that the magistrate, Georgina Harrison -- Connor might give his client a light sentence, she had done it in the past but that afternoon she swung sharply to the right when handing down custodial sentence of ten years for dealing drugs and a further fifteen years for the murder of a rival. Harrison -- Connor's final words put a smile on my face.

"And I order that you serve no less than twenty two years before you face a parole board, unless of course other charges come to light before then," she looked over the rim of her glasses.

"I also order that your house and other assets be seized according to the proceeds of crime act and sold off. Maybe this will send out a warning to your associates and rivals that the people of Victoria are tired of career criminals dealing in misery and death."

His legs buckled at that and I thought he was going to pass out before he was led downstairs to the holding cells. Even Mylene looked shocked as she left the courtroom.

"I thought he'd get less."

"Are you going to appeal his sentence?" I asked her.

"Not likely," she shivered, "but he's gonna be pissed off when he gets out."

"If he gets out," I replied, "word from inside is that his rivals want to settle old scores and now that his assets have been frozen he won't be able to pay for security."

"What about Tony?"

"He's in the dog's yard now, somebody bashed him."

Mylene smiled at someone and I followed her line of sight to find myself looking at Lamara. She hadn't been in court even though there was space in the public gallery. The vast majority of people had been curious onlookers who wanted to get a look at the new public enemy number one.

"How was it?"

"Twenty five years with a twenty two year minimum," I replied.

"Well that'll keep him occupied for awhile but what about an appeal?"

"He can try for the high jump if he likes and he might get less but he might get more, it depends on the judge but that kind of thing requires money and she ordered his assets be taken, which would mean he'd be stuck with legal aid instead."

She nodded at that and then inclined her head in Mylene's direction.

"Come on, you. I've got a surprise in my car."

We followed her back to one of those multi-storey carparks and when she opened the back door I saw a few bags of clothes and then she opened the boot to show a computer and monitor.

"What the fuck?" Mylene's eyes widened when she saw it all.

"We put some money in the kitty and got you a few things for your move tomorrow. Don't worry about trying to fit it all in your car, we'll follow you up there."

"I don't know what to say."

"Thank you is usually a good start, keep it simple," she replied.

It was a generous donation and when I questioned Lamara about it that night she merely shrugged and smiled.

"It wasn't just my colleagues who donated money, my mum threw in a couple of hundred and my sister actually gave me the computer, it came out of her workplace when they upgraded. It was just going to go to landfill so she grabbed a couple of them."

***

Mount Beauty seemed like an unlikely new home for a former prostitute and I'd tried to talk her out of choosing that location but Mylene wasn't to be put off. It was far enough from Melbourne and it was where her old friend from school lived with her partner. It sits in the Victorian Alps and during the winter months you're snowed in but it has a nice country vibe. The next day we met her at the temporary safe house where she'd been staying and I put in my contribution, a full tank of petrol, which was gratefully accepted by Mylene. The car had been provided by the police force, I recalled it'd been seized a few weeks ago as being part of the proceeds of crime.

"She doesn't realise she's actually driving one of Barrows' old cars," I murmured to Lamara as we headed up Sydney Road.

"Probably best not to tell her," Lamara chuckled.

The house the department had provided was an old weatherboard one with a small front yard and a larger backyard. Granted it didn't have much in the way of furniture but a local charity had donated the basics. It was certainly more than she'd had in her life and she kept touching things, whenever she wasn't attending to her daughter. It felt odd just watching her. This was the woman who'd been hauled in off the streets high as a kite. She'd still have the temptation of drugs even up here but at least she was far enough away from the city and her old drug contacts.

"What're your plans now?" Lamara asked her.

"Stay away from the smack and maybe enrol in a course."

"What would you like to study?" I asked her.

"Social work," she managed a crooked smile, "although with my record they might not take me."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Lamara replied, "there's a few I've known over the years who came out of similar situations, if you need a reference just get in contact with me."

"Thank you," she replied, "for everything."

"No worries," Lamara shrugged and then eyed her watch, "but let's not hang around. We've got a long drive ahead of us."

We left not long after and headed out of Mount Beauty.

There's more to tell of course but that would take another story and at the moment I'm happy to just take it one day at a time. It's been over six months now and I'm enjoying my new job. It's a far cry from working crime scenes.

Mylene is still in Mount Beauty she's studying to be a social worker and hopefully she graduates. I've got a dog these days, a border collie crossed with a kelpie/heeler, Rastus is good company for Milo and at the time of writing everything is just fine. I often drop Rastus off at Lamara's place on the way to work. Lamara and I are getting on well, there are changes of course but little by little I'm becoming more in tune with my inner rhythm.

And Barrows? He was subsequently charged over a murder that happened some years ago, a cold case that was only reopened when a prisoner opened his mouth and traded Barrows' confession for an early release. He fronts court again in a few weeks but as I said a few months ago, it couldn't have happened to a nicer bastard.

The End.