Second Chances Pt. 03

"Shit," Richard muttered to himself. That didn't go very well.

He went to the kitchen and got a garbage bin, the dust pan and brush. As he picked up the larger pieces as he replayed the image of Peta whirling around her eyes ablaze. At that moment in time she was the most desirable woman he'd ever seen. He adjusted his pants to accomodate his swelling cock speaking to it at the same time.

"Sorry mate, you're going to have to take it up with the pea brain above you. We've done our dash there."

Peta cursed Richard, herself and much of the known universe on her way home. Inside the house Peta went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a shot. Richard's words echoed in her head. Bit early for the hard stuff... she poured it down the sink.

"Fucking arsehole!" She bellowed in the empty house slamming the glass down on the table.

Unfortunately the motion of her arm coming down knocked the bottle. It toppled off the table and smashed. Shards of glass scattered around the floor. The sweet smelling brown liquid splashed against her legs and shoes.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit fuck!" Peta ranted before slumping in a chair.

Peta watched the pool of rum spread on the floor. Following the slope of the floorboards it ran towards a slight depression in front of the sink. Fifty years of someone standing there washing up must have created a slight bow in the bearers.

Chapter 22.

When Marci pulled up at Richard's house Angus and Murray were fast asleep. Julia had chatted with her all the way home but the physical activity followed by the slumber-inducing motion of the car had worked it's magic on the two boys. Even when the car had stopped they stayed comatose so Marci left it running with the air conditioner on while she got Julia out. Richard came out and down the steps before being set upon by an excited Julia.

"Did you have fun?" Richard asked as he picked her up for a hug.

"Oh yes daddy it was great," Julia said.

"Have you had lunch?"

"Yes we had hamburgers then ice cream!" The excited child gushed as she bounced in her father's arms.

"Thanks Marci," Richard said over his child head.

"No problem Richard. She's a live wire that one. The boys are passed out so I'd better keep going."

"Okay, what do you say Julia?" Richard asked putting the child back down on the ground.

"Thank you!" Julia gave Marci an enthusiastic hug.

Marci looked up at Richard.

"You may have a visitor this afternoon." She said.

"Already had that visitor this morning." Richard replied.

"But she's supposed to be at work?" Marci looked puzzled.

"Got fired apparently."

"Ummm, how did it go?" Marci asked with some apprehension.

"Not much better than her job." Richard said trying to keep any emotion out of his voice.

Marci was going to walk away but stopped and spoke to Richard again.

"You were good for her you know." Marci said with the emotion clear in her voice. "Back when you helped at harvest, that's the happiest Peta's been since she lost Fred. Are you sure... you couldn't?"

"That ship's sailed Marci. She wasn't very happy when she left here." Richard said trying to hide the emotion he felt.

That night in bed Richard replayed his confrontation with Peta and pondered Marci's words. He regretted some of the things he'd said but on balance decided it was probably for the best. Early the next morning as the dawn light fought to get past the blanket he'd nailed up over the window Richard dreamed. He was back in that farm shed on a stormy night. His hands holding Peta's hips as he fucked her. He woke up with a hard on like a crow bar.

Peta was soon forgotten as he resumed his battle with the cupboards in the kitchen. It's funny how sometimes walking away from a job then coming back to it after a good nights sleep can help. Straight away Richard worked out a more efficient method for removing them so by mid-morning the kitchen was cleared of debris and he started working on the plumbing. The alarm on his phone went off at eleven and he remembered the Superintendent's planned visit.

Richard didn't really want Julia there while the policeman was. However his childcare options were very limited. He contemplated Marci but he only had Peta's mobile number. He checked that on his phone and realised the last six digits resembled a local phone number. Maybe if he replaced the first four mobile digits with the local area code he could get Marci on the landline. Richard punched six eight followed by the other numbers and waited. The ringing tone started so he crossed his fingers and hoped his guess was right.

"Hello?" The voice of a young boy came out of the speaker.

"Murray?"

"Yes."

"Could I speak to your nan please?" Richard asked.

There was a clunk as the boy put the receiver on a hard surface the the sound of footsteps.

