Chapter Twenty One
January 2000
Sydney, Australia
Joey finished school eagerly, said goodbye to her driver and raced up to her bedroom. She was more than a little excited about her first proper date with Maria, who had organised a day off in order to spend the evening with her. The idea was that they were going out for dinner and to see a movie. Joey was beyond excited. She and Maria had been together for a few weeks now and they'd made love for the first time a few nights ago. Joey had been terribly nervous. At not quite sixteen yet, she thought it was quite early to lose her virginity. But she also really liked Maria and wanted it to go somewhere. Stripping off, Joey hurried into the bathroom to take a shower and make herself look as beautiful as she could possibly manage. Tonight was going to be a very special night.
"Are we all organised?" Richard Cruze asked.
He'd called a meeting between himself, Peter Austin, Hugo, Robbo, Derrick and Suzy.
"Yep," Hugo said. "Everything's in order."
"When should we expect her?" Suzy asked.
She was new to the business, having made contact with Richard when he had holidayed in her home town. Always eager to get in on a lucrative deal and make some cold, hard cash, she had been more than willing to join in.
"Seven thirty," Robbo said. "We'll bring her straight to you."
Suzy nodded and stood up.
"Good," she said. "Can I go? I have things to prepare."
Richard nodded. She bid the others goodbye and headed out of the room.
"Which one of you boys is going to do the deed?" Richard asked.
"I will!" Hugo and Robbo said in unison.
They stopped and glared at each other.
"I want to do it," Robbo said.
"With all due respect," Hugo said to Richard. "Joey hates your son. If we want to get this done as quickly and quietly as possible, Robbo is not the man for the job."
"And you are?" Robbo snapped bitterly. "She was hardly creaming her pants for you either!"
Peter pulled a face at the young man's use of language.
"Only because she's gay," Hugo said reasonably. "Not because she hates me."
He and Robbo continued to glare at each other.
"Hugo and Peter, you go," Richard finally decided.
"Dad!" Robbo said.
He was desperate to make his father proud. All he wanted was to get involved in the scheme and thanks to Joey, he'd been failing terribly. Now he was sure that Hugo was going to wade in and take his place in the business.
"That's my final decision," Richard said calmly.
"You're not the boss," Peter pointed out quietly. "We're all in this together."
Hugo looked annoyed.
"Do you want to challenge me?" Richard asked.
"No," Peter said, standing up. "I just wanted to remind you that there is no one leader here."
He left the room without another word. Hugo and Robbo also stood.
"What am I meant to do?" Derrick asked, feeling overlooked.
"You go to Suzy's ahead of time," Richard said. "Wait with her. Make sure Joey doesn't cause any of us too much hassle."
It was ten to seven and Joey was finally ready. Eager to meet Maria, who had arranged for a taxi to pick them both up and take them to the restaurant, she skipped down the stairs.
"You look nice," her mother, Roz commented.
She and Nicholas were walking across the lobby on their way to the dining room.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Yeah," Joey said, trying not to show her frustration. "I told you. I'm going out with a friend tonight. That's still okay, right?"
"Of course," Cheryl said.
Nicholas merely nodded at his daughter and led his wife to dinner. Joey watched them go, feeling a little sad over the lack of connection between herself and her parents. Then, taking a deep breath and plastering a smile on her face, she said a cheerful goodbye to the security guard on the door and headed out into the night. She walked slowly down the long drive, admiring the eloquent gardens that she loved so much and always found so beautiful, even in the dark. Slipping out of the drive, she headed down the road to where Maria had told her she'd be waiting in the taxi. Glancing at her watch, she worried about being early. There were at least five minutes to go and she didn't want to be hanging around on a street corner any longer than necessary. But she was certain that Maria was worth it.
Joey had only been waiting for a few minutes when a car pulled up. She furrowed her brow over not seeing a taxi sign on it but was relieved when Maria stepped out of the car.
"Hey!" she greeted happily, stepping forward.
"I'm sorry, Joey," Maria said weakly, looking sad.
Joey was confused as a masked figure stepped out of the car too. He pushed Maria firmly out of the way, warning her to get out of the way if she knew what was good for her. Joey opened her mouth to protest. Before she could, the man grabbed her and pulled her into the car, which pulled away from the curb before the door had even been properly shut. Maria watched with tears in her eyes and trudged on back to the house and into her room in the staff quarters, closing her bedroom door on the world.