Finally, here's another part! Thanks to Esme for beta reading for me!
Details & disclaimer given in part 1.
~~~
It's a Beautiful Life, Rachel Goldstein
by Hilde
~~~
Part 4
~~~
She wasn't sure of what had woken her, but suddenly all her senses were on
guard. The house was quiet and dark, only the sounds of cars and people from
the street could be heard. She waited a few moments, but nothing happened.
It had probably just been her imagination running wild.
Rachel sighed, and lay back on her bed. She was just about to fall asleep,
when she sat up with a jerk. This time she hadn't been imagining. There was
someone downstairs.
Quickly she got up, threw a robe over her shoulders and grabbed the nearest
heavy object she could find; a brass candlestick from her bedside table.
Carefully, and as quiet as a mouse, she tiptoed out of her bedroom and to
the top of the stairs. There she stopped to listen for a second, but
everything was silent. Slowly she started down the stairs, with a firm grip
on the candlestick. Nearly down, she heard a loud thump from the living
room, and someone cursing annoyed.
Rachel took the remaining steps in one big jump, and ran towards the living
room, just in time to see the front door close and a shadow disappearing
down the steps. She hurried over to open the door, but there was no one
outside when she reached it. The night was as calm as if nothing had
happened, not even a car was in sight. Rachel took a deep breath to calm
herself, and went back inside. She closed and locked the door carefully,
then she suddenly remembered David. If something had happened to him, she
could never forgive herself.
Hurrying up the stairs, she said a silent prayer that he was alright.
Opening the door to his room, she heaved a sigh of relief when she saw her
son laying in bed, sound asleep. Quietly she closed the door, and went back
to her own room. Her pulse was starting to get back to normal, and suddenly
she discovered that she was still holding on to the candlestick. Letting out
a nervous little laugh, she placed the stick where it belonged, and went to
bed.
It took her about an hour to be able to close her eyes, but around 5 am she
finally fell asleep.
~~~
When Rachel entered the station after letting David off at school the next
morning, she had already made up her mind. She would have to swollow her
pride and agree to let Frank stay with her. Not that the whole
Frank-staying-the-night-thing bothered her that much, it was more a question
about principles and self-esteem. But those things didn't matter all that
much if she was dead, did they?
"Morning, Rachel!" the always cheerful Helen Blakemore greeted her as she
passed the front counter.
"Yeah, hi," Rachel muttered, not feeling up to a friendly chat this morning.
Helen looked up at her, catching the uncertainty in her voice. "Something
wrong?" she asked concerned.
"Just about everything," Rachel replied defensively. "You seen Frank?"
"Yeah, in your office," Helen nodded towards the stairs. "Listen, Rachel,"
she added before Rachel headed for the stairs. "What's up? You look
terrible."
"Oh, thanks," Rachel replied sarcastically, knowing too well Helen was
right. She had hardly slept that night, or the nights before for that
matter. She looked like a natural disaster, no matter how much time she had
spent in the bathroom, trying to cover the bags under her eyes. "It's a long
story," she finally said. "I'd rather not talk about it right now, if you
don't mind."
Helen nodded. "OK. You know where to find me."
"Thanks," Rachel smiled weakly as she headed up the stairs to the office.
Frank was already hard at work, as hard at work as he could be, anyway. He
looked up when Rachel entered, and exclaimed cheerfully, "Good morning,
sunshine! You're late!"
"Shut up, Holloway," came the reply.
'Oops,' Frank thought. 'Wrong thing to say.' "What's up?" he asked
curiously, noticing Rachel's tired face.
"Look, Frank, as much as I hate it, I'm gonna let you move in with me - for
the time being."
Frank stared at her in disbelief. Frankly, he had never thought she would
approve of the idea, let alone actually go through with it! "Really? Why? I
mean - what made you change your mind?" Frank asked, still a bit schocked.
Rachel sighed, and decided it would be best to tell him the whole story.
Frank listened carefully, he didn't interrupt her once, something Rachel
found rather strange.
"Look," she told him firmly after finishing her story. "I still don't think
this is necessary, and I certainly do not need *you* to look after me. I'm
just doing this to avoid your and Helen's constant nagging. Alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Frank said, not wanting to say anything that would make
her change her mind again. He wasn't entirely sure that was the only reason
she'd let him stay, but it didn't matter, really. He had been worried about
her - with good reason, it seemed - and he'd feel a lot more comfortable
knowing he could protect her from whatever might happen.
"What about David, then?" he asked, wondering what he'd say when Rachel once
again brought her work home - litterally speaking this time.
"Dad's gonna take him fishing up the coast for a week or so. He needs to get
away from all of this for a while," Rachel replied, referring to the last
days' events.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Frank agreed. It had to be hard on the
kid, his life being turned upside-down like that. It wasn't fair, was it?
"Mmm." Rachel muttered, arguing with herself whether to let him go or not.
Of course he would be a lot safer away from the city, away from her - if she
really was in danger, something she still doubted.
On the other hand, was it wise to send him off like that, now that he needed
her more than ever? Of course he would be with his grandfather, but still.
They hadn't talked since Jonathon died, not really *spoken*, and she had a
feeling they were drifting further and further away from each other. She
could not let that happen, not again.
"Rachel?"
Her thoughts came to a sudden stop when she realized someone wanted her
attention. "Huh?" She looked up at Helen, who was standing in the doorway.
"Did you hear a word of what I just said?" she asked, curious to know what
was *really* up with Rachel.
"No, sorry," Rachel admitted. "What was it?"
"Another body in the harbour," Frank replied. "Same as before."
"Oh, great," Rachel sighed annoyed. "We've got to find a lead soon, before
he takes out half of Sydney's population."
"Well, let's get going then," Frank suggested, heading for the door with
Rachel following close behind.
~~~
Rachel stood at a distance, arms crossed, watching the paramedics examine
the girl. The forth in three days. This had to end. They had to find the guy
who was behind all this. But in order to do that, they had to determine the
other girls' identities first. Rachel was willing to bet next months' wages
that they all had lost costudy of their kids. Damn. The air was cold despite
the time of year, and a sudden shiver went down Rachel's spine. They had to
nail him, for the children's sake.
"Nah, nothing we haven't already guessed," Frank announced as he approached
her. "This is starting to bore me."
Rachel nodded silently.
"There has to be a lead somewhere," Frank went on. "The guy who did this
must have known the girls pretty well for them to tell him about the whole
custody thing. I mean, it's nothing you go around telling everyone you meet,
right?" He looked to Rachel for support, but she didn't say anything. "I
dunno," he sighed. "Maybe they used the same gym or bakery or..."
"Law firm."
"Hm?"
"They used the same law firm," Rachel repeated, louder this time. Suddenly
it was all very clear to her. Where else would you get that sort of
information unless the unhappy mother told you herself? "Maybe even the same
lawyer," she continued. "Come on, Frank, let's check this out as soon as
possible. I'm sure that's it!"
"Law firm," Frank muttered while following his partner back to the car. "Now
why didn't I think of that?"
"Because I'm smarter than you, Holloway," Rachel smirked. "Let's go."
~~~
End part 4
~~~
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[ To be continued... ]