"Nan? There's a man on the phone for you." Richard heard a voice in the distance.

The sound of heavier footsteps grew louder as someone walked towards the telephone. Richard breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Marci's voice ask Angus who it was.

"Hello?" Marci said.

"Hi Marci, it's a Richard. I'm sorry to trouble you but I was wondering if you could do me a favour?"

"Probably, I'd like to know what it is first."

"I just need someone to look after Julia for a bit. The superintendent is coming out at lunchtime. Something about Ben Darby. I'd prefer it if she wasn't here. Could I drop her over there for a couple of hours?"

"Sure thing. The boys would love to see her." Marci said while in the background Richard could hear Peta asking who was on the phone. "Just drop her around whenever you're ready."

Marci said goodbye and ended the call. Peta was standing right behind her.

"Who was that?" Peta asked again.

"Richard. He wants someone to look after Julia for a couple of hours." Marci said.

"And you just volunteered. Who owns this fucking house?" Peta exploded and there was a sharp intake of breath from one of the boys who she hadn't realised was standing behind her.

Whirling around Peta stomped out of the house and over to the shed.

Richard fed Julia an early lunch and dropped her off just before twelve noon. He was wary about running into Peta but she wasn't around. Julia jumped out of his ute and joined Angus and Murray playing cricket in the backyard. Marci waved from the verandah as he swung the ute around and left.

The Superintendent was right on time arriving at twelve thirty. As he walked up to the front door Richard observed through one of the windows. He carried a laptop under his arm which as he got closer Richard recognised. The aim of the meeting was damage control. The Superintendent also bought a formal apology from the New South Wales police along with an offer of fifty thousand dollars in compensation. Richard accepted both, took back his laptop and shook his hand as he left. A lawyer may have gotten him more but Richard was sick of the legal system.

What he really wanted was a few minutes alone with the laptop. Once the policeman was driving away he plugged it in and turned it on. It took some time to boot up then a warning popped up about out of date security. Richard disregarded it and went to the home screen. Going into the programs directory he found the surveillance link and opened it. It was going to be a long shot. The system that ran the cameras he had set up around the old house only recorded for twelve hours before dumping. Richard fingers were crossed that because the laptop had been taken away from the cameras it still had the last twelve hours on it. Again it took forever to load then there it was. Pictures of his old caravan on fire. He quickly moved the mouse pointer to a tab on the side and clicked save.

Going to the app menu Richard put up the split screen feed from the three cameras and scrolled back through the timeline. He went back until the camera mounted under the eaves at the front of the house picked up headlights coming up the driveway. Going full screen on camera one he watched as the large ute rolled around and parked in front of the house. He knew who owned the big truck but was hoping to get some footage that readily identified the driver and whoever was with him.

Unfortunately the ute lights went out then two figures got out with torches. All the camera picked up was the beams of light and dark figures behind them as they disappeared out of shot around the side of the house. Camera two picked up the intruders going into the caravan. The beams from their torches played around inside flashing out the windows as they searched. Damning but not definitive. They exited the van and went out of camera two's vision toward the back of the house.

Richard switched to camera three. It was attached to one of the supports under the verandah to focus on the back door. Scrolling forward he watched the torch beams come into the field of view. The two intruders went to the back door but Richard had locked it. They moved away and from the way the light flicked at the edge of the screen he guessed they were trying the windows. Then they came back to the back door. There appeared to be a discussion going on and that's when Richard got the money shot. They both pointed their torches at each other so Ben Darby and Tony Smith's faces were clear to see.

Hitting the pause button Richard took a screen shot of the two men's faces. Letting the recording play again Ben and Tony walked away from the back door. Going back to camera two Richard picked them up again as they split up. The bigger body, Tony, left while Ben stayed just outside the caravan. A few minutes later Tony returned carrying something. He handed his torch to Ben then moved into the light from the torches heading towards the caravan. In his hand was a jerrycan. He began dousing the inside and the grass around the outside of the van with the contents. Once it was empty he walked back to Ben. A rag was set on fire and tossed at the van which quickly became engulfed in flames.

"Got you cunts!" Richard grunted.

