“He’s a friend of my parents,” Tess said. “They didn’t want me coming to Australia to study until Tan agreed I could stay with him and work in his restaurant.”
“And how do your parents know him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d never heard of him before they said I would live with him.” Which was a bit strange now she thought about it. She’d been forced to help with the guest list for her sister’s wedding and her mother had explained every single relationship of the hundreds who were invited. She didn’t recall Tan’s name being mentioned.
Dot pursed her lips. “What do your parents do?”
“My father works in customs and my mother doesn’t work.”
A flash of interest on Dot’s face before she made another note. “When was the last time you contacted your parents?”
“I call them every Sunday.” Which meant she had another two days before they would expect a call from her. She still hadn’t figured out what to say to them.
“You didn’t call them after you witnessed the murder?”
Tess shook her head. “They couldn’t help me. My plan was to fly somewhere safe and then call them. I wanted to go home, but Tan has my passport.”
“Then it was lucky you bumped into Ed.” Something about the way she delivered the offhand comment made Tess stiffen.
She nodded slowly. “Very lucky. I was frantic when I couldn’t hire a car.”
“It was brave to go with a complete stranger.”
“I was desperate.” Tess glanced at the door. She didn’t like where the questioning was going. It was as if she was under suspicion. “Ed seemed kind, and he was heading north immediately. I figured it was my best chance.”
“Strange Tan didn’t track you to the airport.”
“I turned off my phone after he almost caught me at the shopping centre,” she said. “Then briefly switched it on again when we stopped in Geraldton, but all the missed calls from him freaked me out. I didn’t turn it on again until we reached Mount Magnet. Ed wanted me to check for road closures.”
“You didn’t consider Tan might track you?”
She shook her head. “He searched the area I was hiding, so I turned my phone off when he rang.” But now she thought about it, Tan had insisted she install an app on her phone which allowed it to be found if it was lost. At the time she’d thought it kind, though it had also felt a little controlling. It had been the first indication that she might not get the freedom she’d craved by coming to Australia.
The sergeant pulled out a blank notebook and a pencil. “I need you to describe the woman you saw.”
“You’re going to draw it?”
Dot nodded. “I’ve taken sketch artist courses. Out here you have to do as many jobs as possible.”
It made sense. Tess closed her eyes and flinched as the image of the woman’s dead eyes flashed into her mind. She clenched her hands together. Without Tess, the woman’s family might never know what had happened to her. She could do this. Swallowing hard, she began to describe the victim.
***
“Astro Boy, it’s time to wake up.”
Ed groaned at Georgie’s sing-song tone and pulled the sheet over his head, turning his back to her.
“Come on, Ed, you’ve been sleeping for almost four hours. Isn’t that enough?”
He blinked and struggled to remember why four hours was a bad thing. Through the sheet, daylight streamed in. Why was he sleeping in the middle of the day?
“Dot wants to speak to you now,” Georgie continued.
He sat upright and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as the memories came flooding back. “Has Tess finished? Is she all right?”
“Seems a little uncertain, but is otherwise unharmed by the masses,” his sister joked.
Yeah, the Stokes family might be something she’s not used to. He threw the sheets back and got up.