Going back through the footage he took several more screen shots and loaded them onto his phone. Now the question was what did he do with the incriminating evidence. Going to the Superintendent was the obvious choice. However something else was nagging at the back of his mind. Richard got up and went to the fridge. For the first time in a couple of months he really needed a drink.

The trouble was the fridge was as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. Instead he got some ice from the freezer and a glass of water. He sat on the front verandah looking out over the river as he contemplated his next move. Thirty minutes later he was still sitting there with the empty glass beside his chair. With a sigh he got up, locked up the house and went to his ute. He still hadn't come to a decision but both options were in the same direction so he told himself he had to decide before he got to the first destination.

Chapter 23.

Part of Peta had been glad when Richard drove away quickly after dropping off his daughter. That was the part which still wanted to scratch and slap his arrogant face. The other part watched hoping the vehicle would veer towards her hiding spot in the shed. Seek her out, plead for forgiveness, express his uncontrolled lust for her. Love, hate, desire and loathing all competed fiercely for top spot in an emotional roller coaster. Then there was the guilt. Yes, she had judged him. Yes, she had watched as his van burned. The anger and cold fury that had welled up inside her at the hospital. It was a mother's nightmare. Putting your children in harms way. Letting a predator loose inside her family, only he wasn't... but she didn't know that.

To clear her head Peta jumped into the side by side and went for a drive around the stock. Generally it calmed her, took her mind off her troubles. Today it focused them more. Tony had left a message. He wanted to start fallowing her pasture paddocks next week. Time had run out and now as she drove around the decisions about which stock to sell and what she could keep only confused her more. On top of the high hill Peta stopped. She looked back over the farm, Fred's farm, Fred's dream.

"Fuck it."

Peta pulled out her mobile phone scrolled through her contacts till she found the one she wanted. The ring tone shrilled five times and she almost hung up not wanting to leave a message when a voice answered.

"Hi Peta, how's it going?" The voice of her stock agent filled her ear.

"Not great James. How quickly can we sell all the stock?"

"Errr, you mean all the lambs?"

"No the fucking lot. Lambs, ewes, cows, calves. The whole fucking shitshow." Peta didn't normally swear like that in the course of business deals but she wanted to convey to James how determined she was.

"Look Peta, it's not a great time to sell every..."

"Can it be done in two weeks?" Peta cut in wanting to stop the condescending chit-chat.

"Umm yeah it can be done. We can put them up online. Provided your reserves are realistic they'll sell."

"Good. How do we do that?"

"I'll have to come out and assess them, take some photos, then they'd be sold the following week." James was still on the back foot.

"Can you start tomorrow?"

"No, I've got a stud sale tomorrow. I could do some on Friday but I really think you should reconsider..."

"I'll have the sheep in the yards Friday morning." Peta hung up.

Peta didn't want an argument. She'd made her decision. The stock first then if they could find someone to bid against Tony the farm would go to auction. For a moment she felt lighter. She'd tried, but it wasn't meant to be.

"Fuck," Peta shouted.

The voices of all the people who'd told her to sell straight after Fred's death filled her head. It's for the best. Not a job for a woman. Think of the boys. You'll never make a go of it.

Peta fired up the side by side and roared off down the hill. Pulling up outside the house she watched Angus and Murray playing cricket with Julia. She was a pretty little thing. Dark hair and olive skin. Her mother or her grandparents must have come from around the Mediterranean at some stage. Just a bit taller than Murray but Peta guessed a similar age. She was playing wicket keeper, standing behind the steel drum that represented the stumps. Murray was batting and poor Angus was bowling and chasing the lusty blows his older brother smashed around the backyard.

"Is it my turn to bowl yet?" Julia asked.

"Yeah, okay." Angus said lobbing the tennis ball to Julia as he trading places with her behind the makeshift wicket.

Julia went to the other end and stepped out her bowling run up. Murray made a snide remark to Angus. Peta didn't hear exactly what it was but got the gist of the denigration of girl's playing cricket. Julia began her approach, six or seven smooth steps, getting faster until in a whirl of her arms she released the ball. Peta watched the ball fly through the air bouncing close to Murray's toes before slamming into the steel drum behind him causing a loud bang.

"Howzat!" Julia said, as if she was asking an umpire for official conformation of Murray's demise.

"You're out!" Angus chimed in from behind.

"That doesn't count," Murray said quickly, "I wasn't ready. You have to wait till I'm ready."

"You're out," Angus confirmed after he'd retrieved the ball. "It's Julia's bat."

"I wasn't ready. She bowled it too fast." Murray continued his protest.

Peta thought she would have to intervene and began moving to the back gate. Julia held her hand up and called out to Angus.

"Throw it here Angus, we'll give him another go."

Angus lobbed her the ball and she returned to the start of her run up.

"Are you ready this time Murray?" Julia asked with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Murray made a show of settling into his stance then nodded. Julia approached again as Peta watched leaning on the fence. The same fluid motion, the same whirl of her arms, the ball followed a similar trajectory arrowing in on the tips of Murray's toes. There was a bit of a difference. This ball was a lot faster than the first one. Murray shuffled back trying to get his feet out of the way so he could swing his bat at the ball. He was way to slow. The ball cannoned in the the drum with such force it wobbled then fell over..

She watched the jubilation of Julia and Angus as Murray reluctantly handed over the cricket bat. Murray went to the bowlers end. Peta could see the determination etched in his expression as he prepared to bowl to Julia. Her boy's pride was injured and he looked determined to get it back. He moved in and let the ball fly only to see it whizz back past his outstretched fingers as Julia thumped it to the other end of the garden.

Peta couldn't help but smile, girls can do anything they put their mind to. Then the smile died as she trudged up onto the verandah, except maybe run a farm. She was sitting on a chair removing her boots when the dogs started barking. Angus looked down the driveway then yelled to Julia who was just completing another run.

"Your dads back."

Peta considered putting her boots back on and going back to the shed. Realising she didn't have enough time she went inside the house and headed for the office.

"If he asks I'm not here," she quipped to Marci as she passed the open kitchen door.

Richard pulled up behind the side by side at the back of the house. He waved to Julia and the boys as he got out.

"We don't have to go yet do we? I only just started batting." Julia complained.

"No, it's okay. I've got somewhere else to go so if Marci will have you, you can stay longer."

Julia and Angus cheered but Richard thought Murray didn't look as happy. Inside he found Marci in the kitchen.

"You're back earlier than I thought?"

"Yeah it didn't take long. Umm is it okay if Julia stays a bit longer?"

"No problem there, she's doing a great job of keeping those boys out of my biscuit tin."

"Great, and, err, is Peta about?"

Marci looked at him strangely then walked towards him.

"No she's not here." Marci said loudly then she motioned Richard out into the hallway and pointed to the closed door at the end. "I don't know where she is or when she'll be back."

Richard was bemused by Marci's antics. Even more so when she stomped down the hallway towards the back door before opening and closing it making as much noise as possible.

Peta breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the back door close. She wasn't in the mood for another of Richard's lectures. Although she was a little curious about what he wanted her for. There was a tap on the office door and Richard's voice came soon after.

"Peta? Are you in there?"

Fucking Marci, Peta thought, but she stayed silent.

"Peta?" Richard tried again. Still there was no response so he decided to talk to the door.

"I'm sorry how the other day turned out. I've had a lot of shit to deal with but it wasn't right to take it out on you. You've haven't had the best run either." He paused hoping for some sign she was at least listening but none came. "I just want to ask you something. It's to do with your farm and Tony Smith."

Richard hoped the mention of that arseholes name would get a reaction. It appeared he was wrong and was about to walk away when the door opened a crack. Peta peered through the slit.

"Is it just you there?" Richard looked at her puzzled so Peta clarified what she meant. "Mum isn't close by listening in?"

"No, she went outside." Richard said.

"Okay then," Peta opened the door, crossed her arms in a defensive posture and leant on the door frame. "Ask your question."

"Okay, umm, do you want your farm back?"

"Unless something has changed drastically in the land titles office I've still got it." Peta said in the fashion of a petulant teenager.

"I mean the lease. With Tony. Do you want it to go away?"